Chapter 74

Lan Ke opened her mouth and let out a long, melodious whistle. The golden-eyed hawk immediately flew over, circling above her head, its sharp golden eyes scanning the area below.

Yuan Ming and Agula followed closely behind, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings, alert for any attacks from the fire-rock snakes.

“Goo!”

A moment later, the golden-eyed hawk suddenly called out, its eyes fixed on a black rock to the right, which appeared to be a product of cooled lava.

Seeing this, Lan Ke raised her hand without a word and pointed forward. The silver bracelet on her wrist shot out, striking the black rock.

The light from the bracelet condensed, forming a silver blade that split the black rock in two as if it were rotten soil.

A fist-sized fiery red jade was embedded inside the black rock, which was precisely the Fire Jade.

A hint of surprise flashed in Yuan Ming’s eyes. The golden-eyed hawk’s eyes were truly extraordinary, able to see through the rock?

“First one!” Lan Ke walked over, bent down to pick up the Fire Jade.

A dark red shadow shot out from behind a nearby rock, a dark red snake as thick as a bowl, its sharp fangs aiming for Lan Ke’s calf, which was the unique fire-rock snake of this place.

This snake was only a low-level first-stage fierce beast, not particularly powerful in attack, but its fangs contained a potent poison that could cause significant trouble even for a peak Qi Condensation cultivator.

Agula raised his hand, and a blue light swirled as a water arrow shot rapidly toward the fire-rock snake.

However, his action was a step too late, and the water arrow clearly couldn’t intercept the red snake in time.

Lan Ke’s eyebrows furrowed, and the chain on her wrist glowed silver, ready to intercept the fire-rock snake.

At that moment, the ground rumbled, and a sharp wooden spike burst forth, piercing the fire-rock snake’s body and lifting it up.

The blue water arrow finally arrived, striking the snake.

With a loud “bang,” the fire-rock snake’s body was split into two, blood splattering, and the two segments of the snake twisted a few times before lying still.

Lan Ke retracted the silver bracelet, picked up the Fire Jade, and nodded to Yuan Ming before continuing the search.

Yuan Ming followed closely behind, closely monitoring the surroundings.

Agula felt somewhat embarrassed, his face turning even more sullen, a hint of malice flashing in his eyes as he looked at Yuan Ming’s back.

Half an hour passed quickly.

The three of them worked more smoothly together. Yuan Ming and Agula cooperated to fend off all the fire-rock snakes that launched surprise attacks, while Lan Ke, free from worry, could focus on driving the golden-eyed hawk to search for the Fire Jade, making the process very efficient.

So far, they had found over twenty pieces of Fire Jade, and Lan Ke had distributed the Fire Jade to Yuan Ming and Agula according to the previously agreed-upon ratio.

Yuan Ming touched his chest, where he had already stored seven pieces of Fire Jade, which clinked together with a clear sound. Five pieces of Fire Jade could be exchanged for one contribution point, so these Fire Jades were worth about one and a half contribution points.

It was still early, and if they continued at this rate, they could collect over ten, even twenty pieces of Fire Jade by nightfall, which would be four contribution points.

Thinking of this, Yuan Ming’s heart warmed.

At that moment, his dantian suddenly twitched, his mana nearly depleted.

Without sufficient mana to protect his body, he began to feel a dull pain all over.

Yuan Ming did not have the fire-resistant treasures that Lan Ke and Agula had, and it was already difficult for him to hold on this long.

“Both of you, my mana is about to run out, and I need to leave and rest for a while,” Yuan Ming said without forcing himself.

Agula lifted his chin slightly, a hint of mockery in his eyes, his sullen face looking a bit better.

“No problem, you go ahead. The two of us can take care of ourselves,” Lan Ke said.

“Alright, you two continue searching for the Fire Jade. The harvest during my absence can be divided between you two,” Yuan Ming said, then quickly left, soon reaching the base of the volcanic peak.

The temperature here had returned to normal, and he found a secluded spot to practice the Nine Yuan Technique.

The spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered, replenishing his mana.

After a quarter of an hour, Yuan Ming suddenly opened his eyes.

The mana in his dantian had only recovered a little, and the recovery speed was clearly slower than before.

“What’s going on? The spiritual energy here isn’t thin at all.” Yuan Ming was about to investigate when a series of chirping sounds came from the distance, sounding somewhat familiar.

He stood up and hid behind a nearby large rock, looking in the direction of the sound.

A fox-like, slender red figure appeared in the distance, quickly running toward the volcano. It was the fire marten of the Third Cave Master.

“Fire Chanye! Why is it here? Could the Third Cave Master have come here?” Yuan Ming walked out.

He had been brought into the sect by the Third Cave Master, and the Fire Refining Hall he was currently in was under her jurisdiction. If she was nearby, he should go and pay his respects.

Yuan Ming looked around for a long time but saw no sign of the Third Cave Master.

At this moment, the fire marten also noticed Yuan Ming in the distance, turned to look at him, and paused in its sprint.

But it quickly turned its gaze away and continued running toward the volcano.

Yuan Ming’s face showed surprise. It seemed the fire marten was chasing something?

At that moment, hurried footsteps came from the distance, and a tall, red-haired youth, drenched in sweat, ran over. From his attire, he was a disciple of the Beast Taming Hall.

“The senior ahead, please stop that fire marten. It is the spirit beast of the Third Cave Master. It must not touch the lava; it cannot withstand the high temperature!” The red-haired youth shouted as he ran, his voice filled with urgency.

Yuan Ming was taken aback.

According to this person, the fire marten was heading toward the lava?

Although the fire marten’s intelligence had not fully developed, even an ant has a survival instinct. How could it jump into the lava?

However, the fire marten continued to run forward, its eyes filled with fiery determination, as if there was something extremely attractive in that direction.

“Is it really going to jump into the lava!” Yuan Ming’s face changed, and he hurriedly chased after it, calling out “Fire Chanye.”

But the fire marten, which had been quite close to him before, now ignored his calls and continued running toward the lava, as if there was something extremely attractive there.

The fire marten ran very fast, and even with the Shadowless Step, Yuan Ming could not catch up, and the distance between them continued to widen.

Recalling the Third Cave Master’s life-saving grace, Yuan Ming gritted his teeth and used the Fur Cloak Technique.

The white ape skin wrapped around him, instantly transforming him into a white ape, greatly increasing his speed, but he could only keep pace with the fire marten.

At this point, they were not far from the lava. At the fire marten’s speed, it would soon reach the lava.

Yuan Ming’s eyes darted, and he took out a piece of Fire Jade from his chest and threw it forward.

He had seen the Third Cave Master use a red crystal to attract the fire marten before. The Fire Jade was also a fire attribute mineral, so it might work.

The Fire Jade arced through the air and landed precisely in front of the fire marten.

The fire marten looked at the Fire Jade, chirped happily, pounced on it, and picked it up in its mouth.

“Indeed, it works.” Yuan Ming’s eyes lit up, and he quickened his pace.

However, the fire marten raised its head and swallowed the Fire Jade in one bite, then continued running forward, pausing for only three breaths.

Yuan Ming’s expression froze, but at least the three breaths gave him some time, and the distance between them narrowed slightly.

He continued to chase, painfully taking out another piece of Fire Jade and throwing it forward, landing in front of the fire marten.

The fire marten seemed to like the Fire Jade, stopping again to pick it up and swallow it, then continuing to run forward.

With the experience of picking up the jade, the fire marten only paused for about two breaths this time.

“Really a big eater.” Yuan Ming muttered in exasperation and continued to take out Fire Jade and throw it.

In a blink, the seven pieces of Fire Jade were gone, but the distance between them had finally narrowed to less than three zhang, while the fire marten was only five zhang away from the lava.

Yuan Ming seized the opportunity, made a hand seal, and pointed forward. The ground in front of the fire marten rumbled, and a thick wooden spike burst out.

The fire marten almost collided with it, growled angrily, and tried to go around.

However, another loud rumble came from the side, and another thick wooden spike emerged, blocking its path.

Before the fire marten could react, more wooden spikes burst out from all directions, forming a wooden fence in the blink of an eye, trapping the fire marten in the middle.

After circling a few times, the fire marten suddenly stopped and leaped upward.

The wooden spikes were only about four to five feet high, and the fire marten’s jumping ability was good, so it easily leaped over.

However, just as it leaped, a large hand covered in white fur reached out from the side and grabbed the fire marten by the back.

The fire marten’s claws scratched wildly, and it roared, but its neck and back were held, and no matter how it struggled, it was in vain.

Yuan Ming ignored the fire marten and immediately canceled the Fur Cloak Technique.

Each additional breath of the Fur Cloak Technique would accumulate more negative energy in his body, although the Dark Moon Technique seemed to be able to resolve it, he still preferred to use it as little as possible.

The white ape skin slid off him, and he grabbed it, stuffing it into his chest.

The fire marten, now either exhausted from roaring or recognizing Yuan Ming, suddenly calmed down.

“Junior Brother Yuan, how did you get here?” A voice suddenly came from ahead, and two figures emerged from a depression, which were Mu Li and Chi Shu.

“What do you have there? A fire fox? Be careful!” Mu Li’s thick eyebrows furrowed, and he raised his iron staff, ready to strike.

The Ten Thousand Mountains were home to countless fierce beasts, and any strange abilities they possessed were not to be underestimated. It was best to kill them immediately, or they might cost you your life.

Chi Shu made a hand seal, and two human-sized fireballs appeared in front of him, ready to attack.

“Both of you, stop! That’s the spirit beast of the Third Cave Master, a young fire marten!” Yuan Ming quickly put the fire marten behind him and said.

“The spirit beast of the Third Cave Master! Why is it here?” Mu Li was surprised and put away his iron staff.

“You’d better ask him.” Yuan Ming turned to look behind him.

The red-haired youth was panting heavily, and upon seeing the fire marten already in Yuan Ming’s hands, he let out a sigh of relief and bowed, saying, “Thank you… thank you, Senior Brothers!”

They were now on the peak, and the terrain was uneven with many protruding rocks blocking the view. The youth had not seen Yuan Ming’s actions and assumed that Mu Li and Chi Shu had helped stop the fire marten.