Chapter 126: Steady Advancement

When the area fell silent once more, those cumbersome fire creatures were nowhere to be seen.

The rock python dragged its heavy frame along, patrolling the perimeter, while Greem stripped off his clothes by the pool, his bare body stepping into the molten lava pool.

The bubbling, churning magma quickly submerged his ankles, calves, and thighs. Each time a bubble of lava burst, it released a scorching heat wave of several hundred degrees. Yet, Greem continued deeper as if he felt nothing, allowing the thick, searing lava to engulf his body and head.

As the terrifying heat poured into his body, Greem felt every cell in his being cheering with joy. However, while the fire energy within him surged, he could not sense the same transcendent euphoria of his spirit rising in tandem with his flesh as he had experienced before.

It seemed... this lava pool lacked a fundamental element required for his Body of Blazing Fire to continue its evolution.

Greem stood up from the pool, scanning the area with a puzzled expression. Finally, he could not help but ask, "Chip, analyze this situation. What is preventing the evolution of the Body of Blazing Fire?"

A split second later, countless streams of data scrolled across his vision, only to vanish one by one, leaving behind a final conclusion: this lava pool could not facilitate the evolution of his body because it was not directly connected to the core of the underground volcano. It was merely a small, residual pool left behind as the lava lake receded, having lost all direct contact with the volcanic core.

It seemed pointless to keep circling the outskirts; only by venturing deep underground and locating the lava lake connected to the core could he make this journey worthwhile.

Still, taking a dip in this pool was not entirely without merit. Greem projected his mental energy into the thick, scorching magma and quickly discovered something peculiar beneath the pool's wall.

Greem walked to the southeast corner of the pool and used a high-temperature force field to push away the nearby lava, exposing the glowing, red-hot wall. He shifted the Flame Lord's Scepter to his left hand, gathered violent fire energy in his right, and thrust it deep into the soft wall.

When he pulled his hand back, he clutched a rock the size of an egg. As he pumped surging fire energy into it, the outer layer of the rock softened like wax, revealing a dazzling, heat-radiating red light within.

A subterranean fire diamond!

It was only the size of a fingertip, and judging by its quality, it was merely average. Yet, such a common fire diamond could fetch a high price of 120 magic crystals at a mystic shop. The wizard apprentices venturing deep into the volcano were only required to submit five such diamonds to meet their quota; any additional gains would serve as their personal reward.

Since this place offered little help to his personal growth, Greem had no desire to linger. He quickly dressed, led the rock python away, and headed straight for the next point of high fire-element concentration.

Half an hour later, the underground cavern, though still devoid of people, strangely echoed with the sound of light footsteps.

A moment later, a blurred human figure materialized within the shimmering heat waves at the edge of the lava pool.

He was a young man with long, brownish hair cascading over his shoulders. His face was cold and cruel, and his exposed neck was covered in mysterious, profound witchcraft runes, adding to his eerie aura.

He was one of the two outside quasi-wizards Greem had specifically noted.

The moment he arrived at the cavern, he was slightly taken aback. As a quasi-wizard, he had always operated alone and never deigned to associate with the novices. Relying on his uncanny ability to turn invisible, most fire creatures could not detect his presence, allowing him to bypass most unnecessary battles and reach this point smoothly.

However, judging by the charred fragments of lava dogs, the volcanic ash left behind by fire imps, and the traces left by large reptiles on the ground, he was certain that someone had already intruded here.

Tamora stood silently at the edge of the lava pool, scanning it with his mental energy, but he found nothing. It seemed that if there had been anything of value here, it had already been claimed by the previous visitor.

How could anyone be faster than him? Could it be the other quasi-wizard?

With a hint of doubt, Tamora had no choice but to change his route. He did not want to follow in the wake of another powerhouse and scavenge for leftovers. Three months was enough time for him to mine enough magic crystals here to sustain his needs for the next two years.

...

In the subsequent journey, Greem was no longer as cautious as before; he became bold and fanatical.

Perched atop the summoned rock python, he let it charge through one lava tunnel after another like a road roller. If a tunnel was wide enough, they would dash through; if it wasn't, the rock python would force its way through, widening the path in the process.

In any case, given the rate at which the rock python could regenerate itself, minor wear and tear on its body caused no real harm.

As for the fire creatures they encountered, if they were small, the python would simply crush them. If they were medium-sized, it would smash them to pieces before rolling over them. Their desperate counterattacks could only inflict insignificant scratches on the python's stony hide, failing to hinder its unstoppable, sweeping advance.

Greem couldn't be bothered to pick up the fire stones or shattered cores dropped by these creatures; he let the python swallow them all to be sorted later when they stopped to rest.

Moreover, every point of high fire-element concentration almost always contained a lava pool of varying sizes. The only thing Greem needed to do was use his mental energy to probe through the viscous, scorching magma to find the fire diamonds hidden deep within the rock strata or encased in stone.

Occasionally, he would also discover other magic gems or rare metallic ores.

Thus, in the process of his wild, rapid advance, Greem encountered several other common fire creatures.

Fire spirits could be considered the most numerous natural spirits in the volcanic world. They were typically humanoid flames about a meter tall, capable of walking freely. Without eyes, ears, mouths, or internal organs, their bodies were composed entirely of billowing fire, and they could never venture too far from a lava pool.

Against such creatures—which lacked a physical form and were merely aggregations of elements—the rock python could crush them simply by using its heavy, sturdy body, saving the trouble of a fight. Greem could harvest no loot from such paupers.

Fire lizards were a type of fire-attribute magical beast. They were flesh-and-blood creatures that, like ordinary large lizards, enjoyed lurking in dark places to ambush their prey. Aside from their thick, tough hides, the subterranean fire lizards possessed the ability to spit flames and boasted excellent fire resistance. They loved to lurk at the edges of lava pools, waiting for fire creatures to walk into their traps.

The high-concentration fire stones and conscious cores within the fire creatures were their favorite delicacies.

Before entering the underground, Greem had already conducted a preliminary study of the volcanic world. To maximize his time, he would not leave until the very last moment. One of the most urgent problems to solve was the issue of food and water.

As for drinking water, aside from the water skins he carried in his storage belt, Greem could also solve the problem by gathering water elements. Although he had a fire affinity and was in a volcanic environment where summoning a water spirit would be difficult, generating enough water for personal consumption was not a problem.

That left the issue of food.

The food Greem brought was only enough for one week. In such an extreme environment, it was difficult to preserve food for long, and since Greem could not feed on fire like the fire creatures, finding a new source of food underground became a necessity.

In the volcanic world, the only flesh-and-blood creatures that could serve as food were these fire lizards. However, their meat was tough and coarse, and their blood was foul-smelling and stiflingly hot. If it weren't for the fact that the fire energy contained within was highly beneficial to his body, Greem would never have chosen to mistreat his stomach in such a way.

These small and medium-sized fire creatures posed no threat to Greem, but the more powerful lava monsters and flame guards were quite troublesome.

Lava monsters and lava dogs were essentially the same type of creature, just in different forms—one human-shaped, one canine. Against a lava dog, the rock python could tear it to pieces with a single strike or bite. But against a lava monster, this tactic no longer worked.

A lava monster was a humanoid fire creature with intermediate intelligence. Its body was covered in volcanic rock, and ordinary witchcraft attacks could hardly penetrate that hard, rocky armor. It was also an extremely cunning creature that would never be as reckless as a lava dog in assessing the strength of its enemies.

Lava monsters loved to guard the lava pools they considered their homes, never allowing intruders to take a single step inside. Their combat style was quite similar to that of fire-attribute wizards, unleashing endless spells like fire stone projectiles, ignition, and flame storms. They would often turn the entire cavern into a sea of fire with their overwhelming fire spells.

When encountering such creatures that hunkered down to play at range, Greem had no choice but to command the rock python to charge into the lava pool and engage in melee combat. While both the rock python and the lava monster were high-tier entities, the python held the advantage in size and raw strength.

After a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering brawl in the lava pool, the victor was always the larger, stronger, and more resilient rock python.

However, after such a fierce battle, the rock python’s massive, sturdy frame would inevitably shrink. After all, it was a construct of earth magic; fighting an opponent of the same tier on their home turf, the constant immersion in the lava pool caused significant damage to its body.

Thus, every time it killed a lava monster, the rock python’s thick, circular body would shrink by at least three layers.

The rock python could defeat lava monsters, but encountering a flame guard was a different story altogether, as the outcome became unpredictable.