Chapter 2682 - 2683: An Unexpected Visitor

The Fluffy Fire Wolfhound apparently had no high pursuit of strength. Once it felt that its current strength was sufficient, it simply loafed about, or rather became playful. Feng Yuan didn’t scold it for this; in the absence of a survival crisis, there was no need for Feng Yuan to push the limits of his Beast Tamer’s strength.

After enjoying lunch, Feng Yuan didn’t plan to wander around Chishan Village. Although it was still operational, the place was essentially an artificial scenery with no natives, so other than the staff, the entire village was empty of people.

Feng Yuan had little interest in appreciating a village devoid of life.

Eventually, Feng Yuan decided to explore the cave halfway up the mountain. Although it was not a special training site, located halfway up the volcano, its interior was quite a different world.

The path up the mountain was not particularly wide but appeared unique. Besides the stone steps for people to walk on, there was a wider path of gravel on the mountainside for the use of Beastmasters and their Spirit Beasts. Although convenient, the stone steps were not suitable for all Spirit Beasts.

For instance, Xiao Ji found it easier to walk on the slightly inclined gravel path than to climb the stone steps, whereas the Fluffy Fire Wolfhound had no such trouble.

On the outer side of the stone steps were numerous volcanic shrub plants. With their deep roots, these plants effectively prevented landslides in the area during sudden heavy rainfall.

Feng Yuan could see that they intended to cover the entire volcano with vegetation, but plants growing in volcanic areas, especially active volcanoes, were generally not cheap, so they ended up covering most areas with wild grasses that matched the reddish-brown rock and soil to prevent landslides.

After all, the rainfall in Cha Mu Town during summer is not insignificant. Without precautions, Feng Yuan believed that the road would need maintenance frequently during the rainy season.

In Maomu City, Feng Yuan had experienced the unreasonable torrential rains in summer. Without vegetation, even volcanic mountains, and even the deep old forests of Cha Mu Town, were not immune to landslides during such rainstorms.

As Feng Yuan climbed steadily up the stone steps, he soon reached the entrance of a cave located halfway up the mountain. The cave had an astonishing height, leaving Feng Yuan unsure whether the cave was naturally existing or artificially excavated by the people.

With the power of Spirit Beasts, even though it was an active volcano, carving out such a large cave was not impossible.

"Fire Crystal Cave Heaven, Hot Spring Platform, Floating Cloud Pavilion, these three seem to be the main attractions here."

Veronia floated towards the guide map by the roadside, took a glance, and spoke. The cave itself didn’t have a name, but the attractions inside were already named, each with introductions and corresponding photos. From the photos, the Fire Crystal Cave Heaven seemed to be a cave full of fiery red crystals, while the Floating Cloud Pavilion was a semi-concealed pavilion amidst the clouds and mist.

"All man-made attractions it seems. The gems of the Fire Crystal Cave Heaven must be those gemstone crystals of the Gem Flowers, right? Pretty cost-effective."

Just by looking at the photos, Feng Yuan guessed what these attractions were about. He also assumed that the cave was manually excavated. Those people were indeed daring, unafraid of hitting energy pipes and causing a tidal burst or even encountering magma during excavation.

"Let’s head to Fire Crystal Cave Heaven first, then the Hot Spring Platform. After all, the area isn’t particularly large."

Raising his head to glance at the not far away cave ceiling, with a height close to fifty meters, being inside didn’t feel oppressive. From the guide map, Feng Yuan estimated the depth wasn’t much, considering it’s an active volcano, deeper could potentially reveal magma.

Wagging its tail, the Fluffy Fire Wolfhound proudly showcased its diving gear to Xiao Ji, who turned its head away, discontentedly grunting, not seeing the need for such things!

The Fire Crystal Cave Heaven was not far from the entrance; a small additional cave was excavated in Chishan Village. While it didn’t require bending over to pass through, the ceiling was still close to one’s head.

The entire cave was a long narrow corridor, decorated on both sides with various red crystal structures made from Fire Attribute gemstone crystals. Although the creator tried hard to mimic the natural form of crystal, the aura of craftsmanship could never be erased.

In the midst of the crystal cluster, white mist appeared and vanished occasionally, and hidden colorful lights within the cluster lent the cave more than just red. Walking slowly by the crystal clusters, Feng Yuan faintly felt the rapid change of energy around him.

"Interesting, these crystal clusters seem capable of gathering different attribute energies."

Veronia curiously glanced at the crystal cluster aside. Even though those crystals seemed to have no major differences in appearance, she could sense the rapid environmental energy changes as they passed by.

"Energy adaptability training? I thought it was merely for viewing; I was about to say the scene wasn’t all that impressive."

With a chuckle, Feng Yuan realized the significance of Fire Crystal Cave Heaven. It was clearly not primarily designed for sightseeing. Although it appeared as a rather distinct view, its primary function was the drastic short-range variation of energy attributes.

Or rather, when they built this Fire Crystal Cave Heaven, they intentionally designed it as a small area for different energy aggregation.

Just like where Feng Yuan was now standing, where Fire Attribute Energy was more concentrated, while farther ahead, where the curious Fluffy Fire Wolfhound observed its surroundings, was a zone rich in Water Attribute Energy.

This area of drastic energy attribute variation served as a training environment, mainly designed for specific training to increase the upper limit of a Spirit Beast’s energy tolerance.

Of course, as the changes were not particularly abrupt, its training effects were quite limited, and this type of special training primarily barely improved a minor defensive upper limit.

It would be more accurate to say that this improvement wasn’t highly meaningful or cost-effective for Feng Yuan’s Beast Tamer, as there were still other more easily improvable abilities yet to be developed.

However, for those Beastmasters whose power had stagnated at a particular stage, this was a good choice as they had few other ways left to improve their strength.

This was also the target audience of this resort area: Beastmasters who had entered a stagnant phase in their strength. Don’t underestimate these individuals. While their numbers aren’t particularly large, they still outnumber regular people fluctuating at the Good Level in strength.

However, their spending power is not inferior, even far superior, to ordinary individuals. Furthermore, their numbers aren’t that small, in relation to ordinary people. Purely looking at their numbers, Beastmasters can’t be considered truly few.

So, this resort area’s targeted customers aren’t misplaced. However, regular resort areas find it difficult to make money from these Beastmasters.

After all, Beastmasters have at least the capability of entering and exiting the wilderness. Mere cultural and scenic beauty is unlikely to hold them for long periods.

Chishan Village, however, relies on the active volcano to create several training facilities suitable for those Beastmasters to use. These facilities might provide a legitimate reason for their staying, although it might be ineffective as well.

"We’re almost at the end now; it really is short. Even for special training, you can’t just run back and forth here, can you?"

With amusement, Feng Yuan remarked upon seeing the rocky end of the cave, turning to find a cloaked figure standing on the path he had come.

"Hmm? Old Wei? It’s rare to see you here, anything you need?"

Even though both were wearing black robes, Feng Yuan couldn’t mistake him. Besides, War Qi Chen couldn’t stealthily approach him without alerting him, even if Feng Yuan wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings.

"I need you to confirm something, unrelated to war, but concerning the Distorted World."

Looking at Feng Yuan, Old Wei attempted to muster a friendly smile, but perhaps due to heavy thoughts, the smile appeared awkward.

"Distorted World? Qi Realm? You went there? Isn’t that place dangerous for you?"

Feng Yuan furrowed his brows, not expecting Old Wei to have visited the Qi Realm. Although mental pollution in those places is easier to resist for stronger individuals, from what Feng Yuan knew about Old Wei, the Qi Realm was particularly treacherous for him.

This was because that place was associated with the mental state and the Qi Realm had a penchant for targeting the mental vulnerabilities of intruders. Old Wei... seemed to have that issue, at least in Feng Yuan’s eyes.