Chapter 1448 - 747: Something Is Rising from Below
Chapter 1448: Chapter 747: Something Is Rising from Below
The lake surface returned to tranquility, and the shadow of the Divine Phoenix gradually dissipated as if it had never appeared.
Gu Sheng finally looked back, at the ashes scattered everywhere, and sneered.
"Attacking the Magma Lake is profaning the body of the Divine Phoenix, courting death."
Zhang Tianxing’s face was ashen, his lips trembling speechlessly.
The elite of the Divine Blood Sect he was so proud of, had all perished just like that.
"Gu, your strategies are genius!"
The disciples of the Sun and Moon Sect cheered.
Xu Hansong’s eyes showed a flash of jealousy but he quickly concealed it.
He quickly walked to the edge of the lake and probed.
"Gu, this magma seems beneficial to you. I wonder if I could..."
Gu Sheng glanced at him.
"Anyone below the Fifth Layer Heaven, whose bone marrow is not refined, will die upon entry. You’re not even at the Second Layer Heaven; are you seeking death?"
Xu Hansong’s face alternated between blue and white as he awkwardly stepped back.
Gu Sheng stood in the middle of the lake, his legs below the knees completely submerged in magma, his skin carbonizing in the high temperature and rapidly regenerating. Each cycle made his muscle fibers tougher.
"Ah—!"
A heart-wrenching scream suddenly came from the shore.
A martial artist under Xu Hansong was rolling on the ground holding a broken leg; his right foot had vanished with the fracture scorched black, and even the blood had evaporated instantly.
The martial artist’s face was pale, with beads of sweat the size of beans continuously rolling down his forehead, clearly enduring immense pain.
"Useless!"
Xu Hansong snorted coldly, eyes full of disgust, but that disgust was immediately replaced by jealousy when he looked at Gu Sheng in the molten rock lake.
Zhang Tianxing stood by, unconsciously rubbing the longsword at his waist, his eyes gleaming.
"Xu, it seems that guy didn’t lie to us; this molten rock is indeed not something ordinary people can touch."
Xu Hansong’s face was gloomy, not replying immediately.
He stared at Gu Sheng’s looming figure in the magma, his fists clenched unconsciously.
With every inch Gu Sheng went deeper, the aura he emitted grew stronger, and this visible progress ignited jealousy in Xu’s heart.
"Let’s go."
Xu Hansong suddenly turned away.
"Since there’s nothing for us here, let’s check elsewhere."
Zhang Tianxing raised an eyebrow and followed Xu Hansong’s footsteps.
"Xu, are you just giving up like this?"
"Humph, you think I want to?"
Xu Hansong lowered his voice.
"But that woman Tantai Bingtang might come back at any moment. If we act against that guy..."
Zhang Tianxing’s eyes had a sinister look.
"Xu, you’re overthinking it. Opportunities and dangers coexist in the Secret Realm. Who can guarantee that guy will come out alive?"
Xu Hansong paused, turning to look at Zhang Tianxing.
"Zhang, what do you mean?"
The two exchanged a glance, tacitly quickened their pace, and soon disappeared into the mist around the molten rock lake with their respective followers.
In the molten rock lake, Gu Sheng closed his eyes, feeling the changes in his legs.
The burning of the magma was no longer as painful as it initially was, and though the speed of regeneration had slowed, each regeneration made the bones more crystalline, the muscles tighter.
"Not enough yet..."
Gu Sheng murmured to himself, urging the circulation of Qi-Blood in his body.
The blood vessels under his skin glowed with a faint red light, channeling the heat throughout his body.
On the shore, Xie Qingxuan paced anxiously back and forth.
She tried to approach the lake several times but was forced back by the heat waves.
"Gu! The Spirit Flame Immortal Grass is on the stone pillar in the center of the lake, but Xie He and I can’t control the sky..."
Xie Qingxuan shouted, with unwillingness in her voice.
Gu Sheng opened his eyes, glancing at the spirit grass in the center of the lake, which was all crimson and flame-like in shape.
He did not act immediately but instead pointed westward.
"Xie He, go three hundred meters in that direction; there’s something three feet underground."
Xie He was stunned for a moment, then clasped his fists.
"Yes, Gu!"
After Xie He left, Gu Sheng looked at Xie Qingxuan again.
"Junior Sister Xie, cultivate by the shore. Though the life energy escaping from the molten rock lake is thin, it benefits your physique."
Xie Qingxuan was half-believing, yet she sat cross-legged as told. Moments later, she was surprised to find a faint warm current seeping into her skin, unknowingly making her muscle fibers more resilient.
"It really works!"
Xie Qingxuan exclaimed joyfully.
Gu Sheng smiled slightly, refraining from saying more, and continued focusing on his body refining.
He vaguely felt as if something deep within the molten rock lake was calling him, but he dared not venture deeper for now.
Meanwhile, in another part of the Secret Realm, within the stone forest.
"Zhang, what did you mean earlier?"
Xu Hansong stopped, gesturing for his subordinates to spread out on guard.
Zhang Tianxing’s lips curled into a cold smile.
"Xu, do you know there’s an ancient array in this Secret Realm?"
"Array?"
Xu Hansong frowned.
"Indeed."
Zhang Tianxing lowered his voice.
"According to the records of my Divine Blood Sect, this array requires either a Sect Realm master or a dozen Heavenly Martial Realm to activate. Once triggered, the residual soul of the Divine Phoenix in the molten rock lake will go berserk..."
Xu Hansong’s eyes flashed with a sharp light.
"You mean..."
"Using a borrowed sword to kill."
Zhang Tianxing made a throat-cutting gesture.
"Let the residual soul of the Divine Phoenix deal with that guy for us. Even if Tantai Bingtang investigates later, we won’t be blamed."
Xu Hansong pondered for a moment, the killing intent in his eyes growing thicker.
"Where is the array?"
"In the mountainside."
Zhang Tianxing pointed toward a distant mountain shaped like a phoenix spreading its wings.
"There’s an array maintaining the Divine Phoenix’s residual soul’s stability, likely set up by the predecessors or before the fall of the Divine Phoenix."
Xu Hansong still had concerns.
"But Tantai Bingtang..."
"No need to worry, Xu."
Zhang Tianxing was full of confidence.
"My Divine Blood Sect has a magical treasure specifically against arrays, the ’Breaking Forbidden Cone,’ which can discreetly disturb the array’s outer restrictions. Even if someone checks afterward, they would only think it was an accident due to the array’s disrepair over the years."