The crater was even deeper than she had imagined. After leaping down, Shi Yu fell for quite some time before she finally caught a glimpse of light from the bottom.
Twisting her body with 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 to slow her momentum, she stabilized herself midair and slowly drifted down.
Though 《Lesser Swallow Steps》 couldn't grant true flight, it mimicked the posture of a swift, rendering her body weightless like a glider, until she safely set foot on the soft, blistering ground.
Before her lay a bizarre and wondrous sight.
At the bottom of the cavern, scorching crimson magma pooled into a river. The liquid boiled violently under the intense heat, spewing sparks and bubbles with dull, thudding pops.
The heat from the magma turned the cavern air stiflingly hot, while its glow illuminated the entire subterranean space, as if transporting her to another realm entirely.
Shi Yu gazed at the spellbinding crimson river, drawn to it as if by a black hole. Unconsciously taking two steps forward, she stopped right at its edge.
A strange sense of calling grew stronger within her, filling her with a restless urge to dive headfirst into the magma and search it.
“What on earth is down there?” Unable to tell whether this sensation boded good or ill, she grew wary.
As the magma river churned, it seemed to pulse with a distinct rhythm, almost like it was breathing. At the same time, deep within her bloodline—which had been dormant for so long—that faint speck of crimson flickered on and off, its rhythm matching the magma's ebb and flow.
“Could it be related to my bloodline?”
Shi Yu pondered for a moment, recalling her past.
Back in the Xian Yuan game, her character panel had possessed the “Ancient Clan Descendant” trait. She had asked numerous NPCs for information about it, but they only ever mentioned the phrase "bloodline awakening."
Yet up until her transmigrating here, she had never found a way to awaken her bloodline, managing only to borrow a fraction of its bloodline power to strengthen her natal fire.
And yet, even that sliver of bloodline power had boosted her natal fire's potency significantly, proving immensely beneficial for alchemy and artifact refining.
It wasn't hard to imagine what level her natal fire would reach if her bloodline were fully awakened.
“My bloodline has been quiet all this time, yet since I approached this volcano, it has reacted several times.”
“First, it neutralized the pressure from the Moon-Embracing Kite-Falcon and the Scarlet Flame Void-Cleaving Python, and then it dispersed the waves of heat from the volcano's magma...”
She muttered under her breath. Just as she hesitated over what to do, a sudden tremor came from the Fate-Tapping Bell inside her Purple Mansion.
Before Shi Yu could react, a stone of soft, luminous beauty flew out from it and plummeted straight into the magma.
“!” Shi Yu was too late to grab it. She could only watch helplessly as the Azure Flame Cloud Sand struck the magma and cracked in two like an eggshell, a flash of something darting out from within.
A massive bubble suddenly gurgled up from the magma before her. The bubble burst, showering scorching liquid like molten iron straight toward her.
Shi Yu hurriedly scrambled back to dodge, but a few drops still landed on her body. Her outer robe, made of ordinary fabric, instantly turned to ashes, revealing the Fire Feather Brocade Robe worn beneath.
Her eyes narrowed. She caught a vague glimpse of something surfacing above the river, only to vanish in a flash. The sudden commotion just now had been caused by that unknown creature thrashing about.
And that unknown creature had emerged right out of the Azure Flame Cloud Sand.
With the Hidden Hatred Flute in hand and a stack of spirit talismans at the ready, Shi Yu kept a vigilant watch on the magma's surface.
Moments later, the entity reemerged as expected, burbling up several huge magma bubbles. Shi Yu quickly backed away to avoid them.
Although she possessed a Fire-attribute Spiritual Meridian and was currently protected by faint traces of bloodline power—making it seem as if the magma couldn't hurt her—that bloodline power was fickle, and Shi Yu didn't dare rely entirely on it.
The creature from the Azure Flame Cloud Sand vanished almost as soon as it appeared. Not daring to act rashly, Shi Yu locked her gaze on its movements.
However, after the creature repeated this cycle several times, an odd thought crept into her mind: Could it be... playing with me?
Small wonder she thought so. The thing surfaced every now and then to startle her, yet never actually harmed her. If anything, it gave off the strange illusion of a young child playing hide-and-seek.
Flicking her wrist, she tossed a few Earth Shield Talismans into the magma. Instantly, several earthen shields materialized within the molten rock. Under the intense heat, however, they couldn't last more than a few breaths, vaporizing almost as soon as they appeared.
Yet the unknown creature seemed to have found a toy, excitedly weaving back and forth as it chased the Earth Shields.
Certain now that the creature bore her no ill will, Shi Yu took a few steps forward and threw out another handful of talismans, playing with it for a while.
After a while, she asked tentatively, “Do you know what's underneath the magma?”
The creature appeared to have no fixed form, constantly shifting its shape within the magma. Upon hearing her words, it partially arched out of the river's surface, turning toward Shi Yu.
Though it clearly lacked eyes, Shi Yu felt as if she were locking eyes with it.
Suddenly, it formed a long rope out of magma and whipped it toward her waist.
Startled, Shi Yu hesitated for a second, but did not resist.
The moment the magma rope wrapped around her waist, a powerful tug dragged her headlong into the boiling molten rock.
The expected burning pain never arrived. Floating on the surface of the scorching magma, Shi Yu stared in amazement at the viscous fluid slowly flowing around her. Were it not for the heavy density of the molten rock, being in it felt almost like soaking in a hot spring.
She quickly adapted to the sensation. Scooping up a handful of fiery-red magma, she watched it slowly slip between her fingers, her eyes sparkling with wonder and subtle fascination.
Immersed in the surging magma, where the fire spiritual energy was extraordinarily dense and active, she instinctively adjusted her breath and circulated her cultivation technique, greedily absorbing the endless stream of fire spiritual energy surrounding her.
However, the unknown creature gave her no time to cultivate. Keeping its hold on her waist, it dragged her relentlessly deeper downward.
Soon, the magma submerged her head. Enveloped entirely by the thick, viscous magma, Shi Yu's five senses were smothered, leaving her with only her divine sense to perceive her surroundings.
Through her divine sense, all she could see was an endless, magnificent expanse of radiant red.
The magma layer was extraordinarily deep. She lost track of how long she had been descending; in this monochrome, uniform environment, her perception of time became blurred. She only knew she was going deeper and deeper, until a numb sensation crept into her limbs.
The ambient temperature rose steadily as the depth increased.
Gradually, even with her bloodline power protecting her, Shi Yu found the blistering heat increasingly unbearable.
Heat radiated from the magma, saturating every inch of her skin and bones as though countless tiny serpents were squirming across her body. The surrounding magma grew ever heavier and thicker, crushing her so tightly that her internal organs felt squished together.
Even her bloodline power could no longer fully withstand such severe agony. Every pore felt as if it were spouting scalding magma, causing her body to tremble uncontrollably.
Shi Yu fought with all her might to resist the searing heat, but the temperature soared relentlessly, burning like kindling as it ravaged her body and mind.
I'm reaching my absolute limit. Suffocating and in excruciating pain, the relentless heat tormented her, leaving her increasingly weak and lightheaded.
Yet the force wrapped around her waist continued to pull her down without pause.
“Stop!” Shi Yu tried to fight against the downward drag, but it was all in vain.
The agony was suffocating, making time itself seem to slow to a crawl. She couldn't help but fear for her life.
Just as she hovered on the verge of losing consciousness and dying, however, the crushing heat and pressure vanished all at once, and her fading senses slowly returned.
She felt like a suffocating fish tossed back into water. It was as if the intense pressure and scorching heat from moments ago had been nothing more than an illusion.
Shi Yu slowly opened her eyes to reveal a crystal-clear, cavernous expanse.
Resting at the center of this serene space, a beating fire seed caught her vision—a sight impossible to turn away from.
Rate on N.U.
