Chapter 113: The Purple Flame Pearl

Without needing Du Long to warn them again, the great lion Xiao Lie swiftly accelerated, fleeing in the direction away from the volcanic eruption. As a demon beast, he naturally possessed a keen sensitivity to certain signs in nature.

With a deafening roar, the immense active volcano finally erupted in a cataclysmic explosion. A pillar of fiery red lava soared into the sky, shooting tens of thousands of meters high. Wherever it passed, countless volcanic ash clouds billowed out like a massive mushroom cloud.

Amidst the thick smoke and dust, violent energy tremors sparked countless lightning bolts in succession. Torrents of lava, cast high into the air, scattered and rained down like terrifying meteoric showers of molten rock—a truly dreadful apocalyptic spectacle.

The three young men riding on the great lion, who had never witnessed an ordinary volcano, were dumbfounded. Their eyes widened in disbelief, the scene before them etched into their memories for life.

However, they had only mere seconds to behold this volcanic fury. The meteor shower of lava and flame finally began to fall. Each molten meteor, several meters in diameter, streaked across the sky with blazing tails, crashing violently to the ground in explosive blasts.

Centered around the massive volcano, the range of this meteor shower spanned a horrifying hundred-mile radius. In other words, the great lion was trapped within this deadly storm of fiery rain and molten meteors for the time being.

Fortunately, the farther from the center, the sparser the lava meteors became, making evasion easier.

Darting repeatedly to avoid the colossal lava meteors, the great lion focused his spirit intensely. Though he never dared to look back, he was able to evade the lethal bombardments time and again under the vigilant warnings of the spirit guardian beauty.

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally escaped the fiery meteor zone, arriving over a hundred miles from the great volcano. Gazing upon the darkened, apocalyptic scene in the distance, the three men and the spirit beast finally breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

“Whew!” The Fire Phoenix Princess exhaled deeply, still trembling with lingering fear. “Good heavens! That scene was absolutely terrifying!”

Seeing the princess, her feathers and face covered in soot, Du Long chuckled and teased, “Our little phoenix has turned into a dust-covered chicken! Ha ha ha!”

The tense atmosphere immediately lightened with Du Long’s joke. The Fire Phoenix retorted with a smile, “Tch! You’re no different—a dust dragon and a muddy lotus flower! Ha ha!”

The three looked at each other, laughter bubbling up at their disheveled appearances. Even the usually reserved Xia Qinglian couldn’t help but laugh, no longer caring about her sooty face.

“Hmph! How dare you laugh at me!” the Fire Phoenix pouted teasingly. “It’s all your fault for bringing us to such a terrifying place. Otherwise, how could this disaster have happened? You owe me! Take me and Sister Qinglian somewhere to clean up immediately!”

“Master! Xiao Lie knows of a well-hidden hot spring nearby. The water is very clean—it’s a perfect place to bathe!” the great lion quickly replied.

“All right! Given the commotion, those Flame Tigers are probably frightened too. This is not the time to try to tame them. Let’s rest there tonight and deal with them tomorrow,” Du Long decided after some thought.

Following Xiao Lie’s lead, they swiftly distanced themselves from the largest active volcano, arriving at the foot of a dormant volcano two hundred miles away. Though still within the volcanic region, signs of forest and vegetation began to appear.

In a concealed valley at the mountain’s base grew rare flowers and herbs unique to volcanic clusters. The environment was truly pleasant, if not for the faint sting of sulfur still lingering in the air.

“Wow! What a beautiful place! It’s like a fairyland!” the Fire Phoenix Princess exclaimed, captivated by the scenery.

Within the valley, terraces of hot spring pools cascaded from high to low. The pools overflowed into those below like natural terraces, their waters crystal blue, with rocks at the bottom as white as jade—an almost unbelievable beauty.

Surely, the legendary Jade Pool Paradise couldn’t be any more enchanting.

“Ling’er, scan around for any dangerous creatures,” Du Long instructed the spirit guardian beauty cautiously. With two cherished companions in this perilous demon beast forest, he was vigilant wherever they rested.

“Rest assured, I’ve got this covered!” the spirit guardian responded briskly. After a thorough scan, she continued, “All clear! No threats nearby. You can have them bathe now.”

Without waiting for Du Long’s command, Xiao Lie gracefully flew to a vacant spot by a hot spring pool. The Fire Phoenix Princess, unable to contain herself, jumped down first and ran to test the water’s temperature with her hand.

“Ha ha! Our little phoenix turned into a dust chicken, but luckily didn’t rush or she might have gotten scalded and lost her feathers!” Du Long teased, watching her.

“Annoying!” the Fire Phoenix rolled her eyes, then shouted, “Sister Qinglian! Hurry down! The water temperature is just right. You two males—my annoying husband and Xiao Lie—please stay away!”

Rubbing his nose, Du Long replied a bit ruefully, “No matter what, I’m still your husband! Do I really have to stay away...?”

“Shameless! We’re not married yet, so you’re only the fiancé! You big lustful dragon, go find a pool where we can’t see you for washing up!” the Fire Phoenix scolded coquettishly.

Blushing deeply, Xia Qinglian had already jumped off the great lion and was heading towards the spring.

“Fine then, you two wash here! Xiao Lie, let’s find a bigger pool for ourselves,” Du Long said, never intending to stay for a bath with the two ladies—just joking around.

“Hmph! You’re sensible,” the Fire Phoenix snorted playfully.

As Du Long and Xiao Lie flew off to find another spot, the spirit guardian’s voice suddenly echoed in his mind: “Hmm!”

“Ling’er, what is it?” Du Long asked curiously.

“I found something interesting!” she replied promptly.

“What kind of interesting place?” he inquired.

“Xiao Lie! Go to the pool with the small hot spring waterfall!” she commanded without answering.

Without hesitation, Xiao Lie teleported to the hot spring pool beneath the little waterfall, separated from the ladies by several terraced pools so they couldn’t see each other.

“Du Long, behind that waterfall is a small cave. You can enter it. There’s something useful for you inside!” the spirit guardian smiled.

“Xiao Lie, watch over Fire Phoenix and Qinglian while I investigate!” Du Long entrusted, trusting the spirit guardian completely.

“Yes, Master! I will take good care of the two ladies!” Xiao Lie responded decisively.

Nodding, Du Long vanished and dashed into the waterfall, spotting a cave entrance and plunging inside.

This cave was unlike any ordinary one—waves of heat washed over him, and faint glimmers of light shone from the cave walls. Guided by this dim light, Du Long hurried deeper.

“Ling’er, is there anything dangerous inside? What exactly is this ‘useful thing’?” Du Long asked anxiously while moving forward.

In this demon beast forest, even a single random demon beast was a foe beyond his ability. Without the great lion’s spirit-level strength, he wouldn’t dare venture so deep.

“Don’t worry! I don’t want you dead so soon! I’ve already scouted ahead. There’s no danger inside!” the spirit guardian replied impatiently.

“Oh!” Du Long relaxed and pressed on. The cave led forward, seemingly into the dormant volcano’s interior.

After about half an hour, the narrow passage opened into a vast cavern, hotter than before.

Before him lay a molten lava lake several miles wide, lava waves constantly churning and bubbling. Du Long stood on a circular patch of volcanic rock at the lake’s edge, level with the lava surface.

Scanning the bubbling lake for anything special, Du Long found nothing and asked, “Ling’er! Besides this lava lake, what useful thing is here for me?!”

“Wait a moment! It’s about to appear! Get the Fire Cloud Cauldron ready—you’ll need it soon!”

“Oh!” Du Long obeyed, producing the Fire Cloud Cauldron, a palm-sized cauldron appearing in his right hand.

Waiting quietly, the spirit guardian suddenly exclaimed, “It’s coming up! Prepare to capture it!”

Du Long shuddered with excitement, eyes scanning the lava lake, ready to seize the mysterious object she mentioned. Soon, a ball of purple flames appeared, looking like a burning orb engulfed in violet fire.

“Quick! Capture that Purple Flame Orb!” the spirit guardian shouted urgently.

Without asking what the orb was, Du Long dashed toward the purple flame several dozen meters away, activating his swift Wind Walk technique. With the spirit guardian’s removal of his body’s gravity, he moved lightly across the lava waves, bouncing occasionally for momentum, and soon arrived before the purple flame.

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Here is the first chapter for today...