A Mortal's Start in the Spirit Beast Mountain

Chapter 280 Golden-Crowned Salamander

If this situation were encountered in the outside world, one could simply fly away from high above. However, the no-fly zone here is exceptionally strong. If the Fat Sun Bird were to fly low over the "lake surface" carrying itself, it would easily become a sitting duck for the lurking monsters in the lake. Taking a detour would be time-consuming and the route unknown, equally unpredictable.

"It seems we've reached the very center of the lava lake." Luo Ming smiled bitterly to himself, realizing that his journey had been too smooth and that his good luck was running out.

As he pondered, the Fat Sun Bird suddenly let out a soft, slightly warning cry and looked in a certain direction. Luo Ming's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately concealed his aura while simultaneously sending a concealment command to the Fat Sun Bird.

He moved swiftly, disappearing behind a huge, distorted, dark red rock nearby. He completely concealed the faint light and chill of his snow silk robe, as if he had merged with the rock.

A moment later, a tall, imposing figure in a crimson robe slowly emerged and arrived at the edge of the lava lake. The newcomer had a ruddy complexion, red hair and beard, and a faint flow of fire elemental power around him; he was none other than the renowned Crimson Fire Monster.

The Crimson Fire Old Monster first looked around warily, his gaze lingering for a moment on the calm black lake surface. He muttered to himself, "I seemed to have caught a glimpse of a bird's shadow just now, but it disappeared in the blink of an eye? Could it be a fire spirit nurtured here?" He scanned the area with his divine sense but found nothing unusual.

After a moment's hesitation, the Crimson Flame Old Monster's attention was quickly drawn to the lava lake before him. He walked to the lakeside and tried to step on the black substance on the surface of the lake, only to find that it could not withstand the combat power of a cultivator and shattered instantly.

"Such a vast lava lake is blocking the way... That old monster Feng didn't mention it last time. Was he just lucky to avoid it, or does the terrain change every time the lava road opens?" Old Monster Crimson Fire muttered to himself, his expression turning serious. He too realized that taking a detour was not feasible.

After observing for a moment, he seemed to have made up his mind. A hint of pain flashed across his face, but more so, his determination. He flipped his hand, and a shimmering crimson pearl appeared in his palm.

"Fortunately, I obtained this Fire Pearl before. Although it's not the best match for my main cultivation technique, it's perfect for simulating the fire aura here and confusing my senses. With the Mystic Crystal Pearl, it might be worth a try!" the Crimson Fire Old Monster murmured, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

Without further hesitation, he muttered incantations and formed hand seals. The crimson Fire Pearl shone brightly, emitting a fiery energy that was almost identical to the surrounding environment, "dyeing" the Crimson Fire Monster's figure and aura with a layer of lava-like color.

"Go!" the Crimson Flame Old Monster shouted, his body not leaping into the air, but instead lightly landing on two precious orbs. The orbs supported him, keeping him close to the magma below, and he slowly moved forward!

Although this method greatly increases the consumption of mana, it is the most suitable method under the anti-flight restrictions.

Luo Ming, watching from the shadows, couldn't help but admire inwardly: "What exquisite control! Using the Fire Pearl to simulate the environment here, the Mystic Crystal Pearl to protect himself, and at the same time manipulating the two pearls to support his body, this Crimson Fire Old Monster is indeed quite skilled."

He held his breath, suppressing his aura to the extreme, his gaze fixed on the Crimson Flame Old Monster's figure "walking on beads," while also focusing most of his attention on the calm, black lake surface. He knew that the real test was only just beginning. This lava lake could not possibly be so calm; whether the Crimson Flame Old Monster would succeed, and what lurked within the lake, would be revealed in the next moment.

At first, the opponent was quite successful. The two precious orbs shone steadily, and their aura blended seamlessly with the environment of the lava lake. In the blink of an eye, they had already gone hundreds of feet into the lake. The lake surface remained calm, with only the golden-red magma flowing silently beneath the black lava shell.

"Could it be... that I'm mistaken? There are no powerful demonic beasts in this lake, or perhaps they're just asleep right now?" Luo Ming frowned slightly, doubts growing in his heart. He had considerable confidence in his divine sense; that faint sense of threat was definitely not unfounded. But the Crimson Flame Old Monster's smooth sailing made him waver.

He was quietly calculating the distance, preparing to wait until the Crimson Fire Monster had gone a little further before trying to cross the lake himself, when suddenly something unexpected happened!

Beneath the Crimson Fire Monster's feet, the seemingly normal black "lake" began to ripple violently without warning! It wasn't just one spot, but rather the entire "lake" with a radius of nearly a hundred feet centered on his feet seemed to come alive, its black lava shell instantly softening and churning.

Even more terrifying, hundreds of monster heads lit up all around, greedily locking onto their prey in the center!

"What?!" The Crimson Fire Monster was horrified. The two precious orbs beneath his feet flickered violently, and the aura of the simulated environment instantly became chaotic, making it impossible to maintain the perfect "disguise".

He then realized with a start that he had not only failed to deceive the monsters in the lake, but had clearly already stepped into a meticulously laid ambush! These monsters were far more intelligent than expected, and they knew how to remain patient and wait until he was deep in the heart of the lake and in a dilemma before suddenly launching their attack!

"You beast! How dare you deceive me!" The Crimson Flame Old Monster was both shocked and furious, and he roared, but his reaction was quick. He knew that he absolutely could not get surrounded and dragged into the lava lake at this moment, otherwise he would surely die! He quickly formed hand seals and summoned a small blue sword from his storage bag, which instantly transformed into several sword shadows that swirled and intertwined downwards.

The several blue sword shadows of the Crimson Fire Old Monster plunged into the lake, killing several low-level fire lizards, but like pebbles thrown into boiling oil, they instantly ignited the entire lava lake!

"Hiss hiss hiss—!"

A chilling, dense hissing sounded from all directions, and countless fire lizard-shaped monsters emerged from the magma, like evil spirits crawling out of hellish lava, surrounding the Crimson Fire Monster.

Among them, several exceptionally large fire lizards, with the most dazzling golden crowns on their heads, exuded a powerful demonic aura comparable to that of a human in the early stages of Core Formation, their eyes flashing with cruel and bloodthirsty light.

"What kind of demonic beast is this?" A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the Crimson Fire Old Monster, but it was quickly replaced by arrogance. The Sunflower Water Demon Art he cultivated was a top-tier demonic art among water-attribute techniques, best known for using softness to overcome hardness!

He stopped activating the two precious orbs for defense and simply hovered them beneath his feet. At the same time, his magical power surged, and a cold, heavy, and dense essence of sunflower water emanated from him, quickly condensing into an extremely thick gray-black mist around him.

This mist, though seemingly thin, actually contains the pure power of sunflower water, which has a strong effect of restraining and weakening fire-based magical abilities.

Clearly, at this moment, the Crimson Fire Monster was no longer concerned about the consumption of his magical power and was preparing to use all his supernatural abilities to resist the attack of the monsters in the lake.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"

Countless golden fire lines shot out like a sudden storm! Most of them came from low-level fire lizards, while a few particularly thick and condensed ones came from the level 5 golden-crowned fire lizards.

However, these incredibly powerful golden fire lines, once they entered the area of ​​the Kui Water mist, vanished without a trace! With a hissing sound, the fire lines were rapidly eroded, decomposed, and weakened by the chilling power of the Kui Water contained within the mist. The attacks of the level three and four fire lizards were completely extinguished before they could even penetrate half of the mist.

Even the thick pillars of fire spewed by those level-five fire lizards lost one-tenth of their power after penetrating through layers of water mist, becoming dim and powerless. In the end, they crashed into the protective aura surrounding the Crimson Fire Old Monster, only causing ripples before dissipating and disappearing, unable to shake him in the slightest.

"Hahaha! Nothing special!" Seeing this, the Crimson Fire Old Monster felt greatly relieved and burst into wild laughter. Although these nameless fire-attribute lizard demonic beasts seemed numerous, their power appeared to be limited under the innate restraint of his Sunflower Water Demon Art.

He didn't linger. Surrounded by a misty aquatic mist, he stepped on two precious orbs and continued "walking" unhurriedly towards the opposite shore of the lava lake, his demeanor relaxed, as if strolling in a leisurely garden. Along the way, fire lizards fearlessly pounced on him, but after being slowed and weakened by the mist, they were killed by a casual blue sword light from his hand.

In the distance, Luo Ming, hidden behind the rocks, took in the entire scene. He raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, "This Crimson Fire Old Monster's Kui Water Demon Art is indeed profound. Combined with his two ancient treasures, it has such a miraculous effect here. It seems that the threat of this lava lake is not so strong after all."

Just then, Tianjing Sanren's slightly puzzled voice rang out:

"Could these monsters be... Golden-crowned Fire Lizards? There are still these creatures alive here, and... on such a scale!"

"Golden-crowned Fire Lizard? Senior, do you know this beast?" Luo Ming immediately asked in his mind. He came from the Spirit Beast Mountain and prided himself on his extensive knowledge of demonic beasts, but he had never heard of this name before.

"This beast has long been extinct in the outside world. Due to its harsh living environment and the considerable value of the crimson-gold fleshy crown on its head, it was hunted and killed by cultivators." Tianjing Sanren's tone was tinged with reminiscence.

"What do you mean?" Luo Ming asked, puzzled, but his gaze involuntarily fell on the striking golden crests on the heads of the fire lizards.

"That golden fleshy crown is neither gold nor flesh, but the prototype of a unique metallic natural treasure—'Crimson Sun Gold Essence'! This beast has been tempering this crown with its natal demonic fire for many years, imbuing it with a trace of extremely yang and sharp golden energy, which is remarkably effective in breaking through evil spirits, demons, and even many protective supernatural powers and magical treasure restrictions!"

Tianjing Sanren quickly explained, his voice tinged with rare excitement, "Boy, you're lucky! This is one of the core materials I planned to use to forge the Eight Golden Light Mirrors! It's a pity that I couldn't find this kind of demonic beast even after searching the entire Chaotic Star Sea. If you can obtain this item of sufficient age and quality and integrate it into your replica mirror, its power will increase by at least several times! If it is then nurtured for over a hundred years using magical energy, it's not impossible for it to reach or even surpass the power of the original magic weapon I forged back then!"

"Is what you said true, senior?" Luo Ming's heart trembled, and a surge of joy instantly welled up inside him! He had already witnessed the power of the Eight Gates Golden Light Mirror; even a mere replica was already quite formidable. If it could be enhanced by several times, perhaps even rivaling the original... what an incredible boost that would be! Facing Nascent Soul cultivators, he might have a much stronger advantage!