A scorching wave of heat spread throughout the entire earthen sphere. The fireball quickly dove toward the center, but at that moment, the Heaven-Nether Pearl suddenly burst out. The fireball hesitated, then quickly turned around.

  But it was too late. The Heaven-Nether Pearl ignored all obstacles within the sphere and struck the fireball with lightning speed. A cry echoed from within the fireball, and it struggled momentarily before being swiftly absorbed by the pearl.

  The cloud patterns that had once been engraved on the pearl's surface vanished, replaced by a swirling flame. One after another, flames appeared on the pearl. The fireball grew dimmer until it completely vanished. The Heaven-Nether Pearl now bore the tenth flame. It suddenly burst into radiant light, glowing so intensely that even within the earthen sphere, the brilliance spread clearly.

  With the fireball’s disappearance, the fire ring outside the sphere, once connected to it by red threads, suddenly dimmed. The red threads snapped one by one.

  Yun Che stood frozen, gazing at everything before him. Not only was he stunned, but all the Fire Beasts in the cavern were also caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events.

  The Heaven-Nether Pearl quickly returned to Yun Che’s brow. He didn’t have time to inspect it further. With a shake of his body, he used the Gravity Technique to propel the earthen sphere upward, tunneling through one of the magma channels.

  Everything unfolded in an instant. Only when Yun Che’s sphere shot out did the Fire Beasts react. The sixteen giant Fire Beasts roared and launched themselves into the air, tearing apart the magma tunnel above and giving chase.

  Behind them, thousands of Fire Beasts shrieked in anger and followed relentlessly.

  Enclosed in the earthen sphere, Yun Che traveled against the flow of the magma. The magma naturally flowed downward toward the deepest molten pool, but Yun Che was now ascending against that current, so his speed couldn’t be very fast.

  However, the Fire Beasts weren’t as slow. Having been born within the molten lava, they were naturally attuned to fire and could move swiftly in the magma.

  Though Yun Che didn’t fully understand what the fireball was, he could tell that its presence had dramatically raised the Heaven-Nether Pearl's fire attribute from nothing to great perfection. This alone spoke volumes. From the respect the Fire Beasts had shown it earlier, and now their furious roars, Yun Che could deduce that the fireball was of utmost importance to them. It was very likely their king.

  His guess was correct. The Fire Beast was a kind of spiritual beast that originated from the magma. It had a certain degree of intelligence from birth and had been cultivating in the underground magma of the Fiery Nation for countless years. It consumed magma daily, becoming more powerful as it grew.

  Over the course of its existence, it had undergone five metamorphoses. With nine metamorphoses, it could transition from a spiritual beast to an ancient beast. However, each metamorphosis required a 500-year period of weakness, during which it could not use any spiritual energy.

  To protect itself, the Fire Beast would emit all its spiritual energy during its weak period, spawning numerous offspring to protect it.

  As the metamorphoses progressed, it gradually learned how to shorten its weakness period by devouring cultivators. It didn’t need to devour many, just a few people now and then. So, any cultivator who wandered too deep into the volcanic caverns would be captured and delivered to the Fire Beast to be consumed.

  To prevent these cultivators from harming it during the process, the Fire Beast had developed a method of trapping them in the soil and immobilizing them with its molten solution, making it easy to feast.

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  However, the Fire Beast had never expected that it would be consumed itself. As it perished, its progeny were enraged.

  In their eyes, the Fire Beast was not only their king but also their father.

  When their father was killed before them, how could they not be enraged? They roared and furiously chased after Yun Che.

  As they drew closer, one of the giant Fire Beasts in the front let out a howl and spewed a stream of white flame.

  In the purple-red magma, this white flame stood out starkly and instantly struck Yun Che’s sphere. The sphere contracted immediately.

  Yun Che, within the sphere, felt blood pouring from his seven orifices. Even his Extreme Divine Sense could only slightly hinder the attack. He gritted his teeth and used all his spiritual energy to push forward.

  The Fire Beasts behind him relentlessly tore through the magma tunnel, giving no regard to anything else.

  The beasts drew nearer. Finally, the eight largest Fire Beasts shot out a combined stream of white flames. As the flames struck the earthen sphere, Yun Che’s body trembled. He burst from the sphere, enveloped by his divine sense, enduring unbearable heat, and plunged into the air.

  Just as he reached the magma surface, Yun Che launched himself forward. The iron shard artifact shot out from his storage bag, landing beneath him and transforming into a long rainbow, heading toward the exit above.

  From a distance, one could see a figure, covered in black smoke, its clothes burned and tattered, emerging from a volcano.

  Behind him, the sixteen giant Fire Beasts arrived at the volcano’s edge, unwilling to give chase but roaring in frustration.

  Yun Che finally let out a breath of relief. He glanced downward and froze in shock. Beneath the volcano, beneath the huge Fire Beasts, were countless Fire Beasts with triangular eyes. Their focus was singular—their eyes locked on Yun Che in midair.

  Each of these Fire Beasts could resist Yun Che’s Extreme Divine Sense. This was an impossible situation. If that were true, it could only mean one thing: these Fire Beasts had no soul, no divine sense.

  Yun Che’s expression darkened. He looked down at the countless Fire Beasts below and immediately took off in the opposite direction.

  As he flew, his mood grew heavier. Wherever he passed, he could see the same triangular-eyed Fire Beasts lying at the volcano’s mouth, coldly watching him, as if awaiting orders. Once those orders came, they would all surge out.

  Yun Che felt a chill run down his spine. He touched his forehead and made a silent vow: get the map, leave the Fiery Nation, and never return.

  At this moment, his divine sense scanned his surroundings. After a moment, he turned and sped north.

  Although he had stopped looking at the volcanoes beneath him, he could still distinctly feel the cold, unforgiving gaze of the Fire Beasts on him.

  Meanwhile, the four sect masters of the Fiery Nation’s four great sects had emerged from their seclusion. As the pinnacle cultivators of a third-tier cultivation nation, they could sense a violent heat gathering in the skies above the Fiery Nation.

  Such occurrences had happened before, signaling that the numerous volcanoes across the nation were on the verge of erupting. Every time this happened, they would seal off the volcanoes in their respective areas to prevent the eruption.

  For the Fiery Nation, an eruption would be catastrophic. While ordinary people could flee to other countries without much resistance, it was the cultivators who could not.

  A large migration of cultivators would disrupt the flow of spiritual energy, causing chaos and instability in their sects. The consequences would be disastrous.

  However, such an event had never occurred before. Despite the many volcanoes, they had always been sealed in time, and even if they erupted, it was always on a small scale.

  Three hours later, Yun Che stopped on an official road. His already grim expression turned even darker when he saw the aftermath.

  On the road, dozens of bodies were sprawled out, with several overturned carriages and horses lying motionless.

  Most of the corpses were male, each bearing an expression of agony. Many still clutched weapons, suggesting they had been fighting each other before they died.

  At one of the carriages, Yun Che stopped. With a wave of his hand, the entire carriage was violently thrown aside. A body fell out, and from it, a red light shot up, transforming into the form of the Demon Head.

  It glared at Yun Che, its face filled with fear, which quickly turned to viciousness as it snarled, “You’re just in time! I’ve been looking for you! These mortal souls are so bland, but I wonder how you’ll taste.”

  With that, it lunged toward Yun Che.

  Yun Che had anticipated this moment. He had left a trace of spiritual sense on each of the beasts the Demon Head had devoured. If he continued to feed it, one day, he would be able to control it at will. But for now, he could only sense its position within a limited range.

  How strong do you think the Fire Spirit Beast’s father truly is? Could its strength rival a Nascent Soul cultivator?