Chapter 293: Chapter 293: Condensing the Fire Spirit

RUMBLE! GURGLE GURGLE!

The Fire Elemental Plane seemed to be in a perpetual state of combustion.

Flames were the eternal theme here.

Magma spilled from the volcano’s crater, flowing down the mountainside.

The scorching, dangerous magma carried treasures from the volcano’s depths.

Outsiders coveted these treasures, as did the native inhabitants of the Fire Elemental Plane.

Li Wei looked up and saw four people heading straight toward the surging torrent of magma.

Magic Beasts were constantly approaching from all directions.

Magic Beasts unafraid of magma dove directly into it, searching for treasure.

Those that couldn’t venture deep into the magma waited on the banks of the Magma River for treasures to be washed ashore.

Li Wei focused his gaze and saw living creatures within the magma.

They were a type of wondrous creature that lived in volcanic magma—Fire Fish.

The meat of the Fire Fish was delicious, and because it contained a large amount of active Fire Element, Magic Beasts could easily absorb it.

This would accelerate the improvement of a Magic Beast’s power.

Although Fire Fish were incredibly precious and almost never seen in the Main World...

...they were not the true treasures within the magma.

The real treasures came from the depths of the volcano.

Some Fire Fish had the chance to devour these deep-volcano treasures, undergoing a transformation and becoming powerful.

BANG!

A Flying Magical Beast dove into the magma and seized an enormous Fire Fish.

The Fire Fish struggled violently, shaking off the Flying Magical Beast’s claws.

The Flying Magical Beast tried to take off and dive again.

The Giant Fire Fish leaped up abruptly and viciously slapped the Flying Magical Beast with its tail, sending it flying several dozen meters away.

A Mage not far away saw this, and his eyes lit up.

He understood that this Giant Fire Fish must have consumed Earth Flowing Lava.

Earth Flowing Lava was a rare treasure born deep within volcanoes, and an exceptionally rare find.

Earth Flowing Lava could rapidly increase the Power of a Fire Element Magical Beast.

It was also highly beneficial to Fire Element Mages.

When refined into an Earth Flowing Potion Secret Medicine, it could help a Fire Element Mage rapidly increase their Mana.

The Mage who spotted the Giant Fire Fish quickly made his move, wanting to capture it as it tried to slip away.

"Flame Hand!"

A Fire Element Magic spell evolved from Mage’s Hand.

It was a spell exclusive to Mages.

The massive Flame Hand seized the Giant Fire Fish.

The scorching heat of the Flame Hand couldn’t effectively harm the Giant Fire Fish.

The Giant Fire Fish itself possessed extremely high Fire Resistance, and after absorbing the Earth Flowing Lava, its Fire Resistance was absurdly high.

Ordinary Fire Element Magic could no longer harm it in the slightest.

The Flame Hand could only just manage to pull it out of the magma.

The Giant Fire Fish thrashed its body, trying to struggle free from the Flame Hand’s grip.

"Hmph! A mere Magic Beast, and you still won’t surrender?!"

Under the suppression of the Tier Five Mage’s Power, the Giant Fire Fish’s struggles were futile.

It was still gripped tightly by the Flame Hand and dragged ashore.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Seeing the Giant Fire Fish on the bank, the surrounding Magic Beasts rushed over, wanting to get a piece of the prize.

"Get lost!"

The Tier Five Mage raised his hand and unleashed a Blazing Flame Shock, sending all the approaching Magic Beasts flying.

Seeing how powerful he was, the Magic Beasts didn’t dare to approach again.

The Tier Five Mage drove off the Magic Beasts and slammed the Giant Fire Fish onto the ground.

"Obsidian Piercing!"

He cast a Tier Three Earth Magic spell.

Several razor-sharp black obsidian pillars pierced the Giant Fire Fish.

Blood flowed down the obsidian pillars, and upon exposure to the air, it quickly burst into flames.

The Tier Five Mage watched as the Giant Fire Fish gradually lost its vitality. Only after it was completely dead did he approach and dig out the Crystal Core that had formed inside its body from the condensed Earth Flowing Lava.

The undigested Earth Flowing Lava had fused with the Giant Fire Fish’s flesh and blood, forming a Crystal Core that could preserve the lava for a long time.

This was originally an ability the Giant Fire Fish had evolved to digest the Earth Flowing Lava.

Yet it had become one of the reasons it was hunted.

It was a boon for the humans and Magic Beasts who hunted it.

Li Wei glanced at the four people hunting the Giant Fire Fish.

He turned and quickly distanced himself from this place of conflict.

Although the Earth Flowing Lava was precious, it wasn’t his purpose for coming to the Fire Elemental Plane.

’If I could get some along the way, that would be great, of course. But fighting others for it is out of the question.’

Li Wei had only one purpose for coming to the Fire Elemental Plane: to awaken new Extraordinary Traits or to advance his Fire Elemental Body.

He moved away from the battlefield, searching for a suitable place to perform the Spirit Gathering Ceremony.

Li Wei held a Fire Crystal Stone, using a small trick from the Spirit Gathering Ceremony to judge the strength of the surrounding Fire Spirits via the stone.

The stronger the Fire Spirits, the higher the temperature of the Fire Crystal Stone.

Under normal circumstances, a Fire Crystal Stone was cool to the touch.

Despite its name, a Fire Crystal Stone was just a type of stone that contained a relatively large amount of Fire Element.

At its core, it was still a stone.

After arriving in the Fire Elemental Plane, it was influenced by the Fire Spirits.

The activity of the Fire Element within the Fire Crystal Stone increased dramatically.

Holding it in his hand, he could already feel warmth; it was no longer cool.

Li Wei discovered that the closer he got to a volcano’s crater, the hotter the Fire Crystal Stone became.

After searching for a long time, he found a Hot Spring Lake. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The fact that a lake actually existed in the Fire Elemental Plane surprised Li Wei.

As he approached the Hot Spring Lake, Li Wei found the Fire Crystal Stone in his hand had become scorchingly hot.

It was even hotter than when he was on the volcano.

Li Wei’s eyes lit up.

’This is a good spot.’

Li Wei stood by the lake, staring at the constantly bubbling, boiling water.

He suspected the water’s temperature was over one hundred degrees Celsius.

After scanning his surroundings and confirming it was safe, Li Wei summoned his Shadow Attendant.

The Shadow Attendant had already advanced to Tier Four.

At Tier Four, it had obtained a new ability—Shadow Clone.

It could currently release three Shadow Clones, each possessing fifty percent of the Shadow Attendant’s own strength.

The Shadow Clones could use all the Skills the Shadow Attendant possessed.

This included the Shadow Attendant’s most fundamental ability as a Nightmare—Possession Control.

Li Wei had the Shadow Attendant control its Shadow Clones to possess and control some Fire Element Magical Beasts.

He acquired three Tier Three Fire Element Magical Beast bodyguards.

With the Fire Element Magical Beasts spread out around him and the Shadow Attendant protecting him up close, Li Wei finally felt at ease enough to set up the Spirit Gathering Ceremony.

He took out all the materials he had prepared in advance.

Li Wei felt that the Spirit Gathering Ceremony was similar to the Fire Spirit Ceremony.

The only difference was that the subject of the Fire Spirit Ceremony was Li Wei himself.

The subject of the Spirit Gathering Ceremony was an ultra-high purity Fire Element Magic Crystal used to receive the Fire Spirits.

This kind of Magic Crystal did not exist in nature.

Only an Alchemy Master could refine and create one.

A single one was worth five hundred gold coins.

Li Wei had only prepared five of them.

After the ceremony began, Li Wei saw faint red lights appear in the air, flying into the Magic Crystal like fireflies.

The Magic Crystal gradually began to glow, emitting an attractive force.

Fire Spirits were extremely attractive to any Fire Element Magical Beast or Fire Element Mage.

The three Fire Element Magical Beasts under the Shadow Attendant’s control felt the commotion and couldn’t help but turn their heads to look.

This was a Magic Beast’s instinct, something even the Shadow Attendant couldn’t control.

Li Wei had a premonition of danger.

GURGLE! GURGLE!

A sound came from within the Hot Spring Lake.

SPLASH!

A huge splash erupted on the lake’s surface as something within it rapidly approached Li Wei.

A monster from within the Hot Spring Lake, attracted by the Fire Spirits, was drawing near.