Chapter 1051: Chapter 1050: Magma Waterfall

After waiting for what seemed like the time it takes to make a cup of tea, Ling Chen abandoned the thought that the person would appear on their own. By that time, the person had probably already left the area.

As for why this person saved him, Ling Chen could not decipher.

However, from the flying swords earlier, Ling Chen seemed to sense a faintly familiar aura. This aura, he felt as if he had encountered it somewhere before, somewhat reminiscent.

Could it be an expert sent by Empress Yunyao to protect him without wanting him to know?

Ling Chen shook his head, dismissing the thought, and then rode his flying sword, continuing deeper into the cave mansion.

After Ling Chen left, the entire ruin fell into a deep silence.

A moment later, a blurred figure emerged from the ruin and appeared mid-air.

It was a swordsman in cyan robes.

"As the rumors say, has he grown to such an extent already?"

The swordsman in cyan robes mumbled to himself as he looked in the direction Ling Chen departed.

Though he had been closely following information about Ling Chen, he only got bits from rumors. Now that he had actually seen Ling Chen, he realized Ling Chen’s strength surpassed what he knew.

The rapidity of such astounding growth took him by surprise. Ling Chen must have seized many opportunities over the years, for through standard cultivation, even with exceptional talent, it would be tough to reach this level in such a short time.

If Ling Chen were here, he would surely recognize this swordsman in cyan robes, none other than the familiar Senior Qingyi, master of the Cyan Robe Association.

"Isn’t this lad supposed to be far away in the East Sea? And yet he finds himself in this cave mansion at this time. Could it be the workings of destiny? Caught in this vortex... who knows if it’s a blessing or a curse."

The cyan-robed guest’s eyes flickered with a trace of light, lost in thought. Moments later, he shook his head, and his figure suddenly disappeared mysteriously without a trace.

...

At this point, Ling Chen still hadn’t realized that the one who saved him was the cyan-robed guest. He had already left that ruin, heading deeper into the cave mansion. Along his path, he saw numerous treasure seekers pouring into some ruins like locusts, desperately searching for treasures.

Though this cave mansion was later destroyed, it apparently had been quite magnificent. Even after so long, many treasures remained, causing fierce fighting among the strong who found them.

As Ling Chen proceeded, he witnessed no less than ten heavy combats. The parties were locked in intense battles, while predatory eyes prowled, waiting greedily for a chance to snatch the treasures. Capturing treasures in this cave mansion was no simple task.

Amongst those, similar corpse evils appeared again, but few reached the previous Saint level. After all, that level of corpse evil contained a Saint relic. Even among the entire cave mansion’s forces—though once extremely glorious—there shouldn’t be many with Saint-level or above cultivation, likely not exceeding a handful.

Such occurrences naturally did not pique Ling Chen’s interest, especially as the previous conflict with Huangfu Qi caused him to lag far behind the first batch of treasure hunters. Delaying too long in the periphery could make him miss the coveted Flame Emperor Order, which would be a regret to ponder.

By observing on the way, Ling Chen learned that this cave mansion belonged to the Fire God Sect, and the force attacking it seemed to be a formidable ancient demon sect.

Though Ling Chen still didn’t know its name, past events implied this demon sect’s strength likely far surpassed that of the Fire God Sect.

After all, this place was the Fire God Sect’s stronghold. Holding the advantage yet losing so miserably, with annihilation as the outcome, the disparity in power was evident.

This Fire God Sect was the largest sect Ling Chen had seen, but it still couldn’t evade becoming ruins, which made Ling Chen somewhat sigh inwardly.

As Ling Chen was indulging such thoughts, a distinct fluctuation seemed to come from the area ahead. The fluctuation, clearly accompanied by an extremely scorching aura.

Raising a hint of vigilance, Ling Chen slowed down. This current area was getting close to the depths of the cave mansion, allowing no room for carelessness.

The first thing to enter his view was a massive mountain around ten thousand feet high, lying like a giant between heaven and earth. Its grandeur had not diminished despite endless ages.

Rumble!

At the mountain’s end, massive fire-red waterfalls hundreds of feet wide roared down, shaking the earth and heaven.

As Ling Chen focused on the fiery waterfalls, his eyes slightly narrowed, because those red cascades weren’t merely common water flows but entirely formed from magma. The thundering rumble originated right from the blazing magma.

Below that massive mountain, the lava streaming from the waterfalls pooled into a vast lake spanning several thousand meters across, so wide that its end was hard to discern.

"Truly the work of nature’s gods and ghosts."

Ling Chen gazed ahead, taking a cold breath. He sensed immense fire energy from the lava lake, clearly indicating that all this was not naturally formed but artificially created, likely only achievable by the Fire God Sect’s leader himself.

The Flame Emperor Order’s holder.

Colossal Fire Pythons continuously emerged from the lava lake and submerged again, raising waves of scorching heat.

Ling Chen touched the water with his hand, and strands of heat quickly entwined around, infiltrating his body. Without True Qi protection, his hand might have been severely scalded in an instant.

Yet, the overpowering fire energy had perhaps wondrous effects for refining the body.

"Given enough time, cultivating in this lava lake for days might greatly enhance physical fortification and improve the True Essence of Fire." Ling Chen smacked his lips, somewhat regretful. At present, he obviously couldn’t spend ten days to half a month here cultivating, as it was unrealistic.

"Hmm?"

Just as Ling Chen’s musing voice fell, his expression shifted suddenly, his gaze snapping to the lake’s center, where ripples began to spread on the water surface, forming a vortex.

As the vortex took shape, an orange-red light cluster floated up in the center, revealing a palm-sized red lotus within view.

The red lotus was intensely vibrant, almost dripping like blood, with a very peculiar fluctuation emanating from it.

"Is this... the Earth Heart Fire Lotus of a thousand years?"

Ling Chen stared, somewhat stupefied at the red lotus emerging from the vortex, as surges of fervent intent arose within his eyes.