The Lava Palace was unlike any other secret realm.
As a colossal mechanical palace, it relied entirely on a network of formations, restrictions, and intricate mechanisms to function as a cohesive whole.
After its ruin, the spread of its fragmented island structures caused the distribution of formation-based traps to become both excessively dense and dangerously chaotic.
Because of this, the pace of exploration and development here couldn't match that of other secret realms, where everything could often be scouted inside and out within just a few days.
Progress through the palace had to be painstakingly cautious dismantling or bypassing traps one by one to slowly carve out a safe path in and out.
This time, perhaps due to the painful lessons learned from a fool who had previously led everyone into disaster, or maybe because of the intimidating alliance formed by the disciples of the three major sects, things had been unexpectedly calm.
Several days passed without any major disturbances or waves of cultivators fleeing back to the surface in panic.
Only a handful had quietly withdrawn for various reasons.
Even more surprising, the reports they brought back were actually… optimistic.
According to their accounts, not only were cultivators finding valuable items on the ruined islets, but the combined efforts of the three sects' formation masters had successfully broken through the restrictions on multiple islands and were still advancing steadily.
They were already estimated to be halfway to the core of the Lava Palace, with a significant chance of landing there soon and beginning the true contest for ancient relics within!
This news stirred the hearts of many cultivators who had recently arrived and were still hesitant. One by one, they began descending underground to join the action.
Even if they couldn't enter the palace's core, if the three sects' efforts stirred up some hidden treasures and caused them to scatter outward, there was always a chance they might pick up a few windfalls on the periphery.
Whether those latecomers would get lucky, Li Ye didn't know… But what he did know was that he'd made far more profit than expected in recent days just from collecting entrance fees!
By his calculations, even if he stayed holed up in his sect and didn't move an inch, his current earnings were enough to sustain his cultivation for quite a while.
He had previously worried about material shortages and resource consumption, but that had all been kindly solved by these eager cultivators.
After all, thanks to Li Ye's diligent formation work, most of the subterranean lava tunnels were now sealed off.
As a result, fire beasts rarely appeared on the surface anymore no longer roaming everywhere as they once had. And even when they did, they were mostly first-rank beasts.
If anyone wanted to hunt second-rank fire beasts, they had no choice but to enter the underground lava tunnels.
So, with Li Ye's "one second-rank fire beast core per entry" policy, many newcomers or those who valued beast cores for their use found themselves unable to meet the fee.
Their only option? Offer up all kinds of spiritual materials in exchange.
"Tch... Sitting at home while rare treasures just keep showing up at my doorstep this is the reincarnation of that dream from my past life, where I wished money would just fall from the sky," Li Ye muttered with a grin as he counted his latest haul of spiritual materials.
It was such a good deal that he found himself genuinely hoping the cultivators exploring the Lava Palace would delay triggering the third-rank fire beasts just so he could keep collecting entry fees for a bit longer!
"Too bad that's probably wishful thinking…"
Li Ye sighed regretfully. "The disturbances in the formations have already roused those dormant fire beasts. With so many people stirring up trouble down there and the three sects making real progress it's only a matter of time before they provoke it…"
"I just hope those folks brought some powerful trump cards, like talismanic treasures. If not, who knows how many are going to die…"
Death wasn't the issue, once the chaos subsided, Li Ye could even send a wave of puppets to loot the corpses and make another fortune.
What would be a problem, though, was if a Golden Core cultivator got pissed off and decided to take it out on him. That… would be seriously annoying.
.......
Li Ye's judgment, formed over the years through his understanding of the Lava Palace's conditions, ultimately wasn't far off the mark.
Less than two days later
On a clear and peaceful day, where the air carried a rare sense of leisure
ROAR
A deafening, earth-shaking beast's roar suddenly erupted, booming like a chorus of thunder layered upon itself.
The sheer pressure carried by the roar sent waves of terror through every cultivator who heard it. Their sea of consciousness buzzed in agony, spiritual energy spiraled out of control, and a primal fear surged in their hearts as if some unknown and overwhelming entity had locked its gaze upon them.
With a scream, many fled instinctively, scrambling to distance themselves from the area around the Tengyun Market.
At the same time, countless cultivators burst out of the nearby lava tunnels, fleeing as though their lives depended on it.
The once calm and peaceful Chidi Mountain Range was instantly thrown into chaos. The tranquility shattered as cultivators scattered in every direction like headless chickens, plunging the area into utter panic.
Even the spiritual light surrounding them couldn't hide their faces twisted in fear and desperation, nor could it conceal the frantic clumsiness of their escape.
The grace and pride once seen in many Foundation Establishment cultivators had completely vanished.
Each of them looked like they believed that even a moment's delay would see them caught and killed by whatever horror lurked behind them.
And… they weren't entirely wrong.
In one of the lava tunnels, a stream of cultivators desperately sprinted away, not even daring to pause for breath.
Moments later, a terrifying wave of pressure surged outward, accompanied by blazing violet-red flames that instantly incinerated a barrier formation. The surrounding landscape was scorched into molten wasteland, consumed by the raging, unnatural fire.
An entire region's terrain was utterly transformed in the blink of an eye!
As the firestorm's power finally began to wane, a flickering spiritual light shot out from the inferno.
It was none other than Kong Changsheng, the cultivator sent by Thousand Island Water City to lead their expedition.
Hovering above his head was a translucent black pearl, glimmering faintly. It continuously released torrents of spiritual water that formed into a protective dragon-like flow around him, shielding him from the destructive flames.
Only through this defense did he narrowly escape being burned to ash.
However, after withstanding such an attack, the pearl had grown more illusory, its runic essence faintly visible from within its power rapidly fading.
Kong Changsheng's face was grim, his expression dark. He didn't dare linger for even a moment. Spiritual light burst forth from his body as he launched himself at full speed away from the tunnel.
But just then a deafening roar erupted again from within the lava tunnel.
A horrifying pressure swept outward as a ten-headed fire beast burst through the tunnel mouth, eyes locking directly onto Kong Changsheng.
The oppressive aura radiated in all directions, instantly killing birds, beasts, and insects alike.
With a single bound, the beast was wreathed in flame, turning into a blazing stream of fire that exploded forward and closed the distance in an instant.
Everything in its path trees, grass, and even the soil spontaneously combusted, setting off a wildfire behind it.
As the ten heads roared and reformed from the fire stream, a single claw came crashing down shattering the last of the defensive power protecting Kong Changsheng's talisman treasure.
Terror filled Kong Changsheng's eyes, his face a mask of disbelief and unwillingness. He poured all remaining energy into the black water pearl, roaring:
"You won't kill me that easily!"
The pearl condensed one last time into the form of a black flood dragon, charging at the advancing beast.
At the same time, Kong Changsheng tried to use this final chance to turn and escape.
But in the end, he had underestimated the fire beast's terrifying power.
A flicker of disdain flashed through all ten pairs of the creature's eyes. With a shake of its body, a clump of flame peeled off and collided with the black flood dragon, the two instantly canceling each other out.
The beast then caught up to Kong Changsheng and lazily swiped a claw through the air.
His body was instantly sliced apart, scattered like falling petals.
Still mid-air, his remains ignited on their own, turning into drifting black ash.
At last, the ten-headed fire beast scanned the scorched terrain below, an unreadable emotion flickering in its eyes.
But in the end, it simply let out another sky-shaking roar, then turned and transformed back into a stream of fire, retreating the way it came back into the depths of the earth.
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