Chapter 485

Chapter 485: Encountering the Fire Demon in Pengxuan Cave

If it were not for a trace of demonic energy leaking from the cave that Xiuqiu detected, even the silver snake Legal form approaching the mountain wall would not have been able to enter.

The cave had not yet opened; while it was challenging for others, it was not impossible for those high-level cultivators in the Traveling Realm. However, such practitioners were scarce on the continent and were unlikely to lower themselves to venture into wild and remote mountains. Additionally, they were hesitant to become enemies of Changsheng Tian.

Eighty-one altars stood here, mainly to block the locust-like Great Daxia Practitioners on the day the cave opened and to guard against visitors from other continents, which somewhat conflicted with Li Hui’s assumptions.

"I found it! This trace of demonic energy is too thin and faint; only demons can sense it, while Bai Ze’s divine eye cannot detect it," the silver snake Legal form burrowed into the stone wall along the path of the demonic energy, winding deeper for dozens of zhang before suddenly encountering a barrier.

"This is the place, the entrance to Pengxuan Cave."

"Strange, where did this demonic energy come from? Why does the source end here?" Li Hui searched for a long time, only to discover in astonishment that the barrier sealing the entrance had uneven heat, with the demonic energy seeping from the hotter areas.

"There are no gaps, just heat. No, there must be a gap, but it’s smaller than the Legal form, so even Bai Ze’s divine eye cannot see it."

"This is going to be tricky; a forceful impact will surely not conceal the shockwave."

"Go back? No, I’ve come this far. I truly refuse to believe I can’t get in. Since this demonic energy relates to heat and the Ideal Body has the ability of Fire Escape, I’ll try Fire Escape; if it doesn’t work, I’ll retreat immediately."

In a critical moment, Li Hui showed determination. The silver snake Legal form twisted into an ideal shape and dove toward the hottest point ahead. Suddenly, he felt his soul shake violently, and the scenery before him shifted, making his heart leap for joy.

"I made it in; I succeeded!"

"Hahaha, I’ve entered!" Li Hui laughed, but unexpectedly, a flicker of flame jumped towards the silver snake Legal form.

"Not good, there’s an enemy!"

This was truly a case of joy turning to sorrow; he hurriedly maneuvered the silver snake Legal form, stirring up a storm to disrupt the atmosphere.

The silver snake Legal form was too small; as long as it didn’t shout or laugh loudly, it was challenging to detect. Li Hui turned to look at the enemy and saw a ball of raging flames hovering in the air, horrified. "My goodness! Who allowed this thing to become a demon? It’s Dou Rate Divine Fire! The ancestor of the formless celestial fire."

"Who has entered my cave?" The Dou Rate Divine Fire transformed into human shape, revealing a figure with gold flames sprouting from its head, a fiery red body, a black cloak flowing behind it, and blue divine flames at its feet.

Li Hui stared in shock, thinking, "What kind of monster is this? Dou Rate Divine Fire is just its main body; beyond that, it has dozens of divine flames and treasure flames. Any one of those flames could incinerate a thousand miles. If they all erupted, I can’t even imagine how terrifying that would be!"

"Not coming out? Then burn!" With that, flames exploded forth, crackling loudly, manifesting vast numbers of slender fire lines within the cave.

Inside Pengxuan Cave, burnt earth and lava spread everywhere. Though some rare treasures were nurtured here, it was nothing like the scene Li Hui envisioned before entering.

"The cave should be like the Mysterious Pearl spirit herb garden, filled with treasures and auspicious trees. How did it end up like this?"

The fire lines blocked tightly, yet for the silver snake Legal form, the gaps were sizable enough to dodge easily, while the fire demon raged against the space.

"Such a fiery temperament! Now I understand why Pengxuan Cave has changed; it’s all this demon’s doing," Li Hui shook his head, steering the silver snake Legal form to explore the cave for anything useful. His pockets were emptier than his face; he lacked everything.

The fire demon raised its arms, summoning waves of fire, scorching the earth for a hundred miles, still unable to find any sign of the intruder. Angered, it bombarded the cave entrance with "Boom! Boom!" attacks.

Li Hui observed from afar and suddenly realized, "So that’s it. This fire demon has constantly wanted to get out; it wasn’t a leak of demonic energy but the result of its relentless attacks on the cave entrance."

The fire demon besieged the entrance, releasing torrents of flames that sent fire sparks flying, echoing with giant crashes. Li Hui thought, "With such an explosive rage, this demon would undoubtedly pose a danger to the world outside. I wonder where this fire demon was when Pengxuan Cave opened earlier."

Soon, he found the answer.

The fire demon came from underground, with a stone stele carved from obsidian buried beneath, forming a formation, surrounded by many traces of restrictive formations. Most of the stele had shattered, while a few remnants erupted from below.

The Taiji diagram on the silver snake Legal form’s forehead began to spin, revealing an extraordinary treasure below.

"This place has sealed the fire demon for at least a thousand years; otherwise, this treasure wouldn’t have emerged." Li Hui delved into the pit, moving up and down to avoid danger, dashing down to the bottom with the intention of striking directly at the core, and opened his mouth to release a storage talisman.

Before entering the cave, he had naturally prepared some means to gather benefits; however, lacking materials, he had to make do. This storage talisman could only seal one item and had a time limit.

At the bottom of the pit, amidst the ashes, lay an object that, while seeming unremarkable, held immense value for talisman makers.

"Black resin, crystalline Xuan jade; this kind of treasure has extremely strict conditions for formation. It must be situated in a place rich in spiritual energy, continuously baked by various powerful divine fires, forcing the spiritual energy to solidify into black residue, layering upon layering over time to possibly become black jade."

Li Hui narrowed his eyes and summoned his intent to perform the Dao arts, forming a Dragon Claw that with a "Bang!" sound lifted the grinding stone-sized black jade, quickly sending it into the storage talisman for safe keeping.

"Great! With this piece of black resin, I could produce a thousand pieces of talisman ink. The truly amazing part lies in the Jade Heart, which can nurture the talisman flames."

The silver snake Legal form hastily retreated. Just five or six li away, he saw fire falling from the sky, more intense than a volcanic eruption, scorching the ground and turning it into lava that blocked the massive pit.

"Hahaha, no matter who you are, I heard the commotion; once you enter, you can’t think of leaving…" The fire demon raved madly, not considering that since someone had entered, they might very well be able to take it with them.

Li Hui ignored the fire demon and continued to collect benefits within the cave.

Strangely enough, this Pengxuan Cave was almost like a small heavenly cave; the fire demon had destroyed a large part of the territory, yet many areas remained intact.

The silver snake Legal form could only carry twenty storage talismans, limiting him to storing twenty items. He needed to make careful decisions based on the current situation.

Of course, if he could enter once, he could enter a second time; the first time was merely for scouting. Suddenly, an idea struck Li Hui as he gazed at the fire demon, contemplating, "This mad demon is the greatest treasure of Pengxuan Cave. Didn’t I obtain a little garden from the water palace? It contains a hint of time force, which, when stirred, can still everything. Let’s see if I can gather materials nearby to set up a talisman formation to seal this demon."

Great! One should not fear a thief; one should fear a thief’s desire. The fire demon would never have guessed that a little thief had set its sights on it, gathering treasures throughout the cave for the sake of sealing the demon.

"Amazing! An eight-tone earth spiral. I’ll keep that; it will be useful for talisman-making."

"Hey, Xumi Bamboo? I thought only Dalong and a few neighboring countries had Xumi Bamboo! I better gather more; it can be used for drawing storage talismans."

"There are actually Sunset Fruits here! These enhance the Ideal Body’s abilities; although they’re not essential, the more I have, the better it will be."