Chapter 333

Chapter 333: An Excellent Cultivation Spot

Although Chang Xiang appeared to speak casually, Lou Yun was not a fool. How could he not understand the meaning behind Chang Xiang’s words? Chang Xiang hoped Lou Yun would start cultivating here immediately.

In truth, after Chang Xiang’s mixture of encouragement and provocation, Lou Yun’s drive for cultivation had reignited, making him eager to begin practicing his soul technique.

Lou Yun started thinking seriously. At present, it seemed he had no urgent matters. The members of the Lou Family had already been entrusted to the care of his Second brother, and their migration to Divine Weapon Island should have commenced by now. With them, plus Second brother’s formidable backing, he believed they would safely arrive at Divine Weapon Island. Once on the island, the protective Illusionary Sky Formation deployed by the Three Brothers of the Lu Family around its perimeter would allow them to live without worry.

Apart from his family, Lou Yun had no other particular attachments. As for dealing with the Nine Clans, even if he desired it, he currently lacked the capability. So, finding a place to cultivate and urgently improving his strength was indeed the right thing to do.

As for Gui You Quan’s whereabouts, Lou Yun couldn’t be bothered. After conveying his master’s words to him this time, Gui You Quan should behave more appropriately now.

After thorough deliberation, Lou Yun decided to follow Chang Xiang’s suggestion and begin his long-neglected cultivation on this island.

Since he was resuming cultivation, he needed a relatively safe location. The current spot was clearly unsuitable. Thus, Lou Yun cast his gaze towards the towering red mountain deep within the island.

The mountain stood at least a kilometer high, with precipitous cliffs nearly impossible to scale. If it wasn’t already occupied, it truly would be an ideal place for cultivation.

Lou Yun made up his mind to go and investigate. However, he didn’t hold much hope. After all, even within the sea, such a large island was exceedingly rare, and it was likely many magical weapons masters had discovered it and claimed it for their cultivation.

Aiming for the mountain, Lou Yun didn’t use his Dream Emperor Sword to fly, but instead sprinted towards it on foot, utilizing his Spirit Vision to scan the surrounding areas as he ran.

Strangely enough, even after Lou Yun quickly traversed the jungle and formally entered the rugged mountain paths, he hadn’t encountered a single person. Moreover, as he drew closer to the red mountain, even the number of animals in the vicinity dwindled.

This phenomenon puzzled Lou Yun greatly, but simultaneously, he noticed another peculiarity: the further he walked towards the mountain, the higher the temperature in the air became.

Standing on the mountain itself, though Lou Yun didn’t touch it with his hands, his strong spiritual senses could feel the entire mountain possessed an exceptionally high temperature.

However, since Lou Yun naturally harbored two types of heavenly fire within his body, high temperatures had no effect on him. Therefore, despite feeling confused, he didn’t stop. He continued swiftly ascending towards the mountain’s peak.

Reaching halfway up the mountain, Lou Yun couldn’t help but halt his rapid ascent. He turned to survey his surroundings.

At this altitude, the mountain slopes were covered only in exposed red rocks; no other kind of matter could be seen. Naturally, there were no other colors. In short, it was a barren, lifeless place.

Simultaneously, the temperature here was extremely high. Steam seemed to perpetually rise from the mountain slopes, causing the very air to appear hazy.

By now, Lou Yun’s hope that this place might be occupied for cultivation was essentially dashed, though not entirely eliminated. Cultivating in such a place would be anything but pleasurable for someone without the ability to devour heavenly fire; it would be pure torture. Of course, Lou Yun didn’t rule out the possibility of others like himself possessing heavenly fire.

After pausing briefly, Lou Yun resumed his ascent. As the altitude increased, the temperature began to climb rapidly, like bamboo shoots after rain.

When Lou Yun finally reached the summit, the surrounding temperature soared to such heights that even he, possessing two devoured heavenly fires and carrying an ice crystal jade weapon, felt an intense scorching heat, with fine beads of sweat forming on his body!

This starkly illustrated how remarkably high the temperature atop this mountain was—hot enough to exceed the tolerance of the vast majority of people.

Feeling sweat seep out at the tip of his nose, Lou Yun felt no surprise, because he now understood the reason behind the extreme heat.

At this moment, a vivid image filled his mind: a surging inferno, a crimson sea of churning, splashing molten lava pouring forth!

This image wasn’t fictional, but truly existed right beneath the mountain where Lou Yun stood!

This red mountain was actually an active volcano!

Lou Yun now stood on a plateau roughly twenty meters in diameter. In the center of this plateau, barely three meters from him, gaped an immense opening. Visibly, intense heat had condensed into almost tangible waves, rolling upwards continuously!

Lou Yun took a deep breath, consciously accelerating the rotation of the two heavenly fires within him. Only then did he step forward and cautiously approach the edge of the volcano’s crater.

Standing on the lip of the crater, assaulted by waves of heat that felt capable of instantly igniting anything, Lou Yun leaned forward and peered inside!

Despite having seen his fair share of the world, Lou Yun was profoundly shocked by the awe-inspiring sight before him.

Thick, almost solid, dark red lava struggled and churned violently within the mountain’s confines, as if desperate to break free and gain the freedom it long sought. With each upheaval, a plume of crimson smoke billowed upwards in a slow, relentless ascent.

If one was unfortunate enough to fall into that molten sea, surely anything would be instantly annihilated!

This thought instinctively flashed through Lou Yun’s mind. Following immediately was a second idea: he needed to get away from here as fast as possible!

Yet before this urge could fully form, Chang Xiang had silently materialized beside him, his face flushed with excitement: "Kid, this place is genuinely fantastic for cultivation!"

Hearing this, Lou Yun felt both exasperated and amused. He lifted his head to look at the excited Chang Xiang. "Brother Chang, if I tried cultivating here, I could die at any moment!"

It was unclear whether Chang Xiang’s profound cultivation or his incorporeal "spirit" state rendered him immune to the heat, but he remained visibly unperturbed. Addressing Lou Yun’s skepticism, he shook his head repeatedly like a pedantic scholar: "Wrong, you’re profoundly wrong! Kid, have you forgotten? Your path of cultivation is intimately intertwined with fire!"

"Since this place is a volcano, cultivating here indeed entails risk. However, the gains you’ll achieve will undoubtedly surpass those from cultivating elsewhere! Moreover, it should significantly shorten your cultivation time!"

Initially apprehensive about the unprotected volcano, Lou Yun listened to Chang Xiang’s analysis and, after careful consideration, realized it indeed made perfect sense.

Though the name of his cultivation technique was "Devour Weapons," according to his master’s explanation, he didn’t necessarily need to devour Divine Heavenly Weapons to advance his realm; he could achieve that goal by devouring heavenly fire!

Additionally, for practicing both magical and ordinary skills, the only method to enhance common weapons was tempering them with soul fire.

In essence, fire was undeniably intrinsic and indispensable to his cultivation path!

Having grasped this idea, Lou Yun pondered seriously for another moment, then gritted his teeth. "You’re right, Brother Chang. This place really is exceptionally suitable for me to cultivate!"

No sooner had he spoken than the Dream Emperor Sword materialized beneath Lou Yun’s feet. He levitated into the air. Chang Xiang, startled, asked, "What are you doing? You’re not trying to flee, are you?"

Lou Yun’s eyes blazed intently as he stared into the volcano. He shook his head firmly. "Of course not! But now that I’ve decided to cultivate here, why not choose a spot closer to the fire? I’ll also use this chance to give it a try – exactly how much resistance to heat does my current body possess?"

With these words, Lou Yun channeled his spiritual energy. The Dream Emperor Sword emitted a buzzing hum and suddenly shot straight into the volcanic vent, plunging downward towards the tumultuous lava below.

This scene left Chang Xiang utterly dumbfounded. His original intention had been for Lou Yun to cultivate near the crater’s edge. He hadn’t expected Lou Yun’s plan to be so much bolder and more direct – plunging directly into the volcano itself!

Even someone with Gui You Quan’s formidable strength likely wouldn’t choose to cultivate inside a volcano unless absolutely vital!

"Hey, kid!" Chang Xiang yelled urgently, snapping out of his stupor. "You’re not actually planning to cultivate inside the lava, are you? That’s asking for death!" Even as he shouted, his form flashed and swiftly merged back into Lou Yun’s body at impossible speed.