The people there witnessed with their own eyes how Xiang Shaoyun fell right into the pool of lava.
"Finally, he's dead," Huo Linfei said coldly.
The young monk also chimed in, "Amitabha. Benefactor, you are now in paradise. May you be a kind person in your next life."
Everyone had an odd expression on their faces when they heard the young monk. That young monk was definitely no virtuous person. They were right. The young monk was called Ming Kong, and he was an expelled disciple of Buddhism. He might look virtuous and kind, but he had a dark and ruthless heart.
"Let's go," Chen Zilong said. He did not feel anything even as he watched everything unfold.
Li Yaxuan nodded and left with Chen Zilong.
For them, Xiang Shaoyun was merely a passerby in their lives that they somewhat respected. He was not important enough that they would keep him in their minds. In truth, even they had the urge to attack Xiang Shaoyun earlier. The only reason they didn't was because they were too proud to join hands with so many people.
With Chen Zilong and Li Yaxuan's departure, the others also left one after another. They couldn't stand staying any longer. The millennium earthcore fire had already sunk into the lava. Thus, they would no longer be able to get the millennium earthcore fire. Moreover, it wasn't like they could stay for long anyway; the flame beasts had turned mad and were attacking them without stop.
At this point, they would be happy with just leaving safely. Even after the group left, people were still ceaselessly arriving. A large number of them were killed, and the rest were forced to retreat. None of them were able to obtain the millennium earthcore fire.
Gong Qinyin had also arrived with Gong Fen, but their group was unable to go through the flame beasts and failed to get anywhere near the crater. Ultimately, Gong Fen found out that even the likes of Chen Zilong and Huo Linfei were forced to return empty-handed. Thus, he had no choice but to give up as well and made the decisive choice to withdraw.
On the other hand, Gong Qinyin was unwilling to leave. She wanted to stay and wait for Xiang Shaoyun. It was then that she encountered Li Yaxuan.
"You're waiting for someone?" Li Yaxuan asked.
Gong Qinyin saluted Li Yaxuan before answering, "Yes, Miss Li."
"Don't bother. He will not appear anymore," Li Yaxuan said.
"Why?" Gong Qinyin asked anxiously.
"He fell into the lava," Li Yaxuan said. She added, "Not even a King can survive that lava."
After saying that, she left without waiting for Gong Qinyin's reply. Gong Qinyin felt like she had been struck by lightning as she stood there blankly. After a long while, she gazed at the direction of the crater and muttered, "H-how is it possible that he died just like that?"
It wasn't like she was very close to him, but through the short interaction they had, she found herself developing an odd feeling toward him, a feeling she couldn't erase. For her to suddenly hear that news, she felt so incomparably sorrowful that she had a sudden urge to charge straight to the volcanic crater.
Her intellect still prevailed, and she did not end up doing anything rash. After standing in the same spot for a long time, she finally muttered to herself, "Back at the Golden River Valley, everyone thought you were dead, but you had survived. This time, I believe you will still come back from death!"
Then, she turned and left resolutely. This incident made her feel that she was way too weak. Thus, she had decided to join the Cloud Margin Pavilion and focus on cultivation. She too wanted to grasp her fate in her own hands.
Finally, the current batch of people that came searching for the earthcore fire left. However, the number of people dead eclipsed the number of people that managed to leave alive. Even with the large number of deaths, people were still coming unendingly. Each day, numerous Transformation Realm cultivators arrived in search of the millennium earthcore fire, and each day, numerous people died on the Flame Mountain. Still, nobody was able to obtain the millennium earthcore fire.
...
In a flash, half a year passed. The Flame Mountain still stood tall, and there were even more people present compared to before. However, the number of people still hunting for the millennium earthcore fire had dropped.
That was because news had spread that after the last appearance of the millennium earthcore fire, it had gone missing, and it was unlikely that the earthcore fire would reappear anytime soon.
Most of the people here now were only here to borrow the environment in their cultivation of the power of fire. One had to admit that the power of fire in the air was very thick, and it was a very beneficial environment for those cultivating the power of fire. Many people had broken through here, and slowly, the place became known as a perfect cultivation ground.
Today, the pool of lava in the volcanic crater was bubbling, looking different than how the pool normally looked. Nobody knew that there was a living human in the pool of lava. That living human was none other than Xiang Shaoyun who had fallen into the pool half a year ago.
The lava had an extremely high temperature and not even a King could stay for long. It was truly astonishing that Xiang Shaoyun was able to stay alive in the lava for so long. Without a doubt it was all due to the human skin.
On that day, after Xiang Shaoyun fell into the pond, the human skin suddenly started to emanate a unique power by itself. The ancient characters on it started shining and pushing the lava away, forming a safe zone that acted as his shelter within the pool of lava.
Apart from that, those ancient characters had formed numerous shiny symbols that orbited him. The entire scene looked incredibly wondrous and enigmatic, and the symbols emanated an ancient and profound aura that streamed into Xiang Shaoyun's mind without end.
Xiang Shaoyun had spent the past half year comprehending and accepting the profound aura. Through his comprehension, he found that the symbols represented a top ancient flame taming technique.
That was why even Xiang Shaoyun required such a long time to comprehend what the symbols entailed. He also finally understood why the human skin was immune to fire. It was because the skin's owner had tamed flames of an even higher level. Thus, ordinary flames couldn't harm the skin at all.
As for what happened to the skin for it to remain in the cave, Xiang Shaoyun had no idea. But he knew one thing—he had struck the jackpot!
Flame taming techniques were extremely rare even among top-tier sects. With him obtaining an ancient flame taming technique by luck, he would have no problem subduing the millennium earthcore fire.
Today, Xiang Shaoyun had finally fully comprehended the flame taming technique and could finally start subduing the millennium earthcore fire. He was aware that the millennium earthcore fire was hidden somewhere within the pool of lava. Every now and then, the millennium earthcore fire would show itself before him. But he was busy comprehending the flame taming technique, so he had ignored it all the while.
Not wasting any time, he started searching the depths of the pool. It was time to subdue the millennium earthcore fire.