Another month passed, and the flame filling the Flame Mountain had suddenly receded, causing the cultivators training there to be flabbergasted.
"What's going on? A few days ago, I had sensed the flame becoming weaker. And now, it is downright extinguishing?"
"It can't be because someone has harvested the millennium earthcore fire, right? Otherwise, I really can't understand how this is happening."
"Yes, that is plausible. Someone might have gotten the millennium earthcore fire for real. But why is it still so calm if that is the case?"
"Don't waste time. Let's go take a look. With the receding power of flame, we can even approach the volcanic crater now."
"No, it is still safer to stay away. It is a place filled with flame beasts. It is still a dangerous place."
...
Still, some of them were brave and confident in their strength. These were the people that subsequently headed to the volcanic crater. The periphery of the volcanic crater was filled with flame beasts. Recently, they were becoming more and more agitated. Anyone approaching would be a subject of their relentless attacks.
Because of that, the people were flooded with attacks when they arrived. The weak ones were all killed while the strong ones were forced to retreat. Of course, not all of them had failed to reach the crater. From a certain direction, two figures were flying toward the crater.
These two were Skysoar Realm cultivators. They were Cloud Margin Pavilion elders, and their names were Long Hui and Xiao Wenbo. They were the ones who had been standing guard here, preventing other King Realm cultivators from harvesting the millennium earthcore fire. When they arrived at the crater, they hovered in the sky above it, looking down with confusion on their faces.
"The extinguishing flame must be due to the millennium earthcore fire," said Long Hui.
Xiao Wenbo replied, "Nobody has come here in recent times. The millennium earthcore fire won't change without any reason, right?" He paused for a bit and added, "Is the earthcore fire withdrawing its power by itself?"
"No, that is unlikely. The millennium earthcore fire has only been born not too long ago. It will remain in this phase for a long time before it starts withdrawing its power," Long Hui said.
"What's going on then? It can't be that someone has harvested it, right?" Xiao Wenbo asked.
"I'm not sure. Let's go down there and check," Long Hui said before he started flying downward.
Xiao Wenbo followed along as well. Each of them had a thick defensive barrier around them, their kingly presence protecting them tightly as they prepared to deal with any changes that might happen. As King Realm cultivators, they were able to directly reach the lava surface, completely ignoring the intense heat in their surroundings.
"The temperature here has dropped a lot as well," said Long Hui after scanning his surroundings.
"You are the one cultivating the power of flame, so you should know better. I'll trust your judgment," Xiao Wenbo answered. He then looked around before saying, "I don't see anyone, and I don't sense any signs of life either. I doubt anyone has harvested the earthcore fire."
Long Hui did not say anything in reply. He kept staring at the lava, as he had noticed that a certain part of the lava pool was roiling about without stop.
Xiao Wenbo followed the direction of his gaze and noticed the same. He said, "Has something really happened here?"
But after observing the lava pool for a bit, they noticed that there were other parts where the lava was roiling about madly. Moreover, the locations of where the lava roiled kept changing.
Suddenly, a fiery claw shot out of the lava, giving them a fright. The two quickly distanced themselves from the lava, and fear covered their eyes. They could clearly sense that the claw earlier belonged to a human instead of a demonic beast.
How high was the temperature in the lava? Not even King Realm cultivators could survive down there. Now that a human had suddenly sent a claw shooting out from within the lava, how could that not frighten them?
"W-what's going on here? Is there someone down there?" Xiao Wenbo cried out in alarm.
"No, how is that possible? Only Emperors can survive down there. But it is impossible that there is an Emperor down there. That claw is most likely something the millennium earthcore fire has coincidentally formed earlier," said Long Hui.
Right after he said that, a series of claws started shooting out of the lava. Each claw appeared from a different part of the lava pool, but all of them were formed of lava. The claws looked extremely mythical, and the entire scene looked as if there was an expert practicing a claw technique down there.
Both Long Hui and Xiao Wenbo were completely stupefied. The distance in which the claws flew weren't too far, but each of them possessed a destructiveness no weaker than a King Realm cultivator's attack.
"This is a claw technique!" the two concluded at the same time.
But where did this claw technique come from? Was there someone down there? Or was this coming from the millennium earthcore fire? They were utterly confused, not sure what was the truth anymore.
But since they did not feel the claws were attempting to harm them, they started silently studying them. The more they observed, the more extraordinary they found the claws. They were now sure this was definitely a terrific king-grade technique, or even an emperor-grade technique.
After a long while, the claws finally stopped appearing. The lava pool returned to its normal calm, and the two finally woke up from their reverie. They exchanged glances before attacking the lava pool at the same time.
Long Hui sent out a mighty dragon claw energy that shot down toward the lava. For a moment, it seemed like a true dragon had appeared. As for Xiao Wenbo, he formed a blue palm energy that was no weaker than Long Hui's dragon claw. The two Kings attacked together, their mighty attacks charged into the lava pool, creating massive waves.
Rumble! Rumble!
Within the lava pool, Xiang Shaoyun sensed the sudden impact and quickly hid in a corner in shock. Fortunately, the lava pool was deep enough. The two Kings were unable to see clearly what was underneath at the very bottom of the lava pool. It allowed Xiang Shaoyun to avoid being discovered, which would have brought him a lot of trouble.
The f*ck? Who's so immoral that he's attacking a lava pool? Xiang Shaoyun cursed inwardly.
His guess was that a King Realm cultivator must have decided to no longer wait and had come to harvest the millennium earthcore fire for himself. But he couldn't do anything right now. If he showed himself, he would instantly turn into a public enemy.
After all, harvesting the millennium earthcore fire would definitely become a sensation, and it would instantly turn him into a prey everyone wanted to hunt. Thus, he couldn't show himself right now. Meanwhile, Long Hui and Xiao Wenbo finally stopped attacking.
"There's nothing down there. Let's go," Xiao Wenbo suggested.
"What is your guess?" Long Hui asked.
"I think maybe an Emperor had cultivated here before, and the claws are an inheritable battle technique left behind by the Emperor? Too bad I don't cultivate the power of flame and can't comprehend the claw technique at all," Xiao Wenbo said.
"Yes, your guess might be correct. We'll talk after leaving." Long Hui nodded. After giving the lava pool a long and deep glance, he left.