I spat another poison, this one wasn't at the serpent, but the lava itself. This was the same poison I used at the Three-Legged Raven sect to cause the lava to overflow by destabilizing the spiritual vein.
Since there was a spiritual vein here, the same effects should happen.
And once my poison reached the lava, it began premating it rapidly and going down.
I would however be dead before the spiritual vein was disturbed so I spat another wave of poison at the serpent.
I already felt nauseous from using so much Poison Qi but this was the only way.
Once the poison reached the serpent's noise, its eyes reddened and it began screeching.
It was a Madness Inducing Poison.
The serpent began shaking and rattling, smashing its head against the walls of the valley. We weren't even visible to it anymore.
And it was all I needed before the spiritual vein began agitating. The lava flow increased explosively and massive waves began rising.
Before the lava would reach the area I was in, "X, grab the remains of those pods!" I called and X followed the command.
He went down towards the nearest scorched pod, and grabbed it, then he lifted it up and came towards me, placing it next to my destroyed one.
Then he went to the second, and grabbed it.
He pulled three more pods before the lava flow increased too much and began consuming the rest of the pods and rose too high.
A bit more and I'll be drowned in lava and we'll all, die.
But I had already prepared for that. I pulled my hoverboard, and then enabled its defensive formation.
A barrier shot up and I inflated it at the cost of more Saint Qi usage to cover all of us inside it alongside the pod.
The lava began rising and once it went in contact with the Saint Qi barrier, it failed to penetrate it and continued rising up.
Soon, we were submerged in a massive lava overflow. And finally there was peace.
The group next to me was heavily wounded.
Scorch marks, unconscious, and one even close to death.
I began by mending their wounds and supplied them a few pills to heal up the damage. The first guy was the same one who spoke back against Xue Liu, he was at death's door from the burning he received.
I can't do much for his skin, but I can help stabilize his life, I gave him a bit more pills and bandaged some of his wounds.
It took a while before his complexion was stabilized, then I continued helping the rest of them.
"If you're not planning on acting like you're unconscious, I could use the help," I spoke as I was treating another person.
"You knew?" she said.
"Yes," I said.
Looking at her, she was a bit disheveled, her face was burnt.
"I can help with that," I said, as I pointed at her face, "But not now, there are more important things to do."
"You don't need to worry abut me," she said as she pulled a pill of a purity I've never before seen.
It was a Cloud Engraved Pill.
She swallowed it and all her wounds seemed to disappear as if they were never there in the first place.
"If you have more of those…" I spoke.
She shook her head, "That's the only one, but I have a few pills that could help treating them," she said and began pulling more pills to help.
None of them were of the same quality as the Cloud Pill, but it was good nevertheless.
Soon the rest of the cultivators seemed to regain their consciousness.
Just as they woke up, they gawked at the situation.
"We're… inside the river? Why isn't it hot though?" one spoke.
Then he noticed the hoverboard.
"Ah… good treasure, I guess it's another vow huh," he said.
"Something like that," I said.
"Shit, that blasted Xue Liu, I'll make sure to pay him a thousand times once this is over.
"How did he even get ahead of us, he arrived late yesterday," one of the cultivators said.
"I guess he cheated," I said, "Anyway…" I turned to the pods and said, "I can probably fix these, but I highly doubt we'll make it to the top thousand," I said.
"There is no point, we're already at the top eight hundred. We won't make it even if we fix them, it'll take too much time," Yu Liang said.
I thought for a moment and said, "We can actually make it… but it's going to be a bit risky, and… I can only take one," I said.
The group didn't understand what I mean, but Liang Yu said.
"You're not thinking about the shortcut? That's impossible, it's too difficult," she said. "Not to mention we already went past the entrance to the shortcut; we'll have to drive back and then go through it. how will you even do that, look at the pods?"
"I can manage it. However." Like I said I can only take one person."
The group looked at me in wonder, "I wouldn't mind you taking senior sister Liang Yu, but…what's gonna happen to us?" he asked.
"I can place you somewhere safe, but you won't be able to leave it until I allow it," I said.
The group wondered about what I meant, but seeing Liang Yu's expression, they all agreed to it.
"Right then, let me start working then," I said as I pulled several tools from my bag and then began tearing apart the already broken pods.
I needed to create a new pod, but at the same time, I needed to make sure that I'm not going against the Academy's rules.
Then I grabbed the least damaged pods of the bunch, mine and Liang Yu's they seemed to be the ones with the least damage, even if mine was split in two, the cut was clean and could easily repair by supplying it with a few more pieces from the other pods.
I began tearing some of the material from the other pods and welded them using my Veridian Heart Flame released from the tip of my finger.
It took an hour before the frame was finished and the pod was back to perfect shape. But I knew that even using maximum speed I won't be able to get to the finish line in time.
I turned to the second pod and began working on it, it took a bit of time before everything was ready.
"How long had I spent?" I asked as I dragged one of the pods with the help of X to the second one.
"About three hours," she said.
"Good, decent progress," I said.
"What do you mean? We'll probably not make it with this delay," she said.
"Don't worry about it," I said.
I then tore a few more pieces of the remaining pods and began linking the two pods together.
Which was something even Liang Yu who didn't know anything about what I was doing was wondering about.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"I'm making them faster," I said.
Once I was done welding the two pods together, I began by reinscribing the two of them. This time, I didn't need to make a full inscription of regulation, I needed complete Qi discharge and extreme velocity, the inscription took less than an hour instead of six hours time. But it was more than enough.
I then began by placing small holes all around the steering wheels, mine and hers.
"Done," I said. As I turned to Liang Yu.
The group of cultivators was still wondering what I was doing, but I had no will to explain everything in detail.
"Please, Close your eyes," I said to everyone.
Once they did.
I pulled my token and teleported them inside it. I sent them directly into the white training chamber, where they can't interfere with anyone nor know where they are.
Liang Yu was the exception.
"Should I open my eyes now?" she asked.
"Yes, you may," I said.
She then looked around, "Where is everyone?" she asked.
"They're somewhere safe, I can't leave them here. Anyway, let's leave," I said.
She looked at the lava overflowing the valley and said, "How?"
"Trust me," I said and hopped on my hoverboard.
X, grab the pods," I said and X grabbed both pods over his head and joined us on the hoverboard.
Once all three of us were on the hoverboard, I started it and moved it.
It slowly swam through the magma until it rose high above it.
Looking around, many of the wyverns were still hovering in the air wondering why the river overflowed to such a degree, but once they spotted us, they came our way.
"Hurry, get in the pod," I said as I released the hoverboard's barrier and placed it back into my bag, then rode on the pod alongside Liang Yu.
I placed X in my bag and then began starting the inscriptions on the pods.
"What's this, the settings are different, it's not even reacting to my Qi," she said.
"That's because I'm the one driving, enjoy the ride, it's gonna be epic," I said.
And once I pressed on the accelerator.
All five Top Grade Spirit Stones, yes, five, from my side, and five, from her side, shone bright and the dual Pods shot forward like they were the comets.
"THAT'S THE WRONG WAY!" she shouted panic and fear clear in her eyes from the sudden acceleration and the absurd speed.
"Oh, believe me, I know," I said grinning.