Chapter 1745
Chapter 1745 (Raw 1757):
Under normal circumstances, if one wanted to enter the unexplored region of the Dragon Flame Ancient Land, one would need to form a team and travel there step by step.
The team would have to cross several dangerous forbidden lands, forcefully charging their way through.
By the time one reached the depths, one would already be mentally and physically exhausted. One would find it hard to protect oneself; there would simply be no energy left to go and explore other places.
With the ancient transportation formation, one could be transported directly into the unexplored land of the Dragon Flame Ancient Land, saving a lot of effort.
"No matter what, normally, no matter how capable we are, we would not be able to reach this place. Since we are here, everyone should properly explore the place and not do anything rash."
Senior Ma called out for the people in the team to form groups and explore the surroundings.
Everyone had people whom they are familiar with. They formed groups of twos or threes and set out to explore cautiously.
The ones who came here were experienced sect elites. They did not let the excitement get to their heads.
The din of an intense fight rang out. Several cultivators had probably run into some unknown ferocious beasts.
Immediately, the stronger people of the team soared into the air and rushed over to provide reinforcement.
Xiao Chen swept his gaze across, slightly opening his Heavenly Eye, to observe the situation in the distance.
He saw several strange flaming wolves with a fiery light coming out of their eyes. As they wagged their tails behind them, they fought a battle with the cultivators from Senior Ma's team.
Those were Three-Tailed Flame Wolves. Their physical bodies and physiques had been cleansed by dragon flames since young and were far stronger than those of the same species in the outside world.
These Three-Tailed Flame Wolves that Xiao Chen saw seemed to be even more incredible.
Even several Major Primal Core Venerates working together actually had difficulty ending the battle quickly. They only managed to kill these Three-Tailed Flame Wolves when a late-stage Major Primal Core expert rushed over.
"The physical bodies of these Three-Tailed Flame Wolves have been cleansed by dragon flames and will sell for large sums of money in the outside world. This is especially so for the three flaming tails. They are exceptionally precious and can be forged into fire-attributed Dao Tools."
After the cultivators killed the Three-Tailed Flame Wolves and split the materials, they all showed joy on their faces.
After that, the many groups suffered incessant attacks from ferocious beasts.
Everyone in the team was careful and cautious, staying not too far from other members. There were surprises but no danger; the team did not get damaged at all.
Xiao Chen and Meng Zhuang were in the same group, and things were rather peaceful for them; nothing startling or dangerous happened.
Suddenly, Xiao Chen stopped and frowned slightly, sensing a dangerous aura.
"Boom!"
The ground cracked open, and a long snake with a horn and covered in fiery patterns charged out ferociously.
"It's a Flame Jiao Snake! Everyone, be careful," Meng Zhuang shouted and soared into the air, throwing a heavy punch at the creature.
Meng Zhuang's aura flourished greatly as he punched. The blow was like a meteor landing, heavy and powerful.
With a loud rumble, Meng Zhuang knocked this Flame Jiao Snake into the air. When it landed, it kicked up boundless dust clouds.
The people of the team quickly took advantage of this opportunity to retreat.
After landing, the Flame Jiao Snake turned around and stuck out its forked tongue. Then, it launched itself over again.
Xiao Chen's eyes were very sharp. He noticed that the place where the snake was struck had only some faint marks; there was no sign of injury at all.
"Whoosh!"
Xiao Chen gently pushed off the ground and roared ferociously. All the dragon bones in his body crackled as he gathered his Vital Qi and punched.
The dragon veins carried six Cauldron Force of Vital Qi, letting it surge out. At the same time, they vented a berserk Dragon Might.
"Boom!"
The Dragon Might, combined with six Cauldron Force, struck the Flame Jiao Snake's body.
Had this been a regular Major Primal Core Venerate, that punch would have been sufficient to knock it into the air and shatter its internal organs.
However, this Flame Jiao Snake displayed a startling defense. The flame patterns on its skin flickered with a glow that looked like flowing water.
The Flame Jiao Snake turned around a few times in the air and charged back again.
Xiao Chen shouted coldly, and a faint layer of purple flame burned over his body. With a flash, he landed on the Flame Jiao Snake's head.
He stretched out his hand, and the Seven Deadly Sins quickly merged into one. After infusing it with Great Dao Energy, he did not hesitate to stab it down.
"Pu ci!" Blood spurted out. The saber stabbed in by about seven centimeters but did not go any deeper.
"Brother Xiao, be careful." Just at this moment, Meng Zhuang shouted anxiously.
Strong winds blew by Xiao Chen's ear, along with surging heatwaves. The Flame Jiao Snake's tail whipped down at him like it was a flaming wind.
Xiao Chen pulled out his saber to defend himself, fiercely swinging it to repulse the snake tail that contained an enormous force.
"Bang!" The flaming wind scattered, and the saber light created a long, bloody gash on the snake tail.
Xiao Chen used the rebound to move back, performing a few somersaults in the air to neutralize the excess force.
When Meng Zhuang saw the situation, he relaxed his expression. Then, he worked together with Xiao Chen to deal with this Flame Jiao Snake.
After a long, intense battle, they finally chopped off the head of this Flame Jiao Snake.
The two were incredibly tired. The Flame Jiao Snake's defense and lifeforce were astounding. The battle had not been easy for the two.
Of course, Xiao Chen had not gone all out, either.
If he used his full power here, there would be no need for him to continue exploring this Dragon Flame Ancient Land.
"Brother Xiao's strength is truly admirable. If I had run into this Flame Jiao Snake alone, my odds of victory would be slim," Meng Zhuang said with lingering fear in his heart.
The Flame Jiao Snake's combat prowess already rivaled a peak Major Primal Core cultivator's. Furthermore, this was the Dragon Flame Ancient Land, where its strength was amplified even further.
Meng Zhuang's words were not him trying to be humble at all.
Xiao Chen smiled in silent acknowledgment. Then, he called out, and the team started to cut apart the Flame Jiao Snake's body.
Unsurprisingly, Xiao Chen made the most contributions, so he got the Flame Jiao Snake's most precious part, the king horn.
The exploration continued in an orderly fashion. This was not the first time Senior Ma's team worked together.
The progress was orderly, the division of labor, clear. The harvest was pretty good.
However, everyone knew that this was just small earnings. If they stopped here, it would not justify the use of the ancient transportation formation that was activated only after one hundred years. They had to find a huge fortuitous encounter.
After most of the day passed, everyone felt parched. Their minds and bodies were significantly drained.
The demand on the body here was greater than in the outside world.
When Senior Ma saw the situation, he waved his hand and said, "Let's rest for a while first. It is still early; there is no rush."
Everyone was tired as well. They immediately drank some water where they were and rested, replenishing their strength.
Since arriving here, the team had not stopped at all. It was either fighting or exploring the place. If one was not a physical body cultivator, it would be easy to tire out.
Xiao Chen appeared calm and carefree. He took a drink of water and casually looked around. He had not exhausted himself.
"Where did so many ants come from?"
The resting cultivators suddenly discovered many fiery-red ants climbing out of the cracks in the ground.
These were not ferocious beasts and were not very dangerous. However, they appeared in large numbers, scurrying frantically.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Several people could no longer just watch. They made their move and killed off all of the red ants present.
"Stop!"
Senior Ma shouted when he saw these red ants. His expression immediately changed drastically. "This is not good. These are underground Fire Ants. They are very good at enduring high temperatures. Under normal circumstances, they would not appear at all. They go aboveground only when they can't endure the high temperatures preceding a dragon flame eruption."
"A dragon flame eruption?!"
Senior Ma's words startled everyone. The underground dragon flame eruption was one of the scariest situations in the Dragon Flame Ancient Land.
Such a situation in this complicated and horrible environment was simply hell on earth.
The strength of an individual was extremely insignificant against the spewing dragon flame.
"A dragon flame eruption! We need to find a place with water to shelter us. Otherwise, we will all die. Quickly, search the vicinity."
Senior Ma's expression turned scarily sullen, affecting everyone else. Their hearts started pumping quickly for some reason as they searched the area.
A dragon flame eruption.
There were some records of this in the information that Xiao Chen obtained before coming here. That phenomenon was even scarier than a volcanic eruption. What erupted was the Dragon Flame Heart Fire that had accumulated for several tens of thousands of years.
This was known as the demonic flames of the deep abyss. It was no exaggeration to say that the dragon flame destroyed whatever it passed in the world.
Even a Cloud Sea Star Venerate would be burned to ashes on the spot if the underground dragon flame spewed out on him, not leaving anything behind.
No wonder Senior Ma was so anxious.
Fortunately, Senior Ma was here. Who else had such experience? Without noticing the strange movements of the Fire Ants, they would not even know how they died.
At the very least, they knew that they had to take shelter where there was water to overcome this calamity.
"Senior Ma, there is a rather large lake one hundred fifty kilometers to the north."
At this crucial moment, Xiao Chen could not continue hiding his skills. After dismissing the Heavenly Eye, he told Senior Ma about the lake that he saw.
"Are you sure?"
Xiao Chen replied indifferently, "This concerns our life and death. I will not mess around."
Not wanting to delay, Senior Ma shouted, "Gather up and follow me."
To these geniuses and outstanding talents, traveling one hundred fifty kilometers in the outside world would just take about fifteen minutes.
However, even walking was difficult in the depths of this Dragon Flame Ancient Land due to the ever-present ancient Dragon Might.
No one dared to fly casually. That would drain too much energy. They could only leap and run.
The air clearly turned even more arid. Sweat covered all their bodies. Their throats felt like they were spewing fire.
No one dared to doubt that a dragon flame eruption was imminent.
The signs were already very clear.
"Senior Ma, there is water in front. There really is water."
One hundred fifty kilometers later, the team did indeed see a rather vast lake.
Senior Ma smiled and said, "Xiao Chen, you saved all our lives."
Xiahou Feng and Leng Feng both glanced at Xiao Chen in surprise. There really was water. Even with their excellent eyesight, they could not see this far in this place.
Those two wondered how Xiao Chen had seen it.
Xiao Chen showed a calm expression, not revealing anything. He only responded politely to Senior Ma and stopped speaking after that.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Everyone flew to the center of the lake. Senior Ma instructed calmly, "Water-attributed and ice-attributed cultivators, stand on my left. Wind-attributed cultivators, stand on my right. The rest, stand behind me.
"Is there anyone who has comprehended the Water Great Dao or has a water-attributed Dao Tool?"
The moment Senior Ma asked that, someone stepped forward and pointed at the sword in his hand, indicating that he had a water-attributed Dao Tool.
Senior Ma nodded and said, "Very good. Later, you will lead these water-attributed and ice-attributed cultivators. As for the wind-attributed cultivators, remember to create strong winds and do your best to scatter the dragon flame. The other cultivators will work together to form a final barrier."
"Rumble!"
Suddenly, the world shook. The people standing on the water could not control themselves, wobbling left and right.
A pillar of fiery light soared into the sky in the distance.
Closely following that, another pillar, two more, three more…countless pillars of dragon flame erupted from the ground, spewing out.
It looked like the end of the world. Clouds for five thousand kilometers around roiled and burned as if the sky was burned through.
The surging heatwaves combined with the berserk Dragon Might, sweeping out in every direction. There was no place to hide.
Everyone could clearly see several frantic, strong ferocious beasts melting on the spot, leaving only their skeletons.
At the crucial moment, Senior Ma spread out his will of soul, enveloping everyone in it. He said seriously, "Act now! Quickly, act now! Follow my instructions and maintain this formation."