Chapter 364: Land of Blazing Fire

Less than half a day later, Lu Ye realized something was amiss. This entire region seemed devoid of Wanmoling cultivators. What's more, even the monster beasts that originally inhabited the area appeared to have sensed impending danger and had all fled.

The bee swarm's relentless pursuit was endless. Had Lu Ye not been able to continuously replenish his expended spiritual energy using the Talent Tree and Gluttonous Meal, he wouldn't have been able to endure. The honey he had collected earlier from the giant beehive proved extremely helpful. This high-quality honey was significantly more effective at restoring his stamina and spiritual energy than the lower-quality kind he'd used before. At this point, he didn't care if he attracted more attention. Without properly replenishing his stamina, he would be unable to continue his escape.

Lu Ye attempted aerial flight several times, but even when he ignored the drain on his spiritual energy and continuously maintained the Wind-Attuned Spirit Mark, he could only temporarily outpace the swarm. The moment he stopped for even a moment, the bees would be right back on his tail. It was relentless.

His only option now, if he wanted to escape the swarm, was to take a drastic measure. His strategic map indicated that deep within Mist Hidden Mountain lay the Blazing Land, an area spanning thousands of li. Its environment was extremely severe, making it one of the most perilous locations in the Spirit Stream Battlefield. One would expect such a harsh place to be completely barren, yet despite its unbearable heat, the Blazing Land contained a surprising amount of vitality. As a result, while not lush, it was certainly not a wasteland. Furthermore, the area was abundant in fire-attribute spirit plants and minerals.

When he had first decided to enter Mist Hidden Mountain, Lu Ye had already noted the Blazing Land on his map. He had considered exploring it once he dealt with the Wanmoling cultivators pursuing him. After all, the Talent Tree could devour unowned items imbued with scorching energy, so he might find something useful in the Blazing Land. Now the Wanmoling cultivators were nowhere to be seen, but he was being pursued by an even more troublesome group of creatures. With no other option, Lu Ye could only head for the Blazing Land. If the environment there was sufficiently harsh, it could deter the swarm. Of course, the only caveat was whether he could endure it himself! Nevertheless, he was a seventh-level Sky Realm cultivator, and his physique was comparable to a body refiner of the same level. His endurance should be greater than that of the monster bees.

Having made his decision, Lu Ye followed the map's guidance and made directly for the Blazing Land. Throughout this period, he repeatedly attempted aerial flight to evade the swarm behind him, all to no avail.

Stopping and starting, after two days, the tall trees were no longer visible, and the vegetation had thinned considerably. A subtle warmth also permeated the surrounding environment. He had reached the outer reaches of the Blazing Land. The near-continuous escape over the past two days had taken a heavy toll on Lu Ye. Now that he had reached the Blazing Land and confirmed the environment matched the map's description, a glimmer of hope immediately surged within him.

As he continued, the vegetation grew increasingly sparse, and the absence of natural barriers or obstructions allowed the pursuing swarm to gain considerable speed. Left with no alternative, Lu Ye unleashed his flying spirit artifact, skimming a few *zhang* above the ground. The deeper he ventured, the more pronounced the ambient heat became, and even the ground turned parched. However, precisely as described on the map, this wasn't a sterile, scorching heat. Instead, it held a unique life force. Otherwise, common spirit plants would simply be unable to survive in such an environment.

Rumors claimed that an ultimate treasure lay within the Blazing Land, the true source of its strange environment. Over the years, many cultivators had been drawn by these tales, entering the Blazing Land to hunt for treasure. But they either returned empty-handed or perished in the wild. It's worth noting that the Heavenly Mystery Merchant Alliance's strategic map explicitly marked the Blazing Land as a perilous location. Any area designated as such was invariably a no-go zone for cultivators. The danger here stemmed not only from the environment itself but also from external factors. Such as... monster beasts!

The unique environment of the Blazing Land attracted numerous fire-attribute monster beasts. Many of these creatures were exceptionally powerful, and most cultivators were simply no match for them. For instance, the fire lizard Lu Ye just encountered was crouching on the ground, merging seamlessly with its surroundings. Its concealment rivaled the stealth of even the most skilled ghost cultivators. As Lu Ye flew overhead, a long tongue lashed out, adhering to his flying spirit boat. Had he not reacted swiftly, unleashing several spirit artifacts from his armament box to slash at it, he likely would have been torn down. The fire lizard's long tongue was remarkably elastic; the power of Lu Ye's spirit artifacts failed to sever it entirely. Stung by the attack, the creature even opened its mouth and breathed out raging flames. Lu Ye immediately ascended sharply, quickly evading.

The pursuing bee swarm, however, met a terrible fate. Caught in the inferno, at least several dozen monster bees perished. More fire lizards emerged nearby, and volleys of intense flames erupted, sending large swathes of monster bees raining down. Lu Ye's eyebrows lifted at this sight. The pent-up frustration from days of pursuit finally felt considerably relieved.

But the monster bees were not to be trifled with. The hundreds of Leaf Removal Alliance cultivators stung to death by them earlier served as a stark reminder. These creatures might not be highly intelligent, but they possessed extreme vengefulness. Lu Ye had merely scavenged some honey and royal jelly from their giant beehive, and they had pursued him relentlessly all the way here. Since the fire lizards dared to slaughter monster bees, their fate was sealed.

The buzzing grew denser as the sky was thick with descending monster bees. The spat flames quickly extinguished, and amidst hissing sounds, one by one, the fire lizards that had emerged lay stiffly on the ground, occasionally twitching. After the bee swarm swept past, only a mere dozen or so fire lizard corpses remained. Fire lizards were mere outer perimeter monster beasts, not particularly strong. The deeper one ventured, the more fire-attribute monster beasts appeared, and the more powerful they became. These monster beasts typically kept to their own territories, only occasionally venturing out to hunt. Little did they expect disaster to befall them out of the blue.

Perhaps having been provoked by the fire lizards, in the swarm's wake, regardless of whether the monster beasts had provoked them, creatures were stung until their bodies swelled and they collapsed lifeless. Consequently, the monster beasts of the Blazing Land suffered devastating casualties. Whether influenced by the scorching environment, the monster bees at this moment appeared to have lost all reason, frantically retaliating against all surrounding life. Perhaps their simple minds had already sensed that Lu Ye, the thief who had stolen their treasures, was about to make his escape.

Half a day later, Lu Ye had ventured deep into the Blazing Land. At this depth, the intense surrounding heat was beyond what ordinary cultivators could endure. The high temperature visibly distorted the environment, and the ground had taken on an unnatural dark red hue. Lu Ye channeled spiritual energy to protect his body, yet he was still profusely sweating. His sweat evaporated the moment it appeared, leaving his clothes stiff and unbearably uncomfortable against his skin. This was even with his seventh-level Sky Realm cultivation and the fire-attribute techniques he practiced; otherwise, he would have collapsed long ago.

By this time, the pursuing monster bees had also sustained heavy losses. Countless had been annihilated by monster beasts encountered along the way. The remaining bees seemed to have lost their vigor; their speed had drastically decreased, weaker individual bees had fallen behind, and many more bees' wings became damaged by the intense heat, causing them to plummet. Their appendages melted by the terrifying ground heat, and then, losing all vitality, they incinerated into a ball of fire.

Lu Ye turned his head and looked back; a great sense of relief washed over him. He knew he had made the right choice by coming to the Blazing Land; otherwise, there would have been no way to truly shake off this swarm of monster bees. After flying further for a bit, the sounds of pursuit behind him gradually faded. Lu Ye turned his head again to look. He saw that the remaining monster bees, now fewer in number, were no longer moving forward. Instead, they hovered motionless, silently watching him. A moment later, the remaining swarm turned around and retreated along the same path. Lu Ye watched them depart. He had finally rid himself of these persistent pests.

A wave of relief washed over him, followed by an overwhelming sense of fatigue. Even his spirit boat, held aloft, swayed slightly. Lu Ye hastily retrieved some high-grade honey from his storage bag to replenish his stamina and spiritual energy, also taking out a few spirit pills and ingesting them. He neither retreated nor continued onward. Lu Ye deactivated his escape light and descended.

Having been chased for several days, he hadn't had a proper rest. Although the current environment was harsh, the immediate threat of pursuit was gone, allowing him to take a makeshift rest and recover somewhat. He remained here for two reasons. First, he feared the monster bees might be waiting for him outside. Having finally shaken them off, Lu Ye never wanted to encounter them again.

The second reason was the unusual behavior of his Talent Tree. Since half a day ago, he had a vague sensation that the Talent Tree was behaving strangely. This feeling was very similar to when he previously used it to devour Earth Core Fire. During inner vision, he could even see the Talent Tree, rooted in his Origin Spirit Aperture, sprouting new rootlets that drifted about. The sight suggested that the Talent Tree wanted to devour something but hadn't located its target. This confirmed one thing for Lu Ye: there was a fire-attribute treasure in the Blazing Land, and it was one that the Talent Tree could absorb!

This was highly appealing to Lu Ye. Up until now, all the Earth Core Fire devoured by the Talent Tree had been purchased by him from the Heavenly Mystery Treasure Vault using his contribution points. Each portion of Earth Core Fire cost two hundred contribution points. For any cultivator, two hundred contribution points was no small sum. Lu Ye had cumulatively spent nearly twenty thousand contribution points on it. If he could find fire-attribute treasures here that the Talent Tree could devour, it would effectively save Lu Ye a significant amount of contribution points. This naturally made it worthwhile for him to explore.

As time passed, Lu Ye slowly regained his strength, and the surrounding heat also considerably alleviated. Lu Ye realized that the heat itself hadn't diminished; rather, he was gradually adapting to the environment, granting his physical body a degree of resistance. He hadn't noticed this earlier, mainly due to his rapid descent. He had flown in on his spirit artifact, and as he continuously went deeper, the surrounding environment intensified too rapidly, preventing his body from adapting in time. But now that he had stopped, this adaptability slowly manifested itself. Realizing this, Lu Ye abandoned his original intention of continuing deeper via spirit artifact. Instead, he proceeded on foot, advancing step by step.