Chapter 1049: Terrifying Lava (Part 2)

A Master Teacher couldn't help but step forward, intending to pass straight through as before. However, he found it was like hitting an iron plate, as a vast force pushed him away.

"This..." His pupils contracted, and the Master Teacher's face revealed a look of disbelief. "If this is the case, how can we leave?"

Not only did he react this way, but many other Master Teachers also stepped forward to try, their faces turning pale one by one.

The previous red light membrane had been like passing through water—easy and effortless, without the slightest obstruction. But this hazy white one was like a city wall; with their collective strength, breaking through it was simply impossible.

This meant that once the entrance closed, it was like entering a dead city! If they couldn't find a way forward, they would be trapped here until they died, with no possibility of escape.

"No wonder it's described as a place of 'nine deaths, one life'; it's truly terrifying..." a Master Teacher muttered to himself with a bitter smile.

Before they arrived, Master Wu and the others had repeatedly warned them that this place was extremely dangerous, a place of 'nine deaths, one life.' Initially, they hadn't taken it seriously, but seeing this, they finally understood just how true it was.

They hadn't even fully entered the relic; they were merely at the entrance and were already flustered and disoriented, unable to find their bearings. If they were to truly enter, wouldn't it be even more terrifying?

"I said before that the seal would close after 15 minutes, and once it closes... it cannot be reopened, unless we find a solution!" President Han shook his head. "Alright," he said, "dwelling on this isn't very meaningful. Since we've come in, we've already braced ourselves for death. Our immediate priority should be to find the entrance to the relic!"

"Indeed!" everyone nodded.

They had understood the dangers of this place before coming, and most had already made arrangements for their affairs. Since retreat was impossible, it was better to simply move forward.

Zhang Xuan understood this as well. He looked down at the magma again, while quietly communicating with the Thousand Ant Queen Bee in his mind.

"Master," the Thousand Ant Queen Bee's voice soon echoed, "there's no folded space here! Even if there is, it's likely beneath the molten rock, where I can't observe it..."

"None?" Zhang Xuan's face turned ashen.

Could it be that the passage to the so-called relic was truly beneath the magma?

Even Wu Shi couldn't descend there, let alone them!

They hadn't even entered the relic yet; surely, it wouldn't be designed to be so difficult right from the start!

If that were truly the case, how did the old principal and other outstanding individuals manage to enter back then?

"It's a pity I didn't manage to acquire the map from the Poison Hall," Zhang Xuan muttered with a helpless expression. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be in such a passive situation..." If he had that map, finding a way out should be easy, rather than being completely clueless as they were now.

"I'll stop thinking about it for now," Zhang Xuan decided. "I'll try the Library to see if I can discover anything."

Dismissing these negative emotions, Zhang Xuan's body blurred, and he flew directly towards the molten rock.

Magma was an inanimate substance; he couldn't use martial arts on it or circulate his zhenqi through it. Only by touching it directly could he activate the Library of Heaven's Path.

"Master Zhang, what are you doing?" Master Mu couldn't help but ask upon seeing him descend.

"I'm going to examine it, take a closer look..." Knowing he couldn't explain the matter of the Library of Heaven's Path in detail, Zhang Xuan simply waved his hand.

In the blink of an eye, he arrived above the molten rock. Sure enough, a scorching heat wave assailed him, penetrating through his skin and deep into his bones, seemingly capable of incinerating a person at any moment.

"So hot!" Zhang Xuan's pupils contracted in shock.

No wonder Wu Shi could only descend 40 meters and go no deeper; the temperature here was far more terrifying than Zhang Xuan had imagined. Even if he exerted his full strength, 30 meters would likely be a major hurdle.

Circulating his Heaven's Path zhenqi to expel the surrounding heat from his body, Zhang Xuan then extended a finger and touched the molten rock.

"Defects!" he whispered inwardly.

Whoosh! A book materialized before his eyes.

"Volcanic magma, formed by telluric fire melting rocks, possesses extremely high temperatures. It contains various rock types such as black jade stone, granite, and lapis lazuli. Once solidified, it can be used for constructing buildings..."

Upon seeing the content, Zhang Xuan stumbled, almost losing his balance.

Build houses, seriously?! Is this what I need to know? No!

He was utterly frustrated, yet he also knew that this outcome was to be expected. The Library could only analyze what he directly touched, and even then, only a limited aspect of it; it couldn't expand its scope.

It was like when he tried to absorb the books from a bookshelf by touching it; he had tried multiple times and knew it was fundamentally impossible.

Touching the molten rock below, what appeared were the properties of the magma itself, not whether there were defects in the area where the relic might be hidden.

In other words, the usually infallible Library of Heaven's Path was useless at this moment...

What was to be done?

Rubbing his temples, Zhang Xuan, feeling helpless, had no choice but to fly back up.

"If all else fails," President Han said with a dejected look upon seeing even the omnipotent Principal Zhang return empty-handed, "we can each divide up some areas and explore downwards one by one... Since the seal could be opened, it suggests the relic isn't too deep! As long as everyone works together, we'll surely find some clues."

"Explore one by one?"

The crowd's expressions turned solemn, and they nodded. At this point, it was their only option.

The exterior of the molten rock revealed no formations or anything special, suggesting the relic was very likely hidden within it. With no possibility of retreat, their only course of action was a widespread search, inch by inch.

"What if... the so-called relic is hidden below forty meters?" Director Shen Pingchao of Luocing Academy frowned.

As he spoke, the others nodded in agreement. Even Wu Shi could only descend forty meters; they would certainly be even less able to penetrate that deep. A widespread search was indeed the correct approach, but... if the relic was hidden beyond forty meters, even if they all searched until they died, it would be futile.

"Searching one by one is indeed a good method, but it's not feasible..." Luo Ruoxi, standing to one side, spoke up.

"Oh? Master Luo, what insight do you have?" President Han looked her way.

"As they said," Luo Ruoxi said, her delicate brows slightly furrowed, "if the relic is hidden below forty meters, it's impossible for us to find it with our current strength. Furthermore, with such a vast expanse of molten rock and only thirty of us, how long do you calculate it would take to conduct a thorough, 'carpet' search?"

"This..." President Han was speechless.

Although most of those present possessed divine sense and could probe deep, the deeper they went into the molten rock, the greater the resistance, and the smaller their probing range became. Given their collective strength and the rate of zhenqi recovery, thoroughly searching this entire volcanic crater, which spanned over ten li, would likely be impossible in less than a month!

Over such a long period, even without combat, everyone would certainly be exhausted and die here.

"Then what should we do?" a Master Teacher asked.

"I don't know either," Luo Ruoxi replied, "but I feel that since the other party left a 'door of life,' there must be a path for us; we just haven't considered it yet. As the saying goes, 'sharpening the axe doesn't delay chopping wood.' Rather than searching aimlessly and relying on luck, it might be better to first understand and confirm our objective before acting. The chances of success might be greater then..."

Everyone nodded simultaneously. What she said was true; for their current situation, casting a wide net and hoping for luck was indeed unadvisable.

The environment here was simply too harsh. While they could perhaps endure for one, two, or even ten hours, a full day... would likely lead to them suffering from fire poison. After two days, they would probably be completely exhausted from the scorching heat, turning into withered husks.

"Indeed, we must continue searching for clues..."

Zhang Xuan also nodded and looked downwards again.

The entire volcanic crater was circular, though not perfectly regular. From time to time, energy emanated from within, contacting the seal above and producing deafening sounds.

Previously, if this energy couldn't be released, it would undoubtedly explode inside. But now, with the hole he had created from the outside, it simply gushed out, posing no danger.

"Could it be... related to these gushing energies?" A thought suddenly struck him.

Previously, the old principal, You Xu, and others had entered smoothly, surely without expending so much effort. According to You Xu's account, they had encountered a storm of energy as soon as they passed through the membrane, which swept them away to an unknown location where they met the Otherworldly Demonic Tribe...

In other words, when they first arrived, the membrane had been filled with an irresistible surge of power...

Could these storms be the very energies that were now being released? If that were the case, then without these energies, while the area might be much safer and free of danger, finding the relic's entrance would also become impossible.

"Gushing energy... Could it be that the point of energy eruption is where the so-called relic is hidden?" As these thoughts crossed his mind, a flash of inspiration struck him.

If what You Xu said was true, then the place where the energy erupted must be strongly connected to the relic.

Thinking of this, Zhang Xuan couldn't help but look downwards.

Coincidentally, at that moment, a surge of energy again emerged from the molten rock below, swirling straight upwards. Upon contact with the spot where he had previously inserted the formation flag, it immediately vanished without a trace.

The node he had found was a loophole in the entire seal; once a formation flag was inserted there, the energy within could no longer accumulate. Because of this, he had been here for so long that he had actually forgotten about this particular detail.

"I'll try it!" Zhang Xuan nodded to himself. Whether this was the correct location or not, only a personal test would confirm it. Aside from this spot, he couldn't think of any other particularly special places for the time being.

"The molten rock cannot be probed, and it yielded no useful information," Zhang Xuan murmured to himself. "The only way is to enter and investigate... Wu Shi's strength is depleted and hasn't recovered yet, so it has to be me!"

Zhang Xuan extended his finger forward, and a massive cauldron appeared before his eyes.

It was the Golden Origin Cauldron!

This fellow had already advanced to a mid-tier Saint artifact, its strength comparable to a peak Saint Realm 4-dan expert. While it might not be a match for Wu Shi in a direct combat, when it came to resisting high temperatures and magma, Wu Shi was definitely far inferior.

"The Golden Origin Cauldron... it advanced to a mid-tier Saint artifact?"

Seeing his sudden action, everyone looked over, and after a single glance, they froze in astonishment. Everyone had heard of this treasure, the guardian artifact of Hongyuan Master Teacher Academy, which was known to be only a low-tier Saint artifact. When had it become mid-tier?

While low-tier and mid-tier were only a small difference in rank, there was an essential, heaven-and-earth-like gap between them.

"My master temporarily took in an artifact forging apprentice last night," the Golden Origin Cauldron declared with an indescribable smugness, "and casually refined me a bit. And then... I reached this level. Aren't you envious? However, envy is useless. This cauldron possesses extraordinary talent. Such casual breakthroughs aren't something you can learn..."