Chapter 546 - 546: Fire Poison

Seeing Chu Qingyun's demeanor, Chen Yi, Zheng Tianrong, and the others grew even more doubtful.

'No matter how you look at him, this guy doesn't resemble Chu Qingyun at all,' they thought.

Furthermore, his reaction was completely normal, not at all like someone on the run.

By "normal," this didn't mean he was calm or unfazed.

Rather, it was the hint of confusion and nervousness Chu Qingyun had feigned so perfectly.

If a Level Six Martial Spirit, suddenly surrounded by so many Level Seven, Eight, and even Nine Martial Spirits, remained perfectly composed and showed no reaction, that would have been suspicious. It would have looked like a forced act.

Chen Yi and Zheng Tianrong couldn't find a single flaw.

It just went to show that everything about Chu Qingyun's disguise, from his altered appearance to his feigned expression, was so impeccable that it was nearly impossible to find fault.

After sizing up Chu Qingyun for a moment, Chen Yi asked, "Kid, who are you? Did you just see anyone pass through here?"

Chu Qingyun ducked his head timidly and replied, "Senior Brothers, I'm an Outer Disciple named Chen Qi. I came to the Molten Rock District to train and gather some Molten Beast Demon Cores to sell for Primordial Spirit Liquid."

"Just a moment ago, I did see a figure run off in that direction."

As he spoke, Chu Qingyun pointed toward the far side of Shi Mountain.

The name Chen Qi, of course, was one he had just pulled out of thin air.

The Saint Extreme Sect had tens of thousands of Outer Disciples. Chu Qingyun refused to believe he could be so unlucky that the random person he chose to impersonate would be someone Chen Yi and Zheng Tianrong happened to know.

The chances of that were just too small!

Sure enough, none of them—not Chen Yi, not Zheng Tianrong—knew any Chen Qi.

Furthermore, because Chu Qingyun had used the Hidden Qi Technique right as he leaped out of the magma pit, the sudden vanishing of his presence hadn't aroused their suspicion.

With a new direction to follow, the group pursued without another moment's hesitation.

Chu Qingyun, meanwhile, strolled unhurriedly back to the edge of the magma pit.

He looked at the pit, a little surprised.

'This magma pit doesn't look all that big, maybe the size of a small lake. I can't believe so many Molten Beasts were hidden inside,' he thought.

After a short wait, Chu Qingyun, still in his "Chen Qi" disguise, headed deeper into the Molten Rock District from a different direction.

The Magma Essence was a Treasure nurtured by the entire Molten Rock District.

Logically, it should be located somewhere in the core of the district, definitely not in these outer regions.

After traveling for half an hour, Chu Qingyun had yet to encounter Chen Yi and Zheng Tianrong again.

So, he deactivated his Thousand-faced Martial Soul and reverted to his original appearance.

'It always feels weird looking like someone else.'

Besides, if he ran into someone who actually knew this "Chen Qi," it would be a huge hassle. The Thousand-faced Martial Soul was an incredibly useful trump card, but one that absolutely could not be exposed.

If word of this Martial Soul got out, its usefulness and value would instantly plummet!

As he ventured deeper into the Molten Rock District, the ambient temperature rose steadily.

The outer edges of the Molten Rock District only had magma pits and lakes.

But as he neared the inner regions, Chu Qingyun began to see magma bubbling up from the ground, forming sluggishly flowing streams of lava.

Pale yellow, sulfurous smoke was everywhere in the interior of the Molten Rock District.

At one point, while passing a fissure in the ground, a great plume of pale red gas suddenly erupted from the opening, instantly blanketing a wide area.

Although Chu Qingyun reacted quickly and leaped away,

he still accidentally took a breath. Fire Poison instantly invaded his body, and a searing pain spread through his organs and meridians.

Fortunately, his escape was timely, and he had only inhaled a small amount.

He circulated his Primordial Power, suppressed the Fire Poison, and quickly purged it from his system.

Vast quantities of magma had accumulated underground within the Molten Rock District over countless years.

Deep beneath the surface, these massive reservoirs of magma constantly radiated immense heat and all sorts of miscellaneous gases and materials.

In subterranean pockets devoid of magma, this intense heat, the corpses of various creatures, and an array of toxic gases would mix together over long periods of time.

Gradually, this mixture would form concentrated pockets of Fire Poison.

Once the Fire Poison built up to a certain point, it would find a place to vent, erupting to the surface.

Experts at the Martial Spirit Realm possessed strong bodies and potent Primordial Power, so they could withstand the Fire Poison to a degree. However, inhaling or coming into contact with too much of it was still a major problem.

After that experience, Chu Qingyun moved through the Molten Rock District with much greater caution.

In the outer region, the Molten Beasts mostly congregated within the magma pits, rarely venturing out.

But in the interior of the Molten Rock District, the temperature was extremely high.

As a result, many Molten Beasts crawled out of the pits to wander the surface.

The Molten Beasts here were also far stronger than those in the outer region.

Along his journey, Chu Qingyun had already spotted many Molten Beasts with strength comparable to that of a Celestial Spirit Realm expert.

However, the purpose of his trip wasn't to collect Demon Cores from Molten Beasts.

Therefore, he did his best to avoid them along the way, not wanting to waste any time.

But just because he didn't want to provoke the Molten Beasts didn't mean they wouldn't provoke him.

This place served as the Land of Trial for the Saint Extreme Sect's Outer Sect. At any given moment, numerous Outer Disciples were here hunting Molten Beasts, honing their skills, and harvesting their Demon Cores.

As Tier Three Demon Beasts, Molten Beasts had not yet gained true sentience.

However, they were far more cunning than ordinary beasts or even Tier One and Tier Two Demon Beasts.

The Molten Beasts harbored a deep-seated hatred for human Martial Artists.

The more powerful ones would even crawl out of the magma pits on their own accord, wandering the surface to actively attack any human Martial Artists they found training here.

For this reason, Outer Disciples of the Saint Extreme Sect wouldn't venture too deep into the Molten Rock District unless they had sufficient strength.

Not long after Chu Qingyun deactivated his Thousand-faced Martial Soul, he ran into three Molten Beasts blocking his path.

Not wanting to get tangled up with them, Chu Qingyun prepared to take a detour.

Unfortunately, the three Molten Beasts had already locked onto him.

They raised their forelimbs, revealed their sharp claws, and snarled as they advanced on Chu Qingyun.

Of the three, the one in the lead was much larger than a typical Molten Beast, and its presence felt far more violent and ferocious.

The other two looked similar to the ones Chu Qingyun had seen before; they were likely only at the Earth Spirit Realm.