Chapter 550 - 550: Escape

Chu Qingyun didn't waste any time.

Dipping his fingers into the Cold Heart Marrow, he spread a thin, even layer all over his body.

The Fire Poison didn't just cause damage when inhaled.

In areas where the Fire Poison was intense, not even Primordial Power could necessarily block it out completely.

The Cold Heart Marrow's power was limited, and its effects wouldn't last long.

Therefore, Chu Qingyun didn't dare to delay. After straightening his clothes, he walked to the edge of the Fire Poison Region, took out an Ice Pattern Pill, and held it in his mouth before finally stepping inside.

Immediately after entering the Fire Poison Region, Chu Qingyun unleashed his Shadow Martial Soul, wrapping it tightly around his entire body. Within the Shadow Martial Soul, he condensed another layer of Primordial Power.

The Shadow Martial Soul, Primordial Power, and the Cold Heart Marrow.

These three layers of protection were enough to completely prevent the Fire Poison from directly touching his body.

Here, every breath he took meant inhaling a large amount of Fire Poison.

But whenever the Fire Poison entered his system, he would draw out a stream of medicinal power by refining the Ice Pattern Pill in his mouth to neutralize it.

And so, Chu Qingyun silently infiltrated the Fire Poison Region.

As he moved deeper, he maintained the Hidden Qi Technique and even lowered his breathing to the bare minimum.

The Molten Beasts, on the other hand, had no concept of concealing their auras.

Compared to the magma pits outside, there weren't too many Molten Beasts within the Fire Poison Region.

However, every single one was incredibly powerful. The weakest were comparable to eighth-level Martial Spirits, and there were quite a few at the ninth level.

Along the way, Chu Qingyun did his best to avoid the Molten Beasts, carefully exploring deeper into the Fire Poison Region.

If he alerted such a large number of powerful Molten Beasts, he'd be in for a world of hurt.

Fortunately, within the Fire Poison Region, the Molten Beasts' vitality was significantly reduced.

Most of the Molten Beasts lay motionless on the ground, groaning feebly.

Only a few would occasionally stir, drag themselves forward a bit on their forelimbs, then slump back to the ground, unmoving.

Evidently, while the Molten Beasts weren't afraid of the Fire Poison, they probably weren't very comfortable in such a potent concentration of it—at least not as active as they were in the magma.

'To be this uncomfortable, yet so many eighth and ninth-level Molten Beasts are staying here... could it be... there really is Magma Essence here?'

Chu Qingyun guessed to himself.

It seemed to be the only possibility he could think of.

There was no other reason for so many powerful Molten Beasts to stay here unless they were guarding the Magma Essence.

After carefully making his way forward for over ten minutes, Chu Qingyun finally saw it. About a hundred meters ahead of him was a small magma pit, only two meters in diameter.

The magma in this pit was constantly flowing, and it bulged up in the center, forming something like a miniature volcano.

At the very top of this miniature volcano, a ball of bright golden magma was held aloft by the fiery red magma below it, constantly emitting a golden glow.

That was the Magma Essence!

The single essence born from the countless pools of magma throughout the entire Molten Rock District!

Seeing the Magma Essence, a smile finally appeared on Chu Qingyun's face.

He had found the Magma Essence in the Fire Poison Region. This trip hadn't been a waste after all.

Now that he had found the Magma Essence, the next step was naturally to figure out how to get his hands on it.

At that moment, however, Chu Qingyun's brow furrowed again.

He was only about a hundred meters from the Magma Essence, but that hundred-meter stretch was covered in Molten Beasts—and they were all powerful ones, comparable to ninth-level Martial Spirits!

'A direct assault is definitely impossible. I can only try using the vines...'

Chu Qingyun thought to himself, then silently unleashed his Iron Wire Ten-Star Vine Martial Soul.

From the Martial Soul Illusion behind him, two vines quietly grew out, coiling through the air until they were in front of him.

Chu Qingyun took a jade box from his Storage Ring.

The two vines held the jade box aloft and, without a sound, slowly extended toward the Magma Essence in the center of the magma pit.

However, when they were about halfway there, a Molten Beast happened to look up and suddenly spotted the vines and the jade box in midair.

"ROAR!"

The Molten Beast roared, then leaped up. With a flash of its claw, it crushed both the jade box and the vines to pieces.

All the Molten Beasts were instantly alerted and slowly began to stir.

Without a moment's hesitation, Chu Qingyun spun around and fled, sprinting toward the outside at top speed.

The entire Fire Poison Region soon echoed with a continuous series of roars.

In the blink of an eye, dozens of Molten Beasts had gathered behind Chu Qingyun, roaring as they chased after him relentlessly.

Fortunately, Chu Qingyun had already activated his Shadow Martial Soul, and since it was now dark, not even the Molten Beasts could see him clearly. They could only vaguely sense his general location.

Still, there were quite a few Molten Beasts in the surrounding area.

As Chu Qingyun sprinted, he inevitably startled nearby Molten Beasts, drawing their continuous attacks.

As more and more Molten Beasts were roused, Chu Qingyun had no choice but to unleash his Forest Iron Wall Martial Soul. Four black, rune-covered iron walls appeared, temporarily blocking the attacks from the surrounding beasts as he continued to flee.

The four Senluo Iron Walls continuously withstood the Molten Beasts' ferocious ramming and biting attacks.

Each impact sent a massive shockwave through Chu Qingyun as well.

It had taken him over ten minutes to get in.

But his escape took less than two minutes.

In that short span of two minutes, the four Senluo Iron Walls were shattered by the terrifying number of Molten Beasts, and his Iron Wire Ten-Star Vine Martial Soul also collapsed and dissipated under their frenzied assault.

Even Chu Qingyun himself was left with numerous wounds from their sharp teeth and claws.

At the last moment, Chu Qingyun had to unleash the Devouring Power with his left hand and execute the Lightning Sword with his Thunder Shock Sword in his right, just to break through the few Molten Beasts blocking his path.

After bursting out of the Fire Poison Region, Chu Qingyun still didn't dare to stop, continuing his escape.

The Molten Beasts behind him didn't let him go, pursuing him out of the Fire Poison Region to continue the hunt.

The Magma Essence was of vital importance to the entire Molten Beast swarm.

That was why the powerful Molten Beasts instinctively guarded the Fire Poison Region, eliminating any intruder who dared to harbor designs on the Magma Essence!

However, there weren't as many Molten Beasts outside.

Thus, relying on his Hidden Qi Technique and Shadow Martial Soul, Chu Qingyun managed to shake off his pursuers with relative ease.