Chapter 85: Obtaining the Earth’s Core Jade Marrow
The silver light shuttle was indeed a High Grade flying Spiritual Artifact; its speed far surpassed Fang Hao’s Flying Sword flight. A faint silver glow flowed over the shuttle’s surface as it pierced through the clouds, silently traversing the sky. Fang Hao sat cross-legged inside the shuttle, controlling the flying boat with one hand while multi-tasking to circulate his Cultivation Technique to recover Spiritual Power, all while extending his Divine Sense to stay alert of his surroundings.
After flying continuously for two days and one night, he deliberately avoided all large cities and Cultivator gathering places, choosing a route through wild mountains and desolate areas. During this time, he sensed powerful Divine Senses sweeping across the sky several times, including the auras of Golden Core Cultivators, but thanks to the silver light shuttle’s concealment capabilities and his own techniques for restraining his aura, he managed to avoid them all without incident.
As he continued eastward, the surrounding environment began to change significantly. The fire-attribute Spiritual Qi in the air gradually became dense and active, and the temperature rose noticeably. The ground was no longer the desolate brown of the west, but instead took on dark red and scorched black tones. In the distance, at the edge of the horizon, the undulating outlines of crimson mountain ranges began to appear, like fiery flame Dragons crouching upon the earth.
"Lava Mountain Range... I’ve finally arrived!" Fang Hao stood at the front of the silver light shuttle, gazing at that crimson world, his expression solemn yet tinged with anticipation.
The closer he got, the stronger the scorching heat in the air became. He could even see wisps of black smoke rising from the peaks of some mountains, which were active volcanic craters spewing sulfurous breath. On the ground, solidified flows of black lava and steaming cracks were visible everywhere. This was a land filled with violent fire elemental power.
Fang Hao did not dare to be careless. When he was still a hundred miles from the edge of the mountain range, he put away the silver light shuttle and switched to low-altitude Flying Sword flight, while restraining his aura to the extreme. The Lava Mountain Range was a famous danger zone in Qingzhou and a paradise for many fire-system Cultivators and adventurers; with such a mixed crowd, he had to be even more cautious.
Following the description in the fragment of the heavenly craft puppet manual regarding the environment where earth core jade marrow might be born, he chose a relatively remote branch valley with an exceptionally pure and heavy earth-fire aura as his starting point for exploration.
Landing behind a hidden, scorched black rock, Fang Hao immediately felt the warmth coming from beneath his feet. He activated his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes and carefully observed his surroundings. The valley was filled with jagged rocks and devoid of any vegetation, the air thick with the pungent smell of sulfur and dense fire Spiritual Power. In some rock crevices, dark red light faintly peeked through—that was the essence of earth-fire flowing.
"earth core jade marrow must be nurtured deep within a special jade vein where earth-fire power is abundant and the geology is stable... The fire elemental power here is abundant enough, but the geology seems too active and not stable enough." Fang Hao frowned slightly, carefully sensing the fluctuations of the earth veins. He could feel bursts of rumbling and vibration coming from deep underground, which was the surging of earth-fire.
He cautiously explored inward along the valley, his Divine Sense like a fine spider web sweeping over every inch of ground, sensing energy fluctuations and geological structures. At the same time, he remained alert for potential dangers—not only was the environment in the Lava Mountain Range harsh, but it was also inhabited by many powerful fire-system Demon Beasts, such as Lava Giant Lizards, Fire Crows, and Earth Fire Scorpions, whose strength was not to be underestimated.
After traveling about ten miles, a massive volcanic crater constantly emitting thick smoke and heat appeared ahead. Around the crater were many caves of various sizes, some naturally formed and others looking as if they had been excavated by Demon Beasts.
Fang Hao chose a cave that looked relatively ancient with a jade-like luster shimmering at its entrance and cautiously walked inside. The interior of the cave twisted downwards, the temperature rising higher and higher, and the rock walls had been baked by earth-fire until they took on a glass-like luster. Occasionally, some low-grade fire-attribute Ores could be seen, such as hematite and fire crystals, but they were useless to Fang Hao.
He went several hundred feet deep; the cave grew narrower, and the aura of earth-fire became increasingly violent. Suddenly, a rustling sound came from ahead, accompanied by a foul, hot wind.
Fang Hao immediately held his breath and focused, hiding behind a giant rock. He saw several Demon Beasts, entirely crimson and shaped like lizards but with sharp claws and teeth, crouching beside an earth-fire crack, greedily absorbing the escaping fire Spiritual Power.
"Rank One Demon Beast, Fire Lizard." Fang Hao breathed a sigh of relief; these Demon Beasts had low intelligence and posed no threat to him. He quietly bypassed them and continued downward.
The deeper he went, the higher the rank of the Demon Beasts he encountered. Rank Two Fire Spiders, Early Stage Rank Three Lava Dogs... Relying on his superb concealment techniques and movement skills, Fang Hao avoided them one by one. For those he truly couldn’t avoid, he used thunderous methods to kill them quickly without leaving a trace.
Finally, at the deepest part of the cave, he sensed an exceptionally pure, gentle, and heavy fluctuation of dual earth-fire Spiritual Power! That fluctuation originated from deep within the rock wall, carrying a warm and moist sensation unique to jade.
"There’s hope!" Fang Hao’s spirits rose, and he immediately approached that section of the rock wall. The rock wall appeared dark red, but it was interspersed with some milky-white streaks and had a fine texture—it was indeed a vein of some kind of jade!
He took out his Flying Sword and carefully cut away the surface rock. As the rock peeled off, the milky-white jade inside was gradually revealed; its texture was pure, emitting a soft halo and warmth.
"It’s a Warm Jade vein!" Fang Hao was delighted. earth core jade marrow was often nurtured deep within such high-quality Warm Jade veins!
He continued digging inward along the direction of the vein. After digging about several yards deep, his Flying Sword suddenly touched an extremely hard core area. That core area was a translucent amber color, and inside, it seemed as if a thick liquid was slowly flowing, emitting amazing Spiritual Qi and vibrant vitality!
"earth core jade marrow! Found it!" Fang Hao’s eyes burst with light of wild joy! This amber-colored jade marrow was exactly the earth core jade marrow mentioned in the records! Its quality was far beyond his expectations!
Suppressing his excitement, he took out a set of specially made jade tools and began to collect it carefully. earth core jade marrow was extremely fragile and connected to the vein; if not collected properly, the Spiritual Qi would dissipate, and all efforts would be in vain.
After spending a full hour, Fang Hao finally managed to collect the small clump of earth core jade marrow, about the size of a fist, in its entirety and Sealed it in a pre-prepared cold jade box.
"It’s enough! It’s more than enough to repair the golden puppet’s core!" Looking at that clump of jade marrow in the box, warm as jade and brimming with spiritual light, Fang Hao breathed a long sigh of relief. After going through countless hardships, he had finally gathered both key Materials!
However, just as he was about to leave, a muffled roar suddenly came from deep within the cave! A violent, scorching, and terrifying Demonic Qi, comparable to the Early Golden Core Stage, swept over like a volcanic eruption!
Fang Hao’s expression changed: "Not good! I’ve disturbed the overlord of this place!"
Without hesitation, he immediately performed Shrinking the Ground to an Inch and sped toward the cave exit! At the same time, his Divine Sense swept backward, only to see a massive Demon Beast, covered in dark red crystal armor and shaped like a pangolin but with a single horn and sharp claws, angrily breaking through the rock wall and chasing after him!
Late Stage Rank Three Demon Beast—the Earth Fire Crystal Armored Beast! This cave was actually its nest! And the earth core jade marrow Fang Hao had collected was clearly the treasure it guarded!
"Roar." The Earth Fire Crystal Armored Beast was furious and spat out a stream of scorching lava, instantly flooding the passage!
Crisis had descended once again.
