When it came to actually searching for items, Sheng Yuanyao found herself, once again, merely an observer. Anuo was practically a top-tier powerhouse with divine perception; wherever there were plants, Anuo was there. The vast cavern, which would normally take a day or two to explore, was no match for Anuo, who darted excitedly across the entire space. No matter how well hidden the plants were, none escaped her keen eyes.

Sheng Yuanyao watched wide-eyed as Anuo dug through the black soil and pulled out a dark mushroom. Its color was exactly the same as the soil; from the surface, it was impossible to tell anything was even there!

There were even items growing beneath the lava. Anuo gave the Flame Demon a good beating and ordered it to dive down and retrieve them.

Ultimately, another lava-colored mushroom was retrieved, and Sheng Yuanyao had no idea how Anuo had managed to find it.

But wait, why were all these things mushrooms?

‘These are good things, Sister Yao,’ Anuo asked, holding up a lava mushroom. ‘Do you want to eat one?’

Sheng Yuanyao was dumbfounded: ‘Raw?’

‘Yes,’ Anuo replied. ‘These mushrooms are heavenly treasures that can be eaten directly, providing an immediate surge of energy for cultivation. However, if used in alchemy, adding some complementary ingredients would likely yield even better results.’

Sheng Yuanyao stroked her chin, feeling a little speechless.

Indeed, Lu Xingzhou was right when he said that one should come to the second layer for trials. Reflecting on it, this was a pure boon provided by the state. These were third-grade opportunities created by third-grade demonic creatures, yet their actual combat power was only fourth-grade. Anyone with a bit of ambition, why wouldn’t they seize this chance?

However, ordinary people truly couldn’t come here. Even Sheng Yuanyao, a rising star on the Newcomer’s Ranking, felt like she was a bit of a hindrance. What could other young people even accomplish? Only monstrously powerful individuals like Lu Xingzhou and Anuo, who could fight across ranks, could manage in this place. Furthermore, even if ordinary people did come, they likely wouldn’t find anything; how could one possibly find things hidden beneath lava?

Sheng Yuanyao didn’t know what she could do, so she simply leaned against a rock and studied the dual cultivation technique Lu Xingzhou had given her earlier, pondering it in secret.

Suddenly, a loud bang erupted from behind her in the distance.

Startled, she turned to look. Lu Xingzhou was kicking downwards in mid-air, delivering a fierce kick into the largest pool of lava at the center of the cavern.

A massive vortex of lava formed, and a deep hole appeared at its center.

Just the swirling lava alone would make it difficult for an ordinary person to even approach, yet Lu Xingzhou simply took out his wheelchair.

Its protective shield deployed, the wheelchair swiftly plunged into the depths of the lava.

Sheng Yuanyao was speechless.

She wanted to follow, but felt she would only be a burden. That wheelchair was practically an all-purpose war chariot; no wonder he couldn’t bear to abandon it.

Meanwhile, Lu Xingzhou had already reached the bottom, and as expected, a cluster of red flames flickered and burned fiercely. Even before getting close, he could feel the intense heat radiating from it, as if a volcanic eruption’s immense power was contained within the tiny flame.

The terrains within the Demon Subjugation Domain were not natural formations; they were all created after a demonic creature was suppressed and perished within the domain, with the unique attributes of the demon leading to the subsequent formation of the terrain. For instance, the desert on the first layer was formed over time due to the intense heat of a fire seed combined with the water absorption of a turtle-dragon.

This was why everyone believed volcanic terrains must contain fire seeds. It wasn’t a natural volcano; its formation was certainly triggered by something, most likely a powerful Flame Demon that died here, leaving behind its last fire seed.

Such fire seeds were inherently violent and intensely hot, extremely difficult to control, and theoretically, might not be something Lu Xingzhou could subdue in his current state.

But Lu Xingzhou still felt he could try.

If he possessed the Flame Essence, a semi-innate spiritual object forming his bones, and didn’t even dare to touch a fire seed, what was the point?

His right leg shot down in a flying kick, and for the first time, flames visibly ignited around his leg in mid-air, looking unexpectedly cool.

Like a powerful heavenly kick descending from the sky, it firmly stomped on the tiny flame.

The next moment, the flame erupted in a furious rage with a ‘boom,’ engulfing Lu Xingzhou entirely in a sea of fire.

Sheng Yuanyao rushed to the edge of the lava at this moment, drawing her sword and intending to charge down. Anuo held her back tightly, saying, ‘Don’t sacrifice yourself, Sister Yao; you can’t withstand that temperature…’

Sheng Yuanyao: ‘…Aren’t you worried about Master?’

Anuo said, ‘Master has his own judgment. If he assessed that it wasn’t the right time, he wouldn’t make a move, no matter how much he wanted it. He didn’t even bring his Soul Banner; he intends to subdue it himself. Hmm… he might need a little help from you later?’

Sheng Yuanyao was about to ask what kind of help, when she saw Lu Xingzhou employ some unknown spell. The burning flames vanished, and the fire seed seemed to drill upwards along his right leg.

However, it didn’t fully ascend, but was confined to the area of his calf bone, surging left and right. From the outside, that leg could be seen burning fiercely, a terrifying sight.

Then, the water spiritual power from his left leg came to support through his Dantian, suppressing the riotous fire seed. Meanwhile, the Flame Essence in his right leg, with its affinity and capacity, slowly smoothed out the fire seed.

Visibly, two currents of water and fire energy spiraled upwards, converging into his Dantian. From there, they began to spiral again, rushing towards his Spiritual Platform.

The flame in his Spiritual Platform flickered erratically, seeming on the verge of a breakthrough, yet it never quite broke through, being firmly suppressed by the swirling Yin and Yang energies surrounding it.

Sheng Yuanyao suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. She opened the dual cultivation technique Lu Xingzhou had taught her earlier and, upon seeing it, realized that this method of balancing Yin and Yang for one’s own use was clearly a dual cultivation technique!

So, the current situation was…

An excess of fire, and not enough Yin energy to balance it?

Just as she was thinking this, she saw Lu Xingzhou emerge from the lava, using his wheelchair for cover, and somewhat awkwardly land on the ground. ‘Lend a hand…’ he gasped.

Sheng Yuanyao rolled her eyes. She didn’t need to ask to know what kind of help she could provide at this moment.

She simply reached out and picked up Anuo, placing her behind a rock to squat. Then, she gracefully turned and sat in Lu Xingzhou’s lap.

She could feel Lu Xingzhou’s entire body, hot as if he had a fever.

Lu Xingzhou didn’t hesitate. He simply held her close and lowered his head to kiss her.

Both slightly parted their lips. The excess fire from Lu Xingzhou’s body directly flowed into Sheng Yuanyao’s. Sheng Yuanyao attempted to follow the dual cultivation technique’s guidance, using her internal Yin energy to entwine and rotate with this flame, and then sent it back to Lu Xingzhou.

After several repetitions, the violent intensity of the flames gradually subsided. Sheng Yuanyao, who was sharing her internal vision with him during the dual cultivation, could almost see a small flame obediently settling on his Spiritual Platform, surrounded by two powerful currents of energy, one red and one blue, forming a Tai Chi symbol around it.

Lu Xingzhou’s scorching body temperature finally receded. At the same time, the spiritual energy Lu Xingzhou shared with her also grew. Almost simultaneously, both of them broke through to the fifth-grade high-rank.

Sheng Yuanyao was speechless.

Isn’t this cheating?

No wonder that enchanting Pei was so passionate, always snuggling in his arms and kissing him. So it wasn’t just comfortable, but also helped with cultivation? They should have told her earlier! Could only his maid cultivate this way, and not their sworn brothers?

Neither of them was willing to end the dual cultivation for a while. Lu Xingzhou was still conducting an internal inspection, analyzing the newly acquired fire seed.

After subduing the fire seed, its name automatically appeared in his mind: Fiery Annihilation Golden Flame.

The flame contained a trace of Golden Essence, granting it a certain physical penetrative power. This was also the fundamental reason why the Iron Demon chose to recuperate here. While this type of flame was most suitable for artifact refining, this particular one was not ideal. The prefix ‘Annihilation’ destined it to be purely destructive.

Its greatest value was allowing him to exponentially increase the destructive power of his fire techniques, making it a pure combat flame. With this flame, fire-based talismans would become meaningless for him in the future, as even the most exquisite talismans could not replicate the effects of a special fire seed. He would have to research and develop his own techniques.

As for how to integrate it with his fire-infused leg, or whether it would be more suitable for the Flame Demon, further research was needed.

Overall, acquiring this fire seed meant the trip was a complete success. Anuo had also likely gathered numerous heavenly treasures, and after refining some items later, everyone’s strength might experience a significant leap.

While he was immersed in researching the fire seed, voices drifted down from above: ‘There are signs of their battle here! They must be nearby!’

Both of them froze. Before they could even withdraw from their dual cultivation, the formation barrier at the volcano’s mouth was pierced by a sword, and a white-haired girl instantly appeared before them.

Dugu Qingli’s gaze shifted from surprise at finding them, to a cold, assessing look as she crossed her arms and scrutinized them from head to toe.

Sheng Yuanyao immediately sprang out of Lu Xingzhou’s embrace: ‘It’s not what you think!’

Dugu Qingli’s expression remained unchanged, still wearing that ‘You talk, I’m listening’ look.

Above, shadowy figures appeared, and several subordinates from the Demon Suppression Division flew down. Upon seeing Sheng Yuanyao standing there, they all let out a sigh of relief: ‘Commander, we’re glad you’re alright; you scared us half to death!’

It’s a good thing that white-haired one was quick and came down first… if that scene had been witnessed by others, they would have been ruined.

Sheng Yuanyao cleared her throat, and with a solemn expression, said: ‘Why are you afraid? This matter is personally handled by this Commander. What’s the situation outside now?’

‘Uh, well, it’s like this,’ a subordinate began. ‘The trials for the other alchemy academy students have concluded. We counted heads and found the three of you missing. After a long search, someone found traces of battle in the center of the desert. Miss Dugu analyzed that you had come to the second layer, so we followed the trail down to search…’

‘I asked about *your* situation, not how you found us,’ Sheng Yuanyao interrupted.

‘Our situation…’ The subordinate hesitated, then continued: ‘Mr. Wang from the Alchemy Academy was killed by Miss Dugu. Daoist Xuanqing died without a complete corpse; only a few scraps of flesh and blood were found. Director Qin himself has now arrived and wishes to question you. Everyone is waiting for the three of you to go up.’

Sheng Yuanyao nodded and ascended towards the volcano’s mouth: ‘I’m aware of this matter. I’ll go explain it to them.’

Lu Xingzhou dared not meet Dugu Qingli’s gaze. He quietly pulled Anuo and stealthily flew upwards.

Dugu Qingli looked up at Lu Xingzhou’s fleeing back, pulled a few strands of hair from her ring, and viciously plucked them.

She had verbally agreed to tell her master and Sheng Yuanyao that the hairs belonged to Pei Chuyun, but she knew full well they were Lu Xingzhou’s. If she didn’t use this ‘hair-plucking punishment’ now, when would she?

‘I was up there, worried sick and frantically searching for you, and you were down here, cuddling and kissing a girl, weren’t you! I’ll pluck you bald!’

Unexpectedly, Lu Xingzhou didn’t react as if his hair was being pulled. Instead, he hunched over, clutching his lower region, almost falling off his wheelchair. ‘Damn, it’s happening again!’ he cursed. ‘Has Madam Ye’s pain suppression worn off? Who’s so malicious?!’

Dugu Qingli blinked, bewildered. What was happening?

Could the hair not be from his head, but from elsewhere on his body? But she only had his head hair.