The two high priests automatically filtered out Lu Yun’s response of “that’s it”. The volcano was the foremost fire treasure in this tomb realm, a terrifying connate peerless treasure!

It was a treasure that fully released its power every second, and even their group speaker, the priest of earth, found it very difficult to break through the blockade set by the treasure. Only the priest of fire could utilize her legacy and coalesce the fire altar for protection in order to reach the yin door. Alas, she was only able to summon one big enough for herself.

……

“This little task will be a piece of cake.” Lu Yun nodded. “Let’s go.”

Ashu and the Venerated Sacrosanct Demon Sovereign were very familiar with the young man’s capabilities. Seeing him beam with confidence, they stuck close to his side and headed for the enormous volcano.

“Hold on!” The priests of fire and earth called out when they saw the trio set off without hesitation. The priest of fire had brought the visitor here to daunt him with the enormity of the task, but who would’ve thought the young man would think nothing of it after seeing the volcano and stubbornly insist on forging ahead anyways!

“It’s connate li fire of greatest yang inside the volcano, one of the strongest connate fires there is. The three of you will be burnt to a crisp within three breaths after entering!” the priest of fire yelled while her colleague looked at Ashu.

He didn’t care about the others, but he couldn’t let Ashu go to his death like this. The holy lord was a special entity, one not nearly as simple as being the spirit of the zombie tree. He wouldn’t be able to defend himself with his current level of cultivation, and more importantly, the treasure spewing forth at full power harbored the extremities of both yin and yang. It was a natural bane to Ashu’s existence.

“It’s just connate li fire.” Lu Yun didn’t even look back as he took his two companions closer to the mouth of the volcano.

“I’ll go with them!” The priest of fire made up her mind after biting down on her lip.

“Go on.” The priest of earth nodded. “Protect Xuan Yuan’s body and don’t let anyone desecrate it.”

“Understood!” Two balls of flame ignited in her eyes as the power of the altar fluctuated over her. Tendrils of flames peeled off from the volcano and formed an enormous altar of fire beneath her feet, which then shot into the volcano like a shooting star.

……

“I can’t believe you told them about refining the four organs of the world.” Ashu looked at Lu Yun with baffled incomprehension.

“It’s not much of a secret anyway.” Lu Yun shrugged. “My replica kept no secrets the moment he accepted the holy kings’ legacy. The holy kings of the underworld and some others have known for a while now. Alright, you two stay close now and keep within nine meters of me.”

He snatched lightly at the south as he spoke, returning with blazing connate fire essence circling around him. It formed a protective shell nine meters around him, defending its occupants from the frenzied flames in the area.

No one controlled the fires here, so they could riot and run amok to whatever heights their strength was capable of. The greatest strength of connate li fires was on full display, and even a peak dao origin immortal would’ve perished in here. If they ventured further in, not even Ashu and the demon sovereign would be able to withstand the dreadful flames.

However, the fires around them instantly submitted when the connate fire essence appeared, becoming one with Lu Yun’s creation and no longer harming those within the fiery shell. Connate fire essence was the heart of all fire and the mother spark of all flames. Fire essence wasn’t fire, per se, but it could become real flames.

Connate li flames were among the strongest fires born of this essence. Now that Lu Yun had summoned it, he swiftly became the tamer of flames and even the domineering li fire quieted to complete docility.

“So you can summon and manipulate connate fire essence. No wonder you dared come in here.” The priest of fire’s voice sounded as a tremendous altar landed in front of Lu Yun with a thump.

“When we saw you summon connate wood essence earlier, we thought you were the Azure Dragon King or his heir. It now looks like you’ve received someone else’s inheritance,” the high priest sighed. “In that case, come onto the altar. You won’t reach the yin tomb door with just connate fire essence alone.”

“Are there other living beings here?” Lu Yun quickly grasped the priest’s meaning. Connate fire essence could restrain connate flames, but it was also a great nutritional supplement for other fire-attribute creatures. Breathing in even a hint of connate fire essence would bring great benefits to them.

“Mm.” Bliss floated over the priest’s face when she entered the nine-meter-wide safe zone, thanks to the three setting foot onto the altar.

“Connate treasures have their own spirits, making it impossible for other spirits to coexist peacefully within it. If there’s anything living there, you all must have allowed them to exist so they could guard the yin tomb door,” speculated Ashu.

“Yes, but it’s more like a free-range type of existence. We can’t control it either.” The high priest nodded and continued further into the volcano. The very air now burned with connate li fire, a sight that inspired Lu Yun to leave a little bit of connate fire essence on the altar and walk away from it.

“What are you doing?!” Panicking, the priest quickly called out to him, “This is the territory of that fire spirit. She’ll attack you if you have any connate fire essence on you!”

Lu Yun shook his head and didn’t respond. Instead, he faced a certain direction and shouted, “Come on out, I’ve already seen you.”

The patch of flames in that area trembled as a serpentine life form slowly slithered out of the fires. It was roughly a meter long and looked to be carved out of fire-colored crystal. It seemed more like an exquisite artwork more than anything else, but her beady eyes were staring hard at Lu Yun’s body and the scarlet fire essence around him.

The little snake could live only in the volcano. If she could swallow a tendril of connate fire essence, she’d be able to free herself of its constraints and receive true freedom. A pillar of pure-white fire rose while the little snake took human form. Looking roughly thirteen years old, she was dressed in a silk dress of alternating red and white and held a trace of undeniable desire in her eyes.

“Who are you and why do you have Carmine Eternal’s presence on you?” Desire flitted out of her eyes in the next moment and she looked gravely at Lu Yun.

“So you’re the moat snake descendant!” He understood when he heard the girl’s words.