As a member of the Order of the Amber Heart, Renato was not in a hurry to leave the earth elemental section of the Prismatic Chambers. Of course he didn’t plan to force his allies to remain in the area overly long, but they were a bit more thorough in their exploration along their path to make sure they obtained what earth elemental resources they could get.

When they came across some overly large fungus, Lucanus was the one who was the quickest to deal with them. That was his general state, rapidly active in his offense. Gouts of flame washed over the mushroom, focused heat that left little extra around the area. The only thing that remained was the shriveled central stalk and the ash that had been the cap.

“Next time let us handle it,” Renato said. He wasn’t certain, but it seemed likely that the various things that lived in the caverns would likely have some value. When they came across a different variety, Renato and another member of the Order flanked it, striking the stone on either side of it and crushing it between two waves of stone. They weren’t exactly highly mobile. Once the spores settled, they gathered the slightly flattened remains.

They wove their way through the tunnels, seeking out concentrations of earth energy for whatever rewards they might contain- which often resulted in battle. The caverns themselves were alive, and though traditional beasts were rare there were still some cave dwellers- bats and insects, both of which grew to quite significant sizes. Along with those, there were some varieties of fungus and molds, mostly toxic. Then there were the vines. Normally, they would have needed sunlight to grow to any significant size, but abundant earth energy for them to absorb was sufficient.

As everything in the area, things that couldn’t fight to survive and take control of the necessary earth energy were not found. A wave of fire washed over vines dangling over a tunnel mouth, but instead of immediately perishing they flailed about, reaching towards Lucanus. Though they were greatly damaged, healthy plants did not immediately burn. Of course, that was only the case when the fire element was insufficient. As vines attempted to wrap around Lucanus, blue flames flourished around him, forming a protective cocoon around his body. The vines could not withstand the sustained heat, and never even got to touch him. When he ceased his efforts, a small circle of softly glowing stone was left where he had been standing.

“Hmm…” Lucanus grumbled. “That’s not very efficient, is it?” He wasn’t asking anyone in particular, so he didn’t receive an answer. Instead, he moved further down the tunnel, seeking out further vines growing from cracks. This time, his opening move targeted only a small portion of the vines- a flat sheet of flame sliced into them. Though its actual sharpness was minimal, the fire was more focused, severing the vines as pulses of power charred through them. With no intelligence to begin with, the vines simply reacted by attempting to grab anything nearby- but separated from their leverage in the rocks they grew from they flailed almost uselessly until they were out of energy to remain mobile.

The last sort of enemy were human cultivators. The allied group was not excessively overbearing- if another group clearly arrived first and secured their claim to something they would not rob them. However, if they arrived first they would not give up their claims- and those times when neither they nor others could definitively be said to be first, they wouldn’t back down.

Faced with a group sporting no fewer than four Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, most were intimidated and backed down from confrontations. Others remained stubborn- usually those who were stronger, or thought they were fast enough to grab a prize and retreat.

For a cultivator, gemstones of great size could generally be considered a vanity- but when possessed of significant spiritual energy it was a different matter, being a valuable training source for any number of cultivation styles.

In front of the group now was a large, oblong rock. Yet anyone with basic cultivation sense could feel the power radiating from it. Renato’s experience told him that there was a gemstone concealed within. Perhaps it would be quite lumpy once revealed, but that didn’t change its practical value.

Marks of all sorts from claws and crushed rocks from more blunt force scarred the room around it, indicating the native denizens of the area had spent quite some effort digging out this crystal as well as competing with each other for control of the area. The current dominant force seemed to be a rock frog not taller than Renato’s knees- but he wasn’t going to underestimate it for its size. It radiated a strong energy, and its size was such that their significant numbers would be less able to attack it.

If that had been the only obstacle to obtaining the prize, Renato would have considered it already theirs. However, there was also a band of unfamiliar yet not unexpected cultivators. With them was a large turtle- and Renato found it was quite an odd experience to see an aquatic creature on land. Though perhaps this turtle would not properly be called aquatic. Beneath its dark brown scales was the glow of a furnace, and when its mouth opened flames spewed out. This was a creature from the Molten Sea- and the cultivators with it as well.

A man with a beard like flames- yet streaked with the dull gray of age- inspected their group in the same way Renato and the others clocked their group. The man himself was in the late Consolidated Soul Phase, along with two more behind him. “The Crimson Temple has claimed this prize,” the man said imperiously. “Leave.”

Renato countered his words. “You could not have been here more than a fraction of a second longer than ourselves, if at all. Nor do I see you engaged in battle or in possession of anything.” It was Renato’s job to speak, because he was quite certain that Yustina was uninterested and Lucanus entirely inappropriate to do so. Deirdre might do well, but she was still not terribly confident in the authority her power provided, given her limited years in this world. “It would be better in the hands of those of the earth element.” Taking in the opponents, their Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators were slightly higher in cultivation, but the rest of their forces were outmatched. It should be a fairly reasonable match… and that was before Renato factored in his high opinions of himself and his companions. Two reincarnated individuals and two who had undergone transmigration and displayed significant talent.

“If a battle is what you wish,” the old man settled into a relaxed stance, “We will be glad to provide it.”

Renato was still assessing the situation. He had not actually fought cultivators from the Molten Sea before, and was surprised to feel that they had a split of fire totems and what felt like water totems. Was not the Molten Sea liquid stone? However, the uniformity he felt even among what he perceived to be different sects indicated it was the norm. Renato was going to continue studying them, but apparently the old man’s words had been sufficient for Lucanus to decide that they were fighting. Renato couldn’t complain about him seizing the initiative, but he personally would have waited.

Yustina did not let Lucanus charge forward alone- and of course the other members of the Milanovic clan were quick to react to the expected course of action. Renato kept up with them, of course, but they were the first to clash with the enemy.

The elder leading the Crimson Temple placed a hand on the turtle, which lowered its head to the floor, spewing flames. Renato certainly felt the intensity of the fire, but even then the floor melted uncharacteristically quickly, a molten pool several meters across appearing in moments. Clearly a practiced technique and not a simple display of brute force.

With the molten pool in place, the three Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators moved in unison, sweeping their arms forward and creating a wave of molten rock. Yustina broke ahead of Lucanus, wresting control of the center of the attack and sweeping it around herself and her husband. The molten rock was flung back towards her opponents, though it was blocked- instead falling back into the pool it was pulled from. Lucanus charged through the opening with her.

Behind them, the other fire cultivators dealt with the wall of magma in their own ways- though they also had to consider a sudden volley of attacks from the weaker enemies. The wave was avoided by leaping over it or deflected- or in some places even directly countered with spiritual energy, pushing it back.

Renato led the charge of the Order of the Amber Heart, creating an angled wall of rock in front of him and pushing through. Unfortunately these particular opponents were the type that made optimal use of fire’s dominance over earth- but that did not mean it was pointless to fight. It just made things tougher for him.

Finally, Deirdre and cultivators from the Golden Tomb Guardians charged around the side, looking to get into melee range where their tricky attacks were most effective. Though they did not wait to engage to gather bursts of light, flashing to blind enemies eyes for a moment or a few.

Renato had plans to flip the turtle on its back by creating a pillar of stone, after he leapt the pool of molten rock. However, there was one opponent in the battle that had been forgotten, and should not have been. As he leapt through the air a long tongue suddenly latched onto his ankle, sticking to it and yanking him off course. That pulled his trajectory around to the right, where he slammed into the ground. He was quite certain the attack was intended to pull him closer to the frog, but there was simply not enough mass in the creature to redirect his momentum and pull him a significant amount closer. Renato and his weapon were quite heavy.

Even as he tried to steady himself in his new position, the frog leapt towards him- crossing half of the room in an instant. Renato only just managed to bring his club up to bat it away, clashing against claws he had not expected upon the front legs. Through his earth energy coating the weapon the claws managed to tear away a significant scrape of his weapon- and it would have likely done much worse to his chest.

Meanwhile, the force of his weapon didn’t seem to harm the creature at all, merely flinging it into the rear ranks of the Molten Sea cultivators. Though the damage to his weapon would be costly to repair, at least he’d been able to make something of the situation. A glob of molten rock struck Renato in the back- the frog’s attack did leave him open to the Molten Sea elder, but the turtle and the other two strongest cultivators were currently distracted by Lucanus and Yustina. The molten rock was repulsed by Renato’s own earth element, but not before his back was charred painfully.

The two other elders shielded themselves from Lucanus and Yustina with another portion of their pool, but it didn’t stop them from shoving their way through. Though the Crimson Temple elders deflected the burst of flames Lucanus breathed on them, they did not expect him to rush forward and grab onto them. Blue flames surrounded the three, a direct competition of force and heat.

Meanwhile, the turtle stuck its head into the pool, grabbing a globule that was intended to be launched as an attack. Its plans were disrupted as Yustina leapt onto it, sitting on the creature’s neck. The globule of molten rock was spat angrily upward, but the creature did not have the flexibility to actually aim at Yustina. The two wrestled their spiritual energy to control the motion, more or less counteracting each other and causing it to land uselessly.

The turtle was not defenseless just because Yustina was atop its neck. It angrily flared up, the glow beneath its scales intensifying and flames bursting out. Yustina struggled to redirect them- towards the leading elder. She was only partially successful, keeping herself safe while at least providing a small distraction for Renato to reorient himself.

The entire battle had lasted only a handful of seconds, rapid exchanges of furious power. The full forces of the Golden Tomb Guardians had been the furthest back and were only now reaching the enemy, Deirdre at the lead. Her glaive-staff attacks twisted and spun, the blade disappearing whenever it might be blocked and reappearing just in time to cause maximum trouble. She took her forces with her to push in from the side towards the elders while keeping cautious of the frog deeper within the enemy forces. It was not on either side, clearly quite hostile to both, so it could easily become a threat to her or the others if they just ignored it.