“Mmm~~”
“Mmm~~”
Lying in the hot spring river, Bai Qiu and A Yuan let out contented sighs together.
He hadn’t summoned A Yan for a soak because the big guy was, after all, a land tortoise.
More importantly, he was worried that the moment A Yan appeared, it would perform the equivalent of a deep-water bomb, muddying the entire river.
If that happened, there’d be no point in soaking in the hot spring.
He could always give A Yan a warm bath after he and A Yuan were finished.
The hot spring river was three to four meters deep.
The water near the surface was only in the low thirties Celsius, but the temperature at the bottom exceeded 70°C.
Bai Qiu braced his muscular arms against the rocks along the riverbed, letting his body sink naturally into the hotter water.
It was an experience unlike any other.
As expected of a hot spring capable of supporting giant shrimp, the water quality was exceptional.
Soaking in it made him feel pleasantly weightless.
Both Bai Qiu and A Yuan agreed that after they were done, they’d collect some of the hot spring water and store it inside A Yuan’s Contract Space Card.
It was about time the water in her habitat was replaced anyway.
Half an hour later, night had completely fallen.
Scattered across the riverbed beneath the volcanoes were countless glowing stones, illuminating the entire bottom like a sky full of stars.
Looking toward the volcanoes, Bai Qiu could see lava occasionally erupting from their peaks while thick black smoke billowed into the sky.
Even from this distance, he could smell the pungent scent of sulfur.
When he looked up, the heavens resembled a magnificent river of stars woven from countless colorful gemstones.
Yet dominating the sky was an enormous pale-red moon that occupied nearly half the heavens, creating the eerie illusion that it could fall onto the world at any moment.
Suddenly, Bai Qiu caught sight of what looked like a floating island suspended high in the sky, with a grand palace standing upon it.
But when he looked again, the floating island had already vanished.
“Was I seeing things? That doesn’t seem possible…”
Bai Qiu muttered to himself.
His Sevenfold Arcane Crystallization Eyes could now remain activated twenty-four hours a day without any energy consumption.
Ever since boarding the ship, he had never once deactivated the skill.
Yet even after staring in that direction for nearly ten more minutes, he failed to catch another glimpse of the mysterious island.
In the end, he could only give up.
Before leaving, Bai Qiu replaced the water inside A Yuan’s Contract Space with fresh hot spring water before finally summoning A Yan.
Boom!
Just as expected, A Yan immediately sank straight to the bottom, sending a splash more than ten meters into the air.
Fortunately, A Yuan intercepted the water, sparing Bai Qiu from being drenched after he’d already gotten dressed.
Resting at the bottom of the river, A Yan looked around in confusion.
Realizing it was underwater, it awkwardly paddled all four limbs.
The water churned violently and to Bai Qiu’s complete astonishment, the giant land tortoise actually managed to swim back to the surface.
Both Bai Qiu and A Yuan stared in disbelief.
“Roar~”
A Yan had initially looked rather aggrieved.
But after discovering how comfortable the hot spring felt, it happily rested both front legs on the riverbank, leaving most of its massive body soaking in the warm water.
Every now and then it performed a classic “turtle poke,” stretching its smooth head beneath the water to wash itself before lifting it back out again.
It looked completely content.
“A Yuan, give it a bath, would you? It’s covered in mud. Who knows how long it’s been since it washed itself.”
Bai Qiu said.
A Yuan nodded, swam upstream, and began drawing water into her mouth.
Only after puffing out her cheeks did she unleash a high-pressure jet of water at A Yan.
Before long, an entirely refreshed A Yan emerged.
Its black scales gleamed brilliantly, and all the dirt lodged between the gaps of its shell had been completely blasted away.
The cleaning probably reduced its weight by at least 250 kilograms.
Naturally, it also left A Yuan utterly exhausted.
For the first time, she voluntarily asked to return to her Contract Space Card.
Soon afterward, A Yan also returned, and Bai Qiu resumed his journey beneath the cover of night.
The volcanic region was surprisingly bright at night.
Thanks to his ocular technique, Bai Qiu could clearly spot crystals containing highly concentrated fire-element energy.
He simply flew over and chipped them off one after another.
These weren’t ore veins.
They were high-purity elemental energy crystals.
And since they were practically lying around waiting to be picked up, he saw no reason to leave them behind.
After nearly two and a half hours of scavenging, Bai Qiu had collected over 4,000 C+-grade Fire Element Crystals, along with a number of even higher-quality crystals.
Just as he was about to continue his “volcano rim scavenging operation,” a thunderous roar interrupted him.
The sound had come from inside the volcano itself.
Bai Qiu immediately looked into the crater.
A massive pillar of fire shot toward him.
After dodging the blazing attack, he finally got a clear look at the monster lurking within.
Lava Dragon (Monarch-Class Monster)
Level: 40
Strength: C+
Magic: B−
Endurance: C
Agility: C++
Skills:
Fire Wings
Mountainfire Meteor
Fire Tide
Charged Flame Breath
Lava Shield
Rain of Fire
Seeing the Lava Dragon’s stats and skill set, Bai Qiu didn’t dare let his guard down.
He drew out Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear, allowing it to draw in the surrounding winds.
The Lava Dragon’s attributes were well-balanced across the board, but what concerned him most was Mountainfire Meteor—a skill capable of triggering an eruption throughout the entire volcanic range.
He absolutely could not allow it to use that ability.
Using mana to create footholds in midair, Bai Qiu combined them with Wind Manipulation to accelerate and launch himself forward.
In an instant, he broke the sound barrier and closed the distance, appearing directly in front of the Lava Dragon before it could react.
The sudden charge startled even the dragon.
Its response, however, was lightning-fast.
Flaming phantoms instantly enveloped its wings, increasing their wingspan by fifty percent.
Its flying speed surged accordingly, allowing it to barely pull away and create a little distance between itself and Bai Qiu.
At the same time, its neck glowed crimson.
Just as Bai Qiu was about to close in again, the dragon opened its jaws and unleashed a dense Rain of Fire, countless blazing projectiles raining down toward him.
Wind Manipulation!
Bai Qiu thrust Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear forward, sending a violent gale surging ahead.
The dense rain of fire was instantly blown high into the sky and extinguished.
At the same time, several wind blades streaked forward, carving fresh wounds across the Lava Dragon’s chest.
“Grrrraah!”
The Lava Dragon immediately retreated toward the volcano’s crater.
Bai Qiu chased after it without hesitation.
Only then did he notice that the magma inside the crater had already begun overflowing, bubbling violently as though it had reached its limit.
BOOM!
The volcano erupted.
The Lava Dragon was instantly engulfed by molten lava.
Borrowing the volcano’s immense energy, it activated Lava Shield, creating a defensive barrier far stronger than anything it could have produced on its own.
Confident that its shield was now complete, the dragon prepared to confront Bai Qiu head-on.
Instead, several wind blades infused with razor-sharp cutting winds slashed through the air.
The reinforced Lava Shield was split apart almost instantly.
Only then did the Lava Dragon abandon the idea of a direct clash.
Instead, it relied on the volcanic terrain to exchange long-range attacks with Bai Qiu.
Both sides harbored their own plans.
Both were intentionally stalling for time.
Bai Qiu was waiting for Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear’s Starbreath Wind trait to activate.
The moment it did, he would hurl the spear and end the battle in a single strike.
The Lava Dragon, meanwhile, was waiting for the surrounding volcanoes to overflow with magma.
Once enough lava had accumulated, it would activate Mountainfire Meteor, using the entire volcanic range to annihilate this unfathomably powerful human enemy in one decisive blow.
Buzz!
Suddenly, Dragon-Slaying Star Breath Spear trembled.
Its aura transformed in an instant.
Without the slightest hesitation, Bai Qiu raised the spear high above his head, gripping it at the center of its shaft before putting his entire body into a powerful throw aimed straight at the Lava Dragon.
The dragon was no fool.
The moment it sensed the drastic change in the spear’s aura, it immediately retreated, widening the gap between itself and Bai Qiu.
At the same time, it once again drew upon the volcano’s energy to erect another Lava Shield, hoping it would be enough to stop Bai Qiu’s attack.
— The end of the Chapter–
TL note : Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 50 chapters of the release :
https://www.patreon.com/DeCakraWnloverz
