"A six-grade spiraling iron, not bad."
Xu Yi picked up the spiral-shaped ore beneath her feet, examined it for a moment, and then tossed it into her storage ring.
This was already the fifth ore she had found within Fire Burn Mountain.
It was strange, the black rock of Fire Burn Mountain had a special structure; she had never seen similar stone material anywhere else.
However, the Nine Continents Continent had many strange and unusual places, so this was not enough to surprise Xu Yi.
What did surprise her was why there were countless other types of ores within Fire Burn Mountain.
Furthermore, these ores were not numerous, nor were they large in volume, and they were distributed within Fire Burn Mountain, as if deliberately hidden there.
Xu Yi recalled, but could not find any more detailed records of Fire Burn Mountain in her memory.
Fire Burn Mountain had existed since the Xuanji Sect was founded. For many years, it had been used as a place for artifact refining cultivators to gain experience and search for treasures. Its greatest threat was the sudden eruption of lava.
Beyond that, Fire Burn Mountain seemed no different from other mountain ranges.
After pondering for a moment, Xu Yi soon smiled.
Where these diverse ores came from was not something she needed to consider. What she needed to do now was to find the Fire Lava Fruit.
Legend had it that the Fire Lava Fruit was milky white all over and grew in places of high temperature and intense heat.
When harvesting the Fire Lava Fruit, it had to be wrapped in fire spiritual power and then stored in a fire-attribute container to preserve its spiritual essence.
Xu Yi had cultivated for many years and had eaten many rare and precious treasures, but regarding the Fire Lava Fruit, she had only heard of it, never seen it.
She secretly thought that if she could find a few more, she could keep one to research its medicinal properties.
While her attention was divided, Xu Yi did not forget to observe her surroundings, her mind working on two things at once, and her speed did not slow down much.
Unknowingly, she had reached the vicinity of the mountain's core, which was also the hottest place in Fire Burn Mountain and where the fire spiritual energy was most volatile.
Xu Yi's scattered attention refocused, and a hint of solemnity appeared on her face.
Even though she had a single fire spiritual root, she would still be injured under extreme high temperatures.
The deeper she went into the mountain's core, the more cautious she had to be.
*Sizzle—*
Xu Yi's footsteps paused, and she looked down.
She saw a wisp of smoke slowly drifting from the soles of her high-grade magic shoes.
To confirm her guess, Xu Yi took out a finger-sized piece of ore and tossed it onto the black stone surface.
*Hiss!*
A small but sharp burning sound suddenly erupted.
The piece of ore, as if thrown into a scorching furnace, emitted a large amount of smoke.
It even showed signs of melting in a very short period.
Xu Yi narrowed her eyes, waved her sleeve to collect the ore, and looked ahead with a gaze filled with apprehension.
The high temperature in the mountain's core had reached an unimaginable level, and even she would find it very difficult to enter.
However, remembering the nature of the Fire Lava Fruit, Xu Yi changed into a pair of higher-grade magic shoes and stepped forward without hesitation.
Danger also meant opportunity.
If there were Fire Lava Fruits in Fire Burn Mountain, they would definitely be here.
A dazzling light, no less intense than the lava, churned in Xu Yi's eyes, but in the next moment, the light in her eyes began to dissipate.
Although it was only a few steps away, the change within it was unimaginable.
Xu Yi's defensive spiritual shield automatically unfolded, and at the same time, her spiritual power began to circulate rapidly. Even the Heart of the Earth Azure Flame, which had always lain quietly within her, became exceptionally active.
Xu Yi felt a sense of heat for the first time.
This heat did not just come from the outside of her body; even her state of mind was difficult to control and was affected.
It was as if a fire was burning fiercely in her heart, and someone was constantly adding fuel to it.
Xu Yi took a deep breath, stopped, and recited the Calm Heart Incantation.
The Calm Heart Incantation, which had always been extremely effective, lost its efficacy here.
Xu Yi felt that the fire in her heart showed no sign of extinguishing; instead, it burned hotter and hotter.
This also made her increasingly restless, even interrupting the Calm Heart Incantation on her own, her brows furrowed tightly.
Reason told Xu Yi that she should immediately leave this place, rendezvous with Ji Buwang, and then make plans.
She followed her thoughts and took two quick steps backward.
However, after two steps, her figure abruptly stopped. She turned her head sharply and looked towards the mountain's core, defiantly saying, "Today, I really want to see what is so unusual inside."
With that said, she actually changed direction again and re-entered the mountain's core.
Her footsteps grew faster and faster, and the aura surrounding her became more and more frenzied.
Unknowingly, Xu Yi had been affected, but she was still unaware of it, her mind focused on uncovering the truth behind her restless mood.
*Gurgle, gurgle.*
The deeper she went, the faster the lava flowed.
And Xu Yi's spiritual power within her also circulated wildly, with a faint cyan light appearing and disappearing on her body.
*Rustle—*
Xu Yi's cold gaze instantly shot in the direction of the sound, and then she was slightly stunned.
There was only the uneven stone wall, and nothing else.
But she had clearly heard a sound just now.
Xu Yi did not believe she would make such a simple mistake; there must be something wrong there.
Without thinking, Xu Yi raised her hand and patted towards the stone wall. The Heart of the Earth Light Flame within her surged out without her needing to direct it. The cyan ball of light collided with the mountain wall and exploded, scattering into countless tiny sparks that fell into the lava and disappeared without a trace.
Xu Yi's gaze darkened slightly, feeling quite surprised.
Having learned from the last lesson, Xu Yi did not dare to make too much noise in the mountain's core. This time, her attack was merely a probe.
But clearly, this probe had failed.
Xu Yi did not give up. She was very sure that something was secretly watching her.
She clasped her hands together, concentrating her spiritual power in her palms, "Scatter!"
Pushing her palms outwards, several streams of cyan fire light flew out from her palms, resembling a scene of celestial maidens scattering flowers, yet hidden within them were countless killing intents.
The fire light extinguished bit by bit, and the lava continued to flow turbulently.
Within the mountain's core, only Xu Yi's figure stood.
Xu Yi's face darkened. Since even this did not force out whatever was in the dark, her vigilance grew.
Knowing that she could not deal with that thing for the time being, Xu Yi could only pretend not to know and continue walking forward.
However, because of the unexpected discovery, Xu Yi's anxious emotions were somewhat calmed. At least now she would not attack so carelessly as before.
Xu Yi's figure gradually went deeper until she was completely out of sight.
However, not long after Xu Yi left, a pair of strange eyes suddenly appeared on the previously bare, dark rock wall.
Those eyes could only see the whites of the eyes, with no pupils.
After those eyes appeared, a second pair, a third pair… countless pairs of eyes emerged one by one from the rock wall.
In the blink of an eye, the rock wall was covered with white eyes.
And all those white eyes were now directed towards the direction Xu Yi had left, and then they quickly merged back into the stone wall, as if they had never appeared.