Hastening back to the Golden Garden in the Elosia plane after the graduation ceremony, Jie Ming’s mind was consumed by one thing—venturing to his demon plane.
He was brimming with curiosity and anticipation for the “Infernal Sulfur Plane” described by Mentor Clark.
It would be the first plane under his sole control, marking the initial foundation for building his own “Wizard Tower.”
The wizarding civilization had evolved over time, including the terminology and definitions of certain concepts.
In the earliest days, a vast chasm separated official wizards from apprentices, with official wizards possessing traits unattainable by apprentices.
But as the wizarding civilization progressed, apprentices’ capabilities grew, gradually mastering some traits once exclusive to official wizards.
Now, the primary distinctions between a first-rank official wizard and an apprentice were increased mental strength and extended lifespan, with little else separating them.
The concept of the Wizard Tower had similarly evolved. Originally, it referred to a simple tower structure.
As wizards fortified their residences, their combat prowess surged within their towers.
Over time, the concept of the Wizard Tower expanded, transforming from a mere tower into a synonym for a stronghold.This led to floating cities and, now, planar fortresses.
However, perfect control over a plane typically required reaching sixth rank, when a wizard could touch the plane’s origin to dominate it—a key reason sixth-rank and above wizards were considered high-tier.
After all, a fifth-rank wizard was still an individual, whereas a sixth-rank wizard represented an entire war system centered on a planar fortress.
Without delay, Jie Ming returned to his manor’s underground laboratory.
He strode to the teleportation array, retrieving a faintly glowing rune core and placing it at the array’s center.
This was the “key” to the permanent teleportation point set by Noren Workshop in the Infernal Sulfur Plane, given by Mentor Clark.
Jie Ming took a deep breath, calming his excitement.
He extended his hand, channeling mental energy into the rune core.
Instantly, the core erupted in dazzling light, resonating with the teleportation array’s base.
Space warped, a piercing hum filled the air, and a stable spatial rift slowly tore open, revealing a blurry, fiery scene on the other side.
Jie Ming steeled himself, ensuring his protective spells were intact, then stepped into the rift.
In an instant, a heavy, pungent sulfur smell assaulted his senses, making him frown reflexively, nearly sneezing.
This sulfur wasn’t ordinary—it carried a near-tangible burning sensation, as if it could seep into his lungs, making breathing difficult.
Fortunately, his protective spells blocked most of the searing air, rendering it merely unpleasant rather than harmful.
He looked up, and the scene before him vividly embodied the name “Infernal Sulfur.”
All around was a churning sea of crimson.
The sky held no trace of blue, shrouded by thick, dark red sulfur clouds.
Occasional lightning streaked through the clouds’ depths, casting fleeting white flashes.
The air was thick with scorching steam and choking smoke, the ground a blackened, scorched expanse, as if burned countless times, hard and rough.
Jie Ming’s body slowly floated upward, his gaze turning to the horizon.
In the distance, massive volcanoes rose from the earth, not lifeless peaks but living furnaces.
Their slopes were charred black and rusted red, their vast craters like the throats of abyssal beasts, spewing scalding steam and glowing ashes.
Molten lava, like viscous plasma, trickled down their sides, pooling into crimson rivers.
These molten streams spread across the ground, devouring and melting everything in their path.
The air’s temperature was staggeringly high, even for a first-rank wizard like Jie Ming, who felt his skin faintly burn, as if inside a giant steam oven.
His vision held almost no green, only sparse, heat-adapted dark red or blackened mosses and fungi clinging stubbornly to rock crevices.
“No wonder it’s called a demon plane,” Jie Ming marveled inwardly. “An ordinary person stumbling here would perish instantly.”
With a thought, he summoned an invisible spell shield, fully isolating the sulfur fumes and heat.
He didn’t rush to act, instead spreading his mental energy like an invisible net, extending in all directions.
Activating a flight spell, he became a streak of light, conducting a preliminary survey of the Infernal Sulfur Plane.
The plane appeared desolate.
During his flight, Jie Ming spotted numerous rugged, dilapidated artificial caves and stone palaces.
Most were built against mountains or carved directly into their interiors.
These structures showed significant damage, with no signs of life inside, exuding an empty, deathly stillness.
This wasn’t surprising—Mentor Clark had mentioned that the plane’s higher demons, being intelligent, were “taken away” during the wizards’ planar cleanup.
Those demons were likely now research subjects or enslaved, leaving only these ruins.
But Jie Ming quickly noticed the plane’s defining trait: its fire element was extraordinarily active!
In wizarding civilization, the fire element represented more than just fire—it symbolized “energy” among the four foundational particles: earth, fire, wind, and water.
The energy particles in the Infernal Sulfur Plane were astonishingly dense.
Moreover, the energy was more volatile and aggressive than in other planes.
“This means the plane’s energy reserves are incredibly rich,” Jie Ming thought, elated. “The constant activity of those volcanoes must be due to the plane’s overflowing energy.”
Though he’d been told demon planes were resource-rich, he hadn’t expected this extent.
Despite its harsh environment, Jie Ming discovered that the Infernal Sulfur Plane had a complete, brutal ecosystem.
He paused at the edge of a smoking volcano crater.
Peering through the yellowish sulfur fumes, he witnessed a cruel tableau of survival.
At the lava’s edge lived the plane’s lowest-tier creatures—red, maggot-like beings.
Fat and dark red, their wrinkled, eyeless, mouthless bodies seemed formed from solidified lava.
They survived and reproduced by absorbing lava’s energy, countless writhing in the cracks of cooled lava, forming a chilling “red carpet.”
As Jie Ming observed these strange creatures, a lizard-like beast, dozens of times larger, silently emerged from a lava fissure.
Its skin was covered in thick volcanic scales, its limbs sturdy, and corrosive saliva dripped from its mouth.
Greed gleamed in its eyes as it lunged at the red carpet of maggots.
It devoured them voraciously, the chewing sounds stark against the crater’s rumble.
To it, each maggot was juicy and delectable, a supreme delicacy.
As a wizard, Jie Ming could sense their energy composition.
He was astonished to find that, despite having no biological rank, these maggots contained vast amounts of highly condensed energy.
Their seemingly juicy bodies held fluids brimming with intense energy.
If splashed on an ordinary person, it would cause horrific burns, easily searing through flesh or melting steel.
But for this plane’s creatures, the fluid merely added a spicy kick, like mortals eating chili.
Their bodies had fully adapted to this high-energy diet, perfectly absorbing and integrating it into their evolution.
As the lizard gorged, a black shadow plummeted from the sky like lightning!
It was a massive winged demon, its ten-meter wings wreathed in dark red flames, its sharp claws glinting coldly.
Clearly, this was the region’s apex predator!
Without hesitation, the winged demon tore the feeding lizard in half, devouring its flesh.
The lizard’s body spilled steaming, energy-laden fluids, but the demon was unfazed, long accustomed to it.
Watching from the air, Jie Ming’s excitement grew.
The harsh environment bred remarkably strong creatures.
Even the food chain’s bottom held energy far surpassing other planes, while the region’s top predators were second-rank beings.
Such naturally formidable creatures were excellent research subjects for wizards.
Their unique life structures, energy conversion mechanisms, and adaptations to extreme environments held immense research value.
After assessing the ecosystem and energy conditions, Jie Ming turned to surveying the plane’s mineral resources.