"What is the meaning of this? What exactly is happening here? What is this palace? Who is that figure? And what are those golden characters?"

Each question swirled in Phạm Hiểu Đông's mind, and every single one made her head throb as if it would split open.

Shaking her head, she cast aside the thoughts that brought her weariness.

Phạm Hiểu Đông once more directed her gaze towards the stone wall.

Suddenly, Phạm Hiểu Đông's pupils contracted violently, and a flicker of astonishment and surprise immediately appeared in her eyes.

The stone wall had vanished. Yes, it had truly vanished.

What now lay before Phạm Hiểu Đông was an empty recess; there was nothing at all within the hollow.

The void had vanished, yet Phạm Hiểu Đông felt absolutely nothing, as if nothing had ever been there.

"Boom!!!"

A crisp sound echoed, and the dark stone cave was instantly bathed in brilliant light.

The sources of light seemed to appear out of thin air.

To Phạm Hiểu Đông's right, a small carved formation array had now appeared.

This was a teleportation array, one Phạm Hiểu Đông had seen before.

To enter, or not to enter? Phạm Hiểu Đông found herself hesitant once more.

"I'll go in! I want to see what this is all about!" Phạm Hiểu Đông had made her decision; even nine oxen couldn't pull her back now.

Swiftly, Phạm Hiểu Đông placed several fire-attributed spirit stones and a third-grade demon core onto the formation. Not only that, she also activated a Great Spatial Shift Talisman.

Following this, Phạm Hiểu Đông stepped onto the formation. Immediately, a cluster of white light enveloped her, and she was drawn into its brilliance.

Simultaneously, a figure materialized upon another flat expanse.

Phạm Hiểu Đông shook her head slightly, dispelling the lingering discomfort.

"So fast!" Phạm Hiểu Đông exclaimed in surprise. She had ridden teleportation arrays before, but none had brought her to her destination with such speed.

Phạm Hiểu Đông began to observe her surroundings.

The layout was almost identical to the previous location.

Had Phạm Hiểu Đông not confirmed that this teleportation array was situated to the left side of the mountain cave, unlike the previous one, she might have felt as though she hadn't moved from the original spot at all.

Yet Phạm Hiểu Đông sensed nothing here. She didn't understand the purpose of this teleportation array, as every location Phạm Hiểu Đông encountered felt peculiar.

Beneath her was still the fiery red lava.

After a moment of contemplation, Phạm Hiểu Đông decided to dive into the lava.

Following the direction she had planned earlier, Phạm Hiểu Đông headed north.

After traveling for several hundred meters...

Phạm Hiểu Đông's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Another piece of rock essence!" Phạm Hiểu Đông muttered to herself. Her movements, however, were not slow; she immediately extended her divine sense to envelop it and drew it into her Cosmic Ring.

Phạm Hiểu Đông continued onward.

Soon after, she discovered another piece of rock essence, this one the size of a ping-pong ball.

Phạm Hiểu Đông was overjoyed, and without a second thought, she collected the rock essence.

At this moment, a wide smile bloomed on Phạm Hiểu Đông's face, a smile akin to that of someone who had just wed their beloved.

"Oh! Could it be I've stumbled upon some great fortune? Another piece of rock essence!"

Soon, Phạm Hiểu Đông discovered yet another piece.

From that point onward, Phạm Hiểu Đông found herself seeing more and more rock essence.

Not only were there more of them, but they were also growing larger. Phạm Hiểu Đông soon even found a piece of rock essence the size of a chicken egg.

This discovery indeed brought a surge of joy to Phạm Hiểu Đông.

However, as time passed, Phạm Hiểu Đông found herself growing numb.

There was simply too much rock essence. Although the largest pieces were no bigger than a chicken egg, their sheer number was overwhelming.

Phạm Hiểu Đông's divine sense was almost strained from collecting, an exaggeration perhaps, but there was truly so much that she no longer wished to gather it.

"Ah, what is that? It's moving!" Suddenly, Phạm Hiểu Đông's gaze fixed upon a spot, staring intently at the object, her mouth agape like a chest.

"Oh my! Isn't that a demon beast? Heavens! This is insane! A living creature actually exists in such high-temperature lava!" Phạm Hiểu Đông muttered to herself.

If anyone else had told her this, Phạm Hiểu Đông would surely not have believed it, but the sight before her now left her with no choice but to believe.

The monster looked like a black, fish-like creature, with a lava growth protruding from its abdomen. Furthermore, from its back, a black scale-claw extended, measuring twenty centimeters in length. In short, apart from these peculiarities, it closely resembled a carp.

Phạm Hiểu Đông remained motionless, fearing she would startle the creature.

Her eyes fixed on the creature; Phạm Hiểu Đông wanted to see what it was doing.

The demon beast seemed not to have sensed Phạm Hiểu Đông.

It calmly swam to a spot devoid of any rock essence and then remained motionless.

But soon, Phạm Hiểu Đông witnessed something that made her jaw drop, for from the demon beast's hindquarters, she saw an object emerge: a piece of rock essence.

Indeed, that thing actually excreted a piece of rock essence.

Phạm Hiểu Đông instantly stiffened, her facial muscles too rigid to even twitch.

After a long moment, Phạm Hiểu Đông finally seemed to react, cursing fiercely in her mind, "Damn it! Here I was, happily collecting these things, and they turn out to be this fellow's droppings!"

The thought sent a chill down Phạm Hiểu Đông's spine.

It was utterly sickening.

With great difficulty, she calmed her mind and once more looked towards the demon beast.

At this point, after discharging its excrement, the creature flicked its tail, sending the expelled rock essence flying to one side.

Of course, if this piece of rock essence had flown elsewhere, it would have been fine.

Damn it! It actually flung that rock essence directly at Phạm Hiểu Đông!

If Phạm Hiểu Đông hadn't known this rock essence was the creature's excrement, it might have been forgivable. But now, of all times, Phạm Hiểu Đông had witnessed this scene.

Phạm Hiểu Đông absolutely could not tolerate being hit on the forehead by this creature's droppings.

If that happened, where would her dignity be? Wouldn't she be utterly shamed?

Just imagine, who wouldn't be enraged in such a situation? Thus, at this moment, Phạm Hiểu Đông's temper flared; she was thoroughly infuriated.

Her mind stirred, and with a flick of her right hand, Phạm Hiểu Đông unleashed a ball of spiritual energy from her palm.

It struck precisely the flung piece of rock essence.

"Bang!!!"

With a faint sound, the object flew back, once more hurtling towards the demon beast.

The demon beast, being extremely perceptive, sensed the sudden fluctuation of spiritual energy. With a whoosh, its body shot back a hundred zhang.

It then turned its gaze towards Phạm Hiểu Đông.

The creature immediately revealed a startled expression, but this lasted only for an instant before it became enraged. It could not tolerate that hateful figure flinging its own excreted droppings back at it.

This narrative, rendered with care and fidelity, is an exclusive offering from truyen.free.