Chapter 529: Fire Ancestor (Two Chapters Combined)
"Be polite to humans!"
The White Flame Skeleton extended a bony hand and waved, blocking its kin from touching Xiang Beifei indiscriminately.
"Thank you for saving us. You are as kind as the other humans we have met," the White Flame Skeleton said roughly.
"You've met other humans?" Xiang Beifei exclaimed in surprise.
The White Flame Skeleton nodded. Then, it turned its head toward the entrance of the cave, which although blocked by Xiang Beifei with breath soil, still seemed somewhat concerning, and said, "This place isn't safe. Please, follow us."
The other skeletons had already reassembled their bones, flames emerging from their eye sockets, covering every corner of their bodies, and then jumped into the lava. Several skeletons floated and sank in the lava, seeming to swim leisurely, and looked up waiting for Xiang Beifei to jump in.
"The lava here is fierce and can harm humans. I can help you."
The White Flame Skeleton extended a bony hand, its fingertips flickering with white flames.
Xiang Beifei pondered for a moment, then nodded slightly, "All right."
The flames on the White Flame Skeleton's fingers quickly spread over Xiang Beifei's body. This flame seemed relatively gentle, enveloping Xiang Beifei tightly as if a thin membrane isolated the air.
To be cautious, Xiang Beifei applied his breath soil over his body, checked thrice to ensure his safety, and then leaped into the scalding lava.
The boiling high-temperature lava pressed against him, and he felt somewhat apprehensive, rightfully so, for such heat capable of corroding Spiritual Power could also harm him if he wasn't careful.
However, the high temperature was pushed back by the white flames, which precisely blocked the lava, and many skeletons dived into it, beginning to swim toward the underground.
Xiang Beifei followed behind, surrounded by the scalding lava, its red hue making one's heart flutter. Swimming in lava could be attempted in a typical volcano, but he dared not take this lava lightly.
In front of him, Xiang Beifei couldn't tell where the path was, so he simply stayed close to the White Flame Skeleton, tightly shielded by the breath soil.
Fortunately, the White Flame Skeleton also stayed with him, constantly monitoring the white flames on his body, worried about Xiang Beifei's safety.
They dived under the lava for ten minutes without reaching their destination. The layer of lava was thick, winding along. All that could be seen were layers of intense pressure and high temperature, a normal person could never dive here. No wonder the Ghost Mustache of Remnant Visage and the Meat-Winged Monsters were helpless against this place.
But soon, a strange fluctuation appeared ahead. The temperature of the lava seemed to become milder. Suddenly, the group turned and started to swim upward toward what seemed like a crevice in the rock, bound tightly by a strange Formation that firmly held the layer of lava.
They passed through the Formation and emerged from the lava.
"We've arrived."
The White Flame Skeleton reached out and grabbed Xiang Beifei, pulling him out of the lava.
Only now did the layer of white flames on Xiang Beifei dissipate. The temperature here was still high, but Xiang Beifei could now resist the heat with his Spiritual Power.
He surveyed his surroundings, then expressed mild surprise.
For he was actually in a familiar cave!
It was exactly Si Hou's cave!
However, this cave seemed special because the Formation patterns all around were lit up, flowing not with blood on the ground's Formation lines but with scalding lava. Skillfully augmented by the Formation, this created a very mysterious restraint.
The lava in the center of the cave formed a red circle about two meters wide, emitting fluctuations of Spiritual Power. Inside was a light resembling water ripples, seemingly a gateway to another world.
"Woof woof!"
Xiaohei, on Xiang Beifei's shoulder, poked his ear in surprise.
"This aura—it couldn't be—"
Xiang Beifei noticed it too.
It was a System artifact!
Xiang Beifei and Xiaohei looked at each other, both quite astonished!
Since they had left the continent of Jiuzhou several months ago, they encountered various ruthless desolate beasts on their journey. Apart from his own repertoire of System abilities, they had barely encountered any System artifacts.
So when they saw an artifact emanating intense System energy here, they were profoundly shocked!
Xiang Beifei and Xiaohei were like ancestors to the System, recognizing the capabilities of this System artifact as spatial. That is, inside this circle was a world created by the System!
The other skeletons excitedly ran toward the red circle and disappeared behind it. The White Flame Skeleton stood there, turned to look at Xiang Beifei, and said, "This is where we live."
"This place resembles the masterpieces of our Jiuzhou humans," Xiang Beifei said.
"Indeed," nodded the White Flame Skeleton, "The place where we live was established by a great Human Race ancestor from Jiuzhou. He named it Shepherd City, a human who saved our entire Fire Race, and therefore, we have always held great respect for humans."
Xiang Beifei examined the circle world. Normally, System artifacts were formed through the condensation of Spiritual Power, but not one could exist permanently because Spiritual Power would gradually dissipate. If it didn't receive a replenishment of Spiritual Power, the System artifact would vanish.
But this circle world was connected by an altar, where the surging power cleverly transformed into Spiritual Power was used to replenish the circle world.