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Chapter 594: Chapter 600: Volcano
"Do you know where this place is?"
In some unnamed marketplace, Li Chengsheng randomly approached a Foundation Establishment Cultivator and activated the Memory Stone in his hand.
A ray of Spirit Light shot out, projecting the image of a mountain billowing with scorching heat, its peaks reaching into the clouds. From time to time, flames would leap from the ground, clearly indicating that it was a massive volcano in the midst of an active phase!
It was the location he had seen after casting a divination spell, within which lay the key Spiritual Objects needed for the advancement of the Chaoyang Crow’s bloodline.
For this reason, Li Chengsheng had even learned some illusion spells to project and record with the Memory Stone, making it easier to inquire with other cultivators.
After all, volcanoes are not too numerous to count, nor too few to be insignificant, especially since the vision he saw was incomplete and lacked substantial information.
This marked the tenth year since Li Chengsheng left Wanxian Island, and he had already visited hundreds of volcanoes, yet none were the one he was searching for.
In the meantime, he faced many dangers. But with his own strength and the life-saving means given to him by Li Zhirui, Li Chengsheng still managed to survive.
Long-term trials also accelerated his growth. Although he had not yet broken through to the Middle Golden Core Stage, he was only a step away.
Moreover, the Chaoyang Crow and Li Fire Sparrow he had contracted had both advanced to the third order, and even the hybrid Spirit Beast, the Yang Li Firebird that he contracted later, had smoothly reached the second order.
Most importantly, the two types of Spiritual Fire within it remained calm and did not erupt in conflict.
This pleasant surprise triggered a strong curiosity in Li Chengsheng. If he hadn’t been continuously on the move in search of the Sun Spirit Object, he would have really liked to stop and study it thoroughly.
Speaking of which!
The Foundation Establishment Cultivator whom Li Chengsheng had stopped thought he had inadvertently offended a Golden Core expert and was so frightened that he was almost scared out of his wits and couldn’t speak.
"Hmm?"
Seeing the Cultivator’s reaction, Li Chengsheng knew he had scared him and felt a wave of helplessness inside. He had encountered this kind of situation many times before and could only let out a light snort to bring the man back to his senses.
"Senior..."
The Cultivator tried to speak to apologize, but Li Chengsheng interrupted him directly with a calm demeanor, "Just tell me, do you know this volcano?"
"In response to the senior, this place is called Huoshan Prefecture. There are more than three hundred volcanoes, big and small, but they are occupied by a group of Devil Beasts, so I am not very clear about the details," the Cultivator replied.
Upon hearing this, Li Chengsheng furrowed his brows. If it was as he said, why hadn’t he seen a single volcano along the way?
In front of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, he did not need to hide his doubts and asked directly.
"Did the senior come from the northeast?"
Li Chengsheng nodded. When he had performed the divination, in addition to seeing the volcano, an indistinct feeling had directed him to travel southwards. Therefore, he was actually no longer in the Eastern Domain but had entered the Southern Domain!
The living environment for cultivators in the Southern Domain was much worse than in the Eastern Domain because there were numerous Devil Beasts contending with the human race for living space, and wars erupted from time to time.
Moreover, it was close to the Western Demon Tao and didn’t have the formidable strength of the Central Domain, so Demon Cultivators in the Southern Domain established many sects and families, further squeezing the living space for Cultivators.
The harsh environment led most Cultivators in the Southern Domain to pursue strength without cultivating morals or temperament, letting power dictate everything, unlike the Cultivators of the Eastern or Central Domains who at least maintained pretenses.
However, the Southern Domain also had its advantages. The concentration of Spiritual Energy was second only to that of the Central Domain. It was the largest area among the five domains, with abundant resources of Spiritual Medicine and spirit mines, and it had created many powerful spells and Divine Powers.
"All the volcanoes are concentrated to the southwest. That area is teeming with fire-attributed Devil Beasts, including not a few fourth-order Great Devils. Therefore, we are not very knowledgeable about the interior," the Cultivator explained.
For some reason, after hearing this, Li Chengsheng felt intuitively that the Sun Spirit Object he was looking for was probably within that range of volcanoes!
"I see," Li Chengsheng nodded and casually gave away a second-order Spiritual Object that he had stripped from a Devil Beast, then strolled around the Marketplace, looking for a place to trade information.
Since the Spiritual Objects were most likely to be in this area, what he needed to do now was to understand as much as possible about the Hundred Fires Mountain range, especially the strength of the Devil Beasts, and then identify the Great Volcano from the prophecy.
Li Chengsheng visited several places and finally found the right one, located within an ordinary variety store.
"Hundred Intelligence Pavilion!"
It was strange that the largest intelligence trading organization in the Eastern Domain was the Hundred Intelligence Pavilion, and he had been to the Marketplaces and Immortal Cities in the Southern Domain, and they all had a branch of the Hundred Intelligence Pavilion.
Not to mention if it was spread throughout the entire Profound Origin Realm, but even if it only spanned the East and South, having cornered the information market, its power far exceeded that of the Wanxiang Sect or the Heaven Deviation Sect.
"Would you like to sell information or purchase it?" an elder in a black hat asked with his decayed, shriveled voice.
"I need the most detailed information about the Hundred Fires Mountain, including maps, characteristics of each volcano, locations, along with the strength of the Devil Race."
The elder showed no reaction, and Li Chengsheng was in no hurry, waiting for him to name his price.
After a moment of silence, he said, "A total of one hundred thousand Spirit Stones."
The information wasn’t particularly precious, it was just that there was a lot of it.
"All right," Li Chengsheng briskly transferred the Spirit Stones to a storage bag, placing it on the counter.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to haggle, but the Hundred Intelligence Pavilion simply wouldn’t agree. If you’re willing to buy, you pay; if not, you turn around and leave, they would never discount even a single Spirit Stone.
After obtaining the Jade Slip, Li Chengsheng didn’t check its content and immediately strode away.
"Could this young fellow have found the exact location of the Spiritual Object within the volcanoes?" the elder’s voice unexpectedly rang out.
As an intelligence organization, the Hundred Intelligence Pavilion knew many secrets unknown to ordinary Cultivators.
Among these secrets was the fact that hidden within the Hundred Fires Mountain was a precious Fifth-order Extraterrestrial Spiritual Object!
However, treasures have a spirit and clean themselves not to reveal, and so for many years, neither the Hundred Intelligence Pavilion nor the group of Devil Beasts had found the Spiritual Object.
"But what does it have to do with an old man like me who’s about to die?" his voice faded, and the room returned to its death-like silence.
Meanwhile, Li Chengsheng, who had left the Hundred Intelligence Pavilion, casually found an inn to stay, activated the Defensive Array, and then took out the Jade Slip to carefully inspect it.
"This isn’t right..."
"This volcano shouldn’t produce flames..."
"The volcano is too small..."
Li Chengsheng compared each of the three hundred-plus volcanoes one by one, and it really was eye-straining work.
In the end, he identified three volcanoes that matched completely with what he saw in the prophecy; at least according to the information given by the Hundred Intelligence Pavilion, they met all the criteria.
"Fortunately, there are only three."
Li Chengsheng was already very satisfied with this number.
But things were far from simple, because two of these volcanoes were located deep within the mountain range!
And in there, there were many powerful Devil Beasts!
