Chapter 30

Chapter 30: The Bird Nest in the Volcano

Shen Sang Ruo arched a brow: “Is the Blazing Heart guiding me to the top of the volcano?”

If the Blazing Heart pointed there, the artifact she sought was most likely at the summit.

She did not relax. Instead, she grew even more careful.

In a small Secret Realm there were usually all kinds of Demonic Beasts guarding the place. From the moment she entered until now, she had not met a single one. That was not a good sign. It likely meant the realm’s resources had been piled onto a few old monsters.

She had plenty of artifacts in her storage bag and felt confident against Demonic Beasts below fourth grade, which were equal to Cultivators below Nascent Soul. But being careful never hurt.

Demonic Beasts loved to squat near treasures.

After checking the area and seeing no trace of Demonic Beasts, Shen Sang Ruo began to climb.

The higher she went, the hotter it became, and the Spiritual Qi grew thicker. She started to see fire-type spirit plants. Any plant that could grow here had to be high quality.

“Senior Sister Su is an Alchemist, these herbs might help her,” she thought as she swept up every plant she passed. Better to take them now than leave them for the group behind her.

Farther up, crystals jutted from the mountain wall. Crystals were even more useful, for forging artifacts and drawing Formations. They would also help the others in Ninghua Sect.

She had taken so many of their things already that she should bring some “local specialties” back to them.

Smiling, Shen Sang Ruo gathered the crystals and dropped them all into her Cosmos Pouch. The Cosmos Pouch carried her Divine Sense imprint, so no one else could sense what was inside. She had also moved the artifacts her companions had given her into the Cosmos Pouch.

If her strength allowed, she would have sliced off the entire summit and stuffed it into the Cosmos Pouch to take away. There was no end to digging here. But her main goal was the artifact at the top, so she only grabbed herbs and crystals in passing.

After half a day she had climbed only a third of the way. To prevent any mishaps, she swallowed a few Spirit-Nourishing Pills and decided to push straight to the top without resting.

This Secret Realm had no day and night. The sky was always lit with fire.

After another full day of climbing, she finally reached the summit.

The crater’s rim was so wide it was larger than the base of other mountains. Ten meters ahead, a pit of fire-red, boiling magma rolled and hissed. One wrong step would mean no return.

A wave of heat hit her and lifted the edge of her skirt.

Shen Sang Ruo circled the crater once and found nothing unusual. There was no artifact in sight. The calm made her even more uneasy. An empty crater made it impossible to guess what would happen next.

Against her chest, the Blazing Heart became lively and tugged her straight toward the volcano’s rock.

She stared at the molten pit and muttered: “You don’t want me to jump into the magma, do you?” If she fell, even her bones would be gone in an instant. [Fellow Daoist, this is not a place to jump.]

Still, she walked to the very edge and searched the inside of the crater carefully. If nothing sat on the rim, then it had to be inside.

Sweat slid down her cheek, dropped into the crater, and vanished as steam.

She caught a faint difference, widened her eyes, and focused on that odd spot.

“That is… a bird nest?”

It sat not far down inside the crater. The nest was fiery red, made of some unknown material that glowed and blended into the magma below. If you did not look closely, you would think there was nothing there. No wonder she missed it the first time.

Shen Sang Ruo was baffled. Who would build a nest inside a volcano? The nest was exactly where the Blazing Heart wanted her to go. The artifact should be inside it. The Demonic Beast acting as the Dharma Protector was surely the Master of that nest.

At least the nest was empty right now. Even so, getting it would be tricky. The nest sat inside the crater. One slip and she would fall into the magma. She also did not know when the bird would return or how strong it was. Flying beasts had a big advantage here. If it returned while she was reaching for the nest, she would have nowhere to run. It could attack directly, or just harry her until she fell into the magma. [The bird beast: the advantage is mine.]

After thinking it over, Shen Sang Ruo chose the safest plan and decided to watch in secret for a few days. First, she could see the bird return and test its strength, then make a plan based on its habits. Second, the Spiritual Qi near the magma was rich. A few days of training might raise her power and give her better odds.

If nothing unexpected happened, she was sure she could take the artifact.

Just as she moved to find a hidden spot to camp, she spotted three figures in the distance.

Shen Sang Ruo fell silent: “…”

If nothing unexpected was supposed to happen, the unexpected had arrived. She could not help wondering if these people were born to jinx her.

Feng He Yun brightened and waved to the other two: “Second Junior Brother, Junior Sister, look! Fifth Junior Sister really is here!”

Bai Mu Mu, who had fainted earlier, was awake now and leaning on Wen Xuan. The heat here made her shaky on her feet. It was also because Feng He Yun and Wen Xuan had dragged her all the way here.

Shen Sang Ruo did not understand why, seeing Bai Mu Mu like this, they still brought her to the crater.

That they caught up did not surprise her. Her Senior Brothers were all at least Mid Golden Core, and Feng He Yun could use Sword Flight. Of course they were faster.

Even if she did not want to deal with them, she had to go talk, or they would ruin her plan.

Seeing Shen Sang Ruo walk over, Feng He Yun and Wen Xuan lit up. They had said all along that she would not truly ignore them.

Feng He Yun and Wen Xuan called out together: “Fifth Junior Sister.” Bai Mu Mu also whispered softly: “Fifth Senior Sister.”

Shen Sang Ruo glanced over the three and frowned: “Why is Third Senior Brother not with you?” Feng He Yun, Wen Xuan, and Bai Mu Mu stood before her. Lu Shi Qing was nowhere to be seen. Her gut told her something was wrong.

Feng He Yun had planned to ask her not to blame him for the Seven Emotions Gu, but her first words were concern for the one who planted that Gu on her. His face fell at once.

He forced a smile and said: “Oh, we found the Fire-Scale Vine Junior Sister needs by the crater. Third Junior Brother went to pick it for her.” He added, excited: “I thought Fire-Scale Vine existed only in legends, but we stumbled on it here. Junior Sister’s body can fully recover.”

Shen Sang Ruo asked at once: “Where is he picking it?”

Feng He Yun pointed into the crater: “Right there.”