"Is the water's temperature rising again?" Hua Litong murmured to herself as she stared at the river boiling before her.
After walking upstream along the river for a day, she noticed that the temperature of the river had continued to rise. At this moment, she was certain it had already reached over 100 Celsius.
"Is it related to the sun-like object?... It must be!" Hua Litong's eyes lit up as she made the connection between the rising temperature and the sun-like object mentioned by her mother.
"Maybe this place is the real mythical realm's core?" She came to a conclusion and suddenly became ecstatic.
Hua Litong increased her pace, hoping to reach the center area soon. Suddenly, she paused her step, drawing the sword out, and said coldly in a certain direction ahead of her. "Who?"
"Sister Litong?" A female silhouette emerged from behind the wall and exclaimed in surprise.
"Sister Mengli?" Hua Litong was also surprised. She didn't expect to see Yang Mengli here.
Both of them were the same generation. Since Yang Chen and Hua Wanru were in love with each other, the relationship between Yang Mengli and Hua Litong naturally grew closer. They could be considered a good friend.
"How have you been?" Hua Litong sheathed her sword and approached Yang Mengli with a smile.
"I'm good. I'm trying to find my brother right now." Yang Mengli answered. She paused for a moment and asked, "How long have you been here?"
"I've arrived here yesterday. What about you?" Hua Litong replied.
"I've been tracing Luo Kun for several days but I lost him now." Yang Mengli then lowered her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, Sister Litong. I can't bring Wanru back from Luo Kun." She saw Hua Wanru together with Luo Kun, but she alone didn't have enough strength to rescue her.
"Is she okay?" Hua Litong asked hurriedly. Her face was full of worry.
Yang Mengli nodded her head. "She should be fine. I think she's already separated from Luo Kun after coming here. Along the way, I've killed three people from the Luo clan and they didn't seem to know Luo Kun and Wanru's whereabouts."
Hua Litong let out a sigh of relief. She said, "That's good… Did you find a black jade from those men?"
Yang Mengli took out the black transmission jade and said, "This one?"
Hua Litong explained, "Yes. People from the Luo clan can use this jade to contact each other. Before coming here, Yun Lintian had modified our transmission jade by using this black jade as an example. Now, we can contact each other."
"Senior Yun? He can do this too?" Yang Mengli was surprised... What kind of enchanting talent is this? Not only he has high attainment of medical profound art, but he is also a talented inscriber too? She didn't know what to say anymore.
Hua Litong nodded firmly, "Yes. He is a true genius… I'll contact him now. Maybe he has already met the others."
She then took the transmission jade out and tried to contact Yun Lintian. However, there was no response after waiting for a full minute.
Hua Litong frowned. "Did he encounter something?" She then contacted Yun Chan, but the result was still the same. There was no response to her.
The frown on Hua Litong's face grew deeper. She tried again. This time she contacted Yun Li. "Sister Yun Li, are you there?"
"Sister Hua? We encountered Luo Kun and his men. Currently, we are together with Young Master Yang Chen. Sister Chan and Sister Ting are severely injured. Yun Li's voice rang out from the other side.
Both Hua Litong and Yang Mengli exchanged serious glances with each other. Hua Litong asked, "Where is Luo Kun? Did you manage to kill him?"
"No. Young Master Yang Chen said he ran away." Yun Li replied.
"Understood. Please find a place to recuperate first." Hua Litong said with a heavy tone.
"Let's go. We need to increase our pace." Hua Litong didn't wait for Yang Mengli to reply. She quickly walked forward, with Yang Mengli following closely behind.
***
"What a beautiful place." Yun Lintian exclaimed while looking at the surroundings.
When he first stepped into this place through the middle door, a gentle heatwave immediately washed over his face, followed by a brilliant light that threatened to blind him. However, when the mysterious rat raised its hand slightly, everything had disappeared instantly, and an artistically designed hall appeared in Yun Lintian's vision.
The hall was spacious, estimating three hundred square meters. The marble wall was painted in a crimson color, and there were lifelike fire patterns all over the place. The first thing that attracted Yun Lintian the most was a crimson throne in the center of the hall. He could somehow feel an imposing aura emanating from it. Compared to Misty Cloud's throne, this crimson throne was bigger and had a superior design.
The moment Yun Lintian raised his head to look at the triangular ceiling, he was taken aback upon seeing a red-colored orb floating above the transparent roof, giving off heat waves from time to time.
"Is this the so-called The Sun?" Yun Lintian muttered with a frown. Now, he firmly believed this place was the center of the mythical realm.
He turned to the rat. "Didn't you just say you don't know about this?"
The rat tilted its head slightly before shrugging its shoulders innocently.
"Oh? You know how to act innocent now?" Yun Lintian chuckled softly. He thought this rat was too adorable. He asked further, "Then do you know the Blazing Sun Monarch?" He asked this because he thought this rat should have a connection with Blazing Sun Monarch in a way. Otherwise, how could it open the door easily?
The rat seemed to ponder for a moment before it shook its head and then raised its tiny hand toward Yun Lintian.
Yun Lintian was speechless. He helplessly took several pieces of beef out and gave them to the rat. "Here you go. Do you want me to cook it for you?"
The rat hesitated for a moment before finally nodding.
Yun Lintian found a suitable location to set up a basic fireplace and began cooking. During this period, he occasionally glanced at The Sun in hopes of finding a clue about it. From the Blazing Sun Monarch's diary of rants, The Sun was abandoned by "that person" and was now being protected by the Blazing Sun Monarch, who awaits the arrival of "him" in this place.
Yun Lintian wasn't delusional enough to think that he was the chosen one. After all, he didn't even have any cheat device until now. Although the silver necklace on his neck might be the cheat device he was hoping for, he didn't think it was related to The Sun.
A while later, Yun Lintian handed steaks to the rat and decided to look around the place. He started with the crimson throne first.
Boom!
The moment he drew closer to the crimson throne, a powerful gust of heat burst out and blasted Yun Lintian several meters away.
"What the heck!?" Yun Lintian exclaimed angrily. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and didn't sustain any injuries when he landed on the ground.
"What's going on?" Yun Lintian turned to ask the rat.
The rat was busy eating the steaks heartily. When Yun Lintian was blasted away, a smirk appeared on its lips, as if mocking him.
Yun Lintian was speechless when he saw this. He moved towards the rat and attempted to snatch the steaks away, but the rat agilely dodged him and kept on eating.
Yun Lintian gritted his teeth and swore in his heart to pay back at the rat later. He turned toward the crimson throne once again. This time, he approached it cautiously, taking small steps.
Boom!
Yun Lintian got blasted once again, but it allowed him to get a piece of information. He could not get within 20 meters of the crimson throne. Otherwise, he would get blasting out instantly.
"What should I do?" Yun Lintian touched his chin and fell into deep thought. Now he was certain there was something on the crimson throne. It could be a secret of this place or a treasure. Hence, he had to find a way to get near it.
He glanced at the rat and let out a sigh. "Tell me. What do you need?" Naturally, the fastest way was to let the rat solve the problem for him.
The rat smirked and raised its hand toward Yun Lintian, asking for more food.
"Hey, I still need to eat, okay? I don't have much food left… How about this knife?" Yun Lintian pulled out the knife he had obtained from the treasure room.
The rat rolled its eyes as if to say, "Didn't you just take it away from me earlier? Do you think I'm a fool?"
Yun Lintian sighed in disappointment. It seemed that the rat was not stupid. He looked at the food in his interspatial ring and finally brought a chicken out. "Here. Do you want me to cook it for you?"
The rat sniffed at the chicken slightly and felt it wasn't fragrant as the steaks, but it still gave a nod in the end.
Yun Lintian sighed helplessly and set up another fireplace… How did I suddenly become this rat's personal chef? He wondered.
Twenty minutes later, Yun Lintian finished cooking a simple grilled chicken and handed it to the rat. The rat couldn't resist the aroma of garlic and pepper as it quickly took a big bite of the golden-brown grilled chicken.
Yun Lintian patiently watched the rat eating happily without saying anything. The grilled chicken was devoured in two minutes, leaving its bare bones scattered on the floor.
"It's time to do your job now." Yun Lintian said to the big-bellied rat.
The rat glared back at him in dissatisfaction but still did as promised. It slowly walked toward the crimson throne and tapped gently on an invisible barrier 20 meters before the throne. Instantly, Yun Lintian felt that something had disappeared from the place. The invisible barrier had completely disappeared.
Yun Lintian followed the rat behind. When they arrived in front of the throne, Yun Lintian could see an exquisite fire pattern that was carefully engraved on it. It was the design that a zero point on art subject like Yun Lintian couldn't understand.
While Yun Lintian appreciating the crimson throne, a trace of melancholy flashed across the rat's eyes when it gazed at the throne. Its expression was entirely different from before — its current appearance had resembled human more than a simple rat.
Naturally, Yun Lintian failed to notice it. His attention was solely focused on the crimson throne as he searched for its secret. Later, he couldn't find anything and turned to the rat. "Is there any secret on this throne?"
The rat didn't react to Yun Lintian's question, but it reached out its hand to gently touch the crimson throne. Following that, the pattern on the crimson throne suddenly glowed in crimson light, causing Yun Lintian to subconsciously take a step back.
"Finally, you've come." Suddenly, an ancient voice echoed throughout the hall.