"So, that's how they survive in this place," Ryker said to himself as he observed the lizard beast swimming inside the lava pool.
From what he could see and sense, the beast seemed to emit a special type of qi that was able to prevent the dissolving effect of the lava. He was not sure how the beast achieved such a thing but he chalked it off as being born in this hell hole.
Satisfied with his observation, Ryker left the beast alone and sought another lava pool. He had already displaced the beast out of its place for his curiosity so he could at least give it some space.
Thankfully, there are numerous lava pools in the area. He found one with the right size and depth, thankfully, Soul Sense was not dissolved like qi, or else it would be impossible for him to find a sufficiently deep lava pool.
"This should be good enough," he said to himself. He then removes his garment until there is not a single piece of clothing remaining. He did not want his clothes to be ruined by the lava would he now?
He then entered the lava pool. Compared to the lava lake and the surrounding lava pools, this one has more properties similar to lava. Regular lava while liquid, is hard and one could even walk on it as if it's a solid.
For the lava in the area, it seemed to be more of a liquid, acting like water instead of regular lava. If he had to guess, the reason for this is because of the different properties but he could not be too sure.
Nevertheless, he was here to temper his body and so he only needed to find the best place to achieve that.
When he submerged inside the lava pool, he could feel the blistering heat burning through his skin to the point it almost melted his skin. He perseveres, activating the Celestial Body Art.
Body Refining Art requires one to refine their body in extreme condition, whether from extreme heat or cold or being under great pressure, from the depth of the ocean to the crushing weight of the mountain, anything could work as long as the practitioner suffer from bodily harm.
As their bodies were broken down, destroyed by the extremes, they needed to patch it up with the Body Refining Art. Similar to the Celestial Soul Art, Celestial Body Art requires one to patch one body with Celestial Nascent Qi.
As one body was repaired using the Celestial Nascent Qi, the strength of the body would naturally improve, along with the Body Cultivation.
Unlike Soul Cultivation and Energy Cultivation, which have a different realms to differentiate the strength between levels, Body Cultivation did not have anything similar, mostly because each Body Refining Art has a different effect and makes it hard to classify it.
Nevertheless, while there are no realms in Body Cultivation, the strength of the Body Refining Art is the main way one can determine the strength of the Body.
For example, a High-Grade Body Refining Art that was practiced in the Initial Realm would be stronger than Low-Grade Body Refining Art in the Initial Realm, maybe even in the Intermediate Realm.
Of course, it is hard to determine such a thing unless it is tested but this is the best way to determine the strength of one's Body Cultivation.
For the Celestial Body Art, there are three levels at the Genesis Stage; Bronze, Silver, and Gold. He was not sure of what he could achieve but he wanted to be at least at the Silver Body.
If it is possible, he would aim for the Gold Body. Though he did not think it would be possible in a month. Oh well, he needed to handle the torture first before he could think of anything else.
-x-
The scene of the volcanic area is peaceful with the Fire Lizard swimming and basking in the lava pools, the bigger one contending against one another inside the lava lake.
However, if one paid attention, one could hear the scream of a human, his mouth letting out screams that would shake the area if it was not muffled by the lava.
Nevertheless, some beasts that prowled the single lava pool could sense a powerful presence, causing them to flee in the hope of not becoming the existence's prey.
When the sun already dipped into the horizon, a figure emerged from the pool, scowling as he shook off the lingering lava, not a single piece of clothing on his body.
After removing the lava, he threw a large boulder before grabbing the storage ring he had hidden there. He then took out his clothing and dressed himself.
With him now wearing clothes, he looked at himself and smiled. "Looks like I already entered the Bronze Body, but it is still far too weak to be any use," he said to himself.
He cast a glance at the lava pool and sighed, "The effect is good to start tempering the body but it is not strong enough to advance my Body Cultivation. I should go directly to the lava pool first tomorrow and see if I can handle it.
If I can handle it, then I could go to the lava lake, starting from the periphery and later to the center of the lake itself," he make a plan for the future. After all, he needed to keep getting stronger if he wanted to survive in this world.
"I should return for now. I do wonder if they are doing alright,"
-x-
When he returned, he spotted the women all having a satisfied smile on their faces. "Oh, what makes you all so happy?" he asked.
"Well, being close to the volcano area make this city have places called hot spring. It is basically a heated bath but it has some effect on both cultivators and non-cultivators," Hylla explained.
"Oh," "Yeah, that was what we said as well when we learned of it. But it is so good. There are different springs with better effects but at a higher price of course. Considering my uncle had given me a lot of Genesis Crystals, we all took the best one.
I am not sure how they did it but the spring seemed to contain energy that seeped through one body but did not cause any harm, just making our body feel soothed. Let's just say after a long dip, our body feels better already. Coupled with the massages, we've never been more relaxed," she told him.
"Maybe one day I will try it but for now, I am going to take a cold bath, I already spent some time in literal lava to the point I do not want my bath being hot,"