"You're so annoying. You're all just hooligans," said Fan Qingmei, frowning in mock anger.
"Wuwu, Qingmei is right. We all want to be hooligans with you. How about you just agree?" Kent teased with a laugh.
"No way," Fan Qingmei pushed him away.
...
After breakfast, Xiao Bai carried the two of them and continued toward their destination.
An hour later, Kent saw the sky grow darker with swirling clouds. Beneath the clouds, a massive red layer of clouds loomed, resembling a mountain range. This was the entrance to the Fire Space.
According to the theory that the larger the cloud formation, the bigger the secret realm, the Fire Space was already a six-star anomaly, much larger than the Small Pan Mountain Realm. Kent had never entered it, so he couldn't imagine just how vast it was. But according to online rumors, the Fire Space was as large as the entire Asian continent.
"Is this the Fire Space?" Fan Qingmei asked in surprise, gazing at the cloud formation about a hundred meters off the ground.
"That's right, but how do we get up there?" Kent said, a bit troubled.
The entrance to the cloud formation was about three hundred meters from the ground. Garfield's flying ability could leap as high as two hundred meters, but it still wasn't enough. Although Kent could use his vertical leap and soaring abilities, together they could only reach slightly over two hundred meters.
At this moment, Kent regretted not leaving one of the Sky-Soaring Eagle Kings behind when they had sent Zhou Yun off. If he had done that, he wouldn't be in such a dilemma now.
Fan Qingmei giggled as she watched him.
"Qingmei, do you have a way?" Kent asked.
"Of course," Fan Qingmei smiled as she pulled a small helicopter from her spatial bag, one that could seat just two or three people. "After spending several years in the wild, I made some savings and bought a few useful things. My spatial bag alone is worth quite a bit. It's ten zhang (about 33 feet) long, wide, and high, and inside I have a helicopter, an off-road vehicle, motorcycles, a vanity, and even a bed."
Kent was surprised. He had learned something new today. Looking at his own basic spatial bag, he silently promised to get a larger one—ideally, one that could fit a small house inside.
The two of them quickly boarded the helicopter and flew up toward the cloud formation.
After a glance at the desolate land below and the gloomy sky above, they stepped right into the Fire Space.
This time, it took two full minutes to fall into darkness.
"This is the Fire Space?" Kent asked, his eyes widening.
The moment they emerged, both Kent and Fan Qingmei found themselves a hundred meters above the ground in the Fire Space. The sky was a fiery red, resembling a vibrant sunset, and it stretched endlessly into the distance. Numerous birds and beasts flew overhead.
Among them were golden-colored Golden Crows, around levels fifty to sixty, massive imperial-class beasts with wingspans over a hundred meters. As they flew by, they looked like giant clouds in the sky.
There were also Golden-Winged Dapeng descendants circling and hunting, resembling eagles with wings that glowed with golden luster, fierce and cold-eyed, like small mountains themselves.
A few Pterosaur-like creatures soared high into the sky. One of them, the Gale Pterosaur, flapped its wings, sending gusts of wind whistling through the air. Another was the Blade-Claw Pterosaur, its claws as long and sharp as a Guan Gong's crescent blade.
...
Looking down at the ground, Kent saw a vast, ancient plateau covered with mountain ranges that stretched for thousands of miles, rising sharply into the sky. Many peaks emitted thick smoke, and some even spewed molten lava, sending black smoke swirling into the air. The scale of it looked like a massive demon's claws, terrifying and monstrous.
The areas not near volcanoes were lush with vegetation and ancient trees, while places near volcanoes were barren, covered in jagged volcanic rocks that looked like they had cooled and hardened.
There were also many giant native beasts ruling large territories. When bored, they would come out of their caves or mountains to bask on the volcanoes, looking like kings surveying their lands.
Kent saw a colorful magic tiger towering a hundred meters tall, a two-headed golden lion with fur as bright as gold, and a giant snake as heavy as a small mountain.
But of course, there was also a fire dragon.
The fire dragon was a real dragon, resembling the mythical Chinese dragons of Earthstar. It had a serpent-like body covered in scales, with two horns, unlike the winged and ground-dwelling dragons of Western mythology. The dragon was a hundred meters long and lay atop an erupting volcano, which was over three thousand meters tall. The volcano's crater was located in a valley formed by several ridges.
Kent and Fan Qingmei took in the view, and their gaze was drawn to the giant fire dragon. Its fiery red scales shimmered in the light, and its massive body coiled like a giant beast, exuding an aura of power and dignity.
"Qingmei, we're lucky. We found a fire dragon as soon as we entered," Kent said with a smile, his eyes gleaming.
Fan Qingmei also smiled brightly. After all, the Fire Space was as large as the entire Asian continent, stretching tens of thousands of miles in length and width. If they had to search for a fire dragon, it might take years to find one.
"So what do we do now?" Fan Qingmei asked.
Although they had spotted the fire dragon, it was still quite far away, at least a hundred miles away, separated by many peaks.
They couldn't just fly straight toward it in the helicopter; after all, the skies were filled with many massive and dangerous creatures. To reach the volcano, they would have to trek through forests and mountains.
"It's fine, we just need to be careful," Kent said confidently. The two of them landed the helicopter in a valley, where no beasts were visible.
After storing the helicopter, they checked the direction and began their journey. Kent released his two beasts, Ba Jie and Garfield, to scout ahead.
Garfield was able to transform into a sleek, eighty-centimeter-long form. It was extremely agile, with the ability to fly and move quickly.
Ba Jie was even more remarkable. It was a smoke-like entity that could blend into its surroundings, becoming invisible. When it used its Shadow Stealth ability, it could transform into a shadow, able to travel through any terrain.
As soon as Ba Jie was released, it turned into a shadow, soaring into the sky ahead.
Garfield scurried through the forest below.
"We should go now," Kent said.
Fan Qingmei watched the shadow in the sky in awe. "Kent, what is that?"
"That's one of my beasts. Its form is like smoke, and it can become invisible and turn into a shadow," Kent explained briefly. "This time, whether our mission is successful will largely depend on it."