Standing on a ridge, Kent gazed down at the valley below. In fact, it could no longer be called a valley—it was a volcanic crater.
Inside the crater, everything was bathed in a fiery red hue, with thick black smoke continuously billowing out, while the molten lava formed a vast lake.
Kent approached the edge of the volcanic crater, his nails growing unnaturally long. He leapt down with the agility of a wolfman from the movies, using his claws to sink deep into the walls, anchoring himself with each jump.
He descended rapidly, hundreds of meters at a time, his claws digging into the earth to slow his fall. After a few more jumps, he finally landed on a massive protruding rock that extended out from the crater wall. Below him, the molten lake was only a hundred meters away.
The temperature here was incredibly high, and Kent felt like he was stepping into a steam oven, nearly roasting alive. With no other choice, he used the indestructible power of his companion, Wukong, to reinforce his body and make it as hard as iron, which allowed him to endure the intense heat.
Looking around, Kent spotted a massive cave entrance on the opposite mountain side, likely the home of the fire dragon.
Although fire dragons could swim freely in lava, they were selfish, greedy creatures, particularly fond of hoarding treasures. This fire dragon was no different. Kent was certain it had accumulated many precious items, though the lava lake wasn't an ideal place to store them.
After analyzing the situation, Kent leapt across the mountain, landing swiftly inside the cave. The cave was enormous, large enough for the fire dragon to move freely. Kent couldn't help but marvel at the dragon's tunneling ability—its powers could likely hollow out the entire mountain.
As he ventured deeper into the cave, Kent found it eerily barren, with nothing to speak of. But after about two minutes, he finally reached the innermost part of the lair.
"Time waits for no one. Once the battle ends, the fire dragon will return immediately," Kent muttered under his breath.
His movements were quick as he entered a massive chamber that could easily accommodate the fire dragon. The floor was covered with an incredible array of gold, silver, and precious jewels, almost blinding Kent with their brilliance.
However, Kent wasn't interested in the gold and gems. Since the connection to the otherworld had been established, the monetary system based on gold had collapsed. The appearance of monsters and the otherworld had made gold and similar materials lose their value.
The reason these treasures were here was simple: dragons were drawn to shiny objects. Kent quickly shifted his attention elsewhere.
"Fire Dragon Grass and Fire Dragon Flowers…"
In a dim corner of the cave, he discovered over a hundred plants growing, all imbued with the fire dragon's essence. Consuming these would greatly boost vitality and mental acuity.
However, this wasn't Kent's primary goal. He searched carefully among the plants.
"Found it."
He had located three Fire Dragon Blood Flowers, their growth more impressive than the others. Their aura was stronger, and their colors shimmered with a fiery glow. Kent quickly harvested the three flowers and placed them into his storage pouch, also collecting other Fire Dragon Flowers and Grass.
This process took about a minute.
With his primary objective achieved, Kent sighed in relief. These flowers would allow him to help advance the evolution of the Shadow Goblin, Fen Qingmei. She would be very pleased.
Kent moved to another corner of the cave, where he discovered a pile of unusual purple-red stones. He didn't recognize them, but they emitted a powerful aura, suggesting they were extremely valuable. They wouldn't have been placed here by the fire dragon otherwise. He collected the stones as well.
"This place doesn't seem to have any monster remains. They were probably thrown into the lava lake to be melted," Kent mused.
The cave was exceptionally clean, which made Kent feel even better.
"This is…" His eyes widened as he approached the wall, where he saw a massive fire dragon egg.
With this egg, Kent could hatch a young fire dragon, a creature of the Saint rank. This was a huge find.
Kent immediately stored the egg in his pouch and continued his search.
He soon found a small pool of liquid that radiated an astonishing amount of heat, easily surpassing the boiling point of water. The liquid was milky white, similar to milk, but far hotter.
"What is this?" Kent wondered. He could feel the liquid's temperature was well over three hundred degrees Celsius. It could no longer be classified as water.
Without hesitation, Kent pulled out a large metal container from his storage pouch and filled it with the liquid.
The pool was replenishable, with a tiny spring at the bottom slowly generating more of the liquid, though it would take a year to fill the entire container.
The fire dragon's lair was vast, stretching over a mile in length and width. Kent had only explored a small part of it so far.
Looking up, he noticed a large Moonstone embedded in the ceiling, its shape perfectly spherical and exquisitely crafted.
Without wasting time, Kent leapt up and carefully removed the Moonstone, adding it to his pouch.
At this point, Kent regretted not purchasing a higher-grade storage pouch. His current pouch could only hold about one-fifth of what he had collected.
Suddenly, Kent received a mental message from Bajie, who seemed to have found something extraordinary. Kent quickly rushed toward the source.
"What the hell…" Kent couldn't help but swear, his breath quickening. It seemed like Bajie had indeed found something remarkable.
"The Rule Stone… it's a Rule Stone!" Kent whispered in awe.
A Rule Stone was an item that contained the essence of the world's laws, manifested in intricate patterns. Intelligent beings who studied these patterns could gain insights into universal principles.
For example, Qian Zhenqian's Storm Battle Technique was not entirely self-created; it had been inspired by a Rule Stone.
After all, how could humans have invented such a powerful technique on their own?
In fact, almost all advanced battle techniques were derived from Rule Stones, integrating their insights with the martial path to create powerful skills. Spiritual meditation techniques were also born this way, but one focused on the body, and the other on the mind.
Kent stared at the Rule Stone. It was about the size of two doors, with intricate patterns that seemed to radiate intense heat. Anyone who looked at it could immediately sense the overwhelming fire energy it contained.