The very first thing Cao Yun noticed was that space was fundamentally different in the Weeping Summits. Sadly, his comprehension of the Dao of Space wasn't sufficient to understand the difference, but he could sense something unusual. His spiritual senses were restricted. The farther he tried to expand them, the harder it became. In a sense, it was as if his spiritual senses were pushing against something. The more they pushed, the denser that substance became. At the same time, his spiritual senses were too spread out to be strong enough. Still, he was able to spread his senses several chi around him. Besides, if he only focused in one direction, he could go even further. However, it required more effort on his part. Over a few weeks or months, this could actually become a problem.
Jinyang, Jinyue and Yanzhen couldn't tell that the space was different, but they were clearly feeling pressure throughout their bodies. Moreover, the heat was also peculiar. Although the sensation of heat wasn't stronger, its effects were more brutal, and they impacted both their flesh and their soul. In fact, it was as if they were fully transparent to this heat, their skin didn't stop it at all.
This was a very harsh environment. But, for Flameborns, this was a good place to train both their bodies and their understanding of the Dao of Fire. In fact, Cao Yun was even happier than expected. He hoped that the Weeping Summits would stay open as long as possible.
Hongyu, on the other hand, didn't seem to be disturbed at all. In fact, she seemed to be exalted. This place was perfect for her, it was as if she was diving into a warm bath. This was the best sensation she had had in a very long time, if not ever. Unfortunately, it was also quite obvious that she would have a hard time going in the tunnels below. As such, Cao Yun stayed on the surface for quite some time so that she could enjoy herself. Then, he had to tell her that they would split up.
Obviously, Hongyu was disappointed, but she understood. While Cao Yun and the three Flameborns would go underground, she would travel across the surface and find some prey for herself. Honestly, Cao Yun was more worried for the fire beasts than for Hongyu. Hopefully, she might be able to improve her cultivation and get closer to becoming an actual immortal beast.
Finally, Cao Yun took out his 'Ancient Veins in the Void' compass. Unlike Xianglao, he didn't have any specific objective. He wanted to explore, find the best resources he could, and maybe prove the worth of the Ancient Obsidian tribe in order to get spots at the Pillar of the End of the World. Even though he intended to win the martial arts competition for a spot, he would still rather have more than not enough.
At first, Cao Yun tried to locate Xianglao using his compass, but he failed. Xianglao was either using some artifact to conceal himself or his Dao of Fire was concealing him. With enough time, Cao Yun might be able to find him, but he wouldn't waste time on this. Cao Yun simply wanted to avoid him if possible, but he wasn't about to panic at the idea. Even if he couldn't beat him in a fight, if there was a fight, Cao Yun was certain that he could escape. However, he was also with three Flameborns who couldn't, so he would have to protect them. Anyway, he would rely on his spiritual senses and his physical senses to avoid this threat. He had no reason to antagonize the major tribes more than they probably already were.
By going into the Weeping Summits first, Cao Yun had hoped to show Xianglao that he wasn't following him. Considering that Xianglao had gone in a completely different direction, this had most likely shown him that Cao Yun really wasn't after the same objective.
Since he had failed to locate Xianglao, Cao Yun decided to focus on his main goal. He used the compass to try to locate treasures of any kind, both for him and for the Flameborns with him. This time, it worked much better. In order to test his compass, Cao Yun walked toward the closest spot he had identified. This wasn't an impressive treasure, but his compass had sensed an interesting plant.
Yanzhen was surprised when Cao Yun kicked the ground. The human literally shattered rocks, turning them into dust. Underneath, they saw a strange mushroom. Jinyang recognized it first.
"This is a Four Salve Stoneheart Fungus. It's said to be able to cure many ailments and to regulate heat. I've never actually seen one in real life. Our tribe is only able to buy a little of its dust every year. Not only is it a good medicine, but it's also very good for cultivating."
Cao Yun had indeed read about it. For a major tribe, this wasn't very important, but this was still a small treasure for the Ancient Obsidian tribe. Considering how lightly his compass had reacted to it, Cao Yun imagined that his bounty would be plentiful after this hunt. Already, he imagined that he could become the richest man in the area. To be fair, he probably already was thanks to everything in his spatial ring, but he didn't want to flaunt otherworldly wealth.
Nearby, Cao Yun found another small treasure. Before going underground, he decided to get a few ingredients on the surface. They might help the three Flameborns cultivate during this hunt. As they were walking toward a small dry bush, Cao Yun felt air move on his neck. Immediately, he stepped forward while turning around. He had no time to retrieve his weapon and simply stabbed forward with his spear fingers. His index and middle fingers were extended like the tip of a spear and stabbed into a large centipede.
The exoskeleton of the insect cracked, and some blood splashed on Cao Yun's arm and even face, but the creature was still alive, wriggling around on the ground where it had fallen. Cao Yun was shocked as he had not felt it at all. The centipede had perfectly blended into its environment. Only the slight movement of air when it had attacked had warned the human. Otherwise, the centipede would have bitten his neck and would most likely be coiled around his throat at this very moment.
Of course, the three Flameborns were terrorized. Yanzhen recognized an Ashen Maw Centipede. That insect was a terrifying fire beast as it could devour a Flameborn's life fire in an instant. Most victims were killed instantly without even realizing what had happened, they simply felt a terrible pain and turned into ashes before making any connection with the pressure around their neck. Only the surviving Flameborns could tell of the horror of that creature. Thankfully, they were rare, but apparently not rare enough.
The Ashen Maw Centipede was wounded. Instead of fighting again, it tried to escape. But Cao Yun had bought enough time. His fingers hurt a little, proving how tough the exoskeleton of that fire beast was. Or maybe it was something other than pure toughness, there might be some strange properties of its exoskeleton. Obviously, Cao Yun wanted to study the corpse of that beast. He wouldn't let it escape after trying to kill and eat him. From his spatial ring, several swords appeared.
In an instant, the swords flew all around the Ashen Maw Centipede. A dozen swords pierced its body. Cao Yun meticulously avoided the exoskeleton, striking between the plates of its natural armor. The insect wriggled around and was even able to break a few swords. But Cao Yun had enough time to get to the head of the fire beast. It was as big as Cao Yun's fist. Because he wanted to preserve the body as much as possible, Cao Yun stabbed through the flesh of the fire beast and pierced its brain. It convulsed for a few minutes before it ceased to move altogether.
Taking back his swords, Cao Yun also took the entire corpse of the fire beast into his spatial ring. Although he was confident about his own safety, Cao Yun realized that he had been overly confident. Moreover, he also had to protect Yanzhen and the twins. Honestly, if the Ashen Maw Centipede had attacked them first, they would have been injured. In fact, one of them might have died. Because Cao Yun had chosen to bring them here, he couldn't let anything happen to them. He had to be even more careful and cautious.
Unfortunately, his compass had failed to sense the Ashen Maw Centipede at all. It was possible that some fire beasts were so well blended into their environment that Cao Yun was simply unable to differentiate them from the heat all around them. If that was the case, the Weeping Summits were more dangerous than he thought. Someone who mastered the Dao of Fire, or at least knew enough, might be able to sense small variations that would indicate the presence of those fire beasts.
Thankfully, most fire beasts weren't as treacherous as this Ashen Maw Centipede. Still, Cao Yun had to protect the Flameborns who were with him. As such, he decided to take more time. While Cao Yun was a bit scared, the three Flameborns had even more trust in him after seeing him kill that Ashen Maw Centipede so efficiently. They couldn't tell what was going on in his mind. It was a good thing, all things considered. They didn't need to see Cao Yun's worries, or they might get scared.
Anyway, they kept on exploring the surface. At some point, they met a group of Flameborns. They were six middle-aged Flameborns. From their clothes and the ashes they used on their bodies, they clearly came from three different, poor tribes. They had united to stay safe in the Weeping Summits. When they spotted Cao Yun's group, they became hostile but didn't try to attack. Cao Yun could see that they were guarding a Four Salve Stoneheart Fungus. For them, this was a great treasure, and they were ready to risk their lives to keep it for themselves.
Cao Yun slightly saluted them and moved along with Yanzhen and the twins. There was no need to make life difficult for Flameborns who weren't aggressive. In fact, Cao Yun hoped to not have to fight anyone here, as it would mean a fight to the death in most cases. After all, if anyone died here, their corpses would disappear once the black smog came back. In other words, there would never be any proof that they had been killed by someone else and not a fire beast. They might even have simply failed to leave in time and had been devoured by the black smog. Anyway, since murder could go unpunished, it wasn't unusual.
Unless he had a good reason, Cao Yun didn't want to kill anyone. However, if anyone gave him a reason, Cao Yun would be absolutely ruthless, maybe even cruel if need be. Still, he preferred to stay peaceful, despite what his first actions in the Broken Fire World might suggest.
On their journey, Cao Yun's group encountered various important plants, a few precious ores, and some fire beasts who were courageous enough to attack them. As long as the fire beasts weren't too dangerous, Cao Yun let Jinyue, Jinyang and Yanzhen handle them. He wanted them to gain as much experience as possible. Strength was one thing, but they needed actual combat in order to progress in their fighting abilities. Cao Yun only intervened if they risked being heavily injured or maimed. They never actually risked getting killed, which was a good sign for them. To be fair, they were usually fighting three Flameborns against one fire beast.
For a few days, Cao Yun focused on training the three Flameborns through combat against fire beasts. Cao Yun had not looked at his compass for quite a while when he had a strange sensation. Looking around him, he realized that they had walked in a circle. Space truly was strange here. Without his compass, it might actually be possible to be trapped here, especially when the black smog came back. To be fair, one could simply fly as high as possible in order to escape. The real danger was for those who went too deep into the caves.
According to what Cao Yun knew, the Weeping Summits would shake a few moments before the black smog came back. After those tremors, it was essential to drop everything and quickly fly to the surface and high in the sky before flying back toward the edge of the Weeping Summits. Greed would mean death.
Every Flameborn in the region had heard stories of other Flameborns who regretted abandoning a treasure they had found. However, they had chosen life. And everyone agreed with their decisions. Those who didn't regret anything, no one ever heard anything about them, because they were dead.
Cao Yun heard some noise, there was a battle nearby. According to his compass, there was no important treasure there. In fact, there was nothing at all. However, Cao Yun's group saw the fight. Twelve Flameborns were attacking four demons. A fifth demon was already dead, his corpse completely charred. Two of the surviving demons were heavily injured but still fighting alongside the two other demons. The other two demons were women who had to be seventy at most but looked like they were thirty. They were late Golden Blood Children while the three others, including the dead demon, were early Accomplished Demons.
The Flameborns were surrounding them. Clearly, they weren't fighting for anything, they just wanted to kill demons for fun.
Cao Yun's first instinct was to do nothing. After all, demons had been a plague for mankind, and those demons were literally descendants of Demon God Da Mo. However, this didn't sit well with him. That being said, he had to protect the three Flameborns with him, he couldn't save anyone. He couldn't just disregard blind slaughter, though.
If he didn't make a decision quickly, the demons would die anyway. Despite their cultivation, the Flameborns were more dangerous, especially in the Weeping Summits.