Translator: AnubisTL
Deep within the Purgatory Sulfur Plane, at the foot of the colossal active volcano, the Flame Lord's massive lava body clashed once more with Jieming's diminutive figure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The air vibrated with the thunderous impact of their struggle and the explosive crackle of fire elements. Jieming darted around the Flame Lord like a black phantom.
Over a year had passed since Jieming officially began cultivating the Body Tempering Method. During this time, he had regularly sought out the Flame Lord for sparring sessions.
The Flame Lord's assault remained relentless, a barrage of molten boulders, scorching claws, and searing fire breath that threatened Jieming from all directions with overwhelming force.
Yet after so much training, Jieming was no longer the "fragile" fighter he once was. Even these terrifying attacks posed no fatal threat to him.
Clenching his fist, he threw an uppercut, its spiral force slamming into the Flame Lord's chin, which was made of solidified lava.
The Flame Lord's massive body was jolted backward by the pure force, the scorched earth beneath his feet cracking with a deafening crack as it crumbled.
Seizing the moment, Jieming leaped up, driving his knee forward and smashing his elbow down. Each strike landed precisely on the Flame Lord's joints or the weak points in its energy flow.
The Flame Lord roared deafeningly, its flames erupting violently to engulf Jieming completely.
Yet when the flames dissipated, Jieming stood unharmed. His robes had turned to ash, revealing skin flushed crimson from the intense heat.
But the redness faded rapidly, his skin returning to normal at a visible pace.
Even wounds inflicted earlier in the battle began closing from the edges inward, their flesh visibly knitting together.
Some older injuries even sprouted new skin.
The thick sulfurous stench in the air seemed to have no effect on him whatsoever.
Jieming still fought relying solely on physical strength, without any magical protection, making the battle extremely arduous.
Each attack required him to mobilize every muscle and bone in his body, and every defense had to be perfectly timed.
Yet he managed to hold his own against the Flame Lord, even occasionally gaining the upper hand. This demonstrated the dramatic improvement in his physical conditioning and close-quarters combat skills over the past period.
This combat pattern had become Jieming's daily routine for over a year.
As soon as his injuries healed, he would eagerly return to the Purgatory Sulfur Plane to seek out the Flame Lord for another round of brutal training.
The Flame Lord seemed to despise this persistent "bug" that kept pestering him, unleashing his full power in every encounter.
Through these intense, no-holds-barred close-quarters brawls, Jieming's understanding of the body tempering method deepened with each battle.
He treated his body like raw iron, repeatedly hammered and forged. Every burn from the flames, every impact from the molten rock, was a deep refinement that permeated his very bones.
This training proved remarkably effective. Beyond enhancing his physical strength and combat skills, his body's resistance to fire increased dramatically.
Now, Jieming stood once more before the Flame Lord. His body had become completely immune to the lord's flames, which could melt gold and iron.
The scorching lava spewed by the Flame Lord merely hissed and steamed against Jieming's skin, causing no harm.
Even the massive molten arm strikes from the Flame Lord could only push him back a few steps, no longer causing fractures or severe injuries.
Moreover, his self-healing and recovery speed had dramatically increased.
Initially, after suffering full-body burns, Jieming would have needed a full ten days to recover without the aid of spells.
Now, even after sustaining severe injuries such as multiple fractures throughout his body, he could fully heal in less than an hour once the battle ended.
"Your flames are no longer effective against me," Jieming said softly to the Flame Lord, shaking his head after being blasted in the face with fire once more.
Though still at a disadvantage in the fight, his eyes held no fear, only regret.
The Flame Lord clearly sensed this. It let out a roar of frustration, its massive body trembling and its energy fluctuations becoming chaotic.
It couldn't comprehend how this tiny creature could adapt and become immune to its power in such a short time.
Jieming felt the surging vitality within his body and the thick, all-encompassing sense of adaptation to fire.
He knew his physical capabilities still had room for improvement.
But since the Flame Lord's flames could no longer inflict substantial harm, continuing the fight had lost its original purpose.
He needed stronger pressure, more challenging elemental attacks.
"Thank you for your time," Jieming said, nodding slightly to the Flame Lord. Without further ado, he turned and continued his search deeper into the Purgatory Sulfur Plane.
He was looking for other powerful creatures, hoping to "grind" his fire resistance to an even higher level.
Flying over the Purgatory Sulfur Plane's landscape, he headed toward areas with higher elemental concentrations.
The environment in these regions was harsher than before. Besides the smell of sulfur, the air was thick with the acrid stench of burning metal.
Jieming released his mental power, meticulously scanning every inch of this unknown territory.
Strictly speaking, this was the first time he had ever searched his own plane so thoroughly.
"Hmm!"
Suddenly, Jieming let out a soft exclamation and turned to fly downward.
In a river of lava, he spotted a school of Crystal Fish hunting. Their bodies were made of translucent red crystals, and they moved freely through the molten rock at temperatures of thousands of degrees.
After a brief observation, Jieming reached through the thick, metallic lava and caught several of them bare-handed.
He discovered that their crystals contained extremely pure fire elemental essence, making them excellent alchemical materials.
Most importantly...
"This sensation... it's somewhat similar to what the immortal cultivation world calls 'Fire Essence'. Interesting. Perhaps I can refine it using methods for processing Fire Essence."
After marking the area's location on his magic net terminal, Jieming left satisfied with his several Crystal Fish.
However, this discovery had piqued his interest in this plane, which he hadn't explored thoroughly before.
To aid his search, Jieming even purchased "memories" of native creatures from the Elosia Plane Cluster via the magic network.
These included information on materials from the Purgatory Sulfur Plane.
Soon, through deliberate searching, Jieming discovered a plant called the "Earth Core Sulfur Flower" in a lava cave.
This flower takes root deep within the scorching rock walls, its dark purple petals emitting a peculiar fragrance. It absorbs sulfur and toxins seeping from the earth's core, transforming them into a substance that weakly nourishes mental power.
Jieming's eyes lit up as he found information about this flower in the memories of the indigenous beings.
For the natives of the Elosia Plane Cluster, the most valuable aspect of this flower was undoubtedly its secreted substance. But for wizards like Jieming, the flower itself was the true treasure!
"To transform toxins into beneficial substances just by operating their own organs... These ignorant fools! They're wasting a divine gift!"
As he examined the indigenous people's memories, Jieming was so angry he pounded his chest and stamped his feet.
To collect more of the secreted substance, the natives would crush the harvested flowers, never once considering the underlying principles.
Jieming carefully collected some samples and stored the complete plants in his space expansion pouch, preparing to cultivate and research them in the Golden Garden.
Additionally, he discovered some peculiar metallic minerals.
Each time Jieming found a new type, he collected a sample and performed a preliminary analysis using alchemy. These unique materials would undoubtedly provide fresh inspiration for his spell artifact crafting and alchemical research.
However, to his disappointment, he couldn't find any more suitable practice targets.
Although the creatures here were more powerful, most of them released fire elemental attacks comparable in intensity to those of the Flame Lord.
Just as Jieming was growing disheartened and preparing to return to his previous area, he stumbled upon a peculiar volcano.
Volcanoes in the Purgatory Sulfur Plane were typically active, with most even containing flowing lava in their craters, radiating waves of heat.
But this volcano was eerily silent.
Its entire body was a bizarre, pitch-black hue, as if some force had completely drained it of life.
There was no sign of magma flow, not a wisp of steam or smoke rising from its craterโit truly seemed dead.
Amidst the surrounding inferno and raging chaos, this silent, black volcano stood in stark contrast, exuding an icy and oppressive aura.
Jieming landed cautiously on the volcano's periphery and began his alchemical inspection.
He soon discovered the anomaly: the volcano's slopes and the surrounding ground were littered with animal carcasses.
These remains weren't naturally decayed; they bore the marks of being torn apart, burned, or frozen by immense energy, clearly the result of a violent battle.
Corrosive slime and transparent crystals clung to many of the bones, proving that creatures of fire weren't the only participants in the conflict.
Even more astonishing, Jieming discovered that the Earth Meridian connected to the volcano had been severed!
Deep within the volcano, where molten energy and active fire elements should have surged, now lay a void, as if all vitality had been drained away.
This was the root cause of the volcano's transformation into a rare, dormant state.
(End of the Chapter)
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