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The cave wasn’t very big, but it was much hotter inside than outside. Stepping inside felt like entering a giant steamer, and my skin felt uncomfortably scorched.
“What on earth is going on here? Why is it so hot, and I haven’t seen any volcanoes or anything like that?”
Gao Zhiquan was suffering from the heat. Sweat kept pouring from his forehead, down his cheeks, down his neck… His clothes were soaked through, and he looked like he had just been pulled out of the water.
“Should we continue? It’s already so hot, it’ll definitely get even hotter inside, and there might even be danger,” Jiang Ceqin couldn’t help but ask. He was a little reluctant to go any further, since it had nothing to do with their mission; they had only come in out of curiosity. Now he was starting to regret coming in, it was like asking for trouble.
Jia Yunpeng also wanted to leave, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he looked directly at Luo Lingxing and waited for her decision.
“I think… there might be Crimson Crystals inside,” Li Mingqi, who usually had a low profile in the group, suddenly said.
“What did you say?” Gao Zhiquan asked, slightly agitated.
Did he hear that right? Did Li Mingqi Crimson Crystals? The Crimson Crystal from their missions?
“As you’ve probably noticed, we’ve been walking for so long and haven’t found any volcanic rock or hot springs. Logically, the temperature here shouldn’t be this high, but it is. So there must be something that’s raising the temperature here.” Li Mingqi calmly analyzed to everyone, “Crimson Crystal has very strict requirements for the surrounding environment, especially for temperature. Generally, where there is Crimson Crystal, the temperature will be very high.”
“So, you mean there’s a Crimson Crystal inside?” Liu Quanming’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he asked excitedly.
Crimson crystals were one of their mission objectives, but even if they weren’t, they would still go and take a look if they came across them, since crimson crystals were extremely rare, the kind that you could only dream of, and were worth a fortune even on the market.
“This is just my personal guess.” Under everyone’s bright eyes, Li Mingqi shyly touched his hair, feeling a little pressured.
“Whether it’s just speculation or not, let’s go and see for ourselves. There are no volcanoes or hot springs, yet the temperature is so high, which is obviously abnormal. Maybe there really is some Crimson Crystal. If so, we’ll be rich.” Gao Zhiquan completely forgot his previous complaints and was eager to go forward to see what was going on, no longer afraid of the heat.
Everyone agreed, clearly holding high hopes for Crimson Crystal. After all, they had initially planned to abandon the Crimson Crystal mission, but now they had unexpectedly received news of it, so how could they not have any hope?
As the seven continued walking, the temperature naturally rose higher and higher. Even the military academy students, who had undergone training and were more resistant to high temperatures than ordinary people, could no longer endure it.
“It’s so hot, I feel like I’m going to melt. Seriously, is the Crimson Crystal really safe in this kind of environment?” Jia Yunpeng couldn’t help but wonder, wouldn’t such a high temperature melt the Crimson Crystal?
“The environment in which red crystals grow is extremely harsh, with very high temperatures. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be one of the materials that can strengthen mechas. It’s because Crimson Crystals are heat-resistant that the heat resistance of mechas is improved when they are added to them,” Liu Quanming explained.
“Continuing forward isn’t a solution either. The temperature here is just too high. If we keep going, we might get roasted before we even see the Crimson Crystal,” Lu Yunming couldn’t help but say, and this was indeed the case.
Right now, it was like they were in a giant oven, with the temperature constantly scorching their bodies. Their skin was drying out and aching from the constant evaporation of moisture. If this continued, they’d suffer serious injuries, and it wasn’t impossible that they’d be cooked alive.
Everyone fell silent, hesitating between continuing forward and turning back.
They had anticipated encountering the Crimson Crystal from the beginning, so they hadn’t made any preparations. They came in purely out of curiosity, and now that they heard there was a Crimson Crystal ahead, they were unwilling to turn back. Continuing forward without any precautions might cause harm.
Luo Lingxing felt alright. As a cultivator, he could regulate his body temperature using his cultivation, so he wasn’t too concerned about the surrounding temperature. But the others were different.
Luo Lingxing carefully looked at the surrounding environment. It was probably because of the high temperature that almost nothing grew here. All that was exposed was rock, and some of it was even reddish-brown. It was obvious that it had been baked by the high temperature for a long time, and its color had changed.
Why “almost”? Because Luo Lingxing used his spiritual sense to detect several small, thin plants in the cracks of the rocks. However, he would never assume that these “weak” little grasses were truly weak just because of their appearance. After all, their ability to grow tenaciously under such high temperatures was enough to prove that they were not weak at all.
It was truly astonishing what kind of grass could grow under such high temperatures.
Unconsciously, Luo Lingxing walked towards the direction of the grass. The other team members who were hesitant and lost in thought were finally brought back to their senses by Luo Lingxing’s movements. Then they saw that Luo Lingxing was actually going to touch the rock with his bare hands, and they were immediately startled.
“Boss, don’t touch it!” Liu Quanming couldn’t help but exclaim.
Those rocks were no ordinary rocks. They’d been scorched by such high temperatures day after day, and they were already burning hot. Touching them would only result in burns.
However, the next moment, they discovered that Luo Lingxing did not intend to touch the rocks. Instead, he was searching for something in the crevices of the rocks. Everyone looked over in confusion, temporarily forgetting their previous struggles and hesitations.
Before long, Luo Lingxing came over with some small grasses in his hand.
“Boss, what are you doing picking grass?” Gao Zhiquan asked, puzzled, looking at the small grass in Luo Lingxing’s hand.
Li Mingqi frowned slightly, as if he was thinking about something, and then his originally worried expression immediately turned into one of surprise.
“Boss, you’re amazing! How could I have forgotten about that?” Li Mingqi slapped his forehead, clearly annoyed that he had forgotten something important.
Luo Lingxing: …
“What have you forgotten?” Gao Zhiquan, who was impatient, couldn’t help but ask.
“The environment in which Crimson Crystals live is extremely hot, and such temperatures are generally unbearable for humans. However, some Ice Grass will definitely grow around Crimson Crystals,” Li Mingqi continued. “The Ice Grass can be used to counteract the high temperature generated by Crimson Crystals, so that humans can enter the vicinity of Crimson Crystals. Otherwise, even if humans know about Crimson Crystals, they probably will have difficulty obtaining them.”
Luo Lingxing looked at the small grass in his hand. So this was used to counteract the high temperature generated by the Crimson Crystal?
He knew that the appearance of many priceless treasures in this world was accompanied by something that was mutually reinforcing and restraining. Nothing was absolutely invincible.
“So the grass in the boss’s hand is… Ice Grass?” Gao Zhiquan looked at the small grass in the boss’s hand and found it hard to imagine that if humans wanted to obtain the Crimson Crystal, this unassuming little grass would actually be one of the great contributors.
“Yes, with the Ice Grass, we can continue on our way,” Li Mingqi said excitedly, so they wouldn’t have to worry about whether to go back anymore.
“How do I use this? Do we just carry it on our bodies?” Gao Zhiquan asked Luo Lingxing for one, looked it over from left to right, but didn’t think there was anything special about it.
“Eat it,” Li Mingqi said, then ate one first, raw.
Seeing this, the others had no choice but to follow suit and “eat grass.” But to be honest, the effect was really remarkable. Just a moment ago, they felt like they were being roasted in an oven, but now they felt like they were in a spring-like environment all year round, which was very comfortable.
“This little grass is amazing. I can’t feel the heat around me at all now. If it weren’t for my wet clothes, I would have thought it was all an illusion,” Jia Yunpeng said excitedly.
“Alright, let’s hurry up and keep going. Since we have Ice Grass, it means there must be Crimson Crystals ahead,” Lu Yunming said excitedly.
The rarity of Crimson Crystal made it extremely rare on the market. Even scions of noble families may not have actually seen Crimson Crystal before. Therefore, everyone was naturally very excited and thrilled to have the opportunity to witness Crimson Crystal now.
The group walked quickly toward the depths of the cave. Luo Lingxing, who was at the back, suddenly turned around and glanced back. His eyes flashed with a glint of intelligence of unclear meaning. Then he caught up with the main group.
“There are Crimson Crystal ahead! We never expected to be so lucky as to encounter them.”
After Luo Lingxing and the others had gone far away, a rough male voice rang out softly, his tone filled with barely suppressed excitement.
“We never expected to be so lucky this time. It seems that Lady Luck is indeed on our side,” another boy chimed in.
“Looks like all the hardships before were preparation for this moment. Let’s stop dawdling and hurry up and pick some Ice Grass. This place is fucking too hot.” Another impatient voice rang out.
Then a few people came out from behind the big rock. If Luo Lingxing and the others hadn’t left, they would have been very surprised, because the people in front of them were almost unrecognizable. Their faces were covered in bruises and bumps, making them look like pigs’ heads. Their clothes were torn, and they were all disheveled and in a sorry state. It was obvious that they had encountered a very difficult opponent.
However, if Luo Lingxing looked closely, he might find some of these people somewhat familiar. Of course, Luo Lingxing wouldn’t have the desire to look closely at strangers.
This group was none other than Hu Yiming and his companions, who had previously passed by Moon Lake and were then targeted by the enraged cloud-horned deer.
These people were really unlucky. First, they were mistaken for people who had cut off the antlers of the young cloud-horned deer at Moon Lake and were severely punished. Not long after they escaped, they encountered troublesome needle bees and were chased aimlessly through the forest. They were stung all over their faces and bodies. Then, they accidentally ran into the area where Crimson Crystal was located and felt the high temperature, which made the needle bees retreat. Otherwise, Hu Yiming and the others might have been forced to withdraw from this training by the needle bees.
It was because of the pursuit by the needle bees that they unintentionally entered this cave to hide, and then overheard Luo Lingxing and the others’ conversation, which led to the dialogue just now.
