Even she could only enter the Sacred Land once by winning first place for Vermillion Bird Country. One could imagine how tightly the Academy guarded the Sacred Land.
Bai Ran rested her chin on her hand, deep in thought.
Things that could emit spiritual energy…
Divine artifacts?
"Fen Tian, can you smelt divine artifacts?"
The treasure that could continuously emit spiritual energy, Bai Ran immediately thought of divine artifacts.
Divine artifacts were forged from rare heavenly materials and earthly treasures, which would in turn nourish the surrounding land.
The spiritual energy in the air would also become abundant due to the nourishment of the land, further nurturing the growth of heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
This was a natural cycle, and Bai Ran was merely utilizing it.
Besides, she had countless divine artifacts in her spatial dimension; taking out a few was not difficult.
"Fen Tian can try," he said from within her spatial dimension.
Bai Ran released Fen Tian, and saw him bring out a large pile of divine artifacts from the spatial dimension. She grabbed a handful and stuffed them into the cauldron's opening, as if discarding cheap spiritual herbs.
Bai Ran controlled the crimson Vermillion Bird Divine Fire, continuously heating the cauldron.
The cauldron's temperature rose steadily, but the divine artifacts within showed no signs of melting.
She had no choice but to increase the flames. Heat waves washed over her, and the blazing fire illuminated Bai Ran's face, turning it red.
The increased consumption of spiritual energy caused sweat to bead on her cheeks.
When the flames reached their peak temperature, the divine artifacts finally began to slowly melt, but then stubbornly resisted, gradually returning to their original form.
Bai Ran extinguished the Vermillion Bird Divine Fire, looking at the divine artifacts that had returned to their original state with a headache.
Her spiritual energy was depleted, but the divine artifacts remained unchanged.
However, the only thing certain was that the Fen Tian Cauldron could indeed smelt divine artifacts.
It seemed that the temperature of the Vermillion Bird Divine Fire was insufficient to reach the melting point of the divine artifacts.
Fen Tian seemed to sense her distress and said, "Master, my Fen Tian Fire can also be used. This way, the temperature will be higher."
Fen Tian Fire?
Bai Ran blinked, then a realization dawned on her.
Right, how could she forget about Fen Tian Fire?
Fen Tian himself possessed flames, but since she already had the Vermillion Bird Divine Fire, she had never used Fen Tian Fire before.
The combination of two flames would surely be able to smelt divine artifacts.
"It's definitely worth a try."
Bai Ran stood before the Fen Tian Cauldron once more.
The White Tiger quietly observed everything from within the egg. He felt his eyelids growing heavier and couldn't resist wanting to close them.
His master was working hard for him, so he had to persevere, just a little longer.
But, what to do, he was really so sleepy…
"Ah! Master, something's wrong! Xiaobai's connection is broken!" Xiao Zhu exclaimed anxiously from the spatial dimension.
Bai Ran's heart jolted. She immediately looked at the White Tiger.
The egg, which had been emitting a fluorescent glow, was now a dull gray, looking more and more like a giant ordinary stone.
No, the White Tiger couldn't hold on!
Bai Ran approached the White Tiger. For some unknown reason, she instinctively slashed her palm and pressed it against the seemingly lifeless egg.
Bright red blood seeped into the eggshell, being absorbed bit by bit.
The giant egg emitted a blinding white holy light, instantly illuminating the entire underground space.
The barrier of the underground passage began to vibrate, and soil from above the passage continuously fell, collapsing.
"Not good! Someone is stealing treasures from the Sacred Land!"
Xuan Yuan was shocked and rushed towards the Academy's Sacred Land.
The Vice Dean also felt the barrier vibrate and, looking panicked, rushed to the Sacred Land.
Meanwhile, Bai Ran, underground, immediately placed the White Tiger in the Shi Tian Realm the moment she successfully formed a contract with him.
"Xiao Zhu, take good care of him."
The Vermillion Bird nodded.
Bai Ran stood solemnly before the Fen Tian Cauldron, with Fen Tian Fire in her left hand and Vermillion Bird Divine Fire in her right.
In an instant, Bai Ran raised the temperature of both flames to the maximum, continuously smelting the divine artifacts.
"Master! The passage is about to collapse!" Shi Tian cried from the spatial dimension.
The tunnel continued to cave in, soil raining down from above. The path they had taken was already buried and disappeared.
The enclosed space was suffocating, and oxygen was rapidly depleting.
Bai Ran felt two more figures rapidly approaching their location.
If they were discovered, the consequences would be dire.
Quick…
Must be quick…
Racing against time, Bai Ran's face grew paler and paler.
In just three seconds, Bai Ran's spiritual energy was depleted, and she began burning her vital blood.
The black Fen Tian Fire and the crimson Vermillion Bird Divine Fire blazed in tandem, reaching for the sky and further consuming the oxygen.
Breathing became difficult, vital blood flowed out, but Bai Ran gritted her teeth, her gaze resolute.
Blood slowly trickled from the corners of her mouth, yet her eyes were fixed on the divine artifact.
As she had hoped, the divine artifact melted rapidly, forming a small sphere. Bai Ran continued to throw in more divine artifacts to refine.
The sphere grew larger and larger.
Oxygen ran out, and the tunnel was on the verge of complete collapse.
Bai Ran could not breathe. She squinted her eyes, but continued to burn her vital blood.
Xuan Yuan and Bai Yunzheng had also arrived outside and were using their spiritual energy to accelerate the tunnel's collapse.
They did not know Bai Ran was inside, nor did they know Bai Ran was the thief stealing treasures from the Sacred Land.
The two of them only wanted to collapse the tunnel and bury the thief alive.
Reaching the limit…
Bai Ran's eyelids grew heavy. With her last ounce of strength, she slowly leaned backward.
The Fen Tian Fire and the Phoenix Divine Fire vanished instantly. The giant sphere floated in the air, appearing no different from the giant egg before.
"Thump."
She did not fall to the ground as she had expected. Instead, she was gently embraced by a warm pair of arms.
A scent of peace emanated from him.
It was him…
He had arrived…
Bai Ran closed her eyes and lost consciousness.
Long Jinhan looked at the unconscious figure in his arms, his heart aching.
He sighed.
She had managed to injure herself again.
"Little girl, what am I to do with you?"
Long Jinhan gently picked up Bai Ran and tore through space.
Outside, the elders completely collapsed the tunnel.
"That should be the end of it," Xuan Yuan said with a sigh of relief.
Bai Yunzheng looked at the sunken land and nodded.
"No!" Elder Mo ran over in a panic, his hair and clothes disheveled by the rushing wind.
"Bai Ran is underground! Save her quickly!" Elder Mo shouted, panting.
What!
Bai Ran was underground???
The two of them were terrified and began digging frantically.
It's over, it's over!
Girl, please hold on!
Elder Mo took a few breaths and joined the excavation.
"Why would she be underground?" Xuan Yuan asked as he dug.
"Didn't you say that the first place for Vermillion Bird Country would allow her to enter the Sacred Land once???" Elder Mo looked at Xuan Yuan in disbelief.
As soon as she returned, she had informed him that she was going to the Sacred Land, with the Dean's approval.
!!!
Xuan Yuan's body trembled violently. He had forgotten!
Girl!!!
Hold on!!!
Xuan Yuan dug like a madman.
Bai Yunzheng was also terrified. What had they just done?
If anything were to happen to Bai Ran…
He dared not think about it.
The three of them dug with their lives, and also transmitted the news to the other three elders. Upon hearing it, they were also scared half to death and rushed over without delay.
The six of them dug until they were covered in dirt and grime.
A few minutes later, they finally reached the center of the Sacred Land.
The six of them stared at the scene before them, stunned. They exchanged glances, blinking at each other in confusion.
Where was the person?
The treasure was still there, but Bai Ran was nowhere to be found?