"It is indeed Earth Heart Saliva."
Only upon seeing it with his own eyes could Zhang Fan truly confirm it in his heart.
Earth Heart Saliva was a cultivation treasure for Golden Core stage cultivators. It could help a Golden Core cultivator quickly advance from the early to the peak of the Golden Core stage without any bottlenecks.
Unlike ordinary spirit pills, Earth Heart Saliva contained energy that had been refined a thousand times by the heart of the earth's fire. It was more pure and could perfectly integrate with the cultivator's internal magic power. All that was needed was absorption; it did not even require refining. The Earth Heart Saliva would automatically transform into pure magic power, constantly increasing the cultivator's magic power storage.
...
"Everyone, only by driving away the demonic beasts can we have a chance to obtain the Earth Heart Saliva. Otherwise, even if we obtain it, I believe none of us will be able to rest easy."
"Precisely, with our strength, driving away this pack of Silver Moon Wolves is a simple matter..."
With one person taking the lead, others responded. As they echoed each other, many had ideas, but ultimately, no one made a move.
At this moment, although over a hundred cultivators had gathered in this vast open space, and some were even trying to rally others to drive away the Silver Moon Wolves by Star Lake, and Ouyang Ye had even spoken out, though there were responses, no one ultimately acted.
For no other reason than the extremely scarce amount of Earth Heart Saliva emerging from the bottom of Star Lake at this moment, even if they drove away the Silver Moon Wolves, they would struggle to get a share.
"How about I go eliminate these Silver Moon Wolves?"
Seeing these people making such a racket but no one daring to act, Liu Mu was a little disgusted.
"No rush."
Zhang Fan shook his head. The reason people hadn't acted was not fear of the Silver Moon Wolves, but a wariness of those around them.
When the external threat is absent, human cultivators are their own greatest competitors.
Furthermore, although Earth Heart Saliva was continuously emerging from Star Lake, the quantity was too scarce. It was incredibly difficult to even gather one portion. Without seeing the treasure truly appear, no one would foolishly rush forward to become a target.
Fu Feng had also been observing silently. He had a premonition that the calm lava beneath contained terrifying energy, and once it reached a certain level, it would erupt again.
"Junior Zhang Fan, when collecting the Earth Heart Saliva later, be careful of that old fellow Ouyang Ye. The Ouyang family and my Fu family have always been at odds. If you are with me, you might be targeted by that old fellow." Fu Feng reminded him with some apology.
"Don't worry, I will protect him."
Before Zhang Fan could speak, Liu Mu waved his hand indifferently. A Nascent Soul cultivator who hadn't even crossed a single Nascent Soul tribulation was not someone he took seriously.
Zhang Fan also nodded gently, remaining silent.
...
Time slowly passed, and everyone waited quietly.
"Boom!"
At this very moment, Star Lake, which had been incredibly calm, suddenly erupted with a surge of magma from its center. Fiery magma shot out from the lakebed, like a fire dragon, straight into the sky.
"Earth Heart Saliva has appeared!"
"Charge!"
Within the fiery magma was a streak of emerald green light, the Earth Heart Saliva that everyone had been anticipating.
The magma cascaded down from the sky, falling into various parts of Star Lake, and even onto the ancient trees outside the lake, igniting a large fire.
But at this moment, no one cared. They all rushed towards Star Lake as if driven mad. The Silver Moon Wolf pack had long since fled in panic when the magma erupted. Human cultivators scrambled to the lakeshore, collecting the Earth Heart Saliva scattered everywhere.
"Move!"
Fu Feng glanced at Ouyang Ye and the Nascent Soul expert from the Li family, then led Fu Sisi and rushed out.
The Earth Heart Saliva was scattered across the magma-covered Star Lake, making it very conspicuous. However, it was clear that the closer one got to the center of Star Lake, the more Earth Heart Saliva there was.
Weaker rogue cultivators only dared to collect Earth Heart Saliva at the edges of Star Lake, as they knew well that if they lacked the strength to venture into the center, even if they collected a large amount of Earth Heart Saliva, they might not be able to get out.
"Aren't you going to collect it?"
Liu Mu had initially expected Zhang Fan to rush to collect the Earth Heart Saliva like other cultivators. However, the Earth Heart Saliva was already scattered everywhere, yet Zhang Fan was slowly walking towards the center of Star Lake, paying no attention to the Earth Heart Saliva on the ground.
"You aren't going either, are you?" Zhang Fan chuckled.
"I have already cultivated a Nascent Soul, so this Earth Heart Saliva is of little use to me. Moreover, I promised to help you collect a full portion. You yourself aren't even making a move," Liu Mu said with some annoyance.
"No rush."
With a few strides, Zhang Fan arrived beside the lava eruption point at the center of Star Lake.
"Kid, get out of here. This isn't a place you can come to."
Just as Zhang Fan was about to peer into the opening below, he heard a scolding voice.
Zhang Fan turned his head and saw a young man in black brocade robes staring at him with a barely perceptible sneer.
"It's Ouyang Lin."
"That kid is truly foolish. Is that a place for him to go? Haven't you seen that those who dare to go to the center of Star Lake are at least experts with second-tier Golden Core peak battle strength?"
Although everyone was busy collecting Earth Heart Saliva at the moment, a small portion of them were observing the situation. Seeing Zhang Fan, a cultivator with weak magic power fluctuations, dare to go to the center of Star Lake, they all scoffed inwardly.
"Second Uncle."
Fu Sisi also noticed the situation from not far away. Seeing that it was Ouyang Lin confronting Zhang Fan, she quickly called out.
"With Daoist friend Liu Mu here, Ouyang Lin is just asking for trouble."
Fu Feng glanced over, then continued collecting Earth Heart Saliva.
Most of the Earth Heart Saliva was scattered within the magma. Only by splitting open solidified rocks could the Earth Heart Saliva inside be obtained.
Although Liu Mu was following Zhang Fan at a short distance, he did not step forward because he had witnessed Zhang Fan's cultivation. He believed that as long as Ouyang Ye did not come to cause Zhang Fan trouble, Zhang Fan could handle it.
"Did you tell me to get out?"
Zhang Fan turned his head to look at the young face, a slight smile curving his lips.
"Do I have to invite you out?" Ouyang Lin's expression darkened. Everyone was collecting Earth Heart Saliva at the moment, and he didn't want to waste time fighting. He had intended to scare Zhang Fan away with a single sentence, but he hadn't expected this kid to be so stubborn.
"Or I'll invite you."
Zhang Fan casually waved his hand and slapped out. Although there were no magic power fluctuations, the immense force caused Ouyang Lin's expression to change drastically.
He barely managed to raise his hand to block, but the palm had already landed. With a crisp slapping sound, Ouyang Lin was sent flying backward as if struck by a heavy blow.
After slapping Ouyang Lin away with one palm, Zhang Fan paid him no mind. After saying something to Liu Mu, who was not far behind him, he directly leaped into the magma opening.
"You stay up here and behave. I'm going down to take a look."