"You..."
Liu Mu stared blankly as Zhang Fan jumped down, the words of persuasion stuck in his throat. After a long pause, he finally managed to speak.
"You're really courting death!"
Liu Mu was speechless. Hadn't Fu Feng mentioned that even Bai Yunhu, who had crossed the third tribulation of Nascent Soul, was injured after entering the underground?
Zhang Fan was merely at the Golden Core realm, and his injuries hadn't even healed. Jumping down like that was no different from seeking death.
"He actually jumped down?"
"He's truly a madman. Not only did he dare to fight Ouyang Lin, but he also dared to jump into the lava cave. Even a Nascent Soul stage cultivator would likely be melted by this core fire within a few breaths if they entered this lava cave!"
"Heh heh, he offended the Ouyang family anyway, so death was inevitable. It's better to jump into this lava cave and get it over with quickly."
Everyone had their own thoughts. Zhang Fan's act of jumping into the lava cave was astonishing, but at this moment, collecting the Earth Core Saliva was the primary concern for most people, so it didn't cause much of a stir.
Ouyang Ye, who was about to make a move, was also stunned by Zhang Fan's sudden action. Ouyang Lin had been sent flying and severely injured by Zhang Fan's slap. His heart was burning with rage, but he saw Zhang Fan jump directly into the lava cave.
"Consider yourself sensible, kid." Ouyang Ye glanced at Fu Feng and sneered inwardly.
"Truly a madman."
Fu Sisi was somewhat surprised that Zhang Fan could slap away Ouyang Lin, who was at the peak of the Golden Core realm, with a single palm. However, Zhang Fan's subsequent actions were even more insane, leaving Fu Sisi in awe. The Great Thousand World was truly full of wonders.
Fu Feng didn't say much. His strength was formidable, allowing him to collect Earth Core Saliva in the center of the Star Lake. He could still collect it for now, but he also knew that with so many cultivators present, there wouldn't be enough Earth Core Saliva for the Golden Core cultivators to break through their realms. Conflict would be unavoidable.
...
The instant he jumped into the lava, the scorching heat turned Zhang Fan's body instantly red, like steel tempered by fire. Fortunately, his physical body was powerful enough to withstand it.
After passing through layers upon layers of magma, Zhang Fan finally landed at the bottom of the lava.
The core fire burned here.
"This is truly a treasure trove."
Zhang Fan landed on a piece of magma that hadn't completely melted. The fiery lava reflected red in Zhang Fan's eyes, and amidst the fiery red, a hint of green light flickered.
From the beginning, Zhang Fan had no intention of competing with those cultivators for the scattered Earth Core Saliva. He understood that even if he collected it all, it might not be enough for him to cultivate to the peak of the Golden Core realm, let alone break through to the Nascent Soul stage.
To obtain a large amount of Earth Core Saliva, one had to enter the bottom of the lava.
He knew that the cultivators fighting for Earth Core Saliva above also understood this, but no one dared to venture in. The core fire was something few could withstand. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator without a refined physical body couldn't endure it.
Therefore, when Zhang Fan jumped into the lava, the cultivators who witnessed it only thought he was a reckless youth blinded by fortune and didn't pay him much mind.
Before Zhang Fan was a small, emerald-green pool. The Earth Core Saliva in the pool flowed on the rolling lava like the essence of heaven and earth, being tempered by the lava every moment, refining it into an incomparably pure spiritual liquid of heaven and earth.
The pool, spanning nearly ten feet, was filled with Earth Core Saliva. In comparison, the Earth Core Saliva sprayed out by the magma eruption earlier was less than thirty percent of the total here.
However, a remarkable thing was that on the extremely hot lava, the Earth Core Saliva exuded a hint of coolness, contrary to its surroundings.
"Let's begin."
Zhang Fan wasted no time. He stepped forward and reached the pool. He sat cross-legged, with the lower half of his body submerged in the pool.
He then held his breath, concentrated, and circulated his cultivation technique. The Gluttonous Scripture within him lit up, and the Earth Core Saliva transformed into wisps of emerald light, being absorbed into his body and integrated into his limbs and bones.
In less than an hour, the meridians damaged by the spatial turbulence from falling into the spatial rift had all healed.
After repairing his damaged meridians, Zhang Fan began to use the Earth Core Saliva to improve his cultivation realm.
Although he had broken through to the Golden Core realm several years ago and had consumed a large amount of auxiliary spiritual medicine, having cultivated two top-grade Golden Cores, each step of his breakthrough required several times the energy of cultivators at the same level.
Therefore, up to this point, he was only at the peak of the middle Golden Core stage. With normal cultivation speed, it would take at least one to two years to break through to the peak Golden Core stage.
However, with the help of the Earth Core Saliva, this time could be shortened to an extreme.
With his damaged meridians repaired, Zhang Fan no longer had to be as cautious when absorbing the Earth Core Saliva. As the Gluttonous Scripture operated frantically, the Earth Core Saliva beneath him transformed into a stream as thick as a finger, which Zhang Fan ingested.
Late Golden Core stage...
Peak late Golden Core stage...
Peak Golden Core stage...
In just a few hours, Zhang Fan's aura steadily climbed, reaching its peak.
"Hoo!"
Zhang Fan opened his eyes. His dark pupils were bright and deep. He glanced at the Earth Core Saliva beneath him. This cultivation session had consumed about thirty percent of the total. For an ordinary Golden Core cultivator to break through, this amount would likely be enough for ten breakthroughs.
Zhang Fan took out a pure white jade bottle from the Star Diagram space. The bottle contained a significant space within it, making it a spatial treasure.
The hundreds of Golden Core cultivators from the Wushan Star Domain who had intruded onto Earth were all killed by Zhang Fan and his group, yielding many treasures. However, most of them were useless to him. But this jade bottle was very suitable for storing Earth Core Saliva.
After storing the remaining Earth Core Saliva in the jade bottle, Zhang Fan left the underground.
...
At this moment, on the Star Lake, the Earth Core Saliva brought up by the magma eruption had been collected by all the cultivators gathered on the Star Lake.
Some cultivators, understanding the situation, collected some Earth Core Saliva from the periphery and quickly left. Although the amount wasn't enough for them to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, it could greatly increase their cultivation.
However, before such a heavenly treasure, only a minority of cultivators could maintain a clear head. Many cultivators, not satisfied with the Earth Core Saliva they had collected, began to target others.
Thus, battles erupted on the Star Lake.
"Second Uncle, what should we do?"
Fu Sisi, wearing an elegant light yellow dress, stood beside Fu Feng. She looked at the cultivators around them who were constantly fighting and killing each other for Earth Core Saliva, a hint of struggle in her eyes.
"Observe the situation."
Fu Feng said calmly.
His Nascent Soul stage cultivation placed him among the top-tier cultivators present. The only one he needed to guard against was the one from the Ouyang family.
After Zhang Fan jumped into the lava cave, Liu Mu retreated to the side of the Star Lake and watched quietly.
Although many people believed that Zhang Fan, who had jumped into the lava cave, was doomed to die, he held a sliver of hope.
...