The second day passed in much the sa way.
Then the third.
By the fourth day, even Lin Mu began to question whether they were moving in the right direction. His senses stretched far, scanning for anything that might break the monotony, yet nothing stood out.
Until... Sothing did.
At first, it seed like nothing more than a disturbance in the lava.
A larger bubble.
One that rose slowly from the depths before reaching the surface before it burst. But it didn't just disappear while letting out so smoke like usual. This ti, sothing ca out of it.
ng Bai leaned forward, his eyes widening.
"What was that?"
Lin Mu's gaze sharpened.
The thing that erged was... alive.
At first glance, it appeared as a mass of fla, unstable and flickering. But as it rose into the air, it began to take shape. It turned into a bird.
Its wings ford from fire, its body a condensed core of molten energy. It let out a silent cry as it soared upward, its form stabilizing for a few seconds before it arced gracefully through the air.
Then it dove back into the lava and was gone. Everyone watched in silence as another bubble appeared and another creature erupted from it. This ti, it ford sothing different: a four legged beast that did not seem to have a proper form yet.
Its body: elongated and fluid, as if constantly shifting between forms. It ran across the surface of the lava for a brief mont before dissolving back into it.
More followed.
Birds.
Beasts.
Serpents.
Insects.
All ford from fla, all erging from the molten depths, living briefly before returning to where they ca from.
ng Bai swallowed.
"What... are those?"
Cattaleya answered first.
"Elentals."
She crossed her arms, watching one of the fiery creatures leap between two lava pools before vanishing.
"Fire Elentals."
Lin Mu nodded.
"They are weaker manifestations," he said. "Probably Minor and Lesser Elentals."
"Like the Greater Ice Elental we fought?" ng Bai asked.
"Yes, but just of Fire." Lin Mu nodded.
"But here? I thought they appear in volcanoes and deserts." ng Bai replied. Daoist Chu stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"I have heard of such things," he said. "Deep within a world's mantle, elental life can take form. Fire elentals, in particular, are said to thrive in such conditions."
He looked around the vast cavern.
"Though few have ever seen them. The depth required would crush most cultivators."
Lin Mu understood.
In an intact world, the pressure alone would be enough to destroy even powerful beings. The heat would only add to the difficulty. But this world was broken and the pressure had dissipated. The heat, while intense, was no longer at its peak.
"That is why they can exist here," Lin Mu said.
ng Bai nodded slowly, still watching the creatures with fascination.
"There is no air here either..." he added.
Lin Mu glanced at him.
"For you, yes."
ng Bai scratched his head awkwardly.
Cattaleya exhaled softly.
She had already activated a talisman that supplied her with breathable air. While she could endure without breathing for extended periods, maintaining such a state constantly was unnecessary when solutions existed.
They continued forward.
Now, the presence of the elentals added a new layer to their journey.
The landscape felt more alive.
More dynamic.
Yet still... There was no sign of the dwarves.
Until they saw sothing different. Far ahead, beyond a stretch of lava lakes, stood a cluster of structures: Ruins.
Little Shrubby slowed as they approached. The group dismounted, landing carefully upon a stable section of rock.
Lin Mu observed the scene and saw that the structures were worn and quite
damaged. Ti and heat had taken their toll. The stone surfaces were cracked, eroded, in so places partially lted. Many of the buildings had collapsed
entirely, leaving only fragnts behind.
Yet there was no mistaking their origin.
"These are dwarven," Lin Mu said as he approached one of the standing walls.
He observed so of the markings that were still intact. There were faint
carvings that were visible and they were clearly Dwarven runes.
ng Bai looked uneasy as he thought of sothing.
"Are they... gone?"
Lin Mu shook his head.
"No. The Rune Dwarves contacted them not long ago."
He placed a hand on the stone.
"These are old."
Lin Mu reckoned these were very old. Probably remnants of a past settlent that was probably abandoned or destroyed due to lava activity.
They began to explore carefully. Searching for clues. Anything that might point them toward Mantleheim.
Lin Mu traced the carvings, his mind working to interpret their aning. So were too damaged to read. Others offered only fragnts of words. Still... It
was sothing.
Then the ground trembled.
Subtle at first.
RUMBLE
Then stronger.
Lin Mu's head snapped up.
"Sothing is wrong."
The lava around them began to shift. Not in its usual bubbling motion though,
but with force. The streams rose and lifted into the air before forming into shapes. They turned into massive molten tentacles!
And soon enough, they lashed out.
HISSS-
WOOOSH
"Defend!" Lin Mu called.
The first strike ca fast.
SIZZLE
A tentacle surged toward him, its surface boiling as it whipped through the air.
Lin Mu stepped forward and raised his hand making his fist et the tentacle.
SPLAT The impact shattered the structure, dispersing it into splashes of molten rock that fell back into the lake below.
Cattaleya moved next.
Her strike was swift and powerful, breaking another tentacle apart before it
could reach them. Elyon joined in, his attacks precise, cutting through the
molten limbs with controlled force making sure they didn't fall on him or others while breaking down.
But more tentacles erged, from every direction. The lava itself seed to be alive now, rising and attacking in coordinated waves.
ng Bai stepped back, his expression tense. "I can't use my water
techniques..."
The environnt suppressed him completely as there was no water. There was no dium for his skills to manifest. And even using his own qi was
out of the question as the rich fire energy basically erased it as soon as it manifested. As such, he was forced into a defensive position, relying on
talismans and basic techniques.
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