Transmigrating Into a Fantasy World: Signing in During Pregnancy, Reaching the Summit with My Childhood Sweetheart

215: Chapter 215: The Heart of Molten Core Resonates with the Star KeyAfter the clamor of the Fire Banyan Forest, there was a deathly silence. The charred trees stood like silent tombstones, recording the brief but intense slaughter that had just occurred. The air was thick with the burnt smell of Fire Fiends’ corpses turning to ash, and an even denser, almost suffocatingly hot Evil Qi.

Nangong Xuan felt the surging power within his body and the chaos star core in his arms, which had fallen into a deep slumber yet emitted heart-stopping fluctuations. He fixed his gaze firmly toward the deepest part of the Forging Fire Path. There, the crimson sky seemed to be ignited, and layers of twisting, rolling Fire Fiend Qi clouds hung extremely low, merging with a continuous range of giant mountains in the distance that spewed ten-thousand-foot flames, forming a wall of fire that isolated heaven and earth.

That was the true entrance to the Heart of Molten Fire, the Core area strictly guarded by the Tiangong Sect.

”The star Core is saturated; ordinary fire smelting stones are no longer of much use. We must enter that place.” Nangong Xuan’s voice was calm but unquestionable as he pointed toward the burning mountain range.

Su Muxue and Zi Linger looked at the scene, which resembled the entrance to purgatory, with solemn expressions. Even from a great distance, they could feel the terrifying energy fluctuations coming from that area, over a hundred times stronger than in the Fire Banyan Forest! It wasn’t just heat; it was a destructive aura that seemed capable of incinerating all things and tearing apart the Divine Soul.

”The Tiangong Sect’s defenses must be extremely tight. How do we get in?” Su Muxue asked. Charging in blindly was definitely not the best strategy.

Nangong Xuan once again took out the Jade Slip containing intelligence and carefully scanned the markings regarding the entrance to the Heart of Molten Fire with his Divine Sense. After a moment, a sharp light flashed in his eyes.

”The Jade Slip mentions that the entrance to the Heart of Molten Fire is primarily guarded by Tiangong Sect Disciples, equipped with powerful flight-Restriction Formations and detection barriers, making it difficult to force our way in. But... it’s not without loopholes.” He pointed to an inconspicuous mark on the map. ”Here, an ’Abandoned Ancient Fire Path’ is marked; it was a mining tunnel leading directly to the earth fire during the ancient period, later abandoned due to a Fire Fiend Qi outbreak. It’s said that its depths might bypass the main entrance’s defenses and lead directly to the outskirts of the Heart of Molten Fire. However, the situation inside is unknown, and there’s a high possibility of even more terrible dangers.”

Risk and opportunity coexist.

”We’ll take the Ancient Fire Path,” Nangong Xuan decided. Compared to facing the Tiangong Sect’s tight security and the potential presence of Nascent Soul Stage or even higher-level Cultivators, the risks of an unknown ancient mining tunnel might be more controllable.

The three of them wasted no more time. Avoiding potential patrol routes, they followed the directions on the map and detoured toward the flank of the burning mountain range.

The closer they got, the harsher the environment became. The ground was no longer solidified lava but had turned into soft, scorching volcanic ash; every step sank deep, kicking up clouds of dust. Gray, corrosive ash flakes began to fall from the sky, requiring continuous isolation with spiritual power. What erupted from the massive cracks was no longer fire but a near-white Earth-core Poisonous Fire, hot enough to instantly vaporize metal.

Even Nangong Xuan needed to constantly circulate his Nirvana Sword Intent to resist this omnipresent erosion. Su Muxue’s Moonlight Protective Shield was compressed until it could only cover the three of them, its light flickering unsteadily. Zi Linger had almost completely lost her connection with the living beings of the earth; her face was pale, and she relied entirely on her own cultivation and the residual effects of the Life Source Fruit to hold on.

Finally, deep within a remote mountain valley shielded by a massive black rock wall, they found the entrance to the ”Abandoned Ancient Fire Path.”

It was a massive mining tunnel entrance that had nearly half-collapsed. On the charred tunnel walls, one could still see remnants of ancient runes and carving marks, but most had been blurred by time and Fire Fiend Qi erosion. The entrance was mostly blocked by fallen boulders, leaving only enough space for one person to squeeze through sideways. Inside, it was pitch black and bottomless, with a hot wind mixing sulfur, metal rust, and a certain stale scent blowing out slowly, carrying an unsettling, low-pitched wail.

Scattered around the entrance were some rusted and damaged mining tools and several corpses that had long since carbonized and would crumble at a touch. Clearly, there had been no sign of living activity for a very long time.

”This is the place.” Nangong Xuan’s Divine Sense probed into the mining tunnel but was distorted and bounced back by a powerful, chaotic Fire Fiend Qi force field, preventing deep investigation.

”Inside... it feels very bad.” Zi Linger instinctively took half a step back. As a Wood Spirit, she had an instinctive rejection and fear of such deathly, scorching tunnels filled with a destructive aura.

Su Muxue also furrowed her brows. ”My Divine Sense can’t go deep either. The force field inside is very chaotic, and... there seems to be some kind of natural Restriction that isolates detection.”

”We have no choice.” Nangong Xuan’s tone was firm. The ancient sword appeared in his hand, and Nirvana Sword Intent circulated slightly, dispersing the uncomfortable aura at the entrance. ”Follow me closely and stay alert.”

He was the first to squeeze into the narrow entrance. Su Muxue and Zi Linger exchanged a look, gritted their teeth, and followed closely behind.

As soon as they entered the mining tunnel, the light vanished instantly, leaving only endless darkness and a heat so thick it wouldn’t dissipate. The air was foul, filled with various toxic gases and dust; even while holding their breath, they could feel their skin stinging. Beneath their feet was a thick layer of ash and debris accumulated over unknown years, soft to the touch and making a tooth-gritting sound when stepped on.

A wisp of Gray Nirvana Sword Flame ignited at Nangong Xuan’s fingertip, barely illuminating the area several yards ahead. The tunnel was much wider than expected, but the four walls were covered in hideous claw marks and impact dents, showing that humans weren’t the only ones who had been active here. The temperature of the rock walls was terrifyingly high, as if they could remelt at any moment.

The three of them moved deeper with caution. Their Divine Sense was greatly suppressed, so they could only rely on their five senses and Nangong Xuan’s spiritual perception, which far exceeded that of ordinary people.

The mining tunnel twisted downward with many branches, like a labyrinth. Fortunately, with the rough map on the Jade Slip as a guide, they didn’t lose their way. However, the map only marked the general direction of the main tunnel; details of the deeper parts were entirely missing.

Along the way, they saw more carbonized remains, both human and various strange Yao Beasts. Some places still bore signs of intense battle and remnants of Formations that had long since failed. In a relatively open cavern, they even found the skeleton of a giant Yao Beast pinned to the rock wall by several massive black bone spikes. Despite the endless years, the skeleton still emitted a heart-stopping, ferocious aura; its strength in life was likely far beyond the Nascent Soul Stage.

This Abandoned Ancient Fire Path was even more dangerous than imagined!

Suddenly, Nangong Xuan, who was walking in front, abruptly stopped and raised his hand to signal.

”There’s something ahead.” He lowered his voice, and the flame at the sword tip suddenly extinguished. The three of them instantly merged into the absolute darkness.

In the darkness, a faint, scalp-numbing rustling sound came, as if countless tiny claws were crawling on the rock walls. Then, spots of ghostly green light, like will-o’-the-wisps, lit up at the corner ahead, more and more, densely packed like a reversed galaxy!

It was a swarm of red beetles, the size of fists, in numbers impossible to estimate! They were covered in thick shells, their compound eyes flashing with ghostly green light, and their mouthparts opening and closing with a clicking sound. Everywhere they passed, even the hard rock walls were gnawed with deep marks!

”Fire-Devouring Demon Ants!” Su Muxue gasped, recognizing this terrifying creature recorded in ancient books. These things weren’t strong individually, but their numbers were endless. They lived for fire, were violent by nature, and could devour anything containing spiritual power, including a Cultivator’s Protective Aura and flesh!

The flood of ghostly green light spots discovered the three of them and instantly became violent, surging toward them like a bursting dam!

”We can’t fight them head-on! Move!” Nangong Xuan shouted low. His Sword Gang swept out, cutting the dozens of demon ants in the lead into pieces, but more demon ants instantly filled the gap, their speed not slowing down at all!

The three turned and ran, retreating rapidly along the way they came. But the demon ants were faster, and they seemed extremely familiar with the mining tunnel, even continuously pouring out from rock crevices and holes overhead, attempting to flank and surround them!

Seeing they were about to be caught, a sharp look flashed in Nangong Xuan’s eyes, and he suddenly struck his chest!

Buzz!

The silent chaos star core seemed to be triggered by the external crisis and the large number of demon ants containing Fire Fiend Qi. Even in its saturated slumber, it instinctively released a trace of extremely weak yet supremely high-level pressure!

That pressure flashed and vanished, yet it was like a monarch descending, possessing absolute suppression over subjects!

The surging flood of Fire-Devouring Demon Ants came to a sudden halt. The ants in the lead even made terrified squeaking sounds, their ghostly green compound eyes filled with fear and confusion. The momentum of the charge was instantly thrown into chaos, and many ants even collided and trampled each other.

It was this moment of chaos! Nangong Xuan seized the opportunity, his Nirvana Sword Intent exploding as he forcibly carved out a narrow path through the ant swarm ahead! ”Quick!”

The three of them burst into their maximum speed, narrowly rushing through the area where the demon ants gathered, and fled deeper without looking back. After a moment of confusion, the demon ants behind seemed to shake off the influence of that trace of pressure, once again emitting angry hisses and pursuing relentlessly, but the distance had already been widened.

After running for an unknown amount of time, until the rustling behind gradually faded away, the three finally dared to stop, leaning against the scorching rock wall to catch their breath.

”That was close... that star Core...” Su Muxue said with lingering fear.

”It seems to have a special suppressive power over these fire-attribute creatures.” Nangong Xuan was also thoughtful. The mysteries of this chaos star core were far more than he had imagined.

Temporarily shaking off the demon ants’ pursuit, they found themselves in the deeper parts of the Ancient Fire Path. The tunnels here became even more ancient, and some blurred murals of a completely different style and unidentifiable ancient characters began to appear on the rock walls. The content recorded seemed to be some kind of ritual for sacrificing to fire, filled with a primitive and savage aura.

And the Fire Baleful Qi permeating the air also became more refined and... ancient. It even carried an extremely faint sense that was of the same Origin as the fire smelting stones but even more majestic.

Just then—Nangong Xuan, Su Muxue, and Zi Linger’s bodies all shook at almost the same time!

They clearly felt the star keys within their Dantians resonating!

The phantom star key flowed with silver light, the sharp metal star key trembled and hummed, and the water star key rippled with azure. Deep within Nangong Xuan’s Dantian, the crimson light representing the ”fire star key” flickered violently with unprecedented frequency and brightness, emitting a scorching desire!

A clear call, originating from the source, came from the deepest part of the mining tunnel, penetrating through endless layers of rock and chaotic force fields, clearly transmitting to their hearts!

The fire star key was just ahead! And it wasn’t far from them!

Surprised and joyful light erupted in the eyes of all three simultaneously.

After enduring many hardships, they were finally approaching the ultimate goal of this journey!

However, at the very moment this joy arose—BOOM!!! A dull roar, as if coming from the depths of the Nine Serenities, suddenly came from deep within the mining tunnel! The entire Ancient Fire Path shook violently, and a large amount of debris and ash fell from overhead!

An indescribable, terrifying heatwave carrying a will of destruction and madness surged out from the depths like a tsunami!

The power calling to the star keys still existed, but it was instantly masked by this suddenly erupting, malicious, and terrifying force!

The abnormal movement of the Primordial Fire Eye had intensified at this moment, without any warning!