[Han Li]: I'll say it again—the Void Heaven Palace has a limited opening time. Since we can't contact Fellow Daoist Zhu right now, I think we should proceed first. If we find anything useful for him in the inner hall, we can keep it for him.
After a brief silence, Han Li offered a very reasonable suggestion.
Both Xiao Yan and Lin Dong felt it made sense, so they immediately agreed.
Several hours later.
The three of them arrived one after another at the entrance of the Ice and Fire Path.
Faced with the choice between the Ice Path and the Lava Path, Xiao Yan did not hesitate and decisively chose the latter.
With the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame protecting him, he could even swim within Earth Core Magma. Naturally, he had no fear of a mere Lava Path.
Although Lin Dong did not possess a strange flame, he had cultivated Zhu Chen's Vermilion Bird Treasure Technique, granting him some resistance to extreme heat. As a result, he also chose the Lava Path without hesitation.
As for Han Li, it went without saying—
the Lava Path contained the Iron Fire Ants he needed.
"By the way," Han Li said, "I have some fire-repelling artifacts here. Fellow Daoist Lin and Fellow Daoist Xiao can choose a few and see if any suit you."
Seeing that both Xiao Yan and Lin Dong had selected the Lava Path, Han Li immediately took several fire-repelling artifacts out of his storage bag.
These artifacts had been collected from the storage bags of cultivators they encountered earlier.
There were more than ten in total. Among them, the Fire-Repelling Robe, Frost Bead, and Spirit Rhinoceros Pendant provided the best protection—more than enough to pass through the Lava Path safely.
However, after equipping the artifacts and entering the Lava Path, the three were shocked.
The temperature inside was almost identical to the outside.
Although lava was everywhere, it had already solidified. What remained was a vast expanse of dark volcanic rock, still radiating faint residual heat.
"Brother Han… is this really the Lava Path of the Void Heaven Palace?"
Xiao Yan asked in confusion.
Earlier, when Han Li distributed the fire-repelling artifacts, he had described the Lava Path as extremely dangerous, even mentioning that the air itself contained fire poison.
Because of that, Xiao Yan had taken two protective artifacts just in case.
But now—
this place looked more like an ordinary volcanic region.
"Strange… it shouldn't be like this…"
Han Li frowned deeply.
According to his memories, the Lava Path in the original novel was nothing like this.
Could it be that the copy of A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality Zhu Chen had given him was wrong?
"Let's move forward and take a look first…"
Han Li muttered, then immediately activated his movement technique and flew ahead.
Xiao Yan and Lin Dong exchanged glances before following closely behind.
The three swept across the hardened lava ground and soon arrived at a vast black desert.
At that moment, Han Li suddenly sensed something. He stopped abruptly and, without hesitation, summoned his Gold-Eating Insect Swarm.
At first, Xiao Yan and Lin Dong didn't understand what he was doing.
Then—
a massive swarm of black ants surged in from the distance, blotting out the sky.
Only then did they realize what was happening.
Just as the two were about to attack, Han Li stopped them.
"You don't need to fight. My Gold-Eating Insects are specially meant to counter these Iron Fire Ants. Leave them to me."
With a command, the Gold-Eating Insect Swarm rushed forward and collided with the Iron Fire Ants.
With the insects clearing the path, the three quickly advanced deeper into the Lava Path.
Along the way, more and more Iron Fire Ant swarms gathered from the surroundings.
Yet all of them eventually became nourishment for the Gold-Eating Insects,
devoured completely.
However, as they went deeper, Han Li's sharp perception finally picked up on something strange.
The Iron Fire Ant swarms here seemed to have only just awakened.
In other words—
someone had passed through this area before them.
Combined with the inexplicable disappearance of the flames within the Lava Path, a familiar figure instantly appeared in Han Li's mind.
Zhu Chen.
[Han Li]: @Zhu Chen, Fellow Daoist Zhu—have you already passed through the Lava Path?
Han Li immediately tagged Zhu Chen in the group chat to confirm his suspicion.
But when Xiao Yan and Lin Dong saw the message, they were stunned.
Wasn't Zhu Chen supposed to be behind them, gathering spirit herbs?
How had he suddenly gone ahead of them?
Xiao Yan opened his mouth, about to ask