Chapter 356 – The True Treasures Hidden Deeper Within

Lu Yuan quickly looked up.

A magnificent orange-red great bird, whose splendor defied description, was perched above the crater, continuously letting out clear calls.

This orange-red great bird seemed familiar to Lu Yuan. It was clearly the phoenix illusion that the cuckoo bird had previously conjured to trap him.

“What is it trying to do now?”

Lu Yuan picked the black-gold wondrous item in front of him, shaped like a date, and stuffed it into his nano battle suit. His brow furrowed, unsure of what the cuckoo bird was up to this time.

“Forget it, just ignore it.”

Lu Yuan just wanted to collect all the wondrous items in front of him without any more interruptions.

As he prepared to pick the third wondrous item, the magma beneath him suddenly started to stir.

“Glug-glug-“

The golden-red magma, like boiling thick porridge, began to bubble and churn, releasing waves of terrifying heat.

Lu Yuan saw that the center of the magma within the crater was rising, as if something from below was pushing up to the surface.

He widened his eyes and, after a few breaths, saw a gigantic, snow-white egg slowly emerge from the magma.

“A Phoenix Egg, really?!”

Lu Yuan was shaken to the core.

Even though he had been mentally prepared, seeing a Phoenix Egg with his own eyes was still an overwhelming experience.

This was beyond any legendary level material like the Phoenix Feather or the Hundred-eyed Nether Crow Feather.

It could possibly hatch a real, living phoenix!

If he could get it, wouldn’t that mean he could have a true mythic life as a pet?!

“Thump! Thump!”

Lu Yuan’s heart raced. Faced with such an enormous temptation, even he couldn’t help but have many desires.

He quickly ran a simulation in his mind, feeling there was a good chance he could grab the Phoenix Egg if he rushed now.

Although there was some risk.

But compared to a mythic life… it was worth it!

As the saying goes, wealth is sought in danger, and what lay before Lu Yuan was an enormous fortune!

“Compared to the Phoenix Egg, these wondrous items all around suddenly seem less enticing!”

“Even though the chaos divination advised me not to take the egg, I can’t just give up this extraordinary opportunity because of a few warnings without even trying!”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered rapidly, and without much hesitation, he abandoned the third wondrous item within his grasp and dashed straight towards the Phoenix Egg at the center of the magma.

The closer he got to the center of the crater, the more terrifying the heat became.

Lu Yuan felt the death energy around his body deplete at an alarming rate. The six wings of condensed death energy on his back were already showing signs of melting and disintegration under the intense heat wave.

The originally intricate and delicate wings began to blur, barely maintaining their wing shape, devoid of any aesthetic appeal.

Merely the distance from the inner wall of the crater to the center of the magma lake had consumed almost as much death energy stored in the Hundred-eyed Nether Crow Feather as one seventh stage-level battle.

“Without sky level armament or sixth-stage strength, coming down here is a death sentence!”

Thoughts raced through Lu Yuan’s mind as he fixed his gaze on the Phoenix Egg, ready to snatch it with a swift and elegant “dragonfly touching water” motion.

But just as he was about to reach the Phoenix Egg, his hands almost grabbing it-

“Boom!”

A dazzling burst of golden light shot up from the magma beneath him.

“Shhh-Boom!”

In the boiling magma, a surge of death energy erupted.

Lu Yuan’s figure appeared tens of meters away in an instant, two blood-red lotuses spinning in his eyes. The underworld armor on his body was dim and lackluster, and half of the six wings of death energy on his back had seemingly been burned away by something.

“What… was that?!”

Lu Yuan stared dazedly at the golden light encircling the Phoenix Egg from a distance, shock and lingering fear evident in his expression.

Just a bit more.

If it hadn’t been for his grandmaster instinct warning him at the last moment, causing him to activate the Fusion of Two Flowers secret technique in time to evade, that burst would have pierced his chest. He might not have died, but he would’ve likely fallen into the magma, which would be almost the same as dying.

“The Phoenix Egg is surrounded by protection! It nearly killed me!”

Lu Yuan saw the snow-white Phoenix Egg encircled by golden light. The light seemed to have its own consciousness, vigilantly guarding the egg at its center.

Lu Yuan tried a few more times, each attempt becoming more perilous than the last.

“Should I activate demon form and try again?”

With each attempt, the death energy stored in the Hundred-eyed Nether Crow Feather was rapidly depleting, leaving him with just enough for one more battle.

But Lu Yuan was unwilling to give up and wanted to give it one last try.

Just as he was hesitating, an enchanting bird call sounded above him once more.

Lu Yuan looked up and saw the cuckoo bird’s phoenix illusion circling overhead around the crater.

From this phoenix illusion, Lu Yuan sensed the aura of the mysterious acorn and the mysterious beast bone, along with several other unfamiliar wondrous items.

These wondrous items seemed to share some commonality, adding a certain degree of realism to the phoenix illusion.

At the very least, Lu Yuan thought it seemed more genuine than the previous two illusions he had seen.

“What is this creature trying to do?”

Lu Yuan discerned a sense of calling, affection, and urging from the phoenix illusion’s calls.

The target seemed to be the Phoenix Egg within the magma.

“Could it be trying to use this method to bring the Phoenix Egg up?”

Lu Yuan found it absurd, completely unable to comprehend the cuckoo bird’s peculiar thought process. “This is ridiculous…”

But before he could finish his thought, he saw the white Phoenix Egg in the center of the magma begin to tremble violently.

More of the egg gradually emerged from the magma’s surface.

In the end, the entire egg lifted out of the magma, floating upward toward the crater.

“What the heck!”

Lu Yuan was stunned.

“Is this for real? Fishing for an egg?!”

He had never imagined that the cuckoo bird could use such a method to make the Phoenix Egg willingly “throw itself into its embrace.”

This maneuver was simply… brilliant!

The Phoenix Egg floated into the air, and even the protective golden light couldn’t stop it.

Sensing an opportunity, Lu Yuan tried once more, hoping to intercept the Phoenix Egg.

Once again, he was blocked by the golden light, leaving him speechless in frustration.

As the Phoenix Egg ascended, Lu Yuan noticed multiple golden lights continuously emerging from the magma below.

These golden lights were trying to prevent the Phoenix Egg from leaving the crater. Yet, the Phoenix Egg, feeling the “call of maternal love,” was determined to rush upward, no amount of golden light could stop it from recognizing a fake mother.

“This golden light isn’t intelligent at all. It can only prevent blatant robbers but can’t stop a slightly disguised thief…”

Seeing the multitude of golden lights-likely more than a hundred-around the Phoenix Egg, Lu Yuan realized that the egg was completely out of his reach.

Accepting this, he resumed harvesting the wondrous items growing on the inner wall of the crater.

Meanwhile, he heard the cuckoo bird’s fake phoenix calls becoming more urgent. There were also faint sounds of something cutting through the air outside, likely indicating that Javier and the exploration team from the Distant Star Federation had arrived. They were undoubtedly after the Phoenix Egg too and wouldn’t let the cuckoo bird take it easily.

Lu Yuan didn’t bother with them, as he could barely look after himself now.

Since the Phoenix Egg had floated out of the magma, the magma level in the crater had been steadily rising, making the internal temperature increasingly high.

He watched helplessly as one wondrous item after another was swallowed by the rising magma, leaving him with no choice but to quicken his pace.

“Just one more! One more and I’ll leave!”

Grabbing a wondrous fruit that resembled a plum, Lu Yuan ignored its fiery heat and stuffed it into his nano battle suit.

Then he dashed toward the next one.

The internal temperature of the volcano had risen to nearly unbearable levels, even with his protective death energy. It felt as if he was racing against a countdown, with every second ticking away.

“Damn it!”

Lu Yuan watched in frustration as a particularly enticing wondrous item was engulfed by the scorching magma right before his eyes, disappearing without a trace.

“So close!”

Feeling a pang of loss, he started to turn towards another wondrous item.

But just as he was about to move, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye-within the magma that had just consumed the wondrous item, there were tiny golden streams of light rapidly converging.

“What is this?”

Lu Yuan had never really taken a good look at the magma beneath his feet before.

The extreme heat was unbearable, and staring at it for too long made his eyes dry and sore.

Now that he observed carefully, he noticed that the “bed” supporting the Phoenix Egg contained many flowing golden substances.

“Are those golden lights protecting the Phoenix Egg made from these materials?”

A contemplative light flashed in Lu Yuan’s eyes.

He unexpectedly fell into a calm state, detaching from his previous race against time.

With a peaceful mind, Lu Yuan saw even more.

Similar golden substances were embedded in the scarlet red volcanic rock around him.

These scarlet volcanic rocks, after being washed by magma, revealed tiny, beautiful golden specks, mysterious and magnificent.

Lu Yuan tried to pry off a piece of volcanic rock, gradually extracting the golden substance within.

When his fingers touched the golden substance, his whole body jolted violently, and his eyes shone with disbelief and unparalleled brilliance.

“This is…”

As Lu Yuan was immersed in a moment of immense shock and impact, a thunderous roar resounded above, mixed with the wailing of a phoenix.

He instinctively looked up.

The Phoenix Egg had completely flown out of the crater.

The golden lights that had been guarding it froze the instant the Phoenix Egg exited the crater.

Then they all exploded, transforming into a golden rain that fell down in a dazzling shower.

The magma below began to churn violently, surging and roaring with immense waves.

It was as if the entire volcano was shaking and quaking…

Terrifying heat waves enveloped Lu Yuan, and the death energy protecting his underworld armor thinned visibly under the relentless heat. The replenishment couldn’t keep up with the rate at which it was being consumed.

At this moment, the entire interior of the volcano had transformed into a hellish inferno. Lu Yuan knew that if he didn’t muster all his strength to escape now, in the next second he might be completely engulfed by the rising magma…

However.

Lu Yuan showed no intention of moving.

His expression was peculiar, and his eyes gleamed with a strange light.

“The true treasures hidden deeper within…”

He muttered to himself.

Suddenly, it seemed he had made a firm decision.

His expression calmed down, and he took one last glance toward the crater.

Then…

He abruptly changed direction and plunged headfirst into the churning magma beneath him.