The Figure in White

Inside the mountain cave, the rolling lava had finally begun to show signs of receding, and the five people trapped within let out a collective breath of relief.

The cave wasn't large, and volcanic gases kept drifting in from time to time, leaving the air dangerously thin. Had they held out much longer, every one of them would have suffocated.

Throughout the entire grueling wait, the one thing they could be grateful for was that Mo Fan's Swift Star Wolf had never disappeared.

Its presence meant Mo Fan was still alive. Xinxia had barely taken her eyes off the Swift Star Wolf for a single moment — even when fatigue tugged her eyelids closed, she forced them back open, terrified the wolf might vanish the instant she stopped watching.

"The lava has retreated. We should wait a bit longer, though — there's no fresh air coming in yet," Zhao Manyan said.

The five of them continued to wait as the lava fully drained away and fresh air began slowly seeping in through the vents in the cave walls...

"Let's go. We need to find Mo Fan now."

Out of the cave, the group poured headlong down the mountain path.

If Mo Fan had been swept away by the lava, he would have ended up somewhere downstream at the lowest point. Follow where the lava had flowed, and they would find him.

Lava was a liquid, but an extraordinarily dense one — it moved slowly, and the viscous material tended to pool and collect in hollows. Once it cooled, it would harden into solid rock.

If they didn't find Mo Fan before the lava cooled completely, locating him afterward would be nearly impossible.

The group rushed to the base of the mountain and found no trace of Mo Fan. Before they could process their panic, a new problem materialized — the same Double-Faced Turtle Fiends that had blocked their only escape route before.

When Zhao Manyan spotted one, he was ready to settle accounts. Then he realized these creatures lived in packs. Just as he moved to tear the thing apart, a wave of larger, even more heavily armored versions appeared out of nowhere. Revenge was off the table — they were the ones being hunted now.

They fled all the way out of the fire pillar mountain and back into the rocky, gravel-strewn basin, but the Double-Faced Turtle Fiends were relentless, showing no sign of giving up the chase.

"What do we do? If we can't shake them, we'll have no time left to find Mo Fan," Zhang Xiaohou said, his voice tight with worry.

"There's a group of people heading this way. Forget it — let's just run toward them and sort the rest out later." Zhao Manyan pointed in a direction.

The five of them fled until they reached the approaching group. The moment Zhao Manyan saw the man leading it — a middle-aged man with his hair combed back and tied into a braid — his face broke into a look of undisguised delight.

Chenying saw the same man. Her expression was far more complicated.

"Uncle, what are you doing here?" Zhao Manyan called out.

The braided man furrowed his brows, then glanced at Chenying, who stood beside Zhao Manyan with her head bowed. He let out a cold snort. "What a mess. You really think a bunch of wet-behind-the-ears kids have any business being in a place like this?"

"Uncle, save the lecture for later — help us deal with whatever's chasing us first. One of our companions is still in danger," Zhao Manyan said.

Zhao Yulin had already spotted the Double-Faced Turtle Fiends, their bodies encased in what looked like living metal armor. He dismounted from his riding beast with an air of casual contempt.

Several Star Chart outlines materialized around him simultaneously, taking shape at remarkable speed and weaving together into a complete magical design. The Star Charts shimmered against one another, then arranged themselves diagonally to form a three-dimensional constellation of light that enveloped Zhao Yulin entirely.

The brown Constellation locked into place. A gray-brown radiance flickered in Zhao Yulin's eyes, and as the dusky amber light reached its peak, an invisible solidifying force fanned out in a wide arc, sweeping rapidly toward the pack of Double-Faced Turtle Fiends.

The gray-brown wave spread forward like a shadowy claw reaching across the landscape. Everything in its path — loose soil, fire-resistant cactus — turned to pale, ashen stone.

Petrify. The high-tier Petrify of the Earth Element.

The Double-Faced Turtle Fiend leading the charge had clearly never encountered anything like it. It foolishly tried to weather the force with its armored body — the instant the gray-brown wave washed over it, the creature became a hard, lifeless statue.

The others, still hanging back, watched in horror as the color drained from both their faces. Their survival instinct kicked in at once — they abandoned their petrified companion without a glance and bolted back into the fire pillar mountain.

"Uncle, that was incredible!" Zhao Manyan strutted over to the petrified Turtle Fiend with the smug satisfaction of a man whose enemy had finally gotten their due.

He planted a kick squarely against its body and shattered the statue to pieces. Apparently that still wasn't enough, because he proceeded to stomp the fragments into powder, cursing the entire time: "That's for kicking us while we were down, you little bastard. That's for blocking our only way out! I said I'd tear you to pieces — go on, count how many pieces you are now, you son of a bitch!"

"Stop wasting time. We need to find Mo Fan," Zhang Xiaohou cut in.

They were about to leave when Zhao Yulin called after them: "Where do you little brats think you're running off to? Get into my group. Getting you out of here right now isn't an option. Tell me who you're trying to save — with your level of ability, you couldn't even manage to collect a comrade's corpse."

Lingling glanced at Xinxia and gave her a small nod. "With their help, finding Mo Fan will be much easier."

The five of them fell in with Zhao Yulin's group. Chenying had kept her head down the whole time. It wasn't until she was walking among the others that she suddenly noticed — perched atop a chestnut-red desert fire horse — a figure wrapped entirely in white cloth, watching her with a pair of dark, unreadable eyes.

Chenying's face filled with disbelief. "Mom? How are you here?"

The white-wrapped figure gave only a slight nod and beckoned Chenying to her side, saying nothing.

Chenying gazed at her father Zhao Yulin, leading the column at the front, and felt a rush of warmth. She had assumed he'd given up on the Fire Calamity Fruit entirely — that he was content to enjoy his comfortable life within the wealthy Zhao family, indifferent to everything else. She hadn't expected that after the Fire Calamity, he would come in person, and bring her mother with him.

Even so, the men he'd brought were nothing remarkable. By her read, only Zhao Yulin himself was a High-Level Mage.

The Fire Calamity Fruit was certain to be guarded by something formidably powerful. These people might not be up to the task.

The white-wrapped figure seemed to sense what was weighing on Chenying, and spoke in a low voice: "The Shamang River has grown suddenly wild — some unknown malevolent force seems to be coming from the west... Not even Mind Element Mages can Soothe the river creatures anymore. The major factions have been selecting people of modest rank but unique abilities — that's the only way anyone can manage to cross the Shamang River now. Your father is the exception. He's likely the only High-Level Mage who made it across safely this time."