Mortal: Fairy Song Yu has issued you a task.

Chapter 9 Earth Fire Pool

In mid-air, a Core Formation cultivator maintained his suppression while scanning the crowd with his gaze.

"I am Meng Yanzhou, the deputy peak master of Hidden Sword Peak. My junior brother and I will work together to forcefully suppress the Earth's core fire back into the earth's veins for a short while. You should take advantage of this opportunity to quickly repair the 'Eight Flames Connecting Formation'."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Feng steeled himself and stepped forward.

"I report to Peak Master Meng, the situation inside the Fire Pool is complex, with rampant earth fire and malevolent energy. The four disciples behind me are only at the Qi Refining stage; entering the pool would be far too dangerous for them."

"If only one person repairs the array, it will likely take more than half an hour. Wouldn't it be safer to wait for reinforcements from the Array Core Division to arrive?"

"How could I not know the dangers involved?" Meng Yanzhou resolutely refused, "However, the earth's veins are unstable, and the situation is critical; we cannot wait any longer!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a streak of purple-gold light shot out from the wide passageway and landed on the edge of the fire pool in an instant.

"Peak Master! You're back!" Uncle He and the two Core Formation cultivators were all invigorated.

The newcomer was none other than Wei Changqing, the peak master of Hidden Sword Peak.

Wei Changqing's gaze swept across the room, and when it passed over Xu Fuzi, a look of surprise appeared on his face, as if he was wondering why Xu Fuzi was there.

But he quickly regained his composure, "I learned of this as soon as I returned to the peak. What's the situation now?"

Lin Jingchu had no time to listen to the brief exchange between the three Core Formation cultivators; he seemed to sense a conspiracy.

Previously, while on the jade boat, he had already received a system task issued by Peak Master Wei.

At this moment, however, he claims that he has just returned to the peak?

After a brief exchange with his two junior brothers, Wei Changqing turned to Lin Jingchu and his group.

"This repair was indeed perilous. But when the sect is in trouble, the disciples have a responsibility. Regardless of whether the 'Eight Flames Connecting Formation' can be successfully repaired in the end, as long as the five of you do your utmost, each of you will be rewarded with a Foundation Establishment Pill afterward!"

"Foundation Pill!"

Upon hearing this, the eyes of Lin Jingchu and the other three Qi Refining stage disciples all blazed with intense light.

Even Feng Shishu, who had already established his foundation, showed a look of surprise on his face.

There are strict regulations governing the purchase of Foundation Establishment Pills from other sects; they cannot be sold privately, and violators will be severely punished.

The reward for merit is entirely at the discretion of the recipient. They can easily sell the pill for over a thousand spirit stones in the market!

With a generous reward, brave men will naturally emerge.

Lin Jingchu and the others responded in unison, "We disciples will do our utmost to repair the great formation!"

"Good!" Wei Changqing nodded, and with a flick of his sleeve, five jade bottles flew towards the five people.

"This is the 'Ice Sinking Pill,' made from spiritual materials from extremely cold lands. It can not only help you resist the intense heat in the pool, but also effectively resist the erosion of the abyssal evil energy."

"Each bottle contains three pills, and each pill provides approximately 15 minutes of protection. Take immediately in an emergency."

Lin Jingchu accepted the jade bottle and, along with the others, bowed, saying, "Thank you, Peak Master, for bestowing this pill!"

"I'll trouble you two junior brothers to continue suppressing the earth fire." Wei Changqing instructed the two Core Formation cultivators, then turned to Uncle He.

"Nephew He, come with me into the pool and assist me."

"Yes, sir!"

Seeing that Wei Changqing had made the arrangements, the two Core Formation cultivators in the air exchanged a glance, and their spiritual power suddenly erupted!

One from the south and one from the north, two immense and vast forces pressed down like invisible giant hands!

Below, the boiling, roaring crimson pool of fire, like a ferocious beast forcibly suppressed by two invisible hands, emitted an unwilling roar.

The surging waves of fire, like the receding tide, were gradually pushed back, slowly lowering until finally revealing the reddish-gold bottom of the pool.

Sword Tempering Cave - Earth Fire Pool

The bottom of the pool is paved with palm-sized black gold stone bricks in a ring, each brick engraved with intricate array patterns.

Eight enormous black gold stone dragon heads, with their mouths wide open, surrounded the fire pool.

This is what the Earth Fire Pool looked like when it was intact.

However, at this moment, the bottom of the pool, which should have been flat and smooth, was a complete mess.

A large area of ​​black gold stone ground near the southeast corner had completely collapsed and shattered, turning into a pile of rubble. A blinding dark red light still shone through the cracks, and the heat wave distorted the air.

The three fire channels corresponding to this shattered ground also had their dragon heads broken into pieces, and the fire channels themselves had completely collapsed.

Wei Changqing transformed into a sharp sword light and was the first to rush into the pool.

With a flash of light, a giant sword as wide as a door panel materialized out of thin air, slashing fiercely at the crumbling foundation with a sharp whistling sound that tore through the air.

clang!

The greatsword collided violently with the fragments of the black gold stone, which were harder than iron, sending sparks flying everywhere.

Immediately afterwards, the sword flashed and flicked, and a large amount of broken stones and debris were lifted up by the immense force and thrown out of the pool.

Then, the giant sword split into three, transforming into three ferocious sword-light dragons that roared as they plunged into the three collapsed and blocked fire channels.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Rock fragments flew everywhere, and dust billowed up.

In just a moment, the three fire channels were forcibly connected.

On the other side, Uncle He had already tossed several prepared storage bags to Uncle Feng and Lin Jingchu and the others.

"Go down into the pool!" Uncle Feng shouted, and everyone jumped in.

The heat from the pool hit my face, the air was scorching, and my skin felt like it was being pricked with needles.

The ground of the Xuanjin Stone was extremely hot, and everyone carefully stepped on the magical artifacts, hovering about a foot off the ground.

Uncle Feng quickly assigned tasks: "I will oversee the repair of the core array eye. Nephew Qian, you are in charge of the 'Qian' fire path. Nephew Zhao, you are in charge of the 'Kun' fire path."

"Junior Nephew Lin, I trust you the most in your actions. Junior Nephew Xu will accompany you, in charge of the 'Xun' fire path! Please be extremely careful!"

Upon hearing the arrangement, Lin Jingchu sighed inwardly and accepted the order, saying, "Yes!"

After the tasks were assigned, Uncle Feng and Uncle He immediately began to clean and level the uprooted ground and lay new bricks to carve array patterns.

Lin Jingchu and Xu Fuzi also rode their magical artifacts and rushed towards the newly opened "Xun" fire channel.

Wei Changqing used his object manipulation skills to retrieve the Xuanjin stone bricks from mid-air and sent them into the three damaged fire channels to assist in their repair.

Inside the fire channel, Lin Jingchu held his breath and concentrated, his fingertips pulsating with spiritual energy, carving out tiny channels of spiritual energy on the newly paved rock walls or ground, which eventually intertwined to form a complete array circuit.

Sweat kept seeping from his forehead, drying out before it could drip.

Time slipped away amidst the sweltering heat and everyone's tension.

At the core of the pool bottom, Uncle Feng and Uncle He had just finished laying about half of the paving...

"Oh no! The earth's ley lines are erupting again!"

Suddenly, a horrified shout came from above!

Before the words were finished—

The entire bottom of the pool suddenly swelled violently! It was as if a ferocious beast was turning over underground.

Uncle Feng and Uncle He's expressions changed drastically, and they were about to use their magical artifacts to fly away from the fire pool.

The next moment, the huge bubbling exploded violently!

"BOOM!!!"

The crimson flames, almost white, imbued with the malevolent energy of the abyss, mixed with shattered rocks, shot into the sky like a fountain!

The two people who were first hit immediately set up a protective shield.

However, faced with this overwhelming force that resembled a natural disaster, the Foundation Establishment stage's protective shield was as fragile as paper and was torn apart in an instant.

The two were about to be swallowed up by the raging fire and the bone-corroding evil energy.