Lanling was extremely familiar with this devastated land. It was the very first landscape he had seen after arriving in the Barbaric World. For several hundred miles along the southern barbaric coastline, the land was filled with these enormous fissures.
However, ordinary fissures were only a few hundred metres deep, at most a few thousand.
So what about this so called Hell Rift?
Riding the Golden Griffon, Lanling covered one thousand nine hundred miles in seven hours and finally arrived at the Hell Rift.
What he saw left him speechless.
The Hell Rift was not a single crack, but countless interconnected fissures forming a gigantic maze.
Some of the fissures were only a few thousand metres deep, while others descended so far that no bottom could be seen.
Between the fissures flowed molten lava, while glowing green poisonous swamps emitted an eerie light.
This was truly a place where not even insects could survive, a genuine forbidden zone for all life.
Landing at the entrance to the maze, Lanling patted the Golden Griffon.
“Wait for me outside.”
“My husband, follow behind me,” Sisi said.
Hearing her call him “my husband”, even Gou Li, who had already become a Death Warrior, frowned slightly.
She had not even married Lanling yet, yet she constantly called him her husband. She really had no shame.
Thinking back carefully, when Sisi had married Constantine as his second wife, she had hardly ever addressed him as her husband.
The group followed Sisi as she led them deeper into the Hell Rift maze.
“If Sisi has secretly joined Nai Shu and laid a trap for us here…”
Lanling’s naturally suspicious mind could not help thinking that.
They continued following the fissures deeper and deeper.
The cracks became increasingly deep, and the number of branching paths kept growing, yet Sisi navigated confidently, choosing every direction without the slightest hesitation.
In a maze of this scale, almost anyone would lose their way.
They continued deeper.
After travelling dozens of miles, they had long since reached a place with no air. Sisi constantly swallowed medicinal pills to sustain herself.
They were now several thousand metres underground. There was not the slightest trace of light, only endless darkness.
Sisi took out a luminous pearl.
Although it was not especially bright, it was more than enough for cultivators of their level.
Gou Li asked coldly,
“How much farther?”
“We’re halfway there,” Sisi replied.
Gou Li said, “Anyone entering this maze would become lost. Why do you know the way so well?”
Sisi answered, “I’ve already said that when the time is right, I’ll tell my husband everything. Sister, don’t overthink it. Do you really think I’d betray my husband for Nai Shu? Do you think he’s worth it? Can he give me what I want?”
Gou Li fell silent.
The group continued onward.
They travelled over two hundred miles through the maze, descending more than twenty to thirty thousand metres beneath the surface.
Along the way they passed countless crossroads, poisonous swamps, bottomless pits, and deadly traps.
Clearly, many people knew about the Hell Rift maze.
Although nobody knew what lay at its deepest point, many believed there had to be treasure hidden within, and countless adventurers had entered in search of it.
None had ever reached the deepest chamber.
Every one of them had died along the way.
Although Lanling saw no skeletons, he could sense numerous lingering souls drifting through the darkness.
“My husband, we’ve arrived,” Sisi said.
Ahead of them was what appeared to be a dead end.
There was only a pool of water.
Sisi took Lanling’s hand, wrapped an arm around his waist, and jumped into the water.
She swam through it like a serpent.
Lanling was perfectly capable of swimming himself, yet Sisi insisted on holding him as they travelled.
The underwater passage was another maze, twisting and turning endlessly.
Once again, only Sisi knew the route.
After swimming for half an hour, Sisi finally emerged from the water with Lanling.
Splash!
Lanling was completely stunned.
He was utterly mesmerised by the breathtaking scenery before him.
“My husband, this is my dowry.”
Sisi spoke proudly.
It was an enormous cavern, magnificent beyond words.
Golden light shimmered everywhere, making it resemble the Dragon King’s palace.
As far as the eye could see were crystals of every imaginable kind.
The moment Lanling emerged from the water, his body suddenly floated into the air.
There was no gravity here.
Some unique force field completely cancelled gravity.
Lanling, Gou Li, Sisi, and even Chiyan’s enormous body floated effortlessly through the air.
Lanling already possessed a treasure vault hidden beneath the secret underground lake, accumulated over tens of thousands of years by the Mirror Demon King.
This place was another treasure vault.
An even greater one.
The difference was that this treasure was completely natural.
There were countless crystals here.
Black.
Red.
White.
Purple.
Green.
Blue.
Lanling had no idea what most of them were used for.
But he was certain every one of them was priceless.
“Is… is this Black Gold Ore?”
Lanling exclaimed excitedly.
Black Gold Ore was not actually black.
It appeared as dark red mineral veins, resembling mica.
“And… Platinum Ore?”
Lanling’s voice trembled.
“Yes,” Sisi replied.
“That is Platinum Ore.”
Platinum was several times tougher than Black Gold.
It was also extremely light and remarkably flexible.
Whether forged into swords or armour, it was unimaginably valuable.
“And… this is Dragon Gold?”
Lanling almost began trembling.
“Yes.”
“That is Dragon Gold.”
Strictly speaking, Dragon Gold was not actually a metal ore.
It was a unique energy form.
It resembled a transparent flower in full bloom, shimmering with a faint golden glow.
No words could truly describe its value.
Nothing could cut through it.
Nothing could destroy it.
It possessed memory.
It was virtually indestructible.
It was both the sharpest and toughest material in the world.
To illustrate its value,
Across the entire Human Kingdom, there were only ten Dragon Gold swords.
Only figures such as Zhi Yan, Jiang Xue, and Ji Xiuning possessed one.
Yet here,
There were more than a dozen Dragon Gold blossoms.
There had always been a legend claiming Dragon Gold was ordinary metal scorched by a dragon’s flames.
Now it seemed that legend might finally be disproved.
This place was simply an unimaginably vast treasure trove.
Sisi gazed dreamily at Lanling before proudly repeating,
“My husband, this is my dowry.”
At that moment, Lanling felt an overwhelming urge to ask Sisi exactly who she really was.
What mission did she carry?
How had she prepared so much?
Suppressing his excitement, he began searching for the Star Magic Meteorite.
He found it almost immediately.
Floating in the centre of the cavern was an enormous meteorite.
It was utterly black.
A perfect, absolute black.
This was a meteorite from outer space.
It could penetrate everything.
Corrode everything.
It possessed terrifying radiation.
Yet here,
It emitted none.
As far as Lanling knew, this meteorite only released its terrifying radiation beneath moonlight.
“My husband, only here is this thing harmless. Once it’s taken outside, it can pierce all matter, kill living beings, and destroy all forms of energy,” Sisi explained. “I suspect this meteorite has remained here for a very long time. These crystals, the Black Gold, Platinum, and Dragon Gold probably all formed because of it.”
Lanling asked,
“Doesn’t it only become dangerous beneath moonlight?”
“Radiation?” Sisi asked.
“Is that the name you’ve given this dark energy?”
“No.”
“It always possesses the destructive power you call radiation.”
“It simply becomes much stronger beneath moonlight.”
“The thing that only becomes dangerous beneath moonlight is actually the contamination it produces.”
Lanling immediately understood.
Sisi continued,
“I’ve studied it. A fragment no bigger than a fingernail is enough to kill a Great Demon Warrior.”
“I once considered using it to kill Constantine.”
“But later I decided it wasn’t necessary.”
“He never really harmed me, so I spared him.”
Gou Li’s expression immediately became rather strange.
Sisi continued,
“To subdue the Three Headed Chimera, we won’t need much.”
“Just a small piece weighing a few taels is enough to make one arrowhead.”
Lanling asked,
“Can we simply chop a piece off this meteorite?”
Sisi shook her head.
“You can’t.”
“The Star Magic Meteorite is harder than anything I’ve ever seen.”
“Neither Black Gold swords, Platinum swords, nor even Dragon Gold blades can cut it.”
What now?
Surely they could not carry the entire meteorite outside.
They would probably die from its radiation before even reaching the entrance.
Sisi floated upwards and gently picked up a meteorite fragment.
It was about three inches long, razor sharp, and perfectly suited to become an arrowhead.
“This fragment must have broken away after the meteorite was struck by some unimaginably powerful force.”
She then produced a crystal box.
“Even a fragment this small possesses tremendous radiation.”
“If you tried carrying it outside directly, you’d die before reaching halfway.”
“So it has to be stored inside this special crystal box.”
“The box itself is made from one of the crystals found here.”
She had already prepared absolutely everything.
Sisi smiled mischievously.
“That’s right.”
“I could have simply brought this fragment directly to you and gone straight to subdue the Three Headed Chimera.”
“But if I had done that, I wouldn’t have been able to show you this cavern.”
“I wouldn’t have been able to show off my dowry.”
“And I wouldn’t have left such a deep impression on you.”
Gou Li said coldly,
“Sisi, you could also show Master your other cave, one that’s even deeper.”
Sisi immediately smiled.
“I already have, Sister.”
“And it was still perfectly pure.”
She was clearly mocking Gou Li for already having been a married woman before becoming involved with Lanling.
Behind them, Khan Chiyan quietly covered his own ears, making certain he heard nothing at all.
He refused to risk disrespecting his great master.
Next, Sisi opened another chest.
Inside were countless arrow shafts made entirely from transparent crystal.
She inserted the sharp meteorite fragment into the tip of one shaft.
It fitted perfectly, becoming a complete arrow.
She truly had prepared absolutely everything before coming to find Lanling.
She placed the completed meteorite arrow into the crystal box and handed it to him.
“My husband, these crystal arrow shafts will give you a wonderful surprise.”
“You’ll understand after you’ve used them.”
“Just like my body.”
“It’ll surprise you too, once you’ve experienced it.”
Then she handed the chest of crystal arrows to Khan Chiyan.
Lanling looked at Sisi.
This woman had given him an enormous surprise.
She had truly left an unforgettable impression on him.
“Master,” Gou Li asked.
“Should we mine the Black Gold, Platinum, and Dragon Gold?”
“Not yet,” Lanling replied.
“We should avoid disturbing the energy balance of this cavern.”
“For now, collect only a small sample of every type of crystal for research.”
“Yes.”
Gou Li immediately shot away like lightning.
Drawing her Black Gold dagger, she began collecting crystal samples.
Sisi watched her with envy.
“My husband, Gou Li has become at least twenty years younger.”
“She’s ten times more beautiful.”
“Her figure is ten times better.”
“She used to be inferior to me.”
“Now she’s more beautiful than I am.”
“How did she do it?”
“I killed her first.”
“Then I brought her back to life,” Lanling answered.
“Then I’d rather not.”
“I believe that if you sleep with me a few more times, I’ll become even more beautiful and my figure will become even better.”
In truth,
She had already reached the absolute peak of beauty.
Her figure was beyond perfection.
After collecting samples of over a hundred different crystals into a single chest,
Lanling said,
“Alright.”
“Let’s go back.”
The group left the dazzling treasure cavern carrying one chest of crystal arrows, one chest of crystal samples, and the fragment of the Star Magic Meteorite.
…
That afternoon,
The Three Headed Chimera arrived once again on schedule to wreak havoc.
It rampaged through the Flame Demon Tribe for three full hours before swaggering away.
Several more houses were destroyed.
Hundreds more people were burned to death.
Morale fell even further.
Every member of the Flame Demon Tribe gritted their teeth.
“You beast.”
“Just wait.”
“When the Chief returns, he’ll deal with you.”
At this point, every soldier and citizen relied on a single belief to keep going.
Lanling would return.
And he would tame the Three Headed Chimera.
Without that hope,
Many would already have broken down.
The monster came every single day.
No matter how hard they worked,
Everything they built would be destroyed.
Every day,
Hundreds died.
It made all their efforts feel meaningless.
They felt that sooner or later they too would be burned alive, crushed to death, or poisoned.
That overwhelming sense of helplessness slowly destroyed their confidence.
Ironically,
The people of the Flame Demon Tribe did not fear armies of hundreds of thousands, or even a million soldiers.
They could always fight to the death.
Kill one enemy and break even.
Kill two and make a profit.
But facing the Three Headed Chimera,
They were on the verge of despair.
Every attack against it was meaningless.
They could only endure its assaults passively.
That feeling was utterly crushing.
“You beast.”
“Just wait.”
“When the Chief returns, he’ll deal with you.”
…
As the sun set,
Lanling rode the Golden Griffon back.
Instead of flying over the Flame Demon Tribe,
He headed directly for Chimera Volcano.
It was time to tame the Three Headed Chimera.
The timing had to be absolutely perfect.
The Star Magic Meteorite Arrow had to be fired at the exact instant before the moon rose,
Piercing the Chimera’s bloodline core,
Its energy heart.
Not a moment too early.
Not a moment too late.