I asked you to go down the mountain and get married, not to shock the world!

Once their breathing had calmed down a bit, Mingchuan turned his gaze to the lava lake, which was gradually returning to calm but still radiating warmth.

“Although this guardian spirit has been slain, it has occupied this place for many years and was nurtured by the origin of the secret realm. There may be another world hidden deep within its lair,” Mingchuan said slowly, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate the viscous crimson lake surface. “Moreover, when I slew it with the Nine Dragon Sword just now, I vaguely felt an unusual spatial fluctuation coming from the depths of the lake.”

Ji Zhou's spirits lifted: "Ming-ge, you mean... there might be something else hidden at the bottom of this lake? Perhaps it's the true core of this secret realm?"

“It may not be the core, but it’s definitely extraordinary.” Mingchuan stroked his chin. “This lava fire lizard is as strong as a Nascent Soul cultivator, but its intelligence isn’t very high. It’s more like it’s protecting something instinctively…”

"Although the Earth Fire Red Lotus is a rare treasure, it doesn't seem worth having such a powerful spirit guard this place every step of the way."

He pondered for a moment and made a decision: "Once we've recovered enough, we'll go down and explore. You've just broken through, so this is a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with the power of the Core Formation stage. But be extremely careful, the situation at the bottom of the lake is unknown, and there may be unknown dangers."

"Okay!" Ji Zhou nodded heavily, his previous excitement and restlessness gone, replaced by a calm and alert demeanor.

He circulated the surging crimson-gold spiritual power within his body, forming a solid protective aura around him, and prepared himself.

Seeing this, Mingchuan said no more. He gently vibrated the Nine Dragons Sword in his hand, which emitted a soft golden light that enveloped the two of them, isolating them from the high temperature and erosion of the magma.

He took the lead and leaped into the still bubbling lava lake, followed closely by Jizhou.

Protected by the golden light of the Nine Dragons Sword, the surrounding magma was pushed aside like flowing water, and the two sank at an extremely fast speed.

The deeper you go, the dimmer the light becomes, with only the crimson glow of the surrounding magma illuminating the dark lakebed.

After sinking about a hundred feet, the surrounding pressure increased sharply, and even the golden light shield of the Nine Dragon Sword slightly contracted inward.

At that very moment, an unusual sight appeared below.

The lakebed was not flat as one might imagine, but rather featured a huge, funnel-shaped whirlpool entrance. The rocks at the entrance's edge were strangely crystalline, emitting a faint blue light.

The center of the vortex was not magma, but a distorted, ripple-like dark red light curtain!

A purer and more ancient fire elemental aura than before was faintly emanating from behind the light screen!

"Indeed, this is a hidden world!" Mingchuan's eyes lit up. "It seems to be a naturally formed spatial node, or... a sealed entrance left behind by some powerful being!"

He manipulated the Nine Dragons Sword, carefully approaching the entrance to the vortex.

As you get closer, you can feel the spatial fluctuations emanating from the dark red light screen, as well as the heart-pounding energy contained within it.

"Stay close to me, we're going in." Mingchuan instructed Jizhou, then took a deep breath, activated the Nine Dragons Sword, and the tip of the sword emitted an even more intense light, piercing the dark red light curtain like a drill.

"Om-!"

The light screen rippled violently, emitting a low rumble.

A powerful suction force emanated from it, accompanied by chaotic spatial tearing forces!

Mingchuan did his best to maintain the stability of the Nine Dragons Sword, and the golden light shield made a teeth-grinding "creaking" sound under the pressure of spatial power.

Jizhou also activated his spiritual power to stabilize himself and followed closely behind Mingchuan.

It felt as if we had passed through a viscous liquid, or traversed a long distance, and the surrounding scenery suddenly changed!

The intense heat vanished abruptly, replaced by a gentle warmth.

The two found themselves in a strange cave.

The cave is not very large. The walls and ceiling are made of a translucent reddish-brown crystal that emits a soft and steady light, illuminating the entire cave.

In the center of the cave is a small, mirror-like, milky-white pool, with a light white mist rising above it, exuding a refreshing fragrance and a powerful life force.

In the very center of that milky white pool, a strange little tree, no more than a foot tall, with a body as clear as glass and golden liquid flowing through its veins, was growing quietly.

At the top of the sapling, there was a fruit the size of a longan, perfectly round and translucent, with what looked like golden flames burning inside!

Just by smelling the faint scent emanating from the fruit, Jizhou felt that his newly stabilized realm was showing signs of loosening again!

The spiritual energy within his body rejoiced, as if it had encountered the supreme tonic!

Mingchuan looked at the small tree and its fruit, his pupils shrinking slightly. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but he could feel an immense power emanating from it.

Finally, the fallen dragon within him couldn't help but tremble with excitement: "This is... the divine object that is a companion to the Earth Core Fire Lotus, the legendary Glazed Golden Flame Fruit that can reshape one's Dao foundation and ignite divine fire!"

"The Glazed Golden Flame Fruit?!"

Mingchuan was shocked. Even with his knowledge and temperament, he couldn't help but gasp when he heard the excited voice of the Fallen Dragon.

This is a divine object that only exists in ancient legends!

Its value far surpasses that of the Earth Fire Red Lotus found elsewhere!

The Earth Fire Red Lotus is merely a spiritual medicine to solidify the foundation and aid in breakthroughs, while this Glazed Golden Flame Fruit is said to fundamentally enhance a cultivator's potential and life essence, and even has a slight chance of igniting divine fire, paving the way for future breakthroughs to higher realms!

This is a truly rare and extraordinary opportunity!

No wonder the lava fire lizard guarded this place so fiercely; it probably wanted to rely on this divine fruit to complete its final transformation!

Heh... If Su Hongzhen knew that he had actually handed over such an important secret realm to me, allowing me to enter it at any time and seize such treasures, he would probably regret it to the core!

"Ming-ge, what is this? It feels... amazing!" Jizhou couldn't help but exclaim.

Although he didn't recognize the object, his instincts told him that the small tree and its fruit were an unimaginable treasure!

Mingchuan quickly suppressed his excitement and said in a deep voice, "This thing is called the Glazed Golden Flame Fruit, a divine object that is a thousand times more precious than the Earth Fire Red Lotus. However, such a rare treasure of heaven and earth must be protected or restricted, and no one will be allowed to pick it easily."

His sharp gaze swept across the entire cave, especially the milky white pool and the crimson crystal walls.

The Nine Dragons Sword hummed softly in his hand, as if it too had sensed some kind of potential danger.

The Fallen Dragon's voice echoed in his mind again, tinged with solemnity: "Boy, be careful. This pool... is not ordinary spiritual liquid, but rather earth's core jade marrow, which has miraculous effects on nourishing the soul and cleansing the body, but it is also an extremely powerful sealing and protective force."

"That Glazed Golden Flame Tree is rooted in the Jade Marrow and connected to the earth veins of the entire secret realm. Forcibly harvesting it would likely trigger a backlash from the entire secret realm!"