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

Mingchuan understood immediately; it was just as he suspected.

He observed carefully and discovered that the milky white chalcedony pool water appeared calm, but inside there were countless fine, rune-like threads of light flowing, forming a naturally formed, mysterious array that protected the Glazed Golden Flame Tree at its center.

Meanwhile, the crimson crystal wall was constantly absorbing the fire elemental energy from the secret realm, continuously injecting it into the jade marrow pool to maintain the operation of the formation.

"Do you see those shimmering threads in the pool?" Mingchuan pointed them out to Jizhou. "Those are naturally formed protective array patterns, connected to the earth's veins throughout the entire secret realm. You can't force your way in."

Jizhou looked closely and indeed discovered something amiss, and couldn't help but gasp: "What do we do then? Are we just going to watch?"

“Of course not.” Mingchuan shook his head, a glint in his eyes. “All things in the universe are interconnected and mutually restraining. Even the most perfect formation has its own rules of operation and its own life-giving gate.”

"This formation relies on the power of the earth's fire spirit and jade marrow to operate, and its core lies in balance. Perhaps we can interfere from the outside, briefly disrupt this balance, and create an opportunity to harvest."

He pondered for a moment and said to Jizhou, "You have just refined the Earth Fire Red Lotus, and your spiritual power contains a trace of pure Earth Fire essence, which is of the same origin as this secret realm and that Glazed Golden Flame Fruit."

"Try to slowly inject your spiritual power into the crystal wall beside us. Do not be aggressive, just gently integrate it and feel the flow of energy. Try to guide some of the energy away from its original trajectory of flowing into the chalcedony pool."

He then looked at the Nine Dragon Sword in his hand: "And I need to use the power of the Nine Dragon Sword to cut through the array's light threads and pluck the Golden Flame Fruit the moment the balance is broken."

"The timing must be just right. If we're a fraction too fast, the formation won't be disrupted; if we're a fraction too slow, the formation will counterattack!"

Jizhou immediately understood Mingchuan's plan: the two of them needed to work together, one to undermine the enemy's defenses and the other to take advantage of the situation!

“Understood! Leave it to me!” Jizhou did not hesitate and walked to the cave wall, where he sat down cross-legged.

He gently placed his hands on the warm, crimson crystal, closed his eyes, and carefully channeled the spiritual power within his body, which contained the essence of the Earth Fire Red Lotus, into the crystal wall like a gentle stream.

Initially, the energy torrent within the crystal wall somewhat repelled his external spiritual power, but because of the homogeneous nature of his spiritual power, the repulsion was not strong.

Ji Zhou was completely focused, relying on his heightened spiritual senses after his breakthrough, patiently searching for gaps and patterns in the flow of energy, slowly weaving his own spiritual threads into them, attempting to guide and deflect them in the most subtle ways.

This was an extremely demanding and meticulous task, and fine beads of sweat quickly appeared on Jizhou's forehead.

Mingchuan held the Nine Dragons Sword, its tip pointing towards the center of the Jade Marrow Pool. He was like a taut bowstring, his spirit and energy highly concentrated, locking onto the array light threads flowing around the Glazed Golden Flame Tree.

He was waiting, waiting for Jizhou to create that fleeting opening!

Time passed slowly, and the cave was silent except for the fragrance emanating from the chalcedony and the faint hum of flowing energy.

Suddenly, extremely subtle and abnormal ripples appeared on the calm surface of the chalcedony pool!

The few flowing threads of light dimmed and became disordered for a moment!

Mingchuan's eyes flashed with a sharp light!

"cut!"

The Nine Dragons Sword emitted a clear and melodious dragon roar, and a chaotic sword aura, condensed to its extreme and as thin as a hair, shot out!

This sword strike is not about pursuing power, but about pursuing ultimate precision and control!

The sword energy silently cut into the sky above the Jade Marrow Pool, accurately striking several array light threads that had become fragile due to a temporary imbalance in energy supply!

"Pop...pop..."

With a few barely audible sounds, those crucial light filaments snapped!

The protective formation experienced an extremely brief opening!

Mingchuan's figure vanished from the spot like a ghost, and in the next instant, he appeared next to the Glazed Golden Flame Tree!

His movements were lightning fast, his fingertips enveloped in a soft, jade-like glow to prevent damage to the divine object, as he gently plucked it...

The golden flame fruit, about the size of a longan and with golden flames flowing inside, had already fallen into a cold jade box that he had prepared beforehand!

The lid snapped shut instantly, completely sealing away all traces of the presence!

Almost at the same time the fruit was picked, the Jade Marrow Pool trembled violently, the remaining light filaments burst forth with dazzling light, and the crimson crystal walls of the entire cave began to rumble, as a terrifying and destructive energy rapidly condensed!

"go!"

Mingchuan grabbed the exhausted and limp Jizhou, and the Nine Dragons Sword burst forth with unprecedented light, tearing through space and transforming into a golden rainbow that shot towards the dark red light curtain from which they had come!

Behind them, the entire cave began to collapse amidst a deafening roar, the chalcedony at the earth's core boiled, and the crimson crystal walls shattered, as if the wrath of the secret realm had been completely ignited!

A golden rainbow pierced the sky, narrowly escaping before the destructive energy could fully erupt, and plunged into the violently fluctuating dark red light curtain!

Behind him were deafening crashes and violent energy turbulence, while in front of him was a distorted and chaotic spatial passage.

Mingchuan gripped the Nine Dragons Sword tightly, pushing his speed to the limit. The golden shield emitted a teeth-grinding groan under the tearing force of space, as if it would shatter at any moment.

Jizhou endured the dizziness and discomfort caused by traversing through space.

Looking back, one could see that the entrance to the light curtain had been completely submerged and devoured by the violent crimson energy, and spatial rifts could even be seen spreading like black lightning!

Ji Zhouxin panicked. Looking at the scene before him, if they had been a step slower, they would have been smashed to pieces by now!

"Boom——!"

The entire secret realm trembled violently before the terrifying wave of destruction gradually subsided.

After a few breaths, the view suddenly opened up, and the scorching heat rushed towards me again...

The two had burst out of the spatial node at the bottom of the lake and returned to the lava lake.

The lake surface above remained crimson, but the original location of the whirlpool entrance at the bottom of the lake was now filled with chaotic energy aftershocks and shattered crystal fragments, and the dark red light curtain had disappeared.

Mingchuan dared not linger, and manipulated the Nine Dragons Sword to rapidly ascend with Jizhou.

"Wow--"

The two broke through the lake's surface and landed back on the scorched shore.

Looking back, the entire lava lake seemed to have experienced a catastrophe, its surface churning and countless bubbles rising, more restless than before.

In the center of the lake, a huge whirlpool was faintly forming, constantly devouring the surrounding lava.

"That was close..." Ji Zhou gasped for breath, still shaken, looking at the devastated scene, his back soaked with cold sweat.

If Mingchuan had reacted even a fraction of a second slower, he would have lost his life!

Having just entered the cultivation stage, and already dying here, it would be too shameful if word got out...