Facing the sharp teeth of so many Fire Crocodiles and the spewing molten lava, the giant tree's vines, despite their fire resistance, could not last too long. They were quickly bitten and burnt off by a large margin.

However, over the broken vines, a green light soon flowed, and the severed parts regrew at a speed visible to the naked eye. It was as if they were not affected at all, continuing to attack the Fire Crocodiles.

Even so, the vines ultimately had limited strength. They restrained about half of the Fire Crocodiles, and then had no extra strength to spare. Even so, this greatly reduced the risk of crossing the Magma Lake.

"Fellow Daoists, I'm taking the lead!" Daoist Qian Bao said to Yuan Ming and the Golden Cloud Fairy.

Before his words fell, his figure had already darted forward, leaping over the vines toward the direction close to the center of the lake.

Below, in the lake, several Fire Crocodiles turned their attention and, while spitting molten lava, also pursued him.

Seeing this, Daoist Qian Bao calmly drew his hands apart and then brought them together in front of him. A burst of golden light suddenly surfaced, enveloping his entire body, making it impossible to discern what Magic Treasure was inside.

Without any visible signs of Daoist Qian Bao's activation, seven or eight fluttering golden talisman papers fell from the golden light, bearing runes that looked quite unusual, resembling humanoid figures.

A few golden talismans flashed with spirit light and astonishingly transformed into several Daoist Qian Baos. They were identical to the real one in terms of shape, appearance, and even aura fluctuations, with no flaws visible.

"Is that an Illusion Talisman?" Yuan Ming, about to take off, said with some surprise.

"It's a Yin Yang Shadow Transformation Talisman, much more powerful than ordinary Illusion Talismans," Xi Ying's voice rang in his Sea of Consciousness.

The clones of Daoist Qian Bao scattered in all directions, instantly attracting several Fire Crocodiles away.

Xue Jiao and Hou Santong, covering for Daoist Qian Bao, hurriedly flew into the Magma Lake and each used their means to attract the attention of the Fire Crocodiles in the lake, leading them away from the center of the lake.

Without the interference of the Fire Crocodiles, the pressure on Daoist Qian Bao significantly decreased, and he accelerated toward the center of the lake at high speed.

Yuan Ming and the Golden Cloud Fairy no longer hesitated and almost simultaneously flew into the Magma Lake.

Long Chong and Qiong Yun shot out like lightning, rushing ahead of Yuan Ming into the Magma Lake. They took out their Magic Treasures and provocatively attacked the nearby four or five Fire Crocodiles, drawing their attention.

Wulu did not hurry to act. He waited until Qing Tong started and flew into the range of the lake, then followed closely behind.

On the other side, Huan Ling Zi, Yun Jiuxiao, and Bing Xin were responsible for protecting the Golden Cloud Fairy. Huan Ling Zi glanced in Yuan Ming's direction, then immediately led the other two into the lake above.

More than a dozen Core Formation Stage cultivators took action together, and the Magma Lake erupted like a boiling pot, splashing up countless flaming waves. Meanwhile, more than a dozen Fire Crocodiles emerged, but most were consciously led away by the few cultivators covering for them.

Suddenly, near the lake center, there appeared a circle where Fire Crocodiles were scarce.

Seeing this, Daoist Qian Bao's feet flashed with green light, revealing a leaf-shaped Flying Shuttle emitting a faint green light. His figure flickered, and he turned into a stream of light, shooting full speed toward the center of the lake.

Immediately following him, the Golden Cloud Fairy waved her hand, and a spirit bird of several zhang in size and golden all over appeared out of nowhere, lifting her up.

This golden Spirit Bird, shaped like a crow, had exceptionally brilliant feathers, like a bundle of golden flames.

The Spirit Bird spread its wings and traced a golden streak across the Magma Lake, heading toward the center of the lake with a speed not much slower than Daoist Qian Bao, who had sprinted ahead earlier.

Behind them, Yuan Ming gave the golden Spirit Bird another glance, then likewise summoned Lei Yu, mounting it and ordering it to use its Flying Escape Divine Ability.

Under a splendid cover of lightning, Yuan Ming and Lei Yu disappeared from their spot, and the next moment they arrived above the rocks at the center of the lake.

Lei Yu, having refined that Demon Core during the previous arena battle, now had its strength at the Third-level Middle Stage, and tunneling speed was also much faster than before. However, the Magic Treasures and spiritual bird of Daoist Qian Bao and the Golden Cloud Fairy were also of extraordinary origins; thus, the three of them arrived almost simultaneously.

Daoist Qian Bao and the Golden Cloud Fairy saw that Yuan Ming's speed was not inferior to theirs; if truth be told, there was even a sense of being last to start but first to arrive. Both were quite surprised.

But with time pressing, they had no spare time to bother with much else. Each released a light palm, grabbing towards the Earth Core Fire Lotus below.

Just at that moment, a sudden change occurred!

The surface of the Magma Lake near the Earth Core Fire Lotus suddenly exploded, and amidst the splashing molten lava, several massive crocodilian beasts emerged.

They were unequivocally nine Fire Crocodiles, double the size of those outside and also much stronger than the ones outside. Each one had reached the Third-level Upper Stage.

These giant Fire Crocodiles snapped their jaws, easily shredding Daoist Qian Bao and the Golden Cloud Fairy's light palms.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Nine thick Magma Fire Columns erupted, each fiercely striking at the three cultivators.

"These strongest ones had indeed appeared as expected," Yuan Ming wasn't surprised by the appearance of these colossal Fire Crocodiles. He commanded Lei Yu to cut diagonally forward, easily dodging in the nick of time.

Daoist Qian Bao and the Golden Cloud Fairy were not as composed as Yuan Ming; they were surrounded by several Magma Fire Columns with no time to dodge.

However, the two of them did not panic. Daoist Qian Bao spat out a black net that soared towards the four Magma Fire Columns attacking him.

The unimpressive black net emitted only a faint black light, yet it blocked all the magma flames without trembling at all.

Golden Cloud Fairy's spirit bird beneath her spread its wings, and a vast expanse of golden fire clouds unfolded, into which the searing magma fire columns crashed and vanished without a trace as though they had sunk into the sea.

Yuan Ming nodded to himself. Daoist Qian Bao and Golden Cloud Fairy had come to pick the Fire Lotuses with careful consideration, clearly having their own means at hand.

He lightly tapped his finger, and two streaks of white cold light fell, striking two giant Fire Crocodiles that were closest to him.

Crack! Crack!

The two Fire Crocodiles, about to leap up, turned into ice sticks upon being struck by the white light and plummeted into the Magma Lake, the frost on their bodies melting rapidly.

Although this move couldn't truly harm the Fire Crocodiles, it was enough to restrain them for a moment.

In the blink of an eye, Yuan Ming, riding Lei Yu, approached the Fire Lotuses at high speed, and with a swoop of a green palm, he grabbed two Fire Lotuses and plucked them.

"Two Fire Lotuses in hand!"

Yuan Ming collected them joyfully. Lei Yu had already climbed to a higher altitude, evading the attacks of two giant Fire Crocodiles that had just freed themselves.

Had these giant Fire Crocodiles concentrated their attacks on him alone, Yuan Ming would have been somewhat wary, but now that they had divided into three groups, they posed no threat to him at all.

Seeing Yuan Ming successfully pluck two Fire Lotuses, Daoist Qian Bao, still entangled by several Fire Crocodiles, had a flicker of urgency cross his face. He shot a golden, dazzling rope from his sleeve, binding two giant Fire Crocodiles.

A dark net also shot down like a shooting star, covering the remaining two giant Fire Crocodiles.

Taking advantage of the Fire Crocodiles' struggles, Daoist Qian Bao flew a curve downward on his Flying Shuttle and with both hands rapidly picked two Fire Lotuses and gathered them into his pouch.

On the other side, Golden Cloud Fairy formed hand seals; strands of golden thunderfire fell from the fire clouds, striking the remaining few giant crocodiles.

The golden thunderfire, of some unknown Divine Skill, easily penetrated the scale armor of these Fire Crocodiles; several of them were severely wounded, their innards exposed, and they hurriedly dived into the depths of the Magma Lake.

Yuan Ming raised an eyebrow; although these Fire Crocodiles dived into the magma, their presence leaked out clearly, starkly different from before when their presence completely vanished as soon as they submerged.

"Could it be that the reason these Fire Crocodiles can conceal their presence is due to their crocodile skin? With the scale armor of these three giants broken, they can no longer hide their presence," he mused silently.

In the meantime, Golden Cloud Fairy sent down a golden spirit light, enveloping three Earth Core Fire Lotuses and collecting them.

With no Fire Crocodiles harassing them, the three people swiftly picked the Earth Core Fire Lotuses, and soon each had gathered seven or eight. There were not many Fire Lotuses left.

"Forget the other Earth Core Fire Lotuses. Pick that Golden Lotus ahead!" Just then, Xi Ying's voice rang in Yuan Ming's ears.

Yuan Ming looked forward and saw that beside a black rock, under a lotus leaf, there grew an Earth Core Fire Lotus that did not seem to have fully bloomed. The crimson petals tinged with flecks of gold, emitting a faint golden shimmer, more mysterious than the other Earth Core Fire Lotuses.

His eyes lit up as he soared over to it, preparing to continue picking, when an unusual fluctuation emitted from the black rock beside him, revealing a layer of earthy yellow halo.

Suddenly, a figure emerged from the halo, arms outstretched, grabbing at the Golden Lotus and another Earth Core Fire Lotus.

Yuan Ming frowned slightly. The person was none other than Di Hua, the cultivator from Earth Beauty Island, who had yet to show himself.

This fellow hadn't come with the others but had somehow stealthily tunneled here using some secret technique, taking advantage of the opportunity others had fought for to covertly pick the Earth Core Fire Lotuses.

Yuan Ming snorted coldly and stimulated the Soul Destroying Sword nurtured in his Dantian. The Annihilation Rune on the sword lit up, and a wave of invisible fluctuation spread out.

Everything went dark before Tu Sheng's eyes; he could see nothing, hear nothing, and his sense of smell and Divine Sense were also suddenly cut off.

"Who's messing with me!" Tu Sheng bellowed in shock and anger.

Before the words fell, his vision cleared, and his hearing, sense of smell, and Divine Sense returned to normal.

However, the golden lotus that he had held in his hands had vanished without a trace, now appearing in Yuan Ming's hands a few meters away.

Tu Sheng stood there, stupefied, not understanding what had just happened or how Yuan Ming had used some technique to take the Golden Lotus.

However, he didn't argue with Yuan Ming, gathered the Earth Core Fire Lotus in his hand, and reached out to pick a third one.

But at that moment, without any warning, a wave of magma several meters high surged up from beneath Tu Sheng, crashing onto him with a force that seemed enough to move mountains.

The Protective Light Ring around Tu Sheng shattered on impact, his bones snapping audibly, his plump body flying away as he spat blood profusely.

From the appearance of Tu Sheng stealing the Golden Lotus, to Yuan Ming employing a technique to take it away, to Tu Sheng being struck and sent flying, although the sequence seems complicated, it all happened in just two to three breaths' time.

Daoist Qian Bao and Golden Cloud Fairy, upon witnessing this event, ceased their picking of the Fire Lotuses and retreated in flight, both inwardly taken aback.

Tu Sheng, seemingly harmless with his short and plump figure and always smiling countenance, possessed Earth Attribute Divine Skills that were profound and mystical, particularly his defensive abilities, and yet he had been grievously injured in one strike!

Yuan Ming was also somewhat surprised, controlling Lei Yu to retreat while he also looked toward where the Magma Lake had surged.

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