Through the divided sense within the puppet, the moment it entered the cave mouth, Han Li perceived everything with perfect clarity.
Before the white wolf stretched a natural passage some seven or eight zhang high. The walls on both sides were black-red in color, and wisps of flame constantly darted out from the cracks, warping the surrounding air from the sheer intensity of the heat.
Han Li was certain that a cultivator of slightly lower cultivation entering this passage would very likely be rendered unconscious by the scorching wind and blistering heat before they could even react.
As a mechanical puppet, the white wolf naturally had no such concern.
It flew along the passage, and before long, a bright light opened up before it, revealing a fiery underground world.
The cavern spanned several hundred zhang, but what immediately caught the eye was a lava lake that occupied more than half the space. Fiery red bubbles churned and rolled within it before bursting with sharp pops. It gave one the terrifying impression that getting even a step closer would result in being roasted to a husk.
Surrounding the lake was reddish scorched rock, and remarkably, several patches of green flickered here and there — spirit herbs growing from the stone. It was truly surprising, though it also spoke to how extraordinary these particular herbs were.
But the divided sense Han Li had placed in the white wolf had no interest in spirit herbs. His gaze was already fixed on a protruding boulder at the center of the lava lake.
Resting atop it was a creature entirely red as fire, lying belly-up and snoring loudly in deep sleep.
The creature was not particularly large — about three zhang wide and five or six zhang long — and its shape strongly resembled a giant toad. But its skin, gleaming like living flames, gave it a remarkably imposing air. As the creature breathed in and out, layers of red mist periodically shimmered around its body, lending it an air of mystery.
So this was the Fire Toad Beast.
Han Li studied the creature with perfect clarity, carefully examining it for a long while. Only then did his gaze shift to a stone platform on the far side of the lava lake.
The platform was clearly ancient.
Although many patterns and runes were carved along its edges, the four corners had long since corroded into disrepair.
But at the center of the platform, a cultivator's remains lay quietly, wrapped in a cyan robe.
The robe's style was simple, ancient and peculiar — clearly not something any modern cultivator would wear. And after so many years it remained as pristine as new, emanating a faint green glow, proving it was no ordinary garment.
The remains within the robe had long since crumbled into a pile of bones. But each bone was crystalline and translucent, as clear as glass — a sight that was quite unsettling.
After carefully scanning the bones and taking one more look at the Fire Toad, Han Li sent out a thin wisp of his divided sense, silently drifting it toward the remains.
He wanted to check first whether the cultivator's corpse truly held any treasures.
After all, on the surface, he had found nothing resembling a treasure or a storage pouch on the remains, which had aroused his suspicion.
But perhaps the treasure was hidden inside the cyan robe or somewhere near the platform, so he decided to search first.
The wisp of spiritual sense flew above the remains and drifted down to probe — and then an unexpected change occurred.
The cyan robe suddenly blazed with spiritual light. A layer of cyan-hazed radiance appeared upon it, instantly deflecting his wisp of spiritual sense.
The surrounding spiritual energy rippled with an unusual fluctuation.
The Fire Toad, which had been sleeping soundly on its back, seemed to sense something. Its tightly shut eyes snapped open, and a pair of jade-green pupils darted about several times before locking onto the white wolf puppet at the cave entrance.
"Not good!" Han Li silently cursed.
The white wolf puppet he controlled hastily spun around. Its spiritual light flickered as it transformed into a white streak and shot back the way it had come.
At the same time, the seemingly bloated Fire Toad abruptly flipped over, leaped high into the air, and landed back on the boulder in a crouching posture.
It watched the white streak vanish into the distance, let out a furious low croak, then launched itself forward with a powerful thrust of its massive hind legs. Instantly enveloped in a cloud of red mist, it gave chase.
"The Fire Toad is heading this way. Fellow Daoists, be on your guard." Han Li, concealed near the formation, silently moved his lips, sending his voice to Marquis Nanlong and Elder Lu.
The two of them' expressions turned grave, and they simultaneously looked toward the distant peak.
A white streak was shooting out from within, hurtling straight toward their position. Moments later, a ball of brilliant red flashed out of the cave entrance in close pursuit.
Its speed was not slow at all — no less than that of an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
Seeing this, Han Li's expression shifted slightly.
Fortunately, the white wolf puppet he had dispatched was a speed-type puppet beast. Otherwise, whether it could have lured the creature over would have been truly uncertain.
With that thought, he urged the divided sense within the white wolf puppet once more, driving it to fly at maximum speed without any regard for damage to the puppet's body. Then, with a flip of his palm, a wisp of blue-tinged glacial flame silently materialized in his hand.
Marquis Nanlong and Elder Lu, their expressions somber, had similarly readied their magic treasures and were quietly waiting on either side of the formation.
The peak and Han Li's group appeared to be quite far apart, but the white streak and the ball of crimson radiance arrived in the blink of an eye, one after the other.
A fierce gleam flashed across Han Li's face, and the glacial flame in his hand silently swelled by thirty percent.
But just as the white streak was about to reach them and plunge into their prepared grand formation — with the Fire Toad still some thirty or forty zhang behind — the beast seemed to grow impatient.
With a great "croak," a ball of scarlet fire blasted from its maw.
When first expelled, the fireball was merely the size of a head. But after hurtling forward several zhang, with a muffled *whoosh* it expanded into a massive sphere several zhang across. It overtook the white wolf puppet at the edge of the formation, and a pillar of blazing flame some ten zhang tall engulfed the puppet beast in an instant.
Dull explosions boomed from within the flames, and then silence. Han Li's expression changed slightly!
The flames receded swiftly, and where the puppet beast had been, it had vanished without a trace — not a shred remaining.
Seeing this, Han Li was naturally startled.
The demonic fire within the Fire Toad was indeed no ordinary flame — at the very least it surpassed the Nascent Soul fire of a Nascent Soul cultivator. He was uncertain whether his glacial flame could counter it. But he was not overly worried. After all, the methods he possessed to slay this beast were far more than just one or two.
Whether it was the Purple Skyfire or the Great Geng Sword Formation, both were far more formidable trump cards.
Moreover, even if he released all of his Core Formation-level puppets at once, he could overwhelm and destroy this beast through sheer numbers alone. It was just that Han Li naturally could not bear such a great loss.
Puppet beasts were extremely useful in certain situations.
Now, having dealt with the enemy that had rashly invaded its lair, the Fire Toad let out a long, satisfied croak. With a flash of red mist, it was about to turn around and fly back.
At this, Han Li, Marquis Nanlong, and Elder Lu exchanged uneasy glances. Of them all, it was Han Li whose heart tightened the most.