After being reborn, the cannon fodder junior sister quickly left the sect.

Chapter 174 The Stone Beast Attack

At one point of the inextinguishable volcano, several eruptions occurred simultaneously, accompanied by the earth's trembling and wailing. Lava roared forth, forming an orange waterfall that rushed down to the foot of the mountain. After an unknown amount of time, the eruptions gradually subsided. Gale-force winds carried ash into the sky, forming a massive, dark cloud. This enormous cloud obscured the dim moon and shrouded the enormous volcano at its center, remaining motionless for a long time.

Beside the central volcano stood a colossal creature, its entire body composed of massive stones, upon which burned crimson flames, exuding an aura of immense power. Suddenly, the giant creature opened its pair of red eyes and gazed into the distance.

At that moment, a faint sound suddenly came from the desert about ten miles away from the central volcano. Then, a depression appeared, and sand flowed down, gradually forming a small opening. The opening grew larger and larger until a pair of huge claws pried open the sand and tentatively peered out.

Feeling no heat, the claws slowly retracted, and then a pangolin's head appeared. The pangolin's head turned around, surveying the surroundings. After confirming that there were no problems nearby, the pangolin finally emerged from the cave.

The one that emerged was Pangolin No. 1, followed by Pangolin No. 2 and No. 3, and then Lin Ji, Su Luo, and Chu Wenqing.

The armored beasts couldn't resist the immense temptation of honey and agreed to Su Luo's request, digging a tunnel all the way to a point some distance from the teleportation array. But if they got any closer, they would refuse to continue.

However, that was enough, so Su Luo didn't insist.

As soon as they emerged from the cave and stood on the desert, they were immediately hit by a wave of intense heat. It was already late afternoon, and the moon was high in the sky, but the heat at the Undying Volcano was still intense.

Because they had been traveling through the underground passage, where the temperature was much lower than on the ground, they were now all feeling dizzy from the heat after suddenly arriving on the surface.

Chu Wenqing, wearing a mask of pain: "Damn it, it's so hot even late at night!"

"Yes, it's so much hotter than the passageway!"

Feng Xiyue wiped her sweat and began to miss the relatively cool underground passage.

Song Qiao couldn't help but cover his nose and frown.

His nose was more uncomfortable than the heat!

In fact, Song Qiao's nose had been bothering him ever since he entered the volcano. The closer he got to the center of the volcano, the stronger the smell of burning and pungent ash became, to the point that his nose could barely smell anything.

As for Lin Ji, he only needed to keep an eye on Su Luo.

At this moment, Su Luo was gazing into the distance. The moonlight was dim, and she could only vaguely see a few volcanoes in the distance. After confirming the location again, she was certain that they were heading in the right direction.

"That's right, it's here."

Su Luo felt relieved and took out three jars of honey, placing them on the ground. "Here, this is what we agreed on."

Here they come! The honey they risked their lives for!

The three armored beasts were overjoyed. They each grabbed a jar, barked twice at Su Luo, then jumped down from the cave entrance and ran away without looking back.

Seeing their desperate flight, Su Luo couldn't help but twitch her lips. "Zhu Zhu, what are they saying?"

Zhu Zhu, feeling dizzy from the heat, translated, "They...they...tell us to be careful of that big guy..."

"I see."

Su Luo nodded, only then noticing that something was wrong with the little one. She quickly squatted down to check on him, "Zhuzhu, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Zhu Zhu weakly tugged at Su Luo's sleeve, "Master, I'm so hot..."

"Oh right, I almost forgot you're particularly sensitive to heat."

Su Luo was extremely annoyed by her carelessness and quickly stuffed a cooling pill into the little guy's mouth. "Good boy, Zhu Zhu, this will make you feel less hot."

Zhu Zhu obediently ate the pill, and soon felt much cooler and her head was no longer dizzy.

But the little guy is quite delicate. It pouted and instinctively wanted to snuggle up to its owner, "Master, hug me..."

Su Luo naturally couldn't refuse, and gently reached out her arms to it, "Okay, Master will hug you..."

However, before Su Luo could reach out and touch Zhu Zhu, a hand with distinct knuckles suddenly grabbed Zhu Zhu by the back of the neck and then lifted it up.

Su Luo looked up blankly and met Lin Ji's unfathomable dark eyes. For some reason, her heart suddenly trembled.

Before Su Luo could think further, Lin Ji lowered his eyes and said with a smile, "Su Luo, this thing... cough cough, let me hold this little guy."

Su Luo: "?"

Why is Lin Ji suddenly hugging Zhu Zhu?

Zhu Zhu looked up and met Lin Ji's cold and deep gaze. Startled, she shuddered and only then realized what was happening.

Ahhhh! I forgot that this awful person doesn't like it being close to its owner! Owner, save me!!!

Seeing Zhu Zhu being lifted up like a puppy by Lin Ji, Chu Wenqing and the other two nearby felt very sorry for her.

Chu Wenqing was the first to speak: "Lin Ji, your posture is wrong. You can't lift it; you have to hold it!"

Feng Xiyue: "Yes, be gentle, be gentle..."

Even Song Qiao, ignoring his sore nose, tentatively asked, "Or... could you give me Zhuzhu?"

Lin Ji ignored this and just looked down at Zhu Zhu. Seeing that Zhu Zhu was trembling with fear because of his aura, he couldn't help but curl his lips and a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes.

This cowardly creature dares to try and steal Su Luo from him? And dares to let Su Luo hold it? Dream on!

Su Luo was unaware of the undercurrents between the human and the beast. She only felt that Zhu Zhu, who was being held by Lin Ji, looked extremely pitiful, so she quickly reached out and said, "Lin Ji, give Zhu Zhu to me."

Zhu Zhu didn't dare to struggle and could only pitifully whimper to Su Luo.

That's right! Let it go!

Lin Ji refused to let go, "But it's heavy, I'm worried your arms will get sore if you carry it for too long..."

"It's okay, I won't hold it. Zhuzhu is afraid of the heat anyway, I'll just put it in the storage bag."

Upon hearing this, Lin Ji's expression softened, and he obediently nodded, "Okay." As long as Su Luo doesn't hug him.

Zhu Zhu had been wanting to run away for a long time. Almost as soon as Lin Ji let go, it eagerly burrowed into Su Luo's storage bag, not waiting even a second. Its speed amazed Song Qiao and the others.

After this little incident, the group quickly checked their amulets and made ample preparations before heading forward.

The journey was extremely dark; the moonlight was obscured by dark clouds, and the desert was littered with traces of lava flows. Volcanic ash filled the air, making everything appear hazy and difficult to see. Therefore, everyone had to slow down, remaining vigilant and frequently stopping to observe their surroundings.

"It's so hot, I'm going crazy from the heat..."

Chu Wenqing wiped his sweat as he walked, and when he couldn't stand it anymore, he took out a Bamboo Leaf brand popsicle and ate it. He also shared one with each of Song Qiao and the others, including Lin Ji.

"Lin Ji, want one?"

Lin Ji glanced at him, but eventually took the popsicle. However, Lin Ji then used it to his advantage and stuffed it into Su Luo's mouth, saying, "Su Luo, eat this to cool down."

"Okay, you eat too."

Su Luo quickly handed Lin Ji a cigarette as well, and the two of them fed each other, looking quite sweet together.

Chu, a single dog and literary youth: ...The clown is actually me.

Just as he was feeling utterly bored, Chu Wenqing suddenly noticed something and quickly pointed ahead, "Look, aren't we here?"

The group immediately looked over upon hearing the sound.

Because the dust was too thick due to the proximity of the point, the group could only see five tall volcanoes standing about two hundred meters in front of them.

Five volcanoes?

Feng Xiyue's eyes lit up with joy, "Then it seems our destination is just ahead..."

"Great! We're almost there!"

Seeing that Su Luo didn't seem happy, Lin Ji couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just a little worried."

Su Luo looked around and silently shook her head. "We haven't encountered any giant stone beasts guarding the teleportation array along the way..."

According to the armored beast, the stone beast is extremely sensitive and will detect any movement in advance, thus preventing them from making their way. Yet, they've traveled this far without incident, without even seeing a glimpse of the stone beast – how strange!

This is indeed a bit strange...

Lin Ji frowned, about to speak, when suddenly he looked down at the ground, his expression changed, and he scooped up Su Luo and flew away like a dove.

At the same time, he also shouted loudly to remind the others: "Get out of the way!"

Chu Wenqing and the other two were stunned for a moment, clearly somewhat bewildered. However, they were very obedient, and as soon as Lin Ji finished speaking, they immediately used their magic to leave the place beneath their feet.

Almost instantly, the ground shook violently the moment they stepped away, and a gigantic hand emerged from the desert, slamming heavily into the spot where they had just stood, creating a massive crater. Immediately afterward, the ground began to collapse, sand cascading down, and with a deafening roar, a colossal stone-like creature rose from the sand's depths.

This enormous creature was composed entirely of various types of magma and stone, resembling a colossal giant. The moment it opened its eyes, its entire body seemed to burst into flames, while molten lava slowly flowed through its veins, making it look absolutely terrifying.

Now, the enormous creature is staring intently at the group of people whose expressions have changed drastically.

Su Luo's pupils shrank instantly, and she blurted out, "It's a giant stone beast!"

It turns out it had been hiding under the desert, waiting to ambush them. No wonder they couldn't see it along the way!