However, it was still Zu An who understood Zhao Han the best. With his cultivation, there was no way Zhao Han would die so easily here.

Sure enough, a second later, the lava suddenly surged. It seemed that an intense battle was currently happening inside. A few breaths of time later, the lava parted. A human figure rushed into the air. Who else could it be but Zhao Han? The giant Earthflame Devil was ripped in half. Then, it turned into lava and disappeared again.

Zhao Han didn’t act overconfident this time and flew back instead. He wasn’t in the best shape; his hair was scattered. His hair and beard were singed too. Even his clothes had several large holes burned away, the skin underneath clearly visible. There was even a scent of scorched flesh in the air…

Humiliation!

That was the only word on Zhao Han’s mind. He had always been domineering and proud; when had he ever suffered this greatly? He really had embarrassed himself in front of the younger generation.

However, Zu An and the others were still full of admiration. After all, not only had Zhao Han not been killed after being dragged into the lava by the Earthflame Devil, the only price he had paid was a few holes in his clothes. Moreover, overall, his clothes were still fine. It was clear that his ki barrier had been able to block off the lava.

“Ahem!” Zhao Han cleared his throat. His expression was grave as he looked at the lava. It surged, then reformed into the shape of a massive monster. The Earthflame Devil revived again!

Qiu Honglei exclaimed in horror, “Is this monster immortal?”

Zhao Han also frowned. Even though he was stronger than this creature, it was still strong enough to pose a threat. Most importantly, it had an immortal body and was able to recover without any injuries each time. Meanwhile, as time went on, his endurance would be chipped away at least a bit, so he would ultimately lose as time went on. With the Ghost King hiding who knew where as well, he still wanted to retain as much of his strength as possible.

Jing Teng suddenly clutched her head, seemingly in a bit of pain.

Zu An was stunned, asking, “Did you remember something again?”

Jing Teng voiced her agreement. She looked at the monster and said, “As long as this lava doesn’t dry up, the Earthflame Devil can revive indefinitely.”

The others all frowned. The lava pool was around a kilometer wide, and who knew how deep it was? How could anyone make all of the lava dry up?

Jing Teng looked toward the depths of the lava and said, “This lava exists due to a special Soulburn Firecrystal. The reason this monster is always here is because it desires the Soulburn Firecrystal’s energy. It can continue to evolve at the crystal’s side, thus becoming stronger and stronger.”

Zhao Han’s eyes lit up. He remarked, “A fire element treasure, the Soulburn Firecrystal? Judging from the sound of it, it seems to be deity-grade.”

Such an item would be incredible for fire element cultivators. If they cultivated by its side, they would achieve twice the progress with half the effort. It was easy to see how amazing it was just from the fact that a monster this formidable remained at its side. Furthermore, apart from raising one’s cultivation speed, it could even be used to refine some legendary pills and other special treasures.

Even someone as powerful as Zhao Han had only found a small piece many years before after scouring the entire world. This lava pool was so large, the crystal was definitely much larger than the one he had found.

He thought of something and said, “Zu An, let’s work together here. You restrain the Earthflame Devil while I enter the lava to look for the Soulburn Firecrystal. Only then can we fully kill this monster.”

Such an item was something he wouldn’t mind having more of, let alone the fact that he had already used up the other piece long ago.

Zu An shook his head and said, “This Earthflame Devil is too strong. I can’t hold it back at all. I might die from just a slap. I have to ask your majesty to hold it back while I search for it.”

Zhao Han said with a smile, “I know this kind of treasure would tempt anyone, but you should understand your own limitations. Can you endure the raging fire elemental power of this dense lava? You might end up disfiguring yourself and leave your sweethearts brokenhearted.”

He knew this brat Zu An’s strength was a bit special. Even though he likely wouldn’t be able to win against this Earthflame Devil, he would probably be able to hold it back for a while. Zhao Han could even potentially learn a bit more about Zu An’s trump cards that way.

Sure enough, Qiu Honglei looked at Zu An worriedly, and even Jing Teng was getting nervous. There were probably not many people who could enter such terrifying lava and survive.

“It should be fine. If I’m unable to, it won’t be too late for your majesty to go then,” Zu An said with unexpected calm.

“That’s fine too,” Zhao Han said, not trying to persuade him further. Even he had almost been burned alive earlier, so how could this brat possibly succeed? He’d just wait for Zu An to make a fool of himself first and go in after.

The Earthflame Devil roared in anger, clearly unhappy with being beaten to death two times in a row. Even though it could revive, the pain it felt while being beaten up was real. It brandished the long whips of fire at those ashore again. Even though it couldn't kill that yellow-robed bastard, for better or for worse, it could at least kill those other humans to vent out some anger.

Zhao Han snorted and said, “This emperor will not tolerate your viciousness.”

He needed these people’s help, so he naturally didn’t want anything to happen to them. A golden giant appeared above his hand and grabbed the fire whips. Then, both sides quickly tangled around each other. Zu An took the chance to dive straight into the lava.

Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng were both extremely nervous. They didn’t even dare to blink as they prepared to rescue Zu An at a moment’s notice.

When it saw that, the Earthflame Devil didn’t care at all. It thought, What an ignorant human. The terrifying temperature will instantly burn your flesh to nothing, and not even your bones will remain! All of it will become nourishment for the lava.

Zhao Han silently observed the situation. On one hand, he hated Zu An to the bone, but he didn’t want him to die so early either. He still needed his help to defeat the Ghost King.

…

Meanwhile, after Zu An dove into the terrifying lava, it quickly surrounded him. He discovered that his ki armor couldn't resist it at all. However, he was already prepared. The fire pendant released a sliver of gentle force, neutralizing the terrifying power of the lava around him.

It was something Big Manman had given him in the past. She had been scared that he would be injured by her special flames, so she gave him the keepsake she always had on her. Not only would it bring him immunity against the black flames, it would also bring him powerful resistance against other flames. However, the lava wasn’t Pei Mianman’s black flames, so the pendant couldn't bring him complete immunity.

Even so, that was already enough. A special fire suddenly surged from within him and vaguely took the shape of a phoenix. Phoenix fire was the king of flames to begin with; now, the weakened lava naturally couldn't harm him anymore.

Zu An sighed in relief. He had another contingency, which was the White Lotus Flame he had obtained before. With those three layers of defense, he naturally didn’t have to fear the terrifying lava.

When Qiu Honglei saw nothing even after a while after Zu An jumped in, she became so nervous she paced back and forth in agitation. She asked, “Miss Jing, do you think Ah Zu will be okay?”

“Young master Zu has always been steady and reliable. He definitely wouldn’t do something he doesn’t have confidence in. Please feel at ease,” Jing Teng replied, but despite that, her palms were covered in sweat.

A while later, the Earthflame Devil was already howling in rage from Zhao Han’s beatings. Lava fell from its body like a rain of fire.

However, the two women didn’t care about the danger and stared at the lava pool instead. All kinds of bubbles rose and popped. It was no different from before at all. There was no sign of anyone coming out!

Now, even Zhao Han was having second thoughts. That brat hadn’t really ended up killing himself after trying to show off, right? He thought, I still have a use for that petty life of his. He can’t die here. Then, he extended a large hand and prepared to scoop Zu An out of the lava.

Suddenly, however, a figure rushed out from within with a mischievous smile. Who else could it be but Zu An?

“Ah Zu (young master)!” Qiu Honglei and Jing Teng both cried out in surprise. Both of them had big smiles when they saw him come out safely.

Zhao Han was shocked. Not even a single strand of hair had been touched on Zu An’s body! Even I wouldn’t necessarily be able to accomplish that; just how did he do it?

Then, his gaze shifted to Zu An’s hands, where he saw a fiery red oval crystal. It was sparkling and translucent, and there was even a layer of divine brilliance swirling across its surface. It was the Soulburn Firecrystal!

When the crystal was fished out, the lava pool no longer continued to burn like before and visibly cooled. The Earthflame Devil saw that and released a great roar. It no longer cared about Zhao Han’s attacks and instead went straight for Zu An, thinking, How is this possible? Is this guy truly just a human?

You have successfully trolled the Earthflame Devil for +555 +555 +555…

Zhao Han laughed. How could he give it such an opportunity? He hadn’t landed the finishing blow earlier, knowing that it could revive if he did. But now…

Several golden figures flew through the Earthflame Devil’s body, causing it to stiffen. When it looked down, it saw several large holes in itself. Just then, a streak of golden light blasted through its head. Its body could no longer hold on and came crashing down. When it landed on the melted lava, it didn’t revive like before, and instead scattered into endless flames that were sucked into the Soulburn Firecrystal in Zu An’s hands.

Zhao Han’s figure flickered, and he instantly appeared in front of Zu An. He stared at the Soulburn Firecrystal. So it turned out that Earthflame Devil had been born from it! That meant the crystal’s value was immeasurable.

Zu An put the Soulburn Firecrystal away and said, “Your majesty has riches from sea to sea. You won’t fight with me over a rock like this, right?”