Lan Ke parted her lips slightly and let out a melodious, lingering whistle, prompting the Golden-eyed Eagle to fly over and circle above her head, its bright gold eyes scanning the terrain below.

Yuan Ming and Agula followed closely behind, keeping an eye on their surroundings, alert for any attacks from the Fire Rock Snakes.

"Goo!"

A moment later, the Golden-eyed Eagle suddenly cried out, fixing its gaze on a black stone to the front right, which seemed to be a product of cooled magma.

Without a second word, Lan Ke lifted her hand and pointed forward, sending her silver bracelet flying towards the black stone.

The light from the bracelet condensed into a blade-like silver glow, piercing through the black stone like a hot knife through butter, splitting it in two.

Embedded within the black stone was a fist-sized fire-red jade, the very Fire Jade they were searching for.

Surprise flickered in Yuan Ming's eyes. The Golden-eyed Eagle's vision was truly extraordinary—could it see through the interior of stones?

"The first one!" Lan Ke walked over and bent down to pick up the Fire Jade.

A dark red shadow shot out from behind a nearby stone— it was a large dark red snake as thick as a bowl, its gleaming fangs snapping toward Lan Ke's calf, a unique Fire Rock Snake of this region.

This snake, being only a First Level Lower Stage Fierce Beast, did not have a particularly formidable attack; however, its fangs contained a potent venom that could cause serious trouble even for cultivators at the peak of Qi Refinement if bitten.

Agula raised his hand, and amidst spirals of blue light, a Water Arrow shot swiftly towards the Fire Rock Snake.

But his action was a moment too late. The Water Arrow clearly wouldn't intercept the red snake in time.

Lan Ke's eyebrows knitted together as the silver bracelet on her wrist shone brightly, ready to intercept the Fire Rock Snake.

Just then, the ground rumbled as a sharp Wooden Thorn burst forth, skewering the body of the Fire Rock Snake and lifting it into the air.

The blue Water Arrow finally arrived, striking the body of the snake.

With a loud "bang", the body of the Fire Rock Snake was blown into two pieces, blood splashing everywhere. The two halves of the snake's body twisted a few times and then lay still.

Lan Ke recalled the silver bracelet, picked up the Fire Jade, nodded toward Yuan Ming, and continued searching forward.

Yuan Ming followed close behind, keeping a watchful eye on the surrounding area.

Agula, feeling somewhat humiliated, had a darker expression on his face, and a hint of malice flickered in his eyes as he watched Yuan Ming's retreating figure.

An hour passed quickly.

The trio's cooperation became more proficient. Yuan Ming and Agula worked together to fend off all the ambushes of the Fire Rock Snakes, allowing Lan Ke to drive the Golden-eyed Eagle in search of Fire Jade without worries, increasing their efficiency significantly.

So far, they had found over twenty pieces of Fire Jade, and Lan Ke, abiding by the previously agreed ratio, allotted Yuan Ming and Agula's share to them.

Yuan Ming felt the Fire Jades in his embrace, their crisp clinking sounds intertwining. Five Fire Jades could be exchanged for a point of Contribution Value; these Jades were almost worth one and a half points.

It was still early, and if they kept up this pace, they could gather ten or even twenty pieces of Fire Jade before nightfall—that would be four Contribution Points.

With that thought, Yuan Ming's heart surged with excitement.

At that moment, his Dantian suddenly gave a jump; his Mana was running low.

Without sufficient Mana to protect his body, he started to feel a dull pain all over.

Yuan Ming, who didn't possess Fire Resistance treasures like Lan Ke and Agula did, found it difficult to maintain until now.

"The two of you," Yuan Ming said without forcing himself, "My Mana is nearly exhausted, I need to leave here for a rest."

Agula raised his chin slightly, a trace of scorn flashing in his eyes, though it made his usually sullen face seem somewhat more pleasant.

"No problem, you go ahead. The two of us are fully capable of looking after ourselves," Lan Ke said.

"Alright, you two continue searching for Fire Jade. You can divide up any findings while I'm gone however you see fit," Yuan Ming said, then quickly left, soon reaching the base of the volcanic giant peak. Contentsourcedfrom*–MyVirtualLibraryEmpire.

The temperature here had returned to normal. He found a secluded spot and began to practice the Nine Elements Technique.

Nature's spiritual energy converged, replenishing his Mana.

A quarter of an hour went by when Yuan Ming suddenly opened his eyes.

Only a small part of the Mana in his Dantian had been restored, and the recovery speed was noticeably slower than before.

"What's going on? The spiritual energy here isn't thin," Yuan Ming wondered as he was about to investigate further when a series of squeaking sounds came from a distance. They sounded strangely familiar.

He stood up, hid behind a nearby boulder, and looked in the direction of the noise.

A slender red shadow resembling a fox appeared in the distance, quickly running towards the volcano. It was the Fire Mink belonging to the Three Cave Masters.

"Huo Chan'er! What is it doing here? Could it be that the Three Cave Masters are nearby?" Yuan Ming thought as he stepped out.

Having brought him into the Sect and responsible for the Fire Refining Hall he currently resided in, Yuan Ming felt obliged to pay his respects if she was around.

Yuan Ming looked around for quite a while but could not find the Three Cave Masters.

Meanwhile, the Fire Mink noticed Yuan Ming in the distance, turned its head to look his way, and paused its hurried steps.

But it quickly diverted its gaze and continued running towards the volcano its original intention unchanged.

Yuan Ming showed a look of surprise; judging by the Fire Mink's behavior, it seemed as if it were chasing something.

Just at this moment, a rush of hurried footsteps approached from a distance. A tall, red-haired young man, sweating profusely, ran towards this direction. Judging by his attire, he was a disciple of the Beast Taming Hall.

"The Brother up ahead, please stop that Fire Mink; it's one of the Three Cave Masters' spirit beasts and must not come into contact with the lava. It won't withstand the high temperature!" The red-haired young man shouted as he ran, urgency in his voice.

Yuan Ming was startled.

From the young man's words, could it be that the Fire Mink intended to jump into the lava?

Although the Fire Mink's spiritual intelligence was not open yet, even an ant has the instinct to survive. Why would it jump into the lava?

Nevertheless, the Fire Mink was charging forward, its eyes filled with fervor, displaying a determination to never look back.

"It's not truly going to jump into the lava, is it!" Yuan Ming's expression changed slightly as he hurriedly pursued, shouting "Huo Chan'er," the name of the Fire Mink.

However, the Fire Mink, which was usually quite close to him, now completely ignored his calling and continued to run towards the volcano's lava, as if something there was extremely enticing to it.

The Fire Mink was running exceedingly fast. Even though Yuan Ming had unleashed Shadowless Step, he still couldn't catch up, and the distance between them was growing.

Yuan Ming remembered the life-saving grace of the Three Cave Masters and, gritting his teeth, activated Fur Cloak Skill.

White Ape Skin wrapped around him, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed into the form of a White Ape, greatly increasing his speed. However, he only managed to barely keep pace with the Fire Mink.

The gap between them and the volcanic lava was closing fast now, and with the speed of the Fire Mink, it would arrive at any moment.

Yuan Ming's eyes darted around, and he took out a piece of Fire Jade, throwing it in front of the Fire Mink.

He had seen the Three Cave Masters use a Red Crystal Stone to attract the Fire Mink before. Fire Jade, also being a Fire Attribute Ore, might be useful.

The Fire Jade traced an arc, landing precisely in front of the Fire Mink.

The Fire Mink looked towards the Fire Jade with a joyous bark, pounced towards it, and grabbed it with its mouth.

"It really works." A glimmer of joy flashed through Yuan Ming's eyes as he quickened his pace.

However, the Fire Mink tilted its head back and swallowed the Fire Jade in one gulp, then immediately resumed its run towards the front, pausing for no more than three breaths in total.

Yuan Ming's expression stiffened, but thankfully those three breaths gained him some time, and the distance between them closed slightly.

He continued the chase, albeit reluctantly extracting another piece of Fire Jade and throwing it out in front of the Fire Mink.

The Fire Mink seemed to have taken a liking to the Fire Jade, stopping once more to grab it, tipping its head to swallow it, and then carrying on its journey forward.

With the experience of grabbing the jade from before, this time the Fire Mink took only about two breaths.

"It really can eat." Yuan Ming muttered helplessly and continued to throw out pieces of Fire Jade.

Seven Spirit Jades were used up in the blink of an eye, but finally, the gap between them was narrowed to less than ten yards. However, the Fire Mink was also less than fifteen yards from the lava.

Yuan Ming seized the moment to cast a spell with a gesture, and the ground in front of the Fire Mink roared and a thick wooden thorn emerged from nowhere.

The Fire Mink nearly bumped into it, letting out a frustrated roar, and sidestepped to continue forward.

But another roar sounded from the side, and a large wooden thorn popped out, blocking its path once again.

Before the Fire Mink could react, the ground around it echoed continuously, and spikes kept emerging one after the other. In the blink of an eye, a wooden enclosure was formed, trapping the Fire Mink inside.

After circling in place a few times, the Fire Mink stopped abruptly and then leaped upwards.

These wooden spikes were only four to five feet tall, and the Fire Mink had a good jump. It easily leaped out.

Yet, as it had just leaped, a large white-furred hand reached out from the side and grabbed the Fire Mink by its back.

The Fire Mink flailed wildly, roaring incessantly, but in vain. Its neck and back were held tight, and all its struggles were futile.

Yuan Ming paid no attention to the Fire Mink as he immediately deactivated Fur Cloak Skill.

Each additional breath that Fur Cloak Skill was activated caused more evil energy to accumulate within his body. Although the Moonlight Technique seemed able to resolve it, he still intended to avoid using it if possible.

The White Ape Skin slid off him, grabbed in a rush and stuffed into his breast.

The Fire Mink, whether exhausted from roaring or seeing Yuan Ming's true body, suddenly became docile.

"Junior Brother Yuan, what brings you here?" A voice suddenly came from ahead, and two figures emerged from a depression in the terrain ahead. It was Mu Li and Chi Shu.

"What have you caught there? A Fire Fox? Be careful!" Mu Li frowned at the sight of the Fire Mink in Yuan Ming's hands, and his iron club was already poised to strike.

Within the Ten Thousand Mountains, many Fierce Beasts possess all sorts of bizarre abilities; it's always best to kill on sight. Hesitation could mean the difference between life and death.

Chi Shu began casting spells, and two human-head-sized fireballs appeared in front of him, ready for release.

"Both of you, hold your hands. This is a juvenile Fire Mink, a spirit beast of the Three Cave Masters!" Yuan Ming hurriedly placed the Fire Mink behind him and explained.

"The Three Cave Masters' spirit beast! Why is it here?" Mu Li was taken aback and drew back his iron club to ask.

"We probably have to ask him," Yuan Ming turned, looking back.

The red-haired young man, still panting from his rush, caught up and seeing the Fire Mink in Yuan Ming's hands, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief, bowed in thanks, and said, "Thank you… thank you so much, Brothers, for your help!"

By this time, they had arrived at the summit of the giant peak. The terrain was uneven, with many rocky outcrops providing cover. The young man had not seen Yuan Ming's actions, thinking it was due to Mu Li and Chi Shu's intervention that they had stopped the Fire Mink.