"You should thank him instead, we didn't contribute much, and we dare not take any credit," Chi Shu glanced at Yuan Ming and said to the redhead youth.

"Thank you, Senior Brother. I owe you a lot today; otherwise, I would have been in big trouble," the redhead youth hurriedly bowed in gratitude to Yuan Ming.

"I don't deserve the title 'Senior Brother.' I am Yuan Ming from the Fire Refining Hall, recently entered Biluo Cave. These two are disciples from the Refining Furnace Hall, Mu Li, and from the Law and Regulations Hall, Chi Shu. May I know your name?" Yuan Ming did not explain further but introduced Mu Li and others before asking.

"I am Lei Gong, a disciple of the Beast Taming Hall," the redhead youth scratched his head and hurriedly introduced himself.

"So, you are Senior Brother Lei Gong. I have seen this Fire Mink before; it is the beloved spirit beast of the Three Cave Masters. Why did you bring it here?" Yuan Ming handed over the Fire Mink and asked.

Lei Gong quickly reached out to catch it, but as soon as the Fire Mink touched his hands, it violently struggled and even squealed sharply, fiercely scratching the young man's hand.

The claws of the Fire Mink were quite sharp; Lei Gong's hand was immediately slashed with several knife-like wounds, from which blood gushed out.

He cried out in pain, and his hand loosened, dropping the Fire Mink.

Yuan Ming quickly reached out and caught the Fire Mink.

Strangely enough, as soon as the Fire Mink reached Yuan Ming's hands, it became docile, not only stopping the struggle but also gently rubbing its head against his body.

Seeing this scene, Lei Gong, Mu Li, and Chi Shu all showed surprised expressions.

"I didn't expect Junior Brother Yuan to not only be skilled in artifact refining but also proficient in the Beast Taming Technique!" Lei Gong said.

"I've only recently joined the sect. I don't know much about the Beast Taming Technique. I just had the fortune to encounter the Three Cave Masters in the Ten Thousand Mountains earlier, and I followed her for a while, taking care of this Fire Mink. Perhaps it still remembers me," Yuan Ming explained half-truthfully.

"So, that's the reason," Lei Gong uttered, his eyes showing a tinge of disappointment.

Mu Li and Chi Shu exchanged glances upon hearing about Yuan Ming's familiarity with the Three Cave Masters, their eyes subtly shifting as they looked back at him.

Gaa...

A sharp and piercing cry rang out as the Golden-eyed Eagle flew over, with Lan Ke and Agula standing on its back. They had evidently noticed the situation here and rushed over. For character sheets and glossaries, visit *.

"Lei Gong, why are you here too?" Lan Ke jumped down from the eagle's back, asking Lei Gong with a familiar tone.

Agula also jumped down right after, his chest visibly broader than before, clearly having gained something significant in these moments.

"It's because of this Fire Mink, Senior Sister Lan Ke," Lei Gong nodded in greeting and said with a bitter smile.

"You didn't happen to take up that task from the Three Cave Masters, did you?" Lan Ke looked at the Fire Mink in Yuan Ming's hands and asked.

"Yes, I didn't think it through enough. This task turned out to be much harder than I anticipated. If it weren't for Junior Brother Yuan and their help today, I nearly messed it up. It seems my talent in Beast Taming is insufficient; I should stop here with this task," Lei Gong sighed.

"What are you two talking about? Don't just keep it to yourselves; let us hear as well. Is Lei Gong Brother on a sect mission?" Mu Li asked with a frown.

They were here to collect Fire Jade and did not want to get involved in other matters.

"Don't worry, Junior Brother Mu Li. The task I mentioned is just taking care of this Fire Mink, issued by the Three Cave Masters. It won't affect our collection of Fire Jade," Lan Ke said.

"Taking care of a Fire Mink? There's such a task?" Yuan Ming showed a surprised expression.

Just taking care of a spirit beast, yet a task needed to be issued? If the Fire Mink is really naughty, just confine it.

"Junior Brother Yuan, you don't understand Beast Taming. Raising a spirit beast isn't just about feeding them well; it also involves carefully handling their emotions and guiding their temperament. This Fire Mink is still in its juvenile stage, a time when it's lively and active. Keeping it confined for a long time will affect its growth. The Three Cave Masters are usually busy and have no time, which is why this task was issued," Lei Gong explained.

"I see. It's just that I didn't see this task in the Execution Hall?" Yuan Ming asked.

"The Execution Hall is crowded and busy. The Three Cave Masters didn't publish this task openly, but just notified those of us in the Beast Taming Hall, so it didn't appear on the task stele," Lei Gong explained.

Yuan Ming acknowledged, and just as he was about to say something, the Fire Mink suddenly struggled fiercely and jumped out from his arms to the ground.

Yuan Ming was startled and about to reach out to catch it again when the Fire Mink didn't run away but instead bit Yuan Ming's clothes and pulled him toward a further place.

"Gaa gaa gaa!" Lan Ke's Golden-eyed Eagle also screeched sharply, looking towards the giant peak of the volcano in alarm.

Everyone present was stunned.

Just then, the ground beneath their feet suddenly shook violently. With everyone's strengths, they nearly fell over.

Before they could stabilize themselves, the ground shook a second time, then a third...

Yuan Ming's face paled as he steadied himself against a large rock nearby.

At that moment, a thunderous rumble came from deep within the earth, like countless rolling thunders, the ground shook violently, as if an unstoppable force had suddenly erupted.

Facing this mighty force, the people present felt like saplings in a fierce wind, completely unable to resist, their bodies were thrown into the air.

Following that, a "boom" sound erupted from a distance!

Yuan Ming barely managed to raise his head, and his expression drastically changed.

The crater of the volcano shook violently, and a massive pillar of magma burst forth. Countless red-hot magma flowed down the sides of the giant peak.

The area where they stood was also swept by the flowing magma.

Yuan Ming immediately activated the Fur Cloak Skill, transforming into the form of a White Ape.

White Ape, strong and heavy, became much steadier in ape form, precariously bolting down the mountain.

Lan Ke and the others also hurriedly used their methods, fleeing desperately into the distance.

At that moment, everyone could only look out for themselves; they had no regard for others.

Yuan Ming rolled and crawled to escape into the distance, not knowing how many times he fell, but he eventually made it to the foot of the mountain.

If not for the White Ape's thick skin, he would have been bloodied by the impacts.

Even with the protection of the ape skin, he was battered to the point of having a swollen face and bleeding from his nose and mouth, his head buzzing.

But now was not the time to rest, as the surging lava had reached close behind him, melting and submerging everything in its path.

"Squeak squeak squeak..." The cries of the Fire Mink came from ahead, dashing agilely towards a low hill on the right, unaffected by the shaking ground.

Yuan Ming's eyes lit up, and he immediately headed there, arriving quickly at the foot of the low hill.

He activated the White Ape Beast Skin, his ten fingers sprouting sharp ape claws that easily pierced into the rock, quickly climbing toward the top of the hill.

The torrential lava flowed swiftly, rushing down to several miles below the mountain before gradually stopping, engulfing everything in fiery red lava.

The ground movements caused by the volcanic eruption gradually subsided, and the ground slowly calmed down.

By this time, Yuan Ming had climbed to the top of the low hill, deactivated Fur Cloak Skill, and lay sprawled out, gasping for breath with lingering fear.

The Fire Mink lay beside him, seeming very quiet.

"Huo Chan'er, thanks a lot this time," Yuan Ming gently stroked the head of the Fire Mink.

Had it not been for the Fire Mink's alert, running to this low hill for refuge in time, he would most likely have been submerged by the lava now, his body lost forever.

He closed his eyes and rested for a moment, then got up and looked around for traces of other people.

Lan Ke, Mu Li, and others had Flying Spiritual Beasts; as long as they could summon them in time to fly high, they should be able to escape to the heavens.

That Lei Gong seemed to have no Flying Spiritual Beast; it was unknown if he had escaped.

The surroundings were covered in fiery red molten lava, not a bird in sight, let alone people.

Yuan Ming shook his head and surveyed the area around the hill.

Three sides were already covered by lava, but fortunately, there was still an area without lava behind, leaving a path.

Yuan Ming pondered briefly, picked up the Fire Mink, and walked that way.

"Squeak squeak squeak…" Passing by a certain place, the Fire Mink suddenly began to scream excitedly, its eyes fixated intently on a patch of lava not far away, revealing a longing in its gaze.

Yuan Ming stopped, looking in the direction of the Fire Mink's gaze.

"Huh!" He raised his eyebrows and signaled with a gesture.

The ground in the lava area roared loudly, and a large Wooden Thorn emerged, already charred black.

Inside the Wooden Thorn, stubborn green lights resisted the burning of the lava, bending outward sharply, like a large hand splashing water.

"Splash," a patch of lava was flung by the Wooden Thorn, landing not far in front of Yuan Ming.

An elongated object rolled out from the lava, revealing a fiery red object, about a foot long, curved in shape, resembling the horn of an Exotic Beast.

The horn shimmered with red light as if flames were burning on its surface.

Yuan Ming's eyes lit up; although this Fiery Red Horn didn't emit much Spiritual Power fluctuation, just its appearance was extraordinary, far surpassing the Fire Jade, likely a high-grade Spirit Material.

The Fire Mink had earlier rushed towards the lava crazily, was it for this object?

The Fire Mink cheered, turned into a blur as it pounced fiercely, biting onto the Fiery Red Horn, seemingly trying to swallow it.

"Stop, no, hold your bite!" Yuan Ming hurriedly lunged over, grabbing the other end of the Fiery Red Horn.

This object was not some low-level spiritual material like the Fire Jade; any High-grade Spirit Material was exceedingly valuable, letting the Fire Mink eat it like that would be a huge loss.

The Fire Mink bit stubbornly onto the Fiery Red Horn, exhibiting astonishing strength such that even Yuan Ming, using almost all his strength, could not wrest it away.

He was inwardly anxious and was about to use another method to snatch the horn when he suddenly noticed that the Fire Mink's teeth couldn't even scratch it; its sharp teeth didn't leave any marks at all.

Yuan Ming relaxed, no longer struggling, and watched the Fire Mink with a smile.

The Fire Mink bit at the horn again and again, its teeth almost going sour, yet it couldn't move the horn an inch, eventually giving up reluctantly with a disappointed look.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming then picked up the Fiery Red Horn, examining it closely in front of his eyes.

The object was hot to the touch but not burning, and it felt quite comfortable in his hand; peculiar flame patterns naturally appeared on the horn's texture, as if they were innate.

"What Exotic Beast's horn is this, that it can be perfectly preserved in the lava?" Yuan Ming thought secretly, his eyebrows suddenly raising.

He stood not far from the molten rock, the surrounding heat unbearable, continuously cultivating to resist, but upon obtaining this Fiery Red Horn, the scorching heat also seemed to weaken a lot, was the Fiery Red Horn isolating the surrounding heat?