The scorching temperature caused the air to distort. Thick smoke filled the air, which was mixed with phosphorus and mercury, and a pungent smell assailed everyone's nostrils.

At the mouth of the volcano, Ou Yangming's gaze shifted, and he smiled sheepishly. "I didn't expect that obtaining Volcanic Ores is such a particular task." He did not care about what others thought of him, and he said it openly.

​​

Ling Yue smiled and explained, "An inch above the magma, there's a special barrier that can push out spiritual power. When taking the Volcanic Ores, you have to break the special barrier with a strong force then slowly dive down along the magma. It's not surprising that you failed in your first attempt; I tried 100 times before I succeeded."

Judging from his voice, it seemed that he was extremely proud of the fact that he succeeded after 100 tries.

The rogue cultivators at the side also turned to look at Ou Yangming. They looked contemplative but after a short moment, they no longer paid attention to him.

Generally speaking, it was extremely rare for one to succeed in drawing the Volcanic Ores within 100 times.

Ou Yangming calmed his mind and mobilized the spiritual power in his dantian. Just as he was about to try again...

"Even if you're an Advanced Spiritualist, you have to try hundreds or thousands of times before you can master the technique, and another hundreds and thousands of times before successfully obtaining a Volcanic Ore?" He smacked his lips and asked, "I wonder if half a month is enough? If you can't even get a Volcanic Ore by the end of the competition, it'll be funny."

Before the voice went away, Jian Chengzhe followed behind Gu Gengren and walked up with a face full of ridicule.

He had suffered a small loss to Ou Yangming previously, and he wanted to get back at the young fellow. With Gu Gengren's support, even if Ou Yangming was a caster, he would not be too afraid. The reason for this was, of course, Gu Gengren's rather legendary experience.

After playing the song of mountains and rivers in the courtyard, Gu Gengren broke through in an instant and went from being a mortal to an Advanced Spiritualist. No matter how one looked at it, he had more potential than a caster. Moreover, Jian Chengzhe was not stupid. He had investigated in secret long ago. The matter of Gu Gengren breaking through was real and not exaggerated at all.

Ou Yangming was calm. He was neither happy nor angry, and there was even a faint smile on his face.

On the contrary, Guan Yue's face turned cold. She stared at Jian Chengzhe and questioned coldly, "What if Brother Yu can take out a Volcanic Ore from the magma within 1,000 times?"

Ling Yue also focused. He looked over, and his aura condensed, but he did not say anything.

"So what if he does? Is that worth being proud of?" Jian Chengzhe rolled his eyes and asked shamelessly.

All of a sudden, a sneer echoed from the foot of the mountain. "Hmph, fellow friends, you're early, but what can you do? It'll take you 5 or 6 days just to learn how to draw Volcanic Ores, right? If you don't have talent, it might take you more than 10 days."

The voice exploded at the mouth of the volcano, splashing up the magma in the volcano up to about half a meter high. Following that, the hot air became even more distorted. 2 black whirlwinds started at the foot of the mountain and rolled to the mouth of the volcano. When they landed, 2 figures walked out from the black whirlwinds. They were Zuo Fengyu and Deng Pan.

Ou Yangming, Gu Gengren, Zuo Fengyu, and Deng Pan's eyes flickered. They looked at each other at the same time. Their eyes were filled with fighting spirits and even coldness.

At that moment, Gu Gengren moved. His eyes were smiling while his fingers plucked the strings of his zither. His spiritual power was contained in the sound wave and reached into the magma. Nonetheless, the moment the sound came into contact with the magma, a strange power shook it away.

Gu Gengren gasped and took a step back. A strange expression appeared on his face.

He tried again. This time, the force in his dantian was even more intense. The force was extremely strong. At the same time, he carefully observed all the changes in the magma. He did not miss a single detail. The young man was a little arrogant, but he had real abilities.

Ou Yangming chuckled and also used his powerful spiritual power to observe carefully to "lay the foundation" for his absorption of the Volcanic Ores.

As for Zuo Fengyu and Deng Pan, they were sneering. They were not in a hurry to absorb the Volcanic Ores. Instead, they crossed their arms over their chests and watched with great interest.

Once, twice, thrice...

After 9 times, Gu Gengren's face was slightly pale. Obviously, he had to pay a heavy price for this kind of consumption.

At the spur of the moment, Gu Gengren let out a soft roar and plucked the zither strings with his fingers. A green stream of light spread out, and a ripple that could be seen with the naked eye appeared in the space. It grabbed at a Volcanic Ore 10 meters below the magma.

The stream of light instantly dispersed the special blocking force about half a meter above the magma.

After roughly 15 minutes, a Volcanic Ore was taken out.

Zuo Fengyu and Deng Pan looked at each other and saw the shock in each other's eyes.

"10 times? Taking out a Volcanic Ore after 10 times? This kind of comprehension is too shocking!" Someone said in a shrill voice.

"Yeah, who's this person? A person with this kind of comprehension is surely not a nobody."

The people who had taken Volcanic Ores from the mouth of the Flaming Volcano gathered in groups of 2 or 3 and discussed in low voices.

"How's this possible?" Guan Yue's sexy little mouth opened, and her eyes were filled with disbelief. Even Ling Yue had a bitter expression on his face. He thought to himself, 'A person who could successfully take a Volcanic Or out after just 10 times could be ranked in the top 100 in the history of the Seven Stars Sect.

One must not think that the ranking was very low. The Seven Stars Sect had stood for thousands of years. In these thousands of years, how many geniuses had appeared? Being able to rank in the top 100 was a proud achievement.

Jian Chengzhe's face was full of joy. He lifted his shoulders and looked at Ling Yue, then he sneered. "Haha, Junior Brother Ling, it seems that your taste in people is very... Very ordinary! This time, Master's slot to enter the Big Ruins will definitely be Brother Gu's." When he said the last part, his expression changed. A flattering look could be seen on his face.

Even so, Ou Yangming looked like he had forgotten about humiliation. His eyes were deep like a boundless starry sky.

His heart and lungs contracted, and he exhaled a breath of hot air. With a thought, the spiritual Qi in his dantian flowed along his meridians, and he sent out his spiritual power, instantly shattering the strange barrier above the magma. Nevertheless, just as the young fellow's spiritual power entered the magma, his body staggered, and he took 3 to 4 steps back. His face also revealed a look of shock.

"What a pity!" Someone remarked.

"Yes, but since he found a way, he can bring out a Volcanic Ore within 100 times." A rogue cultivator with disheveled hair nodded and responded.

Gu Gengren, on the other hand, had a strange expression on his face, as well as a smile that was not a smile.

Even though Zuo Fengyu and Deng Pan were extracting Volcanic Ores, their eyes had been moving back and forth between their competitors. They knew that their opponents this time were tough. They did not hesitate any longer and immersed their thoughts into their minds, speeding up the process of obtaining the peculiar stones. It was not the first time at the Flaming Volcano, and they were also very familiar with the absorption of Volcanic Ores.

Once, twice...

On the eleventh time, Ou Yangming suddenly sucked in his spiritual power. A pale green Volcanic Ore flew out of the magma like a beam of green light and was caught by his fingers.

Jian Chengzhe saw this scene and screamed, "This is impossible!" His face was gloomy as if water was about to drip out.

Ling Yue was stunned at first, but then his face revealed an ecstatic expression. He shifted his gaze to Jian Chengzhe and said in a calm voice, "Senior Brother, it seems that my taste isn't worse than yours!" If Ling Yue knew Ou Yangming could take out the Volcanic Ore on the second time, what would he have thought...

As for why Ou Yangming only took out the Volcanic Ore on the eleventh time, he had his own considerations. He was well aware of the principle that a tree that stood out in the forest would be destroyed by the wind.

Moreover, he was still within the Seven Stars Sect range of influence. If his performance was too eye-catching, it would definitely arouse the suspicions of those who had ulterior motives.

As for taking out a Volcanic Ore on the eleventh time, though it was a little exaggerated, there was a precedent where Gu Gengren succeeded in taking out the rock 10 times, so it would not seem so abrupt anymore. Of course, Ou Yangming could also choose to take out the Volcanic Ore 50 times later but if he did that, he would be letting Jian Chengzhe get into a position of power. He did not take the insignificant ant to heart, but he had to consider Ling Yue and not be too passive.

The success on the eleventh time was decided by Ou Yangming after careful consideration.

After hearing what Ling Yue said, Jian Chengzhe's face turned into the color of a pig's liver. His body trembled non-stop, but he could not say a word. He could only blame himself for being too full of himself, he was forced back into reality.

When Ling Yue and Guan Yue saw what happened, they exchanged a look of tacit understanding and were incredibly excited.

However, Zuo Fengyu and Deng Pan's mood was not good and was even terrible. They had expected that Ou Yangming would be able to take a Volcanic Ore out of the magma within 100 times, but they did not expect him to succeed… During his eleventh attempt. '11 times! That was 11 times!' They roared in their hearts at the same time. 'Is there any justice in this? Back then, it took me 7 full days to take a Volcanic Ore out of the magma.'

Gu Gengren looked at Ou Yangming with a smile. His eyes were filled with fighting spirit.

His fingers gently moved the strings of the zither. Instantly, a wave of exquisite melody swept out in all directions with the zither strings as the core.

Immediately after, countless rays of green light shot out from the zither strings, dispersing the scorching aura in front of them. As they condensed together, they transformed into a pair of large hands that reached down toward the magma below. In an instant, the magma was like a giant rock that weighed 500 kilograms that had fallen into a lake.

An ore rock stirred up 1,000 layers of waves. Magma that was over 33 meters high rose up from the top and struck a mountain rock. At the bottom, it stirred up circles of ripples that were like waves. If that was all, it would have been fine, but the surging magma once again fell into the volcano. It was as if a heavy rain was pouring on the lake. It was dense, and the ripples once again erupted with even more intensity.

That said, the pair of large hands still did not stop. Bit by bit, they probed deeper into the depths of the magma.

The deeper they went, the more Volcanic Ores there were. After about 15 minutes, the large hands were placed together. With a sudden squeeze, they directly grabbed 7 green Volcanic Ores. Everyone witnessed this, and the shock it brought was indescribable. 'All along, the cultivators who come to the Flaming Volcano have been very careful when retrieving Volcanic Ores. However, this handsome young man could take out 7 Volcanic Ores in one go. Is this a legend?'