After Qi Lingshan had killed the traitor, the next task was simple: find a way to rescue Xu Xing, who was trapped. To achieve this, the first step was to gather information about the situation inside the cave. Without understanding the circumstances, attempting a rescue would be futile.
Shen Feng pondered and said, "As for Qiuming, there's no need to go back. Since they are all ungrateful wretches, there's no need to save them. We don't need Qioming's oil anyway."
Shen Feng knew that the most important thing at the moment was to find a way to rescue Xu Xing. He immediately led his men towards the cave, the first priority being to gather intelligence about the situation inside. As for the tunnels dug by the marmots, they were now blocked, making it impossible to use them.
"City Lord, the hot spring is easy to cross. We can step on stones to get across, but dealing with the salamanders inside is troublesome. There are too many of them, and they are quite aggressive. Crossing the hot spring won't be that simple," Lu Xian quickly said.
If it were just the hot spring, Lu Xian wouldn't be too worried, as the hot spring didn't seem very deep, at most a meter or so in the deepest parts. The stone walls where the water emerged were shallow, and one could cross by stepping on stones.
However, it was impossible to believe that creatures living in water at over a hundred degrees Celsius would pose no threat. Animals living in harsh environments were certainly not to be trifled with. Moreover, and most importantly, Lu Xian didn't know if these salamanders were poisonous.
"In any case, let's try to cross the hot spring first. After we get across, we'll continue to scout the terrain," Shen Feng also found the salamanders troublesome, as he had never encountered such strange creatures and didn't know how strong they were.
Shen Feng and the other two then carried stones into the cave. Inside the cave, there were many large footprints, which, without a doubt, were left by the treants.
"Speaking of which, treants seem to be able to safely cross this hot spring. Do the salamanders not attack the treants? Also, why don't the treants catch the salamanders living here?" Qi Lingshan suddenly became curious. At this moment, he thought of a question. The food source for mutated plants relied on treants binding animals and bringing them into the cave to digest. Yet, there were many salamanders in the hot spring, but the treants didn't act, which was puzzling.
When Qi Lingshan said this, Lu Xian also found it strange. Shen Feng, on the other hand, explained, "That's because mutated plants also have intelligence. The current mutated plants have developed nervous systems and learned to think, which is why Xu Xing was betrayed. And, most importantly, leaving the salamanders living in the hot spring can serve as bodyguards to block enemies entering the cave. Why not?"
Others had not encountered mutated plants, but Shen Feng had seen many. He knew very well that the current mutated plants possessed the ability to think. Therefore, keeping the salamanders as guard dogs was a good choice.
After hearing Shen Feng's explanation, Qi Lingshan understood why the mutated plants left the salamanders in the cave untouched, using them as a defensive force. Their intelligence was indeed not simple.
After descending several hundred meters underground, there was no light to be seen. There were no lighting facilities here, so Shen Feng had to turn on his flashlight to illuminate the cave. It was hard to imagine such a hidden place deep in the forest, and even more so a warm place underground in the icy Siberian wilderness.
Generally, hot springs are always associated with volcanoes because the heat released by magma is transferred to the hot springs, causing them to have very high temperatures. However, Siberia, in theory, should not have hot springs. Shen Feng couldn't figure out where the hot springs came from if there were no volcanoes.
"City Lord, look over here. It seems we don't need to throw stones anymore. There's already a path on the rock face," Lu Xian said at this moment, discovering something on the rock face. Shen Feng also shone his flashlight in that direction.
Shen Feng suddenly discovered that on the rock face, there was a row of neat rock pitons. These pitons were already showing signs of rust due to the steam. These pitons were likely left by the people who entered the cave about a month ago.
In the steam-rich cave, steel rusted very quickly. A casual wipe of the pitons revealed a thick layer of rust. In another half a year, these pitons would become unusable.
However, for now, the pitons could still support the weight of an adult, but one needed to maintain balance on them. Otherwise, if one fell into the hot spring, they would be cooked.
"Alas, all that effort was in vain. We brought over eighty catties of large stones from outside, but they are useless," Shen Feng said helplessly. It was all due to the salamanders disrupting the observation plan yesterday, causing them not to discover the pitons on the wall. Fortunately, they only carried three stones, which was not a big deal.
"Put the stones aside and follow me. Let's go before we alert the salamanders," Shen Feng urged.
After Shen Feng finished speaking, he took the lead, stepping on the pitons, holding onto the wall with one hand and his flashlight with the other, and then walked towards the depths of the cave. The other two quickly followed Shen Feng's footsteps. The cave was very quiet. As the three walked on the rusty pitons, rust kept falling into the hot spring. Fortunately, the rust on the pitons was not too severe. Otherwise, the three would have had to resort to primitive methods, using stones to build a path on the ground, which would have taken at least one or two days.
As the three walked quietly, the surface of the hot spring suddenly changed. Salamanders with red skin emerged from small caves on both sides. These salamanders were only about the size of rabbits. Judging by their size, they didn't seem like much. Even an eight-year-old child could deal with them. However, it must be remembered that these salamanders emerged from hot springs at over a hundred degrees Celsius. Animals living in extreme environments should never be underestimated.
With this in mind, Shen Feng immediately used "Wind Following," stepping on the pitons. A second later, Shen Feng was already on the shore ahead, where the terrain had undulations, and the hot spring could not spread.
Lu Xian, in the middle, saw Shen Feng flash past and run ahead, and couldn't help but question, "City Lord, you're too disloyal! You've gone ahead, what about us?"
Dozens of salamanders had already appeared in the hot spring, surrounding the remaining two on the pitons. The pitons were only about forty to fifty centimeters above the surface of the hot spring.
Shen Feng, standing on the shore, quickly said, "Stop complaining and hurry up! Aren't I covering for you?"
Shen Feng could stand on the water, so he wouldn't sink if he fell in. However, Shen Feng didn't want to get close to these unknown salamanders, so he went ashore directly. Seeing Lu Xian and Qi Lingshan on the pitons threatened by the salamanders, he quickly fired wind blades to prevent the salamanders from approaching.
"Swish, swish..." Wind blades were fired one after another, instantly hitting the approaching salamanders in the hot spring. The salamanders were killed one after another. However, when the salamanders died, their bodies would release crimson blood. The originally pale green hot spring was immediately dyed bright red by the salamander blood.
However, in the dim light of the cave, Shen Feng couldn't clearly see the location of the salamanders. Especially after more than twenty salamanders were killed and the hot spring was dyed red, the salamanders' bodies were already red, making it even harder for Shen Feng to determine their location.
Lu Xian and Qi Lingshan were advancing as quickly as possible. If it were on the ground, a distance of fifty meters would be nothing. They could reach it quickly, in just a few seconds. But now, the two of them were standing on the pitons, and it was not easy to maintain balance, not to mention the constant worry of falling. It was not easy to quickly reach the shore.
Taking advantage of Shen Feng's inability to see the salamanders clearly, the red-skinned salamanders in the hot spring rapidly approached, surrounding Lu Xian and Qi Lingshan on the pitons. This location was still more than ten meters away from the shore, not too far, but not too short either.
"Damn it, I didn't want to provoke you, but you're pushing your luck. You're provoking me so much, do you really think I have no temper?" Qi Lingshan, finding himself surrounded, couldn't take it anymore. He had retreated time and again, and these primitive creatures were getting bolder. Since that was the case, he wouldn't hold back.
Qi Lingshan immediately unleashed his ability. A stream of liquid nitrogen flowed down. The low temperatures achievable by current industry are basically achieved using liquid nitrogen, capable of reaching tens of degrees below zero. Now, as liquid nitrogen flowed down and landed on the surface of the hot spring, it immediately made a "hissing" sound. Large amounts of white mist appeared in the air. The clash of cold and heat caused the temperature in the water to change drastically, sometimes over a hundred degrees Celsius, and sometimes dropping to over ten degrees.
As a result, the salamanders in the water couldn't stand it. These salamanders could live in hot springs, but they had no tolerance for cold temperatures. The water near Qi Lingshan's area became alternately cold and hot. Such drastic temperature changes caused the salamanders to feel intense pain throughout their bodies.
Subsequently, the unbearable salamanders immediately began to flee from Qi Lingshan's vicinity, clearing a patch of water.
Qi Lingshan hadn't expected his ability to be so effective, directly repelling the salamanders in the hot spring. If he had known it would be so effective, why would he have been in such a hurry?
"One thing conquers another. I am the nemesis of you primitive creatures," Qi Lingshan said directly.
Salamanders are very primitive animals. Generally, they are not found in the wild, only in deep caves and remote places. They have looked the same for millions of years, and they will still look the same millions of years from now. Therefore, to many people, ugly creatures like salamanders are primitive species.
Lu Xian dared not be careless. Even though the salamanders had temporarily stopped attacking, it was best to hurry to the shore to avoid any further trouble.
"Stop the nonsense and let's get to shore quickly. Be careful not to fall in and get cooked," Lu Xian said, quickly approaching the shore.
On the other hand, Qi Lingshan walked unhurriedly, seemingly unconcerned about the salamanders in the water. After all, he only needed to continuously release liquid nitrogen to lower the temperature in the hot spring. Under such circumstances, the salamanders dared not approach, and Qi Lingshan was not worried about being attacked.
Lu Xian quickly reached the shore. Upon reaching the shore, he saw Qi Lingshan walking slowly. At this moment, a salamander suddenly leaped out of the water and lunged at Qi Lingshan. Lu Xian quickly shouted a warning, "Watch behind you."
Qi Lingshan had also seen the salamander emerging from the water. He quickly drew the long sword at his waist and slashed down. The salamander was split in two, and its blood sprayed out, falling onto Qi Lingshan's face.
"Ah, it's so hot! It's boiling water." As the blood landed on Qi Lingshan's face, the moment it came into contact with his skin, he felt intense pain.
Then, Lu Xian rushed to the shore, found a handkerchief in his backpack, and began to wipe, cleaning the salamander blood from his face.