"These ore crystals are generally scattered at the bottom of the magma, but there are very few. You can occasionally find them with your divine sense.
We are too close to the entrance here; the ore crystals have long been picked clean by previous explorers.
Besides these, there are also hidden mountain ranges beneath these magma seas. Ore crystal veins occasionally appear in the mountains. If you can find one, you'll be rich.
Fire lotuses are even rarer and contain far more energy than ore crystals. However, fire lotuses are usually guarded by lava behemoths. When they mature, the behemoths will pluck the fire lotuses to eat and enhance their cultivation.
Therefore, where there are behemoths, there may not necessarily be fire lotuses, but where there are fire lotuses, there are definitely behemoths."
"What are the cultivation levels of these behemoths?"
"It varies. Some are strong, some are weak. The weak ones are only around the Mortal Realm, while the strong ones could even be in the Tai Heng Realm."
"Alright, thank you."
Seeing how obedient and cooperative the other party was, Wan Lei gave up the idea of robbing him.
Wan Lei, the notorious bully of the Central Region, was famous for his love of robbing others. However, as his cultivation and status grew, he rarely engaged in such activities.
One reason was that he had become wealthy. Another was that he, as the殿主 (Dianzhu - Hall Master) of the Thunder Emperor Hall, His Majesty the Thunder Emperor, had to consider his reputation.
He couldn't go out robbing low-level cultivators every day.
However, upon arriving in the Immortal Realm, he immediately became poor again.
This was because he had left most of his spirit stones and magical treasures at the Thunder Emperor Hall. Moreover, his wealth was relative.
To a cultivator in the Mortal Realm, he was indeed quite wealthy. But this amount of money, when placed in the Immortal Realm, especially in the wealthiest, most prosperous, and most powerful Immortal Realm, meant that he, His Majesty the Thunder Emperor, was truly poor.
Although he wasn't yet troubled by poverty or facing a situation where he couldn't afford a single coin, the clever Thunder Emperor had acutely sensed his lack of funds. Thus, he began to ponder how to rob others in his mind.
Bah!
He started planning how to find benevolent individuals who would generously donate to him.
The six of them flew forward at a leisurely pace. After a full two days, they hadn't encountered anyone or found a single ore crystal.
At this point, the slow-witted Wan Lei finally realized that these areas had all been searched by others. If he didn't move forward, he would truly miss out on everything.
They quickened their pace and flew deeper.
The six of them were relatively spread out, ensuring the widest possible area for divine sense detection while keeping everyone within each other's sight to provide prompt support in case of a sneak attack.
After all, if they were too far apart, one couldn't expect anyone to have time to call for help if they were attacked.
The group continued searching for another five days. Although they encountered other immortals along the way, there were no conflicts.
Just as Wan Lei was feeling bored, a cluster of flames emanating from a dark mountain peak ahead caught his attention.
The flames looked no different from the flames rising from the magma, but their aura was more refined. It definitely indicated something valuable.
Wan Lei flew over without hesitation, reached the low mountain, and grabbed out. The cluster of flames was absorbed by him.
As the flames dispersed, an irregularly shaped, fiery red crystal appeared in Wan Lei's hand.
"Hey, I found an ore crystal here."
Wan Lei quickly beckoned for everyone to come over.
When they arrived, they all curiously examined the ore crystal in Wan Lei's hand.
"This is a lava ore crystal? It doesn't look that special, just that it contains much more energy than spirit stones."
Wan Lei muttered, then handed the ore crystal to Dadu. Dadu looked at it and passed it to Fang Xiaoyu. They took turns examining it, at least to remember its aura and appearance for easier identification later.
Fang Xiaoyu looked at it for a moment and then passed it to Yuan Jun, who then passed it to Fire Phoenix.
As Fire Phoenix held it, before she could examine it closely, the ore crystal vanished.
"Huh? Why is it gone?"
Qingwu, who was beside her, widened her eyes and tugged at Fire Phoenix's sleeve, complaining,
"I haven't even seen it yet, and you absorbed it. How can you be so mean? This was found by Big Brother, it belongs to all of us. How can you absorb it yourself? You're so selfish."
"I... I didn't want to either. The moment I touched it, it transformed into power and entered my body. Next time I find one, I'll give it to you..."
Fire Phoenix was speaking helplessly when her brow suddenly furrowed, and her expression turned somewhat pained.
"Fire Phoenix, what's wrong? Is this thing poisonous?"
Everyone was greatly alarmed.
Immediately after, Fire Phoenix's entire body turned red. She soared into the sky and transformed into her true form.
A lava giant phoenix with a body tens of thousands of feet long, as large as a city, appeared. Rocks spewing flames covered her body, and magma flowed within the rocks.
Fire Phoenix let out a skyward cry, but her voice was not of pain, but of exhilaration.
Wan Lei and the others clearly felt that the aura within Fire Phoenix had increased.
It wasn't a lot, but it wasn't insignificantly small either.
"A single ore crystal can increase cultivation so much. This ore crystal doesn't just increase energy; it can directly boost cultivation."
If a person were compared to a container, then spiritual energy would be the water within the container. Whether for battle or other activities, daily consumption was of this water. Spirit stones and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth could replenish this water.
However, increasing cultivation meant directly enlarging the container, allowing it to hold more water.
Replenishing spiritual energy was simple, but increasing cultivation was extremely difficult.
"Fire Phoenix is inherently a lava giant phoenix. This place is practically her origin, and this ore crystal is the most suitable item for her race to cultivate.
After pondering for a moment, Wan Lei looked at Dadu.
"Brother Dadu, how about this: this item is very important to us. We will all search with all our might, and I'll give you twenty percent of what we find. The rest will go to Fire Phoenix for cultivation. What do you say?"
"Deal."
Dadu agreed without hesitation.
Actually, only the three of them had registered. Fire Phoenix and the others were brought along. Logically, Dadu should have received one-third.
However, Dadu could also see that this item was crucial for Fire Phoenix's cultivation and not important to him. He wasn't lacking in spirit stones, nor did he need the bonus points from the Five Elements Hall. So, he decided to do Wan Lei a favor.
"If anyone tries to rob us, you'll get half of the spoils we obtain."
Wan Lei didn't want his friends to suffer losses, so he offered other benefits as well.
Dadu was a bit bewildered upon hearing this, feeling as if they were about to do something illicit.
"Let's go, everyone. Let's go help Fire Phoenix find ore crystals."
Wan Lei beamed. He even hoped that if these ore crystals could help Fire Phoenix break through to the Immortal Realm, then his gang... his team's combat power would become even stronger.