As soon as they reached the next level, they were confronted with a sea of volcanoes and fire.
Thankfully, the small hut gifted to them by the Snow Maiden didn't disappear when they changed levels.
It saved them from being instantly incinerated by the raging flames upon entering.
Feeling the scorching heat outside, Zhang Zicheng smacked his lips and stared in disbelief. "I have to say, this hut is really something. A wooden hut can remain so intact in such high - temperature and fiery environment. There's not even a sign of it catching fire. It must be something extraordinary."
"The Snow Maiden is the incarnation of ice and snow. All her things carry her aura, so it's not strange that the hut won't burn. But now that the Snow Maiden has given this to us, and the hut is no longer supported by her, it probably won't last long."
Shen Weixun wasn't overly concerned, just thought it was a bit troublesome.
The small wooden hut was now standing beside a cliff.
Flames raged all around, just like the Fiery Mountain in *Journey to the West*.
They couldn't take a single step out.
"This fire seems strange," Niannian said, frowning as she lay on the window, carefully observing the burning flames outside.
"What's strange about it?"
Niannian's intuition was always accurate, and Shen Weixun would never ignore a single word from her.
Since Niannian said it was strange, there must be something wrong with these flames.
"These seem to be Yin fires."
"Yin fires?"
Both of them widened their eyes. It wasn't that they doubted Niannian's judgment, but they were a bit skeptical about their own knowledge.
Fires that emit scorching heat are Yang fires, with the power to burn everything.
Yin fires, on the other hand, should emit a cold aura, being bright but not burning.
The bright - yellow flames outside were obviously different from the Yin fires they had learned about in common knowledge.
"Yes, I can feel Yin qi and resentment in these flames. This is not the aura that Yang fires can emit. Only Yin fires can do this. But I can't figure out why these fires are so hot," Niannian scratched her head, starting to doubt her own knowledge.
Could there be a kind of fire in the world that emits both cold and scorching heat at the same time?
"We're now on the sixth level. The ghost we first met said that this scroll has a total of seven levels. She said she was sealed here, but later we proved that there is no seal in this space. So we can infer that there might be ghosts and spirits that have left here long ago.
That evil god must be hiding in one of these two levels. From now on, we have to be careful."
Although Shen Weixun couldn't feel the aura of the Yin fires outside through the wooden hut, he could think.
All the abnormalities here might be caused by ghosts, or perhaps by the evil god.
So from now on, they couldn't just actively look for the golden crown to fulfill their wishes and enter the next level.
Whenever they encountered anything strange, they had to use their most powerful moves.
But there was still a problem in front of them.
How could they get out?
Should they use Niannian's triangular talisman formation?
Although that formation could block cold, heat, and external attacks, the problem was that they couldn't fully use their skills inside it.
If they used it, it would be a situation where neither side could do anything to the other.
"Third senior brother, how about we use water talismans?"
Niannian said as she took out a handful of talismans from her small satchel.
It was really a handful.
Her small, delicate hands couldn't hold many papers, so the talismans in her hand were all crumpled, just to take out as many as possible.
"It's okay, but I don't know how long the water talismans can last outside," Shen Weixun thought for a while.
When a water talisman was attached to one's body, invisible water vapor would surround them.
Using water to overcome fire was of course the best way.
It could lower the temperature, protect them from burns, and they didn't have to worry about not being able to move freely.
But no one could guarantee how long a single water talisman could last.
They could only prepare as many spare ones as possible.
"How many water talismans do you have left?"
Shen Weixun could tell that the small handful in Niannian's hand was obviously not enough.
There were three of them in total.
"I can draw some now," Niannian scratched her head and showed a cute smile.
This answer already said it all.
The ones in her hand were all she had.
"Alright, you stay here and draw first. I'll go out with a talisman to test how long one talisman can last."
Shen Weixun had no doubt about his junior sister's ability and speed in drawing talismans.
Before the small wooden hut collapsed, he didn't have enough time to prepare.
Even if the small wooden hut finally collapsed, they could use these talismans to hold on.
Draw while using them.
But the premise was that they had to confirm the effectiveness of the talismans.
Shen Weixun directly attached a talisman to his body and stepped out of the door without hesitation.
Before he even walked out, a scorching heat rushed towards him.
The water talisman on his body worked. Although a lot of the heat like being roasted by a blazing fire was dispelled, he still felt like he was in the middle of a hot summer.
It showed how powerful the volcano here was.
Shen Weixun didn't go far. He just stood at the door of the wooden hut and quietly waited, looking at his watch to time it.
Time passed by minute by minute. When he finally couldn't stand the heat anymore, he retreated back into the wooden hut.
Compared to the outside, the inside of the wooden hut was as cool as if there was an air - conditioner running all year round.
After timing, he found that one talisman could only last for fifteen minutes.
"We don't know how long we'll have to stay on this level. We'd better draw as many as possible," Niannian didn't stop drawing since Shen Weixun went out.
The talismans had to be used, and it didn't matter whether they prepared early or late.
There was no place here for her to write.
Niannian lay on the ground, sticking out her little butt and writing her rather messy characters with a brush.
Gradually, they could also feel the heat inside the hut.
By this time, there was already a thick stack of talisman papers beside Niannian. There were probably a few hundred of them.
Seeing that it was almost enough and not wanting to waste any more time, Shen Weixun stepped forward, hugged Niannian to stop her, and evenly distributed the talismans, attaching them to himself and Niannian.
As for Zhang Zicheng, he was a grown - up and could take care of himself.
The three of them finally stepped out of the wooden hut and walked down along the only path on the cliff.
This path was hard to say it was easy to walk on, but it was extremely flat.
It was also hard to say it was difficult, but it seemed to have no end in sight.
Flames raged everywhere, and they couldn't feel any sign of living things.
After they really walked out, even Shen Weixun and Zhang Zicheng, who weren't very sensitive, could detect the Yin qi in the scorching flames.
What kind of spirit was sitting in this place?
Shen Weixun racked his brains, searching almost all his knowledge. There were only a few kinds of spirits that could create such a large expanse of flames, and most of them were divine beasts.
Don't tell them there was really a divine beast here.