"Enter the underground through the earthfire tunnels?"
Hearing this, Li Ye immediately shook his head with a wry smile. "Brother Deng, you think I haven't already tried that?"
"Oh? And what happened?"
Deng Tiancheng pressed further, clearly intrigued by the matter.
Li Ye noted his interest but replied with an even more helpless tone,
"After Luo Feibai stabilized his foundation establishment realm, the two of us joined forces and explored a seemingly stable tunnel…"
"The deeper we went, the more densely packed the fire beasts became. At first, it was mostly first-tier beasts not too hard to handle, just a bit of extra effort. Occasionally, a second-tier one would appear, which earned us a tidy profit..."
"But as the earth fire grew increasingly intense, the frequency of second-tier fire beasts surged. Eventually, we ran into five at once! Unable to fight them off, we had no choice but to flee in defeat."
As he spoke, Li Ye seemed to still feel a lingering fear.
"If those beasts hadn't been so reluctant to leave the earthfire-rich environment, and hadn't chased us, we might not have made it out alive!"
These words weren't false.
As fire beast appearances became more frequent and harder to suppress, Li Ye had deliberately stirred up attention. He brought Luo Feibai down for a short expedition, using certain means to lure a group of fire beasts, and staged a dramatic escape in full view of several other cultivators.
Though it slightly dented his reputation, once Luo Feibai, under Li Ye's instructions, disclosed what lay beneath, the public no longer cared about such superficial matters. Instead, they were gripped with fear over what might be lurking under the Chidi Mountains.
It was like living at the mouth of a volcano that could erupt at any moment.
At that point, Li Ye took swift action placing sealing formations at all visible tunnel entrances to block the fire beasts and protect those on the surface.
Although some fire beasts still managed to sneak out through less conspicuous paths, the chance to hunt them for profit helped greatly to ease the crisis.
The people of the Chidi Mountains welcomed him with cheers and admiration.
This move also helped Li Ye cover up the fact that he'd known about the situation underground far earlier.
He continued, his voice tinged with bitterness,
"The fire beast population seems vast and unfathomable far beyond my means to handle. For now, the best I can do is place formations at each passage to block them off as much as possible. Maybe once they lose interest in the surface world, this disaster will naturally subside..."
"To think it's gotten to this point…"
Deng Tiancheng murmured, his expression growing solemn.
"Brother Li, you should know fire beasts are only born under very specific conditions. If there's truly such a large population underground, it likely means there's some ancient remnant or legacy beneath the magma…"
"Whether it's an ancient battlefield or something else, it surely holds great fortune..."
"And now that such a thing appears beneath your territory, you mean to say you feel nothing at all?"
Here it comes.
Li Ye inwardly scoffed.
The massive fire beast activity had already caught the attention of many foundation establishment cultivators and factions.
He had even used tier-2 beast cores to refine Fire Cloud Pills, attracting many cultivators to join the effort in hunting and clearing out the fire beasts.
This both suppressed the growing threat and, more importantly, rapidly spread news of the anomaly.
It was only a matter of time before someone connected the dots.
Many had already suspected an underground legacy. But Deng Tiancheng was the first to have the confidence to say it to his face.
Thoughts racing, Li Ye put on a hesitant look,
"With such lurking dangers beneath, even if there is some legacy, I fear I lack the strength to explore it..."
That's the line I was waiting for!
Deng Tiancheng's eyes lit up as he immediately responded,
"If Brother Li trusts me and Senior Brother Fan, why not gather a few trusted allies and explore it together?"
"This is your territory, of course. If there's any harvest, the lion's share rightfully belongs to you!"
"Is that so..."
Li Ye appeared tempted, but then shook his head,
"You must understand, that my cultivation focuses on alchemy, formations, and spiritual sense areas where I surpass most ordinary cultivators. That day, when we were ambushed by those five beasts, I sensed something… something even more dangerous deeper inside."
"Just thinking about it now still gives me chills. I truly don't wish to venture in again..."
Deng Tiancheng's expression changed slightly
but it wasn't because of the danger Li Ye mentioned.
With his current cultivation already at the mid-foundation Establishment, he was confident that as long as he didn't give Li Ye the chance to set up formations, he could suppress him entirely in a fight.
The danger Li Ye considered overwhelming might not be the same for him.
But if Li Ye himself was unwilling to go down, then what reason could he possibly give to justify venturing into the earth fire tunnels to chase this great opportunity?
He was about to press further,
"Brother Li, are you willing to give up a fortune that's fallen right into your lap…"
But just then, Li Ye paused in thought and said,
"How about this instead…"
"Since Brother Deng believes that the fire beast nest within the underground fire veins could very well be an ancient remnant, and I'm unwilling to go down myself…"
"Then I'll simply open access through the formation. Any cultivator who provides a tier-2 fire beast crystal core or something of equal value can exchange it for a single chance to pass through the formation and explore below. If things go south, the formation will still serve as a fallback…"
"In this way, I can gain a bit of profit without needing to worry about others' gains or losses down there. What do you think, fellow Daoist?"
After all, whether he set restrictions or not, it was only a matter of time before someone snuck underground and uncovered the secrets of the molten dungeon.
Rather than let that happen unchecked, why not use it as a chance to profit and make the situation more manageable?
Who knows? If it drew the attention of a Golden Core cultivator one day, he might even avoid some trouble himself.
Deng Tiancheng's expression flickered a few more times before he finally gave a strange smile,
"So Brother Li is planning to turn this possible underground legacy into a… ticketed attraction?"
"A gimmick?"
Li Ye shook his head. "Weren't you the one who brought it up in the first place?"
"If you could think of it, you can be sure other cultivators will too… Rather than risk someone sneaking down and stirring up trouble, it's better to set clear terms. That way, everything's under control, and we can avoid unnecessary greed or conflict."
"And I still get something out of it. I won't have to feel bitter later for missing out on a potential opportunity. Honestly, it's a win-win for me and everyone else."
"Brother Deng… what do you say?"
Seeing the meaningful look in Li Ye's eyes, Deng Tiancheng forced a slightly awkward smile,
"Well, since Brother Li is so generous in his thinking… then I'll support you. I'll buy a ticket!"
From the way Li Ye was handling this, even if there was some secret underground, it was unlikely anyone would get to enjoy it alone.
In that case, he might as well be the first one to take the plunge.
"Excellent!" Li Ye's smile grew even wider.
Others might not know, but he was crystal clear about what lay down there.
A chaotic, dangerous mess, full of formation traps ranging from tier two up to tier four…
Endless tier-one fire beasts, tier-two ones lining up, and tier-threes appearing now and then…
And that broken Artifact Pavilion, still hiding some unknown spiritual treasure…
If he had any way left to squeeze more profit out of that place, he would never have taken it this far.
But at this point, the fire beasts were nearly out of control, and the formations were the only thing keeping them in check. Since everyone was so eager about the supposed legacy down there
Might as well let them go clear out the fire beasts for him!
He'd already scavenged through the outer zones for a few years, sweeping most of the area clean. Whatever scraps they found after that well, he could live with that.
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