Lin Mu and Little Shrubby had a few battles during their travel to the volcano but were still unhurt. Though they were certainly tired. Normally such travel would not have exhausted them even if they traveled for over a month without stop.
But when one added battles against other Nascent soul realm beasts and core condensation realm beasts, it meant that their spirit Qi stores would be used up and slow them down.
They thus needed to take breaks from time to time to rest and recuperate before they could head on ahead. After all, if they tried to rush through without properly resting, they might be in greater danger than normal.
After all, the same attacks they faced could become deadly if they had no spirit Qi to defend with or deal with the situation appropriately. But on the plus side, this also gave them the opportunity to eat the beast corpses that they had obtained during this time.
Unlike the last time when they only had saw toothed Tuna and the Green tailed howler monkey chief to eat, they now had over four Nascent soul realm beasts to eat for each person.
They took full advantage of it and ate two beasts each that night.. Of course, the scent of the cooking meat attracted several more beasts but that was just more bonus for Lin Mu and Little Shrubby as they were basically serving themselves for later.
"So this is called a volcano?" Little Shrubby questioned.
"Yes." Lin Mu replied.
"I've never seen one before." Little Shrubby spoke.
"I haven't either. I've only read and heard about them." Lin Mu replied.
"Why are they so hot and what's the hot liquid coming out of it?" Little Shrubby questioned.
"Hmm… from what I've read, the hot liquid coming out of it is called lava. And that hot liquid is what exists deep within the earth. I've even heard that the inside of the world is a fireball that continues to burn. But I don't know if that is true or not." Lin Mu replied.
"A fireball? Like the sun?" Little Shrubby asked.
"Maybe." Lin Mu replied.
"You're half correct." Xukong suddenly spoke.
"Oh? So what's the reality senior?" Lin Mu questioned.
"The lava does indeed come from deep within the earth. And the thing about a fireball burning within the world can be considered to be half correct. But it's not actually a fireball… rather it's a mass of different materials all being melted together and burning.
They form into a massive ball that is under a great pressure. The pressure is so much that it can't turn into liquid and neither can it become gas. Thus even at a great temperature, it continues to be in a solid state.
This is what constitutes as the 'core' of the world. It contains a great attraction force that keeps the world together. It also spins in the center of the world keeping the world stable.
If anything happens to it or if it stops, the entire world would be destroyed.
As for that lava you see, it is a mixture of molten rocks and many other minerals." Xukong explained.
"I underhand senior." Lin Mu said, finding the information really interesting. He also explained this to little Shrubby who was intrigued.
The two of them got closer and close to the volcano, with Little Shrubby finding it to be rather comfortable. Lin Mu on the other hand didn't feel the heat due to the armor of the mortal strengthening scripture and freely walked.
"This place is really good!" Little Shrubby said while purring.
The heat made Little Shrubby's body glow slightly and his fur was also glowing slightly.
"This place is indeed suitable for you, the fire elemental spirit Qi is in high concentration here. Even more than the Hong Lin forest." Lin Mu spoke after sensing the air.
"It might do you two good to spend some time here. You can probably find some fire attribute herbs that only grow here. Little Shrubby can cultivate here and even you can try and see if you can further your five treasures realm cultivation.
And even if that doesn't work you can still absorb some fire attribute spirit Qi into your Dantian. You have more than enough space anyway." Xukong suggested.
"Alright senior. We'll do as you say. We can take a day's break here anyway." Lin Mu replied.
He then looked at Little Shrubby and said, "we'll stay here for a bit and cultivate."
"Yay~" Little Shrubby growled in pleasure. "I want to see what would happen if we grill meat on the lava!"
Hearing that idea Lin Mu raised his brows and wondered what would happen too. While the temperature was high enough to burn most things, Nascent soul realm beast meat was still tough enough to withstand it for a bit.
"Very well, let's try that out tonight. But first, we cultivate." Lin Mu said.
"Okay~" Little Shrubby said.
The two of them found a suitable location that was near two flowing rivers of lava and sat down. The ground below them was actually quite smooth, almost looking like glass though it was a bit uneven in its shape.
The ground was warm too and it felt rather comfortable to sit on. Lin Mu took out a few large pillows for him and Little Shrubby and they sat down to cultivate.
Thirty minutes passed rather calmly before finally the fire attribute spirit Qi in the air started to flow. It swirled around the area before gathering over Little Shrubby and Lin Mu's bodies.
~shua~
A majority of the fire attribute spirit Qi was sucked into the body of Little Shrubby while about 5% of that was taken in by Lin Mu. Lin Mu was simply using the Embrace of Hong Lin to absorb the fire attribute spirit Qi into his body.
Even if he had no Qi skill that used the fire attribute spirit Qi, it could still be used by him for some attacks. He could use it in replacement for normal spirit Qi and add the fire element to that attack.