Ye Xiaoyao's appearance above the volcano was naturally no accident.
Having already seen through the profound mysteries of the Tianji Lihuo Map, he had deliberately triggered the restrictions when entering the vortex gate, causing himself to be teleported straight here.
While everyone else was teleported at random, Ye Xiaoyao's arrival was a completely targeted teleportation.
Even so, the moment he stepped through, rolling waves of heat rushed at him, and the sheer intensity of the fire energy still slightly exceeded Ye Xiaoyao's expectations.
Ye Xiaoyao hurriedly circulated his Cultivation Formula!
Instantly, the surging, scorching Lihuo heat transformed into crimson spiritual energy that coursed through his entire meridians before settling into his Dantian.
Outside, after all the youths entered the Tianji Lihuo Map, the map flickered with light and projected several names.
"Ao Tiancheng, one point; Luo Bingwu, two points; Nie Wenyuan, three points..."
Among the youths who had entered, the lucky ones had already found Fire Bodhisis, and the rankings on the projection were constantly shifting.
Zhu Heng: six points, seven points, ten points...
Gu Qingqing: nine points, thirteen points, eighteen points...
Soon, however, Gu Qingqing and the Third Prince Zhu Heng left the others far behind with an absolute advantage.
Yet the elders of the Lihuo Sect were not surprised.
For the others, finding Fire Bodhisis relied mostly on luck, whereas these two relied on special constitutions.
Meanwhile, having adapted to the volcanic heat, Ye Xiaoyao began to move.
He knew very well that the so-called Fire Bodhi was formed when the Tianji Lihuo Map absorbed the power of Lihuo and condensed it through its own array formations.
The reason he had chosen to teleport here was that he had sensed the Fire Bodhisis were most densely distributed in this area.
With a flash of his figure, he had already secured a Fire Bodhi. The moment he circulated his Cultivation Formula, the Fire Bodhi immediately transformed into pure fire spiritual energy that surged into his body.
Ye Xiaoyao felt a quiet surge of joy; the fire spiritual energy provided by just a single Fire Bodhi was several times greater than what he had absorbed from the surrounding air.
Following that, Ye Xiaoyao's figure flickered continuously as Fire Bodhi after Fire Bodhi fell into his hands.
At that moment, the various veins of the fire-spirit red leaf atop the Sword Dao Seed in his Dantian were also turning increasingly red.
As the Sword Dao Seed trembled slightly, Ye Xiaoyao felt a wave of scorching spiritual energy flood his entire body, causing his aura to undergo a sudden transformation.
He had broken through!
Feeling the power of the Spirit Sea Realm Second Layer, Ye Xiaoyao felt a quiet thrill, and his speed in gathering Fire Bodhisis grew even faster.
As a result, on the outside projection of the Tianji Lihuo Map, Ye Xiaoyao's ranking was climbing at a visible rate.
In a short moment, Ye Xiaoyao's score reached one hundred and eighty-seven points, putting him a full hundred points ahead of second-place Gu Qingqing.
Finally, he caught the attention of the Lihuo Sect elders.
"Could he be the fellow who was just teleported to the volcano?" Elder Qingyang was secretly startled.
The heat of the volcano was so intense that even those in the Spirit Pill Realm could not linger for long, which was why Elder Qingyang believed that Ye Xiaoyao would either crush his token to withdraw or stubbornly die inside.
"No, that kid seems to be able to sense the locations of the Fire Bodhisis in advance. Look, almost not a single step in his movement route is wasted!" One of the elders noticed this anomaly.
The other elders were equally astonished.
Fire Bodhisis would drop randomly across various locations after condensing; even if they were to go inside, achieving such precision would be difficult.
"It looks like he's been constantly absorbing the power of the Fire Bodhisis—he's already taken over two hundred. Could he also possess a fire spirit root?"
As soon as this was said, the elders realized that the moment Ye Xiaoyao got his hands on a Fire Bodhi, he would immediately absorb it.
In the entire space, only he, Gu Qingqing, and the Third Prince were capable of doing that.
Amid everyone's shock, Ye Xiaoyao, having hurriedly absorbed the power of the Fire Bodhisis, broke through once again, reaching the Spirit Sea Realm Third Layer.
At that moment, he finally understood why the young girl in his Dantian had wanted him to join the Lihuo Sect.
This kind of cultivation speed, boosted by external forces, was simply incomparable to steady, step-by-step cultivation.
By the time Ye Xiaoyao finished harvesting the Fire Bodhisis in this volcanic region, he had already reached the flat ground at the foot of the mountain.
Based on his understanding of the Tianji Lihuo Map, Ye Xiaoyao had long since discerned the true core of this space.
It was only because he had previously estimated his own strength to be insufficient to withstand the fire power of the core area that he had chosen this place first.
Now that he had broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm Third Layer, he naturally had the capital to explore the core. Thinking of the improvements this place had brought him, Ye Xiaoyao felt a growing sense of anticipation.
At that moment, three figures suddenly blocked his path.
"Isn't this Ye Xiaoyao?" A flash of obvious delight appeared in the eyes of one of them.
"Who are you..." Ye Xiaoyao frowned; he did not recognize the people before him.
"This little lord is Lu Ming, the one who will send you on your way!" Lu Ming's lips curled into a smirk, and the other two figures flashed.
They had already formed a triangular formation, trapping Ye Xiaoyao in the center.
"Send me on my way?" Ye Xiaoyao's gaze narrowed slightly!
Lu Ming sneered, "If we kill you, we can earn the favor of Miss Gu and the Third Prince. Is that reason enough?"
"Indeed, it is enough!" Ye Xiaoyao instantly understood what was going on, and the killing intent in his eyes grew thicker.
"Elder Qingyang..." Outside, Elder Tianfeng asked with some worry.
Ye Xiaoyao had only just broken through to the Spirit Sea Realm Third Layer, yet the three opponents all possessed the cultivation of the Spirit Sea Realm Fourth Layer. This was an absolute crushing of strength.
Originally, Elder Qingyang had already formed the array incantation in his hand, ready to teleport Ye Xiaoyao out at any moment.
However, upon hearing Lu Ming's final words, he dispersed the array incantation with eyes filled with killing intent.
"Since they entered the trial, the final outcome can only depend on their own strength and fate!"
The nearby elder could not help but look surprised.
According to Lihuo Sect tradition, disciples with exceptional talent deserved special care, and based on Ye Xiaoyao's performance, he clearly qualified.
What they did not know, however, was that Gu Qingqing had specifically sought out Elder Qingyang last night to express her willingness to become his disciple.
Now that he knew Gu Qingqing had a grudge against Ye Xiaoyao, he naturally hoped Ye Xiaoyao would not walk out alive.
After all, compared to the Supreme Bone, Ye Xiaoyao's meager talent fell far too short.
Just then, Lu Ming inside the Tianji Lihuo Map shouted coldly, "Do it! Don't give him a chance to crush his token!"
The other two naturally understood that they needed to kill Ye Xiaoyao to curry favor with Gu Qingqing and the Third Prince. If Ye Xiaoyao escaped, all their efforts would go to waste!
Immediately, with sharp cries, piercing sword whines tore through the air. Three spiritual swords slashed out fierce sword qi, forcefully ripping apart the scorching crimson heat in the air as they bore down upon Ye Xiaoyao with unstoppable force.
"Just this?" Ye Xiaoyao gave a disdainful smile!
He had to admit that any one of the three, taken individually, was not inferior in strength to Gu Han.
However, during this period, even though Ye Xiaoyao had been comprehending the Nine Dragons Fire Control Formula, the fire-spirit red leaf within his Dao Seed had continued to solidify.
His comprehension of the Sword Dao had risen accordingly.
Moreover, he was no longer at the Spirit Sea Realm First Layer; he was now at the Third Layer!
He didn't even need to use the power within the fire-spirit red leaf.
With a wave of his hand and a flash of cold light, three streams of sword qi instantly erupted with ear-piercing shrieks!
"You... Sword qi!"
Who could have expected that Ye Xiaoyao had already comprehended sword qi?
Furthermore, the three of them had launched a sneak attack, and by the time they sensed that something was wrong, it was already too late to dodge.
The three instantly twisted the tips of their swords and slashed toward the incoming sword qi.
Clang... Clang...
Relying on their extraordinary strength, the three managed to strike the sword qi, but the wild and fierce power within the sword qi directly knocked their spiritual swords aside, driving straight into their chests.
Ah... Ah... The chests of two of them were pierced clean through, and they crashed straight down.
Lu Ming, having sensed the sword qi early on, had prudently clutched his token in his hand.
Finally, just before the sword qi reached his body, a spatial ripple swept him out of the Tianji Lihuo Map...