“In any case, I still need to rely on him to get out of here today.” “Very well, but you must guarantee my safety, otherwise I won’t go. Threatening me with anyone won’t work.” Feng Miaojun gripped him tightly and articulated clearly, “Swear a poisonous oath that I will be safe and sound, with no part of my body missing, and also—” Remembering Ao Yu’s sharp laughter before death, she swallowed and added, “Also that I won’t become a veget… won’t become a walking corpse!”

Yun Ya looked at her with a somewhat strange expression. Had this girl’s brain been addled by the dense smoke and steam? What would he gain by turning her into a walking corpse—preserve her as a little salted meat? But he had always disliked people bargaining with him: “Either help me, or die immediately, choose one.”

His eyes once again emanated a piercing light, identical to what Feng Miaojun had felt years ago at Shenglong Pool, and this time at such proximity that despite being surrounded by earth fire, she couldn’t help but feel a chill down her spine.

Yet she still had to steel herself and say: “If it’s death either way, then kill me now, and see who can help you with your task!”

Yun Ya smiled instead, each word from his mouth congealing with killing intent: “You think I can’t do without you?”

“I think you need me!” She steeled her heart and said loudly, “Otherwise, why bring me all this way? If I die, even if you manage to escape alive, you won’t be able to take away what you want!” She pointed upward, “You’ve been planning for so long, intending to have the Spider King and Mo Tizhun help you detain the Fire Spirit while you come down to steal some treasure, right? If you delay any longer and the Fire Spirit returns, how will you escape? This is its home territory.”

Even amid the earlier chaos, she hadn’t missed Mo Tizhun’s words and could determine that Yun Ya had come to steal something. Well, when the owner returns, things would get quite messy, wouldn’t they?

That Fire Spirit was too ferocious, fighting one against two above and seemingly not at a disadvantage, even though its opponents were heavyweights like the Spider King and Mo Tizhun, and the water vapor up there was unfavorable for it. If it returned to this magma world, surrounded by light and heat, tsk tsk, Feng Miaojun now understood enough about the natural order to know that such creatures gained three parts more power in their territory. She dared not imagine they would still have a chance of escape.

Yun Ya fell silent, light flickering in his eyes.

Just by looking at the ill intent in his eyes, Feng Miaojun understood that he had indeed originally planned to send her to her death. This man had set up a scheme to lure the Fire Spirit out, willing to drag all living beings in the Yaishan Cave to their doom with him. With such a ruthless heart and methods, how could she expect him to show her any mercy?

Her way out could only be found by herself.

This matter required her willing cooperation, and torture was not an option. At this moment when every second counted, Yun Ya only pondered for a few breaths before saying: “Fine, if I cannot fulfill this, may my body perish and my Dao disappear. Now let’s change the plan—do you see that tree on the shore?” He pointed beyond the cluster of low rocks.

She looked and was genuinely shocked: “This place can grow trees!”

If the magma was an endless red sea, this narrow piece of land was a lonely island in that sea. The tree Yun Ya pointed to was thin and small, about the same height as her, standing quietly in a corner of the island, which was why she hadn’t noticed it at first. But its trunk and branches displayed an incredibly vibrant red color, like flames burning without end.

It stood at the edge of the island, and from her perspective, it appeared to be positioned right on the dividing line between the reef surface and the magma, with many roots even hanging down into the molten sea.

Silver-white small flowers bloomed in its crown.

A fire tree with silver flowers? Regardless, suddenly seeing a tree in this time and place was eerie enough. Upon first glimpse, Feng Miaojun understood the meaning behind Mo Tizhun’s words. “Still one hundred years before maturity”—wasn’t he referring to this tree?

It was currently only at the flowering stage, had not yet borne fruit, indeed not yet ready for harvesting.

“What I want you to do is to dig up that tree with its roots and put it in here.” Yun Ya produced a transparent small bottle from somewhere and handed it to her. “The rest, you needn’t concern yourself with.”

“Put it in?” She took it and examined it carefully, full of curiosity. By its appearance, it seemed to be made of crystal, round like a snow globe but stopped with a wooden plug. Inside was a tiny wooden house, with a fence wall in front, a pond dug in the back, a cluster of bamboo, and several lush trees, each detail like the finishing touch of a masterpiece.

This miniature scene was exquisitely crafted as if one could even see the dates hanging on the trees. Hmm, a fish jumped in the pond, even splashing a few water droplets.

Wait, wait a minute. If he wanted her to put the tree inside, that meant—

This was a magical artifact, capable of containing living things!

Feng Miaojun’s astonishment this time was not feigned. She had read extensively in the Smoky Sea Tower and knew that those who possessed personal dimensional spaces nowadays were extremely rare, and being able to fit in even a few square feet was already remarkable, let alone living things.

Truly worthy of being the Imperial Advisor, to have such a treasure.

Before she could finish being amazed, Yun Ya handed her a tiny silver spoon, so small that even a three-year-old child would find it too small to eat. “Dig with this, don’t use your hands.”

Feng Miaojun rolled her eyes toward the sky. This was a magma world, with the ground everywhere emitting wisps of blue smoke, and lava pools every few steps, clearly indicating terrifying temperatures. Just standing here for a dozen breaths, her shoe tops were already scorching hot. In such a place, she would have to be insane to dig with her bare hands!

She also silently marveled at Yun Ya’s enormous appetite. While others might covet the fire tree’s silver flowers, probably just hoping to grab a bargain, he dared to pack up and take away the entire tree.

Until now, she still didn’t understand the deeper meaning behind Yun Ya’s rush to seize this opportunity. Even if everyone was waiting for the fire tree to mature in a hundred years, with no one competing with him now, the transplanted tree would still need another hundred years to bear ripe fruit. Wasn’t he being too hasty?

Yun Ya said in a low voice: “These two treasures, I spent great effort to make them recognize me as their master.” He quickly recited a spell and then transmitted the method of collection, immediately asking: “Did you get it?”

Feng Miaojun muttered along, then glared at him: “Slow down, my memory isn’t as good as yours!” Such convoluted instructions, with dozens of syllables all in Celestial Demon script, expected to be memorized in the blink of an eye—did he think she was a genius?

Yun Ya pointed to the gap above: “I can wait, but it cannot.”

The Fire Spirit’s furious roar was getting closer and closer. The Spider King and Mo Tizhun weren’t fools either, especially the latter who had figured out Yun Ya’s intentions and was unwilling to be used as his pawn. They were now leading the Fire Spirit toward the gap.

In simple terms, the time left for the two of them was limited.

Yun Ya curved his lips, revealing a set of white teeth: “Ready?”

“Not ye—”

Before the word “yet” could leave her mouth, he had already lifted her high and then hurled her forcefully toward the fire tree!

“Holy… crap…” In mid-air, she couldn’t help but curse.