Rebirth of the Prime Dragon Master
Chapter 992 Treasure Hunting

After walking a few meters inside the mahogany brown cave, Rocky saw the narrow stone road spiraling downward in twists and turns. From all the way up here, he couldn't see how deep down the road went or where it ended.

Amidst the clouds of steam that rose up from the depths, Rocky walked down along the narrow stone road with Robin. The deeper he ventured into the cave, the hotter it became. Soon, he was drenched with sweat, despite being protected by his spiritual power and having Robin around to cool him down.

It was so hot that he could barely breathe. He frustratedly wiped the sweat off his head. It was obvious that he had underestimated the high temperature in this Fire Wave Mountain. However, since he was already here, he didn't want to go back empty-handed.

Mustering all of his strength, he continued down the road. He felt so hot and uncomfortable that he couldn't even keep proper track of time. He could have been walking for five minutes or for five hours, he did not know. When he finally reached the end of the stone road, he found himself standing on a stretch of flat stone. There were many small holes on the ground. From time to time, magma spurted out of these holes and splashed on the ground, causing steam to rise up.

Across this dangerous stretch of stone lay his destination: a magma lake in the center of the Fire Wave Mountain.

"Let's go." Rocky nodded at Robin. Both of them instantly turned into shadows and dashed toward the other side as soon as they could. However, as if the mountain had sensed their presence, magma began to spurt continuously out of the holes, splashing in all directions.

Robin immediately let out a howl of warning and, at the same time, sent a gigantic claw made of ice to protect Rocky from being burnt by the magma. It then spewed out a stream of cold air to counteract the splashing magma. They sped up their pace and successfully passed through the dangerous stretch of stone, finally arriving at the magma lake.

"I'm afraid it won't be easy to stay here for three days." Rocky felt heat rolling off him the moment he got close to the magma. Even the air here was distorted by the heat waves.

However, he had no other choice. In order to refine the spiritual crystal, he would have to endure this torturous environment.

Without any delay, he took out the spiritual crystal, threw it into the air, and sent it flying above the lake with his spiritual power. Then, he gradually withdrew his spiritual power, letting the crystal descend bit by bit until it reached the surface of the lake.

If he withdrew his spiritual power all at once, the spiritual crystal would fall directly into the lake and be melted by the high temperature. Therefore, he had to maintain his spiritual power such that the spiritual crystal would sit on the surface of the magma lake.

In order to keep the flow of his spiritual power continuous and stable, he took out the Sea Blue Magic Jade to help him. Once everything was in place, he closed his eyes to get some rest and to focus on keeping the spiritual crystal suspended.

Somehow, despite the excruciating environment, Rocky endured for three days and three nights. Finally, it was time for the spiritual crystal to transform. It rose and shone brightly above the lake, but after a few moments, the light dimmed and disappeared. Then, the crystal grew a hard black shell on the outside before floating over to Rocky.

Holding the crystal in his hand, Rocky examined it carefully. This was the semi-finished product after three days of refining. Whether it could become a completed product depended on the last step. However, the notebook hadn't given a clear description of the last step, which led Rocky to believe that the author must have encountered an obstacle in the last step and failed to get a completed product.

According to the records in the notebook, waiting for the right time was important to complete the refinement.

Right now, the crystal looked just like any other ordinary ore. What would be inside the black shell? A bright and shining diamond, or a mass of black dregs? He couldn't tell until it was opened, but he needed to give it a thorough consideration first.

The author had also recorded a couple of other methods to refine crystals in the notebook, but obviously, none of these methods had succeeded, so Rocky didn't take the trouble to try any of them himself.

Besides, he had agreed to go to the Hell of Dragon Fang with Woods, so he needed to go and join Woods as soon as possible. He quickly put the spiritual crystal away and left this living hell. Meanwhile, in the field outside Woods’ mansion, three dozen cultivators had gathered, including Lucilla, Queenie, Lucas, another spirit manipulator of the Divine Stage, and other six spirit manipulators of the Supernal Stage. The rest of them were all masters of the Heavenly Stage.

This was the treasure hunting team that Woods was going to bring to the Hell of Dragon Fang with him. It was the strongest squad that he could put together in such a short time.

This expedition was crucial for him as it would decide whether he would become the emperor's successor. Needless to say, he had personally selected and organized the team.

The masters at the Heavenly Stage were in high spirits at the thought of the journey they were about to embark on. It was a rare opportunity for them to make contributions and to draw the prince's attention. If they were lucky and able to help Woods find the treasure first, they would be rewarded handsomely if and when Woods became the successor. Moreover, they could secure a good future for themselves. Right now, a high position and great wealth were within their reach; all they had to do was succeed. Thus, they were driven to try their best and do anything they could to help Woods.

In contrast, the masters of the Supernal Stage were much calmer. Firstly, they already had fame and prestige in the Timber Deity Empire, and secondly, they were at their forties or fifties, so they had no big dreams or goals. However, their presence here still indicated that there was something they wanted to get out of this. After all, things would be much easier for them and their clans if they won the favor of the future emperor. It was a worthwhile trip. Of course, unlike the young men, their dignity didn't allow them to show their excitement on their faces.

While the middle-aged masters somewhat pretended to be calm, Lucas and the other master of the Divine Stage were genuinely calm as they had already found their inner peace at this age.

"Your Royal Highness, do you have any idea where Mr. Rookie is?" Lucas asked after greeting Woods

"I have no idea, but he told me that he would be away for three days.” Woods shook his head with a frown.

"Three days? I hope he's doing okay," Lucilla said, worried that something would happen to Rocky while he was away.

"Come on. He's more cunning than a fox. Even if something happens to him, he will get away before anyone else!" Queenie said indifferently. However, she couldn't help but glance at the gate from time to time.

"Your Royal Highness, I suppose we'd better set out as soon as possible. As far as I know, the other princes set out a couple of hours ago. Maybe that Mr. Rookie will catch up later,” an old man in a yellow robe said. He was the other master at the Divine Stage.

"Elder Brook, I think Mr. Rookie will be here soon. Let's wait a little longer," Lucas cut in before Woods said anything.

This master of the Divine Stage was an elder from another big clan which supported Woods. Although the strength of their clan was modest, this old man was by no means ordinary. Otherwise, he would not have become a master of the Divine Stage, and Woods would not have asked him to come. Because of his power, he was arrogant in every aspect and seldom took anyone seriously.

In fact, there was another elder in the Cao Clan whose strength was not inferior to that of Lucas and this elder. But it had been a long time since he had made a public appearance, so Woods had ended up choosing this elder instead.

Among all the treasure hunting teams led by the princes, Geoffrey's team was the most powerful one, while Woods' team was the second strongest. With the help of these two unrivaled masters at the Divine Stage and eight masters at the Supernal Stage, Woods hoped that he could get what he wanted.