Chapter 831: Fire God City

There was a path running down the wall of the cave. Tang San disembarked and followed Elder Huo Xing down that path. They then turned into a side tunnel and continued descending.

Since the surrounding cave walls were a glowing golden-red, there was no need for additional light sources. As they made their way downward, the air was not thin at all—in fact, it was rich with oxygen.

After passing through two more caves and descending about five hundred meters, Huo Xing stopped at an exit.

Tang San stepped up beside him and was immediately met with a strange and magnificent sight.

It was a city.

As it turned out, there really was a city beneath the sea, and its size was quite impressive. While it couldn't compare to the main cities of the Daemon Continent, it was at least a quarter of their size. Building such a city at the base of a volcano, deep underwater—what a monumental task! Tang San could even see lakes scattered throughout the city, though they seemed to be filled with magma rather than water.

The city's buildings were mostly made of stone, a kind of dark red stone for the most part, and the massive cavern itself emitted a soft golden-red glow, providing the city with ample light.

"This is truly a wondrous place,"

Tang San couldn't help but exclaim.

Huo Xing smiled.

"This is our Fire God City. Please, honored guest."

He led the way down the steps. There seemed to be around a hundred such caverns leading into Fire God City, and judging by the size of the city, there were likely over a million Firedawns living here.

Tang San was now certain that the Firedawn people were the true core of this entire territory, while the other creatures dwelling in the Magma Red Sea were lesser members of their kind.

In Fire God City, there was hardly any elemental energy present apart from fire. It was undoubtedly the ideal place for the Firedawn clan to live. In such an environment, it was impossible for fire-attribute abilities not to appear; at the same time, if one did not have fire-attribute power, then they needed an extremely high cultivation even just to survive.

As they descended the steps, Elder Huo Xing said,

"Honored guest, I'll have Huo Zhao take you to rest first. Our Fire God Festival is about to begin. It's the most important celebration for our clan. I need to report to the clan leader, but I'll return soon to escort you to our grand event."

Tang San nodded.

"Please don't mind me; I am just a random traveler. Go ahead and attend to your duties."

Huo Xing quickly left, while Huo Zhao hurried forward, leading Tang San into Fire God City.

Fire God City was vast, and as Tang San entered the city, he saw Firedawns everywhere. They glanced at him curiously, but there was no sign of fear, rejection, or wariness despite him obviously being an outsider. It appeared they had encountered visitors from other races before, and those encounters hadn't been of the aggressive kind.

"Do you often have outsiders visit?"

Huo Zhao shook his head.

"Not really. It happens occasionally, but only those we accept are allowed to enter Fire God City. When the elder came to greet you earlier, that was a sign of his acknowledgement. Otherwise, we wouldn't have brought you here, and you would have been asked to leave the Magma Red Sea."

Tang San curiously asked,

"What are your criteria for approval?"

"You must not be rejected by the Fire God and you must be at least somewhat attuned to the fire element. That's the basic standard. After all, even with the accommodation granted by the fire energy here, only beings that are in harmony with the fire element from the get-go can survive in the Magma Red Sea. Also, as I'm sure you've noticed, you need a certain level of strength to enter Fire God City."

Tang San nodded.

"That makes sense."

Indeed, without enough strength, it would be impossible to survive here. In this fire-rich world, anyone lacking sufficient cultivation would be eroded by the fire element within a very short time. The fire toxins here were no joke.

The Firedawn clan members were generally taller than humans, and most of them were quite attractive. Their clothing was rather revealing, too. Most of the men wore only shorts, and their pale skin sported strange red patterns, making them look quite distinctive. The women dressed slightly more modestly, but even they covered only the essential parts. They were beautiful, tall, and graceful, and most of them had pink eyes rather than deep red ones.

As they walked through the city, they saw plenty of people laughing together, which Tang San assumed was due to the excitement of the upcoming celebration. Each of them seemed to be in high spirits.

Fire God City had many similarities to the cities on the Daemon Continent. There were no restaurants or inns, but there were some shops selling various items. Tang San was naturally interested in checking out the goods these shops had to offer, but since this was his first visit, he continued following Huo Zhao deeper into the city.

As they got closer to the city center, the buildings became larger. Huo Zhao led Tang San to a towering structure and said,

"This is where we host our guests. All visitors stay here. Please wait here for a while."

"I'll follow your lead, Captain Huo Zhao. Whatever you arrange is fine."

The guest house had three floors, all made of stone. As soon as they entered, two Firedawn women approached. Huo Zhao gave them a few instructions, and the two women immediately turned their curious gazes toward Tang San, both giggling.

Huo Zhao approached Tang San with a smile, saying,

"They're very curious about you. After all, you're the first human to visit us. Seeing you has made us realize that the nymphs from the Solstice Empire were telling the truth—humans really do look a lot like us. If you were to change your hair and eye color to red, you'd be indistinguishable from our clan. Anyway, the girls are saying you're handsome and asking if you'll be joining our Fire God Festival."

Tang San smiled.

"Heh, why not? I have to say, for me as well, it feels as if I'm walking among a bunch of red-haired humans. We really do look alike."

At that moment, two Firedawn girls had already stepped forward, gesturing for Tang San to follow.

𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

Tang San nodded at them and followed them up to the second floor.

The room arranged for Tang San was about forty square meters and was rather empty; it lacked almost all basic amenities, most importantly a washroom. He wondered how the Firedawns handled such matters—perhaps they didn't have those needs at all? The room had a bed and nothing else, but there was a window through which Tang San could observe the outside.

One of the Firedawn girls, with a playful smile, said a few words that Tang San's divine consciousness interpreted as

"Honored guest, please rest here."

Her gaze was bold and without a hint of fear despite Tang San being an outsider.

Tang San smiled and nodded.

"Thank you!"

The two girls left, closing the door behind them.

Tang San walked to the window and looked outside. Without even needing to use his divine consciousness, he could sense the lively atmosphere of the Firedawn clan. The entire Fire God City was filled with excitement, clearly due to the upcoming celebration. He really had arrived at the right time.

This was truly a wondrous place, and Tang San was curious about what the Fire God Festival would be like. It would be interesting to experience.

Ever since arriving at the Magma Red Sea, Tang San had felt insights forming within him. Here, the entire Firedawn clan relied on the fire energy here for survival, and their innate abilities were a result of their affinity with fire. This was quite likely a unique situation—the fire element here was so rich that it allowed the Firedawns to form an Elemental Heart.

What Huo Zhao mentioned earlier about outsiders becoming attuned to the fire element upon entering the Magma Red Sea was likely the process of forming an Elemental Heart. With Tang San's cultivation, he wouldn't be affected, but for the weaker sea creatures that wandered into the Magma Red Sea, there were only two possible outcomes. Either they had no affinity with fire, in which case they would be forced to return to the Endless Blue Sea, or they did have an affinity, in which case they would be permeated by the fire energy here, gaining an Elemental Heart and becoming part of this world.