The small plant was only the size of an adult's palm, swaying without any wind, emerald green like jade. Something glistening seemed to flow on its leaves. Where it took root, even liquid magma had turned into thread-like streams, flowing across the rocky ground.
This should have been an unbelievable scene, yet it didn't shock Law much.
If the World Tree could feed on magma, why not a small plant?
"I don't like eating grass." Kuro, in his smoky form, floated leisurely in the air, looking at the vibrant green plant, "But I don't think I'd dislike this one."
In other words, he wanted to eat that emerald green plant. Clearly, he sensed its vigorous vitality.
"What good would eating it do you?" Law's feet continuously released Aura, his body hovering in mid-air, his gaze fixed on the small plant.
"At least it could be refreshing." Kuro said.
"Get lost."
Law slowly moved toward the plant. The area was an open rocky ground, glowing red like a lamp, with oppressive temperatures.
Seeing Law approaching the little plant, Kuro followed closely.
One person and one smoke cloud safely reached the space above the plant. There were no obvious movements around, and no creatures were visible.
Perhaps due to conditioned thinking, Law expected some unknown presence guarding the plant, but there was none.
He silently scanned the surroundings again. After confirming it was safe, he used his Nen Ability to dig up the plant along with a section of the rocky ground.
The rock still had scorching high temperatures, but once separated, the heat vanished instantly, turning it into a charred stone.
"Hmm?"
Law was quite surprised. He had intended to remove the residual heat from the rock but hadn't acted yet. The heat had dissipated on its own, incredibly quickly.
"What's going on?"
He carefully separated the plant from the rock, ensuring not to damage the roots.
When his fingertips touched the leaves, he felt a well-water-like coolness. Suddenly, the oppressive heat waves from the surroundings seemed to vanish into another space, disappearing without a trace.
Law gently held the plant between his fingers. The White Smoke Font provided a name that left him speechless.
'Grass Jelly?!'
He looked at the emerald green plant in his hand, silently wondering which creator's twisted sense of humor this was.
'Heat-clearing, fire-reducing grass jelly?'
"What is it?"
Kuro, seeing Law's silent confusion, felt puzzled.
Law took a deep breath and said calmly, "Nothing."
With that, he placed the plant in his pocket, immediately feeling as if the surrounding high temperatures no longer existed.
"What's this plant for?" Kuro asked.
Law looked at him and said, "Clears heat and reduces fire."
"What?" Kuro was baffled.
Law shrugged, ignoring Kuro's confusion, and continued deeper into the area.
As far as he could see, vibrant red light filled the surroundings.
The air should have been scorching, making it hard to breathe, and filled with harmful gases. Yet, with the Grass Jelly carried on him, it felt like an ordinary environment even without using his Domain.
The Grass Jelly's effects were naturally not limited to clearing heat and reducing fire. Unlike the World Tree, it didn't feed on magma. One of its abilities was to pour cold water, capable of extinguishing high temperatures in an instant.
That was one effect. Another was promoting tissue regeneration.
However, the information provided by the White Smoke Font was quite limited. From just the term 'tissue regeneration', it was unclear what its limits were-
'Could it heal severe burns, or could it actually generate muscle?'
"What is that plant really for?" Kuro persisted, floating closely behind Law.
Law kept his eyes forward and replied calmly, "I already told you. It clears heat and reduces fire. If you don't believe me, switch to your solid form and come closer to see."
Kuro naturally didn't believe it. He shifted from his smoky form to his solid state. Instantly, he went from a neutral environment to one of intense heat, as if he'd been thrown into a blazing furnace.
In his smoky form, Kuro was immune to high temperatures, but in his solid form, his sensitivity was no different from a human's.
He quickly hopped onto Law's shoulder and was immediately astonished, as the stifling, suffocating heat had vanished in an instant.
"There's really something like this?" Kuro exclaimed in amazement.
"Out here, nothing should surprise you." Law said steadily, observing the magma streams now flowing across the rocky ground.
Kuro nodded in agreement, then shifted back to his smoky form and continued floating mid-air.
Although standing on Law's shoulder shielded him from the heat, unexpected dangers could arise at any time. Staying in smoky form was simply safer.
Otherwise, if he were injured in his solid form, he'd have to use stored Nen to repair himself… a risk he wasn't willing to take.
As they ventured deeper, the temperature climbed even higher. The surroundings glowed a vivid red, as if they were inside a colossal furnace.
A human left here would likely have all their moisture evaporated within ten seconds and be reduced to a charred corpse in thirty.
Originally, with the dual protection of his Domain and the water algae, Law had some confidence to explore.
But finding the Grass Jelly along the way had bolstered his assurance even further.
No matter how scorching the air became, Law remained cool to the touch, largely immune to the intense heat surrounding him.
He wondered to himself, 'With the Grass Jelly, could I possibly dive into magma unharmed?'
But it felt like an absurdly high-level fantasy, so he shook his head and dismissed the unrealistic thought.
However, as he pressed onward, he didn't come across any more Grass Jelly, which made him disappointed.
The winding cave terrain gradually opened up, though the path continued descending, and the temperature kept rising.
The magma streams he'd seen earlier had now swelled into full-fledged rivers.
This was no exaggeration… there were indeed rivers of magma, crisscrossing and flowing, their origins and destinations unknown, none intersecting with the others.
Law even spotted three magma waterfalls cascading from high cave openings, forming brilliant red curtains that plunged onto the rocky ground and merged into rivers.
If he were traveling on foot, no direction would be viable, as every path forward was blocked by a magma river.
Hovering in the air, Law marveled at the spectacle, amazed that the Slu Tribe had once managed to survive here.
Beyond the heat, even breathing was a challenge. Without his oxygen algae, which converted Aura into breathable air, he wouldn't have lasted a moment.
Reflecting on this, he realized the earth's core area seemed far more extreme than Slubin had described.
Given the current conditions, even if the Slu Tribe wished to return and settle, it would likely be impossible.
'So, what had become of the unknown race that had driven the Slu Tribe out of the earth's core long ago? Had they been consumed by the changing environment, or had they adapted to it?'
Continuing to float forward, the terrain sloped downward but grew increasingly expansive.
Then, Law saw a giant rooster strolling leisurely beside a magma river, laying eggs as it walked.