Minglong

Chapter 224 Fire Phoenix Valley

noon the next day.

A scorching crosswind swept across the dry plain, and apart from a few withered trees and crisscrossing cracks, it was difficult to see any other debris.

Xie Jinhuan stood on the Gobi Desert, and even through his shoes, he could feel the scorching heat of the ground, as if he were standing on the crater of a volcano about to erupt.

Coal Ball, covered in black fur and already sensitive to heat, now recalled its past as a laborer carrying water back and forth. Standing on the shoulder, it kept shaking its head and gesturing—Go back, go back, what's the point of staying here…

Nangong Ye had spent a month or so here with the demoness last year. Now, he walked to a two-meter-wide crack and pointed to the sword marks on the rock wall:

“Last year, she and I were sparring in this area when the ground collapsed, revealing this crack. It was bottomless inside, and we went in to search several times, but to no avail…”

Xie Jinhuan came to the crack and looked around. He could see that there was a slope below the crack, which looked to be only a dozen meters deep, but he could feel the hot current rushing towards him.

The ghostly wife, who had always been by his side, also appeared at this moment, casually looking down at him:
"This place is indeed connected to the source of Yang Fire, but it's quite far away. Let's go."

Seeing that the ghost had confirmed it was the entrance, Xie Jinhuan didn't waste any time. He had Coal Ball wait on the surface to prevent being ambushed when he came out, and then he jumped in through the crack first.

Wow~
As you slide down the steep slope, the surrounding light dims, and it feels like you've entered a heated brick bed, so dry that there's not a trace of moisture in the air, and you can only feel the sweat evaporating from your skin.

Bu Yuehua and Nangong Ye slid into the rift one after another. They were well-prepared for this trip. Bu Yuehua took out a small bead that emitted a soft white light, illuminating the surrounding area for several feet.

Nangong Ye then took out the Yin-Yang Ruler. As he controlled the Qi, Xie Jinhuan felt an invisible and intangible chill sweep over his body, turning the surroundings into a 'dead zone'.

The Yin-Yang Ruler's function is simple and brutal: it blocks the Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth, but normally it can only block one of them.

However, Phoenix Mausoleum contains only the Five Elements Fire, which is the old Yang. Once completely isolated, no spiritual energy of heaven and earth remains in the surrounding area. Ordinary people may not feel anything while staying within the protected area, but cultivators inside will find it as if they are trapped in a vacuum, with their internal energy flowing out but not in. Once their Qi Sea is exhausted, even the sect leader and patriarch will not be able to walk out alive.

Xie Jinhuan noticed that she had been forced into a 'breath-holding' state and reminded her:
“Controlling the Yin-Yang Ruler is too taxing. If we use it too early, we won’t be able to go far. Let’s just tough it out for now and deal with it when we can’t take it anymore.”

Nangong Ye was merely testing the waters. He put away the Yin-Yang Ruler and secretly circulated his cultivation technique as he walked, trying his best to refine the surrounding yang energy that he could still withstand.

Bu Yuehua withdrew early last year because the technique was purely Yin, making it impossible to cultivate Qi here; she could only hold her breath and endure it.

While Xie Jinhuan's "alternating pouring of candles" has flaws in actual combat, it is extremely effective in assisting others. At this moment, it is simply fire generating earth, earth generating metal, metal generating water, etc., which transforms the fire of the five elements that can still be endured into a balanced energy. Although the efficiency is low, it is still better than suffocation.

Bu Yuehua noticed the aura emanating from Xie Jinhuan and her eyes widened in surprise:
"Is this a method you comprehended from the Longxiang Fu Yingjue?"

Xie Jinhuan nodded: "The method of cultivating Qi was indeed comprehended from the Longxiang Fuying Jue, but the method of breaking it down and then dispersing it into the world is a method I devised myself."

Bu Yuehua was also a martial artist, so she naturally had some longing for this kind of super-adaptive method.

However, the method of "pouring candles upside down" is a procedure within the core practice "Joyful Heart Sutra". Outsiders who want to learn it must first learn the Joyful Heart Sutra before they can perform the Silver Dragon Eight Forms, pouring candles upside down, and other related methods.

Learning the mental cultivation method establishes a substantial lineage, with the only recipients being disciples, Daoist partners, and children.

As Wan Yi's teacher, Bu Yuehua couldn't possibly follow Nangong's example and first offer herself to her lover before learning this martial arts technique. To master such methods, she could only wait until her disciple Wan Yi obtained the Martial Arts Manual before slowly comprehending it.

The three of them followed the underground crack, with Ye Hongshang floating ahead to lead the way. As they went deeper underground, the whole world became deathly silent, but it was not cold; instead, it became increasingly hot.

Xie Jinhuan had initially thought he would encounter monsters or dangers, but after walking for half an hour, he found the treasure hunt to be quite tedious. He simply wandered down into the cracks in the earth's crust, passing through rugged rock strata and fissures, without seeing a single living creature.

The crack was not a straight line; it had many forks, all marked with sword marks—traces left by Bing Tuozi and her companions when they ventured deeper into the area.

Xie Jinhuan initially followed the marks, forcing his way through the underground fissures for over a hundred miles. He had no idea where he was in Fire Phoenix Valley before finally arriving at a relatively open rock fissure. The extreme yang energy there was so strong that directly refining it would burn his meridians. Bing Tuozi then summoned the Yin-Yang Ruler and looked at the few chisel marks on the rock wall: "Is this where you dug up the Purple Gold Stone last time?"

Bu Yuehua nodded: "Yes, it's a pity there's only a small piece, not enough to forge a celestial artifact. I just made a hairpin, and I don't dare to go any further. I don't know if there are any more inside."

Xie Jinhuan looked around at the intricate cracks, unsure of which way to go, so he looked towards the omnipotent ghost.

Ye Hongshang sensed it slightly and pointed to a crack that was only two people wide:
"Go this way, it's not far now."
-
Each time Lingguang Shenci appears, it creates cracks in the earth's strata, causing geological changes. Over thousands of years, the area beneath Fire Phoenix Valley, spanning thousands of miles, has become a large labyrinth.

Because the power of heaven and earth disperses to the surface, the cracks in the ground must be connected to the source, but the path in between is impossible to fathom. If you're unlucky, you might search from the beginning of autumn to the beginning of the following summer and still not find anything.

Just like Nangong Ye was searching last year, there are far more than one group of people searching in the entire Fire Phoenix Valley. The cultivators from Dragon Bone Beach started trying to go deeper last month. Although they are all underground, their location is more than 600 miles away from Xie Jinhuan, so the two sides are unlikely to meet.

In addition, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties and in the southern border regions, there were also many independent cultivators who tried to find treasures underground, but their resources were too weak to withstand the Yang Fire, so they could only explore on the surface.

But the world is so vast, there are always a few cultivators who are lucky.

As Xie Jinhuan followed the ghost's guidance to the source of Yang Huo, they arrived at a rock fissure more than thirty miles away.

Dressed in a yellow and black Taoist robe and holding the ancestral magic weapon of Wuling Mountain, the "Fire Command Token," which shielded him from the three-zhang-long yang fire surrounding him, Lü Yan carefully searched through the rock strata, not forgetting to explain to the younger generation:

"Sixty years ago, your master and I went inside together, entering through this crack. By chance, we managed to obtain a copy, which I gave to your master at the time. Later, your master captured a heretic who possessed this inheritance at the Andong Protectorate and gave it to me..."

Xi Yanjun was the direct descendant of the sect leader of the Divination Sect, and his cultivation was not low, but this was indeed his first time entering such a secret realm. At this moment, he cautiously looked around, guarding against any demonic beasts that might appear.

"According to legend, the Five Elders bestowed upon us the essence of heaven and earth each time, enough for two or three beings to refine. Why didn't my uncle find a second one back then?"

Lu Yan shook his head: "This stuff depends entirely on fate. Most of the time, it's scattered in various places. Finding one place is already considered a blessing from heaven. No one is lucky enough to find three places in a row. Even if you do find one, one person can't finish it all."

"Moreover, once all the essence of heaven and earth is taken away, this place will cool down rapidly. The ground will crack due to geothermal expansion, and will naturally shrink back as it cools down. At that time, the entire Fire Phoenix Valley will be able to hear a 'rumbling' sound coming from underground. Outsiders will know at a glance that all the opportunities have been taken away, and they will then block people on the surface. Anyone who comes out will die..."

Xi Yanjun understood: "Once you've got one, as long as it doesn't cause any unusual phenomena in the heavens and earth, leave quickly, otherwise you might not be able to leave Fire Phoenix Valley?"

Lu Yan nodded: "You can't bite off more than you can chew. If the opportunity is taken away, it means that for the next 60 years, all cultivators in the world will have to rely on robbing others to obtain it. If you take it all, others will naturally rob you. Even Shang Lianbi, who monopolized Dragon Bone Beach, didn't dare to hoard all the Azure Dragon's gifts. He would always release a portion for outsiders to grab, otherwise, he would extinguish the hopes of all cultivators in the world, and no matter how high his cultivation level was, he wouldn't be able to live in peace..."

"Oh……"

Xi Yanjun nodded thoughtfully, and was about to continue speaking when his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of a crack entrance.

Lu Yan also noticed the abnormality. He held up the edict that was emitting flames and came closer. He could see a sword mark on the stone wall and frowned.

The underground fissures are interconnected, leaving traces at the forks in the path to prevent getting lost on the next visit if the search is unsuccessful. Lü Yan also left marks when he came here.

However, judging from the sword marks, more than a year has passed.

After searching around, Lü Yan discovered that several cracks in the vicinity bore traces of the marks. Although the three horizontal lines were discontinuous and faced different directions, and the markings were very well hidden, as the leader of the Divination School, he could still discern some clues after a brief observation:
"Three unbroken lines in the Qian trigram, six broken lines in the Kun trigram... and he's a fellow Taoist."

Xi Yanjun carefully examined the seemingly random sword marks and nodded slightly:
“The Death Gate is located in the Kan Palace, which is extremely inauspicious. This path is definitely blocked.”

Lu Yan glanced around and said, "This fellow Daoist has probably been searching for several months. Last year, we went deep into the area but couldn't find anything. Let's follow the Gate of Life, find where this fellow Daoist stopped, and then continue our search. That might save us a lot of trouble."

Seeing this, Xi Yanjun didn't say much. Following the auspicious and inauspicious signs according to the Eight Trigrams, he went deeper into the crevice...

(End of this chapter)