Minglong

Chapter 227 You still dare to tease me?

As the sun sets behind the Gobi Desert, the scorching wasteland is bathed in the glow of stars and moon.

Lu Yan, dressed in a Taoist robe, hovered high in the sky, his face ashen, scanning the Gobi Desert within a hundred miles, searching for any trace of people.

Xi Yanjun stood at the bottom of the crack and waited, asking loudly:

"Uncle-Master, those three cunning brats, could they not have come out?"

Lu Yan thought this was impossible. After all, finding an opportunity was already a stroke of luck. Even if he wanted to continue searching, he would have to return to the ground to resupply before going down to search slowly. Not to mention those three cunning children who had provoked him, the patriarch of the Divination Sect!

The three of them took the opportunity and aren't going to run away; are they just going to wait to die underground?
Following the sword marks left by the other party, Lü Yan quickly chased to the surface exit, but failed to catch up along the way. After coming out, he only found a few junior cultivators searching for medicinal herbs and a few birds nearby. The three people seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

Could it be that he really didn't come out...?

They probably left from somewhere else...

Logically, since everyone should return the way they came, aren't they afraid of getting lost while looking for other exits...?

Lu Yan was puzzled, but he still waited in the air. After all, descending from the Vermilion Bird Mausoleum was like diving into the sea. As long as the other party did not find another exit, they would have to come up from here sooner or later.

But after waiting for more than half an hour, Xi Yanjun below suddenly shouted:

"Uncle-Master, there's some noise down below."

Lu Yan frowned and immediately landed back on the ground to listen carefully. He discovered that a 'thumping' sound was coming from deep within the crack. It was quite far away, but he could still faintly hear it. It seemed that someone was digging for stones.

At this time, there shouldn't be many fellow cultivators underground...

Lu Yan felt he had found his target, and immediately leaped into the crevice to chase after the source of the sound.

After traveling more than twenty miles, they did not find the three cunning children. Instead, they saw some sword marks on the wall, which were still Taoist marks, indicating the gates of life and death, and had just been carved!

? ?
Lü Yan was not a stupid person; he felt that either there was a trap, or the three people were simply out of their minds.

After a moment's thought, relying on his cultivation level, Lü Yan still followed the Gate of Life and ventured inside, and indeed, he made it through without any problems...
-
Huhu~
The three were inside the cave, and could only hear the faint sound of the wind emanating from the flow of energy.

Xie Jinhuan stood at the cave entrance with one hand behind his back. Seeing that Senior Sister Hua was almost finished refining, and as he had expected, Lü Yan had not followed, he felt a little relieved.

Nangong Ye maintained his icy expression, but seeing that half an hour had already passed, he was actually under immense pressure. He turned around and said:
"Are you okay?"

Bu Yuehua also wanted a quick victory, but refining the spiritual essence of heaven and earth required a slow and meticulous process. If she were to absorb the Yang Fire into her body, she would explode on the spot. Therefore, she could only concentrate on dealing with the last remaining fireball in her palm and replied:
"Soon, I'll find it for you right away."

Seeing that the demoness had obtained such a treasure, Nangong Ye was actually a little itchy to get his hands on it. His gaze swept over the plump, full buttocks, and he really wanted the demoness to repay him with her body, so that both of them would end up in the water...

But even this way, they're still at a disadvantage. They have to get this demoness's disciple involved too, only then can the situation be even...

Lost in these wild thoughts, not knowing what he was pondering, Nangong Ye, seeing that the demoness was about to finish, prepared to leave this place of trouble.

But perhaps Heaven has eyes and doesn't want mortal beings to take away the rare treasures so easily, so it has to create some calamity.

Just as Xie Jinhuan leaned out to examine the cracks outside, preparing to immediately move on to the next one, the red-clad ghost beside him looked surprised and said:

"Wow~ This old Taoist priest is quite capable, he actually caught up with us."

As soon as he finished speaking, a deep, old-fashioned curse came from the distance of the crack:

"You cunning brat, how dare you play tricks on this old man! Bing Ding Ying Huo, Zhu Que in human form, blazing true fire, heed my command..."

Call ~
The moment the sound rang out, a gentle breeze suddenly arose at the end of the narrow crevice.

Xie Jinhuan stood within the protection of the Yin-Yang Ruler and could not feel any change in temperature, but at the end of the dark rift in the distance, a fire was clearly lit, and its brightness rapidly increased until it illuminated the hundred-foot-long crack in the rock layer!

hiss……

The Yang Fire of the Five Elements within the Vermilion Bird Mausoleum is so strong that it is difficult for cultivators to control. Any cultivator from any school who enters is essentially subject to demonic suppression.

However, Lü Yan possessed the divine gift of Ling Guang, and the flames he controlled were of the same origin as the Vermilion Bird Mausoleum. Although he could not mobilize the power of heaven and earth, he was not greatly suppressed.

Realizing something was wrong, Nangong Ye's expression changed drastically, and he held the Yin-Yang Ruler in front of him:

"Burning Heaven Fire Curse, retreat immediately!"

Bu Yuehua darted out simultaneously, her left hand unleashing three black throwing knives that darted like butterflies in the wind, weaving and crisscrossing through the cracks in the rocks before shooting towards the source of the fire. At the same moment, a voice rang out from the opposite side:
"Hurry up as a law!"

Boom——

As soon as he finished speaking, the world-burning flames surged from a hundred feet away, transforming directly into a golden-red firebird that was visible to the naked eye. It dragged flames along its path, creating a scene resembling a miniature Deathwing. Wherever it passed, the rock walls turned into blazing embers almost instantly!

The three throwing knives, flying halfway through their flight, were instantly engulfed and dissolved by the blazing fire, turning into molten iron that pressed back down.

"hiss……"

The three looked up and saw that the entire narrow crack had turned crimson in an instant, spreading from a hundred feet away to their immediate vicinity in the blink of an eye.

Nangong Ye held the Yin-Yang Ruler to protect the area of ​​about ten feet around him, but he felt as if he were being swallowed by a torrent of magma.

The raging flames, powerful enough to melt everything in the world, reduced the forbidden Yang domain formed by the Yin-Yang Ruler to only a few feet around its body.

There was nowhere to hide in the narrow crack. Bu Yuehua and Xie Jinhuan would die as soon as they showed their heads. They could only hold onto Nangong Ye and fly backward. At first, they were stepping on rocks, but after running only a dozen feet, the ground was scorched red by the blazing true fire.

Fortunately, the three of them had anticipated that the ground would be red-hot when they came to Fire Phoenix Valley, and their shoes were made of fire-resistant material, so they wouldn't be burned on the spot.

Because the sheltered space was cramped and the three of them were squeezed together, making it difficult to move around, Xie Jinhuan simply picked up Senior Sister Hua around the waist and ran across the iron-hard rocks, shouting:
"Fellow Taoist, wait!"

Lu Yan, holding the Fire Edict Token, stood at the other end, actually on guard. He noticed that these three cunning children didn't dare to fight back, but they weren't instantly reduced to ashes either. A hint of surprise appeared in his eyes. Hearing the voice, he still made a fire incantation and chased after them: "The dignified Saint Ye, are you afraid of my paltry fire technique?"

"I am Xie Jinhuan. Empress Dowager Guo and I have some past ties. If Elder Lü hits the wrong person, it will be difficult to explain when he returns."

"?"

Lu Yan frowned, thinking that this time it shouldn't be an impersonation.

Rumors circulated that Xie Jinhuan was Empress Dowager Guo's favorite, and that Empress Dowager Guo was the actual ruler of the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

Although the rumors are most likely nonsense, even if Xie Jinhuan wasn't Empress Dowager Guo's lover, he must have had a powerful mentor behind him.

The path of spiritual cultivation is always fraught with peril, and there's really no harm in doing such a thing. Turning a blind eye can lead to deadly enmity and easily cause serious trouble.

After a moment's consideration, Lü Yan stopped his fire spell, and the flames that had been burning the city immediately dissipated, revealing three figures in the distance.

The blazing fire was no ordinary fire; it could melt and forge immortal artifacts. The rock strata simply could not withstand the scorching heat. Even after raging for a short time, the cracks in the rock strata had already shown signs of melting.

Xie Jinhuan stood on the ground, and even through his shoes, he could feel the scalding heat on the soles of his feet. Switching his feet back and forth would be too undignified, so he kept his back straight and his demeanor calm, as if he didn't feel anything.

Bu Yuehua then took out a waist knife wrapped in black cloth and quietly landed from Xie Jinhuan's embrace. However, the ground was so hot that she couldn't find a place to step. She couldn't help but marvel at Xie Jinhuan's composure. It was not appropriate to jump back into his arms, so she quickly used her cold energy to cool down the ground.

Nangong Ye held the Yin-Yang Ruler in front of him, his eyes filled with the look of someone facing a formidable enemy.

Lu Yan, a cultivator from the Northern Territory, did not recognize the two women. He merely sized up the imposing Xie Jinhuan, finding his appearance to match the rumors, and then spoke in a cold voice:
"Are you perhaps believing the rumors circulating about you, young friend Xie?"

Seeing that the other party had stopped, Xie Jinhuan knew that the name of Empress Dowager Guo still had some deterrent power, and responded loudly:

"It's not entirely a rumor. Empress Dowager Guo and I do have some connection. Our meeting was fate. I didn't know it was Elder Lü coming, so I used a little trick to avoid danger, which caused a slight misunderstanding..."

Misunderstand?

Lu Yan isn't an idiot. He just introduced himself, but Xie Jinhuan kept calling him "Young Friend Lu" and "The Way of Nature." This is just taking advantage of his kindness!
Although he was furious, Lü Yan didn't continue cursing. Instead, he said:
"I can let bygones be bygones for what just happened, out of consideration for our shared righteous path. But even the righteous path has its rules. What is created by Heaven belongs to the capable. Now that we've come to this blessed land, we should each rely on our own abilities to gain or lose."

"Young friend Xie has already obtained two opportunities. It's better to give up more than you can chew. In return, Five Spirits Mountain is willing to offer a Styx Grass as a token of our gratitude for your help in finding the way. What do you think, young friend Xie?"

Styx Grass is a medicinal herb produced in the Northern Styx Lake. Its effects are similar to those of Tiger Bone Vine, and it is considered a treasure. However, compared to the divine gift of Lingguang, which only appears once every sixty years, it is clearly not in the same league.

But Lü Yan's words were really polite. If he hadn't been wary of Xie Jinhuan's master, he would have killed him and robbed him of his treasures. They weren't even from the same country, so how could there be a distinction between good and evil?

Nangong Ye felt that given the difference in their cultivation levels, Lü Yan's statement was already very restrained, and he immediately glanced at Bu Yuehua.

Bu Yuehua cared a lot about the great opportunity she had just obtained, but even the best opportunity could only be seized if one was alive. Therefore, she glanced at Xie Jinhuan, asking with her eyes whether she should give it to him.

But Xie Jinhuan was always the one stealing people, and there was no reason for others to steal him. So he set his sights on the omnipotent ghost.

Ye Hongshang had been observing his opponent, and now he responded:
“This person can only use fire magic here, and it’s just that his own energy is not suppressed, so he can’t draw on the power of heaven and earth. With the protection of the Yin-Yang Ruler, you can hold on, but you can’t pull him down. You have no chance of winning. Collapse the crack and leave. He can’t burn a hole in the rock layer.”

"?"

Xie Jinhuan thought it made sense. They couldn't fly or teleport here. If the crack collapsed, Lu Wuzhen would still have to dig slowly. Digging was not as fast as blocking it.
Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan looked at Lü Yan, who was a hundred feet away:

"If I told you there's another opportunity not far away, would you believe me, Elder Lü?"

Lu Yan scoffed, "Do you really think I'm brainless? If there's another one, young friend Xie can go and get it."

"Okay, I'll go get it!"

Boom——

No sooner had Xie Jinhuan finished speaking than the Heavenly Mace in his hand was suddenly drawn and struck the rock wall on the side.

Under the heavy blow, the already red-hot and swollen rock wall immediately shattered and collapsed, crashing down like a torrent. Xie Jinhuan pulled Bing Tuozi and Bu Yuehua and flew backward.

Rumbling--

Lu Yan sensed something was wrong and acted simultaneously. His Fire-Controlling Token shot out a line of fire that pierced the tunnel like an arrow, instantly blasting a deep crater several meters deep into the collapsed rubble. But then, a continuous roar came from behind:
Boom boom boom...

The sound faded away.

Xi Yanjun frowned upon seeing this and emerged from behind the rock wall:
"How to do?"

In this godforsaken place, Lü Yan was truly hampered, looking around cautiously.
"If this brat gets away with everything today, I'll change my mind."

Xi Yanjun followed behind, searching for a path, secretly thinking that his uncle's harsh words were quite sophisticated.

After all, the name 'Lü Yan' is indeed reversed when read left to right; but when read upside down, it's still Lü Yan...

However, Xi Yanjun couldn't say this outright. After wandering around for about half an hour, he unexpectedly discovered new sword marks on the wall, marking the gates of life and death.

?

When Lü Yan saw the familiar markings, he realized that Xie Jinhuan wasn't a brainless idiot; he was just an old dog being led around!

Xie Jinhuan obviously couldn't be a fool, so...

"You cunning brat, you dare to try and fool this old man? You're utterly lawless! I'll see what tricks you have up your sleeve!"

Enraged, Lü Yan chased after the Gate of Life...
-
I wrote over 14,000 words, but after deleting and revising, I only got two chapters. Sigh, or 2!

I'd like to recommend a new book, "Wilderness Live Streaming: Starting from Lop Nur." You might want to check it out if you're interested.
　If you're interested, you can take a look!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)