Minglong

Chapter 244 The Ravages of Time (Revised)
As dusk fell, a howling wind, carrying heavy snowflakes, dispersed the green mist drifting through Jianchuan.

Lu Yan, his black and yellow Taoist robe fluttering in the wind, hovered above the battle-scarred ravine, his brows furrowed.

After receiving the message from his senior brother, Lü Yan rushed to Lizhou. Because he did not know Xie Jinhuan's exact location, he had been circling in the sky searching for him. Only then did he discover that there were unusual celestial phenomena in Baihua County, so he rushed over.

But I really didn't expect that it was Xie Jinhuan who made the move here, and that the scene was so tragic.

As the familiar green poisonous fog dissipated, the shattered glacier below and the marks of swords and blades came into view.

Below the hundred-foot cliff, there are spiderweb-like cracks and a pit in the middle.

The elderly man with white hair, covered in blood, lay in the crater. His chest was stained red with blood, his lower body was twisted and bent, and his face was sunken in so much that his original appearance could no longer be seen. Only his eyes, which were exhausted, still held a trace of his spirit.

Lu Yan didn't recognize the identity, but from the sword marks, he could tell that this was the leader of Lishan Sword Pavilion.

Li Huaichuan's death in Jianchuan was no less than Lü Yan's death in Wuling Mountain. The perpetrator was a cultivator from the Southern Dynasty. Any cultivator from the Northern Zhou Dynasty would be outraged by such a scene, let alone Lü Yan, who was already filled with anger.

Lu Yan first scanned the surrounding area for dozens of miles from high above, confirming that there were no fleeing figures, then descended a little further and inquired:

"what happened?"

"Ho..."

Before Li Huaichuan came, he had imagined many scenarios: succeeding quietly without anyone knowing, being exposed and held accountable by the court, not killing the enemy and creating enmity, or even the Southern Dynasty cultivators coming to settle scores. But he never thought he would die in this blizzard.

Li Huaichuan still wanted to live, but his opponent had severely injured him and finished him off, leaving him beyond saving. He had only managed to hold on until now because he had seen the firelight on the horizon before his consciousness faded. Now, with the last of his strength, he spoke in a hoarse voice:
"I...I was patrolling here investigating the demon bandits when I was ambushed by Xie Jinhuan..."

The reason I say this is because even though he is dead, he still has the Lishan Sword Pavilion behind him.

The act of murder and robbery leading to one's own demise must not be spoken of. One should live a cowardly life, but leave behind a legacy of honor after death.

Moreover, this wasn't exactly a lie. He was just wandering around his own house and hadn't even had a chance to make a move when Xie Jinhuan launched a sneak attack on him. What else could this be but an ambush?
Li Huaichuan's eyes showed a hint of composure, but then the light in his eyes gradually faded.

Lu Yan hovered in mid-air, his brows furrowing upon hearing the sound.

Having met Xie Jinhuan in Fire Phoenix Valley, he had a good understanding of this cunning boy.

Xie Jinhuan may be cunning, but he's clearly not mentally unstable.

Xie Jinhuan had no enmity with Lishan Sword Pavilion, Li Huaichuan was not a heretic, and there were no rare or precious materials in this place.

As a result, this guy, a man from the Southern Dynasty, ambushed and killed Li Huaichuan here. Not only did his own position get exposed and he chased after him, but he also had to face the purge by the righteous path in the north. What was this guy after?

Could it be that she has taken a fancy to Li Huaichuan's Listening Snow Sword?
After a moment's consideration, Lü Yan felt that Li Huaichuan only had this famous sword that was worth coveting. Although the deduction was a bit far-fetched, this was the territory of the Northern Kingdom, and the back garden of the Lishan Sword Pavilion. Li Huaichuan, who was guarding Lizhou for the court, was killed by the Southern Dynasty cultivators in his own home!
Whether as one of the leaders of the righteous path in Northern Zhou or as the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, Lü Yan had to settle this score.

Otherwise, where would the prestige of the Northern Zhou Dynasty be? How could we explain this to the Northern Zhou cultivators? How could we explain this to the court and the people?

Moreover, this cunning brat has a history of disregarding the righteous path of Northern Zhou.

Seeing Li Huaichuan gradually lose his life, a solemn killing intent appeared on Lü Yan's face. His figure gradually rose into the air, scanning the surrounding mountains and fields for dozens of miles. Finding no trace of Xie Jinhuan, he said loudly:

"You cunning brat! I can overlook your trick of driving wolves to devour tigers in Fire Phoenix Valley, but this is the territory of the Great Zhou!"
"As a cultivator from the Southern Dynasty, if you were to enter the pass with the envoy, you should not leave the envoy's group without permission. You should not use force within the territory of the Great Zhou unless you are protecting the envoy. If you violate this rule, you may be killed on the spot according to the law."

"If you enter the pass on your own, a cultivator can form an army by himself. If you attack and kill the leader of Lishan Sword Pavilion, who is neither a demon nor a bandit, it is equivalent to the Southern Dynasty invading the border. As the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, I have the responsibility to suppress demons and eliminate bandits, and I can kill him on the spot."

"You'd better come out now and explain why you committed this evil deed. If I wait until I find you, I won't listen to a single word of your explanation."

His voice was booming, though his tone was not heavy, it carried for dozens of miles, penetrating every corner beneath the wind and snow.

But there was no response from the snow-covered mountains; it was as silent as a dead zone.

Seeing this, Lü Yan didn't waste any more words and used the divination technique of observing qi to carefully search in the vast mountains and fields.

More than ten miles away, in a tree hollow covered with snow.

The tree hollow wasn't very big, and the two of them were cramped inside, even having to bend their legs.

Despite her headache, Bu Yuehua's face paled upon hearing the loud voice coming from afar.
"How to do?"

Xie Jinhuan knew this situation was difficult to handle, but Lü Yan had already told him the reason for 'killing him on the spot'. He jumped out and confessed, saying that he acted in self-defense. What if Lü Yan found a pretext to kill him?
The two had a history of grudges, and he couldn't risk his life on Lü Yan's adherence to the law. For now, he simply took some medicine, put one arm around Bu Yuehua, and carefully examined her injuries.
"It's alright, he won't be able to find us anytime soon. Let's focus on recovering first."

Bu Yuehua had been stabbed in the chest, and before she could treat it, blood had already stained her clothes. Just as she was about to use her internal energy to heal her wound, Xie Jinhuan suddenly raised his hand beside her:
"Don't."

"..."

Bu Yuehua immediately suppressed her aura, as if facing a formidable enemy.

Ye Hongshang remained by his side, watching the outside world, and whispered a reminder:
"The Divination School knows the art of observing qi. When you practice your internal energy, your location will be detected."

Xie Jinhuan repeated what he had said, and whispered:
"Don't get angry, first apply some medicine to the wound."

Bu Yuehua then realized that this was not Phoenix Mausoleum. Lü Yan knew the art of observing qi, and his perception was extremely powerful. At that moment, she could only suppress all her qi and raise her hand to try to suppress the sword wound.

However, the two of them were huddled in the tree hollow, and the space to move around was too cramped. Xie Jinhuan even had to turn sideways to hold her, and with her clothes in the way, it was very inconvenient.

Bu Yuehua glanced at the man beside her. His life was hanging by a thread. Every bit of fighting power she had meant a better chance of survival. She couldn't ignore it, so she raised her hand and carefully tried to unbutton his clothes.

Xie Jinhuan lay on his side in front of him, listening intently to the sounds outside. He couldn't even turn around, but it was dark outside, and deep in the dense forest, hidden in a tree hollow, it was so dark that even at close range, he couldn't see anything. *Swish*
As the collar was gently unbuttoned, the dark soft armor was revealed.

The soft armor fit snugly, outlining the magnificent curves of her chest. The sword wound was located slightly below her left chest, and because the soft armor was of excellent quality, there was only a small puncture hole.

Bu Yuehua couldn't tear the soft armor open with her bare hands, so she could only pull it up from her lower abdomen very gently, resulting in her elbow hitting the tree trunk and making a faint sound.

Click~
Bu Yuehua immediately stopped moving.

Xie Jinhuan lay on his side in front of him. It would have been easier for him to lift her clothes, but when he heard something was wrong, he didn't care about the details and slid down a little. He then raised his hand, pinched the soft nail, and carefully pushed it up to below her neck.

dong dong~
? ?
Bu Yuehua noticed a slight sway in her chest, and her serene face flushed crimson!

Her original intention was to lift the soft armor up to her chest, exposing at most her southern hemisphere, as the sword wound was below and could be easily treated.

As a result, this brat pushed it all the way down to his neck, leaving it completely exposed to the extreme cold; his delicate skin could even feel the man's breath...

Fortunately, there was no light in the tree hollow, so she could only comfort herself by knowing that she couldn't see. At the same time, she took out a gauze from her waist, handed it to Xie Jinhuan, and then poured the medicine on it.

Although Xie Jinhuan couldn't see, he could sense the size of the slightly unfolded object in front of him just by using his senses. However, he couldn't pay attention to it at the moment. With his arm pressed against the back of the light and agile Senior Bu, he could only hold the gauze with one hand and press it onto the wound after the other poured the medicine powder on it.

But just as the two were busy with their work, a fire suddenly broke out outside.

The golden-red light illuminated the field and seeped into the tree hole through the thin snow covering the entrance, making the surrounding environment clearer.

Then her fair and flawless waist and abdomen were revealed to the two of them without reservation...

……

(⊙⊙)！

? !
Caught off guard, Bu Yuehua quickly tried to cover herself with her hands, but her hands were too small to completely cover her...

Xie Jinhuan blinked, momentarily stunned, but her expression immediately changed, and she turned to look outside:

"What is that old bastard doing? Setting the mountain on fire?"

Huhu~
A fierce wind and heatwave swept across the mountains and fields, and crackling sounds could be heard from a great distance. Through the snow covering the cave entrance, towering flames could be seen outside.

Bu Yuehua felt utterly hopeless and gritted her teeth, saying:
“We can’t withstand the blazing fire. Lu Yan can burn a large area at once, so we definitely can’t hide.”

Xie Jinhuan knew that time was running out. Because of the ambient noise, he no longer cared about his movements. He took out the bandage, caught it with his left hand that was being pressed down, and wrapped it around the bandage once.

Seeing this, Bu Yuehua could only straighten her chest and use her left hand to catch the bandage that passed through her back. She didn't have the strength to cover herself because the tree hole was too small and there was no room to move. She almost fed Xie Jinhuan to his mouth. Her face was redder than the firelight outside, but she gritted her teeth and didn't move.

Xie Jinhuan thought that Sister Bu was really good-hearted. Even in this situation, she knew to prioritize the overall situation. Although she could just open her mouth and suck, she couldn't just suck randomly at this moment. She quickly wrapped the bandages, then tightened them, and pulled the soft armor down again to cover her clearly defined waist and abdomen.

Bu Yuehua breathed a sigh of relief, glanced at Xie Jinhuan briefly, and found that the child was completely focused on the outside world and didn't take the little embarrassment to heart. She then bit her lower lip lightly, pretending that nothing had happened, and secretly regulated her inner energy, listening to the sounds outside...
-
As the daylight faded, the towering mountains were shrouded in wind and snow, yet illuminated by the golden-red flames as if it were daytime.

Lu Yan flew through the air, and the shimmering edict of fire revealed the phantom of a firebird, pouring out raging flames downwards. From a distance, it looked like the Milky Way pouring down, or like Laozi kicking over his alchemy furnace. Several mountains turned into a sea of ​​fire. First, the accumulated snow evaporated and turned into white mist, then the withered wood turned into ashes, until the scorched earth was revealed.

Lishan and even Jianchuan are considered the blessed lands of Lishan Sword Lodge. Normally, it would be stopped if a fellow Daoist from another place set fire to the mountain. However, since Li Huaichuan is already dead, the remaining idlers dare not approach this area where powerful figures are fighting.

Based on the estimation, Xie Jinhuan couldn't have run that fast and should still be hiding in this area. The Qi Observation Technique can't find his whereabouts, but the Blazing True Fire will definitely be able to burn him out.

The good news is that Lü Yan's judgment was indeed correct. Xie Jinhuan was hiding in a shady spot on a hillside ten miles away. Although he could not be found for the time being, as long as he was in the sky, he would not be able to escape right under his nose.

The bad news was that Lü Yan didn't know which direction Xie Jinhuan was hiding in. He figured the boy should escape in the opposite direction from where he came from, so he continued westward.

However, Xie Jinhuan killed people too quickly and only realized that Lü Yan was coming from the opposite direction when he was halfway there. Burning him for such a short time would definitely not have resulted in anything.

However, this caused great distress to another group of onlookers.

More than twenty miles away, seven figures lay side by side on the ridge, their faces changing as they watched the devastating flames advancing towards them.

Although Lü Yan burned very carefully and kept using the Qi Observation Technique to explore the surrounding world, the progress was slowed down.

But as long as Lü Yan persists, he will eventually burn this place down. If they are not discovered by Lü Laomo in advance, they will all be turned into roast chickens!
He Can sensed something was wrong and turned to ask:
"Was this also part of your plan?"

Chu Xing's face turned green. After all, he had come here as an observation post to see what the outcome was. He was lying on the ridge more than 30 miles away, just in case he was caught in the crossfire.

But who could have predicted that Lu Yan, having failed to catch the person, would instead try to burn them out? He probably saw Xie Jinhuan running northeast, but as a righteous and ruthless bandit, he dared not warn him!

What to do...

If Chu Xing showed himself, he would be discovered by Lü Yan. At this moment, he could only hold his breath and pretend to be dead, whispering:
“It’s only a dozen miles away, Lü Yan might not necessarily go that far to find it.”

"They're in the sky, only a few steps away. What if they actually burn down here?"

"Uh……"

Let's die together, what else can we do...?

Chu Xing had no choice but to gamble that the distance was far enough that Lü Yan wouldn't be able to find this place...

(End of this chapter)