Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

"I'm the most reasonable person," she muttered to herself, her little face full of slyness.

"Since the sign says that outsiders are not allowed to enter from here, then I will not enter from here."

As she spoke, she tiptoed to the corner of the west wall. The wall there was slightly lower, and several ivy vines hung down, providing a good support.

Zi Yan rubbed her hands together, took two steps back to get a running start, and leaped up with the agility of a swallow—her movements were clean and swift, showing that she was an experienced wall climber.

But just as she climbed over the wall and her body began to fall, she froze completely.

Inside the walls was not a solid ground at all, but a pond with rippling blue water!

Even worse, the banks of the pond were densely covered with strangely shaped wooden clips, which gleamed with a dark luster in the setting sun.

"Holy crap, we're doomed!"

Before the words were even finished, a splash of water erupted.

Behind a rockery on the opposite bank of the pond, a pair of golden eyes were watching all of this with great interest.

The little golden retriever peeked out from the shadows, tilted its head to look at the ripples on the water, and then solemnly raised its front paw, making a scoring gesture in the air.

[A perfect diving technique with proper entry and moderate splash – 9 out of 10!]

A moment later, with a "splash," Zi Yan emerged from the water in a disheveled state, her soaking purple hair clinging to her cheeks, and a small string of bubbles escaping her mouth.

She swam to the shore using both her hands and feet, and struggled to climb up. Her thin clothes were soaked and dripping water, which seeped into the bluestone slabs, creating a dark stain.

"Cough cough... Damn it!" Zi Yan wrung out the water from the corner of her clothes and stomped her foot in anger.

"What kind of good person would dig a pond behind the wall?! Are they out of their mind?!"

After she finished cursing, she turned her head and glanced at the strangely shaped wooden clips on the shore. Suddenly, she burst out laughing, her smile carrying a hint of disdain.

"Heh, is that all?" She raised her chin, regaining some of her arrogance.

"I am a dignified magical beast, why would I be afraid of a piece of wood like you? I was just momentarily stunned and you frightened me."

She straightened her back, put her hands on her hips, and said, "Watch me tough it out!"

After saying that, he actually raised his left foot and stomped hard on the nearest trap—his posture was quite heroic and tragic, like a warrior going to his death.

Upon seeing this, the little golden retriever behind the artificial hill opened its mouth wide in shock and covered its cheeks with its two front paws.

【You...you're ruthless! The master's specially made wooden clips are made from branches of thousand-year-old ironwood, and even mixed with crushed star sand...you won't believe it until you try it!】

The little golden retriever stood at attention, sat up straight, raised its right front paw and placed it on its forehead, making a standard salute.

[Salute to the ruthless!]

"what--!"

A piercing scream instantly shattered the tranquility of the courtyard.

Zi Yan's face turned pale instantly, and she jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

She thrashed her trapped left foot frantically, but couldn't shake off the clamp that was firmly locked in place. She hopped on one foot, only to step into a second clamp with her other foot.

"Oh! Ooh! Hiss..."

Now she was in real trouble, like an ant on a hot pan, wincing in pain, tears welling up in her eyes.

In her panic, she knocked over several more clips around her, the snapping sounds echoing all around. When she finally stopped, there were three or four clips on each of her feet, making a clattering noise as she walked.

"It hurts so much! Waaaaah..."

After a great deal of effort, Zi Yan finally limped to the edge of the trap formation.

She crouched down and gritted her teeth as she pried open the stubborn wooden clips one by one—each time she opened one, she gasped in pain.

When the last clip hit the ground with a "thud," red marks were already visible on her ankle.

Zi Yan rubbed her swollen ankle and sobbed for a while.

A cool evening breeze blew by, and her damp clothes clung to her body. She sneezed and suddenly felt extremely wronged—more wronged than when she was wandering outside.

But just then, she caught a glimpse of something else beside her.

It was a newly erected small wooden sign, much more exquisitely crafted than the one at the entrance, with a coat of clear varnish. A line of neat small characters was engraved on the sign:

You have passed the test; the elixir is just ahead. Keep going!

After reading it, Zi Yan was stunned at first, and then a nameless anger suddenly surged into her heart.

"That wretched Su Baichen!" She stomped her feet in anger, which aggravated the injury on her foot.

"Hiss... He must have known I was coming! That's why he set up these pranks!"

She looked around and suddenly realized something. She tried to circulate her internal fighting spirit—sure enough, the fighting spirit in her meridians was like being stuck in a quagmire, and its circulation was extremely sluggish.

"Moreover, there must be a formation around here to suppress battle qi..." Zi Yan gritted her teeth.

"From the moment I entered the courtyard, most of my fighting spirit was sealed off. And these wooden clips must have been specially made..."

She glared angrily at the sign, as if it were Su Baichen himself, but after glaring for a while, she finally took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down.

"Oh well, what's done is done," she consoled herself. "Since I'm already here..."

Just then, a faint fragrance drifted on the evening breeze.

Ziyan's little nose immediately twitched, like a kitten smelling fish.

Following the fragrance, she looked up and saw a round, jade-like pill quietly floating in mid-air under the old locust tree not far away.

A faint golden light shimmered on the surface of the pill, like a small lamp in the darkening sky, and the alluring fragrance emanated from it.

"Gulp." Zi Yan involuntarily swallowed, her eyes widening.

"This is the taste...it smells so good!"

All the previous grievances, anger, and pain were thrown to the winds at this moment. She licked her lips, clenched her small fists, and her eyes rekindled with fighting spirit.

"We'll risk everything for the elixir!"

Having regrouped, Zi Yan cautiously approached the old locust tree.

This time, she learned her lesson—she took each step very slowly, testing the ground several times before her foot landed; her little head turned left and right, keeping her eyes and ears open; whenever she saw a suspicious fallen leaf or a slightly different colored stone slab on the ground, she would squat down and study it for a long time.

His cautious demeanor made him look like a scout who had infiltrated the enemy camp, and there was no trace of his previous reckless and arrogant manner.

Moving forward at such a snail's pace, it took a full half-incense stick's time to move forward only five steps.

However—nothing happened.

There were no suddenly popping mechanisms, no collapsing ground, and no fishing nets falling from the sky.

Chapter 180 Zi Yan's Stealing of the Elixir (2)

Bottom of the deep pit —

"Su, Bai, Chen—!"

A furious roar, fueled by gritted teeth, faintly echoed from underground, reverberating eerily in the empty courtyard.

"I'm not done with you yet—!!!"

Outside the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, Su Baichen suddenly felt an itch on the tip of his nose and sneezed twice in succession.

Achoo! Achoo!

He rubbed his nose and muttered, "Who's insulting me?"

Beside her, Cai Lin, dressed in a red dress, covered her mouth and chuckled, her eyes sparkling with understanding: "Who else could it be? It's naturally that little guy you've been keeping in suspense."

She looked up toward the courtyard, as if she could see the purple-haired girl's disheveled appearance through the layers of buildings. "Those traps you left behind were really cunning."

Su Baichen rubbed his nose dismissively, put his hands behind his back, and adopted a teacher-like demeanor: "I'm just doing this out of good intentions. That girl is used to running rampant in the inner courtyard and doesn't know the wickedness of people. I'm teaching her the ways of the world so she'll remember this lesson."

He paused, his tone becoming more serious: "Otherwise, with her personality, she'll suffer a great loss sooner or later if she goes out. The outside world isn't as gentle as the inner courtyard."

Butterfly, standing to the side, wore a pained expression, clutching the hem of her clothes with both hands, her voice trembling with tears: "But...but you used my pills as bait! Those were the eighth-grade pills I used to evolve my bloodline! If she really ate them..."

She became increasingly distressed as she spoke, her eyes welling up with tears: "What should I do? Those medicinal herbs are so hard to find..."

Seeing this, Cao Ying walked gracefully to Cai Die's side, affectionately took her arm, and softly comforted her, "Sister Cai Die, you can rest assured."

She gestured towards Su Baichen with her chin, a sly glint in her eyes: "Have faith in my master! Besides, isn't Xiao Jin watching over things in the courtyard? That guy is clever; he definitely won't let the pills be stolen."

As she spoke, Cao Ying suddenly leaned close to Cai Die's ear, lowering her voice enough for everyone around to hear: "If something really happens, I'll just have my master stay with you all night to make it up to you—"

"Hey! You traitorous disciple!" Su Baichen's face flushed red, and he raised his hand as if to hit him.

Cao Ying had anticipated this, so she made a playful face, twirled like a butterfly, and giggled as she ran into the tower: "Master is furious! Run, run!"

Su Baichen was both amused and annoyed. He scolded her fleeing figure, "I brought you to the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower today to use the Heart Flame here as an external force to help you fuse the sub-flames of the Flame of Life and the Netherworld Poison Flame! You forget the important matter and instead learn to tease your teacher?"

He deliberately put on a stern face and raised his voice: "I think you want to eat 'bamboo shoots stir-fried with pork'!"

Cao Ying's silvery laughter echoed from inside the tower, reverberating throughout the empty space.

Su Baichen shook his head, but couldn't help but smile.

Cai Lin watched the master and apprentice bickering, shook her head helplessly, and turned to the crowd behind her, saying, "Let's go in too. The heart fire of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower is very beneficial to cultivation."

She stepped into the tower first, followed by Cai Die, Xiao Yi Xian, and Qing Lin, who exchanged smiles and then followed her in turn.

Meanwhile, in the courtyard.

"Splash—"

A small hand covered in mud suddenly reached out from the bottom of the pit and grabbed the edge. Then, Zi Yan crawled out, covered in dirt, and collapsed on the edge of the pit, panting heavily.

She looked up at the bright moon on the horizon, her eyes vacant, her face filled with despair.

"Waaaaah... This is so unfair..."

Zi Yan hugged her knees, buried her face in her arms, and her shoulders trembled slightly. After a while, she finally raised her head, her face covered in dirt and tear stains, looking like a cat covered in dirt.

"Is there no justice in this world?" she questioned the moon, her voice filled with grievance. "I just wanted to take a pill... Is this how you treat me?"

A night breeze blew by, and her soaked clothes made her shiver. Zi Yan shrank back, and for the first time, she felt like giving up.

Or... should we just forget about it?

The thought had barely formed in her mind when a faint, elusive fragrance of elixir wafted from ahead. The aroma entered her nostrils, stirring up her cravings once more.

"Gurgle..."