Xie Lian was stunned for a moment, then said, “I didn’t mean to do anything.”

Hua Cheng said, "Then what are you doing with the sword?"

Xie Lian asked, “I… am I defending myself?”

Hua Cheng's face darkened terribly. He tightened his grip and said, "How are you going to defend yourself? Put down your sword!"

This was the first time Hua Cheng had spoken to Xie Lian with such an expression and tone, and Xie Lian was completely stunned. Feng Xin said warily, "Why would you ask him to put down his sword? Put him down first!"

A battle axe flew towards him, but Xie Lian quickly raised his sword and chopped it off, saying, "How do I defend myself... just like that!"

Hua Cheng's expression and tone softened slightly, but he still didn't let him go. "You don't need to defend yourself. Just stand behind me. Put down your sword."

Feng Xin kicked his bow off the ground, picked it up, and wielded it like a sword, striking a meteor hammer away. His suspicions grew even stronger. "What are you planning on doing by holding him like this? Are you really him? Your Highness, besides you, does anyone else know the Blood Rain Scholar's spiritual password? You can't be the only one who knows it, right?"

After he reminded him, Xie Lian suddenly remembered that Hua Cheng's psychic password was not known only to the two of them. There was also a third person who had heard it.

Jun Wu!

In Xianle Palace, he asked Xie Lian to communicate with Hua Cheng in front of him, and he heard it clearly!

However, Xie Lian still felt that the person in front of him must be Hua Cheng himself, but... it was as if he suddenly thought of something very bad, which was why he had this attitude.

After thinking for a moment, Xie Lian said, "Okay," and put his heart at ease.

The next moment, a silver light flashed and the scimitar was unsheathed!

As the fatal strike unfolded, the entire armory was ablaze with silver light, sparks flew, and the sound of metal breaking and stone snapping echoed incessantly. Xie Lian and Feng Xin, enveloped in this shimmering, murderous aura, remained motionless. After ten strikes, Hua Cheng turned and sheathed his scimitar. Xie Lian's gaze shifted from him to the ground.

All those hundreds of weapons were smashed into dust by Eternal Life...

Xie Lian squatted on the ground and picked up the two broken sword fragments. He felt a little sad. “These are really rare and fine swords…”

At this time, Feng Xin said: "Your Highness, the door, it seems there is an extra door!"

Xie Lian put the fragments down, stood up, and said, "So that's how it is. We need to get rid of these weapons before we can get out."

Originally, the door could only be opened by killing someone, but Hua Cheng opened it directly with violence. Just as he thought of this, Hua Cheng pulled him out. Seeing his murderous look, Feng Xin said, "What are you going to do next?"

Xie Lian said, “Of course, I’ll go find the Imperial Master and Mu Qing.”

Hua Cheng said calmly, "If Mu Qing really surrenders to Jun Wu, then we'll kill him first."

“…”

The three of them left the armory and walked for a while. Xie Lian hesitated for a moment before asking, "Sanlang, did you think I was going to stab myself with the sword just now?"

Hua Cheng didn't answer, his expression still extremely grim. Xie Lian said, "I won't."

Hua Cheng glanced at him and said, "Really?"

Xie Lian felt uneasy when he looked at him.

To be honest, in the past, the critical situation might have been resolved like this, but now, it will never happen again.

Xie Lian said, “Yes! I promised you. Besides, there are so many swords, spears, swords and halberds. If each of them stabs me, won’t I be stabbed into a pulp? Hahahaha…” He couldn’t laugh anymore after laughing to this point.

Because, after he said the word "stab," Hua Cheng suddenly stared at him. Xie Lian couldn't describe the look in his eyes, and it left him speechless.

After a while, Hua Cheng suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled him into his arms.

Feng Xin was walking at the end, shocked: "What the hell? I'm still here???"

Xie Lian blinked, patted Hua Cheng on the back, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Hua Cheng whispered, "Your Highness, please don't laugh like that."

He hugged Xie Lian tightly and said, "It's not funny, really... It's not funny at all."

“…”

Remembering how Hua Cheng had looked so bad when he had picked up the poisoned skull from the ground, Xie Lian felt a pity and said, "I'm sorry, I won't play that kind of joke on you again. I just wanted you not to worry, but it had the opposite effect."

Feng Xin seemed frightened by this atmosphere. After a moment of confusion, he said, "I... also think it's useless. Since he's so serious..."

Hua Cheng finally let go of Xie Lian and said in a deep voice, "Let's go."

Without the imperial teacher to lead the way, the three had no choice but to continue deeper into the palace.

But not long after coming out, Xie Lian noticed something strange in the air.

He said, "Do you feel...it's getting hotter?"

When they first entered the underground palace, it was chilly and cold. But after walking for a while, the air around them seemed to suddenly expand and become much warmer. Feng Xin seemed to share the same feeling, but he turned his head, slightly startled, and raised his finger, saying, "Your Highness, look behind us! There seems to be light."

Just as he said, there was light behind us, slowly approaching.

An unknown light source appeared in the dark underground. This situation was quite strange. Was someone coming?

When the light finally revealed its true form, Xie Lian finally realized that the air underground had grown warmer. It wasn't just his imagination. The stifling heat was caused by the light.

The red-gold flames and the gurgling bubbles crawled down the slope towards the three people.

The magma outside flowed into the underground palace along the river!

Xie Lian was just about to start thinking something was wrong when he suddenly felt someone sprint past from behind. He whipped out a silk ribbon and said, "Wait a moment! I need directions!"

The man narrowly avoided the attack and paused. Everyone turned around and saw his face clearly in the light of the nearby fire. Feng Xin shouted, "Mu Qing! Stop!"

Mu Qing didn't stand still. Without saying a word, he took off running. Just as the three of them were about to give chase, the ground shook violently.

The red-gold magma suddenly came with great force, overflowing the river in the imperial city, climbing at a great speed, and rushing towards the few people!

The three of them were about to be forced into a corner. However, Xie Lian had already encountered this problem before he came in; the current situation was just a little more challenging. He said, "Feng Xin, there are many hollow monsters in the magma. They can float. Step on them to prevent sinking!"

After saying that, he spotted a hollow man who was paddling his arms hard in the flames and jumped up!

As soon as he set foot on the ground, Xie Lian felt a surge of joy. These hollow figures seemed unusually large. Under his tread, they only sank slightly, yet remained afloat on the flaming surface. As long as they didn't act up, they could be used as light boats!

Feng Xin also spotted one and jumped up, raised his bow and said to the hollow man: "Swim well, don't sink!" The hollow man was threatened by the weapon, so he didn't dare to slack off and worked harder. Hua Cheng just crossed his arms and glanced down at his feet. The hollow man then behaved himself and didn't dare to make trouble. He swam at full speed and swam as fast as he could. Xie Lian put his hands together and negotiated with the hollow man sincerely: "Give me a ride, please! I'll burn incense for you later! You don't want incense, right? Just tell me what offerings you want!" The hollow man was obviously very dissatisfied, and waved his arms from time to time to try to drive him off, but Xie Lian was like a sticky candy, and he couldn't get rid of him even if he rolled over. Needless to say, the most difficult one to deal with was picked by Xie Lian again!

The three of them rode the monster downstream, like surfing against the wind. The further they went, the steeper the slope and the faster their speed. They also had to constantly dodge obstacles that popped up in the fiery current. The journey was full of dangers. After a while, they finally caught up with Mu Qing in front of them. Feng Xin said, "Mu Qing! Why are you running!"

Mu Qing also used a hollow figure as a float and turned around to ask, "If I don't run, will you guys attack me?"

Feng Xin had a bow but no arrows, so he could only shout, "No siege! First, explain why you suddenly disappeared from the armory!"

Mu Qing turned around and sneered, "You guys..."

Before he finished speaking, Xie Lian saw the scene ahead clearly. His pupils contracted sharply and he shouted, “In front of you!!”

Mu Qing turned around and found that the road ahead had come to an abrupt end.

There should have been an underground fault here originally, with a huge drop of at least a hundred feet, like a huge cliff.

He didn't expect that such terrain would appear suddenly. In addition, the lava flowed faster and faster as he went down. By the time he reacted, he was caught off guard and flew out!

Mu Qing's figure and the hollow man under his feet disappeared in an instant, and the three people here were about to rush to the edge of the cliff at an unstoppable speed!

At the critical moment, Ruo Xie flew backwards and wrapped several times around the corner of a distant palace, forming a knot. Xie Lian grabbed Ruo Xie with one hand and Hua Cheng with the other, then threw the other end of Ruo Xie to Feng Xin, saying, "Catch it!"

Using the silk as a tether, the three of them finally managed to stay steady. At this point, the farthest of them was only two feet from the "cliff." A step later and they would have fallen. It was a desperate situation. But the lava still kept pouring down from above. Xie Lian shouted again, "Hold!"

Ruo Xie quickly shortened his distance and led the three of them towards the palace. Soon, they reached the roof of the palace. The palace was large, so the roof was quite spacious. With its stone foundation, it was not vulnerable to lava erosion. Once there, they could breathe a sigh of relief.

After calming down a bit, Feng Xin stared at the empty "cliff" for a moment, then asked in disbelief, "Mu Qing... fell down?"

Xie Lian managed to calm his pounding heart, took a breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said, "No!"

Standing at the outermost corner of the palace roof and leaning out, you can see a long knife nailed into the rock on the edge of the cliff.

A pair of hands were tightly gripping the long handle of the long sword. Beneath those hands was a face that was gritting its teeth and seething with bloodshot eyes.

At this moment, Mu Qing was in such a terrible position parallel to the magma pouring down like a waterfall.

The fire beads were flying in front of him, and he was really in a state of emergency. If he had not covered himself with a layer of protective spiritual light to block most of the burning energy, he would have been burned beyond recognition and his head would have been on fire.

But this protective aura can't last long. If he falls into the magma pool, his bones will still turn into gas!

This scene was terrifying. Feng Xin said, "What should we do?! Your Highness, can your white silk reach him?"

Xie Lian had already tried, retrieving Ruo Xie and brushing off the flames. "No! This distance is too far! Ruo Xie is on fire in mid-air!"

Many tiny flames also ignited on Mu Qing's clothes, and the handle of the knife was burning hot, but he still held it tightly, not daring to let go or look down.

As soon as he let go, there was a blazing pool of fire waiting for him below, and the hungry cries of countless undead echoed faintly, as if calling the person hanging in the air above, struggling to death, to go down and accompany them.

Mu Qing clutched the hilt of the knife tightly, sweat dripping down his pale forehead. Seeing the three people in the distance, he moved his lips, as if wanting to call for help. However, his personality made it difficult for him to shout out words like "Help" or "Save me."

Furthermore, regardless of whether Huacheng is capable or not, he probably won’t save him. It’s hard to say about Fengxin either. The only person left who has the hope of being willing to save him, capable of saving him, and who can also influence the other two is Xie Lian.

Finally, he struggled upwards, veins bulging on his forehead, and shouted to Xie Lian, "Your Highness!"

Xie Lian, rapidly observing his surroundings, glanced at him upon hearing this. Mu Qing held his breath for a long moment, then, with a flushed face, shouted, "...Believe me! Your Highness, you know I'm not lying, right? You know I wouldn't actually harm you, right?!"

“…”

He asked Xie Lian this question with hope, as if he had grasped at the last straw, but Xie Lian suddenly recalled another scene.

Many years ago, at dusk, he also asked Mu Qing with hope:

"You know I'm not lying, right?"

How did Mu Qing answer him at that time?

He hadn't thought about these things for hundreds of years, but Mu Qing's question suddenly brought them out from the long-sealed corner.

Once the memory was out of control, countless images and sounds flashed by, and Xie Lian realized that these memories were so clear, it turned out that he had never forgotten them!

Mu Qing didn't wait for his reply. In Xie Lian's unusual silence, he seemed to slowly recall the same scene, and his expression gradually changed. It seemed that he also realized that his previous words were wrong, and he had unintentionally reminded Xie Lian of something that should not be reminded at this moment.

At this moment, Hua Cheng said quietly from behind Xie Lian, "Brother, before you make a decision, I want to remind you of a few things."

Xie Lian finally came back to his senses and asked, “What?”

Hua Chengdao: "First, unless the lava stops flowing, you will risk your life if you go to save him."

But who knew when the lava would stop flowing? The hilt had already burned red, and Mu Qing couldn't hold it for long. How could he possibly hold it until then?

Xie Lian remained silent. Hua Cheng continued, "Secondly, if Mu Qing has already surrendered to Jun Wu, Jun Wu will definitely find a way to remove him from here. But you will be in danger. And this possibility is very high. Think about his actions along the way."

He knocked Feng Xin unconscious, led them into the armory, refused to admit that he had knocked Feng Xin unconscious and even bit back, suddenly disappeared after the riot in the armory, and the lava backflow at the perfect time led them all the way here.

Now, is he deliberately leading Xie Lian to a dead end?