Xie Lian whispered to Hua Cheng, "Mu Qing doesn't know what's going on. Feng Xin is looking for Jian Lan and Tai Ling. Could it be..."
Could it be that he didn't go with the other priests and stayed in the fairy capital to look for someone, and ended up encountering this series of disasters, such as going up to heaven and down to earth, being flooded and burned?
Or worse, maybe, both of them are in Jun Wu's hands now!
At this moment, the Imperial Preceptor approached and said, "Your Highness, there's no need to look for him. If he were here, he wouldn't have any reason to hide. Although there are many people here, there aren't many he'd take seriously. Since he's not here, he can only go one place. And, he wants you to follow him."
Xie Lian understood and asked, “Tonglu Mountain?”
The Imperial Master nodded and said, "I'm afraid he's already used the technique of shrinking the earth by a thousand miles. Besides Xianjing, that's his strongest territory."
Shi Qingxuan asked, "Ah? Are you going to Tonglu Mountain? To that terrifying place???"
Xie Lian said, “I’ve been there once before, and it wasn’t that scary. Maybe Feng Xin and the others are there too.”
The Imperial Master said, "Don't be careless. This time, you'll definitely encounter something different." He paused, then said, "I'll go with you. It's best to find a few reliable Martial Gods to help you. Don't let any of them get injured; they'll only hinder us."
Now, Xie Lian was in a state of panic. "Reliable Martial Gods"? Perhaps there had been a few reliable Martial Gods before, but now there were few. Some had fallen, some were burned, some had disappeared, and some were being clung to their thighs by children, wailing uncontrollably. Hua Cheng said, "There's no need to look for other helpers. They're all useless. My brother and I are enough."
The Imperial Master said, "It's definitely not enough."
Pei Ming protested from afar, "Xueyu Tanhua, please don't say things like 'all useless' in such a convincing tone!"
Shi Qingxuan laughed and said, "General Pei, you're so anxious, but you can't kill as many mice as Master Yu. What's there to protest about?"
He hadn't seen Pei Ming in a long time, and whenever they met, he still took pleasure in mocking him. Pei Ming was poked in the sore spot by him, and there was nothing he could do about it, which made him even more depressed. Suddenly, a voice said, "Wait, there's me too. I'm going too."
Everyone parted to look, only then realizing that the person who had spoken was Mu Qing. He had unknowingly stood at the back of the crowd. Seeing him emerge, Xie Lian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Mu Qing? When did you get here? Where were you just now? I thought you were missing too."
Mu Qing said, "I've always been here."
Hua Cheng crossed his arms, glanced at him, and said, "You've been here the whole time, but you haven't said anything, and you haven't put in any effort?"
Mu Qing said calmly, "I told you I was always here. I just didn't talk much, and you didn't see me."
However, they hadn't been able to find him several times when they were short of manpower, and he hadn't appeared even when they called for him. Everyone had assumed General Xuanzhen was missing. Xie Lian still held out hope that Feng Xin might be among the crowd, but they hadn't spotted him. After searching around, they confirmed that Feng Xin was truly gone, so they said, "Alright. Will you come with us to help? Great! Finally, someone's available."
So, Mu Qing walked over. Seeing him follow, the expressions of the Imperial Master and Hua Cheng were unusually identical. They had both long since disliked Mu Qing. Hua Cheng didn't mention it, but the Imperial Master hadn't wanted to take Mu Qing as his disciple from the beginning. It was obvious from the looks of it that it was better to have no helper than to have someone like Mu Qing. Mu Qing was not unaware of their attitude, but after approaching, he still bowed to the Imperial Master and whispered, "Master."
The Imperial Preceptor nodded, but said nothing. After all, Mu Qing hadn't done anything truly unforgivable. Since he'd come to help, there was no reason to send him back. He said to Shi Qingxuan, "The Crown Prince's statue is here, and the resentful spirits will need a few days to be purified. There are several groups of people here right now, so you should keep an eye on them."
Shi Qingxuan also nodded: "Of course! But wait, Senior, I've asked you several times, can you please tell me who you are?"
The Imperial Master didn't answer. Several people followed Hua Cheng to a large house nearby. Hua Cheng casually rolled a dice and was about to open the door when, with a casual glance, his expression suddenly changed.
Xie Lian was quick to notice and asked, "What's wrong, Sanlang? Can't you use the Thousand Mile Shrinking Technique?"
Hua Cheng regained his composure, smiled slightly, and said, "No. It's just that I rarely throw out results like this."
He opened his palm to Xie Lian. Xie Lian leaned forward to take a look and was also stunned.
On the pale palm, there was only a lonely dice, which was exactly one dot.
Whenever Hua Cheng attacked, he always scored six points. A single point was truly rare. Xie Lian's heart trembled faintly as he asked, "...What does this point mean? Did I accidentally miss?"
Hua Chengdao: "Based on past experience, it probably means that there is an extremely dangerous thing waiting for me ahead."
“…”
Xie Lian's heart sank slightly. The Imperial Master said from behind, "Alas, how many times have I told you young people that gambling is bad, and you should quit as soon as possible! Your Highness, look at what bad habit he's picked up!"
The omen was not good, but Hua Cheng remained calm. He collected the dice and said with a smile, "Let's just wait and see. It doesn't matter what time it is. I have the final say on whether it's dangerous or not." He opened the door and said, "Let's go, brother."
He turned and was about to step through the door, but Xie Lian subconsciously raised his hand to grab him. He wanted to blurt out, "Don't go," but he knew without thinking that it was impossible. Finally, he whispered, "Let's go. But don't leave me. If anything happens, I will protect you."
Hearing this, Hua Cheng was stunned.
After a while, he curled up the corners of his mouth, smiled, and said, "Okay. Brother, remember to protect me."
"..." Mu Qing watched from the side, his eyes filled with either fear or chill. As Hua Cheng opened the door, a scorching wave rushed towards him, extinguishing the strange color on his face.
The volcano had erupted not long before, and even now, the thick, ash-filled sky hadn't yet cleared. Where once there had been forests, dirt, and rock, now there were flames everywhere, lingering flames, a smoldering hell, a sea of crimson. Tonglu Mountain had been completely transformed.
Xie Lian and the others emerged from a cave on a higher hillside. As they emerged, they nearly choked on the mountain ash and asked, "Is he really here?"
Mu Qing said, "It's near the copper furnace."
Xie Lian said, “The volcano has erupted. I’m afraid there’s nowhere to stay nearby.”
The Imperial Master said, "I know where he is. If that place hasn't been destroyed, come with me and you'll know once you get there."
A few people followed him down the slope. Hua Cheng walked ahead of Xie Lian all the way. He would go down first to smooth the path where the rocks were thick and difficult to walk on, then turn around and offer Xie Lian a hand, helping him down. Otherwise, Xie Lian would have already fallen down the slope—slipping from the highest point and rolling all the way to the lowest point.
Unexpectedly, while he didn't miss a step, someone else did—Mu Qing, who was trailing behind, lost his footing and swayed slightly. Xie Lian, who was closest to him, quickly grabbed him and shouted, "Be careful!"
Mu Qing shuddered slightly, as if coming to his senses, and said, "I understand."
Xie Lian let go of her hand, thinking that Mu Qing was indeed acting strangely. He turned back, then suddenly remembered something. He took two quick steps and approached Hua Cheng, whispering, "Oh, Sanlang, back at the top of the snowy mountain, when Feng Xin and Mu Qing were fighting, did you hear what they said? Why did you suddenly get angry?"
At this mention, Hua Cheng's face turned slightly cold, which disappeared in an instant. He said, "Oh, that. Those two just said something disrespectful to my brother."
“Ah?” Xie Lian asked, “What did you say?”
Hua Cheng said, "Brother, don't listen. It won't pollute your ears. Come down."
The four of them had already descended the slope and walked for a while before being blocked by a river. The river wasn't filled with clear water, but rather a red liquid that was bubbling and gurgling—it was scorching hot lava!
With this kind of heat, an ordinary person would be scorched to death just by getting close, even without falling in. It's a good thing the four of them weren't mortals that they made it this far without melting to the ground. The Imperial Preceptor wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "It should be right across, but this place was the original moat. Now it's like this, it's impossible to get through."
Xie Lian said, “I’m afraid we’ll need something to cross the river.”
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