Chapter 74 Resonance from the Same Cluster of Flames
Yan Xiaochuan's shout was heard by everyone in the Dragon Slayer Cave.
Although the disciples in the eighth section also knew Su Tong and the others' location, it was nighttime, and moving around would lead to winding mountain paths and easy getting lost.
The location Yan Xiaochuan mentioned was quite remote, and since no one knew what was there, no one dared to make any rash moves.
People who are not very skilled at "star-gazing for divination" will not choose to act at night.
Mei Liangyu and Zhong Lishan took Shi Yuezhen to find someone. They happened to be in front of the teleportation array. After entering the cave, they were teleported back to the eighth section. They followed the directions of the stars in the sky and proceeded in the opposite direction.
If we encounter someone on the street, we simply walk around them to avoid conflict and wasting time.
Standing by the river, Gu Gan fell into deep thought. Hearing that Yu Sui had been struck by lightning, he frowned, a look of worry appearing on his face. He wanted to go back, but then he heard Yan Xiaochuan calling for Shi Yuezhen. Qian Ying had been eliminated by Zhong Lishan, and there was nothing he could do to help if he went over there now.
If Qian Ying were still alive, things wouldn't be like this.
He immediately took Qian Ying back to find someone to help remove the lightning seal.
The colder the light in Gu Gan's eyes, the greater the loss for him was Qian Ying's elimination.
"Do you want to go and take a look?" Xun Zhiya asked.
Gu Gan turned his head, and Li Jinshuang also looked over.
Xun Zhiya paused for a moment, then continued, "About Nangong Sui."
“She only reaches the first realm each year. The fact that she was able to reach the eighth section of the dragon's belly means that someone must have been helping her.” Gu Gan lowered his head slightly, his expression dark and unreadable. “Shi Yuezhen will definitely go there, and so will Sheng Fei. If we go there now, we might run into each other.”
After a moment of silence, Gu Gan said, "I'll go check on them when Ji Meng and the others arrive."
He was still a little worried.
Although Sheng Fei also returned, he was stopped on the way by a rival of the famous family, which delayed him and allowed Mei Liangyu and the other two to go ahead.
The beach was still bathed in moonlight, and Yan Xiaochuan was cautious in the water, not daring to move.
Su Tong also stood on the beach, trying to stay as far away from the sea as possible. She looked around, carefully sensing the presence and flow of the five elements around her, and analyzed, "There are large and small array secret realms and armor formations in the Dragon Slaying Cave. Occasionally, one might accidentally enter one, but it's unclear which one they trigger."
Yan Xiaochuan looked up and asked, "Are there also military formations in the water?"
Who was so cunning as to trigger the armored formation and release it into the sea?!
“Yes,” Su Tong said. “The Chao Xing Hai and Long Zhong Yu formations are both primarily designed for naval warfare and are high-level formations.”
Hearing her say that, Yan Xiaochuan became even more cautious and retreated, preparing to take a longer route to get ashore, so as not to be dragged into the enemy formation and leave Su Tong alone outside, which would be dangerous.
Su Tong dared to let Yan Xiaochuan shout at the Dragon Slayer Cave because their location was remote enough that there were hardly any people along the way, and their luck was at its peak.
Secondly, she believed that Shi Yuezhen and the others would definitely come.
Not to mention that Zhonglishan will definitely come, Mei Liangyu has already asked her to take care of Yu Sui. Upon hearing this news, and since she is not far away, she will definitely rush back.
As Yan Xiaochuan took a detour, he muttered to himself, "Why didn't our sage Xue foresee this?"
Su Tong came up with an excuse for Xue Mushi: "Perhaps the journey has been too exhausting, and we have been relying on his guidance to move forward."
“That’s true.” Yan Xiaochuan swam towards the shore. “He’s had a tough time. If it really is a military formation, he’ll have to protect the little princess inside.”
Su Tong thought to herself that it was hard to say.
Xue Mushi and Yu Sui are indeed capable in certain situations, but their abilities are questionable in a battlefield like a military formation where combat skills are crucial.
Su Tong said, "If it's a military formation, they should both know that as long as they stay inside for a quarter of an hour without making a move, they can come out. But if it's a battle with a puppet formation, that would be troublesome."
To prevent any accidents, Su Tong, despite her dizziness, cast a divination spell to set up a protective barrier near the beach in the jungle. If anyone else came, she could make them get lost and unable to find their way back for a while.
Because of using the Ninth-Rank Technique again, Su Tong's face paled even more, her mind a mix of ice and fire. Unsteady on her feet, she squatted down against a boulder on the beach.
A quarter of an hour passed, and Yu Sui and Xue Mushi still hadn't returned to the beach.
Su Tong thought to herself that this was troublesome; she was probably entangled by the puppet formation inside and would have to break through the formation to get out.
At the same time, she sensed someone approaching. As soon as she looked up, she saw a familiar figure in front of her. Zhong Lishan's tall body blocked the moonlight, and the shadow he cast also obscured Su Tong, who was squatting against the rock.
He arrived using his wind manipulation technique, the five elements energy flowing around him not yet completely dissipated.
Su Tong blinked, then breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhong Lishan squatted down, reached out and touched Su Tong's forehead, and asked her, "Where are the Taoists?"
“You don’t need to lift a finger.” Su Tong smiled, slightly raising her chin. Even though she looked weak, she couldn’t hide the pride in her eyes. “Sui Sui, Yan Xiaochuan, and I have already knocked them out of the game.”
"Senior Brother Liangyu!" After safely landing ashore, Yan Xiaochuan waved to Mei Liangyu, whose shadow had stopped on the beach.
Mei Liangyu only saw Su Tong and Yan Xiaochuan, not the others. She frowned and looked over to ask, "Where is Nangong Sui?"
"The young princess was sucked away by the seawater over there. It seems to be a magic formation or some other military formation in the Dragon Slayer Cave," Yan Xiaochuan explained, pointing in a direction for Mei Liangyu.
Mei Liangyu glanced at Su Tong beside the boulder. She looked terrible. Su Tong was on the verge of death after being struck by golden lightning and burned by lightning fire. He wondered how much worse his delicate junior sister was suffering.
"Who fired the golden thunder?" Mei Liangyu asked Yan Xiaochuan.
Yan Xiaochuan raised his hand and replied enthusiastically, "Wen Yanghui from the Daoist school! We were originally crossing the river at Longwei to reach the teleportation point when Wen Yanghui arrived and started beating people without saying a word! He knocked Senior Sister Su and the little princess into the water, and I immediately went down to save them!"
His eyes practically screamed, "I did a great job!"
"Wen Yanghui?" Mei Liangyu laughed when he heard this, but there was no real smile in his eyes.
This kid probably targeted Su Tong.
He was on good terms with Gu Gan, so why did he even beat up Gu Gan's childhood sweetheart?
Could it be because Nangong Sui is my junior sister?
Then he messed with the wrong person.
Mei Liangyu didn't say anything and walked towards the azure sea.
"Senior Brother Liangyu!" Yan Xiaochuan was about to warn him of the danger when Mei Liangyu replied without turning his head, "I'll go and bring the person out."
Yan Xiaochuan withdrew his raised hand and touched his nose. He looked at Mei Liangyu going alone and felt a little envious. It's good to be strong. You can pretend anytime, anywhere, and do it with confidence and self-assurance.
The key point is that it also made him feel relieved and safe, and that he had nothing to worry about with him around.
He truly deserves to be recognized as a promising talent by my master.
Yan Xiaochuan prayed in his heart, hoping that his master would praise him like that someday.
Mei Liangyu walked towards the center of the natural scenic area and disappeared instantly.
Zhongli Shan withdrew his gaze and said, "It should be a military formation."
"That's what I thought too. They didn't come out by the appointed time, so they're probably going to kill the city's garrison commander," Su Tong said weakly.
Shi Yuezhen walked over the boulder to her side, glanced at her injuries, gently shook her head, and raised her hand, golden five elements energy flowing between her fingers. She made Su Tong turn her back and helped her remove the lightning mark from her clothes.
Zhong Lishan and Yan Xiaochuan tactfully turned around.
After being glanced at by Zhong Lishan, Yan Xiaochuan moved a little further away and stared at Zhong Lishan longingly.
Zhong Lishan said, "Sheng Fei is also behind."
Yan Xiaochuan's expression changed. "Then I'm doomed."
Brother Liangyu, you must hurry up and rescue the little princess!
Yu Sui saw the waves in the sky for a short while before she lost her footing and fell into the sea through the clouds. She reacted quickly and raised her Five Elements Qi for protection. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a huge red fish slowly swimming past behind her.
Thirteen Realms High-Level Military Armor Formation: Dragon and Fish.
The red fish was as huge as the sky, but as flat as a sheet of paper in Yu Sui's eyes, swimming slowly in the clear seawater illuminated by the moonlight.
Each fish scale resembles a city gate, with the scales raised as if the gates were wide open. Some scales have completely black mouths, while others are ablaze with fire, and there are even puppet soldiers guarding the entrance.
Looking back, Yu Sui saw countless black paper boats following the tail of the red fish. Whether it was due to the water flow or something else, one black paper boat after another sailed into the fish's mouth.
Each black paper boat carries a full load of little paper figures, each wielding a sword. They appear to be paper figures, but once inside the fish-scaled mouth, they transform into terrifying puppet warriors.
Yu Sui knew that he had mistakenly entered the armored formation inside the Dragon Slayer Cave, so he wanted to avoid the black paper boats and not get close to the red fish. He thought he could leave after staying here for a quarter of an hour.
Just as she was about to turn around in the water, she saw a familiar figure fall down.
Xue Mushi, who suddenly fell from the sky, stared at Yu Sui in the water.
Both of them held their breath underwater, using the Bagua Life Technique to cross the water and maintain their breathing, while the golden Five Elements Qi circulated rapidly.
Xue Mushi made a gesture to Yu Sui, indicating that she should look up.
Yu Sui looked up and saw a huge black warship floating overhead, casting a shadow that obscured the red fish. With the moonlight obscured, figures dressed in armor and wielding swords appeared in the originally clear water.
Beneath their silver helmets, their eyes gleamed with a dark golden light as they locked their sights on the two outsiders in the water, raising their weapons high.
Yu Sui and Xue Mushi exchanged a glance, then turned and ran towards the red fish.
The black warships moved slowly on the water, completely blocking out the moonlight, turning the water pitch black. Only the faint shimmer of red fish scales and the firelight coming from the mouths of the upturned fish scales could be seen.
Yu Sui and Xue Mushi were unwilling to fight these puppet soldiers. Once they made a move, they had to kill the royal city's garrison commander before they could leave the battlefield.
However, the puppet soldiers inside used the Bagua Life Technique to cross the water, moving like fish in flight, chasing fiercely, and even forming a square formation to surround the two from all sides.
Yu Sui and Xue Mushi proceeded cautiously, only defending and not attacking, constantly dodging and weaving, as they struggled to approach the red fish.
Using the Nine Streams Technique to cross water and the Wind Control Technique, Yu Sui broke through the encirclement of the puppet army and reached a high place. Looking back, he saw the Fish Scale Mouth in front of him, a black hole comparable in size to a city gate, pitch black as far as the eye could see.
With a wave of her hand, Zhou Tianhuo flew into the cave by climbing the stone wall at the entrance. The long line of fire illuminated the inside, revealing that it was empty.
Yu Sui came to the high place because he did not see the black paper boat enter the fish-scale mouth at the top.
She leaped to the fish-scale mouth illuminated by Zhou Tianhuo, looked back at Xue Mushi below, and gestured for him to come up and hide there.
As soon as they entered the Fish Scale Mouth, they could feel the dry air. Yu Sui withdrew from the water crossing and stood close to the stone wall at the cave entrance, watching Xue Mushi shake off the puppet soldiers in the water below and come up.
Xue Mushi breathed a sigh of relief after entering, and also withdrew from the ferry. He covered his throat and coughed twice.
The Fish Scale Cave was very long; even if Yu Sui's Heavenly Fire were transformed into a long line, the end would not be visible. However, they were certain that there was nothing behind it, so they did not go back but instead stayed at the cave entrance to watch the changes in the water outside.
"How did you fall in too?" Yu Sui asked him.
"I don't know," Xue Mushi said blankly. "When I saw Yan Xiaochuan find the 'Sound of Crossing the Water,' I wanted to go back to the shore, but I fell in while swimming."
Yu Sui: "Ah, I fell down while swimming."
Xue Mushi nodded blankly.
Seeing that he was even more dull than she had been when she was a child, Yu Sui couldn't help but ask, "Are you sure you weren't rejected by the Holy Maiden because you were too stupid?"
Xue Mushi lowered his head and replied in a muffled voice, "No."
"Then why was the engagement broken off?" Yu Sui asked.
Xue Mushi raised his hand to rub his eyes, but didn't answer, clearly not wanting to continue the topic.
Yu Sui didn't press for answers. Looking back down, the puppet soldiers seemed to have no idea where they had gone and began to wander aimlessly in the water like headless flies.
There were just too many of them, and the moonlight was blocked out. The water was dark and murky, and there were puppet soldiers holding swords everywhere, like piranhas patrolling the sea.
“This is a military formation. If we hold out a little longer, we should be able to get out,” Yu Sui said softly. “I didn’t expect there to be an underwater military formation.”
Although she knew there were natural landscapes in the sea, she didn't know it was a military formation. She had only taken a couple of steps forward when she was dragged into the formation.
Xue Mushi also looked down and whispered, "Armor formations are rare, even underwater ones are uncommon. I've seen them before in Taiyuan. If it were a live formation used by military strategists, the entire city would be flooded by the sea."
Yu Sui looked back curiously: "Is he the military strategist from Taiyuan?"
Xue Mushi shook his head, "It is your Qingyang's Great General, Zhongli Ci."
"General Zhongli?" Yu Sui was stunned. "How could he have deployed the Dragon Fish Soldier Formation in Taiyuan?"
"It's a remote city in Taiyuan. I'm not sure. It seems like they're competing against a disciple of a military strategist from Taiyuan." Xue Mushi spoke vaguely, as if he regretted bringing it up. He awkwardly changed the subject, "How did you fall down?"
"Don't you think you asked too late?" Yu Sui asked, puzzled. "If you want to change the subject, you can ask something else."
Xue Mushi opened his mouth and let out a short "ah," feeling a little embarrassed.
He racked his brains before changing the subject: "I've heard that the further you go into the Dragon Slayer Cave, the more magical formations like these appear. Are you confident you can overcome them?"
Yu Sui said, "Maybe."
It's quite possible that the power of the Heavenly Eye could be used to break through a military formation and illusion.
Unless she encounters a magic array that cannot be broken using the Heavenly Eye.
Like the poison arrays used by doctors and the Gu arrays used by farmers.
The practitioners of magic arts are based on witchcraft, the Yin-Yang school on incantations, the medical school on poisons, and the agricultural school on Gu poisons.
The four schools that master witchcraft, incantations, poisons, and gu all like to add strange and unusual things to their magic arrays, making them more difficult to deal with and harder to defend against than armored formations.
After hearing Yu Sui's answer, Xue Mushi looked at her with a hint of admiration.
Yu Sui said gently, "However, I am not so arrogant as to challenge a thirteenth-level formation with only the strength of the first realm."
Xue Mushi honestly replied, "But you can still deploy a top-tier armored formation."
“…Then I’m still at the first level. Yan Xiaochuan will get the Sound of Crossing the Water and call Sister Yuezhen back. Then my senior brothers will know I’m here, and maybe they’ll take us with them.” Yu Sui looked at Xue Mushi with a gentle smile and a calm expression. “It seems like there aren’t any Taoist disciples in their group yet. Maybe they’ll have to rely on you to use divination to take a shortcut and reach Dragon’s Throat faster.”
Upon hearing this, Xue Mushi frowned and said, "Isn't it a bit too risky to perform divination in front of your senior brothers? They might see through me."
Yu Sui said, "Master Xue, have some confidence in yourself."
Xue Mushi: "That's really not the case."
“The teleportation points you identified are all valid, so how can you claim to have seen through them?” Yu Sui retorted.
Xue Mushi added, "If they leave the Dragon-Slaying Cave, they'll come to me for divination..."
“Then I won’t take the divination.” Yu Sui said decisively, “Don’t agree, don’t speak, be a cold-blooded fortune teller. As long as you don’t take the initiative, no one can force you.”
"Oh." Xue Mushi nodded, as if he understood.
Yu Sui added, "As long as you're ruthless enough, they won't dare to come after you."
Xue Mushi nodded again, as if he thought she was right, and was seriously thinking about his own way out.
As the two continued their conversation, time was running out. The giant black ship sailed away, the shadows receded, and moonlight shone back into the water.
Xue Mushi looked out at the puppet army formation that was disappearing under the moonlight. He thought that if he held on a little longer, he could get out.
Just as Yu Sui was about to look outside, she noticed that the Listening Wind Ruler was glowing slightly, so she clicked on it to take a look.
It was a message sent by Zhong Lique.
"Sui Sui, don't go into the cave, you'll be tortured to death by a thousand cuts."
Zhong Lique trembled as she gave the most concise and clear information.
Yu Sui felt her heart sink to the bottom.
She instantly thought of a possibility, because it had happened before.
Zhong Lique would be burned to death if he met her, and he told her not to go to a certain place.
But what Zhong Lique actually foresaw was her death, a death she would experience in sync with the one who would destroy the world with the strange fire.
But Yu Sui had no way to avoid it.
Yu Sui looked up at Xue Mushi standing in front of her, her mind racing. Time was running out, but she couldn't leave the formation. There were still Yan Xiaochuan and Su Tong outside, as well as Mei Liangyu and the others who were on their way.
The words "death by a thousand cuts" echoed in her mind, making Yu Sui's heart pound.
It's impossible for her to remain calm and composed in front of so many people while enduring the agony of being slowly sliced to death.
"Oh no!" Xue Mushi suddenly said.
A black paper boat somehow swam up to the entrance of the cave where they were.
"Go." Xue Mushi turned and retreated. Yu Sui acted at the same time. As they ran deeper into the Fish Scale Cave, the paper figures that came off the boat instantly transformed into puppet soldiers, wielding swords and chasing after them.
Yu Sui had only run a few steps when he suddenly stopped, turned around, and attacked.
The lightning serpent moved forward following the two roars of the stone wall, engaging in combat with the warrior puppets charging at the forefront, with lightning and flames flashing intertwined.
Xue Mushi looked at Yu Sui, who had suddenly made a move, with a puzzled expression. This way, they wouldn't be able to get out of the armored formation.
Although puzzled, he thought Yu Sui was going to fight, so he stopped and turned around to help. The copper coins flew out with a pleasant sound. Xue Mushi had just cast a divination when he suddenly felt something strange. The flame deep in his consciousness swayed, and a small black dot slowly rotated in the flame.
Xue Mushi's expression changed drastically.
Yu Sui turned around and happened to see this scene. The two looked up at the same time and sensed the same power.
A resonance from the same cluster of flames.
The two were shocked and momentarily forgot about the pursuing puppet army. They swung their swords forward. Yu Sui reacted faster and dodged the sword energy, but Xue Mushi was hit by the sword energy and sent flying far away, his blood splattering all over the ground.
An angry male voice echoed in their minds: "Who's going to die this time?"
The androgynous voice also said, "Time flies a little too fast."
Yu Sui looked at Xue Mushi with trembling eyes. Xue Mushi, who was standing up against the wall, clutched his shoulder and looked at her in disbelief.
Zhou Tianhuo illuminated the dark stone cave, and also the trembling eyes of the young boy and girl.
Xue Mushi is actually... a destroyer of the world?
Yu Sui caught sight of the swarming puppet army chasing after them out of the corner of his eye. Before the pain could strike, he unleashed another lightning strike, sending many of them flying. After creating some distance, he took a deep breath and said, "Let's go."
Xue Mushi reacted quickly, and the two of them rode the wind deeper into the cave, the voice of the fifth, soon-to-die World Destroyer echoing in their minds:
"Why... I clearly... did what they told me to do, why are they still treating me like this?"
The boy's voice, which had once broken down, was still breaking down now.
News of the appearance of the World Destroyer reached Taiyi.
The first to receive it were the sages of the Ghost Daoist school who could sense the consciousness of heaven and earth.
The Sage Changgen then relayed the message to the other sages of Taiyi.
The sage Leng Rouyin, who was at the Military Academy, paused slightly.
Yu Sheng and Zhu Lao, who were guarding the dragon head position in the Dragon-Slaying Cave, sensed something and looked towards the sky.
The sage physician, picking herbs in the courtyard, sighed softly.
Five saints from Taiyi also went, while the other saints who stayed behind learned the location of the world destroyer in the Dan Kingdom, which was a nineteen-year-old boy.
In a certain bustling street in the Dan Kingdom, the densely packed army had already occupied the area. The people living there had been driven out of the city, and countless thirteen realms guarded every street and alley.
Saints from different countries are rushing towards the end of the alley to slay the destroyer of the world.
In the shadows at the end of the alley, the boy, driven to the brink of despair, lay dying, his blood flowing like a river.
As soon as Mei Liangyu entered the Dragon Fish Cave, he saw the entrance flashing with lightning and flames, and then vanished in an instant.
[Author's Note]
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com