Chapter 13: Physical Cooling of the Lava Pool and the Straight Man's Desperate Survival 2
I don’t know how long it took.
Jiang Xuelan was awakened by a fierce quarrel.
"You stupid cow! Be gentle! Do you want to strangle Wang to death?!" A shrill and aggressive voice.
"You know shit! Wang's ribs might be broken! How can we fix it if we don't tie it tightly?!" A rough voice with a crying tone.
"Broken ribs are useless if you tie your chest! Legs! There's something wrong with Wang's legs! Ouch, my old waist..."
"Shut up! You old turtle! Hurry up and use your turtle qi to heal the king!"
Jiang Xuelan struggled to open his eyes. His vision was blurry, and his entire body felt like it had been trampled by ten thousand armored beasts. Every bone groaned, and his skin burned with pain. He found himself lying on the cold, hard obsidian ground beside a lava pool, still wrapped in the tattered black robe that vaguely resembled Li Jiuyou's. The lava pool was still bubbling not far away, emitting terrifying heat waves.
Not far away, Man Gu was frantically trying to tie up the unconscious Li Jiuyou with torn strips of cloth, his movements as clumsy as if he were tying up a dumpling. Li Jiuyou's face was as pale as paper (from excessive blood loss), with dried blood at the corners of his mouth. His chest was wrapped in a tangled mess of cloth, and one leg was twisted in a strange position, clearly seriously injured. Xuan Jia extended his claws and carefully pressed them against Li Jiuyou's chest, his green eyes filled with solemnity, and faint wisps of earthy yellow air slowly entered. Ah Che, with a head of scorched black hair (burned by the shockwave) and a few black and gray streaks on his face, was squatting nervously beside him, tightly grasping the half-broken broom handle in his hand.
"Cough cough..." Jiang Xuelan couldn't help coughing twice, and his throat felt burning.
"Brother! You're awake?!" A Che was the first to notice and rushed over in surprise, but his legs went weak and he fell directly beside Jiang Xuelan, "Brother, are you okay? I was scared to death! I thought you were cooked by the demon king!" His eyes were filled with tears.
"Immortal Lord! You are still alive! That's great!" Man Gu also looked over excitedly. He exerted force with his hand, and the unconscious Li Jiuyou groaned and frowned in pain.
"Stupid cow! Be gentle!" Xuanjia cursed, and the ochre light on his claws flickered unsteadily.
Jiang Xuelan ignored them, his gaze fixed on the unconscious Li Jiuyou. This once-invincible beast was now as shambled and fragile as a rag doll. Thinking back to that fateful throw just now… while the method was appallingly brutal, in a sense… it had indeed saved him? At least it had prevented him from being blasted to dust by the Immortal Sect's killing array, and even somehow suppressed the remnant of the evil god's spirit?
"How is he...?" Jiang Xuelan asked in a hoarse voice, purely based on the position of "grasshoppers on the same rope".
"It's terrible!" Xuanjia retracted its claws, its eyes filled with worry. "The rampage of the demon core has already damaged its origin, and it was hit hard by the immortal sect's killing array. The backlash is severe! The external injuries are okay, but the internal injuries are troublesome! What's more troublesome is..." It paused, and glanced at Jiang Xuelan with its small eyes, "The backlash of the Heart-Slaying Contract has also come. Wang forcibly interrupted the energy connection in the rampage state, and in order to protect you (physically throwing magma), he bore most of the power of the killing array. The backlash of the contract is eroding his foundation!"
"Protect me?" Jiang Xuelan's mouth twitched, remembering the scene of himself being thrown into the magma like a broken sack. "He calls that protection?" (Straight male understanding: protection ≠ throwing hot pot)
"Why not!" Man Gu stiffened his neck, his face radiating loyalty that said, "You don't understand the King." "The King regained consciousness at the last moment and immediately threw you into the lava pool, the only place that could weaken the evil god's power and avoid the core of the killing array! What a precise judgment! What a deep love... uh, a bond of solidarity!" He braked in time, pulled out a small notebook, and quickly wrote down: "The Immortal Lord questions the King's protective methods. Does this mean he has a unique understanding of 'romance'? Suggestion: Try a princess carry next time? But the King's leg is broken... that's going to be difficult."
"..." Jiang Xuelan decided to ignore the overthinking bull demon. He struggled to sit up and check on Li Jiuyou. As soon as he moved, the wound on his shoulder, burned by the lava, sent a piercing pain through him, causing him to gasp.
"Brother, don't move!" A Che quickly held him down, "Your shoulder is badly injured! And your body... is all burned red!" He looked at the large red marks and blisters on Jiang Xuelan's arms and neck exposed outside the torn robe with heartache.
"I won't die." Jiang Xuelan gritted his teeth, enduring the pain. His gaze swept across the shattered, crumbling side hall of the Red Blood Palace, then to the unconscious Li Jiuyou, his brow furrowed. If the Immortal Sect fails in their attack, they will definitely not give up! That woman, Bai Zhi, gave him that last look... filled with murderous intent. This place shouldn't be stayed for long! But with Li Jiuyou so wounded, the Demon Realm is now leaderless, with the demons and Immortal Sect pursuing them outside...
Just then—
"Report--!!!" A panicked little demon tumbled and crawled into the dilapidated palace gate, his voice tinged with tears, "Report--Report to Lord Man Gu! No--It's bad! The Red Flame Demonic Dragon Clan has joined forces with the Bone Demons of Beimang Mountain. They've taken advantage of the king--the king's serious injury and are attacking with a large number of troops! They've already breached the three outer lines of defense! They say...they say they want to raze the Red Blood Palace and capture the Immortal King alive...as a gift to the Immortal Sect!"
The hall suddenly became silent!
Man Gu's face turned pale.
A Che was so scared that the broom handle in his hand fell to the ground again.
Xuanjia completely retracted his head into his shell: "Misfortunes never come alone..."
Jiang Xuelan's heart sank to the bottom. Internal troubles (Li Jiuyou was seriously injured and unconscious), external threats (rebels and pursuers from the immortal sect), and a time bomb (the residual soul of the evil god and the heart-destroying contract within his body)... This was the beginning of hell!
He lowered his head, looking at Li Jiuyou, who was still unconscious, his brow furrowed and his face pale. This foolish demon could no longer be relied upon. Was he... going to have to rely on himself to fight his way out of the encirclement, carrying a seriously injured soldier, a foolish junior fellow, an unreliable bull demon, and a turtle that cowered in fear?
At this moment, the unconscious Li Jiuyou seemed to sense something, and his fingers twitched unconsciously. An extremely weak, commanding thought, through the connection of the Heart-Slaying Contract, forced its way into Jiang Xuelan's sea of consciousness:
[Run... take... my... demon pill... and go... to... the Tomb of Ten Thousand Demons...] He spoke intermittently and was extremely weak.
Jiang Xuelan was shocked! Demon Pill?! Tomb of Ten Thousand Demons?!
He subconsciously glanced towards Li Jiuyou's Dantian. There, a faint but extremely pure and powerful energy wave was restlessly stirring. This was the core of Li Jiuyou's power, and also his most vulnerable point at the moment! The rebels' target might also include this demon pill containing divine and demonic power!
"Man Gu!" Jiang Xuelan made a quick decision, his voice carrying an undeniable coldness. "Carry your king on your back! Ah Che, pick up your 'weapon'! Xuan Jia, lead the way! To the Tomb of Ten Thousand Demons!"
"Ah? The Tomb of Ten Thousand Demons?!" Man Gu and A Che exclaimed simultaneously, their faces even paler than before. That was a forbidden area in the demon realm; any living creature that entered would be in mortal danger!
"What else?" Jiang Xuelan coldly glanced at the faint shouts and demonic auras coming from outside the hall. "Stay here and be made into skewers, or be sent to the immortal sect as a token of loyalty?"
Man Gu gritted his teeth, leaned over, and carefully carried the unconscious Li Jiuyou on his back, his movements much gentler. Ah Che frantically picked up the broom handle and nervously clutched it to his chest. Xuan Jia slowly poked his head out of his shell, a gleam in his green eyes. "Myriad Demon Tomb? Hehe, that's interesting... Follow closely, don't fall behind! If you fall behind, I won't be responsible for retrieving your body!"
Jiang Xuelan took a deep breath, endured the severe pain all over his body, stood up, and wrapped the tattered black robe tightly. He took a last look at the unconscious and defenseless Li Jiuyou. His usually arrogant and domineering face was now only weak and pale.
**Stupid demon, I'm temporarily taking over your life and demon pill! Hold on!**
He took the lead and headed towards the dusty and cobweb-covered secret passage behind the side hall that Xuan Jia had pointed to. His figure, silhouetted against the backdrop of the dilapidated temple and the faint glow of distant fires, was thin but straight, carrying a sense of desperate determination.
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