Chapter 26 First published on Jinjiang Literature City: I serve you as my master, and will be your servant for life (Part 4)...
The stone walls inside the cave had been scorched, and the charred marks, dried by the wind over an unknown period of time, became increasingly stiff, like the sinister horns of a beast, snaking with a dim light.
The closer Yao Sisi got to the depths, the more she felt the burning sensation. Only then did she realize how thrilling the battle had been. If she had been even slightly slow, she would have been burned to a crisp by the fire snake.
"Rijiu, you said it's so hot up ahead, are there any fire snakes?"
Ri Jiu sniffed and said in a low voice, "I don't know... the flames interfered with my sense of smell."
Yao Sisi saw the firelight ahead: "That senior might be a pill refiner, and this might be his pill refining room."
Ri Jiu understood what she meant. She was saying that there might be elixirs or other medicines ahead, and it would be a pity if they retreated because of the danger.
Neither of them intended to give up, and they slowly walked forward. After walking for about several dozen meters, the scene at the corner came into view: a pool several dozen meters wide, filled not with water but with a raging fire that burned tirelessly.
There was a stone table by the pool, on which sat a small cauldron and a wooden box. Yao Sisi looked around warily, but found no trace of the fire serpent. She breathed a sigh of relief and quickly approached. When she picked up the small cauldron, she realized that it was not a medicine furnace, but a weapon-refining furnace.
"Hmm? That senior might be a weapon cultivator!"
While Ri Jiu was pondering the small cauldron, she opened the small wooden box, inside which was a collarbone chain. She didn't know what material it was made of, but it felt warm to the touch like a special mineral, with a black bead in the center.
Yao Sisi narrowed her eyes. Was that a collarbone chain? It looked more like a choker, the kind pets wear…
However, what's inside this wooden box is even more bizarre and fantastical, with an excellent texture. If you don't look closely, you might mistake it for the skin and bones of some kind of mythical beast.
"Take him up and have a look."
Ri Jiu said, "Sisi, don't you like this? Why don't you take it? It's a defensive magic artifact."
Yao Sisi sniffed; she had no desire to use this thing. "I don't want it. I have a defensive magic artifact. Put it on and let me see."
Seeing that she genuinely didn't want it, Ri Jiu forced a drop of blood from his fingertip onto the magic artifact. The artifact automatically flew up and wrapped around his neck. Yao Sisi walked away and saw that the handsome fox spirit was wearing a bright red cloak, with an exquisite belt around his waist, black leather boots, and a collar around his neck. The brim of his hat covered half of his face, creating a somewhat strange and alluring sight.
Yao Sisi: "It fits you quite well, and it makes you feel safer."
Ri Jiu smiled and put away the small wooden box: "Sisi is concerned about me!"
Yao Sisi didn't reply to him. She put the small cauldron into her storage bag and walked along the edge of the pool. "Having a cauldron but no earth fire makes it difficult to refine weapons. It seems I'll have to come here more often in the future."
Ri Jiu: "Do you want to learn weapon crafting?"
Yao Sisi: "That's right!"
As she walked and pondered, the fire in the pool intensified like boiling water. In an instant, almost before she could react, a tongue of fire, as thin as a finger, shot out. It seemed to have eyes and coiled around Yao Sisi on the shore like a serpent.
Her defensive artifact activated on its own, but it shattered and fell from above her head with a crack after only a few seconds. She had only run a few meters away.
When Ri Jiu saw the tongue of fire trying to drag her into the pool, she was so frightened that she broke out in a cold sweat and instantly transformed back into her original form, her large tail desperately pulling at her body.
Yao Sisi was in a daze at this moment. It felt like something had entered her body, and she felt so uncomfortable that she wanted to bang her head against the wall.
She groaned in pain, feeling that if she hadn't cultivated the Spirit Refining Technique, she would have completely fainted by now. But something had intruded into her consciousness, forcing her to forcefully expel it.
Rijiu stomped its front paws on the ground with all its might, the sharp tips of its claws digging deep into the earth. It gritted its teeth and felt that the fur on its big tail had been burned away, and it could even smell the burning of its skin.
He was in so much pain that he didn't even dare to groan, afraid that opening his mouth would cause him to lose his breath. He just desperately pulled on Yao Sisi's waist, struggling against the flames, refusing to give up.
Yao Sisi suddenly opened her eyes, her eyes bloodshot as if she were possessed, which terrified Ri Jiu. The struggle with the flames had already exhausted all its strength. If Sisi did not cooperate, wouldn't it perish in the sea of fire?
A glint of clarity flashed in Yao Sisi's pupils. She swung her broadsword at the flames, weakening the base of the flames before they quickly reconnected. Taking advantage of the severed flames, Ri Jiu swung its tail forcefully, sending Yao Sisi flying more than ten meters away, landing her on the path they had come from.
The flames in the fire pit, like sharks that have smelled blood, bared their sharp teeth and spread toward the shore.
Yao Sisi had already fainted. Her body was burning hot, like a branding iron. Ri Jiu picked her up and fled for their lives. They saw a fox with a charred tail running around. It was running in a sorry state. The tail that was used to maintain its balance was too badly injured, causing it to bump into walls from time to time while running. Even so, it did not abandon the person on its back.
A cry of pain came from inside the cave. The flames had wrapped around its ankle, and in an instant, its ankle was burning and bleeding profusely. Ri Jiu ran as fast as it could, but its ankle kept cracking and bleeding. It wasn't until it was almost at the cave entrance that it felt the flames recede like a tide.
Ri Jiu didn't dare to stop and kept running with Yao Sisi to the riverbank. He slowly led her into the river, and as soon as they went in, the water made a sizzling sound, like cold water being splashed on a hot iron, instantly evaporating into wisps of smoke.
Yao Sisi frowned. A ball of spiritual fire had entered her dantian and was frantically absorbing the spiritual energy within, as if it wanted to drain her dry.
She struggled desperately, when suddenly she felt her body lighten. Her previously burning body and scorching meridians felt as if she had been plunged into icy water, and the water was endless. She quickly gripped the Xuan Stone, absorbing the Xuan Qi within. She didn't know how many pieces it shattered before her body finally felt slightly better.
The spiritual fire within her body was also weakened, flickering and becoming gentle. Yao Sisi's consciousness entered the spiritual fire, and a contract slowly formed.
She slowly opened her eyes and found herself lying in the river, with a little fox swimming beneath her. The fox was paddling frantically with its front paws, panting heavily with its tongue lolling out, and the white sash she had given it was wrapped around its waist.
It actually wrapped the two of them together with a loincloth...
Rijiu hadn't realized that the person on its back had woken up. All it knew was that the water they had swum through had turned from cold to hot, so it had to keep carrying her until the water around them was no longer hot.
Yao Sisi wanted to call it, but found she couldn't speak. Her throat felt like it was burned, dry and hoarse. Lying on her back, she could only reach out and scratch its back, trying to let it know she was awake.
Unexpectedly, this stirred up a hornet's nest. The little fox thought it had been bitten by a fish, and its fur stood on end. It leaped out of the water, splashing water everywhere. Yao Sisi was hit in the face and couldn't help coughing, her voice hoarse as if she were about to die.
Rijiu exclaimed, "Oh!" and said, "Sisi!"
Yao Sisi couldn't say anything for the moment, she just reached out and stroked its fur.
Ri Jiu quickly left the river and carried her ashore. "Sisi, you're finally awake! Are you still hot?"
The little fox came ashore soaking wet. Seeing her shake her head, it breathed a sigh of relief. It no longer had to run, so it transformed into human form.
But... Yao Sisi was still on its fox back, so the scene turned into a man and a woman lying back to back on the grass...
Yao Sisi's hand was still on the other person's waist, in a stroking position, but the sensation under her hand suddenly changed, and her expression changed instantly. If she could speak, she would definitely have yelled.
Rijiu! Where are your clothes?
Ri Jiu didn't understand Yao Sisi's meaning. He slowly untied the cloth belt around his waist and changed his clothes in an instant.
Yao Sisi stared silently at the sky, her hands frozen, not daring to move. She only turned her gaze when she heard the sound of fabric rustling. But she couldn't even utter a word of warning. She could only helplessly point to her throat.
Ri Jiu asked, "Is Sisi's throat injured?"
Yao Sisi nodded, then sighed. She should keep some of the spiritual spring water for herself; maybe it would come in handy…
Rijiu hid its tail behind its back and took out a large cloak to cover itself, but Yao Sisi smelled the aroma of meat.
She pointed behind him, as if to say: Are you injured?
Ri Jiu said aggrievedly, "I got burned by that flame. I will definitely come back for revenge when my cultivation level is high!"
Yao Sisi was exhausted, her legs were weak and her whole body was powerless. She slowly got up, lifted the hem of his clothes, and the tail covered with scars was directly exposed in front of her eyes. The tail was badly injured, the flesh was almost burned away, and only the bones were barely supporting it. Moreover, for some reason, there were cracks on the bones.
She paused, took out a Rejuvenation Pill from her storage bag, and since it was inconvenient to speak, she simply poured one out and put it directly into his mouth.
This was the first time she had taken out the Rejuvenation Pill. Because it was very expensive, she only bought two as spares. She had never used it before and did not know how effective it was.
She held up his cloak and saw that the bloody burns were a terrible sight after being soaked in the river water. After the medicine was taken, the wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. She put down the cloak and sighed. It was strange that the flames had been so intense. When they entangled her, it seemed that they did not want to burn her to death all at once, but rather to drag her back and torture her slowly.
Otherwise, she would have been burned instead of her clothes remaining intact.
Rijiu: "Sisi, why don't you take your medicine?"
Yao Sisi shook her head. Her throat was mainly dry, and she could speak again after a while. There was no need to waste such an expensive Rejuvenation Pill. It would be better to just buy some throat-soothing medicine and treat it separately.
She glanced at her storage bag subconsciously, and what she saw was alarming—she had used up half of her mystic stones!
Yao Sisi choked up, not expecting that replenishing her Xuan energy would consume so much QAQ...
Rijiu: "Sisi, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Yao Sisi clutched her heart; she was heartbroken!
Fortunately, Ri Jiu rescued her back then; otherwise, with her abilities, she would probably have been dragged into the sea of fire and burned to death instantly. Even if she had time to enter the space, when would she be able to get out? As soon as she ventured out of the space, she would be buried in the sea of fire.
Most importantly, the space itself doesn't have much of a lifespan; it simply can't stay there indefinitely.
Seeing that this place was not a good place to stay any longer, and that he was almost fully recovered, Yao Sisi sighed and pointed to the direction of the cave where Ri Jiu was staying, meaning that they should go back first.
Rijiu removed his cloak, bent down, and transformed into a fox again. By this time, his wounds had healed, but his fur had not yet grown back.
"Sisi, get on my back!"
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