Chapter 918: Liao Xuan and Three and a Half Men Walk

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. For the young man named Feng and Lanyao, it seemed that this "oriole" was the woman named Yuedong.

At this moment, within the Liaoxuan Grand Canyon, the mist churned violently, rumbling continuously. Sharp, piercing screams, filled with horror and ferocity, penetrated the mist.

After a while, as heavy objects repeatedly struck the ground, a storm suddenly erupted at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. Sweeping across, the mist at the canyon's base was instantly torn apart, as if an invisible hand was waving within, forcing the dense fog upwards and revealing the valley floor that had been submerged in it.

It was a vast ruin!

Within the ruins were numerous ancient-looking buildings—towers, streets, and residential homes, all abundant. To be precise, it was a small city! One could imagine that this place must have once been home to many living beings!

But now, most of the buildings here had collapsed, with very few remaining intact. Furthermore, clear signs of invasion by strange matter were visible! However, there were no ancient skeletons. Instead, hundreds of bleeding, two-headed monstrous bird carcasses lay scattered within the ruins, a few still not fully dead, struggling and wailing!

Then, a figure burst out from the mist above, landing in the ruins and stepping onto one of the struggling monstrous birds! The moment he stepped down, the monstrous bird’s body exploded into a blur of flesh and blood. This person was none other than the young man named Feng. Immediately after, two more figures followed, swiftly descending. They were Lanyao and Xu Qing!

Gazing at the surrounding ruins, Xu Qing’s expression remained calm, but his vigilance intensified. His gaze swept around, then landed on the Captain in Feng’s hand. The Captain was still unconscious! Xu Qing quietly withdrew his gaze and looked at the monstrous bird carcasses.

Earlier, in the mist, the three of them had started smoothly, but soon encountered an attack. The entities attacking them seemed capable of merging with the mist! Existing between solid and ethereal, they were quite troublesome. Naturally, Xu Qing didn't go all out. But Feng was clearly more anxious. He took out his five-colored feather fan, and with a single wave, forced most of their attackers into physical form and annihilated them, causing a significant amount of flesh and blood to disintegrate! Then Lanyao also took action, with Xu Qing assisting from the side. They killed hundreds more before finally breaking out of the mist! The attackers were precisely these monstrous creatures!

“While this world is filthy, it is indeed fraught with danger. Ordinary sparrows have bizarrely transformed into such forms under the invasion of divine aura!” Feng spoke gloomily. “Fellow Daoist Lan, the path ahead may contain many similar beasts. If you continue as you did just now, I fear our journey will be severely delayed, and then... other unforeseen circumstances might arise!” At this point, Feng looked towards Xu Qing. “Furthermore, Fellow Daoist Yan Xuanzi, if I constantly charge ahead and encounter some troublesome entities, I can’t guarantee that I won’t use your senior brother as a shield!”

Cold light shot from Xu Qing’s eyes as he stared at Feng and spoke slowly. “I don’t mind continuing our life-and-death battle right here.”

Feng narrowed his eyes, and a chilling aura instantly emanated from him, enveloping the surroundings. At the same time, his grip on the Captain’s neck tightened. The Captain's legs twitched, his face contorted in pain! Xu Qing’s expression grew even uglier.

Lanyao, noticing the animosity between them, chuckled softly and stepped between the two. “Alright, Fellow Daoist Yan Xuanzi, you indeed didn't exert much effort earlier, so it's no wonder Fellow Daoist Feng is displeased. However, Fellow Daoist Feng, since we’ve chosen to cooperate, you shouldn’t always be so manipulative! Here's a proposal: if the path ahead is as difficult as before, we'll act together. Otherwise, each of us will take a turn.”

Hearing this, Feng snorted, swayed, and flew forward. However, his grip on the Captain's neck loosened slightly, and the Captain’s legs finally stopped twitching. Xu Qing watched Feng's retreating back without speaking, while Lanyao, beside him, gave Xu Qing a meaningful glance. “Let’s go, Fellow Daoist Yan Xuanzi!” Xu Qing understood that they wouldn't allow him to linger at the back; it had been the same in the mist. So, in silence, he stepped forward and flew.

Thus, the three of them proceeded, with Feng leading the way, moving above the ruined city. However, they deliberately maintained a distance of several hundred zhang between them, especially Feng, who was over a thousand zhang away.

As they advanced, the ruined city became even clearer in Xu Qing’s sight. He noticed numerous withered trees densely packed between the buildings, many of them broken. At the city's edge, countless root systems delved deep into the canyon's rocks. It seemed as though the city had been built amidst these roots. This prompted a scene to form in Xu Qing’s mind: this place must have once had a gigantic tree, growing outside the canyon, perhaps tall enough to touch the sky or so lush it formed its own canopy, with its roots spreading deep into the earth!

As for the city's location, it was likely once an underground cavern. One day, perhaps a powerful being appeared, and with a single forceful act, a fissure appeared in the earth, creating this Grand Canyon and exposing the cavern to the outside! “So what about that tree? Perhaps it was transplanted by the Liaoxuan clan, or perhaps it vanished with time. But there are still traces of roots, and even if the trunk disappeared, there should still be some sign of it! But there are no external traces. So, it's highly probable that it was transplanted. As for who transplanted it... either the Liaoxuan, or a later clan.”

Xu Qing pondered this. Naturally, he didn't believe what Feng had said earlier outside the canyon. When it came to the unknown, Xu Qing’s nature dictated that he only trusted his own observations and judgment, unless it was spoken by someone he trusted!

As he pondered, Xu Qing’s gaze fell upon the ruins' architecture. Their style resembled human civilization, yet some details differed. This was understandable. During the era of Emperor Xuan You, humanity was the supreme race of Wanggu, and all other races instinctively imitated humans, adopting their aesthetics.

As Xu Qing observed, a sudden roar erupted from Feng, who was at the very front, as they approached the center of the ruined city! Simultaneously, a formidable wave of energy instantly spread out! Xu Qing immediately focused, his body soaring to a higher altitude. Lanyao, behind him, made the same choice. From this height, everything ahead became clearer in Xu Qing’s vision. He instantly noticed that at the center of the ruins, where the ground had been unremarkable, a grotesque, massive face had suddenly appeared. This face grew out of the ground, seemingly having been hidden all along, hence unnoticed until now. As Feng flew past, it suddenly emerged, extending a putrid tongue to attack him!

However, Feng grabbed its tongue. As his divine essence cultivation erupted, Feng’s body flickered and transformed into a five-colored peacock. With a cold snort, he fiercely charged at the large face. Amidst a roar, he pierced through the face! The next instant, this formidable monstrous beast, under Feng’s attack, proved incredibly fragile and immediately disintegrated! After its complete annihilation, a deep pit was revealed in the ground where it had been.

Feng’s figure then reverted from the five-colored peacock to his original form. Standing there, he didn't step into the pit, but instead looked towards Xu Qing and Lanyao! “It’s your turn next!” Feng said indifferently. Lanyao smiled and, with a flicker, rushed into the deep pit! Feng didn't move, coldly watching Xu Qing! Without a word, Xu Qing also flew into the deep pit! Seeing the two of them act, Feng finally stepped in last.

This deep pit was even colder than the outside, with ice crystals forming on the surrounding mud walls. As they descended, the cold grew denser and the darkness absolute! However, none of the three were ordinary cultivators. Even in the absolute darkness, with a flash of their eyes, they could all see everything clearly! This time, it was much smoother than before! No dangers appeared until after an incense stick's time had passed. However, the pit was so deep that even though they weren't moving at full speed, they still hadn't reached the bottom after that much time.

But smoothness was ultimately short-lived. When half an incense stick's time of the second round had passed, flower petals suddenly scattered from Lanyao ahead, rapidly spreading in all directions! These petals appeared fragile, yet each contained terrifying power. The moment they scattered, a roar immediately echoed, and a snake-like creature flashed past Lanyao! This creature had clearly been in stealth, attempting to ambush Lanyao. However, Lanyao, somehow detecting it, forced it out with the explosive power of her scattered petals! Now revealed, its appearance was shocking! It wasn’t a snake, but a strange, intestine-like entity, writhing as if trying to escape.

But with a cold snort from Lanyao, the surrounding petals suddenly converged, transforming into a seven-colored peacock. Surprisingly, the peacock had a white horn on its head. This made the colors on the peacock eight. Its aura and bloodline purity were clearly superior to Feng’s, and by a significant margin. Once formed, it immediately shot towards the intestine-like creature!

Xu Qing watched this scene without offering assistance. Instead, a thought struck him, and he suddenly turned to look at Feng. With that look, he saw a fleeting glint of greed in Feng’s eyes. Xu Qing’s sudden turn caused Feng’s expression to darken. Xu Qing remained calm, withdrawing his gaze. As he pondered, the eight-colored peacock, shimmering brightly, instantly approached the strange intestine, tore it apart, and then returned into Lanyao’s body!

Lanyao’s figure paused. She turned, looking at Xu Qing and Feng with a half-smile, before her gaze settled on Xu Qing. She then spoke softly, “Next… it’s your turn!”