Chapter 1139: Cooperation

In a desolate, dense forest, withered trees were everywhere, and numerous large pits dotted the ground. Huang Fugui stood alongside a red-armored cultivator. Huang Fugui looked shaken and was sweating profusely, while the red-armored cultivator's face remained expressionless.

"That scared me to death!" Huang Fugui whispered, wiping the sweat from his face. "Good thing I ran fast."

"You have the nerve to say that?" the red-armored cultivator retorted, her voice clearly female. "Didn't you say there were two Third-Tier high-grade Purple Soul Scorpions in there? How did they turn into a Fourth-Tier Golden Glaze Life-Reaping Scorpion? If I weren't a puppet now, you might have gotten me killed. You didn't deliberately trick me, did you? You know the consequences of tricking me."

Huang Fugui gave an ingratiating smile and explained, "I wouldn't dare deceive you, Senior, not with a thousand guts. The last time I was here, there really were two Third-Tier high-grade Purple Soul Scorpions. Who knew that decades later, the nest would be occupied by a Fourth-Tier Golden Glaze Life-Reaping Scorpion? Actually, it's no big deal, Senior Song. With a wisp of your divine sense attached to a Fourth-Tier puppet beast, even a Fourth-Tier low-grade demonic beast, let alone a high-grade one, couldn't harm you."

At this, Huang Fugui's face was full of flattery.

"Alright, cut the flattery. I don't like it. Set up the formation, and I'll lure it out. You use the formation to trap it. Once I've harvested those few Seven-Star Blazing Grasses, I'll definitely reward you handsomely when we get out."

Huang Fugui quickly nodded and patted his chest in agreement. "No problem! It's my fortune to ease Senior Song's worries. I..."

Before he could finish, a tremendous roar echoed from the sky. Over a dozen silver lightning bolts, each as thick as an adult's arm, shot down from above, heading straight for Huang Fugui and the red-armored cultivator.

The red-armored cultivator reacted swiftly, grabbing Huang Fugui and flying off into the distance. "Damn it! Someone triggered the restriction. We can't stay here for now. We need to hide first."

They disappeared into the sky not long after.

Boom! Boom! Boom!A deafening roar came from the sky, and an area of over ten miles was completely enveloped by silver lightning rain. Thick silver lightning bolts poured down from above, striking ancient trees over a hundred feet tall, which instantly caught fire, sending flames soaring into the sky.

In a different red dense forest, fire rain poured down from the sky, covering dozens of miles. Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng were shielded by a crimson spiritual light. They flew towards the sky; their Crimson Phosphorus Steed had already perished.

They had been on their way when two Third-Tier demonic insects suddenly emerged. After a hard struggle to kill them, they unexpectedly triggered a restriction.

The crimson fire rain fell on dry grass, instantly igniting a raging inferno that quickly spread.

"These restrictions are too peculiar! Can even the aftershocks of a fight trigger them?" Wang Mingren said, frowning. The dense crimson fire rain pattered against the red spiritual light shielding them, making a muffled "crackling" sound, like popping beans.

"If that weren't the case, all the rare spirit herbs in Purple Flame Abyss would have been plundered long ago," Ximen Feng said with a bitter smile. They had triggered a restriction as soon as they entered the Purple Flame Abyss, and this current one was much stronger and covered a larger area than the initial one.

"Oh, someone's coming over," Wang Mingren frowned. A yellow streak of light and a red streak of light appeared in the distance.

They were on guard and accelerated their escape.

About a quarter of an hour later, they appeared in an open clearing. The crimson fire rain had not yet stopped. Ancient trees ignited into raging infernos, and flames shot skyward. Large numbers of demonic beasts and insects rushed out of their nests, fleeing in different directions.

"Did you trigger the restriction?" A cold female voice suddenly rang out as Huang Fugui and a red-armored cultivator landed in front of Wang Mingren.

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Huang, it's you," Wang Mingren said, slightly startled when he saw Huang Fugui. His gaze then shifted to the red-armored cultivator.

The red-armored cultivator exuded powerful spiritual pressure, clearly a Fourth-Tier puppet beast. Was Huang Fugui so wealthy now that he carried a Fourth-Tier puppet beast with him?

"Fellow Daoist Wang, Madam Wang, it's actually you! This is great! Senior Song, we have helpers now!" Huang Fugui said, squinting his eyes with a smile.

"So, it's you two. For the sake of the Grand Unity Immortal Sect, I won't hold you accountable. You will work with Huang Fugui to control the formation and trap a Fourth-Tier demonic insect so that I can harvest the Seven-Star Blazing Grass. After this is done, I will certainly not mistreat you."

"Soul Possession Art!" A sharp glint flashed in Wang Mingren's eyes. He hadn't expected that the Fourth-Tier puppet beast before him was controlled by a Nascent Soul cultivator, and that this person also wanted to harvest the Seven-Star Blazing Grass.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, Madam Wang, this is Senior Song, the Deputy Palace Master of the Three Flames Palace. Helping Senior Song is a guaranteed win-win," Huang Fugui explained.

Wang Mingren hesitated briefly, then bit the bullet and said, "Junior is willing to help, but Senior, could you possibly spare a 700-year-old Seven-Star Blazing Grass for junior? My only son needs the Seven-Star Blazing Grass to save his life. I hope Senior Song understands."

"Yes, Senior Song," Ximen Feng added, "if we can save our only son, we will be eternally grateful."

The red-armored cultivator remained silent. Wang Mingren shifted his gaze and sent a private message to Huang Fugui: "Fellow Daoist Huang, please help me. I will surely reward you handsomely when this is done."

"Senior Song, your target is Seven-Star Blazing Grasses that are over a thousand years old. Giving them a 700-year-old one would be a good way to form a beneficial connection. Their nephew is the renowned Azure Lotus Immortal Couple of the South Sea. It's always good to have more friends," Huang Fugui advised.

"Alright, for the sake of the Azure Lotus Immortal Couple, I can give you a 700-year-old Seven-Star Blazing Grass. You triggered the restriction, so it will take some time for it to dissipate. We'll make our move then," the red-armored cultivator deliberated for a moment before agreeing.

Wang Mingren and Ximen Feng's faces lit up with joy, and they quickly expressed their thanks. Amidst their gratitude, they also felt a bit curious about Huang Fugui's relationship with the Deputy Palace Master of the Three Flames Palace; this "Senior Song" seemed to trust Huang Fugui quite a lot.

Half a day later, the silver lightning rain and crimson fire rain dissipated, as if they had never appeared.

Huang Fugui and the others appeared outside a gigantic valley. Huang Fugui took out over a hundred formation flags and formation plates and buried them.

"I'll lure that beast out, and you three will control the formation to trap it," the red-armored cultivator instructed, then leaped into the valley.

Wang Mingren and the other two cast spells to conceal themselves, suppressing their presence and hiding far away.

Not long after, a deafening roar emanated from within the valley, followed by a red light flying out, with a golden light close behind.

The red-armored cultivator turned and sprayed out a red light, which transformed into a large red net, covering the golden light.

A huge golden scorpion was ensnared by the red net. The golden scorpion sprayed out a burst of golden poisonous mist, causing the red net's glow to dim. The golden scorpion then seized the red net with its claws and tore it to shreds.

Just then, a sudden strong wind arose, and countless white snowflakes drifted down from the sky. The golden scorpion's vision blurred, and it suddenly found itself in a world of ice and snow.

"You trap it for ten breaths; I'll go harvest the spirit herbs," the red-armored cultivator instructed, then leaped into the gigantic valley.

Wang Mingren and the other two frantically injected their magical power into the formation plates, maintaining the formation.

The golden scorpion continuously attacked the formation, causing the entire ground to shake. The formation plates in Wang Mingren's hands emitted a sharp, piercing screech.

Soon, the red-armored cultivator flew out and tossed a red wooden box to Wang Mingren.

"Prepare to withdraw."