Chapter 2138: Encountering Ma Qianqian

A long, narrow gorge was filled with grayish-white stones, bearing obvious signs of burning.

Five men and one woman lay on the ground, each with a fist-sized, charred blood-hole in their chest. Hundreds of huge, smoke-emitting craters pockmarked the ground.

Severed limbs and dim spiritual treasures were scattered across the ground. Clearly, a fierce battle had taken place here.

Jin Huo was speaking with a slender young woman in a golden dress, both smiling broadly.

The young woman’s body was covered in golden-red spiritual patterns, and her eyes were golden. She was clearly from the Essence Flame Tribe.

Li Fengyang stood nearby, looking respectful and pale.

"Jin Huo, your method is excellent," the young woman excitedly said. "Let him infiltrate the human race, and then we'll coordinate from inside and out to eliminate the human cultivators." She suggested that once Li Fengyang infiltrated the human cultivators, they could launch a surprise attack. While the human cultivators focused their efforts on fighting them, Li Fengyang would stab them in the back.

"It's fine for once or twice," Jin Huo said, shaking his head and rejecting his kin's suggestion. "But if we do it too often, something bad will happen."

"I know a few places," the young woman suggested. "If we team up, we'll surely be able to gather a large amount of cultivation resources."

Jin Huo shook his head repeatedly. "Treasures are good, but you need to be alive to enjoy them," he said. "We've already acquired enough treasures. Let's find a safe place and wait to leave!" He looked at Li Fengyang and instructed, "You'll stay with me. I will ensure your safe departure from the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven. There will be times when we'll need you in the future. I've recorded your cooperation in eliminating the human cultivators using a photography mirror. Before we leave the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven, I'll remove the restriction. If you dare to rebel, the news of you killing disciples from Zhenhai Palace, Xuanqing Sect, Divine Weapon Palace, and Myriad Spirit Sect will spread throughout the human race."

If they could subjugate Li Fengyang and use him as a spy for the Essence Flame Tribe within the human race, he might be able to achieve extraordinary results.

"After leaving the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven," Li Fengyang said with a bitter expression, "our ancestor might use a secret technique to question me. If I lie, it will be discovered."

"Don't worry," Jin Huo instructed. "I'll give you a unique treasure that should help you get through this. Let's go! We'll find a safe place, and I'll explain everything slowly." Jin Huo gave his instructions. They then collected the scattered items, burned the corpses on the ground, and departed.

Half a month later, a streak of red light, moving at an extremely high speed, swept across the sky.

The red light flashed, and the streak descended above a steep peak. It was a red flying shuttle, over a hundred zhang long, with Wang Changsheng and nine other individuals standing on it.

In another half a month, the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven would close.

Wang Changsheng had been unable to encounter any other disciples from his sect, so he could only cooperate with Zheng Qiuyue. However, he hadn't told Zheng Qiuyue the location or the name of the treasure, intending to keep it secret until the very last moment.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, where is the place you mentioned?" Zheng Qiuyue asked with a frown. "There's no need to beat around the bush anymore."

One must always be wary of others. Wang Changsheng was cautious of Zheng Qiuyue at every turn, which Zheng Qiuyue understood, as she was equally cautious of Wang Changsheng and his three companions. Their relationship was both cooperative and competitive; if the stakes were high enough, they would turn on each other.

"Fly thirty million li eastward, that should be about right," Wang Changsheng said vaguely, hoping to encounter a few more disciples from his sect, ensuring that good fortune would stay within their own hands. Even if he couldn't obtain the Nine Thunder Bamboo, he couldn't let outsiders know its whereabouts.

Zheng Qiuyue's delicate brows furrowed tightly. She was about to speak when a deafening dragon roar echoed from afar. In the distant sky, a dazzling golden dragon appeared, brandishing its claws and fangs.

"What's this?"

Wang Changsheng and his three companions were slightly stunned, their faces filled with curiosity.

Wang Changsheng's divine sense perceived that it wasn't a physical entity, but rather some kind of communication tool.

The expressions of Zheng Qiuyue and her five companions changed. This was the Divine Weapon Palace's emergency contact method, indicating that a Divine Weapon Palace disciple was either calling for help or had discovered something.

Zheng Qiuyue performed a hand seal, and the red jade shuttle's escaping light greatly intensified, causing it to accelerate.

In a giant valley surrounded by mountains on three sides, seven men and two women were engaged in battle. The ground was littered with fragments of magic treasures and hundreds of huge, smoke-emitting craters.

Judging by their attire, there were disciples from Xuanqing Sect, Divine Weapon Palace, and Zhenhai Palace among them.

Two men and one woman stood together. Leading them was a nine-foot-tall youth in a golden shirt, clearly a Divine Weapon Palace disciple from his attire. The two behind him were Xuanqing Sect disciples.

Opposite them stood Ma Qianqian and five other Zhenhai Palace disciples.

"Finish them quickly, don't waste time," Ma Qianqian said with a murderous look. She performed a hand seal, and countless crimson flames surged from her body, making her look like a fiery being. Seven shimmering green banner flags glowed brightly, releasing surging green flames that shot directly towards their opponents. The raging flames were overwhelming.

More than half the valley was engulfed by a sea of green fire. The green flames violently churned, transforming into a massive green fire dragon that pounced towards their opponents.

The other five also manipulated their magic treasures, attacking the golden-shirted youth and his two companions.

A series of booming explosions rang out. The golden-shirted youth and his two companions' defenses shattered like thin paper, sending them flying backward like kites with broken strings, continuously spitting blood.

The green flames suddenly churned violently and surged directly towards the golden-shirted youth and his two companions.

The golden-shirted youth's face showed despair; in his current state, he simply couldn't withstand Ma Qianqian's attack.

Just then, a piercing whistling sound rang out, and a ten-thousand-zhang-tall green tornado swept over, tearing the green fire dragon to shreds.

A red light flew from afar. It was a shimmering red flying shuttle, with Zheng Qiuyue and nine other individuals standing on it.

When Wang Changsheng saw Ma Qianqian and her group, his brows furrowed tightly.

"Junior Brother Wang, Junior Sister Wang," Ma Qianqian said coldly, "are you associating with people from the Divine Weapon Palace? What are you trying to do?"

"Senior Sister Ma," Wang Changsheng explained, "we encountered an avatar of a Myriad Spirit Sect Integration-stage cultivator. If we hadn't teamed up, we would have lost our lives." Wang Changsheng explained that there are no eternal friends or enemies. To counter the Myriad Spirit Sect, they had no choice but to team up. Now that Ma Qianqian was fighting Divine Weapon Palace disciples, they had to take the opposing side.

The four of them quickly landed on the ground, looking towards Zheng Qiuyue from a distance.

As a result, Zhenhai Palace now had ten Nascent Soul cultivators, while Zheng Qiuyue's side had nine. In terms of numbers, Zhenhai Palace held the advantage.

"It's better to resolve enmity than to perpetuate it, Fairy Ma," Zheng Qiuyue said earnestly. "There's no need for us to fight to the death here! Why don't we team up to search for treasures instead?"

"Alright," Ma Qianqian said in an unyielding tone. "But have the Xuanqing Sect disciples give me the Sky Moon Cold Crystal."

Zheng Qiuyue's lips moved slightly, apparently sending a voice transmission to someone.

A white-haired old man in a green robe frowned deeply. After repeated hesitation, he took out a white jade box.

Just then, a bloody light shone from the old man's palm, and a blood-red leaf pattern appeared out of thin air.

Both Wang Changsheng and Ma Qianqian saw this pattern, but they didn't know what the blood-red leaf was.

"Blood Leaf Spirit Communication Art," Mu Yuyan said. "The Xuanqing Sect disciples are summoning their peers. They've likely discovered rare cultivation resources, or they're calling for help." Mu Yuyan, an avatar of Song Yuchan, spoke, her knowledge far surpassing that of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.