Immortal Soaring Blade

They followed Daoist Yi Qing into the room, and Daoist Yi Qing just openly pressed the secret button on the bed, revealing a hidden room. There was even a cool breeze coming from the room, and he walked inside.

Everything was simply too strange. Having already arrived at this point, Zhao Jiuge and Su Su’s curiosity outweighed everything else. Seeing Daoist Yi Qing walk in, the two of them decided to follow as well.

Forget Daoist Yi Qing’s change in attitude, just the Soul Enchanting Incense was something they had to get an answer for. Otherwise, it would be like a thorn in their sides.

Daoist Yi Qing was certain that the two of them would follow, so he wasn't in a hurry to act. He just leisurely led the way.

The spacious and deep secret passage was embedded with some unknown treasure to light it up. It gave off a dark and claustrophobic feeling. Su Su grasped Zhao Jiuge’s arm and they walked forward together.

The passage continued for a long time, and after walking for a while, the area opened up to a large, stone chamber. The walls were natural rock because they were underground. There were many wooden cabinets filled with a lot of items here.

The most eye catching thing was an alchemy furnace in the middle. This one was much more majestic than the one Zhao Jiuge saw in the Mo mansion. The smooth surface had a thick layer of spirit force around it—it was actually a magical treasure! 

The furnace was brass-colored and was divided into two layers like the incense stoves outside. The upper portion was small, while the bottom was large and the base had three legs that were deeply embedded into the ground. The surface of the furnace was covered in carvings inside and outside. The lower part contained a spiritual pattern, but Zhao Jiuge didn’t understand it.

At this moment, the alchemy furnace gave off a powerful fire aura. Zhao Jiuge felt that the fire was similar to the Li Fire inside his Li Fire Flag. In truth, this was a different type of fire, but not on the same level. It was connected to the earth's heart and would never extinguish.

The light from the furnace lit up the entire chamber, and one could feel the heart even from a distance. Zhao Jiuge and Su Su’s gazes were caught by the alchemy furnace. Only after looking at it for a while did they notice someone else next to it, and this shocked them greatly.

They saw a small and thin man in black with shifty-looking eyes standing there, looking at them with a smile.

Strange location and a strange person. At this moment, Zhao Jiuge and Su Su's expressions suddenly changed. They began to surge their spirit force and prepared to protect themselves if anything happened.

“Uh?”

Both of them were shocked and their faces lost color. They worked their cultivation methods, but their spirit force was like a pool of dead water and wouldn’t move at all.

What was going on!?

“Hahahaha!” A burst of arrogant laughter echoed.

Looking at their shocked expressions, Daoist Yi Qing felt very happy and revealed a temperament that didn’t match his identity. His head leaned back as he laughed.

Even the man in black, Money Rat, began to follow with a treacherous laugh. One laughed arrogantly and the other had a treacherous laugh. The laughter echoed, and even Su Su felt scared.

“Let me tell you guys, the Soul Enchanting Incense is made of Soul Devouring Grass, Sandalwood Tree, Moon Silver Flower Powder, and dozens of other things. After it has been inhaled, you won’t be able to use your spirit force for one to two hours.” At this moment, Daoist Yi Qing laughed arrogantly. Because of his excitement, his expression even seemed a bit distorted due to the fire.

The effect of the Soul Enchanting Incense was indeed what Daoist Yi Qing had said, but that was only for lower level cultivators. The effect on higher level cultivators was weaker, and it barely had any effect on Spirit Core Realm cultivators. Su Su was already at the late stage of the Foundation Realm, so it actually would only affect her for half an hour. However, half an hour was enough time for the others to do many things.

After hearing Daoist Yi Qing’s words, the veins on Zhao Jiuge’s face bulged and he roared in anger, “What a hypocritical villain! You pretend to get on our good side, and now you use such despicable methods. What are you planning!?”

After hearing Zhao Jiuge’s childish question, Money Rat let out a treacherous laugh and said in his sharp voice, “Hehe, little brother and little sister, you ask us what we want, ah, but of course we want your magical treasures and your belongings. However, I didn’t expect there to be such a beautiful little sister, so now I’m planning something extra. Hahaha.” These vicious words stabbed at Zhao Jiuge’s heart.

Zhao Jiuge felt his head become bloated from anger; even his vision seemed to become distorted. He stood before Su Su to protect her, and the veins on his head were clearly visible. He pointed at Money Rat and angrily shouted, “Don’t you dare to have any ideas about her unless I die. Even then, as a ghost, I won’t let you go.”

Zhao Jiuge was so angry that he had become confused and even said those words. They were cultivators, and ghosts were merely fragments of someone’s soul. Cultivators had special methods to destroy one’s soul so that you couldn’t even reincarnate. Zhao Jiuge was too young, had no experience, and no one was guiding him. He didn’t even know a lot of common knowledge.

Hearing Zhao Jiuge’s funny words, Money Rat’s laughter became even more rampant. Su Su was originally panicking slightly, but her expression didn’t change too much. She didn’t show too much. However, when she saw Zhao Jiuge walk up and speak nonsense to protect her, she felt a bit happy.

Su Su looked at Zhao Jiuge’s back. Although it was not strong enough and a bit small, it felt so powerful and warm at this moment. Su Su had completely forgotten where they were and a happy smile appeared on the corner of her face. She had completely forgotten that she was still angry at Zhao Jiuge.

Daoist Yi Qing laughed for a while. He looked at them like a hunter looking at prey. While measuring Zhao Jiuge and Su Su, he said, “Hehe, you asked earlier where I got my Purple Gold True Fire Gourd. It was stolen from a young man around seven years ago. At that time, his expression was very similar to yours, haha.”

Seeing Zhao Jiuge and Su Su listening to him speak, he continued, “That young man was also very rich and was also a naive person. I don’t know what sect he came from, but he came out to gain experience. Do you know how he died? I threw him into this alchemy furnace. Hehehe, that miserable scream, it still echoes in my ears.”

After hearing Daoist Yi Qing’s words, Zhao Jiuge felt his skin crawl, and for the first time, he felt despair.

Zhao Jiuge forced down his inner sense of uneasiness and fear. He calmed himself and pretended to be tough as he shouted, “Do you know who our sect is?! How dare you use such underhanded methods! Are you not afraid of our sect coming to find you!?”

Zhao Jiuge was out of methods, he could only pretend to be tough to intimidate them and hope they could escape this calamity.

No wonder Ye Wuyou had said that cultivation was long crossing a river. The further one got, the fewer people there were and the more dangerous.

In the end, not only was there heavenly retribution, the path of cultivation was also filled with all kinds of dangers. One moment of carelessness could result in death.

What was the most dangerous was the human heart. No matter how good the relationship with your dao companion or old friend was, just a moment of weakness or temptation could result in a knife behind your back. That was more terrifying than any dangerous beast or location.

This was the most dangerous crisis Zhao Jiuge had ever faced. Back in Dong Yang City, he had Mo Longjie to help him, and with the Ten Thousand Corpse Elder, it was Su Su who had done most of the work. However, there was no one to help him now.

At the same time, a dangerous environment could also stimulate one’s potential. After this, Zhao Jiuge’s state of mind would quietly change and slowly grow.

Zhao Jiuge’s made-up threat really shocked Daoist Yi Qing and Money Rat. Money Rat was inherently suspicious and was not as arrogant as before. He was contemplating the words Zhao Jiuge had said.

Even Daoist Yi Qing was fooled a bit by Zhao Jiuge. His eyes became gloomy and his brows wrinkled, creating a terrifying silence. The only sound was the sound of the fire crackling from the alchemy furnace in the middle. The fire lit up the faces of the four people, revealing their expressions.

Su Su was still immersed in her own feelings. Perhaps it was because she had experienced more and knew that without any spirit force, no matter how many hidden aces she had, she couldn’t use them. She had a calm expression and just stared dumbfoundedly at Zhao Jiuge’s back.

After pondering for a bit, Daoist Yi Qing saw that Money Rat was being filled with even more doubt. He decided that since things were already like this, he had to steel his resolve and continue with the original plan. He shouted at Money Rat, “Money Rat, don’t be fooled by a junior. Even if we let these two go, we will not be able to live comfortably in the future!”

After hearing Daoist Yi Qing’s words, Money Rat’s face became clear. He looked at Zhao Jiuge and Su Su gloomily. “Boy, you almost fooled me. Watch how I deal with you and then play with that girl behind you.” Laughter echoed in the stone chamber.

At this moment, Zhao Jiuge and Su Su’s expressions finally changed greatly. Money Rat actually just slowly walked forward as if he was playing with prey he had already captured.

After hearing Money Rat’s insulting words to Su Su, Zhao Jiuge could no longer hold himself back. He gently looked at Su Su and used his own physical strength to walk toward Money Rat.

Su Su was dumbfounded as she watched Zhao Jiuge’s back getting further and further away. That look he gave her as he turned his head back contained a certain emotion and a certain style!

At this moment, her slightly panicking heart that was beating rapidly became intoxicated.