Chapter 2294

The shopkeeper scratched the back of his head and chuckled: "I followed General Wanqi into battle at the Border City War."

"Ah, I see."

At that moment, several bolts of startling thunder flashed across the horizon, deafeningly loud, and the red-robed guest added: "You really should listen to your wife."

"Huh?" The shopkeeper hadn't heard clearly: "What?"

Before the red-robed guest could respond, a massive cracking sound came from outside the window, deep and terrifying.

Immediately followed by a woman's piercing scream:

"The mountain is collapsing! Come quickly, you ghost!"

The shopkeeper jumped in fright and said to the red-robed guest: "You hurry out, I won't take your money!"

Having said that, he strode swiftly toward the back of the inn, only to see the rear mountain making cracking noises, with large and small rocks rolling straight down.

The largest piece was even bigger than their house and was already teetering on the verge of falling.

The relay station lay directly beneath it!

The shopkeeper's face turned ashen as he scooped up the little girl with his left arm and embraced his wife with his right, then bolted out the door.

Behind them came a thunderous rumble, and they dared not look back.

When the sound finally ceased, the shopkeeper turned his head again and found himself already over two hundred zhang away.

The original cliff, which had pushed Jin Shan and toppled the Jade Pillar, now collapsed entirely.

The government's warning had become reality—this stretch of unstable earth and rock would trigger a landslide in heavy rain.

The family stood frozen in shock.

After standing there for a good while, the shopkeeper left his wife and child where they were and hurried back on his own.

The official road and the mountain forest were already buried under rubble, and the more he looked, the more distressed and heartbroken he felt.

But as he climbed over the low slope, he couldn't help rubbing his eyes:

The relay station was still standing!

The mud and rock debris from the landslide had poured evenly on both sides of the rest pavilion. Aside from a few fallen stones, the relay station remained unburied.

It was as if an invisible barrier lay outside the relay station, firmly holding back the mud and rock flow.

The shopkeeper didn't even pause for danger, striding swiftly into the rest pavilion.

Everything inside remained unchanged, not even the window paper broken.

But the red-robed guest was gone.

On the table lay a silver ingot. On the spout of the teapot, a small purple flower was inserted upright.

……

"Your Majesty!"

Liu Qingdao first paid his respects to the Nine Nether Great Emperor, reported the recent battle in a few words, and then said:

"After just two moves, Elder Xu fell from the back of the Xu Ling, fell into a coma, and his condition has been worsening! Several disciples tried to break through with him, but we wounded and captured them. I interrogated them—they said Elder Xu left a soul-seeding pillar in the sect. Once he dies, the Qi Xia Sect in the minor cave heaven will surely know!"

"Do any other disciples have soul-seeding pillars?"

Liu Qingdao shook his head: "Their rank is insufficient; they don't receive such treatment."

"We must preserve Elder Xu Xi Qin's life at all costs! Once the Qi Xia Sect receives news of Elder Xu's death, they may very well abandon the minor cave heaven." He Lingchuan knew time was pressing: "They are few in number. If they scatter and all sneak into Wei'an City, we would struggle to capture them one by one. Has the entrance to the Qi Xia Sect's garrison been interrogated?"

"This is the travel permit seized from Elder Xu and his disciples. Earlier we also took one from the Heavenly Silkworm." Liu Qingdao handed over several tokens: "The Qi Xia Sect's minor cave heaven originally had two entrances. After the Heavenly Silkworm was captured, one was sealed. The remaining one was extracted from the Spider Queen. At the Recumbent Ox White Stone on Butterfly Gully of Mount Xunyang, present the token and strike the stone three times—green light appears, and entry is granted. The opening and closing of the cave dwelling are controlled by Yuan Xilin."

The Earth Cave Spider Queen comes equipped with a full body of steel needles; torture tools need no additional preparation, and few creatures can endure her interrogation.

Yuan Xilin is the name of the Qi Xia Sect's sect master.

He Lingchuan picked up the token and glanced at it: the red-hot material is that of fire-baked stone, with a faint whitish halo in the center, like the color of evening clouds on the horizon.

Liu Qingdao continued: "This kind of token, the Heavenly Silkworm also has one."

The six tokens placed together are nearly identical in material, though their patterns and colors differ slightly—likely pure natural material.

At this moment, Elder Xu, covered in blood and wounds, was carried over, with Ling Guang following closely beside him, his eyes filled with anxiety.

Elder Xu's eyes were tightly shut, unconscious, his chest rising and falling only once after a long while, his breath as faint as a spider's silk.

A thin, pale blue film covered the surface of his body.

He Lingchuan glanced and said: "Even a full-body medicinal film has been applied—his condition looks grim."

Ling Guang wore a bitter expression: "We've done everything we can, but what harms his life isn't just divine arts—it also erupted directly in his chest cavity. Now his five viscera and six bowels are nearly drained; I fear..."

It shook its head and said no more.

This medicinal film is a proud achievement jointly developed by it and Dong Rui, primarily made from Emperor's Flow Essence, combined with sixteen auxiliary medicines, requiring on-site collection and preparation when spiritual rain falls.

The life force it provides rivals the concentrated paste of Emperor's Flow Essence; as long as it's applied to the skin, the medicinal power penetrates deeply, effectively promoting bone and flesh regeneration.

With such powerful effect, as long as the wounded do not die on the spot, they can later use it to escape the Gates of Ghosts.

After completing this research, Dong Rui once declared boastfully: "This is truly the divine medicine that can bring the dead back to life and put flesh on white bones."

But even though Xu Lao was tightly wrapped from head to toe in the medicinal film, his face still looked as grim as a corpse's, and even the huge wound on his chest showed no sign of contracting or healing—instead, the edges kept blackening.

Dong Rui frowned, about to speak, but He Lingchuan spoke first:

"Time is precious—we'll talk on the road! Release your treasure to hurry along."

Dong Rui immediately summoned the Snail Toad.

For short-distance travel, the Snail Toad is still the most convenient—it doesn't easily startle others and has a large carrying capacity. Over these years, Dong Rui has modified the Snail Toad multiple times; its burrowing speed is not only much faster than before, but it can even adapt to dry and saline-alkali soils.

Originally, both snails and toads deeply disliked and suffered from these two types of land, but Dong Rui obtained a water-retaining barrier from the merfolk and added the lungfish's bladder talent to the Snail Toad. Thus, when passing through dry and saline-alkali regions, its skin quickly secretes a layer of mucus, forming a moist mucous membrane, making it insensitive to soil density.

Except for pure stone mountains, there are now very few terrains the Snail Toad cannot traverse.

Everyone mounted the Snail Toad and headed toward Mount Xunyang.

The journey is not far, and the Snail Toad's speed is ten times that of a galloping horse—soon they will arrive.

Dong Rui stared at Elder Xu, angry that he was completely wrapped in the medicinal film with no dead angle, leaving no room for him to intervene and check.

This medicinal film, once torn off, will cause Elder Xu to immediately pass gas.

He could only ask Lingguang: "Even with the Emperor's Flowing Elixir medicinal film applied, why can't we still save him?"

"The thing invading Elder Xu's body is a living creature! Its reproduction speed is astonishingly fast, even entering the bloodstream and spreading throughout the body—we simply cannot clean it out completely." Lingguang was also troubled, as diseases and toxins that have entered the full-body blood circulation are the hardest to treat, "I strongly suspect this thing grows stronger when met with strength, precisely because it has devoured immortal flesh and blood, allowing it to grow this fast!"

It took out a tray from behind it, inside which were mixed red and white substances, emitting a fishy odor when smelled.