Chapter 540

The so-called Heavenly Fire passing through the sky is a unique climate change within the Sacrifice Moon Great Domain.

There are many opinions about the principle of its formation. Some say it is caused by the tide of Red Moon power, because the closer it is to the arrival of the Red Moon, the more frequent the Heavenly Fire passing through the sky becomes.

Others say it is the former master who was suppressed to death by the Red Moon, who is returning.

And whenever Heavenly Fire passes through the sky, the entire Sacrifice Moon Great Domain becomes bright, the fire sea in the firmament churns, rising from the east until it shrouds the entire sky.

The further away from the east, the more intense the light and heat, and at the same time, fire rain of varying degrees falls.

It is only after lasting for several months that the fire sea in the firmament returns and falls back into the Heavenly Fire Sea in the east. This counts as one cycle.

In this process, the entire eastern part of the Sacrifice Moon Great Domain, apart from locations like small altars, is mostly burned in the fire rain.

Whether it is cities or plants, most become flying ash.

This is also the reason why the cities in the land of the two-clan alliance are mostly made of fired mud and are crude. Only their common Shengcheng can barely withstand it under the blessing of the great powers of the two clans, combined with some special methods, but it is still inevitably damaged.

Every time the Heavenly Fire returns, reconstruction begins, the mud must be renewed, and the fire poison must be dispelled. This is the source of ordinary food cultivation.

Fortunately, Heavenly Fire passing through the sky appears once every few decades and is not too frequent. The destruction is mainly in the east, and the impact on other regions is not serious. Reconstruction by cultivators using techniques is not difficult.

And ordinary clansmen need to find ways to enter the Shengcheng to take refuge before this, but this costs a significant price. If they don't have the conditions... they can only hide underground.

Using the physique they have formed over generations to adapt to Heavenly Fire, they go to avoid the fire disaster.

This is also the reason why Xu Qing saw the border guards hiding underground. They need to complete their own decomposition before the Heavenly Fire arrives, making themselves and the mud underground become one.

The Sky Face Clan also has similar methods.

It's just that these methods were all evolved by them to adapt to this place, which Xu Qing does not possess.

At this moment, in the underground where he was, the surroundings were extremely hot, the soil began to crystallize, and amidst the pervasive high temperature, a strong sense of discomfort also appeared in Xu Qing's heart.

"It's already close to the temperature of the magma surface, and this is just the beginning..."

Xu Qing's forehead was sweating, his body was sticky, and moisture was gradually unable to be locked in his body. This made him feel vaguely inappropriate, and he fled to the deeper part of the earth.

It wasn't until he reached a certain range that he felt slightly better, but the crisis from his heart and the warning caused by the Cang Dragon's unease were still strong.

Thus, he did not withdraw his divine sense and closely monitored the outside world.

In his perception, the sky outside was now blinding with firelight, and the magma was churning on the sky curtain. Following the seal-forming of those broken hands, it seemed to be driven, constantly spreading.

At the same time, a large amount of fire rain fell, and many mountain peaks began to melt, becoming increasingly irregular.

Above and below, there were infinite flames, thick smoke rolling, and the heat was monstrous.

The degree of its terror, in Xu Qing's judgment, was already comparable to the heat within one foot of the magma he had experienced.

"Can't go on like this!"

The sense of crisis in Xu Qing's heart became increasingly strong. He looked at the deeper part of the earth, and contemplation appeared in his eyes.

Continuing down wasn't impossible, but he ultimately had his limits. After all, there was a squeezing force within the earth of the Wanggu Continent. If Xu Qing sank too deep, he would also find it difficult to bear.

"Especially since I don't know if this Heavenly Fire will spread deeper... If its spreading power exceeds my limit of sinking, for me, it will be a dead end."

Xu Qing weighed it in his heart. He could feel that this was only the first day of Heavenly Fire, and it would definitely be more terrifying later.

Thus, Xu Qing quickly took out a jade slip.

Inside this jade slip was a simple map, given by that human old man Watching Duanmu Cang before he left. It was also he who told Xu Qing that Heavenly Fire was coming, saying that if he really had nowhere to go, he could come to the place on the map.

After Xu Qing pondered, he decided to go and see first. If it really didn't work, he would enter the underground to take a gamble, or leave at full speed

from the two-clan alliance and move away from the fire source.

Thinking of this, his body flickered, and he rushed straight to the ground.

He did not choose to escape deep underground; in that way, the speed would be relatively slow. At this moment, with a rush, his body entered the high temperature. The closer to the ground, the more terrifying the temperature.

Until he broke through the soil and appeared on the earth, Xu Qing's body already had burn wounds.

Severe pain spread.

The temperature between heaven and earth had already exceeded the heat one foot below the magma. Even though Xu Qing's body was extraordinary and possessed recovery, the pain of being burned was still intense.

Most importantly, the invasion of this Heavenly Fire on the divine soul, even with the blessing of Xu Qing's Sundial Life Lamp, could not be endured for too long.

This was also the reason why he couldn't refine for a long time in the Heavenly Fire Sea earlier.

The physical body was one aspect, and the divine soul was another.

Especially compared to the physical body, Xu Qing's divine soul was more fragile.

"Can't stay too long!" Xu Qing breathed in hot air, and it seemed that both inside and outside his body were burning.

He did not hesitate at all, rushed out fiercely, and while galloping in this fire sea, he also took out the umbrella gifted by Watching Duanmu Cang. After opening it, the temperature was somewhat isolated.

Xu Qing's body relaxed, and his speed became faster.

Amidst the whistling, his entire person set off a storm, and wherever he passed, the flames roared along with him.

Just like this, two days passed. The temperature outside was even more astonishing. All he saw was a sea of fire, blurred and distorted, and his divine sense was also isolated. And that umbrella of his now showed signs of collapse.

Fortunately, the place marked on the jade slip had already appeared in the distance.

It didn't look unusual there. It should have been an abandoned mine pit that had collapsed. At this moment, in the fire sea, it was melting more and more, without any traces of survival.

Xu Qing arrived at high speed, scanned a circle, and frowned.

No matter how one looked at it, it didn't look like a place that could take refuge. Even if one could enter the mine pit inside through some gaps, the heat emitted from within was no less than outside.

"It's a pity that divine sense is isolated, and the range of dispersion is not large, making it difficult to perceive more."

Xu Qing pondered, glanced at his umbrella that was about to collapse, and then looked at the mine pit.

"However, based on Watching Duanmu Cang's performance on the fire sea, if it really is a hiding place, it makes sense. After all, if it could be seen through easily, it wouldn't count as a hiding place."

Xu Qing was thoughtful, crouched and flickered, entering the gap of the abandoned mine pit in front. The moment he stepped in, the heat rushed towards him.

Xu Qing remained silent, kept vigilant, and continued forward. He prepared to go deeper for a distance to see the situation.

Until he walked for an hour, the mine pit still hadn't reached its end, and the heat was still intense. Just as Xu Qing frowned, his expression suddenly moved, and he looked into the distance.

Vaguely, he saw a human figure lying there, motionless.

He couldn't tell if it was male or female, only that the other party seemed to be wearing thick armor, with an opened umbrella placed beside them, blocking the high temperature for them.

This was the only figure Xu Qing had seen after the Heavenly Fire passed through the sky. Thus, his eyes narrowed, his shadow spread out, and he covered it first. Until emotional fluctuations were transmitted, Xu Qing was somewhat surprised and whistled straight towards the other party.

In an instant, he arrived in front of this figure.

At this distance, even if perception was relatively isolated, Xu Qing still had some investigation.

This was a human cultivator, with a cultivation base around Foundation Establishment three fires. At this moment, he was already at the end of his life, about to die.

He was wearing black armor all over his body, with all parts wrapped inside, and the material of this armor was also very special, capable of isolating high temperatures to a certain extent.

The umbrella on the side also caught Xu Qing's attention.

This umbrella was exactly the same as the one gifted by Watching Duanmu Cang.

Xu Qing was thoughtful, looked up at the depths of the mine pit, raised his hand to grab the figure, and continued forward.

Just like this, another half an hour passed, and Xu Qing finally reached the end of the mine pit. There was nothing there, the surrounding soil was crystallized, and the gathering of high temperature made the place even hotter.

Standing here,

Xu Qing looked around and suddenly spoke.

"Senior, I picked this person up on the road. Is he here to find you?"

As soon as Xu Qing's words came out, a cold voice immediately came from within the wall.

"For clansmen who don't follow the rules, they are useless!"

Although he said that, the wall on the side still distorted, turning into a vortex. Watching Duanmu Cang's figure walked out from within, raised his right hand, and grabbed the human Xu Qing had picked up from the air.

Xu Qing let go. The human youth wearing armor rushed straight into the vortex. After being grabbed by Watching Duanmu Cang, he was thrown behind him, and then he looked up at Xu Qing.

"Brat, what are you here for?"

After several contacts, Xu Qing had some judgment about this old man's actions and his asking questions he already knew the answers to, so he didn't say anything about the jade slip the other party had given, but went straight to the point.

"One day, one hundred spirit stones!"

The old man snorted coldly.

"One thousand a day!"

"Deal!"

Xu Qing nodded.

The old man looked at Xu Qing and took a few steps back.

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. After spreading his poison prohibition within his body and preparing to explode if he encountered an ambush, he stepped and flickered, rushing straight into the vortex.

As he stepped in, his figure disappeared, and the vortex also dissipated rapidly. Everything was as usual.

And on the other side of this wall, when Xu Qing appeared, he was already inside a cave. Scattered around were many incomplete statues, some headless, some missing limbs.

Apart from this, the entire cave was empty.

As for that human youth, he was nowhere to be seen. Only Watching Duanmu Cang sat cross-legged in the distance on the neck of a headless statue, staring at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing rapidly checked the surroundings, sensed behind him, and then his eyes narrowed.

At the entrance behind him, there was a huge wall, on which were placed thousands of masks and a similar number of mirrors.

These masks were all refined with special methods after the Sky Face Clan clansmen died, and the mirrors were the same.

The Sky Face Clan member who had wanted to attack Xu Qing earlier also had his mask inside.

"These two clans, in order to adapt to this place, have evolved many abilities over generations. Using them to block the fire sea, combined with some special methods and the arrangements here, can avoid Heavenly Fire to a certain extent."

The old man spoke indifferently, his voice carrying some arrogance.

"Heavenly Fire passing through the sky generally lasts for a hundred days. One thousand a day, one hundred days is twenty thousand spirit stones. Bring them."

Xu Qing raised his eyebrows, looked at the old man, and spoke seriously.

"One hundred days is ten thousand."

"Ten thousand for one person, and you still have a snake, so isn't that twenty thousand!" The old man glared.

"I don't have that many spirit stones."

Xu Qing said truthfully. He had many spirit notes, but not many spirit stones on him, so he took out a magic tool and placed it on the side.

"Use this to offset it."

The old man scanned it, raised his hand to grab it, and nodded.

"That's fine."

After speaking, cold light appeared in his eyes, his tone also carried murderous intent, and he spoke slowly.

"Considering you are human, I am helping you this once. But listen well, outside this stone cave is a forbidden area. If you trespass... don't blame me for not considering human feelings!"

Xu Qing nodded upon hearing this.

The old man looked at Xu Qing meaningfully, turned around, flickered, and disappeared within the stone cave.

Xu Qing's expression remained as usual. After checking all around and confirming there was no problem here, he also saw that those statues were very ancient, containing no humans, but dragon and snake-coiled bodies, revealing murderous intent.

Although they were all incomplete, looking at them as a whole, it seemed that when these statues were complete, they were all in a state of worship, and this place brought its own coldness, more like a tomb.

"Could this place originally be a graveyard?"

Xu Qing was thoughtful. When he found a statue and sat cross-legged, Ling'er crawled out from his collar, also looking at the surroundings, and spoke quietly.

"Brother Xu Qing, this place seems to be related to our Ancient Xiang Linger Clan."

Xu Qing's heart moved, and he looked at Ling'er.

Ling'er carefully checked the surroundings and said in a low voice.

"Brother Xu Qing, those statues are indeed the god statues of the Ancient Xiang Linger Clan. Our clan is snakes in childhood and transforms into human form in adulthood. If the bloodline is rich, then after the cultivation base breaks through the shackles, there will be a Heavenly Dragon companion, and from then on, dragon and snake protect the body, and all laws cannot invade."

"Looking at the specifications here, it is the tomb of one of our clan's sages."

"Generally speaking, our clan's tombs all contain multiple layers. Brother Xu Qing, there should be a larger tomb chamber below here. This is only the first layer."

"I can feel that the tomb's own restrictions are still there. Brother Xu Qing, I should be able to open the entrance to the next layer." Ling'er happily transmitted her words. She felt that she could finally help Brother Xu Qing.

Xu Qing carefully looked at the surroundings upon hearing this, then touched Ling'er's head and said softly.

"No need to open it. Since the owner here doesn't want us to disturb them, we will wait here for the Heavenly Fire to end and then leave."

Xu Qing was a person who knew his limits. Since both sides were in a transaction, unless it was a last resort, he was willing to follow the rules of the transaction.

Ling'er was thoughtful. She felt that Brother Xu Qing's approach was different from her father's, so she remembered this matter and prepared to learn from it.

Time flew by, and half a month passed.

Outside, the Heavenly Fire was becoming increasingly terrifying, burning heaven and earth, nothing surviving, and all living things trembling.

Looking from afar, it was like the anger of a god, shocking to the heart.

The rumbling sound even surpassed Heavenly Thunder, and the entire Heavenly Fire Sea had sunk far too much. Most of the magma within had been sucked into the sky, and those broken hands had already gone far away.

Inside the mine pit, in the Ancient Xiang Linger Clan's great tomb, Xu Qing kept his promise and did not leave the stone cave for even half a step. He was always cultivating, and Watching Duanmu Cang never appeared again. Everything was peaceful.

Ling'er was also very well-behaved and did not explore deeper layers. For her, as long as she was by Brother Xu Qing's side, everything was extremely satisfying.

Only occasionally, she would feel that she was somewhat useless.

"I must also quickly digest the Ancient Xiang Linger Imperial Clan's luck power within my body and accelerate my bloodline promotion." Ling'er thought this in her heart and was also doing so.

And Xu Qing's cultivation here was interrupted on the seventeenth day by a visitor.

Following the light of a formation on a piece of ground in the stone cave, a cautious figure walked out rapidly from within.

It wasn't Watching Duanmu Cang, but a human youth wearing a green shirt.

Xu Qing opened his eyes and recognized this person as the one he had saved half a month ago who was dying and unconscious. The other party was still very weak at this moment, but was already out of danger.

Clearly, the role of that armor was great, and Watching Duanmu Cang must have also treated this person.

It was just that the fire poison on his body was difficult to dispel, and many locations were burned and withered, blood-red, and the skin could not regenerate, looking somewhat ferocious.

When Xu Qing looked over, this human youth was full of trepidation, walked a few steps faster, and knelt down towards Xu Qing.

"Junior Shi Pangui, thank you, Senior, for your life-saving grace!"

Xu Qing sized up this human youth for a few glances. The other party's name was a bit strange, but he didn't ask much and spoke calmly.

"It's nothing. Even if I hadn't taken action, Senior Duanmu would have saved you."

The human youth was still bowing. After kowtowing three times to Xu Qing, he stood up, looked at Xu Qing, and transmitted words with some nervousness.

"In any case, it was Senior who took action to save me. Junior will keep this grace in mind."

As he spoke, he took out a food box from his bosom and placed it on the side.

"Junior knows that Senior's cultivation is profound, and Junior doesn't have anything valuable. This is some food made by my wife. Thank you, Senior!"

After the human youth finished speaking, he stood up, bowed to Xu Qing again, retreated respectfully, returned to the formation, and disappeared.

Xu Qing looked at the food box. Inside were some cooked pastries, emitting fragrance, very exquisite, and one could tell at a glance they were carefully prepared.

With Xu Qing's attainments in poison, he knew if it was poisonous after one sniff. At this moment, sensing no problem, he raised his hand to pick it up. Seeing Ling'er drooling, he ate a piece himself, verified it again,

and only then handed a piece to Ling'er.

Ling'er ate it in one bite, and her eyes narrowed.

"Gurgle gurgle."

Clearly, the taste was not bad, so Ling'er couldn't help but transmit the sounds from when she was little.

Seeing Ling'er liked it, Xu Qing smiled and gave it all to Ling'er.

Then he closed his eyes and continued to meditate.

Time passed day by day. In the days that followed, Shi Pangui visited many times, each time bringing food, respectful and obedient.

Several times he wanted to speak but stopped, and finally couldn't hold back. With longing in his eyes, he asked Xu Qing about the humans in the Outer Domain.

"Senior, I heard from the Old State Lord that you are from the Outer Domain? Outside... what do we humans... look like?"

Shi Pangui's expression carried nervousness, and even more, deep expectation.

In his life, he could not leave the Sacrifice Moon Great Domain. From the moment of his birth, his fate was destined. But when he was very young, the people around him told him about the glory of humans and the power of humans.

It was just that what he saw with his own eyes was the humbleness of humans, being the food of other clans.

All kinds of misery, all kinds of sadness, all kinds of things made his heart waver, and he also felt lost.

Actually, whether the answer was yes or no couldn't change his current situation, but he wanted an answer.

He wanted to know if the humans outside were really as glorious and beautiful as the elders told him.

This would become his inner support and pride.

Xu Qing looked at the human youth in front of him and was silent for a few breaths.

His silence made the light in Shi Pangui's eyes slowly dim.

"The humans outside live and work in peace and contentment, their lives are very good, and there are not many disputes. Everything is very beautiful. And the Human Emperor of this generation is even more talented and bold. A while ago, he fought against the Black Heaven Clan and won a great victory."

"As for other clans, they all have to bow their heads in front of our humans. Either they choose to attach themselves and become a lower clan, or their entire clan will be destroyed."

"And here in the Sacrifice Moon Great Domain, the Human Emperor also cares in his heart. Everything is getting better."

A smile appeared on Xu Qing's face as he spoke easily.

His words and his smile made Shi Pangui's eyes light up, his breathing quickened, and his heart was incomparably excited.

"I knew it was like this!"

"Zhou Wangbei was arguing with me yesterday, saying that humans are also incomparably humble outside. I said this is impossible. Our human bloodline is noble. The Sacrifice Moon Great Domain is like this only because of helplessness, and our clan once unified Wanggu. Outside, we must be glorious!"

"Thank you, Senior!"

Shi Pangui was excited. After bowing to Xu Qing, he left with excitement. He was going back to tell his Dao companion these things, and tell his family and friends.

Xu Qing watched the other party's figure disappear and sighed lightly in his heart.

He understood the reason for the other party's name, 'Pangui' (Longing for Return), which was longing for the glorious return of humans.

'Wangbei' (Longing for the North) was because the Human Emperor's capital Great Domain was in the north.

Actually, through the contact these days, Xu Qing had already guessed about the lower layer of this tomb.

There should be a group of humans there, and the State Lord they spoke of was Watching Duanmu Cang.

He protected some humans, allowing them to avoid the suffering outside and live here.

And this was also the reason why the other party warned him not to leave this place.

Respect rose in Xu Qing's heart. He stood up, looked behind him, clasped his fists towards the distance, and bowed.

Following his bow, Watching Duanmu Cang's blurred figure appeared on a statue in the distance. He looked at the place where Shi Pangui had left, then looked at Xu Qing, and remained silent.

A long while later, his voice was somewhat hoarse, echoing in the stone cave.

"Thank you."

"Did the humans outside really win a victory?" Watching Duanmu Cang looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing nodded seriously.

"The Sheng Lan Great Domain now belongs to humans, and humans also have their own Domain Treasure."

Watching Duanmu Cang took a step and arrived beside Xu Qing. This was the closest the two had ever been. In the past, when they met, there was always some distance.

After arriving, Watching Duanmu Cang sat on the side and threw a wine flask to Xu Qing.

"Tell me in detail."

Xu Qing took the wine flask, took a sip, frowned, and simply took out his own wine from his storage bag and threw it to Watching Duanmu Cang.

Watching Duanmu Cang took it, drank it, and his eyes lit up.

Just like this, while the two were drinking wine, Xu Qing spoke slowly, informing Watching Duanmu Cang roughly about the things that had happened outside in the past few days, but he hid his own identity, only telling the matter from the perspective of a passerby.

During this time, Watching Duanmu Cang didn't say a word; he listened very carefully.

Until a long time later, the wine was finished, and Xu Qing had finished speaking.

Watching Duanmu Cang narrowed his eyes and spoke in a low voice.

"This Seventh Prince, what you saw was his approach and the Human Emperor's decree, but you overlooked one point: his maternal clan!"

Xu Qing's expression tightened.

"Relying on a prince alone, even if he possesses courage, this kind of situation must have a deep foundation to be able to handle it so lightly. Therefore, I think his maternal clan might not be human. Even if they are human, they must be extraordinary!"

"And the Human Emperor, interesting. I feel that he actually knows everything clearly... because if you look at the results, all the results seem to be within a controllable range."

"Behind it, there is vaguely a large hand, always firmly in control."

After Watching Duanmu Cang finished speaking, he looked up at Xu Qing and said a sentence meaningfully.

"The starting point of this matter is Fenghai County, and if I were the Human Emperor, I would definitely have arranged a trusted person beforehand to lay out a plan in Fenghai County as my eyes."

"But the cultivation base cannot be too high, or people will guess."

Xu Qing's expression remained as usual, but waves rose in his heart.

Watching Duanmu Cang didn't say much. At this moment, he stood up and walked towards the distance. As his figure gradually blurred, he suddenly paused and turned to look at Xu Qing.

"Do you want to go and see my homeland?"