Chapter 185: Don't fight, Brother Zhao, it's our own people! (8K)

Entering Fire Dragon Pass, the precautions were actually much looser.

The reason was also very simple: if the majestic pass in front couldn't stop them, then no matter how strict the back was, it would be useless, because it couldn't compare to the defensive level of the majestic pass.

Especially since Liao Rulong's unit and Wen Shaoyang's unit had just launched a feint attack not long ago, which not only didn't achieve anything but also resulted in dozens of casualties, and then retreated a thousand li back to Zhiyou City, making the defenders even more lax.

Of course, this was also relative.

Now it was wartime, so compared to the usual precautions, it was still several levels higher.

Zhao Xing, Chen Shijie, Yu Ziqi, and Long Xiao, wearing the faces of commanders, passed through five checkpoints safely and without incident.

Especially since Zhao Xing used the Detain-Soul Straw Man to collect the life souls of the four commanders and read their memories from the past few days, even if they encountered questioning, they handled it easily.

Until the last hurdle, how to enter the Earth Fire Lotus planting area, which made the four Zhao Xing people troubled.

"Loba, Xuba, Huowei, and Lahe are all commanders of the underground defense zone in the outer city."

"The planting area is a completely different system from them; we can't continue to move forward, we can't muddle through."

In a ruin, the four Zhao Xing people were discussing.

"Now the only way is to kill four more people, and they must be people who can enter the Earth Fire Lotus planting area, and replace them to get in."

"Then what are we waiting for? Kill," Long Xiao waved his fist.

"The problem is we don't know who to kill," Zhao Xing said. "None of these people's memories know the people in the Earth Fire Lotus planting area; they are completely two different systems."

"So we must wait here for people to come out from inside, or for new people to plan to go in."

Chen Shijie said: "Is there no better way?"

Zhao Xing shook his head; having reached this step, he didn't have any good ideas. According to the experience of his previous life, he would have to use his life to lure people out from inside and fish in troubled waters.

Now that he only had one life, he naturally had to save it.

As long as they got the stuff, retreating would be simple; they could run into the hinterland of the Fire Demon tribe.

After escaping the pursuit, they could detour to other places to cross the Flame Mountain, without having to return the same way.

"Wait, don't rush, we still have time," Zhao Xing said; the straw man left at the underground checkpoint could also delay some time.

The minotaur Ye Chongxian was leading two "Fire Demon tribesmen," Xia Jing and Guan Junyang, walking toward the planting area.

"Heir, don't say anything in a while, leave everything to me to handle."

Xia Jing nodded slightly: "Understood."

The three were walking on the road, while Xia Jing and Guan Junyang kept their heads slightly lowered, silent.

The Earth Fire Lotus planting area was also one of Xia Jing's purposes this time.

Ye Chongxian was a Power-Warrior Commander who had been lurking here for many years and had already become the commander in charge of personnel transfers at Fire Dragon Pass.

The three were walking toward the Earth Fire Lotus planting area; when passing through a ruin, Xia Jing stopped his steps and tilted his head slightly.

"What's wrong?" Ye Chongxian asked.

"Nothing," Xia Jing pondered, "Maybe I'm too nervous; I felt a trace of killing intent."

Ye Chongxian also scanned the surroundings but didn't find anything unusual: "This ruin was once a residential area, but it was destroyed by an earth fire eruption before."

"Maybe it's the resentment of the wandering souls left behind from before."

"Hm," Xia Jing nodded, "Let's continue walking."

Soon Xia Jing, Guan Junyang, and Ye Chongxian walked to the entrance.

It was a tunnel exposed on the surface, dug very spaciously, with the entrance slanting downward, a full dozen meters wide.

"Pabo, hey, my good brother," Ye Chongxian walked over with a smile, greeting the Fire Demon tribe commander guarding the pass.

"Yalidu, are these the two illegitimate children you want to arrange?" Pabo crossed his arms in front of his chest and asked with a hint of teasing: "They don't look like you; is their bloodline pure?"

Facing the other's teasing, Ye Chongxian accompanied him with a smiling face: "I am a Minotaur, but their mother is a proper Fire Demon tribeswoman; they look like their mother, not me."

Pabo said lazily: "They look a bit weak; can they withstand the earth fire roasting below? Don't delay my important business."

Pabo kept dragging things out and just wouldn't let them pass.

Clearly, the benefits given before weren't enough, and he was changing his mind temporarily, wanting more money.

Ye Chongxian cursed him to death in his heart, but fortunately, he had prepared early and took out another bag from his bosom and handed it over: "Please take care of them, Pabo."

Weighing the bag, Pabo beamed with joy: "You've taught them the rules?"

"Taught, taught, they are all honest children, absolutely won't add trouble to you, Pabo."

"Fine, then go in."

Outside the Earth Fire Lotus cave, in the ruins.

"Why didn't you let me do it just now?" Yu Ziqi asked. Zhao Xing's Detain-Soul Straw Man could read memories; even if there were only three people, as long as they handled these three, they could know more information.

"Can't fight," Zhao Xing shook his head. "That minotaur is weak, but one of the Fire Demon tribesmen behind him, who seems to be only Eighth-Rank, is actually not simple."

"I just observed with my Bright Eyes, and he seemed to have sensed it."

"How did you see that?"

"Intuition."

Zhao Xing said: "This might be the son of some big shot, here to inspect the Earth Fire Lotus, or he has treasures on him; in short, he is very likely to see through our disguise."

Chen Shijie nodded slightly: "I have this feeling too."

"The son of a big shot?" Long Xiao licked his lips: "That's perfect, we can kill him on the way out."

"You only know how to kill," Yu Ziqi mocked: "Can you use your brain?"

Zhao Xing shook his head this time: "This person is a bit dangerous; if we don't run into him, fine, but if we do, if we discover any abnormality, we must kill him first, otherwise we will easily be exposed."

"Fine," the others nodded.

After waiting for nearly two hours, the four Zhao Xing people finally found an opportunity.

A Fire Demon tribesman dressed plainly passed through the ruin residential area.

Suddenly a black shadow rushed behind him, covered his mouth, and dragged him into the shadows.

"Mmph??"

This Fire Demon tribesman was Eighth-Rank, but he was quickly dragged into the darkness.

"Pshh~"

Before he could react, his throat was slit.

The last scene he saw was someone taking off his clothes.

And beside him stood three familiar figures; they were his own brothers.

"Why did brother kill me?"

With confusion, this Fire Demon tribesman's consciousness vanished.

"Done, this guy named Sangma is also a maintenance worker for the Earth Fire Lotus."

"He and Jisang, Sangmu, and Sange are all born of the same mother."

Zhao Xing clapped his hands and detained the soul.

"The Fire Demon tribe is really capable of giving birth; one pregnancy can have eight." Long Xiao curled his lip. "Barbarians are barbarians after all."

"They have more animal characteristics than human ones; wanting to assimilate these barbarians is simply not feasible," Yu Ziqi said so.

Zhao Xing didn't express an opinion; every era has its era's policies. During the Taizu period, people didn't have much opinion about these barbarians, and during the Emperor Wen period, they were even relatively close.

But by the Jing Emperor period, the propaganda direction changed to alien races.

The road to assimilating barbarians had never been smooth—having a minotaur head or a horse body and insisting that Great Zhou citizens identify them as their own tribesmen was too difficult for people.

"Transform!"

Zhao Xing shook his body and transformed into the appearance of Sangma.

"When we go in later, try not to speak; leave everything to me to handle," Zhao Xing said.

"If we run into acquaintances, play it by ear, try not to make a move."

"Understood."

Entering the lava cave, it was a very long tunnel.

Even though there was a barrier in the tunnel to isolate it, it still radiated a heat wave.

As soon as the four Zhao Xing people entered, their mouths were dry.

"The Flame Mountain Range is worthy of being a natural barrier; it's really uncomfortable," Long Xiao exhaled gloomily.

Their realm and rank were not low, but now they were disguised as Eighth-Rank, so they had to show the strength of Eighth-Rank.

Great Zhou's Eighth-Rank martial generals, entering the cave, couldn't stand it at all.

That is, the Fire Demon tribesmen, who grew up in this environment, had body structures and skin that were very heat-resistant.

"If a Seventh-Rank doesn't have protection, they can't cross the Flame Mountain," Chen Shijie looked at the surroundings; he was also here to evaluate the environmental conditions of the Flame Mountain Range.

The conclusion was that you couldn't walk across the Flame Mountain without protective gear.

"What is that?" Yu Ziqi nudged his chin toward the lava cave wall on the front left.

"Fire crystals in the lava cave are of high value; 1 jin is worth 10 points," Zhao Xing introduced. "Fire-element sorcerers have a great demand for this. However, these are all scraps, not a real mining area, and the mining difficulty is also high."

Stepping into the lava cave.

The four felt the temperature around them gradually rising.

The further down, the more serious it was.

The cave was spacious, not dark, but rather bright.

On the rock wall, there were crystals with mixed colors, embedded in the wall, shining brightly.

Those were fire crystals with very low concentration.

Continued to walk forward for about half an hour.

The ground became flat, and a magma river appeared ahead!

"We're here!" Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi were a bit excited; wasn't this the magma river?

"Still far," Zhao Xing shook his head. "This is just the low-temperature zone."

"Look at that sign, it's written on it."

"As a Fifth-Rank treasure, the Earth Fire Lotus must be in the high-temperature zone; we can reach it by following the signs downward."

The four Zhao Xing people continued to walk downward.

"Gurgle~" "Gurgle~"

Bubbles occasionally popped out of the magma river.

Along the way, there were many Eighth-Rank miners of the Fire Demon tribe.

They were collecting fire crystals and transporting them to a certain place.

"This is the mining area," Zhao Xing whispered. "Some are used to make weapons, and some are piled in the soil, which can make fire-attribute plants grow rapidly."

Clang~ Clang~

The sounds of mining came one after another.

The four Zhao Xing people hurried through the mining area.

Suddenly, a flash of brightness appeared before their eyes.

In the cave above their heads, there were stars all over the sky, flickering.

That was high-concentration fire crystals embedded in the rock layer above.

"Earth Fire Nurturing Origin Array."

"We're here!"

Zhao Xing was also a bit excited. The last time he came was in his previous life; now it could be considered another kind of "revisiting an old place."

"Look, that's the Earth Fire Lotus!"

Zhao Xing pointed to the magma river ahead.

The river appeared to have a backflow ahead, and the section where the flow was originally faster accumulated into an underground magma lake in this area.

And in the lake, red lotus flowers were blooming.

"This was changed by an artificial array, the Earth Fire Spirit Lake."

"However, the Earth Fire Lotus bred here is only Third-Rank."

Yu Ziqi asked: "Are Third-Rank seeds enough?"

Chen Shijie looked at Zhao Xing; he had no way to make plants break through their growth limits.

"To be safe, harvest Fourth-Rank lotus seeds," Zhao Xing said. "Harvest some Third-Rank and Fifth-Rank ones too."

The cultivation environment for the Earth Fire Lotus is harsh; although [Instant Primordial] has reached the Sixth Turn of the High Rank, it's not safe.

Since they were here, naturally they should harvest a bit of everything.

"Old Chen and I will steal it, you guys go move things," Zhao Xing waved his hand.

The four scattered; Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi both went to move boxes.

Moving boxes containing fire crystals, and then pouring them into a certain lotus area through a suspension bridge—this was their job.

"Hoo-ha~ Hoo-ha~"

Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi began to pant and work.

Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie also followed along to work, but secretly raised a wind to harvest seeds in the lotus area.

There were many people in the Third-Rank Earth Fire Lotus area, but they were basically all coolies.

No one could discover Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie's actions.

Before long, the two had harvested over a hundred seeds and put them into a box.

"Is it okay to put it here?"

"No problem, Earth Fire Lotus seeds are very tolerant; this box is made of fire crystals, so putting it inside is just right."

"It's not eye-catching for us to carry this kind of box; this is what we're supposed to be doing anyway," Zhao Xing said.

"Time to go to the Fourth-Rank area."

"Hm, be careful."

The four Zhao Xing people continued to walk downward and soon saw a warning sign:

[Ahead is the Fourth-Rank Earth Fire Spirit Lake area; Fire Demon tribesmen who have not reached the late stage of the Spirit Bridge, enter with caution.]

The four ignored it and immediately crossed this warning sign.

"Fourth-Rank Spirit Lake."

Zhao Xing entered the Spirit Lake area, still pretending to be working, and then stole seeds with Chen Shijie.

The Spirit Lake was relatively large, and people were relatively scattered; in this stuffy environment, very few people noticed that two guys were stealing seeds.

Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing stole one here and one there, just like taking a grain of rice from a rice jar; it was completely inconspicuous.

"Fourth-Rank is enough, go to the Fifth-Rank area," Zhao Xing said.

"Let's go."

Things were going very smoothly, but unexpectedly, just as they walked into the Fifth-Rank area, they encountered a problem.

A Fire Demon tribe commander suddenly stopped Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie: "Stop, whose subordinate are you? Why have I never seen you before?"

"We were sent by Lord Yuehai," Zhao Xing said. "We just promoted to the Earth Fiend Realm not long ago and were ordered to come to the Fifth-Rank Spirit Lake to work."

"Oh?" This commander stared suspiciously at Zhao Xing, but didn't see any flaws. He waved his hand, signaling them to pass.

Muttering: "How come there are several more commander-level... wait!"

Just as the four Zhao Xing people brushed past them, he suddenly said: "You said you were ordered by Lord Yuehai, where is the order?"

Chen Shijie's eyes narrowed slightly.

Zhao Xing, however, said unhurriedly: "We came in a hurry, the order wasn't brought down."

This commander said vigilantly: "No order, then there must be a password! What is the password?!"

Password?

There was even a password?

Zhao Xing was also stunned.

He calculated everything, but didn't expect to miss this link.

The few people whose souls he detained didn't have the qualifications to know that the Fifth-Rank Earth Fire Spirit Lake area even required a password to pass.

Zhao Xing didn't know there was such a thing as a password in his previous life either.

Could it be that the practices of different periods were different?

"Pshh~"

Seeing Zhao Xing hesitate, the commander was about to take something from his body.

Yu Ziqi and Long Xiao were both veterans; seeing Zhao Xing stunned and the commander making a move, they immediately struck decisively.

Two swords, one pierced through his chest, and one pierced through his forehead.

"Heh-ho~"

He covered his neck and was about to fall.

Zhao Xing reacted and immediately kicked him into the magma river.

"Gurgle~"

The magma river soon swallowed this unlucky guy, melting him without a trace.

"Wasn't discovered, right?" Zhao Xing's heart was pounding.

"Shouldn't be," Chen Shijie scanned the surroundings. "This place is a corner."

"Must act quickly; we don't have a password, we'll have problems sooner or later," Long Xiao said.

"Hm." Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie immediately set off, flying quickly toward the lotus area of the Spirit Lake.

As a result, just after turning the corner, they ran into two more commanders.

And these two, Zhao Xing and the others had seen before.

They were the ones led in by that minotaur.

But weren't they Eighth-Rank?

Why could Eighth-Rank enter here?

"Stop, where is the order!"

Zhao Xing immediately issued the order first.

I ask you, better than you asking me.

Xia Jing and Guan Junyang were stunned.

They were holding a box and had passed the checkpoint very smoothly, but didn't expect to be questioned just as they were about to leave the Fifth-Rank Earth Fire Spirit Lake.

Xia Jing and Guan Junyang didn't have any order.

However, their approach was exactly the same as Zhao Xing's.

Xia Jing said: "My lord, we just promoted, and we came in a hurry, so the order wasn't brought down."

Zhao Xing frowned: "Since there is no order, then there must be a password?"

Xia Jing was stunned.

There was even a password?

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he approached a few steps casually: "My lord, listen to me..."

Seeing his footsteps gathering strength, Zhao Xing's heart pounded, a sense of crisis surged in his heart, and he quickly retreated.

"Shoo~"

The moment he retreated.

A sword light and a blade light lit up.

The sword was Long Xiao's sword, and the blade was Xia Jing's blade.

"Clang!"

Blade and sword crossed, and Long Xiao's flying sword was shaken back.

Xia Jing was shaken all over, and the box tied to his back also fell off.

His blood-Qi surged, and he felt terrible.

There was actually such a strong Seventh-Rank sword cultivator among the barbarians?!

"Kill him!" Zhao Xing was furious.

Damn it, he had just set someone up, but didn't expect to be set up by someone else in turn.

Just now he was almost slashed; if it weren't for the life soul warning, he would have been dead or seriously injured.

"Kill that sword cultivator first!" Xia Jing also said to Guan Junyang.

Xia Jing and Guan Junyang, relying on their superb martial arts, didn't think about running at all.

The two completely ignored Chen Shijie, Zhao Xing, and Yu Ziqi, and immediately all their moves were aimed at Long Xiao.

"Pshh pshh pshh~" Guan Junyang immediately launched his strongest killing move, and thick green hair suddenly grew on Long Xiao's palms.

That Sword-Controlling Style immediately became unstable, deviated from its trajectory, and shot into the magma lake.

At the same time, Zhao Xing also made a move, and his Tengshe Transformation immediately greeted Xia Jing.

Yu Ziqi arrived later but reached first, and four flying swords pierced toward Xia Jing and Guan Junyang respectively.

Old Chen had a fire-red chain spreading from underground, instantly binding Guan Junyang.

Both sides wanted to solve the other with the fastest speed and the least movement.

"What?!"

Xia Jing felt terrible, because that Yu Ziqi, who looked very inconspicuous, was actually controlling four flying swords.

Damn it, another sword cultivator?!

And those two inconspicuous people beside him, how could their spell-casting speed and power be so fast?!

"Wait, this move is?!"

Xia Jing pointed his finger at Yu Ziqi's four flying swords, and the Azure Dragon Breaking Origin Finger turned into an afterimage, pushing all four flying swords away.

But his heart suddenly became uncontrollable, and scales actually grew on his neck.

His five internal organs seemed to be shifting.

This was the power of the Tengshe Transformation!

"Don't fight, Brother Zhao, it's our own people!"

Xia Jing whispered immediately.

"Hm? Stop!" Zhao Xing called to stop suspiciously, and the Thunder Finger also retracted its strength, only hitting Xia Jing's knee bend.