Chapter 189: Stop Fighting, Brother Zhao, We're Allies!

Upon entering Fire Dragon Pass, the defenses were actually much looser.

The logic was simple: if a mighty pass ahead could not hold them, stricter measures behind would be useless, as they could never match the defensive level of the great pass.

Especially recently, when Liao Ru's unit and Wen Shaoyang's unit launched a feint attack, they achieved nothing and instead suffered dozens of casualties before retreating a thousand li back to Zhiyou City, causing the garrison to become even more lax.

Of course, this was relative.

It was wartime now, so compared to peacetime vigilance, the security was still several levels higher.

Zhao Xing, Chen Shijie, Yu Ziqi, and Long Xiao, leveraging the faces of the four commanders, passed through five checkpoints safely and without incident in a row.

Especially since Zhao Xing had used the Soul-Binding Straw Man to claim the life souls of the four commanders and read their memories from the past few days, he could easily handle any questioning.

But at the final checkpoint, how to enter the Earth-Fire Lotus planting area left the four of them stumped.

"Luo Ba, Xu Ba, Huo Wei, and La He are all commanders of the outer city's underground defense zone."

"The planting area belongs to a completely different system; we cannot proceed further. We cannot blend in."

In a ruin, the four of Zhao Xing were discussing the matter.

"Now we have no choice but to kill four more people, and they must be individuals authorized to enter the Earth-Fire Lotus planting area, so we can take their places and get in."

"Then what are we waiting for? Kill!" Long Xiao shouted, waving his fists.

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

"So we must wait here for someone from inside to come out, or for someone new to attempt entry."

Chen Shijie asked, "Is there no better way?"

Zhao Xing shook his head. Having reached this point, he had no good ideas either. According to his past-life experience, one would have to use life as bait to lure people out and fish in troubled waters.

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

Once they obtained the item, retreat would be simple; they could flee deep into the Fire Demon Clan's territory.

After evading the pursuit, they could take a detour to scale the Flame Mountain elsewhere, avoiding the need to return by the original route.

"Wait, no rush; we still have time," Zhao Xing said. The straw man left at the underground checkpoint could also buy them some time.

The Minotaur Ye Chongxian, accompanied by Xia Jing and Guan Junyang—two 'Fire Demon Clan' members—was heading toward the planting area.

"Young Master, do not speak a word later; I will handle everything."

Xia Jing nodded slightly: "Understood."

As the three walked along, Xia Jing and Guan Junyang kept their heads slightly bowed, saying nothing.

The Earth-Fire Lotus planting area was, in fact, one of Xia Jing's objectives this time.

Ye Chongxian was a Commander of the Strongmen, having lain low here for many years until he had risen to become the commander in charge of personnel transfers at Fire Dragon Pass.

As the three walked toward the Earth-Fire Lotus planting area, passing through a patch of ruins, Xia Jing suddenly stopped and turned his head slightly.

"What is it?" Ye Chongxian asked.

"Nothing," Xia Jing pondered. "Perhaps I am too nervous; I sensed a trace of killing intent."

Ye Chongxian also scanned the surroundings but detected nothing unusual. "These ruins were once a residential area, but they were destroyed by a previous Earth-Fire eruption."

"Perhaps it is the lingering resentment of souls left behind from before."

"Hmm." Xia Jing nodded. "Let us continue."

Soon, Xia Jing, Guan Junyang, and Ye Chongxian arrived at the entrance.

It was a tunnel exposed at the surface, dug very wide, with the mouth sloping downward, measuring over ten meters across.

"Pabo, hey, my good brother," Ye Chongxian said with a smile as he approached, greeting the Fire Demon Clan commander guarding the pass.

"Yaliduo, are these the two illegitimate sons you intend to arrange?" Pabo asked with his arms crossed, his tone slightly teasing: "They don't look like you; is their bloodline pure?"

Facing the teasing, Ye Chongxian forced a smile. "I am of the Ox Demon Clan, but their mothers are genuine Fire Demon Clan; they resemble their mothers, not me."

Pabo lazily replied, "They look a bit weak. Can they withstand the scorching of the Earth-Fire below? Don't delay my important business."

Pabo chattered on about this and that, simply refusing to grant passage.

Clearly, the previous bribe was insufficient, and he had changed his mind, wanting more money.

Ye Chongxian cursed him viciously in his heart, but fortunately, he had prepared for this. He pulled a bag from his chest and handed it over. "Please, Pabo, give us your special care."

After weighing the bag, Pabo beamed with joy. "Have you taught them the rules?"

"Taught, taught. They are honest children and will absolutely not cause trouble for you, Pabo."

"Very well, then go in."

Outside the Earth-Fire Lotus cave, in the ruins.

"Why didn't you let me act just now?" Yu Ziqi asked. Zhao Xing's Soul-Binding Straw Man could read memories; even with only three people, if they dealt with these three, they could learn much more information.

"We cannot fight," Zhao Xing shook his head. "That Minotaur is weak, but the Fire Demon Clan member behind him, who appears to be only at the eighth rank, is not simple."

"I merely observed with my Bright Eyes just now, yet he seemed to sense something."

"How did you tell?"

"Intuition."

Zhao Xing said, "He might be the son of some great figure entering to inspect the Earth-Fire Lotus, or perhaps he carries a treasure. In any case, he is very likely to see through our disguises."

Chen Shijie nodded slightly. "I have that feeling too."

"The son of a great figure?" Long Xiao licked his lips. "That is perfect; we can also chop him down on our way out."

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

This time, however, Zhao Xing shook his head. "This person is somewhat dangerous. If we do not encounter him, so be it; but if we do meet him and he discovers anything abnormal, we must chop him down first, otherwise we will be exposed very easily."

"Very well." The others nodded.

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

A Fire Demon Clan member dressed plainly passed by the residential ruins.

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

"Hmm??"

This Fire Demon Clan member was of the Eighth Rank, yet was swiftly dragged into the darkness.

"Pfft~"

Before he could react, his throat was slit.

The last thing he saw was someone unbuttoning his clothes.

Standing nearby were three familiar figures; they were his own blood brothers.

"Why does brother want to kill me?"

With that doubt, this Fire Demon Clan member's consciousness vanished.

"Done. This one named Sang Ma is also a caretaker of the Earth Fire Lotus."

"He, Ji Sang, Sang Mu, and Sang Er are all born of the same mother."

Zhao Xing clapped his hands and drew the soul inside.

"The Fire Demon Clan is truly prolific; one litter can carry eight." Long Xiao pouted, "Barbarians are indeed barbarians."

"They possess more traits of beasts than of humans; attempting to assimilate these barbarian tribes is utterly unwise." Yu Ziqi stated thus.

Zhao Xing offered no opinion; each era has its own policies. During the Taizu period, people held no great grievance against these barbarians, and during the Wendi period, they were even quite close.

But by the Jingdi period, the propaganda climate shifted again to label them as alien races.

The path of assimilating barbarians has always been smoothless—forcing the people of Great Zhou to accept them as their own kin, when they bear bull heads or horse bodies, is simply too difficult.

"Transform!"

Zhao Xing shook his head and transformed, instantly taking on the appearance of Sang Ma.

"Once we enter, try not to speak; I will handle everything." Zhao Xing said.

"If you meet acquaintances, act according to the situation and try not to fight."

"Understood."

Entering the lava cave meant traversing a very long tunnel.

Even with a barrier isolating the tunnel, a wave of heat radiated from within.

As soon as Zhao Xing and the other three entered, their mouths went dry and their tongues parched.

"Flaming Mountain Range, truly a natural barrier; it is really unbearable." Long Xiao exhaled heavily.

Their realms and ranks were not low, but since they were currently disguised as Eighth Rank, they had to display Eighth Rank strength.

An Eighth Rank Great Zhou martial general entering the cave below simply could not endure it.

Only the Fire Demon Clan members, having grown in this environment, possessed body structures and skin capable of withstanding the heat.

"Even a Seventh Rank without protection could not cross the Flaming Mountain." Chen Shijie surveyed the surroundings; he too had come on this journey to assess the environmental conditions of the Flaming Mountain Range.

The conclusion was that without protective gear, one simply could not walk through the Flaming Mountain.

"What is that?" Yu Ziqi jerked his chin toward the rock wall on the left front.

"The Flame Crystals within the lava cave are of considerable value; one jin is worth ten points." Zhao Xing introduced, "Fire Element Mages have a huge demand for these. However, these are all fragments, not a true mining district, and the difficulty of mining is great."

Stepping into the lava cave.

The four felt the surrounding temperature gradually rise.

The deeper they went, the more severe it became.

The cavern was vast; not only was it not dark, but it was actually somewhat bright.

On the rock walls, multicolored crystals were embedded, twinkling with light.

Those were Flame Crystals of very low concentration.

Continuing forward for about half a double-hour.

The ground became level, and a river of magma appeared ahead!

"We've arrived!" Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi were somewhat excited; wasn't this that magma river?

"It is still too early." Zhao Xing shook his head, "This is merely the low-temperature zone."

"Look at that sign; it is written there."

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

Zhao Xing and the other three continued downward.

"Gurgle~" "Gurgle~"

Bubbles occasionally rose from the magma river.

Along the way, there were many Eighth Rank Fire Demon Clan miners.

They were collecting Flame Crystals and transporting them to a certain place.

"This is the mining district." Zhao Xing whispered, "Some are used to forge weapons, while others are piled in the soil to allow fire-attribute plants to grow rapidly."

Clang~ Clang~

The sounds of mining rose and fell continuously.

Zhao Xing and the other three hurriedly passed through the mining district.

Suddenly, a burst of brightness filled their vision.

On the rock ceiling above, a sky full of stars appeared, twinkling one by one.

Those were Flame Crystals of very high concentration embedded in the rock layer overhead.

"Earth Fire Nurturing Array."

"We have arrived!"

Zhao Xing was also somewhat excited. The last time he came was in his past life; now it could be considered a kind of 'returning to an old place'.

"Look, that is the Earth Fire Lotus!"

Zhao Xing pointed at the lava river ahead.

The river had formed a backflow up ahead; the section that had originally flowed quite fast had pooled here into an underground lava lake.

And in the lake, red lotuses bloomed one after another.

"This is an Earth-Fire Linghu, altered by an artificial formation array."

"But the Earth-Fire Lotuses nurtured here are only third-grade."

Yu Ziqi asked, "Are third-grade seeds enough?"

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

"To be safe, pick fourth-grade lotus seeds," Zhao Xing said. "Grab some third- and fifth-grade ones too."

Earth-Fire Lotuses had harsh cultivation conditions; although 【Moment of Primordial Origin】 was already at high-grade sixth revolution, it wasn't a sure thing.

Since they were already here, of course they had to grab a little of everything.

"Old Chen and I will do the stealing — you two go move the goods." Zhao Xing waved his hand.

The four split up; Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi both went to carry crates.

Carrying crates filled with flame crystals, then crossing the suspension bridge to dump them into a certain lotus section — that was their job.

"Huff-ha~ huff-ha~"

Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi began panting as they hauled.

Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie joined in the work too, but secretly stirred up a breeze to pluck seeds in the lotus section.

The third-grade Earth-Fire Lotus section had plenty of people, but they were mostly laborers.

No one could detect Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie's movements.

In no time, the two had picked over a hundred seeds and packed them into a crate.

"Is it fine to just leave them like this?"

"No problem. Earth-Fire Lotus seeds are very hardy, and this crate is forged from flame crystals — storing them inside is perfect."

"Carrying crates like this won't draw attention either — moving them is exactly what we're supposed to be doing," Zhao Xing said.

"Time to head to the fourth-grade section."

"Mm, be careful."

The four of Zhao Xing's group continued downward and soon saw a warning sign:

【Ahead is the fourth-grade Earth-Fire Linghu zone. Fire Demon Clan members who have not reached the late Spirit Bridge stage, enter with caution.】

The four paid it no heed and immediately passed through the warning sign.

"Fourth-grade Linghu."

Zhao Xing entered the Linghu zone, still pretending to work, then stole seeds together with Chen Shijie.

The Linghu was fairly large and people were spread out; in such a sweltering environment, hardly anyone noticed two fellows stealing seeds.

Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing each stole one here, one there — like taking a single grain of rice from a rice jar, utterly inconspicuous.

"Enough fourth-grade — let's go to the fifth-grade zone," Zhao Xing said.

"Go."

Things were going smoothly, but the moment they stepped into the fifth-grade zone, they ran into trouble.

A Fire Demon Clan commander suddenly blocked Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie: "Halt. Which lord do you serve? I've never seen you before."

"We were sent by Lord Moon Sea," Zhao Xing said. "We only recently advanced to Earth Sha realm and were ordered to work at the fifth-grade Linghu."

"Oh?" The commander eyed Zhao Xing suspiciously but couldn't spot anything amiss. He waved his hand, signaling them to pass.

He muttered under his breath: "Why are there several extra commanders today today… wait!"

Just as Zhao Xing's group brushed past him, he suddenly said: "You claim you carry Lord Moon Sea's order — where is the order?"

Chen Shijie's eyes narrowed slightly.

Zhao Xing, unhurried, replied: "We came in a hurry and didn't bring the written order down with us."

The commander grew wary: "No written order, then there must be a verbal one — what's the password?!"

Password?

There's a password too?

Zhao Xing was also stunned.

After all his calculations, he hadn't expected to miss this one link.

The few people he had soul-searched simply weren't qualified to know that the fifth-grade Earth-Fire Linghu zone required a password to pass.

In his previous life, Zhao Xing hadn't known about this password business either.

Could it be that practices differed across different eras?

"Pfft~"

Seeing Zhao Xing hesitate, the commander immediately reached for something on his person.

Yu Ziqi and Long Xiao were old hands; seeing Zhao Xing freeze and the commander make a move, they struck decisively without hesitation.

Two swords — one pierced through his chest, the other through his forehead.

"Hergh~"

He clutched his neck and began to collapse.

Zhao Xing snapped back and immediately kicked him into the lava river.

"Gloop~"

The lava river quickly swallowed the unlucky bastard whole, melting him until not a trace remained.

"We weren't spotted, were we?" Zhao Xing's heart hammered.

"Should be fine," Chen Shijie scanned the surroundings. "This spot is a corner."

"We must act quickly; without a password, we will inevitably run into trouble," Long Xiao said.

"Mm." Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie set off immediately, walking swiftly toward the lotus district of the Linghu.

As soon as they rounded the corner, they ran into two commanders.

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

They were the ones led in by that ox-headed man.

But weren't they Eighth Rank?

Why could Eighth Rank enter this place?

"Halt! Where is your hand token!"

Zhao Xing immediately issued the order first.

I ask you; it is better than you asking me.

Xia Jing and Guan Junyang were stunned.

They were carrying a box and had passed the checkpoint smoothly, never expecting to be questioned just as they were about to leave the Fifth-Stage Earth Fire Linghu.

What hand token did Xia Jing and Guan Junyang have?

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

Xia Jing spoke: "My lord, we have just been promoted and came in a hurry; we did not bring the hand token down."

Zhao Xing frowned: "Since you have no hand token, surely you have a password?"

Xia Jing was stunned.

There is a password?

He narrowed his eyes slightly, approaching a few steps in a careless manner: "My lord, listen to me..."

Seeing his footsteps coiling with intent, Zhao Xing's heart immediately pounded wildly; a sense of crisis surged in his heart, and he quickly exploded backward with his body.

"Whoosh~"

At the very moment he retreated.

A sword light and a blade light flared up.

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

"Clang!"

Blade and sword crossed; Long Xiao's flying sword was knocked back.

Xia Jing shuddered all over, and the box tied to his back fell down.

His qi and blood churned; he felt terrible.

How could there be such a powerful Seventh-Rank sword cultivator among the Barbarians?!

"Kill him!" Zhao Xing, furious and desperate, shouted.

Damn it; he had just tricked someone, only to be tricked in return the moment he turned around.

Just now, he had almost been struck; if not for the Life-Soul's warning, he would have been severely injured or even killed by that blow.

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

Xia Jing and Guan Junyang, relying on their superb martial arts, never thought of running.

The two completely ignored Chen Shijie, Zhao Xing, and Yu Yu Ziqi, and immediately directed all their techniques straight at Long Xiao.

"Pfft-pfft-pfft~" Guan Junyang immediately unleashed his strongest killing move; thick green hair suddenly grew on Long Xiao's palm.

That Sword-Controlling Art immediately became unstable, deviating from its trajectory and shooting into the magma lake.

At the same time, Zhao Xing also acted; his Flying Snake Transformation immediately struck at Xia Jing.

Yu Yu Ziqi, acting later but arriving first, thrust four flying swords at Xia Jing and Guan Junyang respectively.

Old Chen had a fiery red chain extend from the ground, instantly binding Guan Junyang.

Both sides wanted to eliminate the other as quickly as possible with the least commotion.

"What?!"

Xia Jing felt terrible because that seemingly unremarkable Yu Yu Ziqi was actually controlling four flying swords.

Damn it, another sword cultivator?!

And those two unremarkable people nearby; why were their spellcasting speed and power so fast and strong?!

"Wait, what technique is this?!"

Xia Jing pointed his finger at Yu Yu Ziqi's four flying swords; the Azure Dragon Breaks Origin Finger turned into a blur, knocking all four flying swords aside.

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

His five viscera seemed to be shifting positions.

This is the power of the Flying Snake Transformation!

"Stop fighting, Brother Zhao; it is one of us!"

Xia Jing immediately shouted in a low voice.

"Mm? Stop!" Zhao Xing suspiciously called a halt; the Thunder Finger also withdrew its force, striking only at Xia Jing's knee joint.