Chapter 399: Heartless and Unjust

Everyone shouted for a moment, but they never got a response.

Someone said, "The benefactor must not have met with misfortune, right?"

"Should we go back to check the situation?"

"The benefactor's strength is far above ours; she will surely be fine, so we should just leave."

"No, how can we be so heartless and unjust?"

Those holding differing opinions split into two factions, arguing endlessly.

At this moment, Yuan Yao remained on the Heavenly Fire Wasteland, watching the heavenly fire continually falling from the sky, and she summoned an ordinary long sword in her hand.

Yuan Yao secretly thought to herself, coming to the Heavenly Fire Wasteland this time was a rare training opportunity; if she did not make good use of this chance to hone herself, what a pity it would be.

Thinking this, she leapt up, her body light and agile like a flying swallow.

At the same time, she brandished her long sword and fiercely slashed at the heavenly fire falling from the sky!

In an instant, a deafening roar rang out.

On the other side, after some argument, those who had entered the underground passage saw a portion of the young cultivators choose to return to the Heavenly Fire Wasteland.

But what met their eyes was—

On this vast, boundless wasteland, rolling thick smoke rose up.

And amidst this chaos, a green-clad graceful figure darted through midair; she wielded a long sword, and with each swing, a brilliant blade light flashed, cutting down the blazing heavenly fire one by one.

Accompanied by booming sounds, the surrounding air grew increasingly scorching and unbearable.

Moreover, the speed and amount of the heavenly fire clusters falling began to increase sharply, as if they intended to devour the entire wasteland completely.

The young cultivators watched this in disbelief; soon heavenly fire attacked their side, and they hurriedly gathered spiritual power to resist.

Yuan Yao also noticed them and looked in their direction.

"Benefactor!" they shouted urgently.

Yuan Yao told them, "You go first; no need to wait for me!"

Hearing this, the young cultivators felt somewhat conflicted.

Some chose to leave, while two young cultivators chose to stay.

The two of them were not staying just for Yuan Yao; they wanted to use this as a training opportunity.

Knowing their strength was insufficient, they only resisted the heavenly fire on the ground.

After just a moment, the scorching heat made them feel breathless, their throats seeming about to burn.

The two exchanged a glance, then gritted their teeth and held on a little longer, but ultimately could not endure.

They rushed back to the underground passage.

Meanwhile, Yuan Yao fought until the heavenly fire ceased falling.

She leapt down, stood firm, lowered her gaze to glance at her sleeve, and saw it slightly scorched by the heavenly fire.

She showed a look of regret.

Yuan Yao looked up and saw the molten-rock hue in the sky gradually fading, replaced by azure blue.

Yuan Yao sheathed her long sword, about to leave, when she keenly sensed a shadow in the distance.

She narrowed her eyes, trying to make out what it was, but found that the distant shadow ahead had already vanished.

Her heart stirred; she swiftly darted forward to examine the shadow, but after scanning around, she discovered a small hole on the ground, about the size of a fist.

Yuan Yao crouched down, staring at the small black hole for a moment.

She then released her mental power to probe beneath the small black hole.

This small black hole seemed bottomless, extending downward without end.

After half an incense stick's worth of time.

Yuan Yao's mental power still could not reach the end of the small black hole.

Unwilling to give up, she continued to extend her mental power downward.

After another half incense stick's time, still nothing.

Finally, she had no choice but to withdraw her mental power.

Yuan Yao stood up and suddenly heard a faint sound.

She continued walking forward.

The further she went forward, the clearer the sound ahead became.

Her gaze sharpened, and she swiftly darted forward.

About half an hour passed.

Yuan Yao actually saw molten magma jumping ahead, flowing out from the ground, and she was startled.

On the ground, countless ferocious crisscrossed cracks.

And what shocked her even more was that the destination of the magma flow was actually the sky—no, to be precise, it now resembled a magnificent, unparalleled red waterfall, pouring down from a height,

She steadied herself, took a deep breath, leapt up, and looked down from above at that unknown region below.

Upon seeing everything clearly, she couldn't help but show an expression of astonishment.

It turned out that this place was at least a hundred meters above the ground below.

Such a staggering drop was like a ten-thousand-foot abyss, sending chills down one's spine.

Moreover, after that mighty torrent of magma poured into the valley floor, it did not dissipate completely; instead, it gathered into a grand natural volcanic crater.

Within the crater, smoke and mist swirled, heat rose, and molten lava occasionally spewed out, splashing fiery red droplets.

Surrounding the crater was a barren, infertile land,

but if one cast their gaze farther, they would discover beyond this wasteland a vast primeval forest.

Looking even farther, the forest's edge connected to a large expanse of lush green grassland.

At the far edge of the view, a massive crumbling wall could be faintly seen.

Yuan Yao could still see the young Cultivators below here.

At this moment, near the volcanic crater.

The man in red seemed to sense something, looked up, and only saw a flash of a green garment hem passing by.

Qian Yunzhou slightly raised an eyebrow.

His gaze shifted, spotting the group of young Cultivators rushing out of the cave, their faces filled with astonishment.

"We've finally left that Ghost Wasteland!"

Heaven knows, they had been walking down the underground tunnel for several hours before emerging.

"Is there anyone up there?" Qian Yunzhou suddenly asked.

His voice instantly drew everyone's attention.

A skinny fellow recognized Qian Yunzhou, his expression startled, and hurriedly clasped his hands, replying with a hint of flattery, "There are people up there."

Qian Yunzhou smiled and asked, "What do they look like?"

The skinny fellow was about to answer, but was interrupted by several others.

"Why are you asking that?" the others stared at Qian Yunzhou warily; that benefactor had saved their lives, how could they expose his information?

If this person were an enemy of the benefactor, wouldn't that harm the benefactor?

The skinny fellow's complexion shifted slightly, as if startled, and he turned toward them, his voice trembling, "You... do you recognize this person?! He is the young island lord of Feiyun Island, Qian Yunzhou!"

With those words, the young Cultivators present instantly changed their gaze toward Qian Yunzhou, showing both reverence and fear.

Who among the younger generation doesn't know Qian Yunzhou?!

Not only because of his status, but also because he is a peerless prodigy among the young.

As the crowd was stunned, a few quick-witted young Cultivators realized this might be a good chance to flatter and curry favor with Qian Yunzhou.

Thus, they rushed forward one after another, smiling obsequiously, laying out all kinds of information about Yuan Yao, even not sparing details such as what she was wearing.