Chapter 1771

Looking down, I saw the magma surging at the bottom of the Crimson Flame Cave, flames raging, waves of scorching heat one stronger than another; Hu Xiaotian couldn't help feeling a chill in his heart. If he fell from here, he'd surely be burned to ashes, but thanks to Shadow Granny setting up spider webs in advance to block it, otherwise he and Xi Yan would already have turned to ash.

Hu Xiaotian lifted Xi Yan's hairpin, aiming the sole bead forward. The bead turned red in the magma's reflection, but there was no change ahead. Hu Xiaotian silently sighed, this thing was almost certainly not a Purple Lightning Pearl. Even knowing the way out would be useless without the Purple Lightning Pearl, as the entrance couldn't be found. He was about to put the hairpin away when he suddenly recalled something, grabbed the hairpin, applied a little force, and snapped the bead off its tail. Having no other choice, he destroyed the hairpin, removing the pea‑sized bead, and discovered its tip projecting a purple light—not from the bead itself but from the hairpin's tail, looking like a tiny flashlight.

Hu Xiaotian secretly rejoiced, hastily raised the hairpin and aimed the light beam at the opposite rock face. The beam spread, the purple light projecting onto the rock, where a bright yellow pattern appeared—only part of it, but Hu Xiaotian could already tell it should be a dragon's head. Following Shadow Granny's earlier hint, he had found the dragon's left ear. He dared not delay, once more placed Xi Yan on his back, employed the Golden Spider Eight Steps, and climbed to the position of the dragon's left ear. On the surface the rock wall seemed a solid slab with no cracks or openings, yet Hu Xiaotian firmly believed Shadow Granny would not deceive him. He drew his light sword; its energy had been drained considerably by the Lone Moon Slash, leaving only about two feet of blade glow. He swung the sword into the wall, and without much effort pierced the thin rock layer, wiggling the sword to enlarge the opening—sure enough, a three‑foot‑diameter hole appeared before him.

Hu Xiaotian carried Xi Yan on his back and crawled into the hole, but the passage was narrow; as he went farther it did not widen, instead becoming ever tighter, the tightest spot allowing only one person to pass. Helpless, he lowered Xi Yan, first pushing her through the narrow section and then crawling in himself. This inevitably scraped her delicate skin in several places, but there was no alternative if they wanted to escape.

After crawling more than thirty zhang in the darkness, the passage finally widened enough for Hu Xiaotian to stand upright. He lifted Xi Yan again and walked another fifty or sixty steps ahead, where a stone gate appeared, its surface carved with chaotic, strange patterns—exactly the pattern lock Shadow Granny had mentioned.

Although the riddle was difficult, Hu Xiaotian already knew the answer beforehand, so it posed no trouble for him. He quickly rearranged the pattern, and upon completion it formed a toad. The toad turned counter‑clockwise on the gate, rotating three full circles before stopping. Hu Xiaotian heard only a loud rumbling accompanied by violent shaking, which clearly came from beneath his feet. The stone gate slowly opened, and a burst of damp, cool wind blew in from outside.

Hu Xiaotian dared not linger even a moment, and continued forward at a quick pace.

He had no idea what was happening, but at the very moment he unlocked the pattern lock and opened the stone gate, nine huge mouths appeared on the surrounding rock walls of the Crimson Flame Cave, torrents surging like nine roaring dragons pouring into the cave's bottom and mixing with the magma. Vast amounts of water vapor evaporated inside the Crimson Flame Cave, and the heat kept gathering and expanding.

This was the fundamental reason Shadow Granny did not want to take this passage: once activated, it would simultaneously open nine water sluices, allowing underground rivers and lake water to rush through hidden channels into the volcano's crater. Although water can extinguish fire, such a flow would not cool the magma; instead, it would produce a massive amount of hot gas in a short time, and the only possible result of the violent expansion of that gas would be an explosion.

Hu Xiaotian grabbed Xi Yan and sprinted all the way, the wind ahead growing ever stronger while waves of scorching heat surged from behind.

Hu Xiaotian did not know where the scorching heat waves came from, and Shadow Granny had not told him what would happen after opening the stone gate; all he could do now was run.

A light seemed to shine ahead, and Hu Xiaotian finally saw hope, but just as he was about to escape, the mixture of magma and the nine water currents finally triggered a fierce explosion. In the volcano's core, water vapor expanded, squeezing the fiery red magma out of the hard mountain rock, accompanied by a deafening blast that sent the fiery red magma shooting into the sky.

Night had just fallen, and the earth‑shaking, mountain‑tossing shock left everyone on Purple Dragon Mountain with their souls scattered; even Xuantian Guan's chief, Ren Tianqing, staggered forward in the violent tremors, nearly falling to the ground. After regaining his footing, he gazed at the magma shooting into the sky, his face filled with panic.

The expression on the face of Meizhuang, the leader of the Wuxian Sect, was the same; she exclaimed in alarm, "How? What on earth happened?"

Rong Shi stumbled in, panic‑stricken: "Master… things have gone terribly wrong, we followed your orders and poured molten iron into the bat cave, and then…" Before he could finish, a second, even more violent eruption began, spewing lava like fireworks high into the air, then scattering down like a heavenly rain of flowers—spectacular to behold, yet beneath this beautiful facade lay a cruel, soul‑reaping doom. Many Wuxian Sect disciples were struck by the rain‑like lava; the molten rock ignited on contact with their bodies, their flesh blistering and melting, giving off a burnt smell, and they let out voiceless wails of anguish.

Only in the face of heavenly might do people truly feel their own insignificance and helplessness. Ren Tianqing and Meizhuang, joining forces, dare to oppose the world's greatest experts, yet they dare not resist this natural heavenly might; the first thing they can think of is to flee this place, the farther the better.

A powerful blast of air struck Hu Xiaotian from behind, launching him like a cannonball; he clung tightly to Xi Yan, while molten rock and volcanic ash filled the surroundings. Not knowing where he was, in the midst of danger he did not forget to unfurl the double wings of his wing armor, activating it as his body began to fall under gravity, and shot straight up into the sky.

Although Hu Xiaotian did not know how long the remaining energy of his light sword would last, the only way forward was upward—the shortest route to break through the volcanic ash and magma.

Hu Xiaotian had not gone far before he broke through the ash layer; looking down from his perspective, he saw the volcanic ash like a heavy curtain enveloping the entire Purple Dragon Mountain, its center swirling like a vortex of white vapor, with occasional flashes of red light—those flashes were the magma spewed from the volcano.

Hu Xiaotian maneuvered his double wings, gliding toward the distance, hoping to fly as far as possible beyond the volcano's eruption range before his light sword's energy ran out. Lowering his gaze to look at Xi Yan, he saw her still asleep; her pretty face bore a few bruises from scrapes, but fortunately nothing serious.

The light sword's remaining energy was far greater than Hu Xiaotian had imagined; using what was left, he flew out of the volcano's eruption zone, then guided his wing armor to a gentle landing on a flat plain. Looking up at the bright moon and sparse stars, he saw that this place was already far from Purple Dragon Mountain, and the volcanic ash had not yet reached here. Gazing toward the mountain, he saw flames shooting into the sky and thick smoke rolling—undoubtedly this sudden volcanic eruption had utterly destroyed the Wuxian Sect's main stronghold. He wondered whether Ren Tianqing, Meizhuang, and their companions had managed to escape; for Hu Xiaotian, it would be best if they were dead.

He lifted Xi Yan and came to the edge of a small stream; after all that ordeal Hu Xiaotian was parched, so he went to the water's edge, took a few gulps, and washed his face. He was wondering whether to take off his wing armor and go for a bath when a soft rustling sound came from behind. He turned quickly in alarm and saw a golden little snake that had somehow climbed onto Xi Yan's pink neck, which filled Hu Xiaotian with dread.

From afar came a hoarse laugh; following the sound, he saw the Northern Swamp Old Monster parting the grass and walking over. The old creature was also in a sorry state, his clothes burned in many places and half his hair scorched away.

Hu Xiaotian laughed, "I wondered who it was—turns out it's you, senior. I'd been worried about you, never expecting you to have escaped safely."

The Northern Swamp Old Monster gave a sinister grin and said, "You actually worry about me? You've been so kind to me, I don't even know how to thank you."

Hu Xiaotian said, "We're all in the same boat—no need for pleasantries." His eyes flicked to the golden little snake, his heart leaping into his throat; he blamed himself for being careless, thinking he had finally escaped danger, only to realize a powerful enemy lay in ambush behind him.

The Northern Swamp Old Monster said, "Take off your wing armor!"

Hu Xiaotian knew the old monster coveted his armor, and he laughed, "As it turns out, senior likes it—just take it; I've been finding it cumbersome to wear anyway."

"Hurry up and take it off!"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and slowly removed his wing armor.

The Northern Swamp Old Monster said, "Throw them over one by one!"

After taking it off, Hu Xiaotian tossed it over; the Northern Swamp Old Monster didn't stand on ceremony, snatched it up and began to put it on himself. When Hu Xiaotian had finished removing his wing armor, the old monster was still unsatisfied and shouted, "Keep going! Strip off all your clothes for me!"

Hu Xiaotian gave a wry smile and said, "Senior, at least leave me something to cover myself."

The Northern Swamp Old Monster sneered, "If you dare defy my orders, I'll have this snake plant a kiss on her throat."

Hu Xiaotian sighed; he had no confidence he could kill the golden snake before it bit Xi Yan, so his only option was to deal with the old monster first. He nodded and said, "I'll take it off, but you must promise not to harm her."

The Northern Swamp Old Monster coldly replied, "She has no grudge against me—why would I kill her?" Yet inwardly he thought, "You, Hu Xiaotian, have harmed me time and again; today I will make you suffer for the rest of your life." His gaze fixed on the light sword in Hu Xiaotian's hand, he added, "And that sword—throw it over to me!" (To be continued…~^~)