Chapter 153: Yan Taibai and Ziling Xianzi, I Could Not Help Myself for a Moment

Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, and the old farmer trio did not make Yan Taibai wait too long, arriving at the gathering place of the cultivators in just half an hour.

And this gathering place already had over a hundred Golden Core Stage Cultivators and Nascent Soul cultivators at this moment.

However, there were not many Nascent Soul cultivators; aside from Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, and the old farmer, there were only Qingyi Jushi of the Demonic Path and the two Nascent Soul cultivators from the Miaoyin Sect, totaling six Nascent Soul cultivators, with the rest being Golden Core Stage Cultivators.

As for those at the Foundation Establishment Stage, there was not a single one.

After all, no Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator had ever been able to pass through the Ice Fire Path in the past, and this time would naturally be no exception. If anyone wanted to court death, Yan Taibai and the others would not stop them.

Time flew by, and another half a day passed. At this moment, one could see the place where the Ice Fire Path mountain peaks originally were.

Red rays of light and blue rays of light surged out like seawater, and subsequently, amidst a shaking of the earth and mountains, two "entrances" appeared at the mountain entrance.

Furthermore, at each entrance, there was a stone tablet, with one inscribed with "Mysterious Crystal Path" and the other with "Molten Rock Road" and a few other ancient characters.

From the outside of the Molten Rock Road, scorching waves of fire surged out, directly causing one to feel dizzy and parched. In contrast, outside the Mysterious Crystal Path, white icy cold energy emerged, along with the sound of howling fierce winds, which made one feel a chill just looking at it.

Regarding these things, Yan Taibai naturally turned a blind eye, glancing at Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, and the old farmer, who had finished discussing everything.

Clearly, he wanted to know whether they would choose the Molten Rock Road or the Mysterious Crystal Path.

Unfortunately, Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, and the old farmer had the exact same thought.

They did not want to run into Yan Taibai, this star of ill omen, especially since he could take their lives whenever he wished.

"Interesting, it seems Wan Tianming and the others are also afraid. Hahaha, I have never seen Wan Tianming, this Master of the Wanfa Sect, look like this."

"Indeed, it is just a pity that this Fellow Daoist Yan cannot easily kill Wan Tianming within the Ice Fire Path, and even if we utilize the Restrictions of the Void Heaven Palace, it is impossible to kill the three of them; at most, we can kill a portion of the Golden Core Stage Cultivators from the righteous and demonic paths. As for the Golden Core Stage Cultivators of the Miaoyin Sect, according to our agreement, they shall be killed as well."

"Good, I never thought this Fellow Daoist Yan would actually choose to have us help kill these Golden Core Stage Cultivators. Although they are all cultivators planted in the Miaoyin Sect by the righteous and demonic paths, it is still a pity to kill them, as they could have been of no small help."

"Indeed! It is a pity, but if we can obtain the assistance of Fellow Daoist Yan, it is also an excellent thing for the entire Star Palace. The current Star Palace should not offend another great enemy."

"True, then let us help!"

"Very well."

The Xuangong Erlao were likewise discussing this interesting scene via voice transmission. As for the other Golden Core Stage Cultivators and Qingyi Jushi of the Demonic Path, although they also wanted to stay and watch the excitement, they feared being caught in the crossfire, so they chose their paths as quickly as possible and left this dangerous place where a great battle could break out at any moment.

"Master Wan, please lead the way!"

Not until the other cultivators had left and entered the Ice Fire Path, leaving only Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, the old farmer, and Yan Taibai along with the group of Miaoyin Sect cultivators, did Yan Taibai invite them with a smile.

Seeing this, Wan Tianming, Tianwuzi, and the old farmer looked at each other and ultimately chose the Molten Rock Road.

And Yan Taibai and the others naturally chose the Molten Rock Road as well.

Although they were together, well! The locations of the Transmission Array were different.

On this point, the Star Palace could not help; otherwise, he would have already asked for help back during the Ghost Mist.

And this time, Yan Taibai was once again all alone.

However, Yan Taibai remembered that there were good things in this Molten Rock Road.

Therefore, even though he had come, he had no intention of letting them go.

As for the entire Molten Rock Road, looking around, it was all crimson mountain rocks, yellow-red earth, vegetation emitting red light, and a deep red, hazy sky—everything was the color of fire.

Regarding this, Yan Taibai was also helpless and could only continue toward the end of the Molten Rock Road.

However, the high temperature in the Molten Rock Road, which was enough to turn a Golden Core Stage Cultivator into a dried corpse, was nothing for Yan Taibai to worry about, even without any protection.

Just as he entered the Molten Rock Road, a faint golden light appeared on Yan Taibai's body. This was not spiritual power, but the circulation of his own blood energy.

Immortal Golden Body!

As for the method of physical cultivation in the "White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash," after so long, Yan Taibai naturally could not have forgotten to practice it.

Although he was far from successfully cultivating it, it had still reached an inconceivable level of physical reinforcement, even surpassing that of eighth or ninth-level Demon Beasts.

One can imagine just how terrifying and powerful it was.

And regarding all this, Yan Taibai could be said to be very pleased.

As for the others, including Yan Taibai, any cultivator who entered the Ice Fire Path could not fly and could only rely on their own feet to move forward step by step.

Therefore, in this situation, cultivators who were transported further away would have to walk for days and nights without rest to reach the end of the canyon.

Relying solely on one's own cultivation to achieve this would require at least a Nascent Soul cultivator, while most Golden Core Stage Cultivators could only rely on treasures to ward off the cold and fire.

But for Yan Taibai, relying on the Immortal Golden Body was enough. By the way, he could also temper and strengthen his physical body, which could be called killing two birds with one stone.

This was a beautiful woman located somewhere in the Molten Rock Road; at this moment, she was draped in a light gauze shimmering with blue light, hesitatingly looking at the river of molten rock before her.

And above this river formed by the gathering of molten lava, there was only a square stone pillar about a foot wide; other than that, there was nothing else.

Clearly, the only choice left for the beautiful woman was this stone pillar if she wanted to cross this river of molten lava.

After all, since she had entered the Molten Rock Road, there was no room for regret.

Either she would survive and cross this Molten Rock Road, or she would become one of the corpses within it; there was no other choice.

For a time, the beautiful woman was filled with immense regret. She had originally thought that everything she had prepared would make crossing this Molten Rock Road no problem, but now it seemed she had underestimated this Molten Rock Road.

Just this obstacle before her made her regret it endlessly, and she could only take a gamble, hoping it was just a simple river of molten lava with no other Restrictions within it.

Unfortunately, her luck was poor; when she stepped onto the stone pillar and walked halfway, she triggered a Restriction.

Suddenly, a hurricane roared out from the river of molten lava beneath the stone pillar, leaving her no time to dodge before she was swallowed by the hurricane and swept into the river of molten lava, not even leaving a corpse behind.

And such scenes were playing out all over the Molten Rock Road and the Mysterious Crystal Path.

Regarding these troubles, compared to other Golden Core Stage Cultivators, Yan Taibai did not care at all.

Relying on the Immortal Golden Body, even the most powerful Restriction could not affect his pace.

As for the others from the Miaoyin Sect, especially Yan Ruyan, Ziling Xianzi, Zhuo Ruting, and Fan Jingmei, with the care of the Xuangong Erlao, they also had no problems.

……

"Iron Fire Ants?"

Compared to the others from the Miaoyin Sect, the Xuangong Erlao did not provide much care for Yan Taibai.

Therefore, Yan Taibai soon encountered the most deadly trouble in the Molten Rock Road: Iron Fire Ants.

And the Iron Fire Ants before him were just a black desert, appearing exceptionally eerie.

However, Yan Taibai still strode into the black desert.

One foot, two feet...

As he ventured deeper into the black desert, the smile on the corners of Yan Taibai's mouth grew increasingly rich.

When he reached about a hundred feet, the black sand grains transformed from Iron Fire Ants beneath his feet began to float directly upward. They hovered in mid-air, surrounding Yan Taibai tightly, emitting a pitch-black, eerie light, silent and soundless, appearing incomparably strange.

Yet, Yan Taibai was not in the least bit worried about this; instead, he couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Because he sensed the aura of metal-attribute spiritual power from the Iron Fire Ants; to put it bluntly, for him, every single Iron Fire Ant was one portion of spiritual power for the "White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash."

The sheer number of Iron Fire Ants in the Molten Rock Road now was almost equivalent to a metal-attribute material vein, and what this meant for him was self-evident.

All of this was much as he had originally anticipated, so the Iron Fire Ants surrounding him now, wanting to devour him, were all "delicacies" in his eyes—food for the "White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash."

At this moment, the black sand grains transformed into countless small, winged black insects, rushing toward Yan Taibai like a tidal wave.

Seeing this, Yan Taibai rapidly circulated the "White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash."

Instantly, blinding golden light surged and shone out from Yan Taibai's body.

For a time, Yan Taibai appeared like a golden figure bathed in Buddha's light, directly enveloping all the Iron Fire Ants within a hundred-foot radius of his body.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz!"

Amidst the golden radiance, shrill buzzing sounds rose and fell, but they also vanished and ceased at a speed visible to the naked eye, while Yan Taibai kept walking forward.

With every step he took, a pile of gray powder appeared behind him; these were the "corpse ashes" of the Iron Fire Ants whose internal metal-attribute spiritual power had been completely devoured by Yan Taibai using the "White Emperor Golden Emperor Slash."

Such a shocking scene naturally fell into the eyes of the Xuangong Erlao, who were secretly paying attention to Yan Taibai.

And even though they were Nascent Soul cultivators, they were still so shocked by the scene before them and the spectacle Yan Taibai had created that they were speechless.

Yan Taibai was well aware of this, but he couldn't be bothered to care; in any case, the matter of the mineral vein had not been hidden, so there was naturally no need to do so now.

"This... could it be that the Spirit Stone veins and material veins of Tianjin Star Island are all ruined this way? What kind of cultivation technique is he practicing? It is actually this terrifying, directly devouring the spiritual power within other metal-attribute spiritual objects. This is simply a demon beast that devours everything; he wouldn't really be a demon beast in human form, would he!"

"Impossible. If he were a demon beast in human form, he would at least be a Tenth Level Demon Beast, and he would never be able to hide it from the two Holy Lords. It can only be said that it is likely his constitution combined with his technique that could cause such a commotion."

"And with such a terrifying divine ability, in the future, let alone a Great Cultivator of Nascent Soul Late Stage, even the Spirit Severing Stage is highly possible."

Yan Taibai was naturally unaware of the discussion of the Xuangong Erlao, and continued to search for the Iron Fire Ants that caused other cultivators in the Molten Rock Road to avoid them, lose their lives, suffer heavy injuries, or flee for their lives.

These were all his "nutrients," so he naturally could not let them go.

"Should we help?"

"How can we help? We can only release the Iron Fire Ants; we cannot control them at all."

"That is true. Then let us see just how many Iron Fire Ants he can devour! It is truly too terrifying, too horrific. After we return, we must tell the two Holy Lords no matter what."

"Wait, do you think the 'Junior Martial Uncle' he mentioned could be himself?"

"It is possible. If he really can control the Dharma Treasures and artifacts within a thousand miles, it really could be him, but he is only..."

"What Golden Core cultivator? Even if he were a Great Cultivator of Nascent Soul Late Stage, I would believe it."

"This matter must be reported to the two Holy Lords immediately. You stay here and watch; I will return to Star Palace to report this to the two Holy Lords."

"Fine, you go."

Just like that, no one knew that one Star Palace elder had already left.

Yan Taibai continued to search for "Iron Fire Ants"; only after tasting the deliciousness of the "Iron Fire Ants" did he know just how tasty these spiritual insects were.

Don't look at how small they were; each one contained metal-attribute spiritual power almost equivalent to a Low-tier Spirit Stone—not in terms of spiritual Qi, but in the quality of the converted spiritual power.

And these Iron Fire Ants appeared in groups of ten thousand; one can imagine just how vast a resource this was for Yan Taibai.

After another half day, Yan Taibai arrived at a sand dune, his gaze burning as he stared at a group of Iron Fire Ants in the distance.

The number of Iron Fire Ants in this group was not large, but there were nearly ten thousand of them.

At this moment, this group of Iron Fire Ants was frantically attacking a pale blue light sphere; the light sphere was tottering and flickering, with a black human figure flashing within it, looking as if they were struggling to hold on.

And Yan Taibai naturally recognized this black figure; it was Yuan Yao, with whom he had even thought of names for their two children.

Seeing this, without waiting for Yuan Yao to call for help, Yan Taibai directly transformed into a streak of golden light and dashed over.

"Whoosh!" The golden radiance swept away all the Iron Fire Ants surrounding Yuan Yao like a torrential hurricane.

Then, a scene that terrified Yuan Yao occurred: all the Iron Fire Ants swept by the golden radiance turned into grayish-white ashes.

In just a few breaths, the ten thousand Iron Fire Ants that had almost cost her her life in the Molten Rock Road all became ashes on the ground, drifting with the wind.

At this sight, Yuan Yao's small face turned pale, and a look of fear emerged.

Especially when she saw the lingering, unsatisfied expression on Yan Taibai's handsome, flawless face, she felt even more creeped out; she wanted to leave, but dared not.

To be precise, her legs had gone weak, and she could not leave.

Only then did Yan Taibai realize he had frightened the beauty; he composed his expression and gave a dry cough to hide his embarrassment.

"Cough, Fairy, please do not misunderstand. These Iron Fire Ants are helpful to my cultivation, so I could not help myself for a moment."

"This concubine understands. Many thanks to Brother Yan for your great kindness in saving me. This concubine truly has no way to repay you. If Brother Yan is willing, once I save Sister Yan Li, I am willing to serve Brother Yan for the rest of my life."

Yuan Yao bowed with a curtsy, her jade face filled with gratitude.

(End of this chapter)