Chapter 229: Cooperation Is Not a Lie

Ruan Xing closed her eyes to rest her mind.

Oscar, covered from head to toe in Fire Avoidance Talismans, had already fallen into the mouth of the volcanic crater.

Inside was a pitch-black expanse, stiflingly hot, with the soil appearing scorched and brittle.

The crater was deep; it took a while before he stepped onto the ground, which was covered in loose volcanic ash that sank up to his calves with every step.

There were still unextinguished flames in the ash, which instantly ignited Oscar's legs; the dozens of Fire Avoidance Talismans burned to ash in less than a few dozen seconds.

Oscar hurriedly circulated the Yin Qi within his body to block the burning of the Earth Fire.

Fortunately, the speed of the flames slowed down, and Ruan Xing optimistically estimated that Oscar could likely remain active for another two or three hours.

There was no flowing magma inside the cave, and because Oscar was a Puppet, he did not attract the blood corpses in the distance to attack him.

He walked through the cave; the bottom was uneven and varied in depth, with abyss-like cracks appearing from time to time, requiring extreme caution.

Ruan Xing explored with her Divine Sense while directing Oscar through their mental link, moving toward the direction that blocked her Divine Sense.

When he finally arrived, she saw through Oscar's eyes that it was a lake of magma at the Earth's core.

It seemed there was nothing special about it.

Ruan Xing was somewhat puzzled; this Small World was filled with large areas of flowing magma, and scorched land was the minority; she could see through all the magma outside the volcanoes with her Divine Sense.

She could even see how blood corpses formed in the magma and how they melted.

Was there anything else special about this Earth-core magma lake? Ruan Xing had Oscar walk around the lake, but he discovered nothing unusual.

But by this time, an hour had passed, and the Yin Qi in Oscar's body was almost completely exhausted.

If this continued, the inextinguishable Earth Fire clinging to him would burn through his Puppet essence.

His Puppet essence was Soul Nourishing Wood, which was inherently afraid of fire.

Ruan Xing thought for a moment, called Oscar back, and then went to the second active volcano.

Over the course of three hours, Xizui and Xie Feng were basically of no use; she relied entirely on herself and Oscar to visit all five of the unusual active volcanoes.

Fortunately, none of these five active volcanoes were currently in an eruptive state, so within Oscar's limited lifespan, he could examine them all.

However, these five active volcanoes were also very monotonous; inside, there was nothing but unextinguished magma Earth Fire, Earth-core magma lakes, and large amounts of volcanic mud.

But their locations were strange; each active volcano was at the same distance from the two closest active volcanoes.

She pointed her fingertip into the void, connecting these active volcanoes with a line, "If you connect them all, doesn't it look like a pentagram?"

She still had some sensitivity to this pattern and associated it immediately.

Hearing this, Xie Feng sneered, "What pentagram? You might as well call it a Five Elements Altar; that sounds more plausible."

Five Elements Altar? Ruan Xing was taken aback.

The correlation of the Five Elements in this world was relatively weak.

Everyone's Innate Spirit Bone only had a distinction of aptitude strength, without attribution to any element.

That is to say, when everyone first practiced the Basic Qi Refining Technique, the attribute of the Spiritual Power in their bodies was 'none'.

It did not lean toward any of the Five Elements.

Only a very small number, such as Ruan Xing, whose Spirit Bone had been transformed and enhanced by Hanshan Snow Marrow, would have Spiritual Power that leaned toward being cold and Yin.

The Puppets in her possession, Sword, and Ghost Cultivators like Cui Yurong also had Yin Qi in their bodies that was cold in nature.

And some Cultivators, due to different techniques or fortuitous encounters, might develop Spiritual Power that leaned toward being Yang.

But this was only a division of Yin and Yang.

Only Magic Arts were divided into the Five Elements.

For example, a Lesser Five Elements Art that Ruan Xing had practiced before.

Arrays were also divided into the Five Elements, though she had not specifically studied the path of arrays and only knew a little about it.

The Five Elements Altar that Xie Feng mentioned was a type of array application.

"What you say does make some sense," Ruan Xing mused, "but this doesn't look like it was man-made; it was formed naturally."

To set up a Five Elements Altar with no discernible function using such large active volcanoes and such powerful Earth Fire would be a waste of talent.

By comparison, Ruan Xing preferred to believe that this was something derived by the World Consciousness for the development of its own world.

But the problem now was that she could not find the World Consciousness.

If this Small World was the home of the World Consciousness.

Then the three of them had already trespassed into a private residence and had been wandering around recklessly and brazenly for most of the day.

In a certain free country, that would have been enough to empty a magazine.

But now, the owner of the house was still hiding in some corner, refusing to come out.

"Could it be hiding from you?" Xizui guessed, "If it has higher intelligence than the consciousness in the previous Small World, perhaps it possesses the instinct to seek advantages and avoid harm."

"That is also possible." Ruan Xing thought of a phrase: a wily rabbit has three burrows.

Among all the active volcanoes, these five were the only ones her Divine Sense could not probe, so the World Consciousness must be hiding in one of them.

She took out five more Puppets.

Oscar had just burned the last spark of his life and departed for the Western Paradise.

They were now standing in the very center of the Five Elements Altar, so she had the five Puppets go to the five active volcanoes respectively, and then directed the Puppets through their mental link.

When all five Puppets reached their destinations and walked the same old path Oscar had taken.

Ruan Xing's supernatural power suddenly had a flicker of movement.

In the place where one of the Puppets was, there was a Fate Line!

Ruan Xing narrowed her eyes and hurriedly expanded her Divine Sense, rapidly extending it toward the direction of that Puppet.

Soon, she found the Fate Line hidden in the magma.

There seemed to be something in the Earth-core magma lake that had buried itself deep at the bottom, moving back and forth among the five active volcanoes through tunnels in the underground cracks to avoid Ruan Xing's detection.

But now, with five Puppets appearing simultaneously, that thing suddenly didn't know where to hide!

Ruan Xing went directly to grab that Fate Line; the thickness of that Fate Line was like a nylon rope, much thicker than the previous Small World consciousness, so it must be stronger than the last one, and it also contained more Hongmeng Purple Qi.

However, when she grabbed that Fate Line, a burst of wild and tyrannical thoughts came rushing along the Fate Line, almost polluting her Divine Sense!

Ruan Xing secretly thought, "Not good," this guy actually also knew a move of mental pollution.

She hurriedly constructed a barrier to protect her Divine Soul, using both hands together to exert the power of her divine ability to press the Fate Line down.

In an instant, the earth shook and the mountains swayed; the scorched black land began to tremble, and the calmly flowing magma also rapidly began to boil.

One active volcano after another spewed out thick black smoke, which rose gurgling into the entire orange-red sky.

It was fortunate that, in order to avoid the harassment of the blood corpses, the few of them had been flying in the sky all along.

Otherwise, if they were not careful now, they would have been contaminated by the magma and Earth Fire.

Xizui frowned and said in a somewhat panicked tone, "What is going on?"

"I have caught it." Ruan Xing replied while taking a moment, her hands continuing to exert force, attempting to use the influence of the Fate Line to pull out the main body of the Small World consciousness.

Boom—! Countless mushroom clouds emitted earth-shattering sounds one after another.

The active volcanoes had erupted!

Scorching magma sprayed out like fireworks across the sky. Ruan Xing and the others hurriedly flew to the highest point.

But even at the highest point, there was choking, terrifying black smoke blocking their line of sight.

At the moment the volcano erupted, all five of Ruan Xing's Puppets had already been sacrificed.

Therefore, Ruan Xing did not know what the situation inside the volcano was like now.

The only thing she could do was hold onto the Fate Line tightly and not let this Small World consciousness hide again.

The Xumi Mirror flew out from her lapel, releasing a scorched-yellow eggshell that wrapped the few people inside.

The magma sparks that occasionally splashed and erupted were all blocked outside.

But the originally clear and bright surface of the Xumi Mirror also had several dark yellow spots, and it kept trembling in the air.

Spirit Tools have an automatic repair function, but using it this way still made Ruan Xing feel a bit of heartache.

She cursed in a low voice, "Damn it, if this Small World Secret Realm Space is all this dangerous, how on earth do those Immortal Sects master so many Secret Realms? And why do they make so many people flock to undeveloped Secret Realms?"

"Of course, by filling them with lives," Xizui said, "However, this is, after all, a Secret Realm Space that has already developed into a Small World, and its predecessor was the Land of Returning Ruins of a Demon Cultivator, so its danger level is naturally different from those Secret Realm Spaces that have just been discovered."

He paused, then said with some suspicion, "Isn't the Envoy very knowledgeable about Immortal Sect Secret Realms, which is why you came to the Northern Territory to look for a Small World?"

"When did I say I was very knowledgeable?" Ruan Xing replied, "I just have many lives."

Many lives... does that refer to the lives of the Puppets?

Xizui did not quite understand, but now was not the time to ask; the active volcano erupted more and more intensely, and the entire Small World was filled with black smoke and magma everywhere, as if even the air had become fuel for burning.

A huge, incomparable fireball passed through layers of black smoke and crashed toward them.

The scorched-yellow eggshell of the Xumi Mirror was even knocked back a step by the impact.

It was as if the space where they were located was a balloon floating in the air, beginning to sway and rise.

Ruan Xing also saw what that fireball was.

A giant blood corpse, with magma forming a thick piece of clothing over its withered skin, glowing with brilliant firelight, as bright as a white ball.

It seemed very angry, but it had no facial features and could not make a sound; Ruan Xing could only judge by its actions.

It was attacking Ruan Xing, who was holding its Fate Line.

But with the Xumi Mirror there, it could not do anything to them for the time being.

Ruan Xing crossed her hands and tied a dead knot in the Fate Line, then provocatively held her hand up for the other party to see, attempting to threaten it in this way.

Yet the blood corpse acted as if it did not see it, continuing to crazily attack the eggshell on their periphery.

"It seems to have no consciousness," Ruan Xing frowned, feeling somewhat incredulous, "Since it has no consciousness and cannot communicate, how did it give birth to a Small World consciousness?"

Could it be that it once had consciousness and then went crazy later?

Ruan Xing guessed boldly.

After all, the world is vast, and there is nothing that does not exist.

"It seems this won't work; we have no way to look for the Primordial Purple Qi under its nose," Xizui said, "Its body is not tough; even if I don't use a Magic Tool, I can cut its body into several sections and temporarily destroy its mobility, but the flames on its body are truly too unusual and cannot be extinguished, making one afraid to touch them. It would be better if we first use the Sui Spirit Pearl to go back, pool our wisdom to see what to do; perhaps the Saint Demon Lord will know the origin of this flame and how to deal with it."

It was also fortunate that they were in the sky now; other blood corpses could not fly, and only the main body of this blood corpse could come up.

Otherwise, the scene of a group of blood corpses surrounding the edge of the eggshell and pouncing up should look quite like a zombie siege in a doomsday outbreak.

A picture that makes one feel both disgusted and terrified at the same time.

"It's okay, the situation is still under control for now," Ruan Xing said while looking at the Xumi Mirror.

She was the person who cherished her life the most; if there were danger, she would definitely run away first.

But it had not reached that point yet.

The tricky flames could be blocked by the Xumi Mirror, so what else did she have to fear?

"I'll go down first to look for the Hongmeng Purple Qi; you all just stay here and don't run around," Ruan Xing said.

Without waiting for the two to answer, she used Instant Movement to the inside of the active volcano below.

The eruption of the active volcano had gradually subsided, and in the magma lake at the center of the earth, there was only scorched black ground still emitting smoke.

She saw orange-red light shining through the gaps beneath the volcanic mud.

That was the location of the rift abyss.

Ruan Xing summoned the White Jade Sword, had Cai Jiao expand the gap a little more, and then used the Shen Shou technique to capture that cluster of orange-red Hongmeng Purple Qi into her hand.

The next second, she took the Hongmeng Purple Qi and used Instant Movement back into the scorched-yellow eggshell in the sky.

And the active volcano where she had just been staying had already been hit by a huge fireball, and the hollow mountain body began to collapse.

"To catch a thief, it smashed its own home?" Ruan Xing sighed with a complex expression, "Truly an irrational act."

Xizui said with some pleasant surprise, "The Envoy has already obtained the Primordial Purple Qi?"

Ruan Xing shook her head, "This is only a part of it."

The cluster of Hongmeng Purple Qi in her hand was truly too little, not even a third as much as in the previous Small World.

Judging from the behavior of the blood corpse, there is a high probability that it has hidden Hongmeng Purple Qi in all five active volcanoes.

Come to think of it, I have the blood corpse to thank; it was so hot-tempered that it sprayed out all the magma in the active volcanoes at once, opening a door of convenience for her.

Otherwise, she would have had to carefully retrieve the Hongmeng Purple Qi from within the active volcanoes.

A massive fireball flew up once again.

Ruan Xing seized the opportunity and used Instant Movement to reach the next active volcano destination.

A few instances of the "luring the tiger away from the mountain" tactic, which lacked any technical skill, had completely enraged this World Consciousness that possessed a physical form.

Its two arms completely transformed into long fire whips, tightly wrapping around the scorched yellow eggshell.

"Now, our problem has arrived," Ruan Xing looked at Xizui, "I have already obtained the Primordial Purple Qi; how are we supposed to return safely?"

Xizui opened his mouth, unable to offer a single useful suggestion.

Ruan Xing said: "It is different from the previous World Consciousness; it is very likely to enter the passage with us while carrying these magma fireballs. Perhaps the moment I put away the Xumi Mirror, it might smash the fireballs into the passage. I might be able to protect myself, but the Underground Palace might be destroyed in an instant. What will happen to the other Demon Cultivators in the Underground Palace, and what will happen to Xie Yao and Xie Huai?"

Xizui shuddered, "You, what are you saying?"

There were countless doubts and shocks in his murky eyes.

"Are you not worried?" Ruan Xing continued, "If this magma flows into the Underground Palace, every vine will be a pain as sharp as a finger-prick to the heart for Xie Yao. If the Underground Palace is reduced to ashes, how much pain will Xie Yao be in? Even her plan to attack the Central Province, which she has prepared for years, will go down the drain."

"Are you not worried? Xie Huai went through all sorts of hardships to finally return to the Northern Territory from Nanzhou, only to be locked in the Underground Palace to cultivate all day, depressed and unhappy. He has yet to obtain the power and status he desires, and he is about to die in the Earth Fire. Sigh, I really don't know if you, this elder, truly care about him."

Ruan Xing looked at Xizui with profound meaning.

"What are you trying to do!?" Xizui roared, trembling, "Why do you know so much? You are threatening me!"

"Did you think that because you were of almost no help to me in the Small World, I never raised any objections?" Ruan Xing smiled triumphantly, as if the crimson sky outside the eggshell and the constantly falling meteoric fire could leave no trace in her eyes.

"It was all so that you and Xie Feng would have a chance to meet."

"It was all so that you could reasonably die here."

"Why...?" Xizui said with a pale face, "Has the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect not even crossed the river yet, and you are already tearing down the bridge? Was the cooperation with the Saint Demon Lord just a lie of yours?"

"The cooperation is not a lie, but killing you is my own wish," Ruan Xing said softly, "Because you have killed me, although you do not know it."

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