Chapter 111: 106 Crow

The midday sun shone upon the towering city walls, and the deep red bricks seemed as if they were about to ignite.

It was Tang Zhao's first time seeing such high walls; the massive red city wall was a hundred zhang tall, pressing down from the heavens and rising to the clouds, looking from afar like a cluster of blooming, blazing red lotuses.

Looking past the wall, one could see a black-red mountain peak; the summit was as flat as if sliced by a blade, constantly emitting billowing smoke, the pillar of smoke rising straight up as if to ascend beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens.

That was a volcano, and also a famous Demon Cave in Yunzhou—Nanming Lihuo Prison.

"This Demon Cave has been here for ages; it is said to have existed since the previous dynasty. You should know that a newly descended Demon Cave has a membrane separating it from the mortal world; only by closing the passage at this time can the Demon Cave be cleared forever. If you miss that window, the Demon Cave merges with the world, becoming like a scab that remains on the world forever. If there are still Heavenly Demons inside, it is a Fierce Beast prison, which must be heavily sealed and conquered in time, otherwise the Demon Cave will expand. If there are no Heavenly Demons, it is a Dead Prison, which is relatively simple; just fence it off and forbid the common people from approaching."

Although it was forbidden to approach, Tang Zhao clearly saw an endless stream of pedestrians on the road leading to the Demon Cave, most of them wearing sturdy clothes, looking high-spirited, like people from the martial arts world.

"The Demon Cave doesn't grow crops, but it is not without profit. Because it is shrouded in Yin energy and the environment has mutated, it produces many magical materials. You can use their effects to cultivate, or sell them to Sword Masters—common ones are sold to make Art Tools, and precious ones can even be used for Sword Casting; they are worth a fortune. There are also Fierce Beasts inside; the flesh and blood of Fierce Beasts can be eaten, and their skin and bones can also be sold for money. Therefore, although there are no commoners here, there are quite a few martial artists looking for treasure."

"Loose Practitioners who cultivate Mysterious Technique will also use the fire energy and Yin energy of the Demon Cave as a guide to temper their Gang energy, refining it into 'Heavenly Gang', and further becoming a Martial Venerable. Look at these people; they look ordinary, but they might be hiding top-tier experts from the martial arts world."

Walking a few more steps, stalls appeared one after another by the roadside, all simple street stalls, with shouts rising one after another:

"Cold Leaf, Cold Leaf, top-grade Cold Leaf, one hundred taels each, carry it on you to stay cool and relieve the heat!"

"Dew Bead, a priceless Dew Bead, carry it and jump into lava without a single hair harmed!"

"Buying Fierce Beast meat, a unified price with no cheating of the young or old!"

"Ice water, ice water, ten taels a bucket. You won't be able to buy it for a hundred taels once you go inside!"

What the hell...

Selling treasures to cool down and avoid the heat is one thing, but ice water is also ten taels a bucket; isn't this robbery?

Not to mention, the ice water business was very good; those martial arts heroes threw down a silver ingot, picked up the ice bucket and left, and some even poured it over their heads immediately, water splashing everywhere. Seeing this, Tang Zhao, who was covered in sweat, felt a shiver.

Ten taels of silver, gone in just one ladle. People in the martial arts world really don't treat money as money.

Xing Ji asked casually: "Is there anything you want to buy?"

Tang Zhao shook his head, and Xing Ji said: "Since you're here, you must buy some local specialties. These cooling things are all inferior goods; I'll take you to see the real good stuff when we come out."

The closer they got to the city wall, the more unbearable the scorching heat became; Tang Zhao used his shallow Internal Energy to protect his body, but he couldn't help rolling up his sleeves, exposing his arms, only to feel the scorching sun and have to put them down again.

Xing Ji was completely unaffected, not even sweating a drop, and instead laughed: "Look, if you don't practice your skills well, you can't go anywhere. You can't even stand a mere Water-type Demon Cave; those Earth-type and Empty-type ones are even more unpredictable, and without Gang energy, you can't even touch them. Let's just walk around the periphery for a while. You can come to the real core area later."

Tang Zhao wiped his sweat, seeing the city gate in sight, and said: "Actually, I've wanted to ask for a long time. How do you classify the types of Demon Caves? How is it that a volcano like this is a Water-type Demon Cave?"

Xing Ji said: "Water-type and Fire-type do not refer to what is inside the Demon Cave; otherwise, the Demon Cave is ever-changing, and a hundred types wouldn't be enough. This refers to the degree of interference the Demon Cave from outside the territory has on our world."

"..."

"Don't understand, right? This stuff was formulated by Qingtian Temple. It's very hard to understand, and many old Land Inspection Division officials get it wrong. Simply put, a Demon Cave that directly descends with physical objects from outside the territory is an Earth-type Demon Cave. A Wind-type Demon Cave only has Yin energy, is completely invisible, and can only affect people's Spirit."

"???"

Xing Ji sighed and said: "Simply put, look at that volcano. For example, the Demon Cave ends up being a volcano; how was it formed?"

"If it is a Wind-type Demon Cave, then there is no volcano here, but we are interfered with by Yin energy and seem to see a volcano. Everyone sees the volcano, and real Heavenly Demons will crawl out of the volcano, but the volcano itself does not exist."

"If it is a Fire-type Demon Cave, there was originally an ordinary flat-topped mountain here. Suddenly, Yin energy descended, the mountain erupted, and it became a volcano."

"If it is a Water-type Demon Cave, this was flat ground, suddenly Yin energy descended, the flat ground rose, a high mountain rose from the ground in an instant, and then erupted, forcibly creating a volcano."

"If it is an Earth-type Demon Cave, just like what you experienced, a volcano will fall directly from the sky."

"The Empty-type Demon Cave is the most special; a space rift will appear here, you get sucked in, and find that it is an alien space outside the territory, and there is a volcano in that space."

"How about it, do you understand now?"

"..." Tang Zhao struggled to understand and said, "So this is a progressive process from Spirit to matter, from false to real? The stages are spatial displacement, phantom, qualitative change, morphological change, and creation?"

Xing Ji was silent for a moment and said: "Wait, say those words again; I think you said it very well, very accurately, let me write it down."

"..."

Having barely understood the concept of Demon Cave classification, Tang Zhao followed Xing Ji and queued to enter the volcano Demon Cave that had been created out of thin air on this land.

There was a long queue at the city gate, and people went in one by one after inspection. Two long lists were hung at the entrance, the left one reading "Cloud Prefecture Loyalty Ranking", and the right one "Lihuo Group Hero Ranking". Two one-legged crane-shaped stone carvings stood at the gate, but no one was guarding them.

One-legged crane... is it a Bi Fang?

Xing Ji said: "The Demon Cave is a good place to earn merit. Just kill a few wandering Fierce Beasts, and you are a righteous hero when you come out. The Cloud Prefecture Loyalty Ranking is a sub-ranking of the Nine Provinces Loyalty Ranking; once you earn merit, you can go directly to the local Great Hero to redeem it. The Lihuo Group Hero Ranking is set up specifically for Lihuo Prison, changing every year; those at the front will have some preferential rewards, but not many, it is mainly an honor."

Tang Zhao became interested and said: "Can I also be a righteous hero?"

Xing Ji said: "We are government officials, eating the emperor's grain; eliminating demons is our duty, it doesn't count as merit."

Tang Zhao was very disappointed; he still wanted that righteous hero badge.

The queue grew shorter and shorter, and Tang Zhao finally saw clearly that the person at the front of the queue would put a silver ingot into the Bi Fang's mouth, and the stone Bi Fang could actually swallow it and then close its mouth, opening it again when the next person came.

Is this stone carving an Art Tool?

Eating silver... what kind of Bi Fang is this, this is a Pixiu, right?

The people managing the Demon Cave don't even check identities, just collect money; this is truly "open".

Caw, caw—

A noisy sound came, and a large group of crows flew overhead, dark and blocking the sky. People in the underground martial arts world are most particular about auspicious signs, and they couldn't help but frown when they heard the crows calling.

After the flock of crows flew by, a few separated from the group and landed on the city wall, their feet gripping the bricks, their bodies kept perpendicular to the wall, their posture extremely strange. They scanned the people in line with scarlet eyes. Tang Zhao only felt that those pairs of eyes seemed to be staring at him, and he couldn't help but feel his heart crawl.

It was finally Xing Ji's turn; he handed over two silver ingots, pushed the stone door open with one hand, and said: "The stone door weighs a thousand catties; those who can't push it can't enter. This is also a screening, so that fools who overestimate themselves don't go in."

Tang Zhao also tried to push it himself; under the condition of using Internal Energy and Ant Strength, the stone door could barely be pushed without bouncing back, but it was strenuous to push forward. It seems his pushing force was just around a thousand catties; this stone door was about as heavy as the stone Teacher Guan made him practice with.

That wasn't much; any Knight-Errant in the martial arts world could do it, and there was no lack of Strongmen who hadn't practiced Internal Energy who were far better than him.

Tang Zhao had only been practicing martial arts for a month; although he consumed a lot of resources, time was tight after all, and it was normal that he couldn't compare to others' years of hard work. But Tang Zhao was the Sword Envoy who had previously raised the sun and turned a flood dragon into ashes; with a sword in his hand at that time, he thought he was omnipotent.

Sure enough, after experiencing the power of calling the wind and rain, returning to the reality of being a mortal of flesh and blood, there would be a huge gap.

After entering the city gate, the entrance was dark red.

The ground was covered with red stones, dark red with gray, with no other colors, let alone signs of life. The rubble seemed to have been plowed once, overturned and broken, large stones were split open, and the ground was pitted with holes.

Xing Ji said: "This outer circle has been turned over by people for hundreds of years; it can be said that they have dug three feet deep. Let alone materials, even the grass roots have been dug up. No one should expect to find anything valuable."

The two walked along the periphery, and Xing Ji pointed out some Demon Cave scenery to him casually. After walking for most of the day, they indeed didn't find any materials.

Xing Ji's original intention was not here, but to point out to Tang Zhao how to explore this kind of Demon Cave. The two walked aimlessly for half a day, found a flat place, and Xing Ji told Tang Zhao to practice sword moves here.

This Demon Cave has the most vigorous fire energy, making it very suitable for practicing the Flowing Fire Chasing Star Sword, especially for finding that state of mind where the heart is burning with fire and the sword is like a raging blaze. Tang Zhao practiced for half a day, only to end up drenched in sweat, wishing he could take a bucket of ice water and pour it over his head.

Xing Ji gave him a cup of salted tea, and after Tang Zhao drank it in one breath, he heard crows flapping and flying overhead.

Seeing the flock of crows again, Tang Zhao's heart stirred, and some memories surfaced.

Xing Ji laughed and said, "Does it look familiar? There were originally no crows in this Demon Cave, but once that fellow arrived, there were—" He suddenly turned around, grabbed a crow that was attacking from behind in his hand, and said:

"Where death and shadow dwell together, and noise and bad luck fly in unison—"

"Jie Ya."

The last two words actually came from the crow's mouth.

Tang Zhao was stunned, but Xing Ji acted as if nothing had happened and continued, "Under the command of the Bi Fang Sword, the General Warden of Li Huo Prison, the Jie Ya Prison Warden."

The crow let out a few caws, seemingly laughing, but the sound was hoarse and made one feel completely uncomfortable.

Its gaze turned to Xing Ji, and it said, "You've improved?"

Xing Ji laughed, "An inch of progress, just an inch."

The crow flapped its wings and said, "Go to hell, this is an inch? If you improve any more, I'm afraid you'll split your crotch."

Its tone was very relaxed; if the voice had been more pleasant, it would have truly sounded like it was telling a joke.

Xing Ji laughed heartily, showing his pride.

Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that the two of them actually had a good relationship.

The crow turned its head and glanced at Tang Zhao, saying, "Your son? To have a son this big, your fortune is truly excellent."

Tang Zhao finally understood what it meant for things of a kind to gather together; since it mentioned him, even though the one opposite was a crow, he politely bowed, and Xing Ji said, "This is my nephew Tang Zhao, call him Uncle."

The crow said, "Get lost—is this a youngster from your Land Inspection Division?"

Tang Zhao then realized that the Prison Warden was not an official of the Land Inspection Division.

Xing Ji did not hide it and said, "Half of one; he's being sent to Zhuoyu Villa for training. Once he comes out, he'll be a Sword Smith, and in the future, he'll be your living ancestor."

The crow sneered, "Where would I have so many relatives and elders like you?" It said to Tang Zhao, "You won't learn anything good following Xing Ji, but going to Zhuoyu Villa is not bad. Come find me after you graduate, and Uncle will give you a few good things." It then turned back to Xing Ji and said, "You know how to find me." Having said that, it flapped its wings and flew off to chase the large flock of crows.

In the distance, one could see the flock of crows circling over a certain spot, as if a layer of black clouds were pressing down in the sky.

Xing Ji looked into the distance at the flock of crows and said, "There are dead people in that place. Crows are birds that report death."

Turning his head, he laughed, "However, this guy is actually alright; he's quite loyal. Do you remember when you were surrounded by the Wang Liang? I borrowed his Art Tool to turn into a flock of crows to save you. This kid's Sword Art is very useful and convenient to use wherever you go. It's just that he's too stingy and never willing to give his own Art Tools to others. I pestered him for a long time before I managed to get a few, and now they're all used up. I'll ask for a few more later."

It would have been better if he hadn't said the latter part; once he said it, a dark cloud gathered even more heavily in Tang Zhao's heart, and he finally said, "Actually, that wasn't the first time I saw those crows. The first time was at a human trafficker's place."

Xing Ji blurted out, "That's impossible."

Tang Zhao said seriously, "Perhaps the Sword Art is similar, but I really did see a large flock of crows at the human trafficker's place." As he spoke, he recounted in detail how he saw Baorenxing release a flock of crows in the deserted village and how he escaped using the Art Tool gifted by Xing Ji, then added, "I can't tell if it was Jie Ya. But the Art Tool in the human trafficker's hand that day had cracks; it was a Prime Art Tool."

A Prime Art Tool is not a Rune Artificer's tool, but an Art Tool created directly by using Sword Art; it is difficult to preserve for long and will soon disappear. The Longevity Lock that Xing Ji gave Tang Zhao that day was also a Prime Art Tool.

A Prime Art Tool must be manufactured personally by a Sword Guest.

Xing Ji listened in a daze, remained silent for a long time, held his forehead with his hand, and said, "You... go practice your sword."

The two of them practiced sword in the Demon Cave for two days, and Tang Zhao felt that he had already mastered a set of sword moves; this trip had not been in vain. Xing Ji took him on a large detour and led him out through another exit.

Outside the exit was actually a bustling street, with shops on both sides, from government-run ones to major commercial firms, with all kinds of materials and artifacts available. The two strolled through the shops, and Xing Ji spent money lavishly, buying whatever Tang Zhao took a fancy to, and even things he didn't. Anyway, Tang Zhao had the Time Jar, so he could store as much as he wanted. Tang Zhao felt it was too much and declined repeatedly, but Xing Ji said, "Just this once. Once you enter Zhuoyu Villa, I won't be able to subsidize you, and you don't have any backing; at most, you'll receive a loose member's salary. What can three taels of silver a month do? Take this opportunity to bring more dry rations to prepare for a famine."

Tang Zhao originally felt embarrassed to spend so much money and wanted to say he would consider it a loan, but thinking about it carefully, he already called him "Chief Xing," so why be so formal? If he went shopping with Chen Zong, would he say it was a loan? Wouldn't that be ridiculous? Once he became a Sword Smith and opened a large group company, he could give Xing Ji plenty of dividends. So he accepted the gifts.

After purchasing in this manner, the two set off on their journey again.

From beginning to end, Xing Ji never mentioned Jie Ya again.

Only when they reached a fork in the road did Xing Ji look back, gaze at the black smoke rising to the sky from the volcano in the distance, sigh silently, raise his whip to spur his horse, and head East without looking back.