Chapter 222: Fire Phoenix's Goal

Since he had received Fire Phoenix's signal, Song Qingming naturally dared not play dumb in front of her. He had to hurry over; otherwise, if he truly offended her, his life would certainly be in jeopardy in the future.

Having made up his mind, Song Qingming returned to the team. Next, Song Qingming took the initiative to take on the task of luring the enemy, and during the operation, he deliberately angered the group of Green Ox demons, being chased by them for dozens of miles.

Taking this opportunity, Song Qingming distanced himself from Huang Shengxin and the others, then used all his strength to shake off the demon beasts that had been chasing him, and headed north alone.

When Huang Shengxin and the others obtained the spirit herbs, they discovered that Song Qingming, who had lured the enemy, had not returned for a long time. Thinking he had met with some accident, they hurriedly searched the vicinity, but they never found any trace of him again.

Guided by the five-colored feather on his body, Song Qingming carefully headed north. Whenever he encountered demon beasts, he had to put on his Spirit-Concealing Shirt to avoid them. Having become a lone traveler again, Song Qingming dared not fly on his sword and could only rely on his own legs to struggle forward.

From the opening of the secret realm until now, the entire realm had been relatively harmonious. Everyone was busy searching for various spirit items. If a spirit herb was coveted by two parties at the same time, the weaker side would quickly choose to take a step back and look for spirit items elsewhere; it was very rare for life-and-death struggles to occur.

However, as many cultivators continued to explore, the spirit items in the secret realm would gradually become fewer and fewer. Everyone would find it increasingly difficult to find spirit items, and the more powerful cultivators inside would gradually set their sights on other cultivators who had also entered the secret realm.

Every person who entered the secret realm, after some exploration, could find more or less some spirit items. Directly eliminating these people could also allow one to obtain everything on them. This was a very cost-effective deal, and there were plenty of people who would have this idea. As time passed, the entire secret realm would become increasingly dangerous and bloody.

Older cultivators like Huang Shengxin, who had entered here once before, were still very clear in their hearts that the time for searching for spirit items could only be about the first twenty days. When the remaining time before the secret realm closed arrived, it was safer for everyone to find a place to hide together; otherwise, if they really encountered those powerful people, they would certainly take action against them directly.

There was almost no morality or rules to speak of in here. After all, the Carefree Sect, which was responsible for bringing them in, had long ago stated in advance that they would not care about anything that happened inside the secret realm, and whoever died inside from then on, it was all a very normal thing.

If not for Fire Phoenix's summons, Song Qingming would likely have had to find a hidden place with Huang Shengxin and the others to hide until the secret realm ended.

After walking north for more than two days, Song Qingming finally met the young woman in red in an inconspicuous cave.

At this moment, Fire Phoenix had been waiting for him alone for several days. Seeing Song Qingming, a trace of surprise still appeared on her face.

"You're so slow. I thought you had already died somewhere else!"

Song Qingming gave a wry smile and said, "You also know how dangerous it is in here. My cultivation base is so low, and I'm all alone. Being able to walk here is already a narrow escape from death. If I had walked any faster, I would have had to fly on my sword, and I'm afraid I wouldn't have had the life to see you."

"Enough, I know what you're saying. Don't talk nonsense, come with me!"

"Is the place we're going to nearby?" Song Qingming asked with a puzzled look.

Fire Phoenix gave him a strange look and said slowly, "Of course not here. I'm taking you to the inner gorge they talk about. Once we're inside, I'll tell you what you need to do."

"Inner gorge? You still have a way to go there?" Hearing this, Song Qingming was instantly surprised. He hadn't expected that Fire Phoenix not only had a way to sneak into the secret realm but also knew the location of the inner gorge.

Fire Phoenix nodded and said, "You won't find anything here. The truly good things are basically all in the inner gorge, and my goal is naturally there as well."

"I heard that the disciples of the surrounding major sects have already gone to the inner gorge. Will we run into them if we go in now? Wouldn't that be a bit too dangerous?"

"How can one take good things without taking risks? Don't worry, I have my own way to get in, and I won't alert them." After Fire Phoenix finished speaking, she glanced back at Song Qingming.

Following Fire Phoenix, they flew directly through the air, and soon the two arrived at the northernmost part of the secret realm. Gazing at this vast white mist, Song Qingming felt in his heart that this must be a dangerous place. Just as he was about to open his mouth to give a warning, he didn't expect that Fire Phoenix had already walked into the mist without looking back. Song Qingming was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed and walked closely behind Fire Phoenix.

After passing through the mist, the two arrived safely at the Twilight Heaven Gorge. By this time, the Starry Sky Gate cultivators had already been inside for two days, and this place had returned to a state of silence.

Gazing at the massive Twilight Heaven Gorge, Song Qingming couldn't help but show a look of shock. He hadn't expected that behind the mist they had just passed through, there was actually such a massive gorge hidden. No wonder ordinary people entering the secret realm couldn't find the entrance to the inner gorge; it turned out to be hidden in such a secret place.

Fire Phoenix stood above the gorge and looked down, then took out a golden sphere and cast a spell to create a golden light barrier, enclosing Song Qingming, who was beside her, inside as well.

Before Song Qingming could react, the spiritual light on Fire Phoenix's body flashed rapidly, and she took Song Qingming with her as they fell into the gorge.

"Senior, is this the entrance to the inner gorge?" After passing through the white mist, feeling that the depths below seemed bottomless, Song Qingming asked curiously again.

"You guessed right. You can reach the inner gorge below by passing through the barrier down here. It will be a bit dangerous later, don't be afraid, just stay close to me and stand firm."

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior. I understand."

After meeting in the secret realm this time, for some reason, Song Qingming could feel that Fire Phoenix's attitude toward him was better than before. She was no longer the cold person she had always been, and along the way, as long as he asked a question, Fire Phoenix would answer him seriously.

Just as Song Qingming was thinking about things, they had already entered a pitch-black area. With a clap of thunder, two beams of white lightning struck directly toward the two of them.

"Senior, be careful!" Seeing that these two lightning bolts were extremely powerful, Song Qingming instinctively and hurriedly reminded her.

Before his words had fully faded, the two lightning bolts had already struck above their heads. Under Fire Phoenix's command, the golden sphere in her hand flew directly toward the two lightning bolts. After a loud boom, the two lightning bolts suddenly disappeared near the golden sphere. Looking closely, it turned out that the lightning had been directly absorbed by the golden sphere.

This really shocked Song Qingming, who was on the side. Having cultivated for so many years, he had never seen such a powerful item. Following Fire Phoenix this time had truly opened his eyes.

Fire Phoenix didn't pay much attention to Song Qingming's kind reminder just now; she remained calm and maintained her speed of descent.