Chapter 220: Drive the Tiger to Devour the Wolf!

The great moon hung in the sky.

Meiqiu ascended beneath the stars, her amber eyes surveying the earth, where figures emerged from all directions, pressed flat against the ground, listening.

Xie Jinhuan, buried underground, relentlessly pounded the rock, unaware of the celestial shift; but as three sources of fortune vanished, the leaked Five Elements spiritual aura retracted, causing subtle, imperceptible changes throughout the cavern—accumulating into a rolling thunder echoing through Phoenix Valley:

Boom… boom…

The sound seemed distant, yet any cultivator familiar with Phoenix Valley’s history knew what it meant!

Beneath the stars and moon, five figures stood on the barren, empty wasteland, scanning around; their leader was Yan Lang, boss of the Black Yin Gang, beside him stood Xu Guanfu, boss of the Jiangzhou Gang.

Xu Guanfu, one of Great Qian’s top martial leaders, had far higher cultivation than Yan Lang—hence why the Black Yin Gang sought his presence to bolster their ranks, and upon learning of Xie Jinhuan’s rise, they abandoned all claim to the Phoenix Tomb’s fortune, begging only for his help to eliminate Xie Jinhuan before he grew stronger.

Xu Guanfu truly desired the Phoenix Tomb’s fortune, for without it, his martial path would stall; moreover, he was closely tied to these sea bandits—if Xie Jinhuan destroyed the Black Yin Gang, he’d inevitably trace the connection to him.

If his strength wasn’t enough, he couldn’t suppress Xie Jinhuan once he rose; thus, his primary goal here was to seize the fortune, but if he failed to obtain it and encountered Xie Jinhuan, he’d have to risk everything—try to crush the boy in his cradle and let the Black Yin Gang take the blame.

Yet even Xu Guanfu, though he’d anticipated many scenarios, never expected that mere hours after the Black Yin Gang intercepted intelligence from the Witch Alliance—“Xie Jinhuan has come to the Southern Frontier, suspected of seeking the Lingguang Divine Gift”—they rushed here, only to find the ground already in turmoil.

Liang Yue, who had turned back from Sanjiangkou, pressed his ear to the ground, frowning deeply:

“It’s not thunder—it’s movement underground. It seems all the fortunes have been taken.”

“All of them?!”

Yan Lang, boss of the Black Yin Gang, a ruthless warlord risen from the sea bandits and one of the Southern Frontier’s most notorious local tyrants, now stared in confusion:

“It’s not even Winter Solstice yet—treasure hunters haven’t arrived. Even if Xie Jinhuan got here, he could take only one. How could all the fortunes be gone?”

“Could it be only one emerged?”

“Impossible. History has never recorded only one fortune appearing.”

Xu Guanfu also didn’t believe anyone could have taken all the fortunes so early—but the celestial changes didn’t lie. To prevent the one who succeeded from escaping, he immediately soared into the air, scanning the vast wasteland below.

The experience of past generations proved flawless.

After searching for less than half a minute, three figures burst from a crack in the ground dozens of li away.

“East!”

Xu Guanfu spotted someone emerging from underground and let out a cold snarl, his body hurtling like a thunderclap toward the figures.

Boom—

At the other end.

Xie Jinhuan and the two beauties had just leapt from the ground, faces alight with joy, still mid-air, when a voice rang from the night sky:

“Clang—”

Hearing Meiqiu’s warning, Xie Jinhuan frowned, swiftly scanning his surroundings—and saw a black line streaking toward him from the western horizon.

Though distant, the black line left sonic booms in its wake; if his estimate was right, it would reach them in no more than twenty seconds!

And worse—behind it, another black dot rose into the air, slightly slower, but still hurtling toward them on the wind.

“Damn it…”

Only now did Xie Jinhuan understand why the Five Divine Gifts were forbidden to anyone below the Supreme Rank.

Even Lu Yan, the old Northern Zhou Daoist, was understandable—but these two newcomers? Their leader was certainly no ordinary Supreme Rank.

He’d already encountered two at the surface—how many more were rushing here? He dared not imagine.

Gong Yanye and Bu Yuehua, though they’d crossed into the Fourth Realm using breakthrough elixirs, were barely new Supreme Ranks; even at full strength, they’d struggle against Lu Yan, let alone with their qi seas still drained and facing three opponents.

Though the Vermilion Bird Tomb’s yang fire had faded, the vast area would take days to fully disperse—cultivators within would still be suppressed by celestial forces, and the labyrinth still remained.

If they surfaced now, they’d die. Without a word, all three simultaneously leapt back into the crack and fled the way they came.

But below them lurked Lu Lao, enraged and desperate!

Bu Yuehua held the Lingguang Divine Gift, trapped between wolf and tiger, her heart sinking into despair; she searched desperately for a way out, then asked:

“What do we do?”

Gong Yanye believed only their Master’s arrival could save them—he gritted his teeth:

“What if we give one fortune to Lu Yan? Team up with him—we can handle these two outside easily.”

Xie Jinhuan strongly disagreed—he couldn’t bear to give up even one fortune, and the spiritual damage would be too severe. Even if he asked this old Daoist for help, one fortune wouldn’t be enough.

But in this situation, even calling upon A Piao or Zi Su Immortal wouldn’t help.

Xie Jinhuan moved through the tangled labyrinth, then said:

“Drive the tiger to devour the wolf! Make these two factions fight each other—we slip away quietly.”

Gong Yanye thought it a good idea—but the question was:

“How?”

Xie Jinhuan scanned the chaotic rock fissures, pondering a strategy, but it was clearly difficult—until his ghost bride reminded him:

“Sister Hua knows witchcraft. Have her summon poison mist—create chaos.”

Xie Jinhuan froze, turning to the serene woman beside him:

“You can control poison mist?”

At this moment, Bu Yuehua had no patience for Gong Yanye’s act—she nodded:

“I can.”

She tossed them both an antidote pill, then swept her sleeves—immediately, emerald-green serpents of mist surged behind her, spreading through the rock fissures, obscuring everything.

Xie Jinhuan saw the poison mist—identical to Lin Wanyi’s—and his eyes narrowed with suspicion.

But there was no time to ask—he glanced at the tense ice-block beside him, swallowed the antidote pill, then vanished into the mist, suppressing all his aura…

…

Moments later.

Five figures slid into the underground, the stifling heat and spreading poison smoke making the three behind hesitate to advance.

Xu Guanfu, clad in a white cloak, sword in hand, led the way; Yan Lang followed beside him, wielding his blade, shielding himself with Gang qi to guard against the poison.

“Poison mist… is this the Witch Alliance?”

“You intercepted intelligence from them—they naturally knew Xie Jinhuan came for the fortune. But even if Old Sikong came himself, he could take only one. How could he get them all so fast?”

“Unknown. But it’s certainly not Old Sikong—if it were, we’d be the ones running.”

“Old Sikong’s been at Phoenix Harbor these past days, negotiating with the Poison Cult’s Sect Master about re-entering the Central Plains—he has no time to come here…”

…

Xu Guanfu feared only Old Sikong in the Southern Frontier; as the Seventh Martial Power of Great Qian, he could challenge any other local warlord here—he pressed forward swiftly:

“Those three just emerged—their qi seas must be drained. They can’t recover here. They won’t hide long. Search.”

Yan Lang carefully sensed the underground movements, tracking the three’s trail—then quickly noticed, beyond the distant muffled thunder, faint, heavy impacts—someone was breaking rock. He frowned:

“Are they trying to dig another exit?”

Xu Guanfu thought it possible—next exit might be over a hundred li away; the underground was a labyrinth. No ordinary person could be so lucky as to find the second exit directly. He followed the sound:

“Hurry.”

…

Meanwhile, half a li away.

Xie Jinhuan and the two women hid silently in the fissure, wolf and tiger above—daring not blink.

Seeing the enemies descend, Xie Jinhuan glanced at his ghost bride.

Ye Hongshang had been watching the opponents closely; when the five reached within a hundred zhang, she said, slightly surprised:

“All five are martial cultivators. Two Supreme Ranks are hard to gauge—but one carries wounds. That’s Liang Yue—you fought him before. He’s from the Black Yin Gang.”

Black Yin Gang… Xie Jinhuan heard this and knew he’d been targeted. The Black Yin Gang hadn’t come for the fortune—they came to exterminate him.

He’d told only a few people his whereabouts—leakage was unlikely. But his recent fame was too great; once he vanished from the capital, the dark sects would dig up to three feet to find him.

He couldn’t vanish invisibly—he’d raced south at full speed, passing through too many prefectures. It was no surprise some Supreme Rank had caught his trail.

But if the Spirit God Sect knew, fine—how had the Black Yin Gang learned of this?

Xie Jinhuan was puzzled, but now wasn’t the time to investigate—he pulled out the “Huang Qi Seal,” a fire-spewing treasure for locating fortunes, and whispered into the ice-block’s ear…

…

Xu Guanfu and the others followed the intersecting rock fissures toward the source of the noise, listening for any movement around them.

But before they’d gone far, a woman’s voice rang from deep within the poison mist:

“Bing Ding, Ying Huo, Vermilion takes form—blazing true fire, heed my command…”

Hss—

Gold-red flames ignited deep in the mist!

Xu Guanfu, seeing the flame’s hue, knew instantly it was the “True Burning Heaven Fire Spell,” empowered by the Lingguang Divine Gift—his face darkened, sword flashing from its sheath:

Shing—

Whoosh—

An invisible sword qi sliced through the emerald mist and the cliff wall, striking straight at the source of the fire.

At the same moment, distant flames surged forward in a wave, colliding with the sword qi—splitting left and right, turning the rock walls crimson, continuing to pour outward.

Boom…

The Burning Heaven Fire Spell was the signature technique of the Divination Sect—without the Lingguang Divine Gift, it was merely wide-ranging; with the “blazing true fire” it granted, it was strong enough to melt immortal artifacts—flesh and blood could not withstand it.

Yan Lang thought the display seemed weak, but the “blazing true fire” was unmistakable. Seeing the flames rush toward him, he dared not underestimate—he immediately shielded himself with Gang qi.

Boom—

Sword qi and flame met—and vanished instantly.

Xu Guanfu stared at the flame’s origin—only to see the fissure’s end, cleaved by his sword, had collapsed.

The attacker was gone—only faint, urgent female words could be heard:

“Quickly notify Uncle Lu, find another way out—people come to seize the opportunity, and they’re extremely formidable...”

……

Yan Lang heard this and suddenly understood:

“It’s the Five Spirit Mountain sect from Bei Zhou—the Zanyan School excels in divination and aura-reading, able to predict the approximate time when opportunities arise. Lu Yan is also a master of fire arts. No wonder they arrived so early...”

Xu Guanfu felt the second-in-command of Bei Zhou’s Daoist sect would be hard to deal with.

But they came with family and servants, searching for three opportunities underground—they couldn’t possibly be at full strength.

He and Yan Lang had just entered the scene, their momentum surging.

Killing Bei Zhou cultivators? Kill them outright—no consequences at all...

Thinking of this, Xu Guanfu immediately hurried after them:

“Lu Yan must be carrying the Chi Fire Token or the Five Elements Seal—both magic treasures are more valuable than the Lingguang Divine Gift. Don’t let them escape.”

Yan Lang, a pirate by origin, his eyes glowed with hunger at these words, and he immediately led three hall masters down underground.

Meanwhile, underground.

Boom... boom... boom...

Lu Yan clamped a useless junior under one arm, smashing open collapsed rocks with a single hand. To prevent the cunning little brat Xie Jinhuan from escaping to the surface and fleeing far away, he no longer cared about draining his dantian—his speed was blazing, and to onlookers, he looked like a fire lion carving a tunnel through the earth.

But as he neared the surface, Lu Yan smashed through the rubble and suddenly saw thick green mist churning ahead—he immediately retreated several steps.

Realizing it was merely ordinary poison mist, Lu Yan frowned, swept his wide sleeves to summon a gust of wind, and blew the mist back dozens of zhang.

Yet the entire upper layer of space seemed saturated with poison mist—impossible to clear completely.

How did the Gu Du Sect get here too...?

Could it be that old man Sikong...?

Thinking of this, Lu Yan grew more cautious, quietly searching for a path to the surface, listening intently along the way to avoid ambushes by poison rats.

But after walking a stretch, a sudden rush of wind echoed from a distant crack.

Whoosh... whoosh...

It sounded like three people fleeing rapidly.

?!

Lu Yan spotted Xie Jinhuan’s target—his eyes instantly blazed with furious rage, and he silently crept toward the sound’s source.

Meanwhile, Xu Guanfu and Yan Lang and others, hearing the fleeing sounds, also advanced toward the source.

To avoid alerting the enemy prematurely, all of them suppressed their sounds, hoping to close the distance silently.

But Lu Yan’s cultivation was higher!

As he passed through a rock fissure, Lu Yan suddenly sensed something wrong—he glanced sideways into the thick poison mist, and his right hand’s Chi Fire Token flared golden-red light. A hundred zhang away, flying meteors of fire erupted.

Boom—

Xu Guanfu also sensed someone to his side, though uncertain—then, seeing the golden-red firelight flare again, his face changed instantly, and he slashed out with his sword.

Ssshh—

And at the same time, from the labyrinthine fissures of the rock layers, Xie Jinhuan’s arrogant voice rang out:

“Heaven has a path, yet you refuse to walk it; hell has no door, yet you walk right in. I wonder if you’ll still chase me—hold the rear!”

“Understood—”

……

?!

Damn, we’ve been tricked...

Lu Yan heard this and knew he’d walked into an ambush—Xie Jinhuan had allies outside, waiting right here for him to emerge!

Xu Guanfu hadn’t expected Xie Jinhuan to be this cunning—he’d allied with the Bei Zhou Zanyan School to seek the opportunity, and even “foreseen the future,” setting up a killing array in advance...

Wait—Xie Jinhuan is reportedly Empress Dowager Guo’s favorite—his connection to the Zanyan School isn’t surprising...

But where did the Gu Du Sect cultivators come from...?

……

Both sides were filled with questions, but both knew they’d fallen into this brat’s trap!

Liang Yue and others immediately guarded the rear.

Lu Yan knew he was surrounded, possibly facing death and the collapse of his Dao—he held nothing back, tossed Xi Yanjun behind him, his Dao robe billowing, the Chi Fire Token floating before him, summoning a ring of fire, then:

“Clang—”

The flames shrieked like a blood-crying phoenix, echoing through the poison-mist-filled underground.

Xu Guanfu and Yan Lang too became caged beasts, desperate for a sliver of survival—two Super-Class Martial Experts lunged left and right, striking Lu Yan’s flanks, trying to disrupt his world-destroying fire art!

Boom boom boom—

Instantly, deep within the dark underground, thunderous roars erupted.

Rocks shattered, fire sprayed everywhere—like a hellish battlefield of slaughter!

And half a li away,

After shouting his line, Xie Jinhuan quietly slipped toward the surface.

Nan Gongye and Bu Yuehua were nearly terrified to death—they dared not even breathe, following close behind in silent, sweat-drenched flight...

—

Over nine thousand characters or 2!

(End of Chapter)