169: Chapter 128 Defeating the Enemy

The divination ended, and Chen Xuan immediately went to the market to prepare.

Five hundred miles east of Nanming Volcano, there was a small market called "Red Flame Collection."

Though called a market, it was actually just a courtyard enclosed by a few stone houses, with stalls displaying low-tier fire-attribute spirit materials inside and outside.

Most who came here were Loose Cultivators trying to make a living on the edge of the Southern Border; their cultivation levels were not high, but they were bold, surviving by scavenging slag and leftover Spirit Medicine unearthed after volcanic eruptions.

Chen Xuan wore a bamboo hat and had changed into dusty, grey Loose Cultivator clothes, sitting in the busiest tavern in Red Flame Collection for an afternoon.

The tavern was small, with three wobbly tables where seven or eight Loose Cultivators sat around drinking and bragging. The shopkeeper was an old man at the eighth level of Qi Refining named Qian; it was said he had been running the shop here before the volcanic eruption. The great disaster five years ago hadn't buried him, and now he had become the most senior figure in Red Flame Collection.

Chen Xuan sat by the window with a pot of the cheapest spirit wheat wine before him, not really drinking, just listening to the chatter around him.

"Heard that crack on the east side of the volcano collapsed another section?"

"Collapsed by seven or eight zhang, I reckon. I took a peek a couple of days ago and could hear wind from below, whooshing, like it leads somewhere."

"Leads to the magma lake, obviously. Where else would it go?"

"Then you're an amateur. The magma lake goes down, but the wind comes up. Can't you tell up from down?"

A few Loose Cultivators argued for a bit without reaching a conclusion, then drank a few more bowls of wine and changed the subject.

Chen Xuan put down the wine money, stood up, and left the tavern.

The message had already been spread. He used the Qingyuan Chamber of Commerce's covert channels to pass word to a few small merchants active in Red Flame Collection, saying there was an anomaly in the earth veins on the east side of the volcano, suspected to be signs of an ancient spirit object unearthed. By the time the message passed through two hands, it had turned into the version: "A Secret Realm has opened near the volcano crater; whoever gets there first gets rich."

He waited for half an hour at an abandoned mine entrance north of Red Flame Collection, then heard familiar footsteps from afar.

The person who arrived was not tall, wearing a grey-brown animal skin jacket with a scimitar hanging at his waist, his skin roughened and reddened by the volcanic wind and sand. It was Zhou Yuan, the leader of the Southern Border Cultivator Alliance, that Loose Cultivator leader who had fought his way in and out of the fire lizard swarms at the crater.

He approached and lowered his voice, "Master Yun, the message you spread is too conspicuous."

"Conspicuous is good," Chen Xuan stepped out of the shadows, "Only if it's conspicuous will people believe it. How many men can you bring?"

"Fifteen who can fight at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Twenty or thirty at the Qi Refining Stage, all old brothers who have followed me for years." Zhou Yuan paused, "But are you sure there's actually something there? I heard that people from the White Lotus Sect were spotted over there a few days ago, acting sneakily."

Chen Xuan nodded, "That's why I called you."

Zhou Yuan looked at him for a moment and didn't ask further. Loose Cultivators in the Southern Border didn't ask about origins or reasons; knowing that following meant work and a share of the loot was enough.

The next morning, the team gathered in an open space east of Red Flame Collection. Including the people Zhou Yuan brought, there were forty-seven Cultivators in total, sixteen at the Foundation Establishment Stage, and the rest were veterans at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining. Chen Xuan did not show his true face. Zhou Yuan only told outsiders that he had hired an external Sword Cultivator with high cultivation and told everyone to follow his orders on the road.

The team traveled south along the ridgeline of the volcano's eastern foothills. Chen Xuan walked at the very front, followed by Zhou Yuan and several Foundation Establishment Stage key members, and behind them were the Qi Refining Cultivators, scattered in twos and threes, maintaining a distance that allowed for mutual support.

After walking for about two hours, the terrain began to steepen. The rocks underfoot changed from grey-brown to dark red, and some stone crevices were seeping hot air smelling of sulfur. Chen Xuan stopped before a recessed rock wall, reached out to press his hand against the stone surface, and closed his eyes to sense for a moment.

The Seal was still there. Nine zhang and nine chi deep, the rust-colored aura was like ironware submerged at the bottom of water, lying dormant quietly.

"This is it," he said, "Dig down, and stop when you reach nine zhang deep."

Zhou Yuan waved his hand, and several Loose Cultivators skilled in Earth Escape immediately stepped forward, forming Seals and casting spells. The gravel and rock layers on the ground were peeled away layer by layer, revealing the deeper rock veins beneath. They did not use brute force to dig, but used Earth Escape techniques to move the rocks; the commotion was minimal, but the progress was not slow.

An hour later, the pit had been dug to a depth of over eight zhang. The color of the bottom-most layer of rock had changed from dark red to grey-black, with a very faint oily sheen on the surface, as if it had been soaked by something for a long time.

Chen Xuan took a jade talisman from his Storage Pouch and handed it to Zhou Yuan, "Tell them to stop. I'll handle the rest myself."

Zhou Yuan took the jade talisman and glanced at it, not recognizing the runes on it, but wisely did not ask more. He turned and ordered the Loose Cultivators to withdraw from the pit, leaving only four trusted Foundation Establishment Stage subordinates to guard the pit entrance.

Chen Xuan walked down the pit. The further down he went, the clearer that rust-colored aura became, like the smell of rust mixed with old blood, seeping out thread by thread from the rock crevices. He walked to the bottom of the pit, crouched down, and pressed his palm against the grey-black rock surface.

The City Wall Earth metal nature in his Dantian trembled slightly, resonating ever so faintly with that Seal. He calmed his mind and felt it; the structure of the Seal gradually became clear. The outer layer was a disguise imitating the aura of Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji, like an old garment put on a different figure, while the inner layer was an older Seal, rigorous in structure and meticulously laid out, with a clever "gap" left in the middle.

This gap was like a "keyhole" reserved within the entire Formation.

Chen Xuan did not directly touch the core of the Seal. He used Earth-element magic power to slowly permeate along the edges of the Seal, like water droplets flowing along leaf veins, peeling away the outer disguise bit by bit. The process was very slow; every time he peeled away a layer, he needed to stop and sense the changes in the surrounding spirit power to confirm that no alarms had been triggered.

An hour later, the outer disguise was completely stripped away. It revealed the Main unit of the older Seal beneath, with clear patterns and steady strokes, a typical work of a Golden Core Master.

Just as he was about to go deeper, a strange noise came from above the pit.

It wasn't footsteps, but the sound of gravel rolling down from the pit entrance. Immediately after came Zhou Yuan's low shout, "Who's there?"

Before the words faded, a golden light poured down from the pit entrance, carrying an aura Chen Xuan was all too familiar with. He looked up abruptly and saw a figure in grey-white monk robes standing at the edge of the pit, with a thin face, gentle eyes, and a faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corners of his mouth.

Huike. Among the three Disciples of the Buddhist Sect, the most inconspicuous one, the spell-Cultivator most adept at secret techniques.

Behind him followed four or five others, wearing the same grey-white monk robes, with "Heaven" character tokens hanging at their waists.

Zhou Yuan had already drawn his scimitar, the blade shimmering with crimson fire-attribute spirit light, confronting two Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivators beside Huike.

"Alliance Leader Zhou, long time no see." Huike's voice was unhurried, as steady as chanting sutras, "This humble monk was passing by and sensed an anomaly in the earth veins, so I came to investigate. I didn't expect to meet friends from the Southern Border Alliance here; it is truly fate."

Zhou Yuan sneered, "You White Lotus Sect folks have sensitive noses."

"This humble monk is not from the White Lotus Sect," Huike shook his head, "The White Lotus Sect is an outer branch of the Buddhist Sect and has never been formally accepted. I am a Disciple under Immortal Master Kumu, practicing the orthodox Buddhist Sect methods."

As he spoke, his gaze remained fixed on Chen Xuan deep in the pit; his tone was casual but carried an undeniable certainty.

Chen Xuan stood up and brushed the rock dust from his knees. He took off his bamboo hat, revealing his face.

Huike's smile froze slightly, then returned to normal.

"So it is Donor Yun. No wonder Alliance Leader Zhou was willing to lead the team himself." He bowed, "The thing Donor Yun wants to retrieve must be some object deep within these earth veins. This humble monk has no grudge against Donor Yun, but Immortal Master Kumu has instructed that anything within the territory of Nanming Volcano should be retrieved if possible."

Chen Xuan did not reply. His hand rested on the hilt of his sword, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings of the pit entrance. Including Huike, the Buddhist Sect had brought six people: three at Foundation Establishment Perfection, two at Foundation Establishment Late Stage, and one at Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. The lineup was quite formidable, almost capable of crushing any local combat power of Zhou Yuan's Loose Cultivator team head-on.

Zhou Yuan saw it too. He whispered to Chen Xuan, "Are there any reinforcements behind?"

"No," Chen Xuan said, "I acted on a whim."

Zhou Yuan fell silent for a moment, then drew his blade, pointing the tip at the pit entrance.

Huike sighed, his voice still peaceful, "Why bother."

Golden light poured into the pit, cascading like flowing water. Chen Xuan drew his sword, and the Sword Light Differentiation split into nine, unfolding in the narrow pit to collide with the golden light, exploding into a burst of spirit light as gravel flew everywhere.

The Loose Cultivators were scattered. Zhou Yuan and several Foundation Establishment Stage key members fought desperately to block the pit entrance, but the Buddhist Sect members had clearly practiced their coordination beforehand, suppressing them in groups of three in turns, not giving them a chance to catch their breath. A Qi Refining Stage Loose Cultivator was struck by a golden palm print, flying backward to crash into the rock wall, spraying blood from his mouth.

Chen Xuan wounded a Buddhist Sect Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator in the melee at the bottom of the pit. But just as he pulled away, Huike's Flower-Plucking Finger probed silently. When the finger wind brushed past, he tilted his head to dodge, but was grazed on his left shoulder; his Divine Sense wavered slightly, as if someone had stirred his brain with a stick.

He steadied his mind, unfolded his sword light again, and forced Huike back.

Just as the two sides were deadlocked, an extremely dull tremor came from underground, like a giant beast turning over deep beneath the earth. Everyone felt the tremor; the Buddhist Sect members paused, and the Loose Cultivators also stopped fighting.

The tremor lasted for about three breaths, then stopped.

Huike's expression changed slightly. He quickly formed a Seal, seemingly sensing something, then frowned, "The earth veins are moving. It's not a natural fluctuation; someone has tampered with them."

Before the words faded, the rock layers at the bottom of the pit began to crack. Spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the grey-black rock surface, and from the depths of each crack seeped a very faint dark red light, like blood threads soaking into white paper. The location of the Seal twisted and deformed with the cracking rock layers, and the originally tight Seal structure began to loosen.

Chen Xuan's pupils constricted. The Seal was disintegrating on its own, or rather, it had been broken through from the inside by something.

Dark red light surged from the cracks, becoming thicker and brighter. Immediately after, a scorching wave of air surged up from the underground, carrying a strong smell of sulfur and rust, like something that had slept for many years had finally broken free from its chains.

A figure walked out from the light.

The figure was not tall, but her physique was perfectly voluptuous, every curve outlined distinctly by a fire-red long dress. The skirt was slit very high, revealing a length of snow-white thigh as she walked, blindingly white in the dark red light. Her waist was slender enough to be grasped by a hand, yet her hip line was round and full, swaying gently with her steps like a flame stirred by the wind. The fabric at her chest was stretched to the limit, the neckline cut very low, revealing a snow-white cleavage that seemed bottomless, rising and falling slightly with her breathing, as if it might spill out from that thin layer of silk at any moment.

Her face was so exquisite it didn't seem real; her brows and eyes were long, narrow, and alluring, the corners of her eyes slightly upturned like two hooks. When she looked at people, her gaze was fluid, carrying a natural, innate charm. The corners of her mouth naturally carried a hint of a smile, her lips red as blood, a slight purse of which made one's heart tremble. A head of fire-red long hair hung to her waist, the tips drifting gently in the scorching heat waves like flowing lava.

Behind her trailed a tail. A fire-red tail, fluffy and soft, a full twice as thick as an ordinary fox demon, the tip split into three prongs, swaying behind her like three burning flames.

The cave went quiet for a moment.

Then someone recognized her. Zhou Yuan's voice was extremely low, carrying uncontrollable trembling, as if afraid to startle something that shouldn't be startled, "Fire Fox... that Fire Fox from the core area of Nanming Volcano. After the Iron-Backed Flood Dragon died, it moved out from the depths and has been entrenched in that rocky cave east of the magma lake. Golden Core Late Stage... it's not Golden Core Middle Stage, it has already broken through."

The Fire Fox's gaze swept over everyone in the cave. As she passed by each person, she would pause briefly, with a look of scrutiny and playfulness, as if examining a plate of decent "fruit." Finally, her gaze landed on Chen Xuan. She tilted her head, her smile deepened a bit, the curve of her mouth just right—neither overly ostentatious nor lacking in allure.

"The arrangements of Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji have been altered beyond recognition."

Her voice was crisper than the previous fox demon, more like a mountain spring striking stones, but the tail of her voice carried a lazy upward lilt, like the soft hum a cat makes when stretching.

Chen Xuan did not move. His hand remained pressed on the sword hilt.

The Fire Fox took two steps forward, her waist swaying, her snow-white thighs appearing and disappearing beneath the slit skirt. She raised her hand, her slender, fair fingers curling a strand of red hair hanging before her chest, winding it twice around her fingertip, and said nonchalantly, "You guessed right; this Seal was not left by Ancient Golden Core Cultivator Zhao Wuji. I merely borrowed his name and his residual aura, altered the internal pathways of the Formation, and turned it into a trap. Waiting for little Cultivators like you to follow the clues and find your way here bit by bit."

As she spoke, her gaze turned to Huike, the corners of her eyes lifting slightly, "The Buddhist Sect people are an unexpected harvest. They look quite good too."

Huike's expression darkened, but quickly returned to normal. He did not speak, but slowly stepped back half a step, drawing closer to his fellow Disciples behind him.

The Fire Fox's smile did not fade, her slender fingers interlaced before her, her nails painted the same blood-red as her lips, glistening with a moist sheen in the dark red light. As she walked, her hips swayed gently, each step planted firmly, her boot heels tapping on the cracked rock surface, making a crisp clack-clack sound, like some kind of unhurried drumbeat.