31: Senior Sister Yun, are you sure?

Yun Qingluan lightly bit her lower lip and pushed her hand seal to the limit, collecting the last bit of Nether Abyss Ice Flame into the jade bottle.

Without the suppression of the Nether Abyss Ice Flame, red light was already emerging from the cracks in the ice.

Without time to think, Yun Qingluan waved her hand to store the jade bottle, beast soul banner, and human puppet into her storage bracelet. After a brief hesitation, she also stored the demon spider's corpse before following Su Ling into the cave tunnel.

"Boom!"

A loud explosion echoed through the cavern, and a blazing fire suddenly illuminated the entire tunnel.

"Hurry up!"

Su Ling pushed the Phantom Shadow Technique to its limit, fleeing forward without looking back.

Yun Qingluan, her black dress wreathed in black mist, arrived at Su Ling's side in an instant.

Crap!

So fast!

Feeling the extremely violent lava fire power behind him, Su Ling didn't have time to complain.

His Divine Sense locked onto the fluorite markers he had placed along the way, and his magic power surged out as his speed increased by another twenty percent.

As they passed through narrow spots, Su Ling continuously threw out explosive flame talismans to blast the roof of the tunnel.

The falling boulders and clumps of earth quickly blocked the tunnel.

Realizing the intent behind Su Ling's actions, Yun Qingluan silently joined in.

However, she only dared to blast the spots where Su Ling had already struck.

With Yun Qingluan's help, Su Ling was able to save quite a few explosive flame talismans.

As they fled, they encountered many Crystal Cave Demon Spiders and Shadow Bats along the way.

Faced with the threat of underground lava, neither humans nor Yao Beasts felt the slightest desire to fight.

Everyone was frantically fleeing outward, forming a strange tacit understanding.

The route that had originally taken Su Ling several days to explore was now different.

Within just fifteen minutes, the two of them saw a glimmer of light ahead.

Su Ling pulled out the wandering soul boat and threw it outward with force.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The two of them moved like lightning, escaping the cavern with a series of whistles.

The wandering soul boat expanded as it met the wind, catching them steadily.

Su Ling slapped the energy core of the wandering soul boat, and as his magic power surged, the boat rapidly ascended.

"Boom!"

Amidst the jagged rocks, one cave entrance after another began to spew out scorching lava.

A thick scent of sulfur spread out, covering the entire canyon in an instant.

Sharp screeches echoed throughout the canyon as Yao Beasts that failed to escape in time were either submerged by lava or struck by erupting volcanic rocks.

Su Ling didn't slowly withdraw his magic power until he had piloted the wandering soul boat to a safe airspace dozens of miles away.

Yun Qingluan kept staring at the devastated canyon. The apocalyptic scene of countless Yao Beasts turning to ash amidst their wails filled her eyes with shock and relief.

At this moment, she finally understood why her Revered Master, Mo Jinghun, had instructed her that if she encountered Su Ling, she should cooperate with him as much as possible and even let him lead, simply watching, listening, and learning more.

Su Ling was truly thorough in everything he did.

If he hadn't set up the markers beforehand and she had blindly fled through the cavern, the underground lava alone would likely have forced out the trump card her Revered Master had prepared for her.

That would have truly disappointed her Revered Master.

"Senior Sister Yun, with the lava eruption, the underground cavern has been destroyed. I'm afraid the ten thousand year jade marrow won't be found."

Su Ling stepped forward and said in a low, regretful voice.

"There probably wasn't any ten thousand year jade marrow here..."

Yun Qingluan composed herself and said calmly, "If there really were, that demon spider would have at least been at the third rank."

ten thousand year jade marrow is nurtured by the Spiritual Qi of the earth's veins and can be consumed directly to increase one's cultivation.

Yun Qingluan had been searching the underground caves for nearly a month, losing her way countless times before accidentally stumbling into that cave by following the changes in the cold air.

Just as she said, if there really were ten thousand year jade marrow, how could the Crystal Cave Demon Spider, as the local inhabitant, have ignored it?

"Then, where should we go next?"

Su Ling thought it made sense and immediately asked.

Yun Qingluan: "You decide."

"Me?"

Su Ling looked at Yun Qingluan with some suspicion, "Senior Sister Yun, are you sure?"

Yun Qingluan gave him a cold glance, turned around, and sat cross-legged at the bow of the boat.

"Uh."

Her attitude truly left Su Ling a bit bewildered.

But on second thought, this was fine.

At the very least, he wouldn't be unknowingly set up by her.

After thinking for a moment, Su Ling spoke about the plan he had previously devised.

"In that case, Senior Sister Yun, I'll take the liberty of making the arrangements."

Sitting down near Yun Qingluan, Su Ling said seriously, "According to the map provided by the Sect, ten thousand miles south of here is the Extreme Ice Snow Field. Five thousand miles north is the Blazing Hell Abyss. Three thousand miles west is the Cloud Miasma Marsh. To the northeast is the Crimson Refining Sand Sea. To the northwest and southwest, there are the Endless Desert and the Corrupted Forest... The entire Cuiye Secret Realm is surrounded by the Canglan Sea."

"The spiritual items Elder Mo needs—the nether flower, yin gui fungus, and Senluo Vine—will most likely appear in the Corrupted Forest. As for the ten thousand year jade marrow, besides the Yuanze Mountain Range, I estimate it could also appear in the Extreme Ice Snow Field and the Endless Desert. The Abyssal Ice Dew is most likely in the Extreme Ice Snow Field... As for the blazing sun flower stamen, it could be in any of the three northern regions."

Analyzing based on the characteristics and habits of various spiritual items, what Su Ling said wasn't entirely correct, but it wasn't far off.

Yun Qingluan nodded silently.

Her Revered Master didn't have high expectations for her to find these spiritual items.

He merely treated this mission as a test for her.

The real main force was still the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters at the Late Foundation Establishment Stage or even the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment.

But Yun Qingluan didn't slack off because of this; instead, she worked even harder. Firstly, to temper herself, and secondly, to show gratitude for her Revered Master's care over the years.

"You mean..."

Yun Qingluan looked up at Su Ling and asked.

"Go north!"

Su Ling replied solemnly.

"The blazing sun flower stamen?"

"Yes, the blazing sun flower stamen needs to absorb the Qi of Extreme Yang True Fire, so it must grow in a scorching environment. It's best to explore the three northern regions at once to avoid taking a long way around. If we really can't find it, we can explore the nearby Canglan Sea or Cloud Miasma Marsh. Then we'll head south to the Extreme Ice Snow Field to look for the Abyssal Ice Dew."

"Agreed."

Yun Qingluan nodded, casually placed the human puppet aside, and began to close her eyes to regulate her breathing.

"Uh."

Su Ling was stunned; she actually listened to him.

But seeing the human puppet's dead-fish eyes, he was once again somewhat speechless.

Letting him take charge of the itinerary while still guarding against him like this... well, it wasn't contradictory at all.

If Yun Qingluan truly lowered her guard against him, Su Ling would instead feel a bit uneasy.

However, he hadn't had any designs on Yun Qingluan from the start.

If he really tried to do something to her, he would likely be slapped to death by a suddenly appearing Mo Jinghun.

In his past life, Su Ling would also read novels and watch shows in his spare time.

The plot of a Sect Disciple encountering danger and being saved by a senior elder descending to take control and perform a last-minute counter-kill was very common.

Su Ling estimated that there was a very high probability that Yun Qingluan had such a trump card on her.

Otherwise, for such a dangerous Secret Realm exploration, the Sect Head and the Personal Disciples of the various hall Revered Masters wouldn't have been allowed to participate.

No matter how much of a Demonic Path the Xuanming Sect was, they still needed people to carry on the Legacy!

Su Ling stood up and sat at the energy core at the stern of the boat, casually inserting a few Spirit Stones.

After adjusting the direction, the wandering soul boat sped away.