Hong Qing and the Unknown Cave Abode

"I mean no harm, don't worry, I'll just wait here!"

The young man with the gun, who was about 20 feet away from Yang Tianyou, tried to walk over, but Fengling stopped him directly.

The latter, with his back arched, stood fearlessly in front of Yang Tianyou despite his numerous wounds.

Upon seeing this, the young man with the gun quickly dropped Long Spear, took a few steps back, and indicated that he meant no harm.

"Alright, Fengling, come back. This friend is not the kind of person who repays kindness with enmity."

With that, Yang Tianyou swallowed two Restoration Pills, staggered to his feet, and walked towards Fengling.

He didn't truly trust the armed youth, but he was confident that even severely wounded, he could still kill him.

"My benefactor saved my life and avenged my parents. I can never repay such a great Hong Qing in my lifetime. Please feel free to ask me for anything I need in the future!"

When Yang Tianyou came over, Hong Qing bowed deeply, his words full of gratitude.

"Hong Qing? Is that your name?"

"Yes, I..."

After he finished introducing himself, Yang Tianyou nodded slightly.

The young man's Hong Qing. He was originally the son of two Rogue Cultivators from Silver River County. Because of his good talent, he was a cultivator with Two Spirit Roots. Therefore, his parents sent him to Golden Core Cloudglow Sect, to cultivate. He was inner disciple of the Cloudglow Sect.

Although he was sent to a sect to cultivate at a young age, Hong Qing was extremely filial and had a very good relationship with his parents. He would go home every now and then to reunite with them.

Unexpectedly, just three months ago, all the good things came to an end. His parents were targeted by the Darkblood Old Devil while escorting a shipment of goods and were brutally murdered by the Old Devil.

Upon hearing this, Hong Qing was furious, but he knew he was no match for the Old Devil, so he sought help from his sect, hoping they could help him eliminate the demon.

However, he had neither connections nor resources, and given that the Darkblood Old Devil was almost invincible in the Qi Refining Realm, few of his fellow disciples were willing to help him.

After kneeling before the sect's main hall for three days and three nights, Hong Qing finally lost heart and left the sect alone to seek revenge against the Darkblood Old Devil.

He spent a great deal of money to buy a First-Tier Superior-Grade Spirit Beast, the Wind-Chasing Hound, and after three whole months, plus a bit of luck, he finally discovered the Darkblood Old Devil's trail.

What happened next is self-explanatory; if it weren't for Yang Tianyou's help, he would have been beheaded long ago.

"So you are inner disciple of the Cloudglow Sect. It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Yang Tianyou cupped his hands in surprise. He only knew one inner disciple of the Golden Core Force, Qi Yusheng of the Three Rivers Sect. This Hong Qing in front of him was the second one, but he didn't seem to be doing very well.

"What does it matter if inner disciple? Anyone who can break through to the Late Qi Refinement is an inner disciple. But compared to those fellow disciples who have powerful backers, what am I?"

Hong Qing chuckled self-deprecatingly. After this incident, he realized that his status inner disciple the Cloudglow Sect, which he used to be so proud of, meant nothing at all. The sect didn't take him seriously and remained unmoved no matter how much he begged.

Thinking of this, Hong Qing clenched his fist unwillingly, a struggle flashing in his eyes, but he still spoke up, "To be honest, my benefactor, I discovered a cave abode left behind by predecessors in the Huafeng Mountain Range, but my strength is insufficient to break the Formation of that cave abode. My benefactor is powerful and saved my life, so I am willing to offer up the location of the cave abode!"

"Cave abode left behind by our ancestors?"

Yang Tianyou's Shen Yi lit up. After what happened at the Dragon Valley Sect, he was very interested in this kind of cave abode.

Are you sure that was left behind by someone from before?

"I'm sure, because that Formation has been operating for a very long time, and many of its nodes have failed, which is why I was able to discover it!"

"Oh? The node failed and you still can't open the Formation?"

"My benefactor is wise. That Formation should be at least Second-Tier Middle-Grade Formation, and it relies on a Fire Attribute Spirit Vein, so its Spiritual Qi is inexhaustible. How could I, with my mere Qi Refining Realm, possibly open it?"

"I see!"

Touching his chin, Yang Tianyou made up his mind and decided to go with Hong Qing to take a look. However, before that, he needed to recover from his injuries first!

Thoughts raced through his mind, but Yang Tianyou then laughed and said, "You don't need to call me benefactor. My name is Yang Tianyou, and I'm a member of the Purple Moon Yang Household family, Foundation Establishment Lineage in Dragon Valley County. I'm here to avenge my clansmen, and saving you was just a favor. There's no need for such humility!"

Unexpectedly, Hong Qing was extremely stubborn and refused to change his form of address. Seeing this, Yang Tianyou had no choice but to let him be, but he nodded slightly to him in his heart, thinking that he seemed to be a trustworthy person.

"Brother Hong, please wait a moment. I need to recover from my injuries before we can explore the cave abode of the ancients together."

"Please do as you please, my benefactor. I will Dharma Protector you!"

"In that case, I'll have to trouble you, Brother Hong!"

After collecting the spoils left behind by the Darkblood Old Devil, Yang Tianyou found a cave, set up a simple Concealment Array, and began to concentrate on healing his injuries.

Fengling also swallowed the Wound-Healing Pills and lay there to digest their effects, while Hong Qing stood guard not far from the cave entrance.

The stars and moon flew by, and the night quickly passed. The golden sun hung high in the sky, illuminating the entire world.

After a night of healing, thanks to his powerful physique as Body Cultivator, Yang Tianyou recovered quickly. Ninety-five percent of his injuries had healed, and the rest would heal naturally in a few more days, no longer affecting his combat power.

"Fengling, how's your recovery going?"

"Awoo..."

"Let's go then, let's go see the ancient cave abode that Hong Qing mentioned!"

Led by Hong Qing, they traversed dense forests for nearly a hundred miles before stopping at the edge of a cliff.

Then Hong Qing cast an Earth Attribute Law Technique, and a crack appeared in the cliff in front of him.

"There was originally a natural fissure here. I discovered it by accident. Because I cultivate Fire Attribute Cultivation Method, I am quite sensitive to Fire Spiritual Qi. After sensing the fluctuations of Fire Spiritual Qi emanating from the fissure, I went in to explore and discovered a Formation."

As Hong Qing explained, he led Yang Tianyou Fengling inside.

At first, the crack was very narrow, only allowing one person to pass through, but after traveling more than twenty feet, the passage became wider.

As they delved deeper, even Yang Tianyou, who cultivated Metal Attribute Cultivation Method, could clearly feel the fluctuations of Fire Spiritual Qi, and his body gradually became hot.

After walking for a thousand feet, a sudden wave of heat hit us, and blazing red lava came into view. We had arrived.

"My benefactor, that's where the Formation is located. Relying on this Fire Vein, it has an almost inexhaustible supply of Spiritual Qi, making it very difficult to deal with!"

Hong Qing pointed to the left front and said in a solemn tone.

Yang Tianyou looked up and saw a Fire-Attribute Formation about a hundred feet in diameter standing on the lava.

Yang Tianyou guessed that it must be because of its great age, or the displacement of the Fire Vein, that the Formation had a loophole and could not contain the fluctuations of Spiritual Qi in the Fire Vein, which was then transmitted to the outside world and sensed by Hong Qing.

Activating his Great White Gold Eyes, he carefully examined the Formation before him. After a while, he shook his head helplessly. Although there were loopholes, they were not large enough to force the array open.

"Let's go. Let me prepare some things before we break this Formation!"