I'll Wait for You Here

"I... was afraid the Domain Breaking Talisman's light wouldn't cover you..."

"Bear with it for a moment."

Afraid Jiang Lan might misunderstand, Li Mengning explained in a low voice.

"..."

Jiang Lan glanced at her, then directly wrapped his arms around her slender waist, soft and delicate enough to fit in one grasp.

The tip of his nose seemed to plunge into a secluded, crisp, and richly fragrant sea of flowers.

"So fragrant..." He took a deep breath, then closed his eyes.

Li Mengning's long, flawless neck, fair as frost and whiter than snow, instantly flushed crimson, like creamy jade dyed with rosy hues.

She lightly bit her red lips, then reached out and put her arms around Jiang Lan.

A clear radiance flashed from the Domain Breaking Talisman, enveloping them both.

The space before them blurred in waves, as though a deep, pitch-black passage had appeared. Their figures vanished within it.

"Do you really know where the Blood-Colored Plateau is?"

The next moment, the two appeared atop a lonely, precipitous mountain of bitter cold. Heaven and earth were blanketed in white, with snow stretching ten thousand miles.

Jiang Lan deeply suspected that this girl did not know the way at all.

"I... I'll look again..." Li Mengning said softly, her tone clearly lacking confidence.

"Do you have enough Domain Breaking Talismans?" Jiang Lan asked.

"Should... should be enough..."

"..."

Had he known she was this unreliable, he should not have trusted her so much.

Jiang Lan suddenly felt a little regretful. He had been too rash.

Fortunately, Li Mengning did not disappoint him too badly afterward. Once she truly realized she had no idea where the Blood-Colored Plateau was, she personally went to a nearby town to ask around, bought a map, and carefully drew out the route with a pen.

With the map, after another half day of hassle, the two finally reached the border region of the Blood-Colored Plateau.

The air was filled with a dry, faintly bloody stench, while threads of miasma drifted over.

From afar, blood-colored mist coiled through the area. It was gloomy and dim, with vast stretches of scorched reddish-brown earth, withered mountain ranges, dried-up lakes and marshes, rolling hills, and, in the depths, one towering mountain after another.

From time to time, streaks of light and Divine Rainbows could be seen flying in from elsewhere and descending into the Blood-Colored Plateau ahead.

Jiang Lan recalled the plot in his mind.

Once the Blood Immortal Sect's ruins emerged, they would draw countless Aristocratic Clans and sects into a scramble, triggering bloody conflicts and grievous casualties.

At the same time, it would cause the Blood Immortal Sect's former grand protective formation to revive. Blood-colored glow would blanket thirty thousand miles, and every cultivator who went seeking opportunities would be wiped out, with almost none surviving.

Yet that was actually a scheme by the Blood Immortal Sect's remnants, meant to gather enough life force to open the Ancestral Shrine.

But after the Blood Immortal Sect's remnants opened the Ancestral Shrine, they would discover that it had long been empty. The Blood Immortal Sect's inheritance was not in the Ancestral Shrine at all.

"The Blood Immortal Sect's inheritance is actually within the burial grounds where the previous generation's Blood Immortal Old Ancestor lies."

"According to the plot, it will be obtained by chance by someone named Ye Ming..."

Jiang Lan swept his gaze across the area. The Blood-Colored Plateau covered an enormous expanse. There were dozens of known burial grounds alone, not including those unknown ones that had yet to see the light of day.

If he searched them one by one, who knew how long it would take.

However, since he had chosen to seize it ahead of time, he naturally had confidence. The Blood Immortal Old Ancestor had been a supreme figure who roamed across the Nine Provinces in life; even after death, his corpse would certainly be extraordinary.

Those buried alongside him had likewise been far from ordinary in life.

"Near the burial grounds of the Blood Immortal Old Ancestor, there must be powerful demonic beasts and Fierce Demons. Follow the vine to find the melon, and it should be easy enough to pinpoint..."

Jiang Lan's gaze fell upon a venomous snake between the nearby rock walls, its scales brilliantly mottled as it flicked its tongue.

At a thought from him, threads of life force were pulled away and vanished. The venomous snake instantly collapsed and scattered, turning to ashes.

The snake's memories, experience, and talents were all instantly stripped away and devoured by him.

Jiang Lan even felt that he had gained some resistance to poison.

"As expected, creatures living here possess an instinctive fear of a certain region..."

Afterward, Li Mengning naturally became his current "means of transportation" once again.

The two became a streak of divine light and flew away.

She flew through the air with him leaning against her, her black hair fluttering. Beneath her veil, no emotions could be seen on her flawless, jade-white face.

Only when those glass-like eyes, carrying a secluded chill, swept across certain parts of the Blood-Colored Plateau did faint traces of worry surface within them.

Those places were occupied by powerful demonic beasts and were exceedingly dangerous.

If Jiang Lan went there, he would be eaten until not even his bones remained...

Before long, the dry heat and bloody smell in the air grew increasingly dense, while the sky became ever dimmer.

The mountain ranges on either side were steep and jagged, almost entirely devoid of vegetation. The reddish-brown earth was full of scorching heat.

The two walked through a great rift like a scar in the heavens, where heaven and earth were barely visible as a single line.

Blood-colored mist could even be seen spurting from some rock walls. Without poison-repelling pills, ordinary cultivators who came here would likely die of poisoning in less than half a day.

Li Mengning possessed no shortage of treasures, including things like Poison Repelling Pearls. Besides, her cultivation and strength meant she had nothing to fear from this blood-colored mist.

Jiang Lan, meanwhile, could clearly sense that the blood-colored mist contained dense life force.

In other words, he could actually control and devour this blood-colored mist.

To ordinary people, this blood-colored mist was something to avoid at all costs. To him, it was a great tonic.

"This place truly is a fine place."

As they ventured deeper into the Blood-Colored Plateau, Jiang Lan could clearly sense the blood-colored mist growing denser and the number of demonic beasts increasing.

Yet none could withstand even a single strike from Li Mengning before being cleaved in two.

"Years ago, she already possessed Fourth Realm Illuminating Nether Realm strength. Now, she can only be stronger. Unless she encounters a demonic beast at the Demon King level, nothing can stop her."

"I remember that within the Blood-Colored Plateau, there is a Crimson Yin Pond. It seems to contain a thousand-year Nine Yin Desert Ginseng Lotus that is about to mature, guarded by a Demon Python with the strength of a Demon King."

"Unfortunately, it is of no use to me right now. But for Li Mengning, who cultivates the Supreme Profound Nether Art, it is a rare heavenly treasure that can increase her cultivation..."

"Jiang Lan..."

As Jiang Lan pondered, a soft voice suddenly reached his ears.

He turned back and raised a brow. "Hm?"

"The way ahead is dangerous. Don't go any farther," Li Mengning said quietly.

She stood behind Jiang Lan, dressed in light blue-green gauze. Her hair was piled like clouds, with several strands falling beside her crystal-clear, flawless ears. She gently tucked them behind her ear.

"Whatever you need, I'll bring it back for you." Seeing his confusion, she explained.

Jiang Lan shook his head. "No need."

"You... don't try to be brave. I can sense a very powerful presence ahead. If you stay here, there won't be any danger." Li Mengning's glass-like eyes were almost fixed upon his face as she spoke with great seriousness.

"Even you can't handle it?" Jiang Lan asked.

Li Mengning hesitated slightly. After thinking for a moment, she still replied, "I can deal with it, but... I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you."

Jiang Lan laughed inwardly. In Li Mengning's eyes, he was not much different from baggage dragging her down.

"Fine, I'll wait for you here."

"There should be a Crimson Yin Pond ahead. Inside is a Nine Yin Desert Ginseng Lotus that is about to mature, but it is guarded by a Two-Headed Evil Python. Help me pick it and bring it back," Jiang Lan said.