Don't Fight, Brother Zhao, We're on the Same Side!

Upon entering the Fire Dragon Pass, the defenses actually loosened considerably.

The logic is simple: if a formidable pass in front cannot hold it off, then no matter how strong the defenses behind it are, it will be useless, because they cannot match the defensive level of a formidable pass.

In particular, not long ago, Liao Rulong's troops and Wen Shaoyang's troops launched a feint attack, but not only did they fail to achieve anything, they also suffered dozens of casualties and withdrew thousands of miles back to Zhiyou City, making the defending troops even more lax.

Of course, this is relative.

Now that we are in wartime, the level of preparedness is several levels higher than usual.

Zhao Xing, Chen Shijie, Yu Ziqi, and Long Xiao, with the authority of their commander, passed through five checkpoints without incident.

In particular, Zhao Xing used the Soul Capturing Straw Figure to capture the Fate Soul of four commanders and read their memories from the past few days. Even when questioned, he was able to easily handle the situation.

The final hurdle, how to enter the Earth Fire Lotus planting area, proved to be a challenge for Zhao Xing and his companions.

"Luo Ba, Xu Ba, Huo Wei, and La He are all commanders of the outer city's underground defense zone."

"The planting area is a completely different system from theirs. We can't go any further; we can't get by like this."

In the ruins, Zhao Xing and three others were discussing something.

"The only solution now is to kill four more people, and they must be people who can enter the Earth Fire Lotus planting area, to take their place."

"Then what are we waiting for? Kill them!" Long Xiao shouted, waving his fist.

"The problem is we don't know who to kill," Zhao Xing said. "None of these people have any memory of anyone from the Earth Fire Lotus Plantation Area; they're from completely different systems."

"So we have to wait here for the people inside to come out, or for new people to go in."

Chen Shijie asked, "Isn't there a better way?"

Zhao Xing shook his head. At this point, he didn't have any good ideas. According to his experience in his previous life, he would have to risk his life to lure the people inside out and fish in troubled waters.

Now that we only have one life, we must use it sparingly.

Once they get what they need, retreating is easy; they can run into the heart of the Fire Demon Tribe's territory.

After escaping the pursuit, you can detour to another place to cross the Flame Mountain without having to return the way you came.

"Let's wait, there's no rush, we still have time," Zhao Xing said, adding that the straw figures left at the underground checkpoint could buy them some more time.

The Minotaur Ye Chongxian, along with Xia Jing and Guan Junyang, two members of the Fire Demon Tribe, were heading towards the planting area.

"Your Heir Apparent, don't say anything later. I'll handle everything."

Xia Jing nodded slightly. "I know."

The three walked along the road, with Xia Jing and Guan Junyang keeping their heads slightly lowered and remaining silent.

The area where the Earth Fire Lotus is planted is one of Xia Jing's destinations this time.

Ye Chongxian, on the other hand, was a strongman commander who had been lying low here for many years and had risen to become the commander in charge of personnel transfers at Fire Dragon Pass.

The three walked towards the area Earth Fire Lotus was planted. When they passed a pile of ruins, Xia Jing stopped and turned his head slightly.

"What's wrong?" Ye Chongxian asked.

"It's nothing," Xia Jing pondered. "I was probably too nervous; I sensed a hint of killing intent."

Ye Chongxian also scanned the surroundings but found nothing unusual. "This ruin used to be a residential area, but it was destroyed by a previous fire."

"It might be the lingering resentment of spirits left behind from the past."

"Okay." Xia Jing nodded. "Let's Keep Moving."

Soon, Xia Jing, Guan Junyang, and Ye Chongxian arrived at the entrance.

It was a tunnel exposed on the ground, dug very spaciously, with the entrance sloping downwards, and was more than ten meters wide.

"Pa Bo, hey, my good brother." Ye Chongxian walked over with a smile and greeted the Fire Demon Tribe Clan leader guarding the pass.

"Ya Lidu, are these the two illegitimate children you arranged?" Pa Bo asked, arms crossed, with a hint of teasing. "They don't look like you. Are their bloodlines pure?"

Faced with the other party's teasing, Ye Chongxian smiled and said, "I am from the Bull Demon Race, but their mother is a proper Fire Demon Tribe. They are like their mother, not like me."

Pa Bo said lazily, "They look a bit weak. Can they withstand the scorching heat of the underground fires? Don't delay my business."

Pa Bo kept rambling on and on, but wouldn't say anything about letting them go.

It's obvious that the benefits offered before weren't enough, so they changed their minds at the last minute and wanted to pay more.

Ye Chongxian cursed him in his heart, but fortunately he had prepared in advance. He took out a bag from his pocket and handed it over. "Please take good care of me Pa Bo."

Hefting the bag in his hand, Pa Bo beamed, "You've taught them all the rules?"

"I've taught them, they're all honest kids, they definitely won't cause you any trouble, Pa Bo."

"Okay, let's go in then."

Outside the Earth Fire Lotus Cave, amidst the ruins.

"Why didn't you let me make a move just now?" Yu Ziqi asked. Zhao Xing's Soul Capturing Straw Figure could read memories. Even if there were only three people, as long as he dealt with those three, he could learn more information.

"We can't fight him." Zhao Xing shook his head. "That minotaur is weak, but the Fire Demon Tribe behind him, who looks like he's only at the Eighth Grade, is actually not simple."

"I was merely observing him with my Bright Eyes, and he seemed to sense it."

"How did you figure that out?"

"Intuition."

Zhao Xing said, "This could be the son of some important figure, going in to inspect the Earth Fire Lotus, or he might be carrying some treasure. In any case, he is very likely to see through our disguise."

Chen Shijie nodded slightly. "I feel the same way."

"The son of a big shot?" Long Xiao licked his lips. "That's perfect. We can also chop him up when we leave."

"All you know is how to chop," Yu Ziqi sneered. "Can't you use your brain?"

Zhao Xing shook his head this time and said, "This person is a bit dangerous. If we don't run into him, that's fine. But if we do, and if we find anything unusual, we must kill him first, otherwise we will easily be exposed."

"Okay." The others nodded.

After waiting for nearly two hours, Zhao Xing and his three companions finally found an opportunity.

A Fire Demon Tribe, dressed simply, passed by a ruined house.

Suddenly a dark figure darted behind him, covered his mouth, and dragged him into the shadows.

"Hmm??"

This Fire Demon Tribe was Eighth Grade cultivator, and he was quickly dragged into the darkness.

"Pfft~"

Before he could even react, his throat was slit.

The last thing he saw was someone undressing him.

Standing beside him were three familiar figures—his twin brothers.

Why did my brother want to kill me?

Filled with doubt, the Fire Demon Tribe's consciousness vanished.

"It's all settled. This guy named Sang Ma is also a maintenance worker for the Earth Fire Lotus."

"He, Ji Sang, Sang Mu, Sang Er are all siblings from the same mother."

Zhao Xing clapped his hands, drawing the soul inside.

"The Fire Demon Tribe is really prolific; they can carry eight babies at once." Long Xiao curled his lip. "Barbarians are indeed barbarians."

"They are more like animals than humans, and it is absolutely not advisable to assimilate these barbarians," Yu Ziqi said.

Zhao Xing did not express his opinion. Every era has its own policies. During the reign of Grand Ancestor, people did not have much of an opinion about these barbarians. During the reign of Wen Emperor, they were even relatively friendly.

However, during the reign of Emperor Jing, the propaganda shifted to focus on foreign ethnic groups.

The path to assimilating the barbarians has never been smooth—it's too much to ask the Great Zhou to recognize them as their own, given that they have the heads of oxen or the bodies of horses.

"Change!"

Zhao Xing shook his head and transformed into the appearance of Sang Ma.

"When we go inside, try not to talk. I'll handle everything," Zhao Xing said.

"If you run into someone you know, act according to the situation and try not to take action."

"Clear."

Entering the Lava Cavern, there is a very long tunnel.

Even with barriers separating the tunnel, a wave of heat still emanated from it.

As soon as Zhao Xing and his three companions entered, their mouths became dry.

"The Flame Mountain Range truly live up to their reputation as a natural barrier; it's really uncomfortable," Long Xiao sighed sullenly.

Their cultivation levels are not low, but they are all pretending to be at the Eighth Grade, so they must show the strength of Eighth Grade.

The Eighth Grade military officer of the Great Zhou could not withstand the underground cave.

In other words, the Fire Demon Tribe, who grow up in this environment, have very heat-resistant body structures and skin.

"Even Seventh Grade cultivator wouldn't be able to cross the Flame Mountain without protection." Chen Shijie looked around; he had come to assess the environmental conditions of the Flame Mountain Range.

The conclusion is that without protective gear, it's impossible to cross the Flame Mountain.

"What's that?" Yu Ziqi gestured towards the cave wall to his left.

"The flame crystals Lava Cavern are quite valuable, worth 10 points per pound," Zhao Xing explained. "Fire magicians have a great demand for them. However, these are just scattered fragments, not a real mining area, and mining them is very difficult."

Upon entering the Lava Cavern.

The four of them felt the temperature around them gradually rise.

The further down you go, the more serious it becomes.

The cave was spacious and not dark at all; in fact, it was quite bright.

On the rock face, there are variegated crystals embedded in the wall, sparkling brightly.

Those are flame crystals with very low concentrations.

They continued walking for about half an hour.

The ground flattens out, and a river of lava appears ahead!

"We've arrived!" Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi somewhat excited. Wasn't this the lava river?

"It's still early," Zhao Xing shook his head and said, "This is just a low-temperature zone."

"Look at that sign, it says so on."

"As a fifth-tier treasure, the Earth Fire Lotus must be located in a high-temperature zone. We can get there by following the signs down."

Zhao Xing and his three companions continued their journey.

"Gurgle~" "Gurgle~"

Bubbles occasionally rise from the lava river.

Along the way, there were also quite a few Eighth Grade miners from the Fire Demon Tribe.

They were collecting fire crystals and transporting them somewhere.

"This is the mining area," Zhao Xing said in a low voice. "Some of the materials are used to make weapons, while others are piled up in the soil to allow fire-type plants to grow quickly."

Jingle bells~ Jingle bells~

The sounds of mining echoed everywhere.

Zhao Xing and his three companions quickly crossed the mining area.

Suddenly, everything became bright.

Above the cave, countless stars appeared, twinkling in the sky.

That was a layer of rock above, inlaid with highly concentrated flame crystals.

"Earth Fire Nurturing Array"

"We've arrived!"

Zhao Xing also somewhat excited.

The last time I came here was in a past life, so this is a kind of "returning to familiar places".

"Look, that's the Earth Fire Lotus!"

Zhao Xing pointed to the lava river in front of him.

The river began to flow backward, and in the area where the flow was originally faster, it accumulated into an underground lava lake.

In the lake, red lotus flowers bloom.

"This was altered using an artificial Magic Array; it's the Earth Fire Spirit Lake."

"However, the Earth Fire Lotus nurtured here is only of the third rank."

Yu Ziqi asked, "Are third-tier seeds enough?"

Chen Shijie looked at Zhao Xing, but he had no way to make the plants break through the growth limits.

"To be on the safe side, let's pick fourth-tier lotus seeds," Zhao Xing said. "And also pick a little bit of third and fifth-tier ones."

The cultivation environment for the Earth Fire Lotus is demanding, and although [Instant Primordial] is already at a high-level Sixth-Turn, it is not a guarantee of success.

Since we're already here, we should grab a little bit of everything.

"Old Chen and I will steal it, you guys go and move the stuff," Zhao Xing waved his hand.

The four of them then dispersed, with Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi going to move boxes.

Their job is to move boxes containing flame crystals across a suspension bridge and pour them into a lotus field.

"Hoo-ha~ Hoo-ha~"

Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi began to pant and fidget.

Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie were also working, but Rising Wind secretly picking seeds in the lotus area.

The third-tier Earth Fire Lotus area has a large population, but most of them are laborers.

No one could detect Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie's movements.

Before long, the two had collected over a hundred seeds and put them into a box.

"Is it okay to leave it like this?"

"No problem, the seeds of the Earth Fire Lotus are very resistant. This box is made of Flame Crystal, so it's perfect to put them in here."

"It's not conspicuous for us to carry these boxes; this is what we do anyway," Zhao Xing said.

"Time to head to the fourth-tier area."

"Okay, be careful."

Zhao Xing and his group of four continued down and soon saw a warning sign:

[The area ahead is the fourth-tier Earth Fire Spirit Lake region. Fire Demon Tribe who have not reached the late stage of the Spirit Bridge should proceed with caution.]

The four ignored it and immediately walked through the warning sign.

"A fourth-tier Spirit Lake."

Zhao Xing entered the Spirit Lake area, still pretending to be working, and then stole seeds with Chen Shijie.

Spirit Lake is quite large, and people are scattered around. In this sweltering environment, few people noticed that two guys were stealing seeds.

Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing would steal a grain of rice here and a grain of rice there, just like taking a single grain of rice from a rice jar, which was inconspicuous.

"Fourth-tier is enough, let's move on to the fifth-tier area," Zhao Xing said.

"Walk."

Things were going smoothly, but unexpectedly, we encountered a problem as soon as we entered the fifth-tier area.

A Fire Demon Tribe clan leader suddenly stopped Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie: "Halt! Who are you under? I've never seen you before!"

"We were sent by Lord Moon Sea," Zhao Xing said. "We have only recently advanced to the Earth Fiend Realm and have been ordered to come to the Fifth-Order Spirit Lake to do our work."

"Oh?" The commander stared at Zhao Xing suspiciously, but couldn't see anything amiss. He waved his hand, signaling them to come over.

He muttered to himself, "Why are there so many more commanders-level officers today... Wait a minute!"

Just as Zhao Xing and his three companions passed by, he suddenly asked, "You say you're acting on Lord Moon Sea's orders, but where are those orders?"

Chen Shijie narrowed his eyes slightly.

Zhao Xing calmly replied, "I came in a hurry and didn't bring my warrant with me."

The commander asked warily, "If there's no hand order, there must be a password. What's the code?!"

Password?

Is there a password?

Zhao Xing was also stunned.

Despite all the careful planning, I never expected to overlook this crucial step.

The people he Soul Seizure were not qualified to know about the fifth-order Earth Fire Spirit Lake area, which required a password to pass through.

Zhao Xing didn't know about passwords in his previous life.

Is it because the practices differed at different times?

"Pfft~"

Seeing Zhao Xing hesitate, the commander immediately reached for something on his person.

Yu Ziqi and Long Xiao were both veterans. Seeing Zhao Xing in a daze and the commander making another move, they immediately and decisively attacked.

Two swords, one piercing his chest and the other piercing his forehead.

"Heh heh~"

He clutched his neck and was about to collapse.

Zhao Xing realized what was happening and immediately kicked him into the lava river.

"Gurgle~"

The lava river quickly swallowed the unfortunate man, melting him completely.

"Weren't we discovered?" Zhao Xing's heart pounded.

"Probably not." Chen Shijie scanned the surroundings. "This place is at a bend in the road."

"We need to act quickly. We don't have the password, and problems will arise sooner or later," Long Xiao said.

"Okay." Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie set off immediately, heading quickly towards the Spirit Lake Lotus District.

As soon as they turned the corner, they encountered two more commanders.

Moreover, Zhao Xing and the others had met these two before.

It was that minotaur who led them in.

But aren't they Eighth Grade?

Why can Eighth Grade get into this place?

"Halt! Where's the warrant?"

Zhao Xing immediately gave the order.

It's better for me to ask you than for you to ask me.

Xia Jing and Guan Junyang were taken aback.

They were carrying a box and had passed through the checkpoint smoothly, but unexpectedly, they were questioned just before leaving the fifth-tier Earth Fire Spirit Lake.

What warrant did Xia Jing and Guan Junyang have?

However, their methods were exactly the same as Zhao Xing's.

Xia Jing said, "Sir, we have just been promoted and came in a hurry. We didn't bring our warrants with us."

Zhao Xing frowned. "If there's no hand warrant, surely there's a password?"

Xia Jing was taken aback.

Is there a password?

He narrowed his eyes slightly and casually took a few steps closer. "My lord, please hear me out..."

Seeing him gather his strength, Zhao Xing's heart pounded, a sense of crisis surged into his mind, and he quickly retreated.

"Whoosh~"

The moment he stepped back.

A sword flashed and a saber gleamed.

The sword belongs to Long Xiao, and the knife belongs to Xia Jing.

"Clang!"

Swords clashed, and Long Xiao's flying sword was knocked back.

Xia Jing was startled, and the box tied to his back fell down.

His blood was boiling and he felt terrible.

There's actually such a powerful Seventh Grade swordsman among the barbarians?!

"Cut him down!" Zhao Xing shouted angrily.

Damn it, I just tricked someone, and now I'm the one who got tricked.

He was almost hit by the sword just now. If it weren't for the warning from his Fate Soul, he would have been seriously injured if not killed.

"Kill that sword cultivator first!" Xia Jing also said to Guan Junyang.

Xia Jing and Guan Junyang, confident in their superior martial arts skills, never even considered running away.

The two completely ignored Chen Shijie, Zhao Xing, and Yu Ziqi, and immediately focused all their attacks on Long Xiao.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle~" Guan Junyang immediately launched his strongest killing move, and thick green hair suddenly grew from Long Xiao's palm.

The sword-wielding technique immediately became unstable, deviated from its trajectory, and shot into the lava lake.

At the same time, Zhao Xing also made his move, immediately unleashing his Soaring Serpent Transformation technique on Xia Jing.

Yu Ziqi, though arriving late, struck first, sending four flying swords toward Xia Jing and Guan Junyang respectively.

Old Chen had a fiery red chain that spread out from the ground and instantly bound Guan Junyang.

Both sides wanted to eliminate the other side as quickly and quietly as possible.

"What?!"

Xia Jing was completely dumbfounded, because the seemingly unremarkable Yu Ziqi actually controlled four flying swords.

Another sword cultivator?!

And those two inconspicuous people next to them, how come their spellcasting speed and power are so fast?!

"Wait, what's this move?!"

Xia Jing pointed his finger at Yu Ziqi's four flying swords, and the Azure Dragon Essence-Piercing Finger turned into a blur, pushing all four flying swords away.

But his heart suddenly went out of control, and scales began to grow on his neck.

It seems that all five internal organs are shifting.

This is the power of the Soaring Serpent Transformation!

"Don't hit him, Brother Zhao, he's one of us!"

Xia Jing immediately shouted in a low voice.

"Huh? Stop!" Zhao Xing called out suspiciously, Thunder Finger also reduced its force, only striking Xia Jing's ankle.

One more chapter to come.