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

After entering Fire Dragon Pass, the defenses became much laxer.

The reasoning was simple. If the formidable pass ahead could not hold them back, tightening security behind it would be useless, since its defenses could never surpass those of the pass.

Especially since not long ago, Liao Rulong's and Wen Shaoyang's forces had launched a feigned attack. Not only had they achieved nothing, they had suffered dozens of casualties before withdrawing a thousand li back to Zhiyou City. The defenders had grown even more lax as a result.

Of course, that was only relative.

Now that it was wartime, security was still several levels tighter than usual.

Wearing the faces of commanders, Zhao Xing, Chen Shijie, Yu Ziqi, and Long Xiao passed through five checkpoints in a row without incident.

Especially after Zhao Xing used the Soul Capturing Straw Figure to collect the life souls of four commanders and read their memories from the past few days, they were able to handle every interrogation with ease.

It was not until the final checkpoint, when they had to figure out how to enter the Earth Fire Lotus cultivation area, that the four of them ran into trouble.

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

"The cultivation area belongs to an entirely separate system from theirs. We can't keep going forward. We won't be able to bluff our way through."

The four discussed the matter amid a patch of ruins.

"Now, the only option is to kill four more people. They must be people who can enter the Earth Fire Lotus cultivation area, so we can replace them and get inside."

"Then what are we waiting for? Kill them," Long Xiao said, waving his fists.

"The problem is that we don't know who to kill," Zhao Xing said. "None of these people know anyone from the Earth Fire Lotus cultivation area. They belong to two completely separate systems."

"So we have to wait here for someone from inside to come out, or for someone new to plan on going in."

"Is there no better way?" Chen Shijie asked.

Zhao Xing shook his head. At this point, he had no good ideas either. Based on his experience from his previous life, they would have needed to use lives to lure people from inside out, then fish in troubled waters.

Now they only had one life each, so naturally, they had to use them sparingly.

As long as they got what they came for, retreating would be easy. They could flee toward the heartland of the Fire Demon Tribe.

After escaping pursuit, they could take a detour and cross Flame Mountain elsewhere instead of returning the way they came.

"Let's wait. We can't rush this. We still have time," Zhao Xing said. The straw figures left at the underground checkpoints could buy them some time as well.

The minotaur Ye Chongxian led Xia Jing and Guan Junyang, the two "Fire Demon Tribe members," toward the cultivation area.

"Heir Apparent, don't say anything later. Leave everything to me."

Xia Jing nodded slightly. "Understood."

The three walked along the road, while Xia Jing and Guan Junyang kept their heads slightly lowered and remained silent.

The Earth Fire Lotus cultivation area was also one of Xia Jing's objectives this time.

Ye Chongxian was a warrior commander who had been undercover here for many years. He had already worked his way up to become the commander in charge of personnel transfers at Fire Dragon Pass.

The three headed toward the Earth Fire Lotus cultivation area. As they passed through a stretch of ruins, Xia Jing suddenly stopped and tilted his head slightly.

"What is it?" Ye Chongxian asked.

"Nothing." Xia Jing pondered for a moment. "Maybe I'm too nervous, but I sensed a trace of killing intent."

Ye Chongxian swept his gaze around as well but found nothing unusual. "These ruins used to be a residential district, but an Earth Fire eruption destroyed it before."

"Perhaps it's the resentment of departed souls left behind from back then."

"Mm." Xia Jing nodded. "Let's keep going."

Before long, Xia Jing, Guan Junyang, and Ye Chongxian reached the entrance.

It was a tunnel exposed on the surface, excavated broad and spacious. The entrance sloped downward 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 commander guarding the checkpoint.

"Ya Lidu, are these the two bastards you want to arrange positions for?" Pa Bo asked teasingly, his arms folded over his chest. "They don't look much like you. Is their bloodline pure?"

Facing the mockery, Ye Chongxian smiled along with him. "I'm from the Bull Demon Race, but their mother is a proper Fire Demon Tribe member. They take after their mother, not me."

Pa Bo drawled lazily, "They look a little weak. Can they withstand the scorching Earth Fire down there? Don't delay my proper business."

Pa Bo kept rambling about this and that without mentioning letting them through.

Clearly, the benefits Ye Chongxian had given before were not enough. Pa Bo had changed his mind at the last minute and wanted more money.

Ye Chongxian cursed him bloody murder inside, but fortunately, he had come prepared. He took another pouch from his robes and handed it over. "Please take good care of them, Pa Bo."

After weighing the pouch, Pa Bo beamed. "You taught them the rules?"

"I did, I did. They're honest kids. They definitely won't cause you any trouble, Pa Bo."

"Fine. Go in, then."

Outside the Earth Fire Lotus cavern, amid 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 though there had only been three of them, dealing with those three would have revealed more information.

"We can't fight them." Zhao Xing shook his head. "That minotaur is weak, but one of the Fire Demon Tribe members behind him only appears to be eighth rank. In truth, he isn't simple."

"I merely observed him with Bright Eyes just now, yet he seemed to sense it."

"How could you tell?"

"Instinct."

Zhao Xing said, "He might be the son of some important figure, here to inspect the Earth Fire Lotus. Or perhaps he has some treasure on him. In any case, he is very likely to see through our disguises."

Chen Shijie nodded slightly. "I had the same feeling."

"The son of an important figure?" Long Xiao licked his lips. "Perfect. We can chop him down while we're leaving."

"You only know how to chop people," Yu Ziqi mocked. "Can't you use your brain?"

This time, however, Zhao Xing shook his head. "This person is somewhat dangerous. If we don't run into him, then fine. But if we do, and he notices anything unusual, we must chop him down first. Otherwise, we could easily be exposed."

"Fine." The others nodded.

After waiting nearly two shichen, the four finally found an opportunity.

A plainly dressed Fire Demon Tribe member passed through the ruined houses.

Suddenly, a black shadow darted up behind him, covered his mouth, and dragged him into the shadows.

"Mmph? Mmph?"

This Fire Demon Tribe member was eighth rank, yet he was swiftly dragged into the darkness.

Slash!

Before he could react, his throat was cut.

The last thing he saw was someone stripping off his clothes.

Three familiar figures stood nearby. They were his blood brothers.

Why are my brothers killing me?

With that question, the Fire Demon Tribe member's consciousness faded away.

"Done. This one is called Sang Ma. He is also one of the Earth Fire Lotus caretakers."

"He and Ji Sang, Sang Mu, and Sang Er are all born of the same mother."

Zhao Xing clapped his hands and captured the soul.

"The Fire Demon Tribe really can breed. Eight children in one litter," Long Xiao said with a curl of his lip. "Barbarians truly are barbarians."

"They have more characteristics in common with beasts than with humans. Trying to assimilate these barbarian tribes is fundamentally unwise," Yu Ziqi said.

Zhao Xing offered no opinion. Every era had its own policies. During the Grand Ancestor's era, people did not have particularly strong opinions about these barbarian tribes. During the Wen Emperor's era, they had even been relatively close to them.

But by the Jing Emperor's era, public rhetoric had turned once more, labeling them as foreign races.

The path of assimilating barbarian tribes had never gone smoothly—asking the citizens of Great Zhou to recognize people with ox heads or horse bodies as their own kin was simply asking too much.

"Transform!"

Zhao Xing shook his body, instantly taking on Sang Ma's appearance.

"After we enter, try not to speak. Leave everything to me," Zhao Xing said.

"If we run into acquaintances, adapt to the situation. Avoid fighting if possible."

"Understood."

Entering the Lava Cavern required passing through a long tunnel.

Even with barriers isolating the tunnel interior, waves of heat still poured through it.

As soon as Zhao Xing and the others entered, their mouths became dry and their tongues parched.

"The Flame Mountain Range truly deserves to be called a natural barrier. This is unbearable," Long Xiao muttered, exhaling heavily.

Their cultivation ranks were not low, but since they were disguised as eighth-rank cultivators, they had to display the strength of eighth-rank cultivators.

An eighth-rank Great Zhou military officer simply could not endure the conditions beneath the cavern.

Only Fire Demon Tribe members, who had grown up in this environment, possessed body structures and skin capable of withstanding such heat.

"A seventh-rank cultivator without protection couldn't cross Flame Mountain either." Chen Shijie examined their surroundings. He had also come on this journey to assess the environmental conditions of the Flame Mountain Range.

The conclusion was that no one could cross Flame Mountain without protective equipment.

"What's that?" Yu Ziqi gestured with his chin toward the cave wall ahead to the left.

"Flame Crystals from the Lava Cavern. They're quite valuable—one jin is worth ten points," Zhao Xing explained. "Fire-element spellcasters have a great demand for them. But these are only scattered fragments, not a true mining area, and they're difficult to extract."

The moment they entered the Lava Cavern,

the four felt the temperature around them gradually rise.

The farther down they went, the worse it became.

The karst cave was vast. Rather than being dark, it was somewhat bright.

Variegated crystals were embedded in the rock walls, glittering with light.

They were all Flame Crystals with very low concentrations.

After continuing onward for roughly half a shichen,

the ground leveled out, and a river of magma appeared ahead!

"We're here!" Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi grew excited. Wasn't this the magma river?

"Not even close." Zhao Xing shook his head. "This is only the low-temperature zone."

"Look at that sign. It says so right there."

"Since the Earth Fire Lotus is a fifth-tier treasure, it must be in the high-temperature zone. We just need to follow the signs downward."

The four continued down.

"Gurgle... Gurgle..."

Bubbles periodically rose from the magma river.

Quite a few eighth-rank Fire Demon Tribe miners were working along the way.

They gathered Flame Crystals and transported them somewhere else.

"This is the mining area," Zhao Xing said in a low voice. "Some are used to forge weapons, while others are piled into the soil to help fire-element plants grow quickly."

Clang! Clang!

The sounds of mining rose and fell without pause.

The four hurried through the mining area.

Suddenly, a brilliant light shone before them.

The cavern above their heads seemed to contain a sky full of twinkling stars.

Those were high-concentration Flame Crystals embedded in the rock layer overhead.

"The Earth Fire Nurturing Array."

"We've arrived!"

Zhao Xing was somewhat excited as well.

The last time he had come here was in his previous life. Now, it was another kind of return to an old haunt.

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

Zhao Xing pointed toward the magma river ahead.

The river curved back upon itself ahead. What had been a fast-flowing section had accumulated here into an underground magma lake.

Red lotuses bloomed across the lake.

"This is the Earth Fire Spirit Lake, altered by an artificial formation."

"However, the Earth Fire Lotuses cultivated here are only third tier."

Yu Ziqi asked, "Will third-tier seeds be enough?"

Chen Shijie looked toward Zhao Xing. He had no way to make plants break through their growth limits.

"To be safe, gather fourth-tier lotus seeds," Zhao Xing said. "Gather some third-tier and fifth-tier ones too."

The Earth Fire Lotus required harsh growing conditions. Although Instant Primordial had already reached high-level sixth transformation, it was still not safe enough.

Since they were already here, they might as well take a little of everything they wanted.

"Old Chen and I will do the stealing. You two go move things." Zhao Xing waved his hand.

The four scattered. Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi both went to move crates.

Their task was to carry crates containing Flame Crystals, cross a suspension bridge, and dump them into a certain lotus-growing area.

"Huff... Hah... Huff... Hah..."

Long Xiao and Yu Ziqi began panting as they hauled the crates around.

Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie worked as well, but they secretly summoned wind and picked seeds in the lotus-growing area.

There were many people in the third-tier Earth Fire Lotus area, but they were mostly laborers.

No one noticed Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie's movements.

Before long, the two had collected over a hundred seeds and placed them inside a crate.

"Is it fine to store them like this?"

"It's fine. Earth Fire Lotus seeds are highly resilient, and this crate is made from Flame Crystals. It's ideal for storing them."

"Carrying this kind of crate won't draw attention either. This is what we're supposed to be doing anyway," Zhao Xing said.

"It's time to go to the fourth-tier area."

"Mm. Be careful."

The four continued downward and soon saw a warning sign:

Ahead lies the fourth-tier Earth Fire Spirit Lake area. Fire Demon Tribe members below the late Spirit Bridge realm, enter at your own risk.

The four ignored it and immediately passed through the warning marker.

"The fourth-tier Spirit Lake."

Zhao Xing entered the Spirit Lake area, still pretending to work, then stole seeds together with Chen Shijie.

The Spirit Lake was fairly large, and people were spread out. In such a stuffy, sweltering environment, few noticed two people stealing seeds.

Chen Shijie and Zhao Xing each stole one here and one there, like taking a single grain of rice from a rice jar—completely inconspicuous.

"Fourth-tier is enough. Let's go to the fifth-tier area," Zhao Xing said.

"Let's go."

Things had gone smoothly, but unexpectedly, they ran into trouble the moment they entered the fifth-tier area.

A Fire Demon Tribe commander suddenly stopped Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie. "Halt. Which lord do you serve under? Why have I never seen you before?"

"We were sent by Lord Moon Sea," Zhao Xing said. "We only recently advanced to the Earth Fiend Realm and were ordered to work at the fifth-tier Spirit Lake."

"Oh?" The commander stared suspiciously at Zhao Xing, but found nothing amiss. He waved them through.

He muttered, "Why are there several more commander-level figures today... Wait!"

Just as Zhao Xing's group of four brushed past him, he suddenly said, "You said you came on Lord Moon Sea's orders. Where is the authorization?"

Chen Shijie narrowed his eyes slightly.

Zhao Xing remained calm. "We came in a hurry and didn't bring the written authorization down."

The commander said warily, "No written authorization? Then surely you have the passphrase. What's the code?!"

A passphrase?

There was a passphrase too?

Zhao Xing froze as well.

After all his calculations, he had never expected to miss this detail.

The people whose souls he had detained simply lacked the qualifications to know that passage through the fifth-tier Earth Fire Spirit Lake area required a passphrase.

Even Zhao Xing had not known about passphrases in his previous life.

Could the procedures have been different in different periods?

"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 blank out and the commander make a move, they struck decisively at once.

Two swords—one pierced through his chest, while the other stabbed through his forehead.

"Guh..."

He clutched his neck and began to collapse.

Zhao Xing snapped out of it and immediately kicked him into the river of magma.

"Glug~"

The magma river quickly swallowed the unlucky man, melting him until not even dregs remained.

"We weren't seen, were we?" Zhao Xing's heart pounded.

"Probably not." Chen Shijie scanned the surroundings. "This is around a bend."

"We need to act quickly. Without a passphrase, we'll run into trouble sooner or later," Long Xiao said.

"Mm." Zhao Xing and Chen Shijie immediately set off, racing toward the Spirit Lake lotus area.

Yet just after turning the corner, they encountered two more commanders.

And Zhao Xing's group had seen these two before.

They were the ones the minotaur had led inside.

But weren't they eighth rank?

Why could eighth-rank cultivators enter this place?

"Halt! Where's your authorization?"

Zhao Xing immediately took the initiative and demanded it first.

Better to question them than let them question me.

Xia Jing and Guan Junyang were stunned.

They were carrying a box and had passed through every checkpoint without issue. They had not expected to be interrogated just as they were about to leave the fifth-tier Earth Fire Spirit Lake.

How could Xia Jing and Guan Junyang have any authorization?

Still, their response was exactly the same as Zhao Xing's.

Xia Jing said, "My lord, we only recently advanced. We came in a hurry and didn't bring the written authorization down."

Zhao Xing frowned. "If you don't have written authorization, then you must have the passphrase, right?"

Xia Jing froze.

There was a passphrase too?

He narrowed his eyes slightly and casually stepped closer. "My lord, hear me out..."

Seeing him Accumulate Power with his steps, Zhao Xing's heart began to pound. A sense of danger surged through him, and he hurriedly shot backward.

"Whoosh~"

At the instant he retreated—

A flash of sword light and a flash of saber light erupted.

The sword belonged to Long Xiao, and the saber belonged to Xia Jing.

Clang!

Saber and sword collided, sending Long Xiao's flying sword flying back.

Xia Jing's entire body trembled, and the box tied to his back fell to the ground.

His blood and qi churned, leaving him in terrible shape.

There was actually such a powerful seventh-rank sword cultivator among the barbarians?!

"Cut him down!" Zhao Xing snarled furiously.

Damn it, he had just tricked someone, only to be tricked in turn.

He had nearly been struck just now. If not for the warning from his life soul, that blow would have either killed him or grievously wounded him.

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

Confident in their martial prowess, Xia Jing and Guan Junyang had no intention of fleeing.

They completely ignored Chen Shijie, Zhao Xing, and Yu Ziqi, launching all their moves straight at Long Xiao.

"Chi chi chi~" Guan Junyang immediately unleashed his strongest killing move. Thick green fur suddenly sprouted from Long Xiao's palm.

His sword-controlling technique immediately became unstable, veering off course and shooting into the magma lake.

At the same time, Zhao Xing struck as well, sending his Soaring Serpent Transformation straight at Xia Jing.

Yu Ziqi moved after them yet arrived first, four flying swords stabbing toward Xia Jing and Guan Junyang respectively.

Old Chen sent a Fiery Red chain snaking out from underground, instantly binding Guan Junyang.

Both sides wanted to deal with the other as quickly as possible and with the least commotion.

"What?!"

Xia Jing felt utterly awful, because the seemingly inconspicuous Yu Ziqi was actually controlling four flying swords.

Damn it, another sword cultivator?!

And why were those two inconspicuous people beside him casting so quickly and with such power?!

"Wait, this move is?!"

Xia Jing pointed at Yu Ziqi's four flying swords. The Azure Dragon Essence-Piercing Finger became a blur of afterimages, knocking all four flying swords aside.

But suddenly, his heart went out of control, and scales actually grew along his neck.

It felt as though his internal organs were shifting.

This was the power of the Soaring Serpent Transformation!

"Stop fighting, Brother Zhao! We're on the same side!" Xia Jing immediately said in a low voice.

"Hm? Stop!" Zhao Xing called out suspiciously. He also held back the power of his Thunder Finger, striking only the bend of Xia Jing's knee.

There was one more update.