Lu Heng shook his head.
"If someone protects them throughout their training, it loses its purpose as tempering."
"Please follow them in secret. If they truly face a life-or-death crisis, then Yao Lao can intervene!"
Yao Tianhuo nodded at his words.
"Fine!"
Several hundred li north of Tianbei City, the rolling mountain range suddenly sank inward, forming an enormous rift valley whose depths could not be seen.
Thick gray-green miasma churned above the gorge, lingering year-round without dispersing.
At the mouth of the gorge stood a weathered, broken stone stele, crookedly carved with three large words—Ten Thousand Snake Gorge.
The air was thick with a pungent, fishy stench.
Two slender figures stopped at the entrance to the gorge.
Xiao Yi Xian raised a hand to smooth the strands of hair hanging over her shoulder. At her waist hung the protective jade talisman and medicine bottles Lu Heng had given her.
Qing Lin carried a small pack on her back, her little face taut as she clasped two pill-sized medicinal pellets in her palm.
"Qing Lin, are you scared?"
Xiao Yi Xian turned and asked softly.
Qing Lin shook her head and reached up to touch the pale green bracelet around her wrist.
"No. Brother Lu Heng gave us so many life-saving things. If we don't even dare enter the gorge, he'll definitely laugh at us when we get back."
Xiao Yi Xian pinched her slightly chubby cheek.
"That guy may not say it, but he's probably worrying himself sick inside."
"Let's go. We need to hurry."
The two no longer hesitated and stepped into the roiling poisonous miasma.
Several thousand zhang behind them, within the clouds high in the sky, space rippled faintly with transparent waves.
Yao Tianhuo stood with his hands behind his back, treading on empty air