Oh, Azure Heaven, Why Do You Weep Alone

This sudden turn of events sent a jolt through Su Ming's mind, yet his actions did not falter; if anything, he moved even faster. Such was Su Ming's character: he would either not act at all, or once a decision was made, it was difficult to change.

Almost the moment he arrived, the hollow look in Bai Ling's eyes seemed to find focus. She stared blankly at Su Ming, tears flowing from her eyes without her even realizing it.

In an instant, Su Ming reached her. Without the slightest hesitation, he gripped the Bone Horn in his right hand and thrust it violently into the red tree trunk, driving it in more than halfway. A dark red sap, resembling fresh blood, immediately poured from the wound, and at that very moment, a muffled roar erupted frantically from within the trunk.

The roar was filled with fury, making the entire basin seem to tremble.

Su Ming's face was pale, but a cold light flickered in his eyes. After driving the Bone Horn into the trunk, he slashed it downward with a violent motion. With a harsh tearing sound, a massive fissure was carved into the trunk, and a wave of frigid air surged out from the opening!

The fissure appeared right beside Bai Ling. Once it was opened, Su Ming saw her body inside at a glance. He did not hesitate; he reached deep into the trunk, grabbed the arm Bai Ling had hidden within, and with a low roar, pulled her outward with all his might.

With that pull, he dragged Bai Ling directly out from the tree trunk.

Bai Ling was completely stunned. She stared blankly at Su Ming, allowing him to pull her along as more tears streamed down her face. In that moment, the image of Su Ming was deeply etched into her mind.

Dragging Bai Ling, Su Ming leaped backward. His heart hammered against his ribs, and just as he was about to flee, the roaring sound grew more intense, filling the entire basin. From the fissure in the tree trunk, Moon Wings suddenly emerged. The sorrow and desolation that had previously colored their expressions vanished, replaced by madness and bloodlust as they charged out.

Su Ming's scalp tingled as he retreated rapidly. The number of Moon Wings before him was staggering—thousands of them, dense and swarming, and there were even more still inside the trunk.

But the moment these Moon Wings rushed out, Su Ming clearly saw them swept by the scorching heat waves of the area. Every one of them revealed a look of terror; many even seemed to stiffen, falling from mid-air into the magma below. With a bang, they shattered like stone, leaving no flesh or blood behind, only a wisp of cold air rising into the sky.

"The Fire Barbarian tribe, legendary for their immortality, were transformed into Moon Wings by the Barbarian God. It's true! They were originally unafraid of fire, but after becoming Moon Wings, they underwent a strange change and now fear it... Looking at the way they die, it seems their bodies have become like ice..." Su Ming's gaze sharpened. While retreating at full speed, he used his left hand to grab Bai Ling and hurl her toward the tunnel exit not far away.

"What are you dazing for?! Run!!" Su Ming's low roar shook Bai Ling's spirit, as if waking her from a nightmare. As her body landed near the tunnel exit, she turned to look at Su Ming, hesitating as if to speak.

"Run!!" Su Ming leaped, bolting toward the exit tunnel. By now, the magma in the basin below had already submerged some of the stone houses, leaving only a few rooftops visible.

Bai Ling's face was deathly pale. No longer hesitating, she turned and ran quickly along the tunnel. Her feet were in agonizing pain, but she ignored it; the only thought in her mind was to escape this place.

Su Ming bounded across the remaining rooftops, heading straight for the tunnel. Behind him, a multitude of Moon Wings shrieked, yet they dared not pursue. However, the muffled roars echoing from within the tree trunk drove the creatures into a frenzy, and a dozen or so ignored the danger, lunging toward Su Ming.

Blood surged within Su Ming's body, his eleven blood lines pulsing. As the dozen Moon Wings closed in, he brandished the Bone Horn and charged toward the tunnel. Though it takes time to recount, all of this happened in a fleeting moment. By the time Su Ming reached the tunnel, several more of the pursuing Moon Wings had fallen into the magma and exploded.

Su Ming's heart hammered with increasing speed, but his mind remained perfectly calm. Everything had gone as he predicted; had he not endured a little longer and waited for the heat to intensify before striking, the outcome might not have been so smooth, and far more Moon Wings would have emerged.

Stepping into the tunnel, Su Ming could smell the scent of scorched flesh beneath his feet, but he did not stop, sprinting forward at full speed.

Behind him, the roars of the Moon Wings echoed throughout the basin, yet they seemed afraid to give chase. Still, a few of them, undeterred by the death of their many companions, rushed into the tunnel, shrieking as they bore down on Su Ming.

"Moon Wings fear heat... that's why they stay inside the trunk and don't come out. The further out this tunnel goes, the weaker the heat becomes..." As Su Ming ran, the sharp shrieks behind him grew clearer.

"I can't let them drag this out if I want to kill these pursuers!" Su Ming's eyes flashed. Seeing a large rock he had previously dislodged in the tunnel ahead, he took a few quick steps to reach it. He turned sharply, Bone Horn in hand, and saw four Moon Wings charging toward him with a whistling sound.

Su Ming's face was pale, but his eyes were cold and steady. The very instant the four Moon Wings were about to reach him, Su Ming kicked the large rock at his side.

He had measured this rock while preparing earlier, and it was similar in size to the tunnel. As he poured all his blood energy into that single kick, the rock flew up with a boom, acting like a door and instantly sealing the tunnel!

Su Ming's timing was impeccable. His plan was to use this stone door to temporarily block three of the Moon Wings, leaving one for him to kill with the Bone Horn in the sweltering heat of the tunnel.

However, the speed of the Moon Wings was simply too fast. The stone block only managed to stop two of them, and two others still came whistling through.

Su Ming frowned and immediately turned to sprint away. Even if he could kill the two remaining Moon Wings, he would surely be injured, and he had a better method in mind.

As he sped along, the two Moon Wings behind him grew faster and faster. When they were less than ten feet away, another rock of similar size appeared ahead of him.

The moment he passed the rock, Su Ming applied the lesson he had learned. He kicked it, and with a boom, the stone flew up to block the tunnel, allowing only one Moon Wing to fly past while the other was temporarily obstructed behind the boulder.

Just as one Moon Wing was blocked and the other came whistling out toward him, a cold light filled Su Ming's eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced, Bone Horn in hand, and charged at the creature.

Man and beast engaged in a slaughter within the tunnel. Had this been the Su Ming from before he began his Barbarian Cultivation, he would have been unable to resist, but now, possessing eleven blood lines and the razor-sharp Bone Horn, he held the upper hand in the struggle.

With a shing, Su Ming's Bone Horn pierced the Moon Wing's body, carving it open. Yet, he saw the wound healing rapidly; the Moon Wing merely looked listless, showing no signs of dying.

Su Ming's gaze flickered. He slashed several more wounds into the creature to prevent it from healing quickly, then turned and fled. As he raced along, he kicked every large rock he had previously set up, turning them into obstacles within the tunnel.

Though these pauses occurred, Su Ming's greatest strength was his speed. He moved through the tunnel like a flash, quickly arriving at the cavern filled with numerous small openings.

"I... I'm here!" The moment he arrived, Su Ming heard Bai Ling's faint voice.

He saw Bai Ling, her face pale and filled with panic and fear, hiding in one of the small openings, her body trembling. Bai Ling had arrived here long ago, but she hadn't known which one was the exit and dared not move, fearing she would encounter more Moon Wings.

Bai Ling no longer possessed the proud, clever air Su Ming had seen at the Tribal Market. Now, she looked like a frightened little beast. The bewilderment in her eyes made Su Ming smile when he saw her.

"You... you're still smiling!" Bai Ling was incredibly tense and about to speak, but Su Ming flashed toward her, grabbed her arm, and ran directly toward one of the many small holes nearby.

"Is this the exit?" Seeing Su Ming, Bai Ling felt her fear diminish for reasons she couldn't explain, and she spoke softly.

Su Ming nodded without a word, pulling Bai Ling's hand as they ran quickly through the tunnel. He could hear Bai Ling's breathing in his ear—a pleasant sound that made his heart race, though he couldn't tell if it was from the running or the soft, delicate touch of her hand.

They remained silent along the way. Bai Ling did not speak either, allowing Su Ming to lead her through the dangerous tunnel. Her heart hammered against her ribs, and she found herself lost in the same thoughts as Su Ming—thoughts that diluted her fear and previous despair.

But this silence could not last long. Soon, Su Ming brought Bai Ling to his own quenching cavern. Here, Su Ming let go of her hand, his expression grave as he used the Bone Horn to carve into the ground near the small holes that faintly glowed with firelight, occasionally frowning as if calculating something.

Under the Wild Cauldron not far away, flames had appeared and were burning slowly.

Bai Ling stared blankly at Su Ming's actions, her mind in turmoil.

Even now, she felt as if she were in a dream. Having been captured by the Moon Wings, she had already fallen into despair, yet the sequence of events made her feel as though she hadn't fully woken from that nightmare.

Just then, a series of sharp shrieks erupted again from the depths of the cavern, growing more intense and rapidly approaching. Bai Ling's body trembled, and she instinctively moved closer to Su Ming. But before she could take more than a few steps, Su Ming looked up, grabbed her, and pulled her quickly across the ground past the small holes, then turned to look toward the depths of the cavern.

Before long, the piercing shrieks grew suddenly louder. Three hideous Moon Wings came racing toward them. Bai Ling's body shook, and she was about to retreat when she saw Su Ming's eyes flash. He took the Bone Horn and slashed a groove into the ground, leading from the flames burning under the Wild Cauldron to connect with another trench.

Instantly, a curtain of fire roared upward, forming what looked like a sea of flames. The three charging Moon Wings were immediately engulfed, and as they let out shrill, miserable shrieks, they fell to the ground and exploded with a bang-bang-bang. A wave of cold air dissipated, merging with the fire. Under the glow of the flames, Su Ming's expression turned somewhat grim, while the fear in Bai Ling's eyes, as she stood behind him, grew even deeper.

"They... they fear fire?" After a long while, Bai Ling spoke softly.

"In life, they worshipped fire; fire was their glory. But after transforming into Moon Wings, they lost not only their consciousness and bodies, but also that glory... Having lost their glory, they do not fear fire, but rather feel shame before it... Born of fire, dying by fire..." Su Ming murmured, his mind involuntarily conjuring the image of the skeleton and that single sentence he had seen in the Fire Barbarian tribe.

"O Azure Heaven, why do you weep alone..."

A new week begins, and I hope everyone will provide some powerful recommendations! Thank you to all the friends who cast their recommendation votes, thank you. For a new book, for Er Gen, recommendation votes are truly extremely important, and they are free. Over the past three years, during the time of Renegade Immortal, there were many fellow Daoists who were not on Qidian. If you liked Renegade Immortal, Er Gen hopes that when you are reading the new book, you can cast a few free recommendation votes for Seeking Demon to support me. I believe that there is strength in numbers. Thank you.