Huang Jiu rode a streak of sword light, speeding along the ravines of the mountain range.
He had no choice. Twelve enormous formations shrouded the skies over all of Central Earth, and his aura was far too easy to detect...
The thought of the vote at the Two Realms Village Disabled Association meeting made Huang Jiu grind his teeth!
..."Look, out of all us old relics, you're the only one with sharp ears, clear eyes, and working legs... If you don't go out and get things done, who will?"
"Besides, you're the face of Two Realms Village... A sword immortal! How dashing is that? Even going out to pick fights won't embarrass us!"
"Exactly, exactly... The old blind man just gropes around, sneaking about setting up formations. The cripple can only crawl on the ground and trade blows with people... The deaf one's got it worst. He can't even understand when someone curses him!"
"Why do I have to run all over the place gathering information, and look after that little brat while he's down the mountain gaining experience? Big Black's already with him. What do you need me for?"
Huang Jiu halted his sword light and concealed himself on a mountaintop, standing at the crown of an ancient pine as he surveyed a valley.
A dilapidated fortified settlement stood there, with low-level Martial Warriors and cultivators coming and going.
Far more numerous were the groups of prisoners in ragged clothes, their faces numb.
This was a spirit iron mine.
Swaying on their feet, the prisoner laborers hauled piles of ore up from underground and heaped them in the open-air mining yard for sorting by hand.
The ore was then sorted by grade, recorded, and stored in warehouses, awaiting shipment to the Immortal Sect or the court's storehouses.
A deep chasm ran along one side of the valley, its bottom littered with white bones and rotting corpses.
They were all prisoner laborers who had died of exhaustion or disease.
Huang Jiu watched it all indifferently, then slipped invisibly into the compound and appeared directly inside the most heavily guarded warehouse.
With a raised hand, he destroyed the warding formation that had already triggered, then strolled onto a stone platform.
Several objects giving off a lustrous glow lay on a table at the center of the platform.
"Sure enough, spirit iron and mystic crystal. Heh... Hm? These are... ink crystal, slippery bone stone... flame mausoleum stone."
Huang Jiu examined the exceedingly rare ores and crystals, then sneered. "Heh. Did a sudden fit of filial devotion make you prepare these offerings especially for me?"
A black-robed figure abruptly appeared behind Huang Jiu and bowed his head. "Greetings, Master Huang Jiu..."
Huang Jiu turned to look at the black-robed man, his lone arm held behind his back. "Don't. I wouldn't dare accept that! You calculated that I'd pass through here looking for materials to repair my flying sword, so you laid a trap and waited for me?"
The black-robed man lifted his head, revealing only a pair of eyes, their black and white sharply defined...
"Do you not need these things, Master Huang Jiu?"
"I do! But what I need even more is to take that head off your shoulders... and reclaim the abilities you learned in Two Realms Village!"
The black-robed man shook his head. "My cultivation dissipated long ago. The Twelve Primordial Creation Arts maintained by the Immortal Sect suppress and disperse all cultivation of the Dao's arts in the mortal world... You should know that, Master Huang Jiu."
"Of course I know... That's the bone you earned! A pity you don't dare come see me in your true form... Afraid this old cripple still has a way to take you down with him? Are the other two guardians lying in ambush outside?"
The black-robed man shook his head. "No. Those two and I... aren't friends."
"What do you want?"
"To give you materials to repair your flying sword, and discuss something while I'm here..."
"My flying sword will only sever your head. There's nothing to discuss!"
"It concerns Old Skeleton's life and death!"
Sword light coiled around Huang Jiu's three remaining fingers as he fixed his gaze on the phantom before him. "Speak!"
An incense stick's worth of time passed, and Huang Jiu's expression grew colder and colder.
The black-robed man raised his hand and removed a ward, revealing more than a dozen immensely valuable rare materials on the table.
The black-robed man turned to leave, but suddenly stopped...
"One question. Is that ordinary mortal a disciple you found... or was it Big Black's idea?"
"None of your business! Big Black likes that child very much. I'd advise you not to court death... If Big Black gets angry and destroys your Guardian City, even the immortals will kill you to rally their troops and make you take the blame!"
"A pity Big Black never listens to you. And thankfully, Big Black doesn't listen to you... Otherwise, far more people would die in this world."
"In this world, what's the difference between the living and the dead? We've exhausted every ounce of our strength... For what? To live like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow?"
"But that's still living..."
"Hmph!"
Huang Jiu raised his hand and put the rare materials into his Mustard-Seed Object. With one step, his figure became sword light and vanished in an instant!
Deep inside the cavern, Lü Bufan was drenched in sweat. Hot! It was far too hot...
The underground cavern grew ever hotter and drier. The green fluorescence of the rocks had long since turned red.
Lü Bufan took a sip of the little water left in his bamboo tube and strained to look ahead.
An enormous space opened up beyond the cavern. He could dimly make out thick, imposing stone pillars, stalagmites, and stalactites, with brilliant red light shining from below!
Gritting his teeth, Lü Bufan walked to the cavern's end one step at a time, endured the scorching currents of air, and looked down...
There was actually a lake of magma underground!
Several massive rocks resembling stone bridges lay scattered around it, while overhead, twisting, spiraling stalagmites and stalactites formed a vaulted ceiling.
"Shouldn't there be some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures here, or a secret Martial Dao manual that'll take me straight to the heavens... At the very least, there ought to be an immortal's remains or a magical treasure, right?"
Lü Bufan looked around excitedly...
There wasn't a damn thing.
"This isn't how it's supposed to go! There should at least be a poisonous mushroom!"
Lü Bufan's straw sandals had yellowed and crumbled. He simply tore strips from his clothes and wrapped his feet, then continued exploring the underground chamber...
Several fist-sized red stones appeared. Delighted, Lü Bufan scrambled over and grabbed them...
"Sss... Aaargh..."
There wasn't the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy. They were just scorching hot! They burned several large blisters onto Lü Bufan's hand...
Huff, huff, huff... Lü Bufan blew hard on the stones, ignoring the pain of his blisters, then carefully put them into his bamboo tube.
They ought to be worth something, right?
"What are you picking up turds for?"
Lü Bufan's hair stood on end, and he slowly turned his head.
A battered skeleton was embedded in a corner of the cavern wall beside him. Its dark eye sockets seemed to be watching Lü Bufan...
"Hey! I'm talking to you! What are you picking up those turds for?"
"Are you a ghost?"
"More or less! You're a little Martial Warrior who knows cultivation, and you're still afraid of ghosts?"
"A little..."
"Hehehe... This is just a sealed passage. You won't find anything else here. Who was that fellow who came in earlier? Such terrifying strength... But he didn't seem interested in this passage."
"You mean Big Black? He's a dog..."
"A dog? A dog? So it was him..."
"You know Big Black?"
"Yes, but he doesn't know me... I doubt he'd bother with me, either. Boy... what's your relationship with him?"
"We're friends..."
The skeleton continued speaking. "You're friends with him? Do you know who he is?"
"No... That has nothing to do with us being friends."
"Forget it. I won't stick my nose in. What are you looking for?"
"The village is poor. Anything worth money will do!"
"There's nothing left. This place has been sealed for over ten thousand years. Nothing can get in except little spirit creatures like snakes and lizards. Once they enter, they're drawn to the fire essence and cultivate until they die here. Then their corpses fall into the magma lake and burn to nothing..."
"What kind of passage is this?"
"If you don't know, forget it. Knowing wouldn't help."
"Oh. Take care. I'm leaving!"
"Mm... Huh? You're just fucking leaving? Did I spend all that time chatting with you for nothing?"
Lü Bufan crouched down and looked at the battered skeleton, who could do nothing but talk. "Look, you've been dead for over ten thousand years. I can't save you... I doubt even Big Black or my master and the others could. There's nothing good here, either. What else can I do but leave?"
"You finally found a hidden realm. Don't you feel any reluctance to give up?"
"I'm not even a cultivator, and I don't know any arts for cultivating with fire essence. Isn't this place just a gatehouse? Why would I stay?"
The skeleton paused. "That does seem to be true..."
"Take care, senior..."
"Wait..."
The skeleton seemed a little annoyed and spoke through telepathy. "Are you stupid, you little Martial Warrior? Don't you know how to beg me?"
"If you had any ability, you'd have escaped ages ago. What good would begging you do?"
"You little brat! Aside from the turds that idiot Fire Qilin left, there's also the iron chain they used to tether it back then! For you, that definitely counts as something valuable!"
"Where is it?"
"I'm not telling..."
Lü Bufan crouched on the ground and said softly, "Look, this is no fun! You won't let me leave, but you won't help, either. What exactly do I have to do before you'll tell me?"
The skeleton stared blankly for a while before finally speaking. "I don't know, either... That dog broke the sealing formation. The fire essence here will slowly dissipate. I'm afraid I don't have many days left..."
Lü Bufan smiled. "Haven't you been dead for ages?"
The skeleton thought about it and answered, "That does seem to be true. Back then, I spent thousands of years wanting to die... Now I've even forgotten that I wanted to die."
"What did you do back then?"
"Back then, I... Let me think... I've forgotten."
"Should I dig you out? Then bury you outside?"
"No need. I fused with this fiery cavern long ago..."
"Then is there anything else I can do?"
"Do you have wine?"
"No."
The skeleton's thoughts seemed somewhat muddled. It continued speaking through telepathy. "Forget it, then... Go on!"
"What about the chain?"
"There's a stalagmite beside the turds you picked up. The chain's encased inside the stalactite."
"I can't break the rocks here..."
"I'll help you! Oh, is the Great Yuan Dynasty still out there?"
"Never heard of it. Great Jin, Western Liang, and Northern Qi have stood as three rival states for thousands of years..."
"Oh. I see... Stand back..."
One of the broken teeth in the skeleton's mouth suddenly shot out!
The yellowed front tooth became a streak of white light and shattered the stalactite. Crash! A pitch-black iron chain as thick as a wrist fell to the ground...
"Impressive!"
Lü Bufan crouched down and closely examined the skeleton's few remaining teeth...
"Get the hell away from me! I need to keep a few teeth to preserve some dignity!"
Lü Bufan nodded regretfully, then ran over and picked up the iron chain... Good grief. Though only seven or eight feet long, it weighed well over a hundred jin!
Lü Bufan carefully wound the seemingly unremarkable chain around his waist, then ran back, crouched down, and asked the skeleton, "Anything else?"
"No! Could you throw away those turds? Looking at them makes me sick..."
"It's fine. These should fetch a little money, too. Don't mind them..."
The skeleton suddenly chuckled. "Heaven and earth give birth to all things, and all things fear heaven and earth. Death ends everything, once and for all! Go on..."
"Do you have any other wishes, senior?"
"...I actually still don't want to die..."
"Then never mind. I'll take my leave..."
Lü Bufan bowed respectfully, then turned and left.
The skeleton remained silent for a long time, seemingly recalling something...
Suddenly, an enormous black figure appeared above the magma lake!
His slightly curly black fur radiated an icy, razor-sharp aura. Terrifying mist coiled between his sharp teeth and fangs! His enormous eyes were cold and merciless, with a hint of restrained blood-red...
The skeleton trembled uncontrollably, quivering all over...
"L-Lord Mo Shou! This sinner... This sinner greets Lord Mo Shou!"
The great black dog opened his jaws, and white mist swirled... The skeleton instantly shattered, and Big Black swiftly swallowed a faint spark of soul fire into his belly.
A faint pulse drifted out. "Thank you... Thank you, Lord Mo Shou..."