The emerald-green flint gleamed in Xiao Chen's grasp as he twirled it between his fingers. There was something else in his finger. A map that contained perfunctory information about the Ridge of the Fallen Drake. He had no idea how Su Lianyue managed to procure this vital piece of information. Only that she had left him this during the night they hatched the plan for this heist.
She had said little during then, but Xiao Chen knew enough to guess that there was more to this than just a simple flint for starting a fire. He studied it that night and found the map embedded inside.
But the map was hardly the only thing hidden in the flint when Xiao Chen pried it open; there was also a tiny little pill. Xiao Chen made himself a small light with the flint and studied the map, following it as he made his way to the Chamber of Teeming Woes, the abode of Elder Long, the guardian of this waycastle. On his way, he managed to slip by unnoticed by a few patrolling squa
"Are you looking for her?" A mellow voice resounded through the foggy woods, sending a jolt of shudder through Xiao Chen. The first name that came to mind was Ye Wuxin. With hardly any hesitation, he swung the Unsullied with all his weight behind it. But the blade stopped before it reached within inches of the man; Su Lianyue had been taken hostage! Looking almost in his late twenties and a face as pale as milk, looking more dead than alive especially with the white robes he wore, the man looked conspicuously extrinsic in the dark shadows of the forest. His left hand clutched at Su Lianyue's throat as an amused expression could be seen between the locks of snowy-white hair hanging down his face like a set of curtains. In his right hand, he was holding a white folding fan. But it scarcely seemed like the usual instruments used to provide comfort, but rather a dangerous weapon with all thirteen slates of the fan made of dark-meteoric iron, all of them glint
"Oh, Gods in Heaven?! I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry! Err... But I'm afraid I still can't let you go." Xiao Chen cleared his throat, his face blushing to full red as he moved his hand away from her chest to the shoulder, making full sure that he got it right this time. Her face grew red with anger as she blurted, "HOW DARE YOU! Do you even know who I am!?" "Of course not," Xiao Chen replied, "I'm not a member of this bloody order." His head swiveled to face the Black and White Supremes. "And what are you waiting for?! Let her go! Or are you waiting only for a corpse to collect?" That made the Black and White Supremes shudder. They knew how terrible and excruciating a punishment would be in store for them if anything were to happen to this woman who clearly held a special position in the Sect. A frown formed on Mo Ran's face. "Please be calm, my friend. We'll do the exchange. Then we'll decide if we'll have to fight..." "AS IF I WA
The shrill cry from the guards startled Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue. A shade of white wiped across her face as she immediately reactivated her Voodoo Curse. The woman was about to scream "Intruder! Alert the High Chieftain!" but fortunately, the influence of the curse quickly took over her senses and instead, she said to the guards who saw her, "It's me. Rest easy." The intruders braced at their wicked stroke of luck. They were nearly inches away from the brink of their doom. The guards at the cave entrance saw the woman in red and bowed their heads low. "The hour is late, my lady," said their captain politely, "Is there anything we can help you with?" Even under the influence of Su Lianyue's enchantment, the woman in red remained the aloof and indifferent self she reserved especially for her inferiors. "I wish to speak to the previous High Chieftain," she pronounced frostily just as Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue formed up beside her. "These are..."
"What did you just say?" "The Sect has no such thing as a Divine Corpse!?" Whatever things Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue expected to hear, this was definitely not it. No Divine Corpse exists here at the Corpse Refinery Sect? Then why is the Sect amassing the malignant auras of grudge and hatred? A frown wrinkled on Su Lianyue's face. "Can you be more clear, Senior? What is the Sect doing then, if there is no Divine Corpse?" "Who can tell? Some devilish errand for some sinister folk, I guess! The Sect has nothing as remotely close to what you all call the ancient Divine Corpse, nevermind the remains of an Immortal King. The whole thing is nothing but a millennia-long farce. Whatever that thing is called... it's only the corpse of a simple girl. But one thing boggles me – how could a woman of the common folk has so strong a grudge that all the anger of the entire world put together would still pale in comparison?" "Hold it right there
Xiao Chen was determined to investigate the back mountain. He could also guess Su Lianyue's goal in investigating the Corpse Refinery Sect; a woman from Fort Raksasa whose birthday falls on the seventh day of the seventh month must have gone missing as well. Now that she knew the answer, she could very well return and make her report. There was no need for her to continue risking her life. This was the end of their cooperation. Su Lianyue looked at him quietly. Suddenly, she smiled and said, "How would you know if I've found the answer that I'm looking for, Young Master?" Xiao Chen stared at her. He had the feeling that she was implying something else, so he asked, "Oh? Didn't you come here to investigate the missing disciples from Fort Raksasa?" Su Lianyue chortled. "Of course, I did. But that's not all. For example, the answer I'm concerned about… Were you so concerned about all this because all those ladies share the same birthday of the
"Thump!" The spot where Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue fell through closed off. What appeared to be a powerful gravitational force underneath pulled them down and they fell just like that. They slowly found each other in the darkness, where they crashed on the ground after falling for gods know how long. "Are you alright?" Xiao Chen's first instinct was to sweep their surroundings with his Divine Sense and check if there was danger anywhere. However, everywhere his Divine Sense could reach, the only answer was endless darkness and coldness. "S-So cold! Where are we?!" It was so dark that they couldn't even see their hands and so cold that it pierced deep into their bones. Compared to the ice cave above, this place was many times colder, so much so that even Xiao Chen felt like he could barely stand it. The ground was also slippery; they must be stepping on ice. Xiao Chen conjured a white light and gradually illuminated their surround
The surrounding scenery gradually became clear, with blue sky and white clouds, mountains, and rivers, flowers and trees, birds and beasts, as compared to the dark and cold ice cave back then, it was almost like a fairyland isolated from the world over here. The contrast was too great. "Thump!" The water splashed as both Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue fell into the stream from mid-air. The stream passed through the shaded side of the mountain, so the water was chilly, but because they were in the cold ice cave previously, now they felt that the stream was warm and even comfortable. The stream was about ten feet deep. Many fish were frightened, and they quickly slip passed the two. The two surfaced, took a deep breath, and looked at each other. Both looked stunned and surprised and looked up at the sky. What ice cave? There were only blue sky and white clouds, which were so much better than that Miasma Mountain Range. "Here... Where is this place?"
Seeing Xiao Chen's expression at the moment, Su Lianyue was even more shocked. She tried to guide him patiently. "Let's keep it cool... Let's get up then talk about this, okay? I won't plant insects in you anymore; really, I will never do it again..." "No!" Xiao Chen was half-sane at the moment and pretending to be fierce. "If you do something wrong, you will be punished! Anyway, there is no one here, and you and I probably can't get out, so why not..." Su Lianyue became more and more scared and was about to cry. Suddenly she snorted softly and her face turned redder. Xiao Chen's knee had accidentally touched her sensitive area between her legs. This soft sound was even more incredible in the ear. Xiao Chen felt dizzier and dizzier and a raging fire in his heart instantly burst into flames. Su Lianyue saw the look in his eyes was getting more and more frantic, and his hands were getting more forceful. Knowing that he was not in