Chapter 0351: Who Is Plotting Against Whom
Seeing Chao Hei leading the charge, the others also brought out their Magical Weapons. Ning Cheng did not hesitate and took out his black iron rod.
“Oh, Brother Ning, what kind of Magical Weapon is this, how come I don’t feel any kind of aura fluctuations of a Magical Weapon from it?” Yu Zheng on seeing Ning Cheng take out an object that was like a spear but not a spear, like a rod but also not a rod, could not help but ask out in a somewhat strange manner.
Ning Cheng gave a smile, “I also do not know what kind of Magical Weapon is this. I just felt that it was much harder than ordinary Spiritual Artefacts. Although this thing does not have any fluctuations of Magical Techniques related to Magical Weapons, it feels just right for me.”
An iron rod that was comparable to a Spiritual Artefact, even a fool would realise that it was a good thing. Although the Chao Hei couple held some envy in their eyes, they actually did not care about it much. After all, they have been living and wandering about in the Sifting Orchid Star for many years, as such all of them had their own set of fortuitous encounters. However, Gongye Yingxiu actually gave a sneer, he had already put Ning Cheng on his list of people to kill, and as such, was already regarding Ning Cheng’s things as his own.
With the five people simultaneously attacking the concealed entrance, in just a few hours, a flame-like heat wave blasted out, giving the indication to the five people that a gate had finally opened.
Chao Hei then spoke out after a long sigh, “Combining the strengths of many people really does produce corresponding results. Initially, Miaolei and I had to toil and attack for several days, barely being able to make it in. Better we go inside together immediately; otherwise, the entrance would automatically repair itself in a few moments.”
As Ning Cheng and the others followed Chao Hei to rush in through the entrance, only then did they understand as to why it was called the Fiery Wind Lava Mist.
In the distance, in the vast expanse in front of them, the scenery was like a waterfall of burning hot lava that came down continuously, while the fire raged around it. Lava-like minuscule droplets remained suspended in the air in incredibly dense concentrations looking like the watery mist that one would find around a cascading waterfall. There were even a few relatively larger droplets, the size of baby’s fists, which would occasionally fall like a rain of lava. These lava rain and mist on reaching the hard ground would then turn into rivulets and torrents of lava. Without even waiting for solidification to start, they would all disappear into the cracks on the ground.
Rich smog and a thick aura of sulphur permeated the entire area, making people suspect that this place would blow up at any moment and turn everything to dust.
“This is just the first layer of the Fiery Wind Lava Mist, although it only a few dozen feet thick, and although we all have undergone Body-Forging, even then everyone must prepare their own Defensive Magical Weapons. Once you end up even grazed by this Lava Mist, even if you do not end up dead, you will definitely lose a layer of skin. Moreover, this Lava Mist covers the entire periphery of the mountain range; as such, you should never overtly disturb it. In the unlikely event that it ends up shattering the mountains, it would most likely end up triggering massive volcanic eruptions. At that time, it would be a miracle if we would even be able to survive it.” Chao Hei on seeing everyone eager to begin hurriedly reminded.
“This is just natural, there is definitely a volcano concealed in this place. Once the volcano is triggered, it would truly count as our death.” Yu Zheng spoke out hastily.
Chao Hei nodded and spoke, “Do not underestimate the Fiery Wind Lave Mist in here, in addition to the Lava Mist there are also the Fiery Wind Blade Lights. Therefore, to pass through this place, having undergone Body Forging is not the only requirement. As such, I think that it would definitely do us good to bring out our Magical Weapons and form a small and tight security pocket to resist this Lava Mist together. In this case, even our expenditure of True Essence would be minimised, while at the same time giving us the safest method to get across this distance.”
Whether it was Yu Zheng or Gongye Yingxiu, all of them agreed with Chao Hei’s words. As for Ning Cheng’s opinion, no one bothered to consult with him. Even Chao Hei did not choose to discuss this with Ning Cheng; after all, Ning Cheng’s cultivation was indeed the lowest in this place.
Chao Hei brought out a concave shield as his Magical Weapon, while Ban Miaolei brought a bell-shaped Magical Weapon. Yu Zheng’s Defensive Magical Weapon was a massive stone door. No one knew where Yu Zheng had obtained it. While Gongye Yingxiu also brought out a Defensive Magical Weapon, a silver umbrella that was also a high-grade Spiritual Artefact.
If one went by the strengths of the Defensive Magical Weapons, then in this place Gongye Yingxiu’s Defensive Magical Weapon was definitely the most powerful. Moreover, its effects were also the best among them.
Ning Cheng initially did not want to bring his Defensive Magical Weapon; truthfully, he really did have a few Defensive Magical Weapons on the same level that he could bring out. If he had to break through this place alone, then he would have definitely brought out Qi Le’s Black Dragon Banner. Not only was the Black Dragon Banner a strong attack type Magical Weapon, but even its protective effects were also quite good.
It was just that the Black Dragon Banner’s grade was too high. It was medium grade True Artefact. Moreover, Ning Cheng himself was not much compatible with this Magical Weapon, so if he took out this Magical Weapon, it would definitely give a massive shock to the people here.
For any Soul Sculpting Cultivator, the Black Dragon Banner was probably much more enticing than his iron rod. Even if the iron rod was even better, it was nothing but a piece of material. If they could not find a top-tier Crafting Grand Master, then this stuff would only remain as a material in the end. It would never be able to turn into a Magical Weapon. Moreover, a top-tier Crafting Grand Master was even rarer to find compared to precious materials.
Now that Chao Hei and the others were looking at him, he just brought out a medium grade Spiritual Artefact, a round shield.
For a Soul Essence 8th Level Cultivator, it was not a strange thing to bring out a shield type medium grade Spiritual Artefact.
“Now that we brought out our Magical Weapons, we should arrange ourselves to form a tight pocket space so that the Lava Mist cannot fall into it. I estimate that we should definitely arrive at the other end in an hour or two at max.” As Chao Hei spoke, he immediately used his own concave shield to head first into the Fiery Wind Lava Mist.
Ning Cheng and the others also followed in with their Defensive Magical Weapons at full powers, closely following Chao Hei’s lead behind his concave shield.
In just a short time, the five people’s Defensive Magical Weapons linked with each other into a crude formation, creating a small safety pocket below with the Lava Mist unable to seep into this safety pocket. Even though the temperature was scorching, but it was not enough to injure any of the five.
“Brother Chao’s method truly is effective.” Yu Zheng spoke with genuine admiration.
After the five of them entered the Lava Mist, they discovered that the Lava Mist was thin at the front, but the deeper they went in, calling this Lava Mist as ‘mist’ would not be appropriate anymore, and instead, it would be more accurate to call it as a Lava Hail.
This Lava Hail poured down in a cascading yet frantic manner over their Magical Weapons, as such the five people had to stimulate their True Essence and Spiritual Consciousness to the max to resist the onslaught. Although Gongye Yingxiu wanted to alleviate the pressure over his silver umbrella created from the continuous barrage, onto Ning Cheng’s shield, to plot against Ning Cheng. However, with the five of them collaborating with each other, if he did such a thing, then the others would immediately notice it. As such for the time being, he could only suppress such thoughts.
As the five of them continued to advance, the pressure they were experiencing from the Lava Hail was also increasing exponentially. After proceeding a short distance, some of the lava was able to get in along with a few Fiery Wind Blades, slipping through a few minute cracks within the small defensive pocket, before striking the bodies of the people. Fortunately, all of them were Body-Forging Cultivators, as such even if these impact numbers increased; it would cause at most some fleshy injuries.
Although they had only advanced a few dozen feet, this walk felt as if they had already trudged tens of thousands of feet. Every step forward was proving more difficult than the previous.
Ning Cheng could not help but think that if he were just a single person, then even if he managed to pass through this place, he would have to pay the price for it. Chao Hei’s attainments in Body-Forging were lower when compared to his own; as such, it was reasonable for him to be unable to pass through. Besides, even if Chao Hei were able to pass through, he would not have been able to break through the Fiery Wind Grand Array in the front.
After trudging forward for another two hours, the people were finally able to see the front of the Fiery Wind Grand Array. Sure enough, it was just as Chao Hei had spoken, on the edges of the Fiery Wind Array, there were four or five fiery red Spiritual Grasses. Although Ning Cheng had never read about or seen the True Polar Bamboo Sprout, he guessed that these grasses were definitely the True Polar Bamboo Sprout.
“It really is the True Polar Bamboo Sprout….” Yu Zheng spoke out in a pleasantly surprised voice. However, he was not able to complete his sentence, when lava stones, one after another, started falling down without any warning.
The resulting bombardment resulted in an enormous spike in pressure over the Defensive Magical Weapons of the five people. Causing the small pocket formed by linking the Defensive Magical Weapons to crack apart and disintegrate.
“Everybody run towards the Fiery Wind Array, there is no Lava Hail there…..” As he spoke, Chao Hei immediately stepped forward and started running. Ban Miaolei was not experiencing this for the first time, as such was able to reach the safety zone with her maximum speed.
Yu Zheng was the third person to rush up, while Gongye Yingxiu deliberately stayed back to intentionally block Ning Cheng, while simultaneously concentrating his True Essence towards his hind legs. He guessed that Ning Cheng, at most only possessed a Rank 3 Spiritual Body, as such once he loses the collaboration from the other people, these cascading lava stones would be enough to finish him. This was anyways a life and death situation for any of them. Besides, how could anyone prove that he had deliberately used to his hind legs to plot against Ning Cheng?
With Ning Cheng dead, he could then use the excuse of retrieving Ning Cheng’s corpse, and then he would naturally obtain Ning Cheng’s things. Even if Ning Cheng did not die, in that case, he would definitely cause Ning Cheng to lose a lot of respect.
Ning Cheng already was aware that Gongye Yingxiu had deliberately held back to let Yu Zheng pass. So when he actually fell behind, how was it impossible for Ning Cheng to realise as to what scheme Gongye Yingxiu was planning?
Ning Cheng knew that even if he deliberately chose to stay at the end, this cascade of Lava Hail would still not be enough to claim his small life. After all, he had already reached the level of Imperial Body in Body-Forging, as such even though this Lava Mist was formidable, it would at most only be able to incinerate his clothes.
However, Ning Cheng was never a person who would not strike back at people who wanted him dead. When he saw Gongye Yingxiu deliberately lagging behind, he immediately perceived what Gongye Yingxiu wanted to do. Ning Cheng did not wait for Gongye Yingxiu to begin first, as he covertly threw out several Array Flags.
It was a straightforward Entangling Array Formation, which Ning Cheng had arranged in a brief period, while he simultaneously wielded the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds. At this moment, Gongye Yingxiu’s hind legs, charged up with True Essence, swept past the place where Ning Cheng had just been a moment ago.
The Chao Hei couple and Yu Zheng were anxiously rushing towards the safety zone, as such were not able to notice Ning Cheng bringing out the Array Flags, let alone when he used the Twin Wings of the Heavenly Clouds. Nor did they see Gongye Yingxiu sneak attacking Ning Cheng with his hind legs.
Gongye Yingxiu immediately discovered that his leg had swept by an empty space, but at the same time perceived that the surrounding area had turned quite viscous. At this moment Gongye Yingxiu no longer was in a position to bother about Ning Cheng, he quickly worked to free himself from the vicious Spacial Bondage.
“Bang” With a muffled explosion, Gongye Yingxiu’s personal defensive shield finally wholly cracked apart.
A piece of Lava Hail fell down on him, causing Gongye Yingxiu’s body to almost instantly turn into the same fiery red colour as the Lava Hail, causing him to resemble a pig being roasted. If not for his Body-Forging Cultivation already close to a Rank 4 Imperial Body, Gongye Yingxiu would have died at this moment without a doubt.
“Pu tong” Gongye Yingxiu was indeed in a challenging situation, as such he could not attend towards anything else. Therefore, he immediately used all his strength to jump towards the safety zone in front of the Fiery Wind Array.
“Brother Gongye, are you alright?” Yu Zheng quickly asked. He had never thought that the last person to arrive would not be Ning Cheng, but rather Gongye Yingxiu. Moreover, Ning Cheng was actually wholly unharmed standing on one side. Furthermore, since Ning Cheng managed to arrive before, he also ended up with the opportunity to collect a strand of the True Polar Bamboo Sprout.
Because Yu Zheng had already collected a True Polar Bamboo Sprout, Chao Hei chose not to begin. While Ban Miaolei picked up all the remaining four strains of the True Polar Bamboo Sprouts.
Chao Hei was well aware that Ning Cheng had deliberately let his Dao Companion pick up the rest; as such, he shot a grateful look towards Ning Cheng. Then he immediately saw Gongye Yingxiu, who looked like a naked roasted pig.
Ban Miaolei on seeing Gongye Yingxiu’s ugly naked appearance, could not help but turn her face around to hide her chuckle.
Gongye Yingxiu already knew that he had utterly lost his face. Immediately taking out a pair of clothes and wearing it, he then pointed at Ning Cheng in an accusing manner and shouted, “Surnamed Ning, you actually dare to plot against me.”
Ning Cheng also spoke up with disdain, “You truly are the pride of pigs, I came here first before you, so tell me, in the end, who is plotting against whom.” Only then did Gongye Yingxiu understand the meaning behind the words ‘Who is plotting against whom.’