The lava flow slowly stagnated and gradually cooled.
Everyone looked up and began to climb the volcano wall.
The crater of the Realm of Extinction was enormous, with an inner wall as vertical as if cleaved by an axe, and the group clung to the rock face like tiny ants.
Xixi's martial arts were weak, so the Taoist watched over her from behind, careful to prevent her from falling.
Before long, they reached the summit and gazed out over the four directions, feeling a sudden sense of seeing the light of day again.
Below the mountain was a fertile plain, looking yellowish, and further in the distance was a long river, with rocky banks on both sides, and dense forests, and continuous green mountains on the horizon.
The sky was clear and bright, cloudless and eternally luminous.
The Taoist sighed, "This place has beautiful mountains and clear waters, but it's a pity there are no people at all."
Bai Zimo saw that Li Dingxun seemed curious, so he added, "There was once someone who came to the Realm of Extinction to escape a vendetta; the molten lava blocked the way, and more than ten years later, his enemies came, but they searched the entire Realm of Extinction and never found their foe."
Xixi asked curiously, "Is it possible that the person who was hiding from the vendetta died accidentally during these ten years?"
Li Dingxun smiled, "No, it's not that simple; this place is ominous for people."
The Taoist chuckled, "Mo Mo, hurry up and take us to find the inheritance your grandfather left behind."
"Alright. Let's go quickly and return quickly."
The swordsman nodded, took out a scroll of parchment from his in my arms and spread it out; on it was a charcoal map, "Southeast, Sword Gorge."
Li Dingxun suggested, "Let's travel with light footwork, and let Xixi practice more."
We need to find a sheltered spot to set up camp before the sun sets.
"Oh? Brother Simon also heard about the taboos here?"
The Taoist was very surprised; this kind of knowledge was very obscure and recondite, and unless one specifically researched it, almost no one knew about it.
Li Dingxun narrowed his eyes, surveying the surroundings, "I haven't heard of it, but I guessed it; there will be evil winds at night."
They traveled seven hundred li in one day, seeing not a single bird or beast along the way, only some faint insect chirps carrying a hint of life.
As the setting sun descended, everyone found a natural sinkhole and jumped into it.
Inside the cave was an underground river, and there were fish in the river, which they took as food.
Each person ate three fish, enjoying their first fresh meat and vegetable meal in days, finally feeling satisfied.
That night, there was no sound of wind.
The three men were silent, but Xixi curiously peered at the cave entrance, where moonlight poured in, soft and moist; in such tranquil beauty, where could there be any so-called evil wind?
The Taoist scoffed, "Don't believe it? Let me show you this."
As he spoke, he took a wooden stick to spear a fish from the river, then climbed to the edge of the cave entrance, extended the stick slightly, and then pulled it back, and the live fish was reduced to a blackened skeleton.
Xixi trembled with fright.
The Taoist laughed, still wanting to tell her ghost stories.
The world above ground was completely different from daytime.
The faint sounds of birds chirping and beasts roaring could be heard.
"Ping'an, look at the cave entrance..."
Xixi's face was ashen.
The moonlight was obscured, and a pair of bloody eyes, like searchlights, peered into the cave.
A giant wolf, black-bodied and gaunt, exhaled like fire, its eyes glowing an eerie green, like a Ghost.
On the surface at night, the so-called evil wind was truly the breath of the deceased.
Xixi's mind was filled with ghost stories; she stared blankly, looked up at the cave entrance, then turned to stare at the Taoist, and her face suddenly flushed with color.
The Taoist, encouraged, raised an eyebrow, flipped his right hand, and a clear, shimmering white light slipped from his sleeve, which was indeed a small sword like a silver fish, of extraordinarily unique design; the end of the straight, thick blade was not a hilt, but only an iron ring, from which hung a yellow silk talisman.
"Xixi, today I'll let you witness my Ran Mountain flying sword technique."
The Taoist smiled gently at Xixi, straightened his body, and his demeanor was unexpectedly solemn, imbued with an awe-inspiring immortal aura.
Xixi was startled by this, Bai Zimo stood up, his expression serious, and Li Dingxun, leaning against a rock, also turned his head.
Wang Ping'an held the sword like a ceremonial tablet, treading Yu Bu, reciting a verse with each step.
"Floating up the cloud path," his eyes brightened.
"Dimly entering the long Xiao," the short sword hummed softly.
"The star palace recedes far with each passing day," his body glowed.
"The eons of time are distant," a divine general possessed him.
"Take this sword!"
With a shout, the short sword whistled, like a flying rainbow, piercing into the black wolf's skull, as light as if entering nothing; it turned out that this wolf had no physical form, entering with the wind, unafraid of blades or swords.
However, the flying sword vibrated, erupting in a large cluster of thunder fire and electric plasma; the black wolf whimpered and vanished into a gust of wind.
The Taoist retrieved his flying sword, still tucking it into his sleeve, the divine light on his face faded, and he reverted to his lazy demeanor.
Xixi's eyes were practically sparkling; she skipped over to the Taoist, "Ping'an, teach me this!"
"Ran Mountain's secret transmission is not to be spoken of to outsiders—"
The Taoist chuckled, his face flushed with delight.
"Hmph, if you don't teach me, I'll learn from Brother Simon."
"No, I'll teach you, you're not an outsider, why can't you learn?"
The Taoist quickly tried to stop her, reaching out to grab Xixi's hand, but then recoiled a few steps as if electrocuted.
Xixi exhaled, "Ping'an, what exactly was that wolf?"
"It was a ghost," the Taoist explained simply.
"Are there really ghosts?"
The Taoist nodded, "Yes, the situation is as described by the elders of my sect."
At night there are ghosts, and any place with wind is unsafe.
"How did the Realm of Extinction come to be? And how did these ghosts come to be?"
"It is said that those areas destroyed by natural disasters don't actually disappear, but are transferred to the Realm of Extinction."
Many battlefields, cemeteries, and even some evil faction strongholds of that time turned into dark abysses, and these areas can now be found in the Realm of Extinction," the Taoist explained simply, "As for these ghosts, perhaps they are the dead from the original dark abysses who became ghosts, but why flying birds and beasts are also like this is very difficult to explain.
Xixi smiled, "According to that, the Realm of Extinction was originally a dirty dustbin."
Li Dingxun smiled at her words; Xixi was indeed perceptive, calling this place the garbage can of heaven and earth was not inappropriate.
The Taoist rubbed his cheeks, "In short, this place is very dangerous; we must find what we're looking for as soon as possible and leave before the molten lava surges again."
We absolutely cannot stay here; no one can survive a full cycle.
"There's no need to cultivate tonight; everyone should go to sleep."
I will take responsibility for the night watch.
Li Dingxun spoke, and everyone spread out their mats and lay down.
The cold wind whimpered, and Xixi whispered to the Taoist, their hushed tones like the gnawing of mice.
The next day.
The sunlight once again bathed the land.
"I can't believe this place gets so terrifying at night."
Looking at the natural scenery, Xixi sighed, then turned to ask the swordsman, "Brother Bai, why would your grandfather leave his inheritance in such a dangerous place?"
"I'm not sure, perhaps it was also because it was struck by heavenly lightning, and the original treasure hiding place was absorbed into the Realm of Extinction."
"Ah? Struck by lightning, wouldn't that turn it into a pile of charcoal?"
"Hard to say, let's hurry, we need to arrive before noon."
The Realm of Extinction had a quality that could drive people mad, like being inside a vivid painting rather than true nature, which made the Taoist and others feel vaguely uncomfortable.
Along the way, everyone always chatted a bit; they didn't want their ears to be idle.
For some unknown reason, listening to people talk allowed them to pull their attention away from certain things.
Certain pieces of information that were unconsciously ignored but were undeniably real.
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