HEART PROTECTION: CHAPTER 67
"Can you go in it?"
Suddenly, the boiling lava lake spewed out a blaze reaching the roof of the cavern. It was like it was underlining Yan Hui's uncertainty. The blaze melted the rock of the ceiling, turning it into lava which fell down into the lake along with the blaze.
Although they prepared early on, Yan Hui was still became apprehensive at that sight: "It's too hot." She frowned. "I'm already using a lot of magic to protect my body from the heat. I don't have enough leftover to enter the lava."
"I'll get the dragon tendons myself." Tian Yao's red eyes shined even brighter. "First, we need to get the heavenly jian and break the Sky-Splitting Seal."
Tian Yao stared at the center of the domed ceiling.
Yan Hui followed Tian Yao's line of sight........although the lava lake would periodically spew a column of fire, that spot had a continuous flame column that never ceased.
Earlier, the smoke and steam blurred her vision. Only now did she take a close look and see in the flame column was the Heavenly Jian! It glowed red like molten gold.
That was the first jian in the world.........
Yan Hui was still stunned when a heatwave suddenly rushed over. It was aimed right at her neck.
Tian Yao narrowed his eyes. He reacted extremely quickly and pushed Yan Hui aside. She stumbled. The next thing she heard was a "thump" as the heat blast hit the wall right behind where she was previously standing. There was a glowing crack where the heatwave hit the wall.
Yan Hui looked back and felt more fearful. If it wasn't for Tian Yao's push, her head might be on the floor or more likely.........exploded into mist.
This place was truly treacherous!
At once, Yan Hui gathered her magic and didn't dare to wander around.
"It discovered there's people."
"Who?" Yan Hui asked. "The Heavenly Jian?"
Tian Yao didn't have time to reply when another heatwave came streaking over. Tian Yao pulled Yan Hui down to the ground. The heatwave once again heavily struck the wall behind Yan Hui. A long cracked formed and melted rock dripped from it. The red lava dripped to the ground.
This second time was much hotter than the first!
And this time, Yan Hui didn't get the chance to see what happened to the wall behind her. When Yan Hui was yanked down to the ground, she didn't have time to put a protection technique around it. She just heard a sizzling sound when her palm touched the ground, and she smelled her own flesh cooking......!
"What messed up place is this!" She hurriedly got back up and tightly wrapped her entire body in the protection technique.
But in contrast, Tian Yao, who had already gotten back his dragon bones and horns and had time to adjust and cultivate, didn't seem affected by the heat at all. It was to the point that it seemed like he even enjoyed it.
After all, his body..........had been cold for far too long.
Suddenly, something unknown happened. The color of the lava started to darken. The flames that used to spurt out ceased.
Tian Yao focused: "They managed to control the spell outside. Let's get this done fast." With that, he took the lead and leapt over the quiet lava lake that still vented boiling boil. He aimed straight for the jian that was in the middle of the lake.
Yan Hui frowned and followed after him. When she landed next to Tian Yao, she saw the ground where the Heavenly Jian was located was actually an island surrounded by lava. The jian was stabbed in the ground. Who knows how long it been guarding this place.
Tian Yao wrapped his hands around the jian's hilt even though the sword was still glowing white-hot from heat.
The Heavenly Jian started to violently tremble like it was extremely repelled.
Tian Yao was unmoved. Yan Hui saw smoke raising from the palm of his hands His flesh was starting to cook, but it was like he didn't feel a thing. His aura began to disperse and mingle with the cavern's still air. It whipped the air into a tornado, pulling at the firmly stuck Heavenly Jian along with Tian Yao. The spell fought against it.
However, it seemed like with Tian Yao's current strength, he had to strain exceedingly hard.
"Blood." Tian Yao shouted.
Yan Hui didn't hesitate. With a twist of her hand, she plunged a dagger into her chest. She didn't even furrow her eyebrows when the dagger entered her heart. Blood immediately flowed down the dagger's blood grove and dripped onto the Heavenly Jian's hilt.
In a split second, rays of light emitted from the hilt. The surrounding wind increased in strength. It tugged at Yan Hui's clothing until they started to flap in the wind.
The blood absorbed into the hilt until the bloodstains were no longer visible. The light around the sword also started to dim. Tian Yao urged on his magic, causing the wind to increase in power. With this, the Heavenly Jian, which had been stuck in the earth for so many years, started to inch outwards.
Yan Hui withdrew the dagger and set it aside. She quickly stemmed the flow of blood and immediately kept watch of the jian's tip: "It's out of the ground!"
The words had scarcely left her lips when Tian Yao completely pulled out the jian. Once the blade left the earth, the Heavenly Jian lost all of its radiance. It looked ordinary metal. Tian Yao's aura enveloped it and stabbed it into the wall.
The spell was broken. The lava cooled down even more. The boiling heat in the cavern also suddenly cooled down.
Yan Hui happily looked at the lava's color: "Without the spell, the lava isn't as hot anymore. Now I can put a protection spell around me and go into the lava with you to search for the dragon tendons."
The situation had calmed down, but Tian Yao was in no rush to jump into the lava lake. He looked at Yan Hui, who was still slightly bleeding from the wound in her chest. His gaze dropped: "I'll be enough......."
He hadn't finished when suddenly a murderous aura flooded the cavern. Both Tian Yao and Yan Hui were stunned. The two of them had finally relaxed and didn't have time to react. Yan Hui saw a bright streak of light in the corner of her eye hit Tian Yao square in the chest. It was almost as fast as lightening.
Compared to the jian's speed, Yan Hui's reaction was sluggish as she looked over. By the time she looked over, Tian Yao had been stabbed through by the now dull jian. His blood had scarcely started to seep out when he tumbled into the lava lake due to the sword's momentum.
"Plop." Tian Yao's entire body disappeared into the lava.
Yan Hui's eyes widened in shock. She cried: "Tian Yao!" The force of those two words damaged her voice to the point of hoarseness. She automatically reached out a hand to pull him out, but right when her fingertips were about to enter the lava, the once calm lava lake suddenly spewed out a flame column. Yan Hui had to retreat.
Closely following, the jian flew out of the lava by itself. It seemed like it had a consciousness. The blade still glowed. There was no trace of blood. But there was still no trace of Tian Yao.
Was he dead? His body melted by the lava?
Once that thought crossed her mind, Yan Hui was immediately thrown into disarray.
In the middle of her panic, a figure started to coalesce from the Heavenly Jian. The figure was faint, but its voice was clear: "Those that attack my Sky-Splitting Seal will meet death."
Jian spirit!
Yan Hui was stupefied. Who would've thought in a million years that this jian had a jian spirit!
It really wasn't just an inanimate jian! It was living! It knew how to think, how to pretend, how to take advantage of an enemy's lowered guard! That's why it pretended to drawn out of the earth and then dealt Tian Yao a fatal blow!
But the Heavenly Jian's jian spirit wasn't satisfied with just killing Tian Yao. It immediately targeted Yan Hui. Without a single word, it arched over and sped at Yan Hui.
Although Yan Hui had just stabbed herself in the heart and lost a lot of blood, the flow of blood had already stopped. These past few day, she had been studiously cultivating under Tian Yao's supervision. She had plenty of inner breath now, but she was distracted by Tian Yao's disappearance. Thus she messily warded off two of the jian's attacks with the dagger.
The situation was deteriorating.
Yan Hui knew that in a fight being at unease was to be avoided at the utmost. If she continued like this, sooner or later the jian would stab her through the heart.
She forced herself to steady her mind and have a good fight with the jian spirit. It was only by winning that she would get the chance to fish Tian Yao out of the lava.
Even if all that was left were stewed bones, she still had to know. She had to know if the dragon demon who had been with her along this long journey, who experienced so many life and death situations, was truly dead or not.
Yan Hui focused her gaze, face filled with murder. It was like a hawk staring down the Heavenly Jian. She used the heart technique Tian Yao taught her previously to sharpen her senses. She also brought out the sword techniques she learned at Chen Xing Mountain.
Using both demon and xian techniques at the same time. Although this was the first time Yan Hui did so, she didn't feel any adjustment was needed.
Even if the Heavenly Jian shifted by just a hair, Yan Hui would be able to clearly see it.
All of a sudden, the jian struck at Yan Hui. It was the same movement as when it stabbed Tian Yao, extremely fast, nothing held back. Yan Hui's dagger was short and at a disadvantage against the jian. But in her hands, the dagger's movements were swift and fluid. With a flip of the dagger, she blocked the jian.
The friction between the jian's edge and the dagger created sparks. Yan Hui used the Absolute Sleight sword technique and seized the chance to reduce her strength. The Heavenly Jian's forceful momentum immediately became a plaything under her dagger. Within three moves, Yan Hui held the jian in her hand.
The hilt immediately erupted with sparks, burning Yan Hui's hand.
Back then, Tian Yao........actually endured the burning pain inflicted by the jian........
Yan Hui gritted her teeth and didn't let go. The protection technique around her body was all focused onto her hand. She held on until the jian spirit gave up struggling.
After Yan Hui had grasped the hilt, no words were exchanged before she heavily struck the jian on the ground several times to release her anger: "Do you have any other tricks? Try me!"
The flickering jian spirit seemed to have been struck into a daze when Yan Hui slammed the jian into the ground. It slowly came back to its senses and said in great shame: "You lowlife!"
Yan Hui slapped the jian against the ground several more times after hearing it curse at her. But after this series of strikes, the jian spirit didn't speak. Suddenly, there was a thud from the cavern ceiling. It was a stone door opening. A series of xian disciples with cotton coverings protecting their nose and mouth streamed into the cavern.
In the middle of the disciples was someone who made Yan Hui's gaze grow cold. Ling Fei.
"Ah, Yan Hui." Ling Fei was coldly smiling. "So it turns out to be you."
In front of an enemy, there was only fury.
Yan Hui tightened her grasp on the Heavenly Jian and didn't say a word.
It was actually a disciple with sharp eyes who noticed the jian in Yan Hui's hands: "Her! She broke the Sky-Splitting Seal! She wants to steal the Heavenly Jian!"
Yan Hui icily looked at the disciple that yelled out: "Those with loose lips die the fastest. Didn't your shifu teach you that?" Her face darkened. That disciple, having experienced many trials, still retreated a step.
Ling Fei shoved aside the disciple who had retreated: "You traitor! First conspiring with the demon clans. Then breaking into San Chong Mountain to save that monster. Now, you're actually helping the demons steal the Heavenly Jian!"
Yan Hui frowned: "I will explain one time. I never thought about stealing the Heavenly Jian. Whoever it belongs to, it still belongs to."
"A traitor speaks nothing but lies." Ling Fei spoke through gritted teeth. "Just listening is revolting! Today, I'm going to make you pay for all the disgusting things you've done!"
Ling Fei didn't give anyone any time to react before grasping her horsetail whisk and sweeping it toward Yan hui.
Yan Hui brandished the Heavenly Jian: "The onse who should be paying are you and you sister." She was't the same person she was one month ago in that inn. She wouldn't be caught off guard and scarred in the face by the flexible jian this time.
It was quite opportune that Yan Hui's senses were still enhanced. She practically didn't even need to look at Ling Fei before raising her jian and blocking the whisk. The whisk disappeared. Ling Fei immediately drew out her flexible jian and directly engaged Yan Hui into a fight.
The two of them fought. Neither held back any big of strength. The pieces of rock on the walls surrounding them fell into the lava lake.
When the dust finally settled, the xian disciples stared. On that island in the middle of the lake, Ling Fei was pressed down under Yan Hui's feet.
The burning ground caused Ling Fei to cry out.
Yan Hui's eyes were glacial: "Is it hot? Does it hurt? When you trouble others, you should remember this feeling?"
Ling Fei fumed between gritted teeth: "You are shameless! What qualification do you have to say those words?!"
Ling Fei was trapped. The disciples wanted to go up to stop Yan Hui, but they were rendered speechless at the sight of Yan Hui stepping on Ling Fei. In their cowardice, they didn't dare advance.
Yan Hui smirked and coldly laughed: "I still have something to say. Did you think I would lose to you again?"
Yan Hui just said those words when suddenly an ice spell formed on the ground under them. Cold air filled the once boiling cavern.
Yan Hui looked at the familiar pattern of the ice spell. She felt her blood rush to her head, but it also felt like it froze there. It left her head in an empty stillness.
This spell.........
Ling Xiao was here.