Chapter 370 An Authorized Patrol
After saying that, Night Dragon gazed at Lyu Liang with a meaningful smile. It seemed that he did not intend to speak anymore.
“You, you mean that I can go there now? You’re allowing me to enter the forbidden areas?” Lyu Liang asked tentatively. He hoped that he could read Night Dragon’s thoughts from his expression.
However, Night Dragon’s wrinkled face did not reveal any hint other than a great sense of geniality.
“Yes, you have my permission.” Night Dragon nodded his approval. He took out a golden talisman and handed it to Lyu Liang. “The forbidden areas are guarded by strong forces. Show this to them, and they will let you in.”
“Thank you!” The token eased Lyu Liang’s concerns. Anyway, this meant that he could survey these suspicious areas with a good reason.
Then, the topic went back to Purple Phoenix again. Lyu Liang was urged to accompany Purple Phoenix more often, which made him feel very awkward. Finally, he excused himself and left as fast as his feet could take him.
When Night Dragon was left alone in the palace, the smile on his face disappeared. He heaved a soft sigh and gave out a little cough. Just then, a yellow-clad girl emerged. She looked graceful, yet she was wearing a ghastly ghost-faced mask.
“You are here. So he has not come back yet?” Night Dragon asked softly.
“What is my task?” The girl evaded the question and asked coldly, “Is that man who came just now my target?”
“Yes, he is. You are more experienced than me. I think you know what to do. Kill him if necessary.” Night Dragon had become used to her indifference. He said seriously, “But remember, once he gets out of attacking range, you must stop chasing him!”
“I see,” the girl replied frigidly and then disappeared instantly.
“Lyu Liang… If possible, I really hope that we are not enemies.” Night Dragon sighed softly again and then whispered with determination, “But this is the most critical moment of my plan. I can’t afford to lose. So if you pose any threat to me, I will definitely kill you.”
……
“According to the map, I should… Wow! The Divine Auspice Cave is so far. I’d better go to the other three areas first.” Lyu Liang recalled the positions of the destinations and found that the Divine Auspice Cave was at the remote edge of the Heavenly Alliance. The other three areas, on the contrary, were near him and close to each other.
Although he got the token, Lyu Liang still wanted to discuss it with Wen Xiaojing first. He had no idea about what trick Night Dragon was playing on him. Perhaps a trap was waiting for him there.
However, his thoughts seemed to have been anticipated. When he went past the gate of the palace, Xiao Rong, who had been waiting there, stopped him instantly. “Go with this token now. Before finishing your task, you cannot go anywhere, not even Fairy Purple Phoenix’s residence.”
The plan failed! Lyu Liang cupped his hands to Xiao Rong and flew toward Purple Cloud Mountain, which was the closest one to him. It seemed that he could only rely on himself.
“Senior White, what do you think about this?” Lyu Liang asked. At this moment, White was the only person who could help him analyze the situation. He could have asked Swallowing Spirit for help. But since Lyu Liang stimulated the power of Divine Prohibition, this elder had been in a deep sleep. He had woken up twice during this period, but each time he awoke, he would fall back to sleep immediately.
“I’m not sure what Night Dragon’s plan is. The task he assigned seems reasonable, so you don’t have any excuse to reject it. Even if this is a trap, you have to play this game with him. But remember, remain alert once you enter the forbidden areas, and escape if you find that anything is wrong!”
Lyu Liang nodded helplessly. It seemed that he could only play it by the ear.
Half an hour later, he reached Purple Cloud Mountain. It was a barren place, shrouded in purple mist.
As soon as he landed at the foot of the mountain, he felt a strong aura at the Tao Ancestor Middle-stage. Someone shouted, “Who are you? Show your token!”
“Here it is! I am Lyu Liang, a new senior alien minister. I am here to perform a task assigned by Milord Night Dragon!” Lyu Liang held up the token and replied. He was excited because he finally got the chance to approach this place.
“Oh!” As an exclamation of surprise could be heard, 13 golden-armored soldiers emerged. Among them, a bearded, robust man stepped forward. He took a glance at the token, cupped his hands respectfully, and said, “Senior Lyu, please come in!”
Lyu Liang nodded softly and followed the man into the mist. Then, he began patrolling the first forbidden area.
Lyu Liang did not spend much time there. The man told him that the place was used to store some artifacts, which could help the warriors replenish their energy.
These artifacts were placed in the middle of the mountain. Meanwhile, the surface of the mountain looked totally barren. Therefore, Lyu Liang took a quick tour around it and then left instantly.
“Among the 13 soldiers, only two of them have reached the Tao Ancestor Late-stage. Besides, I did not see any suitable hiding places. Perhaps, they are not hiding here,” Lyu Liang thought as he flew toward the next forbidden area.
Judging by its level of being guarded or its topography, Purple Cloud Mountain was not a good place for hiding.
Over the next two hours, Lyu Liang visited Green Vine Village and Shadow Moon Valley. Once he showed his token, the guards would give him an enthusiastic welcome.
Green Vine Village looked inferior to Purple Cloud Mountain. There was not much to inspect aside from several irregular marshes, from which Lyu Liang did not find anything suspicious.
Shadow Moon Valley, on the contrary, got Lyu Liang’s attention. It had double the forces as the other two sites, and there were six Tao Ancestors at the Peak level. As for its terrain, it had many hills and caves, which were the perfect places to hide.
As Lyu Liang wandered around, he tried his best to probe this place with his Divine Sense. Anyway, this was a part of his task, so no one could pick holes in it.
After spending only 30 minutes in Green Vine Village, Lyu Liang spent over one and a half hours in Shadow Moon Valley. He could not have been more careful while searching through the caves, but still, nothing in particular was found.
The only interesting discovery was that all of these sites were places between the middle-level world and the high-level world.
“Finally, the Divine Auspice Cave!” Lyu Liang looked at the darkening sky and exhaled deeply. Then, he headed southeast. The Divine Auspice Cave was right there.
15 minutes later, Lyu Liang arrived in front of a huge, black space whirlpool. It was an entrance. Lyu Liang could not help frowning because this place gave him a totally different feeling.
Each time he was about to arrive at a forbidden area, he would hear a soldier shouting at him first. But here, he could not hear any noise aside from the sound of his own breathing. The world was in dead silence.
Should he go in or not?
After thinking for a while, Lyu Liang gritted his teeth and took out the token. He had no reason to flinch on this smooth journey. Anyway, with this token, no one would dare to hurt him. Besides, Black would help him handle any array units that were set up inside.
Lyu Liang plucked up his courage and stepped into the whirlpool. When he totally put himself into the darkness, the whirlpool disappeared directly.
“Eh? This place is… Who is it? F*ck!” As Lyu Liang entered the whirlpool, he felt a wave of dizziness. Then, he found himself placed in a completely dark world. What was worse, his Divine Sense was blocked, which prevented him from seeing anything around him!
Suddenly, he felt two cool breezes shooting at him. Out of shock, Lyu Liang shifted himself away at once!
He recognized that those were two flashes of Sword Qi, which had the Space Cleaving Power! Being a skilled user of Sword Qi, he clearly knew how dangerous the attacks were.
“I am Lyu Liang, a new senior alien minister. Milord Night Dragon asked me to patrol this place with this token,” Lyu Liang explained hastily as he tried to pull out the token.
Hearing what Lyu Liang had said, the attackers paused. After a second, a cold female voice was heard. “Token.”
“Here it is. Look… Eh? What! Th-this is impossible!” As Lyu Liang stretched out his hand, he was surprised to see that the token had turned into a worn-out, yellow piece of paper.
“Go to hell.” As an icy male voice was heard, Sword Qi overwhelmed Lyu Liang again. Meanwhile, Lyu Liang felt a greater danger from behind. His intuition told him that it was some formidable weapon like an axe.
“Boy, you’ve been tricked! Try to get out of here! This place is a combination of several powerful array units. Before Third Brother finds the way out, try your best to hold on! Don’t be merciful to your opponents! They are not easy to deal with!” White said seriously.
“So I have no choice! Come on!” Without hesitation, Lyu Liang improved his cultivation to the Peak of Tao Ancestor. In the meantime, his eyes and mouth began glowing with golden light.
“Divine Prohibition? Kill him!” A hoarse voice resounded surprisedly and maliciously.
“It seems that there are only three people here. But their strength is equal to 1,000 soldiers’!” Lyu Liang cursed. Then, he began launching full attacks. He, his doppelganger, and the Spirit Swallowing Bugs rushed at the three enemies respectively.
…
At the same time, in Purple Phoenix’s residence, there seemed to be nobody. However, about 300 meters below her bedroom, there was a dark gray room protected by layers of restriction formations. Inside it, Purple Phoenix was talking with a fireman.
“Long, I am sorry that you have to stay here for longer. My dad said this is the most critical moment of his plan. He wants to make sure that everything goes well. Although he never tells me the details, I know you are very important to him.” Purple Phoenix apologized and then said in a lively tone, “I remember that when I just found you, you were very small. But now, you have grown much taller than me!”
“You’re right. I should stay here. Milord’s plan is important. As long as I am here, everything will go well, unless you want to sell me out,” the fireman said in human language.
“I will not! I need your accompaniment!” Purple Phoenix pouted and gave a soft blow to the fireman’s chest. “Oh yes, can you tell me what my dad’s plan is. I am his daughter. Why don’t you let me know?”
“Because I, I don’t want to deceive you,” the fireman replied tenderly after a while.
“Deceive me? Come on! I just want to know the plan. Why is it so hard for you to tell me about it? Whatever! Every time I ask you this question, you become as mute as a fish! Boring! I have to go now. See you next time! I will bring you your favorite Fire Copper!” In a huff, Purple Phoenix made a face and disappeared instantly.
“I am sorry… If I tell you, you might really die… I don’t want you to die.” The fireman did not have any facial features, but sadness was obvious in his tone.
“Thank you! As the leader of the Calamity Troop, you should have been enjoying a superior life. I am sorry to let you accompany my daughter like this. Thank you for keeping her alive!” Night Dragon emerged at this moment and cupped his hands sincerely at the fireman.
“You do not need to thank me. I have told you that I am here for Purple Phoenix. I do not know if your plan can work, but I will try my best to keep her alive!” The fireman said in determination, “I will save her, even at the cost of the entire troop!”
“You’re right. To me, she is more important than the entire Heaven Realm!” Night Dragon replied in excitement. But then, he said seriously, “Lyu Liang is taking the test in the Divine Auspice Cave now. We can then have a basic idea of his real strength. He is too close to Purple Phoenix. I must take all possible precautions!”
“I agree with you. I also need to have contact with my real body in the coming days. The Nyu Wa stones have almost run out. The Fuxi Zither finally comes in handy. But we need to shift the forces of the Heavenly Alliance to the east. They cannot stay where we set the Fuxi Zither!” The fireman nodded and said severely, “This is not difficult for you. I will let my troop cooperate with you. But once the zither is triggered, it will create a wave of Spiritual Qi. At that time, I hope you can ensure my safety.”
“No problem. Even if you did not ask me, I would set defenses for you! I hired the mysterious troop just for that moment! You do not need to doubt their loyalty. They have sworn Divine-Soul oaths with me,” Night Dragon replied in confidence. Then, his figure gradually became vague. “I have to go now. The battle will soon be over. I need to know who wins at once.”
When the fireman was left alone, he heaved a soft sigh and murmured, “Purple Phoenix, I have always been taken care of by you. But soon, we will stay together forever, forever… No one can separate us…”