However, this also drew the fire spirit’s attention to the powerful beings on the wall. It immediately gathered its energy to attack, causing Mo Tizhun to inwardly lament his misfortune.

The Spider King was blinded by grief and rage, unable to listen to reason; but this fire spirit had never developed consciousness in the first place and couldn’t understand human language.

Among all beings in the world, higher intelligence typically accompanied higher cultivation; fire spirits were born and nurtured by nature, not belonging to any species. Strictly speaking, they didn’t even possess “life,” being merely the purest collection of fire elemental energy, acting only on instinct.

Otherwise, any powerful being would carefully weigh its options when simultaneously facing the Spider King and Mo Tizhun, but the fire spirit showed no concern for its safety or existence.

This made it the most dangerous and difficult enemy to deal with, especially since it carried the True Fire of the Earth’s Core, capable of destroying everything within its reach.

At this moment, Tie Xinning was quietly descending the cliff with Feng Miaojun in tow. Under the cover of the milky-white vapor, and with the three powerful beings busy fighting to the death, no one noticed his movements.

As Feng Miaojun saw herself getting closer and closer to the center of the diamond island—the crack from which the fire spirit had emerged—she couldn’t help but ask fearfully: “You’re not planning to jump down there, are you?!”

Lake water that rushed in was transformed into steam coming out. What would happen to flesh and blood beings like them?

She was far from ready to die, and had no desire to perish alongside this madman Yun Xi!

As he rapidly approached their destiKingdom, he laughed: “Care to guess?”

Guess my ass! She cried out without restraint: “Put me down! I promise to disappear forever, never to appear before the Great State Preceptor Yun again, never to help Mo Tizhun!”

If this damned bastard wasn’t Yun Xi, she would have performed a Star Sky Cone to the throat right then and there!

“That won’t do.” Yun Xi gripped the back of her neck, preventing her from using her spiritual power. The fifteen-year-old girl’s delicate hands pushed against him twice, but it was like an ant trying to shake a tree—he didn’t budge at all. Though his build didn’t appear robust, he was as hard as iron, hurting her hands as they pushed against him.

Mo Tizhun had claimed he had a heart condition. Bah, who was he fooling? A sick person should look sick, not walk between water and fire while calmly telling her: “I need your help with something. Do it well, and I’ll spare your life. Otherwise—”

He pointed to the water’s surface, where a mutilated corpse floated, burned beyond recognition by the intense flames: “—you can join him.”

Even if she had to die, she didn’t want to die so horribly! Feng Miaojun shuddered and quickly said: “I’ll help you, but you must guarantee my safety.”

He chuckled lightly: “I’ll try my best.”

Then, he jumped with her through the crack in the diamond island.

The wind whistled past her ears, heat rolled around her body, and below was a sea of crimson—the red alone was enough to scorch one’s eyes… She closed her eyes and screamed!

Feng Miaojun had imagined a hundred ways she might die, but jumping into magma was not among them.

This was too absurd!

With their bodies pressed close together, Feng Miaojun was practically shouting in his ear. Yun Xi’s hearing was sensitive, and the demonic sound instantly pierced his brain, stabbing every nerve like needles, and causing him great discomfort.

He couldn’t help but cover her mouth, saying irritably: “What are you screaming for? You’re not dead yet.” His ears rang, and when he looked down, he saw that the girl’s originally delicate, curved eyes had widened into perfectly round apricot eyes.

Feng Miaojun watched with her own eyes as he took her jumping into a sea of molten lava—

But they didn’t die. After coming down, she discovered that there was an island floating on the lava sea. Yun Xi had chosen both his timing and landing spot expertly, and the two of them had landed precisely on this island.

After landing, Yun Xi dragged her behind a low rock formation before finally releasing his grip on her.

Feng Miaojun took a couple of light breaths and found that although it was scorching hot around them, it was a bit cooler than in the abyss above. Furthermore, while the magma should have been emitting endless toxic gases that would kill living beings within five seconds, surprisingly there was air, and it was remarkably fresh.

“Where is this?” Upon breathing the fresh air, her mind immediately cleared, though her face remained bewildered. “What are you trying to do?”

Tie Xinning remained with the group to monitor for unusual activity but ended up having his identity usurped by Yun Xi. Feng Miaojun wasn’t sure exactly when he had exposed her disguise, but Yun Xi had consistently spared her life, even protecting her several times on the cliff earlier. It seemed he had done so to bring her down here to help.

She couldn’t estimate how great the dangers lurking in such a place might be. To complete the task he assigned, the difficulty would probably mean nine deaths and one life.

Yun Xi didn’t answer. Moving as swiftly as the wind, he gripped her jaw and pushed something into her mouth. Feng Miaojun was horrified and was about to spit it out when he quickly pressed a fingertip against her throat.

She had barely felt the temperature of his fingertip before involuntarily swallowing the foreign object!

She glared at him fiercely: “What did you make me eat?!”

“Something to make you obedient.” He smiled, snapping his fingers by each of her ears. “Be good now, go fetch a treasure for me.”

This smile, even on Tie Xinning’s face, was quite gentle.

According to the script, was she supposed to say “Yes, master”? Instead, Feng Miaojun stepped back, eyeing him warily: “If you want something, get it yourself. Don’t use me as cannon fodder!”

Yun Xi was greatly surprised: “Oh? It didn’t take effect?” He reached toward her abdomen.

Feng Miaojun, having just been forced to swallow an unknown substance, was both fearful and suspicious. Seeing him dare to touch her again, her Star Sky Cone slid out from her sleeve, unhesitatingly aiming to pierce the back of his hand.

She knew her cultivation couldn’t compare to Yun Xi’s, but she refused to let him manipulate her like this.

Before the Star Sky Cone could hit its target, Yun Xi withdrew his hand, his face showing contemplation, seemingly ignoring the fury in her eyes.

In just two breaths’ time, his face revealed sudden understanding: “So that’s it.” How could he keep forgetting this young girl’s special characteristics? That method wouldn’t work on her.

So it was like that? She waited, but he had no intention of explaining, only saying to her: “There’s something in this place that I need you to retrieve for me.”

He spoke as if it were a matter of course, making Feng Miaojun laugh coldly: “And if I refuse?”

“Death. And once we leave this place, I’ll kill your family too.” Since control had failed, he was now ready to negotiate properly.

Feng Miaojun recalled her entanglement with him and thought silently that for the sake of survival, the worst-case scenario would be to reveal her trump card. Amid the True Fire of the Earth’s Core, even Yun Xi couldn’t accomplish alone what would be a suicide mission for her.

If she died, he wouldn’t survive either. If Yun Xi knew this connection, he probably wouldn’t use her as a sacrificial pawn, would he?

While she was pondering, Yun Xi said calmly: “Your mother’s surname is Xu, currently running the Feng enterprise in the Yao country. Am I wrong?”

Military Intelligence Express Line