Qingxia listened until her head was spinning, sighing wearily: “To exhaust the people and drain the treasury for personal desires—this truly counts as a sin.”
Qin Zhiyan paused, his eyebrows raised slightly, but he said nothing.
Steadying herself, Qingxia followed behind Qin Zhiyan as they slowly walked toward a stone gate in the northeastern corner.
As soon as they approached this enormous sacrificial platform, the heat in the air instantly multiplied several times over. Even Qingxia, a super agent who had undergone rigorous training, couldn’t help but feel somewhat short of breath. Fortunately, Qin Zhiyan was naturally cold-bodied and accustomed to stifling heat—otherwise, with his physical condition, he might have already been unable to endure it.
Faintly, red flames seemed to burn in both their eyes.
In the silent great hall, two pale blue figures walked across the sacrificial platform that was grand enough to rival a military training ground. The black marble displayed an eerie luster, reflecting the massive crimson palace above, bringing heavy oppression that assaulted every limb.
Just then, a dark red aura suddenly began dispersing in mid-air. Qingxia reacted quickly, immediately holding her breath and rushing forward to cover Qin Zhiyan’s mouth and nose. But despite this, she was still a step too late. Her body went limp as she collapsed to one side.
Simultaneously, a thunderous roar rang out as the entire sacrificial platform seemed to ignite instantly. Enormous flames rose up, and the originally ancient, desolate architecture suddenly became furious and wild. Fierce flames shot skyward like hatred from the depths of one’s heart, erupting all at once.
“This is bad!”
Qin Zhiyan was startled. With a sweep of his wide sleeve, he caught Qingxia in his arms. His frail body suddenly seemed to burst with tremendous strength. With a tap of his toes, his form suddenly shifted as his entire body floated backward, dodging a thunderous torrent of flames.
The next moment, sudden changes erupted!
In the great hall, from the depths shrouded in darkness, a desolate howling sound suddenly rang out, transmitted vastly, surrounding their eardrums with earth-shaking shrieking cries, as if some monster was about to burst skyward. The earth instantly began shaking violently. The red giant stones of the entire palace all emitted red light, brightening in large patches. Crimson gas madly poured outward from the towering palace, spreading faster and faster, and the wind speed in the great hall also accelerated accordingly.
In the center of the storm, both Qingxia and Qin Zhiyan had their clothes singed, faces pale, and breathing gradually becoming rapid.
“This is terrible! The divine beast Vermillion Bird is about to awaken!” Qin Zhiyan said with furrowed brows.
“What divine beast Vermillion Bird!” Qingxia, held in Qin Zhiyan’s arms with a pale face, shouted angrily: “Your ancestor built his tomb on a volcanic crater—he was completely insane!”
“What volcanic crater?” Qin Zhiyan frowned in confusion and asked.
“This isn’t the time to be asking about that—run!”
Qingxia’s mouth was dry as she shouted loudly. Qin Zhiyan held Qingxia horizontally in his arms, his form suddenly leaping as he quickly rushed toward the corner gate in the northeast.
A muffled sound suddenly rang out. Among countless red rays of light, pitch-black smoke shot skyward, revealing eerie multicolored light and shadow from the massive temple.
Suddenly, earth-shaking explosions erupted, followed by rumbling sounds filling both ears. The entire palace shook violently. Amidst thunderclap after thunderclap, that sacrificial platform which had just been so magnificently grand instantly crumbled under the impact of crimson magma.
The heat in the air instantly reached its peak. Sweat poured down both their foreheads, soaking all their clothes.
With a thunderous crash, an enormous pillar immediately collapsed and crashed down. Clouds of smoke and dust rose with it, nearly crushing the two of them.
Qin Zhiyan’s body nimbly lunged to the side, pressing Qingxia’s head tightly beneath him.
The two had now reached beside the corner gate. Stone debris and flames rained down like a downpour with crackling sounds. Qin Zhiyan shielded Qingxia beneath him when suddenly his back was wracked with severe pain. Qin Zhiyan frowned as his throat immediately sweetened.
“Qin Zhiyan!” Qingxia shouted loudly, but her voice was as small as a mosquito’s buzz in all the chaos. She only felt warm, viscous liquid slowly flowing down her neck. Qingxia’s face showed great alarm as she reached out to push against Qin Zhiyan’s body.
“Cough, cough…” Hoarse coughing immediately rang out. Qin Zhiyan’s complexion was deathly pale as paper. He suddenly struggled up from the ground and lifted Qingxia onto his back. At this moment, the entire Flame Hall had truly become a sea of fire. Qin Zhiyan ran rapidly, swiftly leaping over several blocking ruins. The temperature in the air was almost unbearable. Qingxia’s hair became dry and curled from the heat, and the hem of her clothes had caught fire.
“Qin Zhiyan! Watch out!” As soon as she finished speaking, Qin Zhiyan suddenly leaped up, reached back to draw the long sword from Qingxia’s waist, and with a chopping strike, that enormous beam of fire was actually severed in two, crashing to the ground with a bang.
“Ah! Behind us!” Qingxia turned back to see crimson magma rapidly spreading toward them from behind at an inconceivably fast speed.
Qin Zhiyan didn’t glance back once, his expression grim as he ran forward with all his strength. Sword flowers danced in his hands with unmatched power—all the flames coming toward them were actually blocked by him.
“Watch out!” Qingxia suddenly screamed, her body going limp as she lay on Qin Zhiyan’s back, watching in terror as the hem of Qin Zhiyan’s robes burst into fierce flames.
With a “bang,” Qin Zhiyan tried forcefully to move the stone door, but whether from age and disrepair or rust, no matter how much strength Qin Zhiyan exerted, it remained completely immobile.
“Qin Zhiyan, let me!” A small bagua lock was clearly imprinted on the stone door. Qingxia was burning with anxiety as she took a thin wire from the small pouch at her waist and inserted it into the keyhole.
The fierce fire burned violently. In the blink of an eye, Qin Zhiyan’s heavy cotton robe was blazing. Qin Zhiyan swung his sword to cut away the burning fabric. Just then, the crimson lava slowly approached. Large drops of sweat rolled down Qingxia’s forehead. That bagua lock which normally took only two seconds to open now seemed to deliberately oppose her—there wasn’t the slightest movement.
With a “bang,” Qin Zhiyan swept Qingxia up and pressed her body hard against the stone door, shielding her from the outside. His pair of white soft-soled boots were already slightly reddening.
“Qin Zhiyan!” Qingxia was greatly alarmed, her eyes looking in panic toward this composed man.
“I’m fine,” Qin Zhiyan suddenly turned around to face Qingxia. Behind him were crimson flames and overwhelming magma and ash. Between heaven and earth was a sea of fire. The pale man in his blue long robe had a calm expression and tranquil eyes, filled with the reassuring steadiness and gentleness that could calm people’s hearts. His voice carried tremendous firmness and composure: “Don’t be afraid!”
“Click!” A tiny sound struck both their minds like thunder.
The heat wave from behind followed immediately after, about to engulf them both, when the heavy stone door thunderously opened at the last moment!
The door to survival cracked open with a large gap!
With a rumbling sound, the stone door behind them was heavily closed. Countless heat waves and flames instantly all crashed against the stone door. Qingxia’s palms burned with pain. She saw that stone door, originally gray-white, had instantly turned completely crimson, like an iron plate roasted by fierce flames.
“Run north! That’s where the ice chamber is!”
Without needing Qingxia’s guidance, Qin Zhiyan was already racing toward the northern corridor.
They had barely run ten steps when with a “poof,” the stone door behind them seemed to melt like paper. The scorching magma flames roared out like a fire dragon, howling toward the two of them.
Qin Zhiyan carried Qingxia on his back, using all his strength to race forward, his eyes calm and brows tightly locked. Qingxia turned back from his back to see flames filling the entire corridor behind them, roaring and devouring everything at a speed many times faster than their own.
With a “poof,” a mouthful of warm blood suddenly sprayed onto Qingxia’s hands that were wrapped around Qin Zhiyan’s front. The bright red blood slowly flowed down Qingxia’s pale palms, spilling along the way in the scorching corridor. Before it could hit the ground, it was completely evaporated. Qin Zhiyan suddenly stumbled, his single knee crashing to the ground. Qingxia was greatly alarmed, turning back to look in terror at the frightening lava behind them.
“Don’t be afraid.” The hoarse, low voice rang out clearly amidst all the thunderous sounds. Qin Zhiyan gripped Qingxia’s palm tightly with one hand. In such a hot stone hall, his palm was still completely cold, without temperature like a dead person.
“I will definitely get you out of here.” The firm voice slowly rang out. Qin Zhiyan struggled to stand up, but just as he moved, another large mouthful of blood sprayed out. Qingxia was horrified, crying out: “Qin Zhiyan!”
“Qin Zhiyan, just go!” Qingxia’s voice carried almost a trace of trembling. Desperate emotions filled her entire heart as she shouted hoarsely into Qin Zhiyan’s ear: “Escape by yourself!”
The weak person suddenly struggled up from the ground. However, after running just a few steps, he collapsed again. He stubbornly got up once more, then heavily fell down again. Large mouthfuls of blood poured out. The man’s complexion was almost completely white without a trace of blood. The violent flame atmosphere thundered from behind. Qingxia gripped Qin Zhiyan’s clothes tightly, her face completely red in the firelight.
“Please,” Qingxia tightly furrowed her brows, tears almost overflowing from her eyes, her voice trembling as she said: “Please, go! Go by yourself!”
Qin Zhiyan’s expression froze. He suddenly straightened his upper body and hurled the long sword in his hand. Along with a spray of blood, that sword shot like a meteor and embedded deeply in the northern corner gate opposite them. A small breach immediately appeared in it.
“Go!”
It was impossible to imagine how such a sickly person could exert such tremendous strength. Qingxia only felt herself flying through the clouds as she was carried away. Qin Zhiyan’s figure became more and more distant. Crimson flames rose savagely behind him like an enormous fire dragon opening its red giant maw, instantly swallowing him up.