Sword Proud of Nine Heavens

  The girl in the white dress looked like she was seventeen or eighteen years old, with a clear and lovely face and a delicate figure. Although she wasn't a stunning beauty who could captivate the whole city, her appearance and demeanor were still enough to catch people's attention.

  From her attire and the plaque hanging from her waist, it can be seen that the girl is a newly admitted disciple, but not a sword cultivator, rather a Qi Refiner.

  There were also three people beside her, two men and one woman, all of whom were new disciples like her, except for the young man with thick eyebrows.

  If they are familiar with the Fire Dragon Cave, they can tell at a glance that they are a purely new team, and it is rare for experienced disciples to participate in such a team.

  "Now that Bai Jie has spoken up, you should join in too!" Another red-dressed, round-faced girl spoke up and said: "But if you don't perform well, then don't blame us for kicking you out of the team!"

  This is called ugly words said upfront, it can also be understood that everyone forms a team to go down the Fire Dragon Cave for training and doing sect tasks, no one has the obligation to accommodate others.

  Lin said with a smile: "Don't mind this younger brother, Ning's temper is just like that. I think as long as we unite and work hard together, there will definitely be gains."

  Although he was the most senior among a group of newcomers, he apparently had no prestige and seemed to be a harmonious role, and when speaking, his gaze was directed at the white-robed girl.

  Another young man in a green shirt frowned, his eyes showing a hint of disdain and disgust towards Qin Yun, but he did not raise any objections.

  Only the remaining tall and sturdy young man was more enthusiastic, taking the initiative to come forward and greet Qin Yun: "Hello, senior brother. My name is Yan Nan!"

  Qin Yun was only just seventeen years old. The other party looked even younger, with a naive and immature face, but he had a strong and sturdy build, with a broad back and a large sword on his back that made people dare not underestimate him.

  "Hello, I'm Qin Yun." Qin Yun replied politely.

  "Alright, it's getting late!" Lin said loudly: "The six of us are almost ready, let's set off!"

  Everyone naturally had no objection and followed him into the Fire Dragon Cave.

  The space inside the Fire Dragon Cave is much larger than that of the Cold Abyss Cave. From the waist of the mountain, going in, it's all dark red rocky mountains inside. The high cave top has strange rocks, from time to time, you can see flames and smoke coming out from the cracks in the rocks.

  As soon as he entered, Qin Yun immediately felt the scorching breath rushing towards him, burning his skin with a fiery pain. His breathing was stifled.

  He didn't dare to slack off and immediately used the fire-suppressing talismans he had prepared beforehand.

  This inferior cloud token is a must-have for the Sword Sect disciples who enter the Fire Dragon Cave. It can largely isolate the ubiquitous flame power inside the Fire Dragon Cave, protecting the user from being invaded by the flame power's damage.

  However, the Town Fire Symbol is only effective in the upper layer of the Fire Dragon Cave. Once you enter a place with even more intense flames, its effect will be greatly weakened. You'll need to either replace it with a better symbol or have a Qi Refining Master's spell to protect yourself.

  Others and Qin Yun were about the same, only that girl named Bai Su, a Lianqi cultivator, was calm and composed, seemingly unaffected by the flames.

  Less than a hundred steps into the cave, three forks appeared in front of us. The flames came surging up from the depths of the passage, producing a deafening rumble that made one's heart skip a beat.

  Mr. Lin pointed to the path on the right and said, "This way leads to the underground Flame River, which is a place where the Flame Wolf Pack often appears, so we will take this route today."

  "Lin Shixiong, where do the other two paths lead?" asked Yan Nan, a sturdy young man with curiosity.

  "Lin surname senior brother patiently explained: 'If you want to dig out the Huo Ling jade, you can take the middle path. If you want to go hunting for even stronger demonic beasts, the left path leads directly to a deeper place, but I absolutely do not recommend that you go adventuring.'"

  He is undoubtedly very familiar with the situation of Huo Long Dong. As he spoke, it was all reasonable and Yan Nan listened with continuous nods.

  But the young man in green clothes was impatient, frowning and saying: "Lin brother, let's not waste words here, hurry up and go down. Otherwise, the Flame Wolf Beast will be killed by others, and we'll have come for nothing!"

  His words were quite impolite. Lin surname senior brother had a good temper and didn't mind, but Yan Nan couldn't help feeling a bit embarrassed.

  The team enters from the right channel and continues to move forward.

  Compared to the previous channel, the tunnel here is much narrower, with rocks and gravel all over the ground, and cracks in the ground are everywhere, some of which are still spewing smoke and fire.

  Everyone carefully avoided the danger zone and gradually went deeper into the Fire Dragon Cave.

  After walking for nearly two hours, and taking many detours along the way, suddenly everything opened up before us.

  A wide and majestic river of flames suddenly appeared before everyone's eyes, with large amounts of scorching hot liquid gushing out from the rocky walls on the side and front, flowing past towering rock pillars towards a distant place that seemed to have no end.

  The speed of the lava flow was not very fast, but it crashed against the rocks on the shore with a low rumble, and bubbles rose to the surface of the river, bursting with a popping sound.

  Even with a fireproof charm protecting me, the heat here is still almost unbearable.

  "It's pitch-black on that side, it won't be so hot!" Lin surname senior brother pointed to the other side of the Yan River and said: "We will pass from the stone bridge here!"

  What is called a stone bridge is actually two huge rocks that support each other over the Yan River to form a natural bridge.

  The rocky cliffs are towering and uneven, with surging magma below. Those who lack courage may not even dare to look, let alone cross the bridge.

  However, none of the six-person team was weak, and even the seemingly delicate Bai Su could easily jump onto the bridge and cross the river without any fear.

  After crossing the Blazing River, the terrain ahead became much more open, although there were still cracks and fires, but not as hot and unstoppable as the Blazing River.

  "Everyone be careful, Hei Huo Di Yuan is the lair of many Yan Lang beasts, and there are also Chi Jiao Bao and Chi Di Long monsters lurking around!" Lin surname senior brother reminded: "Last time a small team encountered an adult Chi Di Long here, almost wiped out, fortunately other teams discovered reinforcements, but still several people died."

  "Don't think that just because many people have come here before, the Flame Beast and other demonic beasts won't run out of their own territory. From now on, we must be prepared to fight at all times!"

  Everyone's heart was filled with a sense of determination, and they all drew out their own weapons.

  As the only Qi Refiner in the team, Bai Su was protected in the middle of the team.

  For many teams, the Qi Master is the most important member. A well-trained and skilled Qi Master can provide excellent support and protection for teammates, greatly enhancing the team's overall combat effectiveness.

  But Qin Yun's team was temporarily assembled and lacked tacit cooperation between each other, and it was completely unknown whether they could withstand the test of battle.

  Mr. Lin was very aware of this, so he led the team with great care, and everyone was on high alert at the slightest movement, making everyone feel like they were in a state of extreme nervousness.

  What is known as the Black Fire Prairie is actually a vast underground plain, where there are dense earth fires and flame springs, with undulating hills and mountains, as well as towering black rock pillars tens of feet high.

  Especially the latter is densely standing on the ground, looking far away like a black forest, no one knows what kind of terrible beast is hidden inside.

  At first, the six-man team could still see other teams lurking around, but after entering the Black Rock Forest, they were accompanied by strange and eerie howls that seemed to come from nowhere.

  "That's the Flame Wolf Beast during its mating season..." Lin surname senior brother was very calm: "Every year at this time is their season, they will come out from the ground holes."

  The two girls couldn't help but blush.

  She had just taken a few steps when the girl in red suddenly jumped up and shouted loudly: "Ah! Mouse..."

  Only two palm-sized groundhogs came out from the stone crevices, one of which fell right at the feet of the red-skirted girl, scaring her quite a bit.

  Wow!

  Quick-handed Yan Nan immediately swung his sword, and with a heavy thud, the big sword chopped down on the ground mouse's body, cutting this poor little guy in two.

  However, it did not die immediately. The upper half of its body twisted around, opening its mouth to reveal sharp teeth and attempting to bite the sword blade, looking extremely ferocious.

  "This is a flame mouse, there are many in the black fire plain. Although it's not a demon beast, you still need to be careful not to get bitten." Lin surname senior brother laughed and said: "Once they bite onto something, they won't let go until a piece of flesh comes off!"

  In the Fire Dragon Cave, there are many demonic beasts and spiritual beasts. The Flame Mouse is not even a low-level demonic beast, but compared to ordinary mice, it is much more ferocious, barely qualifying as an exotic beast.

  Hmph!

  Just as Mr. Lin's words fell, the smile on his face was still there, and Qin Yun suddenly appeared a few steps away from him, sword in hand, stabbing at him with a swift thrust!

  "You..."

  Lin surname Shixiong never thought that Qin Yun would suddenly attack himself, and he didn't even have time to dodge. He stared blankly as the sword blade struck him head-on, his mind a complete blank!

  Am I going to die?

  He is not dead!

  Because Qin Yun's long sword swept past his neck and stabbed into the black rock pillar beside him.

  Whoosh!

  A black whip-like object suddenly lashed out, tearing through the air with a cracking sound.

  However, Qin Yun reacted faster, flipping his wrist and raising the sword's edge, immediately chopping it into seven or eight segments that fell to the ground.

  It was only then that the crowd, who were shocked and amazed, saw clearly that what Qin Yun had stabbed was a thick and sturdy venomous snake, its body nailed to the rock pillar at seven inches, its mouth wide open with its fangs exposed!

  Its scaly skin was almost identical to the black rock, so Lin didn't notice at all that a poisonous snake was lurking beside him. If Qin Yun hadn't intervened in time, he might have been bitten.

  Everyone let out a sigh of relief, they had all thought Qin Yun had gone crazy and attacked his comrades, but it turned out that he was actually saving someone.

  "Qin Yun, really... thank you!" Lin surname senior brother still had some lingering fear.

  No one noticed that Bai Su quietly stuffed the talisman in her hand back into her own personal pouch.

  Qin Yun struck and killed a black-scaled five-step snake, which can often be found on the Black Fire Prairie.

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