The Journey of Immortal Cultivation-Chapter 894 - 491: Despair

Her grip tightened, and she climbed upward with even more effort. Fortunately, the water pressure wasn’t solely targeting her, as the magma below was also affected and wasn’t overflowing too quickly. Changtian sat in the God Demon Prison, staring intently at the situation outside; Ning Xiaoxian didn’t dare to look back, so she didn’t know, but he could see everything clearly—the bottom of the fissure had already melted, and beneath her feet was a vast expanse of blood-red magma, contracting and expanding as if it were alive!

Though he wished he could take her place, he didn’t dare to rush her or even make a sound, fearing he would disturb her. It was already extremely difficult for this girl to climb upward, and she shouldn’t be distracted by anything else.

Ning Xiaoxian had never felt that eighty meters could be such a long distance, nor had she ever thought that the distance between life and death could be so short. In these fleeting seconds, she forced herself to empty her mind, thinking of nothing beyond tensing her muscles and using her Divine Power to climb upward frantically.

Seething heat waves billowed up from below her, like the breath of the Death God.

At that moment, Changtian shouted: "Qi Zai!" 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Immediately, a steel claw reached down from above, grabbing her shoulder and pulling her out of the terrifying vortex’s grip almost like pulling a radish. Only then did Ning Xiaoxian realize she had reached the fissure’s opening. Without hesitation, she put away the Water-Repelling Pearl, allowing the water’s buoyancy to lift both herself and Qi Zai upward.

Qi Zai spread its wings as if soaring in the sky; with each flap, its streamlined body shot upward much faster than her swimming efforts, impressive given its size. The vast lake had already begun to boil, with countless bubbles passing by them; she enviously watched them reach the surface first.

A few hundred meters of water depth felt as distant as climbing to Heaven.

Qi Zai pushed upward with all its might, not even taking the time for transmission, and finally burst through the steaming water surface.

Its long legs swung, accurately tossing Ning Xiaoxian onto its back while its expansive wings spread. Drops of water rolled off the feathers like pearls, and before they even hit the lake surface, the white Chongming Bird was already thirty meters away from the water!

Below them, Wu Chi’er Mountain let out a terrifying roar, like the sound of fabric being torn magnified a million times. The surface of the Volcanic Lake descended rapidly at a visible speed, as if an invisible giant mouth beneath was devouring the lake water. Ning Xiaoxian couldn’t help but urge Qi Zai: "Go, quick, go!"

Qi Zai let out a long cry, streaking forward at the fastest speed it had ever achieved.

#####

"Boom!"

The Hidden Guards, faces pale, stood suspended in mid-air, watching Wu Chi’er Mountain roar for the first time in tens of thousands of years. Crimson flames exploded at the volcanic crater, while ejecting rocks, mud, and various metals melted by high temperatures, capable of piercing a cultivator’s skin.

Mushrooming smoke shot into the sky; these were vast volcanic ash columns composed of vaporized lake water and other unknown materials, turning into volcanic clouds upon reaching the clouds. Even though they stood far away, they felt the heat washing over and their eyes stinging painfully, forcing them to step back even further.

Tu Jin instinctively closed his eyes. During a volcanic eruption, temperatures reached at least several thousand degrees; cultivators below the Transcendence Tribulation Stage, no matter how strong their physical bodies, stood no chance against such natural might. If Ning Xiaoxian died, the God Demon Prison would close again, indirectly granting him the freedom he had longed for.

Yet why did he feel no joy; why instead did he feel his eyes heating as if about to tear up in the wind? Ever since he was trapped by Fairy Su Xia’s scheme into the secret realm, he swore never to shed tears for anyone in this world.

Why did he feel so frustrated and unwilling? He had already done his utmost...

Qingluan suddenly cried out in alarm, breaking his thoughts: "Look there!"

Amidst the billowing smoke columns, a small black dot darted, escaping debris like falling shrapnel. But the smoke column was too grand, and this black dot so tiny, that an ordinary cultivator’s eyesight wouldn’t catch its movement path.

Without thinking, Qingluan transformed into the Green Bird with flapping wings, swiftly flying to meet it.

Indeed, it was Qi Zai. His once-beautiful white feathers were now charred black, his buttocks bare, with originally impressive long and beautiful tail feathers singed away; fortunately, he didn’t rely solely on these feathers for flight, or even maintaining balance would have been difficult. Seeing his wife coming to greet him, he weakly said: "So close, so close, the volcano erupted right under my ass, I thought I was a goner today!"

Qingluan was amused enough to chuckle but changed his expression upon seeing the wavering Ning Xiaoxian on the bird’s back, hurriedly landing on her to gently support her: "Lord Ning!"

"I’m fine," she gently waved a hand but didn’t open her eyes, "I’m just exhausted, a little rest will do."

Qingluan gently said: "You’re bleeding from your nose."

She wiped with her hand, feeling the wet stickiness; wasn’t she indeed bleeding? With her current Divine Power Cultivation, a nosebleed indicated severe internal injuries.

Just now, she had crazily expanded her Divine Thought, repeatedly searching for the Nanming Lihuo Sword amidst the lava, committing a major taboo in cultivation, greatly damaging her Divine Soul. Her injuries hadn’t healed properly, and now her mind was hazy, yet her consciousness remained clear.

She opened her eyes, fixedly staring at Wu Chi’er Mountain before her. It was erupting vigorously, releasing tens of thousands of years of suppressed anguish, while her heart felt like a dead volcano, sinking into icy cold isolation. This contrast was especially stark.

The Nanming Lihuo Sword was not here. She could now let it go. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to vote recommendations and monthly tickets at qidian.com; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)