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The surroundings were shrouded in a gray mist, obscuring both the entrance and the guards. Chu Xi began rummaging through her Spirit Bag again, this time pulling out a White Jade Bottle. The contents of the bottle were unknown, but as Chu Xi reached forward, the White Jade Bottle emitted a strange red glow that grew brighter, resembling a flickering flame behind the glass. Chu Xi turned and extended the small bottle backward, watching as the red light slowly faded away. After trying all four directions—front, back, left, and right—Chu Xi put away the small bottle and nodded forward, indicating clearly that the entrance was straight ahead.
But how to get there? How to determine where the guards were? Li Hong was troubled, and it seemed Chu Xi was too. Her small face was tense and serious as she tilted her head in thought. After a moment, she made a gesture toward Chu Yan. Chu Yan nodded, jumped onto the Wingless Ship, and silently mouthed to everyone, "One hour, remember!"
The Wingless Ship turned around and flew back into the darkness they had come from, leaving Li Hong and the others behind.
Chu Xi nervously gestured for them to stay put. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she crawled up a mound of earth, her agile body moving like a cat as she approached the misty area. A bizarre scene unfolded; only the lower half of her body was visible as she disappeared into the gray fog. Suddenly, two long and sturdy legs sprang off the ground. Chu Xi jumped into the mist and vanished.
Li Hong felt sweat forming in his palms as he glanced at Chuxiong beside him, whose eyes were wide open—twice their usual size.
Inside, there was no movement. Suddenly, without warning, the gray mist began to swirl as if an invisible hand was pushing it outward. A dull roar echoed in their ears; it sounded muffled and not very loud.
Then two figures stumbled out of the mist. One of them muttered indistinctly, "What is that? It stinks!"
A foul odor spread through the air, reminiscent of someone who had eaten garlic and onions mixed with the hot stench of cow and pig manure—it was suffocatingly bad. Li Hong accidentally inhaled a breath of it and nearly gagged! He quickly held his breath but couldn't help smiling; this girl Chu Xi was quite clever!
The two individuals staggered around in disgust, tears streaming down their faces as they coughed uncontrollably. One of them ran off to the side while covering his nose, completely oblivious to the two hidden nearby. Their figures disappeared into the distant fog.
Suddenly, a familiar small white hand emerged from the mist ahead. Its owner was concealed behind the fog and gestured for them to come over quickly.
Li Hong exchanged glances with Chuxiong and grinned before leaping into the mist.
As Li Hong plunged into the fog, he felt an odd sensation—as if he had jumped into water—his body momentarily halted by an invisible pressure that suddenly pressed down on him. In an instant, that pressure vanished. He realized that everything within the mist appeared hazy yet relatively clear compared to how chaotic it looked from outside.
Chu Xi was just three feet away, tightly gripping the White Jade Bottle in her hand. The red light inside was growing brighter like a guiding lantern for them. Seeing them catch up, Chu Xi wanted to smile but quickly glanced sideways with caution before signaling for them to hurry along. The three moved forward cautiously in a triangular formation, taking small steps as they proceeded.
As soon as they took a wrong turn, the red light emanating from the White Jade Bottle immediately dimmed. Guided by this peculiar little jade bottle, they soon came upon a door.
It was a rather abrupt door. There was no proper frame or wall; just two solitary doors standing together in the endless gray mist, looking quite strange.
Chu Xi's face lit up with joy as she put the White Jade Bottle back into her Spirit Bag and quickly walked to the door, extending her right hand to push it open.
The door opened easily, revealing a long passageway behind it. The passage was built of large blue stones that appeared ancient, darkened and dull with age. Every ten feet along the walls hung a copper lamp. The end of the passage faded into thick darkness.
As they stepped inside, the two doors closed automatically, and it became pitch black. Li Hong was about to remind Chu Xi to take out the White Jade Bottle for light when he suddenly heard a series of soft sounds in the darkness, like someone striking flint. Two hazy lights flickered to life before them, growing brighter. Soon, the sound of striking continued incessantly.
One by one, the copper lamps in the passage lit up automatically, creating two lines of light that extended along the long corridor. In an instant, the entire passage was illuminated.
Li Hong could see clearly now; there was no one around, and it was eerily quiet. All three of them couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief. Their luck was truly remarkable!
Chu Xi said cheerfully, "Now we can talk. Can you believe there are only two Shibo guarding this place? They were scared off by my carefully prepared stink bombs and Fire Glaze. Looks like luck is on our side. Let's hurry up!"
As they ran down the long passageway, Li Hong kept glancing back, fearing that the door would open again and the guards would return. Fortunately, that did not happen. They twisted and turned several times until there were no more lights in the passage; it was pitch black and nothing could be seen. Thankfully, the red light from the White Jade Bottle guided their way.
After passing through many dark forks in the path, they reached the end of the passage where there stood a massive thick stone door. The red light from the White Jade Bottle was dazzling, making it look as if the entire bottle were ablaze. Chu Xi exclaimed happily, "This is it."
Li Hong pressed his palm against the door; it felt incredibly hot, and he began to sense a strange pulsing in his forehead that grew clearer by the moment, as if something inside were jumping—Fire Separation Pearl seemed to sense something as well; after being still for so long, it suddenly awakened. Behind this stone door lay the Li Fire Formation.
Li Hong took a deep breath and turned to Chuxiong and Chu Xi, saying, "You two wait here for me."
"No way!" Chu Xi protested at that moment: "I want to go in with you; just leave Chuxiong here to keep watch."
"You've gone mad!" Chuxiong shouted with wide eyes. "Big Brother has the Fire Separation Pearl, what do you have? Do you want to get burned to death?"
"Second Brother is right!" Li Hong exclaimed. "Thank you, Chu Xi, but I really can't take you in. Right now, I have no ability to protect you."
"You are mistaken," Chu Xi calmly countered. "If I calculate correctly, as long as I stay within three feet of you, nothing will happen!" She felt a bit guilty. "I'm sorry, Chu Hong. I actually have my own selfish motives. You had a fortuitous encounter in the Li Fire Formation. Although I know this is your destiny, I also want to take a chance. I practice the Li Fire Scripture, and if I can enter the Li Fire Formation, it would definitely benefit my cultivation." With a quick change of tone, she pulled at Li Hong's sleeve and pleaded, "Please take me in... pretty please... take me..."
Li Hong immediately felt overwhelmed. He had figured out Chu Xi's personality; this exceptionally talented girl would do anything to enhance her cultivation! Especially since she was bold and unafraid of danger. If he didn't agree, he didn't know how long she would pester him. As time ticked away, he saw no point in arguing here, especially since he trusted Chu Xi.
Li Hong nodded slightly. Chu Xi's face instantly lit up with joy as she tightly held onto his sleeve as if afraid he would change his mind. Li Hong turned to Chuxiong and said, "Second Brother, you need to be careful."
"I know, Big Brother. You two hurry up and go," Chuxiong replied as he backed away and squatted down in the dark corner by the wall.
With a loud creaking sound, the stone door slowly opened a crack, revealing a blazing fire ahead that rushed toward them with intense heat. The hand that Chu Xi held in her palm trembled slightly. When Li Hong turned his head, he saw her determined little face. Chu Xi bit her delicate lip tightly with her small white teeth; although she was very nervous, her eyes revealed a familiar fervor.
Li Hong couldn't help but smile wryly. He continued to push with more force; the gap in the door widened further as suffocating heat rushed in, making it hard for him to breathe. Just then, a cool sensation surged from the Upper Dantian Purple Palace, instantly spreading throughout his body and dissipating the fiery suffocation feeling. Chu Xi beside him could feel it too; she revealed a familiar mischievous smile and casually extended her finger forward.
The stone door closed behind them with a loud clang. Before them lay an endless Fire Sea.
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