Chapter 16 The Bottom of Mount Taan Yao

Bai Xiu left with Gu Xiaoman.

The deep forest returned to silence, Gu Shen looked at the thin red veil in his palm, his expression somewhat complicated.

He slowly exhaled a breath of stagnant air and collected his thoughts.

Now was not the time for lengthy contemplation.

"Zhuque might be leaving the 'Taan Yao Core Area' now… I must seize the time."

Gu Shen put on the ghost mask.

His aura was completely concealed, perfectly blending into the shadows of the deep forest at this moment.

At the same time, Chu Ling's voice sounded in his mind: "Gu Shen, bad news, the signal from [Deep Sea] is getting weaker… If you want to enter the core area, our mental link may be briefly disconnected."

Taan Yao volcanic ash filled the entire Sang Zhou Cave.

Gu Shen sped through the trees, his voice calm: "After breaking through, I have a 90% certainty of killing Zhuque… You don't need to worry about my safety."

Three times beyond the boundary, promoted to the ninth level.

Gu Shen's spiritual sea was already at the same level as Zhuque, even stronger!

At this moment, Zhuque was not at his peak.

He had been severely injured by Jia Wei and was eager to find "Red Dragon"... presumably he was anxiously waiting in the Taan Yao core area. He only needed to strike first, and even if he didn't kill him in one blow, he could completely gain the upper hand.

Chu Ling suddenly asked, "Do you remember the disaster prediction you saw in Frozen Lake?"

"I remember."

After wearing the ghost mask, Gu Shen's face changed slightly.

His features turned into a swaying mist.

His temperament was somewhere between light and darkness, exuding a gloomy and strange aura.

Gu Shen lowered his eyes and said, "In fact, I'm wondering if I should take out the 'Calamity Bracelet' again for a divination… Perhaps some of the scenes I saw in Frozen Lake still exist at this moment."

"..."

There was no sound in his mind.

Gu Shen tried to call Chu Ling's name twice, but lost all response. Clearly, the volcanic ash had blocked the [Deep Sea] signal. For Gu Shen, this was actually a good thing.

Only in this situation would he have a chance to kill Zhuque.

As he flew, he took out the bracelet, thoughtfully gazing at it for a long time.

...

...

The Taan Yao core area, compared to the beast tide turbulence outside, the ridge of this active volcano seemed particularly silent.

Sand and rocks flew, and the wind howled.

But no living beings appeared. The birds that used to cross the black sky and crash into the crater had disappeared...

The cold wind from the Ice Sea blew here, stirring up bursts of scarlet flames.

Large chunks of mountain rock revived under the blowing of the Ice Sea's cold wind, truly resembling the shaking of a giant's skin, constantly rejuvenating. The previously gray and black land had become somewhat blood-colored.

Gu Shen landed steadily on the Taan Yao ridge, looking at the ground beneath his feet...

The Pure Land domain unfolded, a piece of broken ice spread beneath him, then shattered.

The high temperature melted all the Pure Land snow.

Under the envelopment of the domain.

Gu Shen still felt a burning heat.

"The density of 'volcanic ash' here is terrifying."

Gu Shen frowned.

More than the high temperature, what made him uneasy was the "occlusion" here. Countless winds howled, crashing back and forth, condensing into walls, locking the scorching breath emanating from the crater on the ridge. These faintly ignited volcanic ash swirled in the low sky with the wind.

It turned out that the volcanic ash that permeated Sang Zhou Cave was only a small part—

The real majority was in the core area!

He had almost lost all visibility.

Fortunately, "Blazing Fire" had top-notch detection capabilities. In this situation, it could still sweep out. Gu Shen could basically grasp the movements in a circular area of about 500 meters around him. If he wanted to expand further, it would be somewhat difficult.

Even the [Authority] showed signs of failure...

"The core area seems very silent… Is Zhuque still here?"

Gu Shen raised an eyebrow. What he was most worried about was that Zhuque had already left this godforsaken place. The environment here was too harsh.

The wind and sand were strong, and volcanic ash filled the sky.

Following the guidance of his intuition, Gu Shen walked a distance towards the Taan Yao crater...

"Hmm, what is this?"

He squatted down.

The keen perception ability of an S-level ability allowed Gu Shen to detect a trace of abnormality.

A wisp of flame drifted in the strong wind, returning to Gu Shen's outstretched palm. The flame extinguished, and a handful of broken earth and stone remained in his palm… Gu Shen's mental power immersed in it, and he felt the burning breath of Zhuque's Divine Envoy's Li Fire!

"This aura is very fresh… Zhuque was just here!"

Gu Shen's eyes lit up.

He had found a clue!

He immediately activated [Profiling]. Countless flames vibrated in all directions. The high-level mental system's [Profiling] could read many scenes, provided there was enough "information"… However, Blazing Fire's capture ability was indeed strong. Before long, in the dusty, blind field of vision, Gu Shen projected a blurred shadow.

It was a thin, injured figure, landing on Mount Taan Yao, waiting for a moment, not waiting for the person he was supposed to meet, and then began to stagger forward...

Gu Shen understood.

Zhuque was trying to find Red Dragon.

The two had agreed to meet here, but Red Dragon had not arrived...

Seeing this, Gu Shen felt somewhat ironic and amused.

Even if Zhuque had a hundred brains, he would never have imagined that Red Dragon would not come to Taan Yao at all!

However, the subsequent [Profiling] left Gu Shen puzzled.

Because the injured shadow was constantly walking towards the top of Mount Taan Yao. Zhuque should be looking for Red Dragon. Why was he heading deeper into the core area?

Gu Shen frowned. Although he couldn't understand it, he could only follow along.

"..."

Finally, he arrived at the end of the [Profiling] scene, which was the Taan Yao crater. A large amount of "fresh" volcanic ash was spewing out from the cracks.

The range of the Pure Land was greatly reduced, and the visibility was greatly lowered. Gu Shen couldn't help but narrow his eyes.

"Is this guy crazy? Why did he come here?"

Looking at the final [Profiling] scene, Gu Shen was stunned.

He saw Zhuque standing at the Taan Yao crater, hesitating for a second, and then jumping in!

"Zhuque jumped into Taan Yao? What is he thinking?"

Gu Shen was stunned. He didn't understand this guy's thought process, but the situation was clear.

A good news and a bad news.

The good news was that Zhuque hadn't run away and was now in Taan Yao.

The bad news was...

This guy was inside Taan Yao.

If he wanted to kill him, he had to jump in!

...

...

"Gurgle... gurgle..."

At the bottom of Mount Taan Yao, there was a low, bubble-like sound.

Accompanied by the beat of drums.

With each vibration, a large amount of volcanic ash was sent to the high sky thousands of meters above, spewing out.

If Taan Yao was a person.

Then this was the person's heart.

A large amount of volcanic ash concealed this place... This volcanic ash did possess extremely strange characteristics. Source power would be destroyed. This seemed to be a substance born to counter "Transcenders". Even the [Authority] of the Throne could not be unimpeded here.

It could be said that this was a true no-man's land.

To set foot here required a complete domain.

Every second the domain resisted the volcanic ash consumed source power... And when the source power was exhausted, the domain master would only have death awaiting them.

At least without relying on abilities, no one could escape from the bottom of Mount Taan Yao.

They would be melted and become part of the lava.

Perhaps many years later, they would become powder and be vibrated out with the beating of the heart, spewing into the sky and evenly distributed in every corner of Sang Zhou Cave… if Sang Zhou Cave still existed then.

"Still want to struggle?"

At the deepest part of the bottom of Mount Taan Yao, countless ashes spread and swept through, and a voice with a gentle smile slowly spread.

A large amount of ash enveloped a lonely red figure.

The Zhuque Divine Envoy's eyes were full of despair. His source power was about to be exhausted...

The Li Fire domain had shrunk to his feet, only able to envelop him within a foot.

As for the "spirit tablet", it had completely lost its sense!

The [Cloud Mirror] Authority could not call for help at the bottom of Mount Taan Yao... These were not the greatest despair. The source of all this despair came from the blood-colored heart embedded in the volcanic rock wall, and the vague figure sitting on the protruding scabbard rock looking at him!

A large amount of volcanic ash listened to this man's control and orders.

He was suppressed by layers of lava heat waves, and outside was layer after layer of volcanic ash.

Due to the bottoming out of source power.

The "elementalization" was about to be lifted...

"Haven't you comprehended two domains?"

The figure said with a smile, "Why not try to break through the limit here? If you become a 'Sealed Title', you might have a chance to get out alive."

Zhuque's pupils were already unable to focus.

He had just seen this blood-colored heart and encountered this guy. This was the most aggrieved fight he had ever fought since birth. The volcanic ash at the bottom of Mount Taan Yao surged towards him, overwhelmingly suppressing the "Li Fire domain."

And then...

There was no then!

He didn't even have time to see the face of this outsider clearly!

What followed was a meaningless war of attrition. This guy's ability seemed to be able to mobilize the entire Taan Yao. As one of the Four Divine Envoys, Zhuque, although he was suppressed throughout the whole process, also discovered some clues.

He noticed that every time the volcanic ash stirred to suppress him, the stone wall here would flash a large amount of scarlet light!

He instantly thought of the "ancient texts" that the scholars in Upper City had painstakingly researched...

Who would have thought that so many ancient texts were engraved at the bottom of Mount Taan Yao!

Moreover, these ancient texts were winding and twisting, like rivers and streams, eventually converging towards the blood-colored heart in the center!

"Do you have the guts to release the suppression?"

Zhuque's forehead bulged with veins.

What he hated most now was not the Dark Son of Light City who disgusted him in the E0 district's North Ridge, nor Gu Shen… but this guy who ambushed him at the bottom of Mount Taan Yao.

He did want to try to break through the limit… but the biggest difficulty was that there was not a single bit of source power in this godforsaken place!

All the actions of Transcenders required Transcendent source power as support.

The Throne was an exception, but that was because the "fire seed" contained an endless sea of source power, so the Seven Gods could turn their hands into clouds, turn their hands into rain, and easily create miracles with a single thought!

"I release the suppression… can you break through the boundary?"

The figure's voice contained laughter, and the laughter also contained sarcasm.

"You can try..."

Zhuque took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and said, "It took a long time to set up this array pattern in Sang Zhou Cave, right... I guess you are a native of Southern Continent. I am a Divine Envoy under the Sky Throne, and I carry his authority [Cloud Mirror]! If you dare to kill me, the Source Tower will chase you to the ends of the earth!"

This sentence seemed to have some effect.

"..."

Zhuque stared at the end of the swaying volcanic ash in the distance.

The figure was silent for a few seconds, sincerely sighing, "Sounds really scary, the highest seat of the Throne will chase me to the ends of the earth... If I kill you, will my life be over?"

"You can understand it that way."

Cold sweat dripped from Zhuque's forehead, "Your Excellency, we have no grudges, why do you have to act like this..."

"You let me leave, and I can swear on my soul not to leak the secret. From then on, the Source Tower will become your backing, and as for me, if I take the 'Lord of Wine' Throne in the future, I will..."

He didn't finish his words.

The figure in the volcanic ash couldn't help but laugh, "You? Take the 'Lord of Wine' Throne?"

Zhuque was startled, his expression gloomy.

"Idiot, you are hopeless."

The figure's voice was filled with sorrow, "The Source Tower's 'Lord of Wine' already has a candidate... Even if you wait ten thousand years, it won't be your turn. You can't even protect yourself now, and you're still thinking about snatching the Throne?"

Zhuque's expression suddenly turned pale.

He retorted loudly, "What nonsense are you talking about! The Lord of Wine already has a candidate... how is that possible!"

The figure no longer responded.

Across the countless volcanic ash, only a vague shadow could be seen. The figure sitting on the raised cliff inside the volcano slowly raised his head and made a meaningful laugh, "You're lucky, someone is coming from outside."

Someone is coming!

A look of joy suddenly appeared on Zhuque's face...

It's Red Dragon, it must be Red Dragon.

At this time, in this godforsaken place, it could only be Red Dragon!

What made Zhuque even more delighted was that perhaps the news of someone coming from outside distracted the person controlling the volcanic ash. He found a "flaw" at this moment, mustered the last of his source power, Zhuque took a deep breath, he collected all the "Li Fire domain" and absorbed it into his body, the elementalized armor instantly solidified, this was his last counterattack, and the only chance!

"Boom!"

The volcanic ash was shattered.

The injured Zhuque, at this moment, burst out with unprecedented combat power!

Every Divine Envoy was a top genius...

Never make mistakes between life and death!

Zhuque clenched the Li Fire longsword, pierced through the underground flames, and then pierced through the volcanic ash.

At this last moment, he had two choices.

Take the opportunity to escape, or counterattack!

He did not hesitate at all and chose the latter—counterattack!

With monstrous killing intent, Zhuque's sword pierced through countless volcanic ash, shattering clusters of volcanic debris, moving forward without hesitation!

His "elementalized" armor was shattered.

This Li Fire sword, which condensed the last trace of source power, only moved forward and did not retreat.

This sword burned all of Zhuque's desire to survive, so it was extremely stunning.

But unfortunately.

This sword lacked momentum and was blocked by layers of mountains and rivers. After countless flames intercepted it... it was ultimately unable to advance and hovered about half a meter away from "that figure's" face.

The elementalized armor was fragmented.

"...You!"

Zhuque looked in shock at the face revealed after the volcanic ash was shattered.

At this moment, he had countless things to say.

But the blood surged, and all these words were blocked in his throat, unable to be spoken.

"Uh..."

He lowered his head and looked at an arm that pierced through his chest and held his heart.

"Before you die, I'll give you a sentence."

The figure pulled out his hand, pulled out his heart, raised it high, quietly examined it, and said with a smile, "Death is not the end, death... is another kind of beginning."