Then do you know that this fire dragon and I are old friends

The entire underground lava cave began to shake violently without any warning.

Rumble—

Stalactites plummeted from the ceiling like rain, smashing into fine powder upon hitting the ground.

The ground cracked open, with hideous fissures spreading like a spiderweb. Scalding magma gushed out from the cracks, twisting the very air with its intense heat.

From another side, river water poured down.

It splashed onto the magma with loud hisses, sending up billowing layers of white mist.

Su Ji finally understood how this young woman had gotten soaked.

Here it comes again...

Lin Ranyue's face paled. She stumbled and nearly fell.

Subconsciously, she grabbed the only thing nearby that could steady her—Su Ji's arm.

Su Ji was momentarily startled by the sudden earthquake, but his foundation was solid. He merely swayed a little before planting his feet firmly.

He glanced down at the young woman who was gripping his arm tightly, her body trembling slightly.

Lin Ranyue's voice carried an unconcealable trace of tension. An earth tremor...

Forcing herself to calm down, she let go, stepped back to put some distance between her and Su Ji, and wore a deeply solemn expression on her pretty face.

I know you are wary of me.

But I am also at the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm.

If we try to take each other down, it will likely cause quite a commotion.

Saying this, she glanced at the continuously collapsing surroundings.

I assume, fellow Daoist, that you are also hiding here to escape being hunted by the disciples of the Heaven Puppet Holy Land.

You wouldn't want to make too much noise fighting me and end up being discovered by them, right?

This current earth tremor will definitely draw their attention. It might be our only chance to escape with our lives.

Su Ji raised an eyebrow.

Cause quite a commotion?

Seriously?

Why did he feel like he could skewer this girl right now with a single thrust of his spear, hoist her up, and let her experience what it truly meant to have her feet leave the ground?

However, her words did provide some useful information.

The people from the Heaven Puppet Holy Land were also here.

And from the sound of it, there was more than one.

Thoughts raced through Su Ji's mind, but his face remained impassive as he played along.

Then you lead the way?

As long as he could get out, it didn't matter.

He couldn't be bothered to explain too much.

These days, people believed lies without a second thought.

But when you told the truth, no one believed it.

Lin Ranyue gave him a deep look, as if trying to read something from his face.

But Su Ji's expression was too calm—so calm that it made her doubt her own judgment.

She hesitated no longer and nodded.

Follow me!

With that, she turned and darted swiftly in a certain direction. Her movements were light and agile, clearly indicating she was quite familiar with the terrain here.

Su Ji followed behind her at a leisurely pace, observing his surroundings as they moved.

The deeper they went, the more shocking the sights became.

Dried blood stained the ground everywhere, scattered with the broken fragments of magical artifacts. The rock walls were covered in ferocious sword scars.

Obviously, a tragic and fierce battle had taken place here not long ago.

Soon, the two stopped in front of a relatively spacious cavern.

Inside the cavern, over a dozen corpses lay scattered in a haphazard mess.

The clothing on these bodies varied; there were rogue cultivators as well as sect disciples. But without exception, their deaths had been extremely gruesome.

Some had been sliced in half at the waist, others had their chests pierced through, and some didn't even have an intact head left.

The thick stench of blood mixed with the smell of sulfur, making it nauseating.

Seeing such a tragic scene, Lin Ranyue's pretty face turned pale.

Su Ji, however, acted as if nothing was wrong. He walked straight over and squatted beside the corpse of a disciple wearing the outer sect uniform of the Acacia Sect.

He reached into the disciple's robes, fumbled around for a moment, and pulled out a bloodstained identity token.

Tsk, an acquaintance.

Su Ji recognized him as the very person who had sold him the map in the first place.

To think he had died here.

He casually tossed the wooden token aside and inspected a few more corpses.

Soon, he noticed a commonality.

Most of the victims' wounds were unusually smooth, as if they had been instantly sliced open by something incredibly sharp.

Moreover, the cuts were perfectly straight and extremely long, not looking like the work of a sword or saber.

Rather, they looked like the work of... threads?

Puppet strings, perhaps?

The image of the man from the Heaven Puppet Holy Land and his eerie white jade puppet surfaced in Su Ji's mind.

It seemed the young woman's words had a high degree of credibility.

He stood up, clapped the dust off his hands, and looked at Lin Ranyue, whose face was still looking unwell.

It seems those Holy Land friends of yours are quite ruthless.

Hearing this, Lin Ranyue gave a cold snort.

They are not my friends.

They are my enemies.

She gritted her teeth, a flash of deep-seated hatred appearing in her eyes.

To snatch the Dragon Blood Stone, they slaughtered every cultivator who entered this place. If I hadn't reacted quickly, I'm afraid I would already be one of these corpses.

Don't all the Holy Lands wear the same pair of pants? Why didn't they bring you along for the murder and robbery?

Lin Ranyue gave him a wary look and didn't answer, merely urging him.

We shouldn't stay here long. Let's go.

The earth tremors are becoming more frequent. If we don't find an exit soon, we'll both be buried alive here.

After saying that, she ignored Su Ji and continued darting forward.

Su Ji stroked his chin and followed her.

The two passed through a few more narrow, long corridors before the view ahead suddenly opened up.

A massive underground lake appeared before them.

The lake water was an eerie dark red, with a faint layer of blood mist drifting over the surface. In the center of the lake sat a small, isolated island, where something seemed to be shimmering with a faint light.

If we want to get out, we have to cross to the other side.

Lin Ranyue pointed at the island in the center of the lake, her voice grave.

But there are restrictive formations laid down by the Heaven Puppet Holy Land nearby, and... there is something in the middle of the lake.

The very moment her words fell.

Splash—

The calm surface of the lake suddenly exploded.

A massive wyrm, as thick as a barrel and covered entirely in red and blue scales, thrust its hideous head out of the lake.

It was exactly the Fire Wyrm that Su Ji had seen before.

Only, at this moment, it looked a bit unfamiliar.

One of its eyes was blind, and its body was covered in bone-deep wounds. Although the two swords that had been stuck in its backside were gone, they had left behind two gaping holes.

Clearly, it had also gone through a vicious battle.

The Fire Wyrm's single eye stared fixedly at the other side of the lake.

Low, rumbling roars came from its throat, filled with tyrannical rage.

Lin Ranyue's voice carried a hint of a tremble.

If the attention of the Heaven Puppet Holy Land disciples hadn't been drawn away by this Lightning-Fire Wyrm, I'm afraid I would have...

Su Ji silently unslung the new spear from his back and gripped it in his hand.

On the spear shaft, crimson dragon-scale patterns flickered with an eerie light under the reflection of the blood-colored lake.

Then did you know that this Fire Wyrm and I are old friends?

If I call out, it will come right over. Do you believe me?