If someone had been at the scene, he would have found Qin Yu falling rapidly like a streak of light, with the Heavenly Fire nearly grazing by Huangquan Road at the same time. In the blink of an eye, Qin Yu propelled himself toward the shore at an even greater speed than his fall.

A flash of black light shimmered, and then, Qin Yu was standing on the bank of the Skyfire Magma River.

Unharmed!

If a mortal were present, they might still be unaware of what had just happened, possibly only True Master Yan Mo, Lady Yan Ji, and others would have been able to discern the events clearly upon arriving.

As a matter of fact...

...

Initially, Qin Yu’s body plunged directly from the side of Huangquan Road like a meteorite, and as he fell, several Heavenly Fires brushed past the position where Qin Yu was. Although Qin Yu escaped the attack of the Heavenly Fire, he descended toward the Skyfire Magma River.

The Skyfire Magma River, boiling fiercely, shot Heavenly Fire into the sky.

Not to mention Qin Yu, even Lady Yan Ji, once she entered this Skyfire Magma River, would undoubtedly perish.

Qin Yu’s body plummeted downward, his cold gaze fixed on the boiling Skyfire Magma River, showing no trace of fear. Abruptly—Qin Yu’s rapidly descending figure halted as he grabbed a black rope, which was tightly wound around several circles at one end of Huangquan Road.

The black rope shortened rapidly, doing so at a very fast pace.

In the blink of an eye, as the rope rapidly shortened, Qin Yu, who was holding one end of the rope, suddenly reached the bank of Huangquan Road. Carried by the momentum of the swiftly shortening rope, Qin Yu simply pushed with his hands and landed directly on the bank.

...

This was how Qin Yu escaped with his life.

Finally having successfully crossed Huangquan Road, but at this moment, Qin Yu felt no joy in his heart, only concern.

"Li’er," Qin Yu clenched his fists, his heart filled with worry.

Just as Qin Yu was consumed with anxiety, suddenly the sky spun and the earth turned. Originally, Qin Yu was on the other side of the Skyfire Magma River, but quite abruptly, he disappeared from the spot, and when Qin Yu regained consciousness.

"This, this is..."

Qin Yu looked around. Just moments ago, he was beside Huangquan Road, watching the overwhelming Heavenly Fire and Heavenly Thunder, but now Qin Yu found himself on a grassland, where a gentle breeze blew comfortingly against his body, yet—

"How, how is this possible?" Qin Yu was utterly astounded at this moment.

Even he, in all his composure, was profoundly shocked upon seeing the person before him.

Standing about several tens of meters in front of Qin Yu was a man in a black robe, none other than the Third Tribulation Independent Demon, Huo Can!

"Huo Can should have died, I saw it with my own eyes, on Huangquan Road, I saw him burnt to ashes by the Heavenly Fire, how could..." Qin Yu’s face was filled with disbelief, and he felt a sense of chaos.

At that moment, Huo Can seemed to have also noticed Qin Yu, his face showing an expression as if he had seen a ghost: "Qin Yu, is that you...weren’t you dead?"

"Me, dead?" Qin Yu was full of astonishment.

"I saw with my own eyes that you were struck dead by the Heavenly Thunder, how could..." Huo Can was equally perplexed.

"Yan Lang, how are you still alive?" Yan Mo’s voice rang out not far away.

"Of course I’m alive, why would you ask that?" Yan Lang’s puzzled voice responded, "Ah, Lady Yan Ji, you... I saw with my own eyes that you fell into the Skyfire Magma River, how... how are you still alive?"

One by one, figures appeared on the grassland.

"Big Brother Qin Yu." A voice tinged with surprise rang out, and Qin Yu turned to look.

There stood Li’er, wearing a silver-white female Battle Armor and red Barbarian Boots, her face flushing with excitement, and her eyes swelling as if she were about to cry. She ran up to Qin Yu in two or three steps and immediately hugged him tightly.

Feeling the body in his arms, Qin Yu himself felt slightly dizzy at the moment.

Having lost and regained, such warmth was unparalleled; Qin Yu involuntarily hugged Li’er’s body closer, and she looked up, her swollen eyes gazing at him, conveying a rare air of valor as she wore her Battle Armor.

"Big Brother Qin Yu, I saw the Heavenly Fire and thought, I thought..." Li’er’s beautiful eyes looked at Qin Yu, filled with anxiety as if reliving that moment, involuntarily letting tears flow.

Qin Yu felt a pang of heartache.

Moved by impulse, Qin Yu bent down and gently kissed away the teardrop at Li’er’s eye corner.

"Don’t cry, no matter what, I will always be fine, and I will not let you worry, rest assured." Qin Yu, with his head low, gazed into Li’er’s eyes, tenderly yet firmly spoke.

Li’er’s face turned completely red in an instant, burying her head in Qin Yu’s chest, no longer daring to look at him.

At that moment, Qin Yu was taken aback.

"Just now, I..."

It was then that Qin Yu felt his heartbeat pounding like the sound of drums near his ears, a sensation he had only experienced as a child during extreme weighted long-distance runs.

But seeing Li’er in his arms, Qin Yu smiled again and involuntarily held her a bit tighter.

"What actually happened? Qin Yu, I saw with my own eyes that you were burnt to death by the Heavenly Fire, and you were even shouting for help loudly, I believe...I definitely didn’t see it wrong." Yida walked up beside Qin Yu, his face full of confusion.

As if awakened by a startle, Li’er suddenly came out of Qin Yu’s embrace, her face still flushed.

Qin Yu inwardly cursed at Yida, but after a while, Qin Yu also started to doubt what exactly had happened.

Listening to what everyone said, it seemed like everyone saw someone else die, but... now everyone seemed perfectly alive, what exactly was going on?

"Could all this have been an illusion?" Qin Yu pondered, but he really found it hard to imagine, could an illusion be made so realistic, including the temperature of the Heavenly Fire and the smell of that magma?

Eight people appeared on the grassland.

Qin Yu, Yan Mo, Li’er, Yida, Lady Yan Ji, Huo Can, Green Dragon Yan Lang, Elder Qian Xu.

And True Master Shui Rou, True Master Yue Yan, and the top three experts of the Dragon Clan were not present.

"Immortal Emperor Ni Yang said that entering Huangquan Road is a survival of the fittest, with a nine in ten chance of death. Yet, why are so many of us still alive and well? This is indeed strange," Green Dragon Yan Lang expressed his confusion. To face such odds, and yet, eight among us survived.

At this moment, the atmosphere between Elder Qian Xu, Huo Can, and Lady Yan Ji was somewhat delicate.

Elder Qian Xu, True Master Shui Rou, and True Master Yue Yan were the killers of Huo Lan, and naturally, his brother Huo Can held deep resentment towards these three. Currently, since True Master Shui Rou and True Master Yue Yan were absent, Huo Can’s animosity was directed at Elder Qian Xu.

However, constrained by the presence of Lady Yan Ji, Huo Can dared not engage in a deadly fight with Elder Qian Xu. Should things escalate to such a level, he might lose the opportunity to challenge Lady Yan Ji.

Lady Yan Ji was also feeling helpless, having suffered severe injuries already within Qingyu Immortal Mansion and attacked similarly on Huangquan Road. Now, Lady Yan Ji’s strength was less than a third of her former might, yet even so, she was not someone Huo Can or Elder Qian Xu could oppose alone.

"Where did True Master Shui Rou and True Master Yue Yan go? Could they have perished on Huangquan Road?" Huo Can angrily said, "Those traitorous lovers, I haven’t even exacted my revenge yet, but they are dead on Huangquan Road, how convenient for them."

"No, perhaps they are in Taoyuan," Elder Qian Xu glared at Huo Can and spoke.

"What about the three uncles?" Green Dragon Yan Lang pondered at this time, "Could they really have gone to Taoyuan?"

Upon hearing Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s explanation about ’Taoyuan’ and ’Huangquan Road,’ Yan Lang immediately thought of his three uncles. In his view, for his three uncles who had reached the Late Tribulation Crossing, choosing Taoyuan was the ultimate option.

Yet now, discovering that his three uncles were gone, Green Dragon Yan Lang felt a hint of urgency.

Without his three uncles, the Dragon Clan’s influence was among the lowest among the survivors.

"Congratulations, you dared to choose Huangquan Road!" Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s voice boomed over the grasslands, and instantly, everyone fell silent, listening intently to Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s words.

"I know you are curious why you saw people die, but now they live before you," Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s words carried a hint of mockery.

Qin Yu and the others listened, each harboring a guess, but only upon hearing Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s answer could they be certain.

"Let me tell you: Huangquan Road is the path of life," Immortal Emperor Ni Yang wickedly declared.

Everyone was shocked.

Could it be that those who entered Huangquan Road had all survived?

"Yes, just as you thought, everyone who chose to enter Huangquan Road safely arrived here. Whether you were struck by Heavenly Thunder, fell into the magma river, or crossed it safely, you would eventually reach this grassland unharmed," Immortal Emperor Ni Yang seemed very pleased with himself.

"This Immortal Emperor Ni Yang, he actually, he actually tricked us again. He first said it was a certain death, and then possibly all would die, but now..." Huo Can was visibly angered, "This is just, just too much."

The others were at a loss for words.

Huangquan Road, initially portrayed as fraught with dangers and where a slight misstep could mean death, turned out to be the safest route. Merely stepping onto Huangquan Road meant one would definitely not die and would peacefully reach this grassland.

Suddenly, Qin Yu had a thought.

Since those who chose Huangquan Road were all alive, what about those who entered Taoyuan? Was it really as safe as Immortal Emperor Ni Yang said?

"Huangquan Road is the path of life, but Taoyuan is the land of death. Anyone who chose to enter Taoyuan... Once they step into Taoyuan, they will find that it is the real Huangquan," Immortal Emperor Ni Yang laughed heartily.

Everyone felt a sense of dread in their hearts.

Deceit, mockery, treating human lives as if they were mere child’s play.

Immortal Emperor Ni Yang truly had no scruples, treating everything like it was just a game. The conditions he disclosed seemed real, but in the end, they turned out to be false, making it incredibly hard to distinguish truth from lies.

"My three uncles." Green Dragon Yan Lang’s face changed drastically.

If his uncles had entered Taoyuan and left after Ascension, he would have been at ease. But now, hearing what Immortal Emperor Ni Yang said, that everyone who entered Taoyuan had died, anger and dissatisfaction surged in his heart.

"To live is to die, to die is to live. Those who lack even the courage to face death and danger, choosing instead to indulge in comfort, how are they worthy of my treasures? Living is a waste of nature’s spiritual energy, better off dead," Immortal Emperor Ni Yang said disdainfully.

Immortal Emperor Ni Yang clearly despised those who feared death and danger.

And stepping onto Huangquan Road meant that these people had the courage to face death and danger, a courage that satisfied Immortal Emperor Ni Yang, which is why they all safely reached this grassland.

"Immortal Emperor Ni Yang," Qin Yu quietly took a breath, unsure whether to regard Immortal Emperor Ni Yang as good or bad.

"Big Brother Qin Yu, Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s strength is really formidable, especially in formations and illusion realms." Li’er’s face still flushed with embarrassment, secretly thought, "What Uncle Lan told me before coming here...seems to have been right."

At that moment, all eight people there thought of the treasures.

"Ladies and gentlemen, congratulations on making it here. Now that you have come this far, I formally announce...you are all safe now, of course, your infighting is not my concern," the voice of Immortal Emperor Ni Yang echoed over the grassland, "What you need to do now is to distribute the Immortal Treasure."

Can Immortal Emperor Ni Yang’s words be trusted?

Some words can be trusted, some cannot. Anyone who trusts everything is a fool.

This was the conclusion everyone reached after entering the Immortal Mansion and experiencing so much.

"From where you are, fly eight thousand li southeast, there you will find a Jade Pavilion, which is the Treasure Pavilion of Nine Sword Immortal Mansion. The most precious Immortal Treasures of Nine Sword Immortal Mansion are all inside. Go now and see how much treasure you can seize," Immortal Emperor Ni Yang finally revealed the location of the treasures.

The Treasure Pavilion of Nine Sword Immortal Mansion, eight thousand li to the southeast?

At that moment, everyone engraved this information firmly in their minds.

"The eight thousand li journey to the Treasure Pavilion is absolutely safe, you can fly with ease. I wish you good luck, haha..." With a laugh, the voice of Immortal Emperor Ni Yang finally disappeared into the cosmos.

Eight thousand li without any danger?

Can every word of Immortal Emperor Ni Yang be trusted?

Qin Yu, Li’er, Lady Yan Ji, Elder Qian Xu, and the other eight individuals looked at each other and then all started flying southeast. However, they each flew at a slow speed, appearing very cautious, clearly not as carefree as Immortal Emperor Ni Yang had suggested.

(End of Chapter One! There’s a second Chapter!)

(To be continued. For further reading, please visit WWW.CMFU.COM, with more Chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)