Shocking the Nine Heavens With My Sword
Chapter 227 - 219: Earth’s Core Fire Stone (1/3)

Chapter 227: Chapter 219: Earth’s Core Fire Stone (1/3)

Zhou Heng, along with another person and a donkey, were descending along the cave wall, resisting strong currents of air and scorching temperatures that seemed capable of steaming a person dry.

Fortunately, two of them had reached the Mountains and Rivers Realm in their cultivation, and although the other’s cultivation level was temporarily a bit lower, when it came to physical strength, he was second to none. With Zhou Heng’s body now as formidable as a Mountains and Rivers Realm magic artifact, perhaps only a Nascent Soul Realm expert could pose any challenge to him.

Humans have never been known for their outstanding physiques. Instead, they developed numerous martial arts techniques utilizing spiritual power, some of which are designed to protect the user, achieving a similar effect. However, executing these techniques inevitably consumes spiritual power and cannot match the advantage of innate physical strength.

Therefore, humans always find themselves at a disadvantage when fighting against demon beasts of the same tier.

Zhou Heng glanced at the Black Donkey and couldn’t help but burst into laughter. The wretched donkey, lacking fingers to grip, could only embed its hooves into the hard stone with immense difficulty, leaving behind a trail of hoof prints as it moved arduously step by step.

"You wretched donkey, would this count as ’this donkey was here’?" he teased.

"Stinkin’ kid, come over here, Donkey Master will reward you with a hoof!" the Black Donkey retorted, nonchalantly curling its lips.

The water can only get so hot, but the deeper one goes here, the higher the temperature rises. Moreover, with scalding steam filling the air and thinning the oxygen, even for martial artists, this was a substantial challenge, and the experience was anything but pleasant.

Anyone who made it this far had to be at least of the Initial Separation Realm, which significantly reduced the number of people present. But even those in the Initial Separation Realm didn’t dare venture too deep. Some people, overconfident in their abilities, attempted to force their way through, only to find themselves using all their spiritual power to withstand the heat and losing their grip on the cave walls, getting forcefully swept back into the lake by the rising currents.

Fortunately, they wouldn’t die!

With this in mind, everyone’s courage surged. Though it might be tough, if there was no risk to their lives, naturally everyone was willing to take a gamble for that great opportunity.

"Ahh—" Another figure shot upwards like an arrow, crashing into the lake above with frightening speed.

"If one were to be hit by that, it would hurt quite a bit!" Zhou Heng said seriously.

When the velocity reaches a certain level, a terrifying impact is generated, something not even Heaven-Opening Realm or Mountains and Rivers Realm experts dare to dismiss lightly.

While that was true, Zhou Heng observed that none of the people around him had given up. They moved with speed akin to spiders towards the Earth’s Core, each one of them moving quickly. Although being the first to reach the bottom didn’t guarantee they’d be recognized by the peerless magical instrument, hope was admittedly higher.

Boom!

From deep within the Earth’s Core, a sudden massive noise erupted, causing the entire cave wall to shake violently as if an earthquake had struck.

"Ah!"

Amid cries of alarm, several people were forcibly shaken off, unable to cling to the cave wall any longer, and shot upwards. As one reached the lake, another person emerged from the water; with a loud crash, they collided.

Surrounded by loud rumbling noises, the sound of the collision was inaudible, but one could see the two individuals turning into a rain of blood, with glistening white bones and bright red blood all rushing into the water.

Just like that, two martial artists of at least Initial Separation Realm had perished!

Initial Separation Realm, although not considered experts in the vast Xuanqian Continent, had already transcended the lowest stages of the Martial Path and possessed a lifespan of four hundred years, akin to deities in the eyes of mortals!

Yet here, they were insignificant, meeting a gruesome death, their diligent cultivation ending in vain.

But those within the cave spared them not a second glance, their expressions unchanged.

This is the world of martial artists!

How could a great opportunity be attained so easily? Otherwise, wouldn’t all the martial artists in the world be at the Divinity Transformation Realm? Opportunity always comes hand in hand with danger, and only those with the greatest wisdom and courage can snatch grains from the fire!

Of course, there are also those like Ying Cheng’en, the darling of heaven and earth who doesn’t have to do anything for great opportunities to come knocking at their door, invoking envy unto death.

"Zhou, be careful!" the Black Donkey suddenly said, its tone remarkably grave.

By now, Zhou Heng was used to the Black Donkey’s frivolity; hearing such a serious tone, he was taken aback and said, "You darn donkey, don’t scare me with that ominous tone!"

"You son of a gun without an asshole, Master Donkey is kindly warning you, and you treat my goodwill like donkey lungs!" the Black Donkey cried out, fuming with anger, but then immediately shifted gears, "Zhou, compensate Master Donkey with that Broken Sword, and perhaps I can barely forgive you and not lower myself to your level!"

"Scram!"

As much as he said that, Zhou Heng knew that this Black Donkey was no ordinary animal, and possessed profound insights. Of course, he did not dare to take it lightly. In reality, he had the Nine Mystic Trial Tower for protection against all dangers, but the troublesome part was that he had been struck with a love knot, requiring him to take extra care of another person!

"Hey, don’t run so fast!" Zhou Heng called out to Han Yiyao, still unaware of the woman’s full name, knowing only her surname, Han, which he had overheard from her when she spoke to others.

Han Yiyao had no affection for this man and his donkey, and if it weren’t for the love knot, she definitely would have kept her distance. Now, although she could only stay a hundred zhang away, she didn’t listen to Zhou Heng. Once the shaking subsided, she continued to crawl downward.

"Zhou, it seems like you’re not much of a husband!" the Black Donkey commented, shaking its head mockingly.

"This woman!" Zhou Heng gritted his teeth, the urge to give her buttocks a good spanking growing even stronger.

He too quickened his pace. This accursed place was full of unknown dangers, and he needed to be prepared for the worst possible scenario.

Boom!

Deep underground, a blinding light flashed, and whoosh, an inflamed ball of fire soared upward from below the ground like a meteor, streaking across the dark space and crashing towards the lake layer.

This was a massive burning Fire Stone!

"Ah!"

Unfortunately, this massive stone did not have eyes to see, and the angle at which it was ejected was not straight but slanted. Amidst a dazzling blaze, it suddenly crashed into the cave walls with a resounding boom.

In the midst of the thunderous noise, the massive stone collided with another side of the cave walls, flying upwards at an angle, bouncing repeatedly with thuds, and after seven times, it finally plunked into the layer of lake water.

The four people could not dodge in time and were struck by the burning massive stone, instantly turning to ash and utterly perishing!

What a dangerous place!

Everyone felt a chill in their hearts, but those who died were only Minor Warriors of the Initial Separation Realm, and the main force here consisted of Experts of the Land Cleaving, Open Heaven, and even the Mountains and Rivers Realm, who naturally paid it no mind and continued to advance.

The activity at the Earth’s Core here seemed quite intense. It took about ten minutes for the shaking to stop, a total of seven massive stones were ejected, claiming nearly twenty lives; it was truly horrific.

They hadn’t even seen the Peerless Magical Instrument yet!

Once the shaking stopped, the crowd accelerated their actions, climbing deeper towards the core of the Earth.

Indeed, the Earth’s Core is so distant; its high temperatures could incinerate even the Experts of the Spirit Sea Realm, and only Old Ancestors of the Nascent Soul Realm, those who formed deities within themselves, were qualified to step into it. However, to what depth they could reach was known to no one!

—Which Nascent Soul Old Ancestor would bother with such things?

This was at most a fire vein; that’s why they dared to venture here. If they really aimed to reach the Earth’s Core, they would be nothing even combined!

Whiz! Whiz! Whiz!

As they continued downward, the wind blades here became increasingly violent, with wind holes all over the cave walls, from which the wind blades were emitted.

"Ah—"

Amidst screams of agony, it was common to see someone’s hands or feet being cleanly severed by the wind blades, blood spraying and instantly evaporating, and under the severe pain, those injured naturally couldn’t cling to the cave walls anymore and flew upwards.

That could at least spare them their lives, but some were even more unlucky, having their heads cleanly sliced off or their abdomens bisected by the wind blades; they met their immediate demise!

It was getting more and more dangerous!

"Hmph!" Han Yiyao, who was in the lead, suddenly paused, pushing her right hand forward, releasing several bursts of Vigorous Qi to neutralize the vigorous power suddenly shooting out of the wind holes. These wind holes didn’t emit wind blades constantly but sporadically, pausing and then striking without any pattern, making them impossible to guard against!

Whiz whiz whiz, one wave subsided and another arose; right after she dissipated the wind blades, thirteen more wind blades flew out from an oblique angle, bombarding towards her.

Han Yiyao, with her Mountains and Rivers Cultivation Level, naturally faced them undaunted; she swung her right hand again, and Vigorous Power surged.

The fearsome Vigorous Power roiled, but the cave walls she clung to couldn’t bear it and suddenly crumbled away! With the area’s tremendous buoyancy, Han Yiyao was caught off guard and thrust upwards instantly.

Boom!

Just then, the cavern shook violently again, and a blaze rose from the Earth’s Core, an immense force bearing down!

It was another burning rock, and even larger than the previous ones combined, almost a quarter the size of the entire cavern!

The massive stone was rocketing straight towards Han Yiyao!

Damn it!

Zhou Heng let out an angry shout, not thinking but reacting instantly by kicking off with his limbs, turning into a swift streak, shooting towards Han Yiyao. He sprung off the walls, naturally moving even faster than Han Yiyao and caught up to her in the blink of an eye.

But by this time, the burning massive stone was already thundering down upon them!

—It was moving even faster!

The best solution would have been to take Han Yiyao and hide inside the Nine Mystic Trial Tower, but to expect Han Yiyao to trust him unreservedly was unthinkable, impossible even if he talked himself hoarse, let alone in this split second of life and death.

To talk about knocking her out, there wasn’t nearly enough time!

Dammit! This foolish woman!

Zhou Heng bellowed furiously and reached out to grab Han Yiyao.

"What are you do—" Han Yiyao exclaimed; at such a moment, this lecher still thought of taking advantage of her? She understood that Zhou Heng had no choice but to rush out because if one of them died, the other would die too within a hundred zhang. He was saving her was essentially saving himself!

She naturally wouldn’t be grateful for this, but was instead fixated on Zhou’s inappropriate "touching".

"Shut up!" Zhou Heng roared, "Do you want to die!"

With nowhere to dodge in the air, although Han Yiyao resisted at first, how could she possibly hold her ground in close quarters combat against Zhou Heng, whose power rivaled a Mountains and Rivers Magical Artifact? She was immediately grasped firmly in his hold.

Even though Zhou had held her before, such experiences were never something one could get used to!

Venturing inside Han Yiyao’s indignation, the burning massive stone drew near, its diameter spanning two to three li, its flames surging up at least a hundred zhang high, and the innermost flames were even white!

There was no need to think about Zhou Heng’s issues any longer; even neglecting the collision force of the massive stone, the white flames alone were enough to incinerate them to ashes! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my biggest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)