"The Finish Line" 053. (Guardian Sun Forest Chapter) Winds Rise and Clouds Surge

However, due to the strength of the Flame Art and the excitement it caused, Qing Yan did not notice that in the sea of consciousness, a tiny scarlet gourd-shaped aura was quietly appearing, igniting a bizarre cyan-blue flame.

“Eh, this girl's physique…”

At the bottom of the magma, Shi Quan Shen suddenly exclaimed in surprise. With a flick of his right sleeve, the figures of the two Qing Yans disappeared from the magma and reappeared in an ice cave at the foot of the mountain.

“Teacher, how are you here? This place is…” Alternating between cold and heat, Qing Yan shivered instantly, and was truly surprised to see Shi Quan Shen right in front of her.

Shi Quan Shen smiled faintly, spreading his arms. His rogue-like aura was fully revealed, and he boasted, “This is one of my training caves. The extreme alternation of cold and heat makes cultivating the Flame Art far more effective!”

“Uh…” murmured Du Gu Xiaoxuan softly, gradually awakening in the alternating cold and heat. However, as her consciousness gradually returned, a resolute expression quickly appeared on her face. Without reason, looking at Qing Yan's face right in front of her, her delicate hand struck like thunder, and a solid slap landed on Qing Yan's left cheek, who was still in shock. Her breath trembled with a hint of crying, and she whispered over and over, “You… you…” unsure how to express herself.

Thinking it over, Qing Yan quickly understood the key point, smiled wryly, and thought to himself:

I didn't gain anything from this, but this slap… was well-deserved… Being a gentleman is really hard!

“Hehe, little girl,” however, before Qing Yan could explain, Shi Quan Shen revealed his rogue nature and began to stir up trouble. He laughed lowly twice and added, “My disciple has exceptional talent and will surely become one of the world's strongest. Losing yourself to him isn't actually such a loss. Under my supervision, that boy wouldn't dare to abandon you…”

His words were full of roguish intent, almost leaving Qing Yan speechless. Before the situation could fully worsen, Qing Yan hurriedly interrupted Shi Quan Shen's words, which were clearly far from finished, and explained everything to Du Gu Xiaoxuan as it had happened.It was unclear how Dugu Xiaoxuan determined her body's purity, but seeing her previously despairingly purple face gradually turn into deep confusion, and then, as if certain of something, her face blushing like a heated iron block, Qing Yan finally let out a long sigh of relief, then turned his head and glared at Shi Quanshen without any courtesy, showing no respect for his master at all.

To deal with scoundrels, one cannot use conventional methods!

Qing Yan silently muttered in his heart.

However, next, when he received an unmistakable 'angry at my own failure' look from Shi Quanshen, Qing Yan felt completely powerless.

'This is my teacher, Shi Quanshen, an immortal-level expert; and this is Dugu Xiaoxuan,' Qing Yan introduced them to each other.

'Dugu... this surname is indeed unfamiliar...' Shi Quanshen lightly stroked his silver beard and glanced indifferently at Dugu Xiaoxuan. His eyes, glowing with a keen light, seemed to pierce through everything. After a long pause, he slowly smiled, 'You two young and reckless ones, do you not understand the dangers of this place of strange fire?'

'Uh... um...'

After going through so much, the two youthful and reckless individuals finally truly understood the terrifying risks that were almost fatal and also understood that luck is something that cannot be demanded. Facing Shi Quanshen's calm reprimand, Qing Yan and Dugu Xiaoxuan could only awkwardly scratch their heads to cope.

Mentioning the deaths of the four mercenary uncles, Qing Yan couldn't help but feel sorrowful. Remembering the guidance and experience the uncles had given in Jingdong City and recalling their poor yet kind and innocent wives and children, now with the entire mercenary team reduced to only Uncle Lichong, Qing Yan felt a bitter, indescribable taste in his heart.

'It seems that the Huaxia Empire has also noticed something and has begun to take action! Perhaps the shrine's plan will have to be advanced...' After hearing the two of them, Shi Quanshen furrowed his brows in thought and murmured to himself softly.

'What?' Qing Yan asked, puzzled.

Shi Quanshen fell silent, and the furrow in his brow relaxed, without offering much explanation.

'Ruuum... Ruuum...'

Suddenly, the mountain shook violently, and a tremendous sound came from above the three of them.

The volcano was erupting!

Inside the mountain, it was as if a massive explosive had detonated, and the previously boiling strange fire magma trembled violently.Rapidly withdrawing from the base of the volcano, almost in an instant, it broke through the small forest atop the volcanic crater and surged upward!
At this moment, it was already near dusk. The sudden wave of red-hot flames contrasted with the wine-red sunset reflecting in the western sky. The dark red glow poured over the land, turning the boundless Sun-Watching Forest into a sea of red, a kind of fantastically stunning beauty.
"Boom... boom..."
Almost simultaneously, at the suburban woods near Jingdong City, the forest seemed unwilling to remain silent. With a few low rumbles of thunder, a heavy thundercloud, flashing terrifying silver lightning, rapidly gathered over the forest! The thick lightning arcs, constantly hissing, formed thunderous claws rolling and flashing within the cloud. An extremely oppressive aura descended from the sky!
In the clearing of the forest, three elders with crane-like white hair and immortal faces sat cross-legged. Beneath them, a silver-white equilateral triangular formation flickered with powerful might. At the center of the formation, a dark black giant cauldron, familiar in appearance, sat quietly. Without any dazzling brilliance, it felt like a massive mountain, steadily containing the restlessness brought by the terrifying thundercloud above.
These were the three ancestors of the Mu Palace, the once crescent-missing Saburo, and the three teachers of Qingyan!
At dusk, the sunset and volcano turned the eastern and western skies a deep red. With the rhythm of the night wind, the deep red color was as brilliant as a sea of fire, blazing intensely. In the sky, a massive gray-brown thundercloud rapidly amassed, seemingly covering a quarter of the sky. The intense lightning claws seemed ready to tear the night sky apart. The silver-white cold light flashed continuously across the land with thunderous roars!
The momentum of heaven and earth was stirring with wind and clouds! This restive wind and lightning seemed to foretell something. Unexplainably, everyone in their hearts read a single thought:
Heaven seems to be changing!
Yet, no one knew that in this world, a few pairs of eyes were quietly observing all of this. It was unknown what exactly lay behind those eyes.
Inside the Ice Cave, Shiquan Shen silently sensed everything in this heaven and earth. After a moment, he began to laugh loudly, and involuntarily said to himself:
"Hahaha!"It turns out to be the Sanjiu Thunder Punishment, and it really came at the right time! It seems that heaven is truly aiding us!