BXBX NOVEL Chapter 254: The Final Whereabouts of the Mystic Flame!
Chapter 254: The Final Whereabouts of the Mystic Flame!
Because they had just killed four to five hundred wolf riders and once these corpses would be discovered, there would undoubtedly be limitless wolf riders hunting them down. The three Martial Supreme experts might be formidable, but the Wolfman Race was one of the most powerful Half-Human Races. Furthermore, their race didn’t have a lack of experts; hence, Yang Dingtian and the others had to rush back to the Foxman Race’s territory before the Wolfman Race discovered the corpses of the wolf riders.
***
“My name is Xiangxiang Beila, what is yours?” When they were rushing along, the Foxman Race’s beauty asked Yang Dingtian.
“Shen Lang.” Yang Dingtian replied.
Xiangxiang Beila asked, “Stranger, even though I shouldn’t ask, but it is really rare for humans to visit the East Parting Continent. Can I ask your purpose for visiting?”
Yang Dingtian said, “I am representing human civilization to make friends with the Half-Human Races, especially the Foxman Race and other intelligent races.”
“Really?” The fox beauty Xiangxiang Beila was surprised.
“Of course, it is true.” Yang Dingtian asked, “Oh right, why is your human language so fluent? Have you been to the human’s territory?”
Xiangxiang Beila shook her head and said, “No, I have never left the East Parting Continent before. I can converse in your language because I learned it from my mother. She is a human woman.”
Yang Dingtaian was very surprised and didn’t know why a human woman was in the Foxman Race’s tribe. But he didn’t continue asking and laughed instead, “I also know some Foxman Race’s language.”
“Really?” Xiangxiang Beila used the Foxman Race’s language to ask.
“Of course, it is true.” Yang Dingtian replied in the Foxman Race’s language.
Subsequently, Yang Dingtian had been using the Foxman Race’s language to converse with Xiangxiang Beila. In the name of trying to find out about the local customs and culture, Yang Dingtian started to find out about the Burial Land.
“Burial Land? I have been there before, and it is just over 1,000 miles away from our tribe.” Xiangxiang Beila said, “I am very fond of the scenery at that place, even though it is a restricted battlefield. But I have sneaked in there to play many times, and I am very familiar with that place.”
Yang Dingtian was instantly delighted and felt that he didn’t rescue this fox beauty in vain.
Yang Dingtian asked, “What kind of beautiful sceneries are in the Burial Land? Is there any mystical place?”
Immediately after, Xiangxiang Beila started to describe the beautiful sceneries in the Burial Land with excitement. From her tone, Yang Dingtian could indeed imagine a very beautiful place. But Yang Dingtian was disappointed that she never mentioned that half fire and half ice mountain.
Yang Dingtian pondered about the consequences before asking, “That’s right, I heard about a myth that mentioned there was a very strange mountain in the Burial Land. It is actually half fire and half ice.”
After asking, Yang Dingtian’s heart was racing as he was extremely anxious while waiting for Xiangxiang Beila’s reply, even though he knew that it was very risky to ask this question.
“The Burial Land doesn’t have such a mountain though?” Xiangxiang Beila’s words had made Yang Dingtian’s heart sink.
“The Burial Land is a few hundred miles in size. Could it be that you have never been to that mountain?” Yang Dingtian questioned.
Xiangxiang Beila replied, “It can’t be. I have been to every location in the Burial Land, and I am sure there isn’t such a mountain like that.”
Yang Dingtian was truly disappointed now.
Previously, Master and Ji’er had also mentioned there wasn’t such a mountain, but Yang Dingtian still carried hopes in his heart. However, Xiangxiang Beila was very certain that there wasn’t such a mountain. Could it be that there was really no such mountain?
But on the map, the Mystic Flame is located right below that strange mountain.
“That’s right...” All of a sudden, Xiangxiang Beila, “That’s right, now that Mister Shen asked me, I recalled something. When I was very young, Grand Elder Ba Bi once mentioned something about a mountain that was half fire and half ice. I don’t remember the exact details, but it is roughly the same as you said.”
After hearing this statement, Yang Dingtian was in delight as he asked, “Is Grand Elder Ba Bi still around? Where is she now?”
“She is still alive and is already over 200 years old. She is one of the most long-lived elders in our Foxman Race.” Xiangxiang Beila said, “Grand Elder Ba Bi is residing alone in a temple on the mountain. After we reach the tribe, I will bring you to see her.”
“That will be great. Thank you.” Yang Dingtian spoke calmly, but his heart was extremely excited. It was as though he had seen the light at the end of the tunnel.
Furthermore, Yang Dingtian was greatly astonished to hear of her age and wasn’t able to react instantly.
Half-humans had a longer lifespan than humans, but not too much. Hence, for this Grand Elder Ba Bi to actually live for over 200 years, it should also be extremely rare even among the half-humans.
***
Next, Yang Dingtian continued to converse with Xiangxiang Beila. As for Ji’er Ashina, after seeing the great battle turning from danger into peace, her heart was instantly relaxed. Due to her young age, she finally couldn’t tolerate it anymore and fell into a deep sleep on Yang Dingtian’s back.
For the next few hours, Yang Dingtian had encountered a few more patrol teams, but they were huge in numbers. With Xiangxiang Beila’s familiarity with the environment, they were basically able to evade all the patrols.
Just like that, in eight hours, they had walked to the end of the desert and had officially entered the East Parting Grassland.
***
The East Parting Grassland might be called the grassland, but it was merely because of the rather leveled terrain. There were still mountains and forests.
After entering the East Parting Grassland, Xiangxiang Beila led the way skillfully and with ease. Even though this wasn’t the Foxman Race’s territory, she was still able to lead Yang Dingtian through routes that had a lesser population. In fact, during the journey, they had also encountered Foxman warriors that were out to search for her, but the group didn’t go out and meet them.
Along the way, Yang Dingtian noticed an increasing number of half-humans.
The half-humans were very similar to humans, but there was a huge disparity in terms of appearance. In fact, there were a few races that had no resemblance to humans apart from being able to walk upright on two legs.
Furthermore, there were various kinds of half-human houses.
There were treehouses, houses made with rocks, caverns, houses constructed with wooden blocks, tents that were set up with beast pelt, and many more.
As compared to human cities, the half-humans gathered in much smaller groups. During the journey, the biggest tribe that Yang Dingtian noticed was the Harpies. Their dwellings were simply suspended on the trees like giant nests. They were all clustered together, and there were at least thousands and close to ten thousand of them together.
The rest of the half-human dwellings would only be the size of a small town; there were some that were only considered villages.
After looking through the various races, the Foxman Race was the most similar to humans.
Just like that, Xiangxiang Beila led Yang Dingtian through a concealed path and headed for the Foxman tribe.
The Foxman tribe was around 2,000 miles from the borders of the desert. It was considered to be on the borders of the Burial Land.
About four days later, after traveling through close to a hundred secret passages, Yang Dingtian and the group had finally arrived at the Foxman tribe.
The Foxman Race’s dwellings were different from the other races as there were traces of intelligence.
This dwelling already had the form of cities. It was circled by two layers of walls and a metallic gate.
At first sight of Xiangxiang Beila, the people on the city walls had instantly cheered, “Young Lady is back, Young Lady is Back! Hurry up and inform the chieftain!”
Immediately after, the gates gradually opened. Yang Dingtian followed behind Xiangxiang Beila and entered the Foxman Race’s city.
As compared to the rest of the half-humans’ dwellings that Yang Dingtian came across, this Foxman Race’s territory was considered huge. With a visual estimation, just the Foxman Race’s dwelling was already a few hundred miles in size. There were a few hundred thousand houses, and there must be at least one million Foxman Race’s members inside.
Compared to the other races, the Foxman Race’s constructions were the most refined. A considerable portion of the houses was constructed on huge trees, and almost all of the houses were delicate and beautiful. There was a small portion of houses that were constructed on the ground, but these houses were grand and larger in size.
In summary, the Foxman Race had already upgraded from the tribal form to the city or town-like form.
***
After entering the Foxman territory, Yang Dingtian was immediately escorted by dozens of Foxman warriors and boarded a large carriage. A few dozen miles later, they stopped and Xiangxiang Beila went to meet her father first.
When Yang Dingtian and his group alighted the carriage, they realized that this place was very secluded. There wasn’t a single Foxman resident and didn’t have a cluster of houses. Within the valley, there was a rather big and white pavilion.
This pavilion should be specially used by the Foxman Race to entertain guests that weren’t convenient to reveal to the public.
After entering this pavilion, there were roughly a dozen servants that were preparing dinner.
Once the dozens of warriors entered, they immediately scattered out and guarded their stations.
“Guests from far away... I am the pavilion’s chief supervisor. We are currently preparing dinner for you, can I ask if there is any food that you abstain from or have any preference?” A middle-aged Foxman came over and asked.
“Anything is fine.” Yang Dingtian replied.
“Alright.” That chief supervisor said, “You must be exhausted from the journey. Please have a rest for now. When dinner is ready, I will inform my esteemed guests.”
Immediately after, a few servants came over to guide Yang Dingtian and the others to their respective rooms to rest. Yang Dingtian and Ji’er Ashina were in the same room, while Qin San, Qin Liu, and Qin Qi were given rooms on the left and right side of Yang Dingtian’s room.
At this moment, Ji’er was still sleeping. Yang Dingtian put her on the bed and covered her in the blanket.
He then started to think about the things that happened on this journey.
Ji’er once mentioned that the Foxman Race was very friendly to humans. But after his experience today, Yang Dingtian felt it was rather cold.
It’s true that the Foxman Race wasn’t like the Wolfman Race that would immediately slaughter upon the sight of humans. But on this journey, they had entered a windowless carriage, and they seemed to be protected by dozens of warriors, but they were actually being monitored. Even after entering the guest pavilion, no one came over to converse with them, and all the foxmen were filled with precaution against Yang Dingtian and others.
Had Yang Dingtian not rescued Xiangxiang Beila, this group of foxmen wouldn’t have even attended to Yang Dingtian’s group.
***
In the evening, they had finished dinner in almost utter silence. There wasn’t any entertainment or any conversation as they returned to their respective rooms to rest.
It looked as though this group of foxmen didn’t wish to have any contact with Yang Dingtian’s group.
It was only until the moment when Yang Dingtian was going to enter his room, the chief supervisor of the pavilion said, “My guest, our chieftain will come to meet with you tonight.”
Yang Dingtian was startled for a moment before he nodded, “Sure.”
***
Two hours later, Yang Dingtian met with the Foxman Race’s chieftain in the room.
He was a very eminent and refined man, so handsome that he seemed to be above Zhu Hongxue. Furthermore, he had a slender body and elegant form. He was definitely a very rarely seen kind of handsome man.
But a long scar on his face had slightly ruined the elegance and looks, but it had given him a special charm instead.
“I am the Foxman Race’s chieftain, Zhuri Beila.” The handsome chieftain said, “Xiangxiang Beila is my daughter, and she told me everything that happened. I am very thankful to you people for saving my daughter.”
“That is something that we ought to do.” Yang Dingtian replied.
“Then, is there anything I can help you with? As long as it is within my means, I will do it.” The Foxman chieftain asked.
Yang Dingtian responded, “We don’t seek repayment for the rescue.”
Zhuri Beila smiled and asked, “Do you have any matters to do for entering the East Parting Grassland this time?”
Yang Dingtian said, “We are here with friendly relations and wish to make friends with the Foxman Race.”
Zhuri Beila’s face turned solemn as he asked, “Then can I ask if you represent yourself or a faction?”
Yang Dingtian said, “I am representing a heroic lord that possesses a ten thousand mile territory. He is willing to form a close friendship with the Foxman Race and is even willing to provide huge assistance to the Foxman Race.”
The Foxman chieftain’s face had changed slightly before he sank into a short silence.
Immediately after, he said, “If I didn’t guess wrong, the person you mentioned should be the Qin City Lord, Qin Wanchou, right?”
This time, it was Yang Dingtian’s turn to be startled. He didn’t expect the Foxman chieftain, who was separated by tens of thousands of miles from humans, to know the existence of Qin Wanchou.
“We are not ignorant of powerful humans.” Zhuri Beila replied.
Yang Dingtian asked, “What is your opinion about forming a friendship then?”
Zhuri Beila stood up and said, “I am very grateful that you rescued my daughter. But please stop mentioning this matter. We, half-humans, aren’t very convenient to have ties with humans. By receiving you today, it is already a huge violation. Please leave tomorrow. I will put in enough rewards on the carriage.” Finishing his statement, Zhuri Beila turned and left.
Yang Dingtian couldn’t help but be shocked and thought, ‘Isn’t the Foxman Race very friendly and admired human civilization? Why are they so indifferent and would be so eager to push us away?’
But the so-called alliance with the Foxman Race was just an excuse. Yang Dingtian’s true objective was to search for the Heaven and Earth Mystic Flame. Hence, he didn’t really mind Zhuri Beila’s attitude as he was more concerned if he were able to meet with that 200 years old, Grand Elder Ba Bi and if he could obtain information about that strange mountain.
If he wished to see the so-called Grand Elder Ba Bi, he would need to meet with Xiangxiang Beila first. As such, Yang Dingtian was pondering on how to meet with Xiangxiang Beila or how to relay a message.
Half an hour later, Yang Dingtian didn’t need to ponder about this problem anymore because Xiangxiang Beila had sneaked into Yang Dingtian’s room.
“Apologies, Mister Shen. I didn’t expect my father and the others to be so rude to you.” Xiangxiang Beila was speaking with guilt.
“It doesn’t matter. I can understand.” Yang Dingtian said, “The discord between the humans and the half-humans was formed over a thousand years. It will be very difficult to resolve.”
“Do you wish to see Grand Elder Ba Bi?” Xiangxiang Beila asked.
“Yes, this is something that I will need your help with.” Yang Dingtian said.
“It is truly very coincidental. Grand Elder Ba Bi’s temple is just over ten miles in the deep mountains.” Xiangxiang Beila stated.
After that, Xiangxiang Beila spoke awkwardly, “But over 100 individuals guard the entire guest pavilion. Father has ordered that none of you are allowed to leave.”
Yang Dingtian asked, “Do the guards have high cultivation?”
“Not very high, but... but they are my people, and we cannot possibly rush out with martial force. We do not wish for any of you to be injured.” Xiangxiang Beila said.
“We will not use violence.” Yang Dingtian said, “But we might have some physical contact for what we are going to do next.”
Xiangxiang Beila blushed and said, “It’s alright.”
Yang Dingtian walked to the window and opened it.
Yang Dingtian’s room was on the third floor, and due to the size of this pavilion, it was over 20 meters above the ground.
In the darkness of the night, the ground floor was filled with guards.
Yang Dingtian said, “Young Lady Xiangxiang Beila, I must apologize. I will need to carry you on my back.”
Xiangxiang Beila’s face got redder as she responded softly, “Okay.”
She then walked behind Yang Dingtian and used her dainty arms to wrap around Yang Dingtian while her well-developed body was pressing onto Yang Dingtian’s back.
For a moment, there was an aromatic fragrance, and Yang Dingtian felt an extremely bouncy and tender sensation.
Yang Dingtian’s mind couldn’t help but waver for a moment, but he quickly composed himself. He carried Xiangxiang Beila and walked to the window before he took a deep breath and circulated his mystic qi.
After a breeze, Xiangxiang Beila was shocked to see a pair of beautiful and transparent wings grow from Yang Dingtian’s back.
This was the Sky Spirit Mystic Wings; it was an energy demonic beast’s wings. Qin Mengli had bought it at a sky-high price during the auction because she thought it was fun, she had then given it to Yang Dingtian.
After summoning the Sky Spirit Mystic Wings, Yang Dingtian continued to circulate the flight mystic skill, Dragon Dance Nine Heavens.
The flight scroll, Dragon Dance Nine Heavens, was an extremely rare item in the world. After learning this mystic skill, one would be able to take flight in the sky. After Yang Dingtian learned it, he had never tried it before.
Just in case, Yang Dingtian used the Sky Spirit Mystic Wings and the Dragon Dance Nine Heavens together.
“Rise!” Yang Dingtian gave the order.
“Swish...” Yang Dingtian turned into an afterimage and was immediately flying a few hundred meters up in the sky and had blended into the darkness.
“Ah...” Xiangxiang Beila had been alarmed. She knew that she shouldn’t, but she couldn’t help but let out a soft shout. She then instinctively tightened her arms and legs to wrap Yang Dingtian very tightly.
It wasn’t just Xiangxiang Beila, as Yang Dingtian was also shocked. He didn’t think that the combined power of the Sky Spirit Mystic Wings and Dragon Dance Nine Heavens would be so stunning, and he would be able to fly at such speed.
The guards on the ground might have heard a gust of wind that broke through the air, but when they looked up, they didn’t see anything and assumed it was a bird that flew by.
***
A few hundred meters in the air, Yang Dingtian flew to the mountains as guided by Xiangxiang Beila. But at this moment, he wasn’t using the Dragon Dance Nine Heavens anymore as it used up too much mystic qi. It was fine to merely rely on the Sky Spirit Mystic Wings.
This might be the first time Xiangxiang Beila was looking at the scenery from the sky. Furthermore, all intelligent races would be filled with the desire to achieve the freedom of flight.
There were just a rare few half-human races that could tame aerial demonic beasts, but the Foxman Race wasn’t one of them. To tame aerial demonic beasts, a Beast Speaker was required. The half-human races might have blood that was closer to demonic beasts, but their spiritual energy for taming demonic beasts was far below the human’s capabilities.
But there were a few half-human races that possessed terrifying innate abilities. Let alone the control of aerial beasts, they could even command demonic beasts in battle. Hence, even with the lack of intelligent races, no one dared to provoke the East Parting Grassland as it would be unconventional.
“Mister Shen, are there more powerful and incredible humans like you?” Xiangxiang Beila asked.
Yang Dingtian said, “I am not considered powerful. There are a lot more people that are stronger than me. Just like those three men by my side, they are much stronger than me.”
“But they still have to obey your commands. It is obvious that you are incredible.” Xiangxiang Beila asked, “Among the humans, are there a lot of them that can fly like you?”
Yang Dingtian shook his head and said, “There are not a lot of individuals that can fly.”
“I think so too. There must not be a lot of incredible individuals like you.” Xiangxiang Beila commented.
After hearing her admiring tone, Yang Dingtian felt embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, “Young Lady Xiangxiang Beila, previously, I have always heard that the Foxman Race is very friendly to humans. Many of you think that you are not the half-human savages and are closer to intelligent civilizations like humans. But why was your father so cold and indifferent to me?”
Xiangxiang Beila shook her head and said, “I don’t know too. Previously, my father has always been filled with expectations and favorable impressions of the human race. Furthermore, he has a very good understanding of your human territories and knows very well about your humans’ famed leaders. If a massive faction is willing to form a friendship with us, he should be very happy. I don’t know why he would be so indifferent.”
After this statement, the originally unbothered Yang Dingtian couldn’t help but feel confused.
“Mister Shen, we have arrived.” All of a sudden, Xiangxiang Beila pointed at a flame that was deep in the mountains head, “Grand Elder Ba Bi’s temple is over there.”
Yang Dingtian focused his eyes and could see a temple that was constructed with pure wood within the mountain.
Yang Dingtian instantly flew towards the direction of the temple.
***
“Who is it?”
Suddenly, Yang Dingtian was fixed in the air. An extremely powerful force had locked Yang Dingtian in the air and had immobilized him.
Yang Dingtian was horrified at the extremely high cultivation of the Grand Elder Ba Bi in the temple. She was actually able to immobilize Yang Dingtian from over a thousand meters. She must have cultivation that wasn’t inferior to the Master class.
“Human Shen Lang pays his respects to Elder Ba Bi.” Yang Dingtian greeted.
Yang Dingtian was rather surprised to find out that Grand Elder Ba Bi was actually a woman. Previously, Xiangxiang Beila didn’t say it clearly; hence, Yang Dingtian assumed that the Grand Elder was a man.
She was coughing as she spoke and sounded very frail, but her voice actually echoed within Yang Dingtian’s ears from a thousand meters away. It was evident that her cultivation was immeasurable.