Immortals of the End Times

Chapter 90: Xiong Ba Sends a Message, Yan Lan Forces Him to Resign
The next day, before the morning mist had dissipated, a dark shadow suddenly fluttered down from the pine branches of the Hengyun Mountains outside the Linlang Cave.

A black myna bird flapped its wings and flew over the mountains and forests, landing on the outstretched palm and back of a hand.

It tilted its head, its golden eyes gleaming in the thin mist, and its claws still glistening with the undried night dew.

“Gaba.”

"Gee!"

Zhao Wuji used his bird-taming technique, a blue light emanating from his fingertips. The magic of the technique wrapped around the bird's beak like silk threads, allowing him to communicate with the myna bird he had attracted using bird language.

Yesterday, after he tried to use the dream-weaving technique to send a dream message to the myna bird, he learned from the fragmented dream of the myna bird that this rather spiritual myna bird was actually related to the fox Xiaoyu.

No wonder it could also become a clue for dream warnings, leading to the incident at the fox den.

If he could appear in a dream, things would be much easier. In the dream, he instructed his myna bird to fly to the vicinity of Hengyun Mountain Range to meet him.

So today, they left the cave and used bird-taming techniques to lure the mynahs that were waiting nearby.

After communicating in bird language, Zhao Wuji finally understood the general situation.

"The Empress has sent the Black-Armored Guards to seal off the mountain, preparing to raze the fox den?" Xiaoyu was extremely anxious.

"Caw!" The myna nodded, opening its beak. "No seat!"

"Isn't that right?"

"No seats, Dad." The myna bird continued to nod.

Zhao Wuji was speechless. Forget it, it's best to communicate with the myna bird in its language, since its human language isn't good enough.

He continued to talk with the myna bird for a while longer.

He was told to go back and tell Xiaoyu not to appear in the fox den, otherwise there would be great danger. He would handle the matter of the Empress.

Unexpectedly, the myna bird said, "Fox, I hate you, you, Linlang."

Zhao Wuji was taken aback, then understood what the myna bird meant.

Animals' hatred is straightforward.

The little white fox believed that the one who killed the old fox was Empress Yu, a disciple of the Linglang Cave.

But now he has joined the Linglang Cave Heaven, which means he is in league with his enemy.

The little fox is probably very sad right now, thinking that he has become the kind of person he hates.

Zhao Wuji didn't want the white fox to do anything foolish, so he said, "Go tell Xiaoyu that I have infiltrated the enemy's ranks and that the Empress is also my enemy. She wants to take revenge on me, and I will deal with her and avenge the old fox."

The myna tilted its head and looked at him, its eyes darting around, clearly up to no good. It pointed to its beak with its wing, its beak opening and closing as if begging for a reward.

Zhao Wuji's forehead veins throbbed; he really wanted to roast and eat this dead bird.

This dead bird, having been trained by Xiaoyu to be too intelligent, actually asked him for favors.

He thought for a moment, glanced at the several female mynas flying and circling in the air not far away, like a guard, and immediately took out a Golden Spear Fiery Pill from his pocket and handed it over.

"Benefits! Huge benefits!"

The myna bird smelled the fragrance of the elixir and was overjoyed. It immediately opened its beak, took the elixir in its mouth, flapped its wings, and flew away, showing off the elixir in its beak to the female mynas.

"Dad Appreciates the Pill"

Zhao Wuji mourned for the few female mynas and shouted to someone not far away.

"Don't call me 'Dad' anymore. I'll treat it as you calling me 'Ba'. You're Xiong Ba Ge, so I'll call you Xiong Ba. Try to persuade Xiao Yu properly."

He suddenly made a hand seal, used his wind-riding technique to drift away, and as he flew far away, he could still hear strange bird cries coming from behind him, which kept coming.

Upon returning to the cave, Zhao Wuji discovered that the atmosphere inside had suddenly become very solemn.

The spiritual pressure of the mountain-protecting array became heavier.

The disciples patrolling the mountain all had solemn expressions, and even the usually chattering cranes huddled in their nests, not daring to cry out.

"Senior Brother Zhao!"

A balding disciple in blue robes immediately bowed and paid his respects upon seeing Zhao Wuji.

Zhao Wuji had no recollection of this person, but was too embarrassed to say so directly. He politely smiled and asked, "Where did you go, Junior Brother? It seems something happened in the cave after I returned from only half a day's absence."

The disciple in blue robes looked somewhat strange and nervous. After bowing, he truthfully said, "Senior Brother Zhao, you may not know that Peak Master Hua and Peak Master Hou are in Yunfeng Cave Heaven."

He looked around before lowering his voice: "We've been ambushed, and our fate is now unknown! The sect leader has ordered a state of emergency throughout the mountain."

"What!?"

Zhao Wuji was deeply shaken.

After appearing in the dream of the myna bird yesterday, he continued to interpret the messages revealed in the dream warnings of the Flower Peak Master.

The result was that all that could be deciphered was a dream filled with blood and darkness, and Hua Qingshuang's Ice Soul Flying Sword was sinking and floating inch by inch in the sea of ​​blood.

Countless chains emerged from the darkness and coiled around, until finally only the echoing sound of a sword resounded.

There were no other decent clues.

Left with no other choice, he had to temporarily suppress his worries and deal with the clear and straightforward matters first.

After all, the Flower Peak Master is not him personally, and there are far too few clues associated with him. If he wants to interpret the dream and obtain more information, it will be very difficult without a lot of supporting clues.

Even visiting the past in a dream is impossible; the distance is too great.

The Flower Peak Master was engaged in a magical duel far away on the border between the Qian and Xuan kingdoms, and the enemy he faced was beyond his ability to handle.

Even if something goes wrong, it would be very difficult for him to help; he was truly helpless.

Soon, Zhao Wuji returned to Hanyue Peak and found Dai Zhiyun.

"Junior Brother Zhao."

Upon seeing Zhao Wuji, Dai Zhiyun felt as if she had found her pillar of support. She quickly stepped forward, clutching the corner of her sleeve, and recounted the terrible news she had just heard in detail.

After listening intently, Zhao Wuji discovered that Senior Sister Dai only knew the basics, which were similar to what the disciple in green had said before. It seemed that the key details had been blocked by the higher-ups, and even the extent of the peak master's injury was vague.

"It seems."

He looked towards the other main peaks and murmured:
"Only messages sent by the elders via flying cranes could possibly contain the true situation of the battle."

Now that things have come to this, as a disciple, all he can do is pray in his heart.

"Pray. Yes, pray."

A flash of inspiration struck Zhao Wuji, and he thought of the Nightmare Prayer Technique among the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Techniques.

The art of nightmare prayer can be performed by incantation or supplication. Even across vast distances, incense can reach the deceased.
If one can master this technique, even if one's strength is weaker than Hua Qingshuang's and one cannot be of great help, it is still possible to use this technique to pray for her.

But learning a new Earthly Fiend Technique, especially one that happens to be the Nightmare Prayer Technique, is no easy task.

Zhao Wuji could only do his best and leave the rest to fate.

He returned to his cave and instructed Xiaoyue to stay with Dai Zhiyun while he took out a pile of ancient books he had collected and began to read them.

Among the three volumes of "Zhen Gao" that Hua Qingshuang once gifted him, in addition to "Wo Zhen Fu" and "Xie Chang Qi", there was another volume called "Ji Shen Shu".

However, this scroll was obscure and difficult to understand. Zhao Wuji had studied it for two months, but the Yin-Yang Beads had not reacted at all.

He guessed that it might involve the tadpole-like script in the third and fourth Yin-Yang beads, so he temporarily put it aside.

Now we have no choice but to give it another try, even if it seems hopeless.

Besides the "Ji Shen Shu", the fragments of "Qian Jin Fang" are already tadpole script that triggers the second Yin Pearl.

This is the clearest approach, and it's worth trying; perhaps things will turn out unexpectedly well.

Time flies, and three days have passed in the blink of an eye.

The atmosphere inside the cave became increasingly solemn, with the number of disciples patrolling the mountain tripling, and elders from various halls frequently entering and leaving the main peak, Linlang Peak.

With the top leadership remaining silent, rumors gradually began to spread among the disciples.

Rumor has it that Yunfeng Cave Heaven acted unethically during the magical duel, having already laid an ambush. After losing the duel, they turned on each other, severely injuring Hua Qingshuang, Hou Baichang, and others, and then launched a manhunt.

Hua Qingshuang and the others are now in critical condition, their fates unknown.

There are even rumors that Wushang Cave Heaven also cooperated with Yunfeng Cave Heaven to ambush and attack, which led to the danger of peak masters and elders such as Hua Qingshuang.

The second piece of news struck like a thunderbolt, having the greatest impact on the many disciples within the cave, causing widespread panic.

If Yunfeng Cave Heaven and Wushang Cave Heaven join forces and launch a war against Linlang Cave Heaven together, Linlang Cave Heaven's situation will be extremely dangerous.

With the news of Hua Qingshuang's serious injury and uncertain fate spreading, the situation on Hanyue Peak, which had been lively for a while, has now become delicate.

Some elders who were aware of the seriousness of the situation had even begun to set their sights on Zhao Wuji, a promising newcomer, at this tense juncture.

Zhao Wuji, a master of both swordsmanship and martial arts.

If Hua Feng were to die unexpectedly, recruiting his disciple Zhao Wuji into his ranks would certainly be a wonderful thing.

His talent for refining top-grade Dragon Tiger Pills alone made the elders of the Purple Cloud Palace think of him as a talent to be cherished.

Previously, Huafeng was powerful, and while some coveted it, no one dared to mention it. But now...
Just as some elders were having mixed thoughts, Yan Lan, the peak master of Crimson Flame Peak, sent out a message.

"The Cold Moon and Crimson Flame are one family. Even if my beloved junior sister perished outside, I will still accept all her disciples. It is not up to outsiders to lay a finger on them."

This news immediately dampened the enthusiasm of some elders who were itching to make a move, leaving them seething with resentment.

Well, when Hua Qingshuang was around, you two sisters used to fight like madmen, almost to the point of stripping each other naked in public.

Now that the person's fate is uncertain, you're doing well, rushing out to inherit their estate.

Although the elders were cursing in their hearts, they didn't have the confidence to confront the Crimson Flame Peak Master, who was at the tenth level of Qi Refining, so they had to suppress their thoughts.

On Cold Moon Peak, two ancient books radiating spiritual light floated in front of Zhao Wuji.

Fragments of the "Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold" fluttered like butterflies.

The annotations in "Ben Cao Yan Yi" are available for free circulation and reading.

He has temporarily abandoned the book "Ji Shen Shu" in "Zhen Gao" because he really couldn't grasp the essentials, and he still couldn't touch the Yin Yang Pearl.

He suspected that to comprehend the "Ji Shen Shu," he might need to obtain other volumes of the "Zhen Gao" and first comprehend those volumes to lay a foundation before he could possibly achieve it.

At this point, he had reached the final stage of reading the incomplete "Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold," which had already led to a new technique of the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends—medical arts!

Although medicine is only an auxiliary skill, it is not simple.

Beginners can gain spiritual powers over plants and trees, accelerate the growth of spiritual herbs and medicines, and even master the four essentials of medicine, the supernatural abilities of the Plague Department, fortune-telling and medical diagnosis, the supernatural abilities of poisonous insects, and the ability to regenerate flesh and blood.
Originally, he wouldn't have been able to completely decipher medical techniques with just a fragment of the "Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Pieces of Gold".

But with the addition of "The Extended Meaning of Materia Medica" given to me by my junior brother Xing, it becomes complete.

An hour later, a flash of light appeared in the Yin Pearl, and thousands of tadpole-like characters, like a reversed galaxy, transformed into information about medical techniques, all of which entered Zhao Wuji's brow, helping him understand the technique.

He even gained a new understanding of his family's secret martial art, "Suspended Pot Golden Needle Skill," and the art of acupuncture, and his needling technique improved by leaps and bounds.

After half a stick of incense.

A message appeared on the surface of the second Yin Bead: "Seventy-two Earthly Fiend Techniques - Medicine: Beginner (0/100)".

"It's a pity I've grasped it; it's not the Nightmare Prayer Technique, so I can't help the Peak Master."

While Zhao Wuji was overjoyed, he also felt a pang of sadness.

Suddenly, a faint fragrance drifted by.

A voice, like honey laced with poison, carrying immense spiritual power, swept into the cave:

"Tsk tsk. Junior Nephew Zhao, my good junior nephew."

"Your beloved peak master is practically dead, and you still have the mood to read here? I truly feel sorry for my dear junior sister!"

"Uncle Yan."

Zhao Wuji felt a chill run down his spine, quickly put down the book, got up, and walked out of the cave.

Then they saw Yan Lan, dressed in a red robe, exuding a noble and majestic aura, yet also revealing a sinister and alluring charm. She wore phoenix tail flower decorations, and three wisps of flame flickered between her fingertips. A crimson flame tattoo was faintly visible at the slit of her skirt.

"Master is too kind. I am always concerned about the safety of the Peak Master, but I am powerless to help him. I am truly anxious."

Zhao Wuji quickly bowed and saluted, cold sweat already seeping from the back of his neck.

The sudden arrival of the dangerous Crimson Flame Peak female demon was, in his current predicament, several times more perilous than a joint attack on the Linglang Cave Heaven by the two great cave heavens.
(End of this chapter)