Who gave you permission to travel through time with Earth?

【Firefly】

"Buzz—"

In the sea of ​​fire, those few stars were so bright, like tiny suns falling into a reddish-brown sea. Even amidst the spiraling flames, they stood out so prominently that it was impossible to look away.

But Hu Shan and Tie Xin were completely thrown into panic and despair at this moment. The small sun swelled and shone in front of their eyes, releasing heat and destructive power far exceeding that of the surrounding sea of ​​fire!

"No--!"

They screamed and roared, using all their rear hands to protect themselves, but both the red rune armor and the iron umbrella were melted and pierced around the star, slowly flowing out molten iron.

In the instant the fireflies exploded completely, everything they relied on vanished into nothingness! The entire ceiling of the grotto was also completely ripped off and exploded, with rolling high pressure and scorching heat crashing in their faces!

The two men's bodies were turned into charred, mangled flesh and thrown out through the hole in the ceiling! One was pierced through the chest by the stone beam, while the other fell into the rolling tide of snakes below; their fates were unknown.

"Bang bang—!"

Fang Jin also fell into the cave, his body smashing through the earthenware pots and stone urns on the ground before he fainted. His consumption was equally terrifying; the energy of the two major systems in his body was completely drained, all in order to kill those two elders.

Li Cuicui's earthenware pot was also shattered in one corner. With her head covered in black oil, she carefully peeked out and saw the completely open ceiling of the grotto... and Fang Jin sleeping blankly in the pile of snakes.

The stone platform in front of the gorge can still hold up, and human resistance and battles have knocked down many snakes, but the cave is almost completely filled with venomous snakes, and there are coiled spirals climbing upwards wherever you step.

"As expected, running away is the best course of action in times like this."

With this open-minded thought, Cui Cui picked up a piece of broken tile from the ground, scooped up some black oil, and splashed it towards the pile of snakes in front of her. The black oil caught fire instantly, burning a clearing around Fang Jin.

She tiptoed around to the open space, grabbed Fang Jin's body—which was too heavy for her—and dragged her along the ground, throwing her backward. Just before the black oil burned out, she pulled her out of the snake pile and tumbled into the haystack.

"You were trying to run away, weren't you...? What do you want with saving me? Do you really think you're some kind of Buddhist nun?"

Fang Jin spoke softly, her voice weak yet subtly malicious, but Cui Cui only paused for a moment, then rudely picked at her ear and casually cursed:

"You're really stupid. Do you think I'd survive if I didn't save you? There's chaos and bandits roaming outside. If I didn't have a powerful backer to cling to, believe me, I'd be completely sedated tonight. I'm just trying to save myself."

If Fang Jin ignored the slight redness on Cui Cui's earlobe, she might have actually believed her story. It's surprising that in this world, the powerful and wealthy fight to be the ones who devour others, while the dregs of kindness can still remain at the bottom...

Perhaps Ryō unintentionally found a true bodhisattva.

"...It's time."

But at that moment, two figures suddenly burst in with the cold wind. Cui Cui's eyes couldn't catch their movements at all, and she could only instinctively shrink her body based on her intuition of danger.

But all that could be seen was the chaotic wind and sand, the commotion of war, and the ground inside the cave that was originally occupied by snakes was suddenly plowed open, with the ground covered with severed snake corpses and venomous blood. A white path leading straight into the cave had been carved out of the ground.

The purpose of the visitors was the blue sedan chair that had been submerged in the pile of snakes from the very beginning. When their toes touched the front of the sedan chair and they stood firm, even Cui Cui recognized their identities.

It was Clay Figure Zhang and Courtesy Master Wang.

"This kid... he actually killed Hu Shan and Tie Xin?"

Li Renwang looked at the weakened Fang Jin with some astonishment and apprehension. He had once been the leader of Chiling Village and knew just how terrifying the violence and dominance of that seemingly sickly old man truly was.

Now, not only was he killed in public, but he was also a lowly centurion who was like an ant to them just half a month ago. How could such a person be willing to play such an ordinary role?

"Should we eliminate him? Fang Jin is weak enough right now, and the combat strength he has revealed is completely different from what the court expected. Hiding one's strength is also a crime in the Li Dynasty..."

"But it's not a serious crime, and in most cases, it can be overlooked."

"Clay Figure Zhang" said softly, admitting that he too was stunned by Fang Jin's displayed combat power, to the point that he subconsciously worried whether the other party had other tricks up his sleeve, and instinctively avoided speaking.

"First, confirm His Highness's safety. If he is indeed deposed and Fang Jin's crimes are proven, then we must gather everyone and kill him... But if not, there is no need to antagonize such a killing god."

"...You make a good point."

The conversation was over in an instant. Then, a long ruler made of gold and jade extended from the sleeve of the Prince of Ceremonies, reached into the blue curtain of the sedan chair, and lifted the curtain up sharply.

Cui Cui wanted to stop it, but at the last moment she realized that she couldn't change anything. She instinctively grabbed the relic embedded in her neck, and in her dead heart, waves of emotions that seemed inexplicable to her surged.

"..."

"Who are you?"

The two of them simultaneously cried out in surprise, because the person sitting in the sedan chair was not the crippled or unharmed Prince Zhou Bensi; his body had been switched at some point.

Sitting inside was an incredibly beautiful woman, wearing a silver crown and a green cheongsam. This attire almost immediately reminded them of the woman they had met by chance in Chiling Village.

The two are very similar in both their clothing and appearance.

"I am Miao Xiu, the chieftain of Killer Ridge."

She spoke in a deep voice, her smile not affecting the stiffness of her words. But then, after a moment's thought, Miao Xiu, while pressing a single finger on the jade ruler of the ritual master, added with a blush but firm tone, "..."

"She is also the younger sister of Miao Ying, the best sister in the world."

As the sound faded, a dark rust mark appeared on the jade ruler, then spread rapidly like a plague! The entire jade ruler was corroded and devoured in an instant, and the metal fragments broke and collapsed inch by inch!

King Li let go in horror, but even though the rust hadn't spread to the end of the ruler, he was too late. Several unseen black spots had already jumped onto his fingertips, and the corrosive rust was spreading as well!

"It's a Gu worm! A Gu worm that's invisible to the naked eye!"

Clay Man Zhang screamed and retreated frantically, not even having time to care about his companions. The moment the chieftain of Killer Ridge got close and planted the Gu worm, Li Renwang was already a dead man.

Let alone abandoning his weapon, even cutting off the contaminated arm now would be useless, as tiny, dust-like Gu worms had already flowed throughout his body along with his blood!

"Chief Miao Xiu, isn't there some misunderstanding here? We are from the imperial court and Chiling Village! Chief Hu Shan cooperated with you beforehand; we are not your enemies at all!"