Chapter 654
Nangong Wan nodded, and a ray of purple flame lit up at his fingertips. As he went deeper, cracks began to appear on the ground, and dark red magma could be seen flowing in some of the cracks.
"There!" Nangong Wan suddenly pointed to the edge of a larger crack, where a cluster of fiery red Ganoderma lucidum was swaying slightly in the heat.
The two approached cautiously. Just as Fu Shaoping reached out to pick the fruit, Nangong Wan suddenly threw him down: "Be careful!"
A beam of black light passed by where they had just stood and hit the rock not far away, corroding a large hole in it.
"Who is it?" Fu Shaoping stood up quickly, his sword unsheathed.
Three men in black walked out of the shadows, led by a middle-aged man with a sinister look: "Hand over the Mysterious Ice Jade Marrow, and I will spare your lives."
Nangong Wan sneered: "So it was you who followed us all the way."
The sinister man didn't answer, but waved his hand, and the three of them attacked at the same time. Fu Shaoping met the two men, his sword flashing like a rainbow, while Nangong Wan fought with the sinister man.
"The remnants of the Xuanyin Sect," Nangong Wan recognized the other party's moves, "Your leader is dead, why don't you give up?"
The sinister man grinned: "Although the leader is dead, the holy objects are still there. The bronze fragments in your hands are originally from my sect!"
The battle became more and more intense. Although Fu Shaoping was fighting one against two, the evil spirit of the ancient battlefield continued to erode his spiritual power. Nangong Wan was anxious and his attack became more fierce.
Just when she was about to defeat the sinister man, she suddenly heard a muffled groan from Fu Shaoping - a man in black made a sneak attack and pierced Fu Shaoping's right shoulder with a sword!
"Shaoping!" Nangong Wan's eyes were red with anger, and purple flames surged, forcing the sinister man back. She flew to Fu Shaoping's side and supported him as he was about to fall.
"It's okay." Fu Shaoping gritted his teeth and broke the sword on his shoulder. He threw the broken sword with his backhand and hit a man in black in the throat.
The remaining two people saw their companions die, and their attack became more frantic. Nangong Wan knew that they could not fight for long, so he grabbed the fire ganoderma and pulled Fu Shaoping to retreat quickly.
"Want to run?" The sinister man chased after him relentlessly, black light continuously shooting out from his hands.
Fu Shaoping suddenly stopped, turned around and formed a seal: "The sky and the earth are boundless, the black ice is the prison!"
An ice wall rose from the ground, temporarily blocking the pursuers. Nangong Wan took the opportunity to lead Fu Shaoping into a narrow crack, and after many twists and turns, they finally got rid of the pursuers.
"Your injury" In a relatively safe cave, Nangong Wan checked Fu Shaoping's injury with trembling hands. The sword was poisoned and the wound had turned black.
Fu Shaoping's face was pale, but he still tried to comfort her: "It doesn't matter if you leave here first."
Nangong Wan bit his finger and drew a blood symbol in the air: "Use the purple flame as the guide, use the blood essence as the medium, continue!"
The blood talisman turned into a red light and sank into Fu Shaoping's body, temporarily suppressing the poison. Nangong Wan carried the semi-conscious Fu Shaoping on his back and moved out of the ruins with difficulty.
With every step she took, she felt her vitality draining away - the blood symbol consumed her life force. But she couldn't stop. Fu Shaoping's breathing was getting weaker and weaker, and she had to find a safe place to heal him as soon as possible.
As the sky gradually darkened, Nangong Wan finally saw the edge of the ruins. Her legs felt weak, but she didn't dare to fall down until she found a hidden cave.
Nangong Wan gently put Fu Shaoping down and found that he was completely unconscious, with his lips showing an ominous purple color. She trembled and took out the Fire Ganoderma and the Mysterious Ice Jade Marrow. According to the records in the ancient books, she took a small part of each, ground them into powder, mixed them with Huitianlu and gave them to Fu Shaoping to take.
"Please don't die." Nangong Wan held his hand, tears dripping onto their clasped hands.
For a whole night, Nangong Wan continued to use purple flames to expel the poison from Fu Shaoping until his own spiritual power was exhausted and he fainted beside him.
After an unknown amount of time, she felt someone gently stroking her hair. Nangong Wan suddenly opened her eyes and saw Fu Shaoping smiling at her weakly.
"You're awake," she said with a choked voice.
Fu Shaoping nodded. Although he was still weak, the spirit in his eyes had returned: "Thank you for saving me again."
Nangong Wan threw herself into his arms, unable to control her emotions any longer, and burst into tears. Fu Shaoping patted her back gently, letting her tears wet his clothes.
"Let's go home," Fu Shaoping said softly after she calmed down, "We can look for the remaining materials after we recover from our injuries."
Nangong Wan shook her head: "No, we have already obtained two things, we can't give up halfway." She wiped away her tears, "But promise me, next time you are in danger, let me protect you once."
Fu Shaoping looked at her stubborn look and smiled helplessly: "Okay."
The morning light shone through the gaps in the vines at the entrance of the cave, and Nangong Wan was awakened by a slight movement. She looked up suddenly and found Fu Shaoping trying to prop himself up, with cold sweat on his forehead.
"Don't move!" She pressed his left shoulder, and the purple flames on her fingertips gently brushed the wound on his right shoulder. The fire ganoderma powder applied last night had caused the rotten flesh to fall off, but the new flesh was still purplish. "The poison of the Xuanyin Sect is not so easy to clean." She said hoarsely, pouring out the last few drops of Huitianlu from the leather bag at her waist, "Bear with it for another three days, otherwise your meridians will be injured."
Fu Shaoping looked at the dark circles under her eyes and suddenly grabbed her wrist: "How much of your lifeblood have you consumed?" A line of blood had spread from Nangong Wan's wrist to her elbow - that was a sign of blood depletion.
"Enough." She pulled her hand back and lifted his bloodstained collar. The two exchanged medicine bottles in silence, one using purple flames to burn the remaining toxins in the wound, and the other using the cold air of black ice jade to relieve the pain. From outside the cave came the unique whistling sound of the ancient battlefield, like the sobbing of dead souls.
-
Seven days later, the bamboo hut was filled with the aroma of medicinal herbs.
Nangong Wan stared at the yellowed "Nine Brewing Prescriptions" on the table, and her fingertips repeatedly rubbed the recipe of "Mysterious Ice Fire Spirit Wine". "We still need the Styx Orchid and the Thousand-Year-Old Snow Toad Cloth." She suddenly coughed, and bloodshot appeared on her palm. Fu Shaoping handed over the warmed medicine silently, and the crushed fire ganoderma lucidum was at the bottom of the bowl.
"There are traces of snow toads shedding their skins in the cold pond in the eastern suburbs." He unfolded a hide map, and a certain place was circled heavily with cinnabar. "But the one guarding it--"
"It's the black-scaled python that failed to transform into a dragon." Nangong Wan said, and the two of them raised their lips at the same time when they looked at each other. They first met because of the fight for the bile of this python, and now it seems like reincarnation.
-
The surface of the cold pond was covered with spider-web-like thin ice. Fu Shaoping lightly raised his sword, and the moment the ice cracked, the purple flame thrown by Nangong Wan illuminated the bottom of the pond - the pale snow-white toad skin was attached to the sunken wood, and the scales of the giant python perched on it were oozing black blood.
"It was injured by the people of Xuanyin Sect." Nangong Wan whispered. Before he finished speaking, the water in the pool suddenly boiled! The black-scaled python brought a fishy wind when it suddenly jumped up. Fu Shaoping turned around and swung his sword. The sword energy froze the venom that was rushing towards him into an ice cone and bounced back. Nangong Wan took the opportunity to pinch his fingers, and the purple flame turned into a chain to wrap around the python's body. However, the python's eyes suddenly bled, and it crashed into the stone wall beside the pool like crazy. "It wants to die together!" The moment Fu Shaoping pounced on Nangong Wan, the snow toad clothes were blown away by the air wave. At the critical moment, a black shadow flashed by - it was the black-clothed man who had attacked Fu Shaoping before! He grabbed the toad clothes and fled into the woods, and a sinister laugh echoed: "Thank you both for finding us--"
Purple flames and sword light burst out at the same time! Nangong Wan's flames locked the black-clothed man's feet, and Fu Shaoping's sword had pierced his chest. However, the black-clothed man crushed the talisman before he died, and the toad clothes turned into ashes in the green fire.
-
"There is another option." In the bamboo hut late at night, Nangong Wan suddenly slammed the table. She opened the last volume of "Jiuyun Recipe" and pointed to a line of small words: "If you can't get the snow toad coat, you can use the double-petaled Styx Orchid instead - this flower has two stamens, yin and yang, which is just the right substitute for the dual attributes of ice and fire."
Fu Shaoping stared at her profile, which was trying to hold on to her spirit, and suddenly said, "The place where the orchid grows is called the 'Yin Yang Realm', which is the territory of ghost cultivators." Nangong Wan sneered, "More difficult to deal with than the remnants of the Xuanyin Sect?" She staggered when she stood up, and was supported by Fu Shaoping. The moment their palms touched, a porcelain bottle fell out of her sleeve - only a thin layer of her life essence and blood remained in it.
Fu Shaoping folded his five fingers together, his voice hoarse: "Listen to me this time."
-
The Yin-Yang world was filled with mist. Nangong Wan drew a talisman with blood, and purple flames paved a path under the feet of the two. A bone hand suddenly stretched out from the cracks in the stone, and Fu Shaoping's sword was frozen before it was unsheathed. The sound of bells came from afar, and a scarlet sedan chair floated over.
"A living person must pay a price to take the orchid." A pale hand stretched out from behind the curtain, holding a pair of flowers in its palm, "One soul and one spirit, or..." The hand suddenly pointed to Nangong Wan, "Her purple flame spiritual root."
Fu Shaoping's sword was already against the curtain of the sedan chair. Nangong Wan held his wrist and smiled at the person in the sedan chair: "Why not use this?" She threw out a piece of bronze fragment - the holy object that the Xuanyin Sect was looking for. There was silence in the sedan chair for a long time, and finally the fragment was rolled away, and Youlan slowly fell into her palm.
It was raining heavily on the way back. Fu Shaoping suddenly pulled Nangong Wan behind him, and the sword slashed through the rain curtain - three poisoned arrows fell to the ground. "The ghost is still there." He sneered. Nangong Wan looked at the intact Youlan in his hand and whispered, "It's worth it."
-
The steaming wine made the tiles of the bamboo hut jingle. Nangong Wan sealed the materials in layers according to the ancient method into the urn made of black ice jade, while Fu Shaoping used sword energy to guide the fusion of yin and yang. When the last ray of purple flame sank into the mouth of the urn, the urn suddenly burst into a halo of red and blue.
"It's done!" The moment Nangong Wan broke the mud seal, the phantoms of the phoenix and the ice dragon appeared in the clear wine aroma. She scooped up a spoonful and handed it to Fu Shaoping's mouth. He took a sip and suddenly choked - the black air on his shoulder was forced out and dissipated in the air.
Nangong Wan laughed loudly, and fell into his arms. When Fu Shaoping caught her, he felt a damp heat on her back - the forceful activation of the purple flame caused her old wound to break. He picked up the unconscious her and walked into the inner room, the light and shadow on the wine jar gently enveloped the two figures.
Outside the window, the first rays of morning light penetrate the clouds.
-
Inside the bamboo hut, the aroma of wine filled the air.
Nangong Wan held the bowl of "Xuanbing Huopo Wine" with a red and blue halo, her fingertips trembling slightly. The wine flowed in the jade bowl, sometimes like surging flames, sometimes like condensed ice, reflecting the brilliance in her eyes.
"Shaoping, have a try." She handed over the bowl, her lips slightly raised, but she couldn't hide the nervousness in her eyes.
Fu Shaoping took it and gently touched her fingertips, feeling the warmth and coolness. He lowered his head and stared at the wine, and saw the shadows of a phoenix and an ice dragon hovering in it. He couldn't help but chuckle, "This wine is very much like you and me."
Nangong Wan raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean?"
"You are like fire, and I am like ice." He looked up at her with a faint smile in his eyes, "But somehow, we can melt into one."
Her ears felt slightly hot, and she snorted softly, "Stop talking nonsense and drink quickly."
Fu Shaoping said no more and drank the whole thing in one gulp.
As the wine entered his throat, an extremely cold air instantly spread from his throat, as if he was covered by a thousand-year-old black ice, and even his breathing was stagnant. His pupils shrank slightly, and his fingertips unconsciously clasped the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white.
Nangong Wan saw this and immediately reached out to cover the back of his hand, with purple flames flowing to dispel the coldness for him: "Hold on."
He closed his eyes and adjusted his breathing. After a moment, the coldness gradually disappeared, and was replaced by a warm current that rose from his dantian, like a spring breeze melting snow, slowly seeping into his limbs and bones.
The alcohol took effect again, and this time it was so hot that it was unbearable, as if he was in a furnace, his blood was boiling, and even his skin was faintly flushed. Sweat broke out on Fu Shaoping's forehead, his breathing was slightly short, but he still sat still.
The purple flames on Nangong Wan's fingertips grew stronger as he combed his meridians, whispering, "Don't force yourself. If you can't bear it, it's okay to spit it out."
He shook his head, his lips curled slightly: "It's okay."
Before he could finish his words, the alcohol took its toll again.
Cold and heat no longer conflict with each other, but entangled with each other, like yin and yang, turning into a majestic spiritual power, washing over the whole body. Fu Shaoping only felt that all the hidden injuries in his body were healed, and even the residual Xuanyin poison in his right shoulder was completely removed, and his meridians were unobstructed as never before.
He opened his eyes, the gleam in his eyes was restrained, and his aura was calmer than before.
"How is it?" Nangong Wan stared at him, with both expectation and worry in his eyes.
Fu Shaoping pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "Good wine."
She breathed a sigh of relief, but couldn't help asking, "Just 'good wine'?"
He chuckled, reached out to take another bowl of wine, and handed it to her: "Try it yourself, and you will know, right?"
Nangong Wan took it and drank it without hesitation.
She groaned, and the purple flames protected her body, but her fingertips were still trembling from the burning power of the wine. This wine was even more overbearing to her than when Fu Shaoping drank it!
Seeing this, Fu Shaoping immediately pointed at her wrist and transferred his mysterious ice power to her to help her neutralize her anger. She gritted her teeth and endured it. When the heat wave subsided, she breathed a sigh of relief, but her eyes were surprisingly bright.
The extreme cold hit her, and her whole body froze, even the purple flame froze for a moment. Fu Shaoping placed his palm on her back and said gently, "Don't resist, let the alcohol flow naturally."
She relaxed as she was told, letting the chill flow through her body, eventually transforming into a ray of coolness to nourish her soul.
As ice and fire merged, the life force that had been lost in her body was slowly replenished. Even the purple flame became purer, and there was a faint sign of a breakthrough.
Nangong Wan opened her eyes, and purple light shone in them, as bright as the stars. She looked at Fu Shaoping and suddenly smiled: "This wine... is really excellent."
He chuckled and reached out to wipe a drop of wine from her lips: "Better than 'good wine'?"
She grabbed his wrist, a sly smile in her eyes: "Much stronger."
The two smiled at each other, the aroma of wine lingering in the air, the wind and snow outside the bamboo hut gradually subsided, and the sky broke through the clouds. (End of this chapter)