What felt peculiar to Chu Tian was that within the liquid, kh3107 could breathe normally, which was equally unfathomable.
"Sui Xing, find a place to recharge and activate the high-particle stealth shield."
[Understood, kh3107. Congratulations on your body returning to normal!]
After emerging, kh3107 issued the voice command to Sui Xing, ordering it to patrol automatically. Sui Xing also sent congratulations to kh3107, revealing that this mecha system was, in fact, an advanced intelligence.
After five minutes of high-speed flight, they had long since lost track of their pursuers. Moreover, with the explosion of that energy ball, Chu Tian estimated that the number of casualties from this incident would be no less than those who died during the volcanic eruption, possibly even more.
At this moment, they were relatively safe. Sui Xing began an automatic scan and after a moment, stopped over a flat area. Sui Xing then released a light barrier to encompass the surroundings.
kh3107 stated, "The high-particle stealth shield can block detection and vision. Others cannot see us."
"Isn't that just a concealment formation? I can do that too!" Miao Zuo muttered dismissively from the side.
"Do you have many talismans?" Wei Jin asked him with a smile beside him.
Miao Zuo was immediately silenced. He knew that to create such a wide-ranging concealment formation, it would take him at least several hours of preparation, requiring the coordination of countless formation plates and talismans before activation. And this peculiar machine called Sui Xing, in just a few seconds, by releasing a beam of light, had condensed it out of thin air. It was truly remarkable.
Even he, a seasoned talisman master, was left in awe. He even felt a touch of resentment, which prompted his earlier remark.
The group descended along steps on Sui Xing's chest. Sui Xing carried a large wooden chest in one hand and a fiery red longsword in the other. It placed them slowly on the ground, then handed the longsword to Chi Xue, sticking it into the earth. The longsword left Sui Xing's hand, shrinking to its normal size.
"This belonged to your ancestor. I'm returning it to you now! The麒麟兽 (Qilin Beast) and I had a complete misunderstanding. The moment I crashed into that volcano, it appeared. It treated me as a monster, attacked me directly with its sword, and refused to listen to my explanation. Out of necessity, I had to fight it to the death, which depleted my energy, causing me to sink into the lava. I am truly sorry..." After speaking, kh3107 bowed deeply to Chi Xue.
Chi Xue, who had previously harbored hatred for it, was instead stunned and at a loss. Chu Tian examined the massive chest, keeping his divine sense focused on the situation but making no move to intervene. Meanwhile, Xiao Hei, following closely behind him, was also rummaging around the colossal object.
Chu Tian glanced at Xiao Hei, then turned and kicked him, sending him flying towards Xiao Hong, landing him face-first in the dirt. This clever fellow, upon seeing the situation between the two, unconcernedly got up and straightened kh3107, who was still bent over.
Slapping kh3107 on the shoulder, Xiao Hei asked, "I ask you, you fell down with this box, right?"
kh3107, not understanding the question, nodded and explained, "Yes, I was flying at high speed outside the sky when this thing suddenly appeared in front of me. I had no time to decelerate and collided with it. I thought I would just push it aside and pass through, but it counter-impacted me, breaking through the barrier of this artificial mini-world and causing me to fall in here."
"Aiya, no need to explain so clearly. It's correct that you fell down with it," Xiao Hei said inexplicably. Then, looking up at the stunned Chi Xue, he asked, "Wife... uh... Xue'er, if it were you, seeing this box, which clearly looked like a treasure, with a monster standing on top of it, would you attack?"
Chi Xue pondered his question for a moment and slowly nodded. "That's right. Entering this trial land, it's either you take from me, or I take from him. There's no right or wrong. That old Qilin definitely had its sights set on this thing and intended to rob it. It deserved to die!"
Xiao Hei spoke with a rogueish air, and upon hearing his words, Chi Xue frowned. However, the frown quickly smoothed out, and her gaze towards kh3107 was no longer hostile, though not particularly friendly either. She understood what Xiao Hei was implying: here, it was survival of the fittest.
However, because of this incident, their Scarlet Flame Qilin clan lost the Sword of Supremacy, the key to opening the inheritance sacred land. This led to the near extinction of the Scarlet Flame Qilin clan, leaving only her. It was not something she could easily let go of.
"Alright, let's go see what goodies are inside that thing." With that, he released his hold on the membrane around kh3107's neck, then took Chi Xue's sleeve and turned towards the giant box.
"Thank you..." kh3107 called out from behind them.
Xiao Hei waved casually behind him, feeling incredibly excited. He secretly glanced at his hand. Though he had only held her sleeve, he was already content. He remembered when he first met Chi Xue, any approach within five meters would result in a barrage of fireballs. Now... hehe... Xiao Hei's face gradually began to change.
"What are you smiling about?" Chi Xue suddenly spoke.
"Uh... slurp..." Xiao Hei's face stiffened, and he quickly sucked back the drool that had escaped. He looked at Chi Xue's about-to-rage face in panic. Just as he was about to speak, a deafening explosion occurred.
It instantly drew everyone's attention. Chi Xue's already changing expression also turned in that direction. Chu Tian was retreating rapidly, his every step sinking into a pit knee-deep. The weapon in his hand, Moon God's Wrath, shot out further than his retreating figure.
*Boom, boom, boom...* Chu Tian retreated dozens of steps before barely managing to stop. At this point, everyone could see that Chu Tian's hands were trembling, and blood was flowing freely. The tiger's mouth on his hands had cracked open. The thrown Moon God's Wrath had pierced the coverage of the high-particle stealth shield, flying thousands of meters away and embedding itself into a volcano, causing violent tremors.
"What's going on?" Xiao Hei asked loudly, having not paid attention to Chu Tian. He knew how resilient Chu Tian's body was, even more formidable than his own Ink Qilin body.
*Gurgle...* Chu Tian spat out a mouthful of blood and waved his hand at them, "It's nothing!"
Wei Jin walked over and said, "Xiao Tian, are you sure that's a box? Isn't it solid?"
Chu Tian wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and cast a healing spell on himself. The injuries quickly healed. "It's definitely a box. There's definitely something good inside, but it's just too hard. My full-power strike almost killed me from the shock!"
"Boss, are you an idiot? Since it's a box, can't you find a gap, or look for a keyhole or something?" Xiao Hei said carelessly.
"Heh... Xiao Hei, is your head still missing some screws? While you were busy with your romance, the three of us have already examined this thing thoroughly. If there were something like you mentioned, would Boss have to resort to brute force?" Miao Zuo had also gotten familiar with them and had heard about Xiao Hei being beaten by Chu Tian with a stick in the past, so he directly exposed his weakness. This was because when he first met Chu Tian, he himself had also had a large lump on his head from being beaten.
As Xiao Hei was about to retort, "Come look at this!" Wei Jin suddenly called out.