The two giant stone figures asked him, "Are you truly going to retrieve the Earth Fire?"
Ye Changfeng replied resolutely, "Yes, I am."
The other three brothers echoed in unison, "We are too."
Upon hearing their unwavering determination, the Water and Fire Guardians agreed to let them pass.
"Since you are determined to enter, then go ahead."
With that, the Fire and Water Guardians crossed their spears and waved them forward. With a resounding 'boom,' the entire lava split into two, revealing a staircase leading downwards.
The Water Guardian reminded them, "There are five trials for the Earth Fire. If you pass them successfully, you will obtain the Earth Fire."
The Fire Guardian added, "The Earth Fire will not let you pass easily. It will only keep you here forever beneath this lava."
Ye Changfeng expressed his gratitude, "Thank you for the reminder, but our resolve is set. We must go in."
"If that is the case, then we wish you success."
"Alright."
With that, Ye Changfeng and his three brothers stepped onto the staircase and descended. Upon reaching the bottom, they found themselves in what appeared to be a stone forest, with bubbling lava churning at its base.
At that moment, a voice seemed to descend from the heavens, "Are you also here to seek the Earth Fire?"
"Yes," Ye Changfeng replied.
The voice boomed with laughter, "Do you know that there is no return from here?"
Ye Changfeng responded, "Death is not frightening. What is frightening is not doing what one ought to do."
Fu Zimo cast an envious glance at his elder brother.
"If that is so, then you will obtain the Earth Fire if you pass the five trials. Since you are confident, go and try."
As he spoke, a stone bridge appeared before them. Ye Changfeng and the other three crossed the bridge without hesitation. Upon reaching the other side and passing through a stone cave, they found themselves in complete darkness.
Zhu Yan questioned, "Why is it so dark here?"
Gui Ye replied, "This is likely a trial of the Earth Fire. Everyone, be careful."
"Alright."
At that moment, rustling sounds emerged from the darkness, followed by the appearance of countless blue eyes in the night.
Then came the sound of flapping wings as the blue-eyed creatures charged towards them. The group immediately drew their weapons to defend themselves.
Fu Zimo also unleashed his Crimson Lycoris flowers, forming a floral wall to shield the group. A series of crackling sounds ensued as many things collided with the flower wall.
Ye Changfeng then swung his sword outwards, and the flash of his sword energy immediately repelled them. After the flash subsided, they regrouped.
Gui Ye, seeing a glimmer of hope, exclaimed, "It seems these creatures are afraid of light. We can use light to drive them away."
"Good."
With that, Gui Ye cast out his threads. Fu Zimo flung his flowers onto the threads and with another wave, the entire Lycoris bloom ignited.
Instantly, the entire space was illuminated, and the blue-eyed creatures retreated. They then saw a path ahead and proceeded forward.
This was the first trial.
Ye Changfeng chuckled, "This isn't too difficult. It's so simple."
Zhu Yan cautioned, "The simpler it seems, the greater the danger. We should still be cautious."
"Alright."
As they stepped out of the cave, they found themselves in a vast field filled with a sea of flowers. The group exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to make of it.
Suddenly, a familiar voice called out from behind them, "You've returned."
The four turned to see Mu Ye, their confusion growing.
"Demon King, why are you here?" Ye Changfeng asked, bewildered.
The false Mu Ye replied, "We have already made peace with the Northern Divine Capital. You no longer need to retrieve the Earth Fire."
Fu Zimo asked in disbelief, "Have we truly made peace?"
The false Mu Ye responded, "Yes, they have agreed to let us guard the Three Cities, while they guard the Northern Divine Capital. Henceforth, there will be the new Four Cities."
Gui Ye expressed his suspicion, "The Ghost魅 Clan and the Four Cities have been rivals and enemies for thousands of years. Peace is impossible."
"I know you don't believe me, so I've brought the peace treaty."
Saying this, the false Mu Ye produced a document from her embrace and handed it to them. It indeed stated that the Northern Divine Capital agreed to peace, and the war had ended.
"Come with me, we should return," the false Mu Ye said.
"Where are we going?" Gui Ye inquired.
"Back to Xi Zi Kingdom."
He decisively flung his threads, entangling the false Mu Ye before him and pulling hard. To his surprise, she suddenly burst into laughter and broke free.
The surroundings instantly transformed, resembling a cave. The false Mu Ye leaped up and morphed into a giant spider monster.
Ye Changfeng looked at the creature and praised Gui Ye, "Third Brother, you're getting more and more formidable. I wondered why things felt so strange; it was a fake all along."
Zhu Yan also asked him, "Third Brother, how did you discover it?"
"The Demon King we know is not like this. The Demon King is bold and decisive; she wouldn't make peace with the Northern Divine Capital so easily.
Furthermore, the Northern Divine Capital has already issued a challenge, setting the final battle for ten days later, so the chance of peace is slim.
Secondly, the peace treaty she showed us lacked the seal of Black Mountain or the Northern Divine Capital. It was clearly fake, which is why I acted."
Zhu Yan exclaimed in admiration, "Third Brother, you truly are the strategist of our group, seeing through the deception so quickly."
"It's nothing. However, we must face the battle now."
"Alright."
At that moment, the giant spider spat a large mass of white silk towards the four, who immediately dodged.
Fu Zimo unleashed his Lycoris flowers, which drifted behind the giant spider. He then landed behind it.
Subsequently, the flowers transformed into swords and pierced the giant spider. The spider shook its body, and countless smaller spiders crawled out from beneath it.
The spot he had pierced also spawned spiders that crawled up his sword. He immediately transformed his sword back into flowers, returning to his original position.
Ye Changfeng then leaped into the air, shouting, "One Sword Qi Burst!" and unleashed a strike.
At that moment, countless small spiders rapidly covered the giant spider, and the sword energy landed on them.
As the scattered small spiders charged towards them, Gui Ye cast out his threads, attaching them to the cave ceiling. He said,
"Let's ascend onto my threads."
"Good."
The four then leaped onto the threads.
Gui Ye then cast threads downwards, ensnaring the giant spider on the ground. Fu Zimo also unleashed his Lycoris flowers, encircling it.
The Lycoris flowers transformed into numerous long swords and stabbed into it. At this moment, Ye Changfeng and Zhu Yan exchanged glances, understanding each other's intentions.
Ye Changfeng unleashed "One Sword Qi Burst," and Zhu Yan unleashed "Mountain Splitting Path."
In an instant, a wave of sword energy descended from above, and a surge of saber energy erupted from the ground.
The combined strength of the four shattered the giant spider into pieces. However, the scattered small spiders quickly regrouped to form a new giant spider.
Gui Ye realized something was amiss and told them,
"Although this giant spider is easy to deal with, no matter how we defeat it, it will regenerate into a new spider monster.
Therefore, I suspect its true form is not this giant spider, but these small spiders."
"Then what should we do?" Zhu Yan asked.
"Spiders fear fire. Let's burn them."
"Good."
Fu Zimo scattered his Lycoris flowers in various corners, then with a wave, the flowers ignited, causing the small spiders to squeal in pain.
At this moment, the giant spider seemed to feel the pain and thrashed wildly, spitting silk at them. The group immediately dodged.
Gui Ye then said, "Big Brother, Second Brother, you two handle the spider monsters, while Zimo and I will deal with the small spiders."
"Alright, let's go down to face it. It's a bit cramped here," Ye Changfeng said.
Fu Zimo offered, "Let me help Big Brother and Second Brother." He then tossed out a Lycoris flower, which split into two clouds of flowers.
Ye Changfeng praised Fu Zimo, "It seems Third Brother has become smarter too."
Fu Zimo replied shyly, "That's also after watching for a long time and thinking carefully."
"Excellent, excellent. We're going down."
"Good."
Ye Changfeng and Zhu Yan then leaped onto the Lycoris flowers and approached the giant spider. Ye Changfeng shouted, "Second Brother, let's go together!"
"Good."
Then, one unleashed "One Sword Qi Burst," and the other unleashed "Mountain Splitting Path." Two streams of sword energy shot directly towards the giant spider.
The giant spider also spat out many small spiders to meet them, using them as shields.
Ye Changfeng said, "Let's split up to deal with it."
"Good."
The two then split, one flying to the left and the other to the right. They unleashed their ultimate moves again, and the giant spider continued to use small spiders as shields.
Zhu Yan called out, "Big Brother, we need to change direction and seize the opening to kill it."
"Good."
Then, the two attacked from various directions, unleashing saber and sword energy. Finally, they found an opening and, with their combined power, unleashed a surge of sword energy. Then, with a 'thud,' the giant spider exploded.
At this moment, Gui Ye also shouted, "Zimo, burn them quickly."
"Good."
The two cooperated, one pinning down the small spiders, the other flinging flowers to set them ablaze. The spiders squealed as they burned, until they were reduced to ashes, thus resolving the crisis.
Following that, Fu Zimo and Gui Ye leaped down from the threads. At that moment, a stone door directly in front of the four slowly opened, revealing a path.
Ye Changfeng praised Gui Ye, "Our success in passing this time is thanks to Third Brother. Third Brother is amazing."
Gui Ye, accustomed to his praise, merely smiled slightly, "Let's go quickly."
"Good."
Thus, the four entered the stone door and proceeded inwards.
This marked the completion of the second trial.
The four passed through the stone door and arrived at the edge of a vast cavern lake. The lake water was as blue as jade, a picturesque scene, as if it had leaped from the pages of a book.
Fu Zimo exclaimed excitedly, "A blue lake, it's so beautiful!"
At that moment, specks of luminescence floated on the lake's surface, resembling fireflies dancing. Such a scene would be even more enchanting with a beautiful woman dancing.
Suddenly, they heard drumbeats emanating from the water's surface, and then they saw a woman in flowing blue sleeves dancing on the water.
At that moment, eight large drums emerged from the lakebed, surrounding her. She gracefully twirled, her sleeves flicking out to strike the drum surfaces, producing rhythmic and melodious 'dong dong' sounds.
The four watched in awe, feeling as though they had entered a celestial realm and encountered an immortal.
Ye Changfeng then cleared his throat, "Ahem, do we need to cross this lake?"
The other three snapped back to reality. Gui Ye looked around and found no path, so he said, "It seems we have to cross the water."
Fu Zimo extended his foot to test the water and discovered he could step on it.
He exclaimed in surprise, "Big Brother, we can step on the water!"
Hearing this, Ye Changfeng also stepped onto the water to test it. Indeed, he could walk on it, so he stood there. Gui Ye and Zhu Yan followed suit, with Fu Zimo close behind them.
"Let's go."
With that, Ye Changfeng led the way across, with the other three brothers following behind him. As Fu Zimo, who was walking last, looked towards the bottom of the water, he saw a white figure swimming past.
He urgently called out, "Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother, there seems to be something in the water."
Ye Changfeng replied with a smile, "It's normal for there to be something. It would be truly strange if it allowed us to cross this lake safely."
At that moment, the four involuntarily turned their gaze to the blue-clad woman dancing on the water.
Her figure was ethereal, her dance graceful, and her demeanor serene, as if she hadn't seen them at all, dancing to her own rhythm.
Zhu Yan asked curiously, "Who is she? Why is she dancing here alone?"
Gui Ye analyzed, "She might be the guardian of this lake, or perhaps the guardian who sets the trials for us."
"Truly special."
Suddenly, countless hands emerged from beneath the water, firmly grasping the four of them.
Fu Zimo cried out in terror, "Why so many hands?"
"It seems the trials have begun," Ye Changfeng murmured.
Everyone immediately drew their weapons and severed the hands. As the severed arms fell to the ground, they dissolved into black smoke.
At that moment, a long, white, snake-like tail emerged from the water and lunged at them.
Ye Changfeng urgently shouted, "Quick, dodge!"
The four scattered in different directions. Fu Zimo unleashed his Crimson Lycoris flowers, which instantly dispersed into countless blooms suspended in mid-air. He then transformed them into swords and stabbed at the tail.
However, the tail thrashed violently, flinging the swords away, where they landed and reverted to flowers. The flowers then dissipated, and the Lycoris flowers returned to Fu Zimo's hands.
At that moment, the long tail quickly retreated back into the water.
Then, the sound of dense drumbeats, "dong dong dong," could be heard again.
The four turned their heads simultaneously. They saw the woman leap into the air, her sleeves flicking out one by one to strike the drums, producing the dense drumbeats.
Suddenly, a large white snake head emerged from beneath their feet and bit onto half of Ye Changfeng's body, dragging him into the water.
"Big Brother!" "Big Brother!" The other three cried out in panic. Gui Ye immediately cast out his threads, entangling the snake's head and pulling with all his might, but it still swallowed Ye Changfeng.
"Big Brother!" The three became despondent in unison.
At that moment, a shout of "One Sword Qi Burst!" was heard, and the giant snake exploded from within. Ye Changfeng then flew out.
Seeing him safe and sound, the three were overjoyed.
Zhu Yan quickly asked him, "Big Brother, are you alright?"
"Piece of cake," Ye Changfeng winked at them triumphantly.
Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew from afar, forcing the four to close their eyes.
After the strong wind subsided, many water figures emerged from the lake and charged at them without warning.
The group immediately engaged them. Fu Zimo unleashed his Crimson Lycoris flowers, and in an instant, one Lycoris flower dispersed into countless blooms suspended in mid-air.
Fu Zimo vanished into the flowers and then moved among them, striking his opponents.