Chapter 144 Tanyao

The roar of "Tanyao" surged from deep underground. The last of the volcanic ash had thinned, but the impact remained. The gale-force winds surged upwards.

The great knight, clad in heavy Guang Ming Bi Lei armor, gripped a blazing spear. The slender tip was still stained with blood, as red as fire.

This blood was still burning, truly like fire.

"Swish—"

Jia Wei flicked his wrist, scattering the bloody flames from the spear tip. He coldly and ruthlessly gazed down at the figure falling into the volcanic fissure.

He knew.

This single strike was not enough to kill Gu Shen.

So he prepared another.

Jia Wei raised his arm, holding the Spear of Lightbreaker above his head. Countless brilliant rays of light shimmered and converged in the thin air, colliding like countless sparks, emitting a crisp tremor. Then, the spear was covered in pure light, turning completely white.

"Boom!"

Jia Wei hurled the Spear of Lightbreaker with all his might.

The void shattered.

This spear, when thrown, instantly pierced through Gu Shen's body. The vast killing intent of a fourth-order transcendent wrapped around the spearhead, and was released the moment it entered the target's body!

The Source Armor did not hold, and the iron-scaled skin was shattered.

Gu Shen roughly understood what it felt like to be shot by a "Truth · Extinguished Candle."

Bang!

He was heavily nailed by the Spear of Lightbreaker into the depths of Tanyao, nailed back in front of the ancient script array of the weakening heart.

……

……

"Someone's coming."

After doing all this, Jia Wei narrowed his eyes and looked towards the gloomy clouds in the distant sky.

He had originally wanted to go deeper into the mountain's core.

But withdrawing now would go unnoticed. Continuing deeper would only lead to further trouble.

Logically speaking... his two strikes just now should have been lethal enough.

Anyone below the fourth order would not be able to withstand them!

Being pierced by the "Spear of Lightbreaker" without any defense was a severe wound that could directly lead to death!

Moreover, he had clearly sensed just now that Gu Shen was already injured. Now that he was nailed to the bottom of Tanyao… what followed would be a volcanic eruption. A blast of that magnitude would be a dead end for anyone, let alone Gu Shen, even if top-tier titled experts or Apostles of God arrived!

With that thought, the great knight of the City of Light no longer hesitated. He concealed all his aura and left the core area of Tanyao at full speed.

And in the high altitude, the micro-艇气翼 sputtered.

"Are you sure you don't need to 'avoid' anything?"

At this moment, the source-powered艇 still had Bai Xiu and Mu Wanqiu inside, and Bai Xiu was still in charge of driving.

He had actually vaguely guessed some of Gu Shen's secrets...

But he didn't expose them.

He just didn't expect Mu Wanqiu to tell Bai Xiu not to leave.

"There's nothing to avoid, just looking for someone."

Mu Wanqiu said expressionlessly, "Besides you, I've called another person."

"Who?"

Bai Xiu asked subconsciously, then he guessed the identity of the person Mu Wanqiu had called.

Who else could it be?

It could only be Lu Zhe!

"Team Lu's mission has already concluded. Wei Cheng of the Second Army is carrying the refugees from Beiku away." Mu Wanqiu said calmly, "With Mr. Wild Dog in charge, Team Lu can leave with peace of mind… The micro source-powered艇 has four seats. After we find Gu Shen, the four of us can complete the 'escape' together."

"Let's hope so..."

Bai Xiu murmured softly. The ominous feeling in his heart grew heavier and heavier.

In the core area, the vision of the [Thunder Realm Walker] was compressed to the extreme.

It was already difficult for him to see the dust billowing on the mountain ridge.

At this moment, the mountain range was covered with densely packed beast tides.

"Wait..."

Bai Xiu narrowed his eyes. He looked towards the dust storm below, his tone uncertain, "I seemed to sense the aura of a 'living person' just now."

"Aura of a living person? Is it Gu Shen?"

Mu Wanqiu's spirit immediately tensed, and at the same time, she began to try to connect with [Authority]. Although volcanic ash could shield [Authority], if the distance was close... it should still work.

"..."

After a brief silence, Mu Wanqiu was a little disappointed.

It seemed not.

"At this time, living people appear in the Tanyao core area?" Mu Wanqiu frowned, "This shouldn't be..."

"It shouldn't be..."

Bai Xiu piloted the source-powered艇 to lower its altitude, but the volcanic ash was too thick. He had not captured a specific figure from the beginning. It was just a wisp of spiritual awareness that emerged from the depths of the transcendent's mind, and after flashing past, it disappeared without a trace, making him also a little suspicious.

"Is it my illusion?"

Just at this moment, a low voice pierced through the storm and rang out around the micro-艇.

"You two."

Bai Xiu cast his gaze towards the source of the sound. The [Thunder Realm Walker] who was supporting the micro-艇, with the help of the thunder and lightning of the heavens and the earth, saw the appearance of the target who made the sound.

It was a man in a robe floating three zhang above the ground. He exuded a lazy aura between his gestures, but his expression at the moment was quite solemn. His cheeks, clothes, and eyebrows were covered with a lot of dust... As a top-tier fourth-order psychic, with his domain unfolded, no matter how big the storm was, not a single grain of sand would fall on him.

So dusty, there was only one possibility.

This man had spread out all his source energy and spirit... not even leaving the most basic protective domain.

"Team Lu!"

Hearing this familiar voice, Mu Wanqiu felt a lot more at ease.

To rescue Gu Shen, they must first ensure that they could "find" Gu Shen...

Even though she had [Authority] as a medium to connect, she didn't have absolute certainty. In this situation, the first person she thought of was Lu Zhe. As the only "fourth-order transcendent" in Beizhou in her cognition, Team Lu's ability to find people was top-notch, and Team Lu had previously come to the core area for exploration once, and was very familiar with the terrain here.

"Have you found Gu Shen?"

However, Lu Zhe's question made both of them feel a thump in their hearts.

"..."

Mu Wanqiu and Bai Xiu exchanged glances. On the way here, they hadn't noticed any familiar aura. The evacuation here was basically completed, and they hadn't seen a single living person along the way with their spiritual power.

"Team Lu, you... didn't find him?"

Mu Wanqiu opened her mouth with trepidation.

Lu Zhe shook his head, his expression complex, "I came south from Beiku, and just arrived in the core area... When my spiritual power spread out, I only saw countless beast spirits. Only silence remains here. As for Gu Shen, he doesn't seem to be in the core area."

"Did we look in the wrong place?"

The thought arose in Mu Wanqiu's mind, but she immediately denied it.

Although [Authority] could not contact Hades at this moment, as the number one apostle, the Crown Bearer, she could clearly feel the imminent crisis in her heart.

That was a hint that the Fireseed Master's situation was terrible at this moment.

Moreover, the direction of this hint was in this core area of Tanyao!

"There seems to have been a battle here... I found some soil containing transcendent source energy on the mountain ridge." Lu Zhe narrowed his eyes, took out a purple-silver protective bag from his arms, and inside was some fine sand and dust, "Bringing this soil back, we may be able to dismantle a part of the source energy fluctuations, but that's another story. The top priority is to find Gu Shen. Are you sure he's still here, and hasn't left?"

"If Gu Shen leaves the island... then he should have contacted the main force by now."

Bai Xiu whispered, "If that's the case, then that's naturally the best, but the intuition in my heart is very uneasy."

"Me too."

Mu Wanqiu looked at Little Sleeve with slight gratitude. This guy said what she wanted to say for her.

"Okay... For genius transcendents, their intuition is indeed a reliable partner."

Lu Zhe shrugged his shoulders. He ascended to the altitude where the micro-艇 was descending, landed behind the two excellent young people, took a deep breath and said, "Perhaps... we should go to the direction of the Tanyao volcanic fissure and take a look."

This was a very rational suggestion.

If Gu Shen was definitely in the core area, and not on the mountain ridge, then where else could he be?

He could only be in the mountain.

"Boom—"

The micro-艇 turned and swept forward, like a comet, crashing into the true "core" of Tanyao. Finally, the [Thunder Realm Walker] braked sharply, holding the艇 and stopping suddenly, instantly changing from motion to stillness, suspended directly above the volcanic fissure emitting billowing smoke.

"What an amazing 'driving technique'..."

Lu Zhe saw the [Thunder Realm Walker] carrying the艇 forward, raised his eyebrows, and couldn't help but speak.

"What time is it."

Mu Wanqiu was a little helpless. Everything was good about Team Lu, but he was too casual about everything.

"Although I don't know why you two are in such a panic..." Team Lu said helplessly while sending out his spiritual power, "But based on my understanding of Little Gu, he is a monstrous freak that is one in a million, so he won't be so easy to hang up, a mere Sangzhou Cave..."

His voice stopped abruptly.

The smile on Lu Zhe's face also suddenly froze.

Above [Tanyao], countless volcanic ash swirled in reverse. This was a devilish zone that neither [Thunder Realm Walker] nor [Judge] could penetrate deeply, but as a fourth-order transcendent, Lu Zhe was able to withstand the pressure and extend a section of his spirit downward.

Because of this.

He captured a wisp of familiar aura in the countless volcanic ash.

"Chi..."

It was a very weak, very weak fire.

"I saw it! Gu Shen's 'Blazing Fire'!"

Team Lu stood up abruptly, and as soon as he said this, Bai Xiu and Mu Wanqiu's expressions changed, and the two exchanged a solemn glance.

[Judge] showed his human form, and [Thunder Realm Walker] gave up holding the source-powered艇, letting it float on its own.

Two S-class abilities swept towards the mountain fire below.

"Come back!"

Along with an angry shout, Lu Zhe, who was standing on the micro-艇, stretched out his hands and pressed down. His two palms crossed hundreds of meters of void distance and directly grabbed the back of the necks of [Thunder Realm Walker] and [Judge]. Mu Wanqiu and Bai Xiu's expressions changed again. Both of them were S-class geniuses who had been promoted to the fourth order, but at this moment, in front of Lu Zhe, a fourth-order transcendent who had reached the limit, they had no power to resist!

With just one grab.

He prevented [Thunder Realm Walker] and [Judge] from going deeper!

All this happened extremely quickly.

While Lu Zhe's pupils reflected countless light and fire, while he stretched out his palm to grab the two S-class abilities, his spiritual power took control of the entire source-powered艇. The micro-艇, which could only accommodate four people, suddenly tilted upwards, like a small boat that had been hit in the tail. The bow of the boat was straight to the sky, and the burning power of the source-energy core was increased to the extreme.

The spiritual power of the fourth-order transcendent, as well as the thrust brought by the violent climb, pressed the two S-classes firmly on their seats.

And Lu Zhe was stepping on the seat, almost parallel to the ground, stepping on the micro-艇 as if stepping on a flying sword.

"Rumble rumble!"

In just a few seconds, the micro-艇 shot nearly a thousand meters into the sky.

And Mu Wanqiu and Bai Xiu looked back at the volcanic fissure behind them, only to see a vast and fiery red light spurting out from the narrow fissure. This beam of light, wrapped in thousands of degrees of high temperature, seemed to melt everything it touched, including the void!

A towering pillar of light erupted from the bottom of [Tanyao].

This was the mountain fire that had been accumulating for six hundred years.

In six hundred years, hundreds of millions of ashes rekindled, resulting in the burst of light in this instant.

The micro-艇 avoided this extremely deadly mountain fire impact because of the emergency braking, but the three people on the艇 at this moment were still in shock, including Lu Zhe, who was the first to discover the abnormality.

Team Lu's hands were clutching the two slowly dissipating Judges and Thunder Realm Walkers.

Mu Wanqiu and Bai Xiu had shocked and surprised expressions. The two S-classes rarely lost their composure, and were usually very calm in character.

But the scene just now had too much of an impact.

Too much.

If they had reacted a little slower...

"Are you crazy? You want to rush into 'Tanyao' in this situation!"

"Do you know... you really would have died just now."

The veins on Lu Zhe's forehead bulged. After berating them, his voice suddenly became hoarse and gloomy.

In the end, he just said this sentence very softly, and then looked up at the distance.

The top of the sky had collapsed, and the dome propped up by the [Deep Sea] was completely shattered by the impact just now.

Even though the micro-艇 had climbed to a thousand meters, there was still a large amount of volcanic ash whistling around. The last of the mountain fire ignited the entire Sangzhou Cave. Tanyao completely revived, and hundreds of millions of tons of magma invaded the land. Looking down from the high altitude, the Sangzhou Cave at this moment had become a hellish mural with flowing flames.

This picture had no beauty at all, only a feeling of death and suffocation.

The micro-艇 was like a lonely boat, aimlessly floating in the clouds of volcanic ash and ash.

The three of them were digesting the amount of information brought by the explosion just now.

After a long time.

"Gu Shen..."

Among the three, Mu Wanqiu spoke first. Her voice had also become very hoarse, "Team Lu, is Gu Shen in Tanyao?"

After she finished speaking, the micro-艇 fell silent again.

Lu Zhe was very unwilling to answer this question.

So, in the long silence, he looked towards the north and said softly, "Let's return, the fleet is still waiting."

"Return... What about Gu Shen?"

Bai Xiu clenched his fists, and he stared at the completely shattered Tanyao.

He already knew the answer.

But some things had to be said by someone in person.

"Do you have to make me say it?"

Lu Zhe said very difficultly, "I didn't see Gu Shen with my own eyes, but based on the residual aura and freshness of the volcanic crater, it can be basically determined... Gu Shen is inside Tanyao."

The two in the driver and co-driver's seats looked dismal.

Lu Zhe took over the micro-艇 and slowly advanced towards the northern part of the ice sea. He couldn't bear to look back at the back any longer.

The Sangzhou Cave collapsed.

Tanyao erupted, and countless beast spirits rushed forward one after another, throwing themselves into the volcano. Finally, in the towering red light, they melted in the extreme high temperature, completing the mission engraved in the depths of their souls, returning their lives to the land that raised them.

As for this land.

No.

At this moment, it was no longer possible to describe "Sangzhou Cave" as a piece of land. The [Tide] of the Storm God Seat pushed the unprecedented dark tide, and cooperated with the eruption of Tanyao to tear the isolated island apart and push it away. The ice sea stretched out its arms to welcome this fragmented infant. Before long, Sangzhou Cave would turn into countless ashes and sink into the ice ocean currents.

This was complete annihilation.

Every plant, tree, bird, and beast here would usher in true "silence".