Chapter 2: A Being Even the True Samadhi Fire Retreats From

From the rear, Zhu Xiaoyuan took in the entire scene, a look of puzzlement flickering across his face. What are these people doing? Waving their hands about, raising dust everywhere—how unsanitary. Not environmentally friendly at all! Still, he couldn’t be bothered to meddle and prepared to enter the valley himself.

At the mouth of the valley—

“What?”

“Ah—!”

Suddenly, the anguished cries of Hong Li and the others rang out. The luminous protective garments they wore shattered violently under the valley’s forbidding might. All of them collapsed to the ground, faces twisted in pain. Even Hong Li spat blood, and Leng Qianxue’s expression was one of agony as the formation disk in her hand shuddered uncontrollably. Overhead, the fissure in the valley’s barrier began to close.

Unwilling to surrender, she tried to persevere, but in an instant the formation disk exploded in her grasp. A terrifying force surged from the depths of the valley toward Leng Qianxue. The waves of energy rippled across her long dress, barely holding back the power inside the valley. Yet within seconds, the dreadful force brutally tore her robe apart, exposing her snow-white skin to the air. Her beautiful eyes brimmed with unwillingness and frustration. This place was far more terrifying than she had imagined; even the very first layer of the barrier was unbreakable, even at the cost of their lives.

Just as despair threatened to overwhelm her, Hong Li cried out in alarm. “Saintess, look over there—!”

With great effort, Leng Qianxue raised her face and gazed in the direction Hong Li indicated. There, amidst the terrifying aura, a figure in blue strode forward at an unhurried pace, as if walking across level ground. The fearsome pressure that could destroy even a Golden Core cultivator had no effect on him whatsoever.

Leng Qianxue’s pupils contracted sharply. According to her calculations with the formation disk, she had chosen the area where the forbidden force was weakest, and still ended up in such a sorry state. Yet this person was walking straight through the most chaotic and violent part of the barrier, entirely unscathed?

Her eyes lit up instantly, and she called out, “Senior, please save us!”

Zhu Xiaoyuan, who had been about to bypass this group of environmentally unfriendly people, froze in surprise. He glanced around—there seemed to be no one else present.

Uncertain, he asked, “Miss, are you calling out to me? Did you just call me ‘senior’?”

“Yes, senior, it is you!” came the earnest reply.

Hearing this, Leng Qianxue was overcome with emotion. “We are from the Fire Moon Sect and came here for a trial. However, the power of the barrier is too strong for us to withstand. If senior would lend us your aid, we would certainly—”

Zhu Xiaoyuan’s mouth twitched. What was she talking about? Wasn’t everything fine? There didn’t seem to be any real problem. Could it be that these people were simply too pampered, unable to take a few steps after getting off their mounts? Especially those men, lying on the ground, not even able to keep up with a girl.

Wait—did she say they were from the Fire Moon Sect?

The name sounded vaguely familiar to Zhu Xiaoyuan. He glanced at the dust swirling all around, raised an eyebrow, and waved his hand, dispersing it. “You’re from the Fire Moon Sect?”

But Leng Qianxue and the others looked at Zhu Xiaoyuan in utter disbelief.

“He… he waved his hand and dispersed that terrifying barrier as if it were nothing?”

Hong Li stared at Zhu Xiaoyuan, so stunned he could barely speak. It was simply inconceivable.

Leng Qianxue’s beautiful eyes were wide with shock. In that simple gesture, she had glimpsed the flow of the Grand Dao itself, suppressing the stars across eternity. Who was this man?

At that moment, all traces of the barrier outside the valley vanished.

“You’re from the Fire Moon Sect?” Zhu Xiaoyuan asked again, seeing their dazed expressions.

“Ah—yes, yes!” Regaining her composure, Leng Qianxue answered quickly, “I am Leng Qianxue of the Fire Moon Sect. I greet you, senior!”

With those words, Leng Qianxue and her companions bowed respectfully to Zhu Xiaoyuan.

Zhu Xiaoyuan was somewhat surprised—this young woman was actually the Saintess of the Fire Moon Sect? Her beauty was indeed unparalleled… But why did she call him ‘senior’? Did he really look that old?

“I am no senior or great figure,” Zhu Xiaoyuan said. “Just an ordinary man. May I ask what brings you here?”

Ordinary…? Leng Qianxue certainly didn’t believe him, and remained deferential.

“We… we are searching for something here…” Though Zhu Xiaoyuan’s strength was terrifying, the object they sought was vital to the survival of their sect—she would not reveal it lightly.

“This valley is vast. With your physical condition, finding anything inside might be quite difficult,” Zhu Xiaoyuan remarked, shaking his head. These people were clearly pampered and unused to hardship—no wonder their stamina was so poor.

Leng Qianxue’s eyes sharpened. From his words, the senior seemed intimately familiar with the valley. With their strength, they couldn’t even break through the outer barrier, let alone search for anything within. But if this senior were to assist them…

Would someone of such power truly be willing to help? Yet the fate of her sect was at stake. Gritting her teeth, Leng Qianxue knelt down.

“If senior would lend us your aid, I am willing to pay any price!”

Zhu Xiaoyuan found her sincerity difficult to refuse. He knew the valley well enough; helping them would cost him little.

“I can help, but your stamina…” With their frailty, if they fainted inside, he’d be hard-pressed to deal with it.

“I will accompany you alone, senior. The others will remain outside,” Leng Qianxue said quickly.

Zhu Xiaoyuan considered and nodded. “Very well.”

Leng Qianxue’s face lit up with gratitude.

“The paths inside the valley are complex—stay close!”

With that, Zhu Xiaoyuan headed into the valley. Leng Qianxue hastened after him, but after only a few steps, her eyes widened in terror. Ahead lay an invisible sea of fire, its presence keenly felt by any martial artist: a force capable of incinerating all things. The dreadful energy that suffused the barrier outside was but a fraction, an overflow from this fiery domain.

The Threefold True Fire raged everywhere—a flame that even Nascent Soul cultivators would shun. No wonder this place was known as a perilous deadland.

Leng Qianxue’s heart pounded in her chest as she followed, filled with dread.

“Hurry and keep close!” Zhu Xiaoyuan called back. They had barely started.

“Yes… understood,” she replied, forcing herself to press on.

In the next instant, her eyes widened again—Zhu Xiaoyuan had stepped directly into the fire. And as his feet touched the ground, the raging inferno parted before him, opening a path.

Even the True Fire yielded before him…

Leng Qianxue gazed at Zhu Xiaoyuan, her heart filled with awe and disbelief. This senior’s strength was truly beyond comprehension.