Xiang Shaoyun wasn't surprised by Li Yaxuan's words. After all, when he had fallen under the control of Hua Cheng's music, he had revealed all his trump cards. Hua Cheng had also directly spoken about the millennium earthcore fire. If Li Yaxuan wasn't a complete idiot, she would definitely be able to connect the dots.

"Thank you for the reminder, but I have my reasons to say no. If that Lightning Kid has the balls to come after me, I don't mind having a great battle with him. I am quite curious how strong exactly the number one expert of Cloud Margin Pavilion's younger generation is," replied Xiang Shaoyun confidently.

"Looks like you are not going to change your mind. Just do whatever you want then," said Li Yaxuan in disappointment. After a slight pause, she said, "We had all thought you had been killed in the volcano, but you were actually still alive and well. If Zilong knows this, he will definitely come looking for a battle from you."

"Hehe, a challenge from him is always welcomed," said Xiang Shaoyun with a smile.

"Zilong is a direct descendant of an Emperor, and he is even more talented than the Lightning Kid. The only thing the Lightning Kid has over him is age. Otherwise, the Lightning Kid might not necessarily be number one among the younger generation after all," said Li Yaxuan. She continued, "Alright, I'm going to leave now. You two need some alone time together."

After saying that, she tossed Gong Qinyin an odd smile and left. Gong Qinyin blushed when she heard that. Under the sunlight, her blushing face made her look even lovelier than before.

"Stay for a bit more," Gong Qinyin said to Xiang Shaoyun.

Xiang Shaoyun nodded. His initial intention in coming here was to have a talk with Gong Qinyin. With only the two of them left, he could now say what he was here for.

"At the Flame Mountain, Senior Sister Li was the one who had told me about you falling into the lava. I thought you were...well, it's good to see you alive and well," Gong Qinyin sighed.

Xiang Shaoyun could see that Gong Qinyin had been truly worried for him. Because of that, the slight grievance he had toward her reduced considerably. But he still had to ask, "Did you not go to the volcanic crater afterwards? I recall that someone else was actually in charge of the group you had come with."

Gong Qinyin's expression shifted as she answered guiltily, "He is my cousin. Since his strength is above mine, he was the one in charge of the trip. Sorry, Shaoyun. I shouldn't have kept it from you. But..."

Xiang Shaoyun waved his hand before she could finish and said, "You don't have to explain. I understand the situation you were in. I just hope that this does not happen again. Otherwise, it will be hard for us to stay friends."

Xiang Shaoyun spoke his last sentence with a heavy tone before standing up and walking away.

Of course, he still remembered that Gong Qinyin was the reason he even knew about the millennium earthcore fire in the first place. Without her, he wouldn't have managed to obtain the millennium earthcore fire. As for the matter about keeping her cousin's identity secret during their trip, Xiang Shaoyun simply had a feeling he was being used and was feeling resentful about it. He hated the feeling of being lied to, especially when his friends were the ones doing it.

Gong Qinyin blocked Xiang Shaoyun's path and explained herself, her regular loftiness nowhere to be seen, "Sorry, Shaoyun. Back then, I had no status whatsoever in my clan. The old man of my clan was terribly sick at the time as well, and he desperately needed the millennium earthcore fire. Even though we were aware that getting the millennium earthcore fire wouldn't be easy, we were still trying to do our best. That is why they had my cousin come. As for me, my only role was to lead the way. Of course, they did plan to use you as a shield. But...I really had no choice!" 

She felt terrible after hearing what Xiang Shaoyun had to say. If she did not do anything and only watched on as he walked away, the chasm between them would only grow.

Xiang Shaoyun looked at her calmly and said, "I understand. Don't worry. I will forget about it. But I hope it never happens again."

Although he knew Gong Qinyin had her own reasons, he still couldn't completely let it slide. If it wasn’t for the fact that Gong Qinyin had helped him before, he would have been even more cold-hearted toward her.

A layer of mist covered Gong Qinyin's eyes as she choked with emotions and said, "Shaoyun, I know words are pointless at this point. I will prove myself through my actions. In the future, I will never do it again, even if the alternative is death!"

Gong Qinyin spoke solemnly, and it was almost like she was swearing an oath. After speaking, she stepped aside and let Xiang Shaoyun leave. She was different from Lu Xiaoqing. She had always been a proud and aloof person. Even though she adored Xiang Shaoyun, she wouldn't fully display her affection like Lu Xiaoqing. Instead, she behaved in a resolute manner.

Xiang Shaoyun glanced at her, his heart softening as he said, "I hope so."

He then strode away from Gong Qinyin's place.

Staring at Xiang Shaoyun's departing back, Gong Qinyin muttered, "I will never commit the same mistake twice! I will also never change the person I like. I will prove myself with actions!"

Xiang Shaoyun was heading back to Long Hui's estate. His plan was to wait there for the estate Hua Cheng was going to give him. Only after that would he think of what his next step should be.

He had a sensation that a crisis was approaching him. It was not a sense of crisis originating from the Lightning Alliance. Rather, he had a feeling the traitors were silently catching up to him.

The feeling had been growing stronger as days went by. He could only hope that the local tyrants could serve as some sort of deterrence. Otherwise, he alone would find it extremely hard to escape his pursuers.

...

At a certain dangerous mountain range within the Soaring Dragon Province, a group of powerful cultivators were traveling rapidly toward the Hundred Beast Mountain Range. Each of them was riding a high-level demonic beast and was dressed in high-level battle armor, looking incomparably mighty and heroic. Any one of them was strong enough to instantly be at the very top of the hierarchy of any city they went to.

"Commander, why are we taking such a large detour? This is a waste of time," asked someone in the group.

The commander replied calmly, "The Soaring Dragon Province is the turf of the Dragon Society, and the Dragon Society has always had an unfriendly relationship with our Ziling Sect. If they find out that so many of us have entered their turf, they won't spare us. This detour is for our own safety."

"What? The Dragon Society is powerful enough that we need to show them fear?" that person said in realization. He paused for a bit before saying resentfully, "If it wasn't for that old bastard leading us on a wild goose chase, we would have caught that trash by now."

"If we still fail to capture that trash this time, we might as well cut our heads off ourselves," said the commander gloomily.

He had been leading the group to capture that person for two whole years with no results to show. If they kept failing, they would definitely suffer a terrible punishment at the hands of their own sect. At the thought of that, he urged everyone to move faster.