Although spiritual pract.i.tioners were revered in the Canglan Continent, some used dishonest and evil means to increase their spiritual power quickly. Such people were known as black magic pract.i.tioners.

"No wonder the scale of the Su Clan's operation is huge; many interpersonal networks are involved," Bai Songling said thoughtfully.

"What do you mean?" Ye Jiuge asked.

"Other than the Drunken Cloud Pavilion, there are other brothels that specialize in collecting little girls in the Lei Country," Bai Songling said with a sigh.

Although they had closed some of these brothels using force, they had yet to find the source and eradicate them completely.

"It seems that the Su Clan is rather complicated." Ye Jiuge recalled how her grandfather had despised black magic pract.i.tioners: Could the Su clan have been involved in his disappearance? If not, then why did Ye Yuxuan marry a daughter of the Su Clan immediately after her mother's death?

"This is not the place for a discussion, we should talk outside," Bai Songling said.

They had been inside for a long time. If they did not go out soon, they would be discovered.

"Let's go!" Ye Jiuge nodded. 

She carried Ye Ruyi in her arms and was about to follow them out, when, suddenly, a dozen torches were flung in through the entrance. Immediately, the door was sealed.

"Oh no." Bai Songling's face changed. He rushed forward and tried to open the door, but it had been deadlocked.

Standing below, Ye Jiuge could hear screams coming from outside and the crackling of burning wood. Smoke began to slip in through the slit in the door. If it did not stop, they would die from smoke inhalation. 

With both palms glowing red, Wan Ziyang violently slammed the wooden door, incinerating it with his flames. It fell to the ground in fragments, revealing a large, gray boulder behind. Someone outside had dragged over the boulder to barricade the entrance.

"This must have been done by Earth Spiritual Pract.i.tioners." Bai Songling covered his mouth and nose with his sleeve to prevent himself from inhaling the smoke.

Wan Ziyang did not utter a sound as his palms landed on the boulder repeatedly.

"They are trying to trap us to our death and will definitely not let us out. Why don't we go below and see if there are other ways to escape?" Bai Songling grabbed Wan Ziyang's hand. The smoke was too concentrated at the entrance; it was dangerous to stay there.

"It's no use. The lower levels are paved with diamonds. They are even less likely to open." 

Wan Ziyang had searched the underground room earlier and found no other secret pa.s.sages except the one used to hide Ye Ruyi. They had no other choice: Bai Songling and Wan Ziyang continued to exert their strength at the entrance, trying to push the colossal boulder away.

Suddenly, the huge rock turned red. When Wan Ziyang's palm contacted it, a layer of his skin almost seared off. Bai Songling's green vines also charred instantly.

"They are most generous with their money if they used a Flame Stone to blockade the entrance." Bai Songling's expression became terrible.

It was all their own fault for being complacent and thinking that the small courtyard would not be able to trap them. They did not expect their enemies to be so vicious and use a Flame Stone to blockade the entrance. Although the Flame Stone was not rare, finding such a huge piece must have been challenging. 

The underground room was now engulfed with thick smoke, and the oxygen thinned as time ticked away. Ye Jiuge bent down and used a handkerchief to cover Ye Ruyi's face. She promptly called for Zi Shang in her heart and said, "Quick, think of a way to get us out."

"What will I get?" Zi Shang said unhurriedly.

"Is now the time to discuss this?" Did the demon know what it meant to be in a life-and-death situation?

"Don't worry, you won't die. As for those two, it's hard to say." It was not his responsibility to save the pretty boys of the human race.

"Get all four of us out safely, and you can kiss or touch me anywhere you like." In an emergency, Ye Jiuge could only grit her teeth and offer herself up.

"Deal!" Zi Shang laughed with satisfaction and said, "It is actually easy to get out of this situation. You just have to use your blood to remove the seal on the Lightning Fire Needle, then you will be able to use the Red Lotus Lightning Flame to shatter the Flame Stone."

Suddenly, Ye Jiuge felt humiliated. She herself possessed the treasure, and yet she had cried and begged to give herself to Zi Shang.

"However, the G.o.dly Heartwood is the demon clan's treasure. Normally, it would be fine for you to use it, just as the Purple Lightning Wood or Lightning Fire Needle. But if someone discovers the Red Lotus Lightning Flame within it, not only will the human race attack you, neither will the demon clan let you off the hook." Zi Shang's words made Ye Jiuge's heart pound again.

A treasure that cannot be used—how depressing!

"It's fine," Zi Shang explained good-naturedly. "Just remember, kill everyone after you use it, and you will be fine."

Ye Jiuge glanced towards the entrance. Although Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling were coughing badly from inhaling the smoke, they were still giving their all and using their spiritual power to strike the boulder. Neither believed in fate; even if they were to die, they would struggle until their last breath.

Ye Jiuge's impression of them was favorable. She might encounter situations that required their help in the future, so she wasn't going to kill them. However, she could knock them unconscious.

Ye Jiuge moved secretly behind the two men. Without hesitation, she smacked them on the backs of their heads. Both Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling had fixed their full attention on trying to escape; they did not expect Ye Jiuge to sneakily attack them from behind. Immediately, they crumpled unconscious to the ground.

Ye Jiuge threw them into the underground room before she p.r.i.c.ked her forefinger with the Lightning Fire Needle. In her heart, she chanted silently, "Unseal the Red Lotus Lightning Flame!"

Her fresh, red blood seeped into the Lightning Fire Needle. Slowly, the needle changed into a bean-sized red flame quickening with a little lightning. The spark was so delicate that it looked as though it might extinguish at any moment.

She did not know if this was going to be useful. However, as things had already reached this stage, she could only give it a try. Ye Jiuge braced herself and flipped the small sparks onto the now completely red-colored Flame Stone. There was no reaction.

"F*ck, you lied to…" Before she could say "me," Ye Jiuge's body involuntarily flipped forward and rolled quickly down the staircase.

There was a loud thud, and the Flame Stone in the doorway exploded. The immense force of the impact blew a large hole in the entrance. Countless red fragments drifted through the air like rain.

Ye Jiuge stood up. Her head and face were covered with dirt. Fear lingered as she stared at the large hole. If she had been standing by the door, she would have become a fried dough twist from the bombardment of fragments.

"Why aren't you leaving?" Zi Shang urged.

Carrying Ye Ruyi on her back, she grabbed Wan Ziyang's ankle with her left hand and Bai Songling's arm with her right and rushed out of the underground room.

Outside, a sea of flames raged. Houses crackled with fire, and the ground was strewn with the corpses of guards and wolf-dogs. Beyond the courtyard, which was now a boiling cauldron, voices yelled, "Fire, fire, come and put out the fire!"

Ye Jiuge could not carry three people and escape. She took a needle and jabbed the acupuncture points on Wan Ziyang and Bai Songling's philtrums. They quivered and woke up.

"What happened?" Bai Songling saw the courtyard full of corpses and immediately went to investigate.

"Don't bother, let's leave quickly," Ye Jiuge said hurriedly.

If the people who were putting out the fire spotted them exiting this way, they would not be able to explain themselves.