"What was the poisonous beast torn by?" Junior Leopard asked. The wound of that poisonous beast was uneven. Though not knowing how many years had passed, Junior Leopard found the wound still shocking to look at. Some blue crystal particles remaining in the skin folds could faintly be seen. Those blue crystal particles were pretty small, several times smaller than rice. People other than Junior Leopard could hardly see such small crystal particles which hid in the skin folds.
"Hey! This is the Moon Method. This poisonous beast was torn by the Moon Method. You see, those crystal particles are dark frost, which takes their shape when the Moon Method freezes air. Don't judge them just based on their quantity. Each particle can freeze a master of martial arts who is under Level Seven to death. Some experts who are over Level Seven may also fall into the trap due to carelessness." Green Spirit had distinguished what those blue crystal particles were. He took a deep breath and said, "How could the Poisonous Dragon Emperor direct in the Moon Palace? Why should the Moon Palace kill his mount? It's well-known that the Poisonous Dragon Emperor had spent painstaking efforts to refine these poisonous beasts. The Poisonous Dragon Emperor always took them as his lifeblood. Since it died here, the Emperor of the Moon Temple must have taken actions."
"The Poisonous Dragon Emperor? The Emperor of the Moon Temple? Were there so many emperors in antiquity times?" Junior Leopard laughed.
"In total, there were 72 emperors in antiquity times. Both the Poisonous Dragon Emperor and the Emperor of the Moon Temple are among them. And only the Moon Method performed by the Emperor of the Moon Temple himself could preserve this corpse for so many years," said Green Spirit. He soon became excited, saying, "Hey guy, dig again! Quickly! See if you can dig out other corpses. If you can dig out the corpse of the Poisonous Dragon Emperor, then you'll be extremely rich!"
"Why did you mention the corpse of the Poisonous Dragon Emperor but not that of the Emperor of the Moon Temple?"
"The corpse of the Emperor of the Moon Temple? Are you kidding me? Among the 72 emperors, the Poisonous Dragon Emperor ranked 11th from last, while the Emperor of the Moon Temple ranked the fifth best. There was a huge gap between them. If they clashed with each other, the Poisonous Dragon Emperor could never win."
"You don't say—" Junior Leopard was a little unconvinced. He was good at challenging bypassing ranks. And he would not be arrogant enough to think that there was no one who could do so except him.
"Don't speak rubbish. No matter whose corpse it is, if you can find one, you will be flourishing." Green Spirit was extremely excited now. He became very eager. Obviously, he cared nothing about whether one of these emperors was alive, but only their corpse.
Junior Leopard was speechless. The surrounding golden fireballs turned brighter again. Seven fireballs made up a link and they began to rotate. No matter where it arrived, gold and stones were all fused. Soon after, more area around the poisonous beast was cleared up.
But what a pity.
The facts proved that it was just flogging a dead horse.
Junior Leopard spent almost an hour to clean up a square inside the mine hole. The result was the same as before. There was nothing more than a poisonous beast that stood tall and upright like a statue in the front of the square.
"Should I continue?" After cleaning up a big square, Junior Leopard was a bit tired. He then asked this.
"That's enough. The poisonous beast may have been killed by the Emperor of the Moon Temple but thrown here conveniently." Some disappointment was revealed from Green Spirit's words. "It seems that your luck stops here."
"Only a poisonous beast from antiquity times could have already improved my Poison Cold Shield this much. I think I'm lucky enough," said the man who took himself for a lucky dog.
"Except for the remaining bane in the blood, your Poison Cold Shield cannot absorb another one. The Moon Method can freeze everything and disintegrate everything. With so many years having elapsed, only a little bane could remain in the blood. It cannot even poison ordinary people to death. What are you looking forward to?"
"What about the flesh and blood of the poisonous beast?" Junior Leopard asked, puzzled. He was under the impression that such kinds of beasts had to be full of treasures.
"I said that it was killed by the Moon Method. So you can drop that idea forever," Green Spirit answered.
"Is the Moon Method so powerful?" Junior Leopard was attached to that poisonous beast, which looked like a statue. Greed from his eyes was frankly revealed.
"You can just give it a try if you don't trust me!" Green Spirit was a bit irritated by Junior Leopard's attitude.
"All right, since you've said it's impossible, then I'll give up." Junior Leopard chuckled. From his tone, he knew that Green Spirit was impatient, so he asked, "Then what can I do now? Can I solve all the problems by breaking down this corpse?"
"Use your Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire! And get away from it. Though many years have passed since then, it was killed by the Moon Method. So, we'd better watch out!"
"Okay." Junior Leopard nodded. He went back to the entrance of the mine hole without hesitation. A burst of gold light flashed and nine Fire Dragons flew out from his Gang Qi and intertwined together, covering the corpse of the poisonous beast.
The Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Shield shaded the corpse of the poisonous beast and the nine dragon heads began to burn with fire at the same time. Junior Leopard had done such things so many times when practicing, so he should have been very familiar with it. But it was strange that the corpse was as hard as a perpetual goldstone, refusing any fusion. Not only that, but when the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire spurted out flames, the corpse of the poisonous beast should emit bursts of cold air outward and block out the flame. But actually, what was emitted out was bursts of cold air that were exactly the blue crystal particles, which were smaller than rice.
Even though the bursts of air were piercingly cold, it could only block out the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire for a while. Junior Leopard believed that those small crystal particles would be melted by his flame in just one hour. However, such small crystal particles were not only cold, but also terrifying. He would not like to acknowledge that Green Spirit was right before. Maybe he did not detect it carefully at present. But now, he would never get close to those crystal particles.
Dangerous! Very Dangerous!
With crystal particles being fused little by little, the awareness of a crisis in his heart became more and more obvious. Inside the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Shield, the nine dragon heads had already stopped spurting out the fire. He slowly squinted his eyes and lightly moved his finger. Then, the Nine Dragons Heavenly Fire Shield broke up immediately, turning into nine Fire Dragons and coiling around him again. Almost at the same time, those blue crystal particles dissolved into mist.
"Retreat! Quickly! Damn it, it's a trap. It's—" It had already been too late when Green Spirit became aware of what had happened. Junior Leopard sensed some familiar fluctuations.
Spatial fluctuation!
Compared with his Three Realms Division and Space Division Skill, this spatial fluctuation was finer and softer. Or one could say, it was full of artistic atmosphere.
Yes, artistic atmosphere!
The blue crystal particles dissolved into mist. Then the mist pervaded and joined together. The surrounding space was like a piece of paper that had been dipped in water, permeated, and melted.
Suction naturally came into being.
Junior Leopard wanted to escape. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not get rid of such a sudden and inexplicable strength.
"Help me, Green Spirit! Or else, I may be engulfed by the hollow!"
Junior Leopard finally felt anxious because he found that both the Three Realms Division and Space Division Skill had lost their effect, which was just because of the enormous suction in the wrecked space that was eroded by the mist. He tried his best to perform the Internal Qi and Gang Qi in his body and the Internal Qi in the External Elixir of the Fiery Eyes, and he even wanted to use the strength of the Blue Sword and the Golden Flame Mirror, but it was all in vain. In this instant, he was completely constrained by that inexplicable strength in the hollow.
It was something that had never happened or even been thought of.
As it all had already happened, he wanted to revolt. Although he was strong in will, he was weak in power. The only thing that he could do was to ask Green Spirit for help. And, he thought of one man:
Living Buddha Ba Siba, one of the three Grandmasters in Northern Yuan!
Maybe he was in the same condition as Ba Siba when he was faced with the Clear Glass Jade Bottle.
"Don't shout! It's of no use!" Green Spirit's voice rang out at the right time. "This is a bit troublesome. It's a trap. But you're fine for the moment. Don't try to resist or you'll be more uncomfortable."
Now, Junior Leopard had already been sucked up by the broken hollow.
That broken hollow sucked Junior Leopard up and then writhed slowly. It began to close up, seeming to be alive. When space finished closing up, the corpse of the poisonous beast turned into dust and ashes as it ran out of all its energy. At last, the ashes fell down on the ground and went away with the wind.
"Your Excellency? Where is His Excellency? He was here just now!"
Sometime later, Zhu Ba felt something must have been wrong. After all, it had been so long since Junior Leopard had entered the hole. He then asked someone to try to get in and he succeeded. So, he rushed into the mine hole. After entering into it, one square, which was more than a dozen times bigger than the mine hole was before, was presented in front of him. From bursts of heat and the stout Spiritual Energy of Fire in the square, he knew that it must have been caused by Junior Leopard. But, where was he?
Because he was just standing outside the mine area, Zhu Ba did not witness the scene of Junior Leopard being sucked up into that fantastic space. Additionally, he was not smart enough, so he could just scratch his head and remain at a loss.
"What's wrong, Zhu Ba? What happened? Where is His Excellency?" Jiang Xiao and the rest of them also arrived there at this time. After entering into the mine hole, they first were stunned and then had asked him.
"I don't know. His Excellency came in by himself and enlarged the mine hole to many times its size. But when I came in here, I couldn't see anybody. Maybe he went back for his closed-door training again!"
"That's possible. But every time that His Excellency goes on his closed-door training, he likes to inform us." Jiang Xiao was hesitating. His view toward Zhu Ba was also full of a peculiar feeling.
"Hey, what do you mean? Do you think that it's me who hurt His Excellency? Am I powerful enough to do that?" yelled Zhu Ba after noticing Jiang Xiao's doubt.
"Enough! Don't quarrel anymore. Since His Excellency isn't here, there's no sense in continuing to quarrel. Let's just get back to our work. His Excellency has a high cultivation. So when he comes across formidable enemies, he won't suffer great losses even if he can't match them. Now, the problem of the mine hole has already been solved, let them go on working." Wang Cheng gave the final word. "After all, the mine hole is so small that we can see it clearly. His Excellency can't be here. Even if he is here, we have no chance to find him!"
"That's right." Jiang Xiao and Zhu Ba looked at each other and both nodded their heads.
"Where is this place?"
Junior Leopard had been sucked up into the hollow. He could not struggle at all because the surrounding spatial fluctuation was too messy to be mastered. As a matter of fact, he did not need to master it. He was sent to another space in very short time.
This was a vast space where a yellow cloud was all around in the sky, which was as dense as the dark clouds in thunderstorms. But there were not any thunderbolts or moisture here, just some dry air in the yellow cloud. To be exact, it was not a cloud, but a block of yellow sand that had floated into the air from the ground.
The wind here was pretty fierce. There was yellow and all on the ground. The immense desert along with the yellow cloud in the sky made this space a yellow world when the wind blew.
Suddenly, a small gap appeared in the dusty yellow cloud. Then, a figure was sent out from that gap and it fell straight down on the ground.
That figure was exactly Junior Leopard. Being sucked up into that fantastic space, Junior Leopard was quite depressed. But his depression was useless. When he refreshed his mind, he found that he was nearly caught in the yellow sand on the ground. He cursed out of helplessness. Then a fire cloud rose up beside him and slowly covered him from the side.
"Do you know where I am, Green Spirit? Why I'm being swarmed with sand?"
"It may be a micro-world passed down from antiquity times, just like the Small Thunder Temple," answered Green Spirit.
"A micro-world passed down from antiquity times? Seriously? The essence of the world here is even more feeble than that outside. Is that possible?"
"Maybe it's history is even longer than that. Naturally, the Spiritual Qi would have been let out," said Green Spirit. "In antiquity times, or sometime earlier, the people with great Divine Senses were many and they had opened up many micro-worlds. And some of those worlds were deserted for many years. So naturally, they were neglected."
"You mean, this is only a neglected micro-world? Then why would I be sucked up here?"
"How could I know that? I didn't arrange it." Green Spirit was impatient. "But the one who set the trap to bring you here must have his own plan. I suggest that you look around to find if there are any clues."
"What clues can there be here? Don't you see that all around is only sand and a yellow cloud! I don't think that I can find any clues in this bleak desert." Junior Leopard was disgruntled. However, he finally complied with Spiritual Qi and began to search all around.
Two hours later,
he stopped at the edge of a canyon that had suffered wind erosion for many years.
"You see, I can only find this canyon, which has a different terrain than its surroundings. Let me check it." Before finishing his words, he was about to fly down into the canyon.
"Wait." Green Spirit held him back. "I think I have seen this canyon before."
"You've seen it? Where is it?" Junior Leopard was pleasantly surprised.
"Shut up." Green Spirit interrupted his words. "Let me think it over by myself."
Junior Leopard then said nothing and just stood quietly beside the canyon, waiting.
"Walk along the canyon. Turn left and go forward 40 miles. See what's over there!"
"Okay." Junior Leopard jumped up and rushed toward the left. According to his speed, he could go 40 miles in few seconds.
"Stop! Right here." Green Spirit yelled in a low voice. He seemed to be astonished.
"Impossible! It can't be! This is the Bihua Gorge and we're in the Azure Heaven! How could it be? How can the Azure Heaven become so?" Green Spirit neurotically continued murmuring, paying no attention to Junior Leopard.
"Where is the Azure Heaven? Why can't it be?"
"The Azure Heaven is one of the 33 heavens. And it was one of the 33 micro-worlds that had the most essence of the world and the most treasures of heaven and earth of the time. It is said that the micro-worlds were opened up by people with great Divine Senses in the Primordial Place in the beginning of the heaven and the earth genesis. When it was passed to our age, all micro-worlds were mastered by magnates. The Azure Heaven was no exception. It belonged to the Emperor of the Azure Heaven, an emperor of my Demon tribe. And the Emperor of the Azure Heaven gained the name because of the Azure Heaven. How could it become so?"
"Why couldn't it become so? Now it's many years later and god knows how much time has passed since the Emperor of the Azure Heaven has died. Time can cover up everything. Even if the Azure Heaven was one of the 33 heavens in ancient times and owned the most essence of the world and so many treasures of heaven and earth, so many years have passed."
"That's impossible! When I was imprisoned in the underground palace of the Small Thunder Temple, the Emperor of the Azure Heaven was still alive. Micro-worlds in the Small Thunder Temple was only a few. None of them could match the Azure Heaven. What's more, they suffered more injuries than the Azure Heaven. But they still have stouter pneuma and less environmental changes than outer space. Something must happen here that destroyed all the vitality in the Azure Heaven. There must be some reasons."
"Maybe!" Junior Leopard was unwilling to bicker about it with Green Spirit. In his opinion, no matter how glorious the Azure Heaven was in former times, it had already been destroyed. He would not accept such a space even if it were free. All he cared about was who on earth sent him here and what the intention was, and most important of all, how he could get out of here!
That was what he cared about.
If he wanted to solve all the questions, he had to count on Green Spirit. But Green Spirit was caught in an anxious feeling. He seemed to be clouded in mind by the scene of the Azure Heaven.
Under such a circumstance, Junior Leopard did not dare to talk, in case of alarming Green Spirit. If Green Spirit went crazy, then things would be more troublesome.
At first, Green Spirit only kept saying words like impossible and something was wrong. But as time went by, he could not figure out what kind of language Green Spirit was speaking anymore. Green Spirit continued murmuring as if he was abreacting.
Sometime later, Green Spirit finally came out from his feeling and pulled himself together.
"We may get into trouble. If we are in the Azure Heaven, it'll be hard to find the exit."
"Why?"
"The Azure Heaven was the head among the 33 heavens. It was the micro-world that had been separated in the absolute beginning. Its essence is quite stable. You see, though the surroundings are full of space cracks like the scene in the micro-worlds in the Small Thunder Temple, it's much more stable. Even if this micro-world was broken, it didn't travel in the hollow but has been fixed in a certain place. So the suction is not powerful. If I am not guessing wrong, the Azure Heaven must be fixed in a Taihao Fairy Weapon. In a sense, we're inside of a Taihao Fairy Weapon." He paused when speaking here, then continued slowly, "Maybe just because of having integrated the essence of the Azure Heaven, that Taihao Fairy Weapon was able to become a Taihao Fairy Weapon."
"You mean, I was sucked up into a fairy weapon, the same as that unlucky Ba Siba? And the only difference between this fairy weapon and that Clear Glass Jade Bottle is that it doesn't have the ability to refine people. Or, that ability hasn't been launched yet, so I'm still alive!"
"Maybe no one is powerful enough to launch this fairy weapon." Green Spirit said in a cold voice, "The Azure Heaven has been shaped since the absolute beginning. Even it was refined, it could just be fixed. Just like a millstone that weighs thousands of kilograms, it can grind everything. You can own it, but can never drive it. This fairy weapon must be the same. Without the cultivation of a Human Immortal, one can never drive this micro-world. Its only function must be to store things, the same as your little space. But strangely, it doesn't look like a storage."
"So what do you think it—?" Before his words were finished, Junior Leopard sharply changed his expression. He jumped up and hid behind a rock, operating the Snake-like Breath Holding Skill to cover up all his spirit.
When he was speaking, he suddenly sensed the spatial fluctuation, as if this space was about to rip open another hole. Therefore, he hurried to hide and waited to see what would happen. Maybe he could find out who the one that brought him here was.
Not long after he hid, the originally peaceful space, which was not far away from the rock, rippled like the surface of a river. Inside the ripples, a gateway faintly appeared. Then, three figures entered.
"It's Ji Yeyue!" Junior Leopard was surprised by one of them because the leader of the three of them was Ji Yeyue, the new teen expert who cut a smart figure in the World Hero Competition. The other two were also young. And their cultivation was at the peak of Level Six. They were ready to reach the Expert Realm and become Level Seven experts at any moment.
"Junior Sister, unexpectedly, our teacher should allow us to do the test in the Azure Secret Area. I must seek this opportunity to break through the barrier of Level Seven and become an expert."
After the rippled gateway disappeared, the older one, who was about 23 years old, spoke excitedly. His view of Ji Yeyue was full of heat.
And almost at the same time, Green Spirit's voice came to junior Leopard's ears, saying, "Hey guy, I know how to get out now!"