Chapter 395: Flames Rising from the Abyss
Although Lanlin Province was located in a remote area, its natural scenery was quite peculiar.
Towering stone pillar-like peaks hung in mid-air, resembling a forest of a thousand needles.
Beneath the floating mountains, the deep valley was a terrifying forbidden zone entirely composed of black ash. Even at this moment, flying thousands of feet above, Li Fan could still sense the unsettling aura emanating from below.
Huangfu Song stood on the Dust Crossing Boat, surveying the scenery below, his expression couldn't help but change slightly: "Truly a desolate place."
"Compared to this ghostly place, the Ten Thousand Miles of Burning Sands we saw earlier is nothing dangerous."
Hearing this, Li Fan also looked towards the bottom of the deep valley.
In the ocean of black ash, one could still see faint dark flames that had not been extinguished.
From time to time, a gentle breeze would pick up a strand of black ash from the ocean, continuously fluttering and rising, crashing onto the Dust Crossing Boat where Li Fan was.
The seemingly weightless ash, upon colliding with the protective barrier of the Dust Crossing Boat, caused violent fluctuations.
As if hit by a great impact, a small hole appeared on the crimson light barrier.
Then, wave after wave of ripples spread outwards.
Even though only a bit of his consciousness was controlling his body, Li Fan was still stunned by the scene before him.
He couldn't help but ask, "What the hell is this black ash?!"
Huangfu Song first controlled the Dust Crossing Boat to fly upwards, avoiding the rising ash from the deep valley, then explained, "This is the residue left after the burning of the 'Silent Extinction Flowing Fire.' All traces of life have disappeared, leaving only the power of extinction lingering."
"It's quite sinister, it's better to avoid it as much as possible."
Before he could finish his words, the Dust Crossing Boat accelerated, rushing towards the central area of Lanlin Province.
Looking at the seemingly endless, pitch-black, and desolate world below, Huangfu Song couldn't help but feel emotional, "Fortunately, we used tens of thousands of peaks as an array to control the 'Silent Extinction Flowing Fire' within Lanlin Province. Otherwise, the surrounding areas would have met the same fate."
"Silent Extinction Flowing Fire?" The aura of the black ash permeating the air made Li Fan, who was already at his limit, feel even more uncomfortable. He furrowed his brows and thought to himself.
He seemed to have seen this name somewhere.
In his sea of consciousness, the fragments of memory flashed with Dao patterns, and after a moment, snippets of phrases he had read before suddenly surfaced.
"Cangwu Province, twenty-eight mountains and rivers.
One night, in a certain year and month, it disappeared overnight, leaving only a bottomless abyss.
The strange object of the earth, the Cangwu Mountain and River Map, originated from this."
...
After the disappearance of the mountains and rivers in Cangwu Province for the ninth year, black water-like flames surged from the abyss."
"The ferocious flames raged on, unable to be extinguished. People of that time called it the 'Silent Extinction Flowing Fire.'"
Li Fan then asked, "Is it the black fire that emerged from the abyss in Cangwu?"
Huangfu Song was slightly startled, then squinted his eyes, as if recalling something.
After a long time, he nodded slightly, "Yes. After the appearance of the Silent Extinction Flowing Fire from the Cangwu Abyss, it spread towards the surrounding areas."
"Several provinces in a row suffered. It wasn't until near Lanlin Province that it was brought under control."
Li Fan was suddenly taken aback.
Cangwu Province was in the southwest corner of the Xuanhuang Realm, while Lanlin Province was almost directly south.
The scope of the devastation caused by this Silent Extinction Flowing Fire seemed quite large.
"Young friend, don't worry. Since that time, the Silent Extinction Flowing Fire has not appeared again."
"The cause of this catastrophic disaster, which could be described as world-ending, is still a mystery."
"At first, the alliance thought it was the Five Elders' doing. However, after on-site investigations, it was denied."
"That is the true might of heaven and earth, I'm afraid it's beyond the reach of cultivators."
Huangfu Song casually shared his insights with Li Fan.
Not long after, they reached their destination.
"Before inspecting the Soul-locking Array, let's first visit the resident official of Lanlin Province."
"This senior was originally from our Tianyu Province and has taken care of me a lot in the past. Now that we're here, we shouldn't neglect etiquette."
Pointing to a sharp peak piercing through the clouds ahead, Huangfu Song said to Li Fan.
Li Fan's thoughts turned, and he already guessed who the senior mentioned by Huangfu Song was.
"You mean, the former commander of the Tianyu Province Garrison, Senior Guan Xingxiu?"
Huangfu Song nodded with a smile, then put away the Dust Crossing Boat and led everyone to fly towards a small courtyard at the top of the mountain.
"Since we're acquaintances, why be so formal? Come on in, I won't personally greet you, kid!"
From afar, a voice reached everyone's ears.
"In that case, thanks to Senior for your kindness!" Huangfu Song's face lit up with a smile, responding repeatedly.
He gestured for the other cultivators to wait at the door, while he and Li Fan entered the courtyard.
The courtyard was quite simple, with only a single pine tree standing.
Beneath it, a middle-aged cultivator was leisurely lying on a long bench, gently swaying.
Holding a palm-leaf fan, he would occasionally fan it a few times.
"Long time no see, Senior, you're as splendid as ever!" Huangfu Song bowed in respect.
Li Fan also followed suit and said, "Greetings, Senior Guan!"
"Your name is Li Fan, right? I've heard about you." Guan Xingxiu glanced at Li Fan, a playful expression on his face. "Your perseverance is much stronger than mine."
Li Fan's heart skipped a beat, and he replied modestly, "Hehe, Senior is too kind."
Huangfu Song chimed in at this point, "Although Li Fan is diligent, compared to Senior, he still falls short. Who in Tianyu Province doesn't know..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Guan Xingxiu interrupted him.
"Kid, heroes don't dwell on past glories. I'm now down and out like this, yet you're here to boast about my past achievements. What's your intention?" Guan Xingxiu's gaze swept over Huangfu Song, his expression showing displeasure.
Huangfu Song didn't expect his flattery to backfire, he awkwardly said, "Senior, you know me."
"Even if you lend me your courage, I wouldn't dare oppose you."
Guan Xingxiu snorted coldly, but his expression returned to normal.
With a somewhat bored tone, he said, "You kid, you're really boring."
"Alright, I haven't seen old friends in this place for a long time. It's not bad that you came to visit."
"I already understand what you mean, so go ahead boldly."
"With me here, Lanlin Province's small piece of land won't be turned upside down."
Finishing his words, Guan Xingxiu lightly waved the palm-leaf fan in his hand. Suddenly, a small golden sword appeared and flew into Huangfu Song's hand.
"It's been a long time since I've shown myself to everyone. I want to see if there's really someone who wants to test whether my sword is sharp." Guan Xingxiu said with great joy.
Huangfu Song was overjoyed and quickly said, "Thank you, Senior!"
"By the way..." As he put away the golden flying sword, Huangfu Song wanted to say something else.
But he was stopped by Guan Xingxiu.
"I've seriously considered Senior Ji's opinion. But now I'm just a Nascent Soul cultivator, and I won't be of much help even if I go. Besides, the former leader has passed away, and the position of commander has been settled."
"I have no intention of competing for anything anymore."
"You can go now!"
With that, Guan Xingxiu waved his palm-leaf fan.
After a gust of wind, Li Fan and Huangfu Song found themselves outside the courtyard.