Chapter 303 - The Scum Is Empty

"Xiao Sheng, xiao Yin and junior Wu must have passed by there." Xie Lan said. "However…" he frowned. 

They didn't speak and just waited for Xie Lan to speak. They believe in Xie Lan's foresight. "What's wrong?" Fan Wen asked. 

"Xiao Sheng have reached the root of the evil, so he, Xiao Yin and junior Wu have safely passed the Nanli Town." Xie Lan said. "But, I suddenly feel uneasy." He told them. 

"You mean…" 

"Something is lying in wait for us, and it definitely is anything but good." 

Ni Lai Gate, Heilong Realm.

THUNK!!! A large white ball fell on the ground with a loud sound and rolled until it hit a tree and stopped rolling. Slowly, it opened and revealed three people holding their head with their eyes in circles. 

"I felt like I'm going to puke – " Cheng Sheng muttered as he clutched his mouth before he rolled out of the Shapeshifting Blanket and went to the foot of the tree to vomit. "Urk!" he grunted. 

Fei Yin's face is green while Wu Yuan's face is blanker than before. They looked at each other for a second before they also found a spot to vomit. The sound of vomiting lasted for two minutes before the three weakly collapsed on the ground. After vomiting, the nausea they felt lessened. 

"Where are we now?" Wu Yuan asked as he looked around. They seem to be in a forest. 

They turned and saw a gate attached to a wall. They stood and walked towards it. "It closed." Cheng Sheng spoke when they saw there's only a wall in the gate. 

"Could this be one of the entrances, as well as exits, in Heilong?" Fei Yin asked as he studied the gate. 

"Must be." Wu Yuan spoke as he stared at the gate. "If it is, then…" his voice suddenly died down and he looked at Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin. At the same time, the two also turned to him. 

After half a second, the three of them hid behind the trees. Cheng Sheng called the Shapeshifting Blanket and thrown it to Fei Yin and Wu Yuan before he took out an invisibility cloak and wore it. The three of them suddenly and simultaneously disappeared. 

At the same time, a vortex suddenly appeared in the gate where the three of them came out. "Ahhh… so this is Heilong?" someone said when he came out of the gate. "It doesn't look any different than Huilong." He said. 

"Sshhh! Don't let anyone here hear you!" his friend told him and covered his mouth. 

Cheng Sheng, Fei Yin and Wu Yuan listened to their conversation until they left before the three of them reappeared. 

"Heilong doesn't really look any different than Huilong." Fei Yin commented. 

"What's going on? Shouldn't there be demonic qi here?" Wu Yuan asked. When he noticed Cheng Sheng and Fei Yin fell silent, he spoke. "Not that I am asking there should be." he added.

Fei Yin patted Wu Yuan's back before he sat on the ground. Meanwhile, Cheng Sheng has some other concerns while staring at the Ni Lai Gate. "I should have sealed the Ni Lai Gate in the Sand Sea Mountain." He said as he continues to ponder. 

Fei Yin and Wu Yuan turned to him. 

Cheng Sheng turned to look at them. "But, the demonic cultivators came out from the same gate as we did." He said as his mind turned fast. "Then, the Ni Lai Gate must be a random portal. So, I have a bold conjecture, and this really isn't good – " he said as he looked in their eyes. 

"Speak." Wu Yuan spoke, although he could now guess what is Cheng Sheng thinking. 

Cheng Sheng wryly smiled. "There must be more than one Ni Lai Gate in Huilong." He told them. 

A deafening silence fell. After a while when his words were finished digesting by them, they spoke. "Fuck!" they cursed, their face dark. 

Cheng Sheng's face was covered in dark lines and he drew circles on the ground. "All that effort of sealing the Ni Lai Gate in Sand Sea Mountain, only to find out there are more than one gate…" he muttered. 

Fei Yin and Wu Yuan's heart felt heavy. They are depressed they can't offer words of comfort to Cheng Sheng, since they can't even comfort themselves. "Wu Ran must be laughing at us." Fei Yin said, his expression self-mocking. 

Wu Yuan is exuding cold air like a walking refrigerator. "Let's find father and uncle Jing. They are the only ones who can explain these things to us." He said. 

Cheng Sheng was immediately cheered up when his father was mentioned. "Okay!" he said. 

Fei Yin's heart was soothed thinking there are still some people that can help them. He pulled Cheng Sheng up from the ground before they walked out from the bushes and looked at the road the two demonic cultivators headed to. 

"Let's go." 

Nanli County. 

"Concealment Talismans!" Xie Lan said. 

"Yes!" Lei Ling and Jing Kang answered and they took out their qiankun pouches before they threw them in the air. Then, they clapped their hands and made some hand seals before they closed their eyes, concentrating. 

The qiankun pouches shook in the air before the talismans burst out of them and scattered all over the ship before they suddenly moved to act as a barrier surrounding the Millennium Ship. 

"Masking Spell." Xie Lan said. 

Li Tian nodded even though Xie Lan didn't turn to him. He clapped his hands and made some hand seals before he closed his eyes and started uttering string of words. The Masking Spell is to hide their aura from the outsiders. The Concealment Talismans are just to block the others' vision. Fortunately, Li Tian's cultivation rose after he soaked in the Spring of Life, albeit accidentally after Yu Sheng kicked them, so his spells' power also increased. 

"Make the ship rise higher!" Xie Lan ordered when they entered the fog. 

Lei Ling who was concentrating with Jing Kang on the Concealment Talismans snapped open his eyes and he touched his two fingers on the center of his forehead to control the Moving Talismans and the Balancing Talismans.

The Millennium Ship's camouflage flickered. 

"Ungh…" Lei Ling grunted as his head was soaked in cold sweat while he controlled his talismans. 

Jing Kang opened his eyes. He was about to help Lei Ling when he met Lei Ling's gaze, and so he closed his eyes again and redoubled his efforts. The Millennium Ship's camouflage finally stabled and the ship blended with the fog. 

Xi Ling saw Lei Ling's pale face and he immediately held Lei Ling's shoulder to give him qi. Meanwhile, Feng Mo gave Li Tian qi when he saw Li Tian inaudibly gasped. They felt the Millennium Ship faintly rocked before it started to rise higher. 

Fan Wen worriedly looked at his disciples, but Xie Lan held his shoulder. "We're in the Stone Forest." He told him. Fan Wen looked at him. "After that is the Narrow Canyons." He said. 

"The Millennium Ship naturally can't pass through the Narrow Canyons, even if we make it smaller." Fei Lin said. 

"Why?" Fan Wen turned to him. 

"Only one person can pass through it." Fei Lin answered. 

Fan Wen's jaw dropped. "Wen." He heard Xie Lan called. "Do you know why there are only a small amount of people that travels South?" he asked. 

Fan Wen looked at him, waiting for his answer. 

"It's because of the City of Rocks." Xie Lan said. 

"'City of Rocks'?" Lei Qing, who is keeping surveillance of the surroundings, said. She thought it sounds familiar. 

"Haven't you heard of a tale of it?" Xie Lan asked her. 

"'City of Rocks'…" Lei Qing muttered before her eyes suddenly widened. "I remember! Our parents always tell xiao Ling and I a story about the City of Rocks." She said. "Once upon a time, there was very large rock that could fit a city. The people thought it was a gift from the god and they cracked open the rock to see the treasures inside it. However, as they continued to crack it, the pieces of the large rock broke and crashed them underneath." She looked at them, her face serious. "But, the remaining people didn't stop. Instead, they thought it was an opportunity given to them since the lesser the people, the more treasures they'll have. They began attacking each other until only one person remained: the greediest of them all. He continued to break the rock, but since no one remained aside from him, he died of hunger and thirst." 

"Did he see what's inside the rock?" Fan Wen asked. 

Lei Qing nodded. "Yes." She answered. 

"What is it?" Fan Wen curiously asked. 

"It was empty." Lei Qing said. "It's as if mocking him, and at the same time telling him to empty his desires." She explained. "Those broken pieces of the rocks became pillars, and the remaining large piece of the rock that has a gaping hole in its core became a canyon over time. That is the City of Rocks." She said before she suddenly paused when she thought of something. "Now that I remember, we're going south… the City of the Rocks should be… here…" her voice faded before she slowly turned to Xie Lan. 

Fan Wen also realized it. His eyes widened in shock. "We're above the City of Rocks?!"