Let Chen Ming take it first, they spoke nicely, but in fact, they wanted him to go ahead and see if there was any danger.

Chen Ming was well aware of this, so he immediately let go of Yu Haitang’s hand, drew the "Mingfeng Sword," and with a grip, he felt the "Mingfeng Sword" trembling slightly. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

Obviously, such an environment made it very excited and lively.

As soon as he drew the sword, it attracted many strange glances.

In the scabbard, it wasn’t very obvious, but once drawn, it revealed its sharpness—this was an Unparalleled Divine Weapon!

Among those who entered here, most had a cultivation above the Third Grade, but not everyone carried a Divine Weapon, let alone an Unparalleled Divine Weapon.

Chen Ming swung a Sword Gang, cutting down the egg-sized "Fire Element Pearl," then sheathed his sword and reached out to catch the fallen "Fire Element Pearl."

As soon as the "Fire Element Pearl" was in hand, he felt the immense and pure Fire Attribute Yuan Qi it contained. Just absorbing the scattered Yuan Qi from the pearl, it instantly merged into his Gang Qi, strengthening it slightly.

"No wonder that family is willing to guard this cave mansion for so long. It turns out there are such benefits."

Chen Ming suddenly realized that the "Fire Element Pearls" produced in this cave mansion were a supreme treasure for those practicing the "Profound Fire True Skill," which can directly enhance cultivation.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a beast roar came from deep within the cave, echoing in the cavern.

Many people’s expressions changed slightly.

"Could this be the Holy Beast guarding the key?"

"Golden Sir, can you tell us now, what exactly is the Holy Beast guarding the key?"

Standing next to Chen Ming, the Golden Robe Admiral said, "There’s no harm in telling you, it is a Fire Flood Dragon."

At these words, everyone was instantly in an uproar.

"What a joke? A Fire Flood Dragon that’s lived for thousands of years, how strong could it be? Even if we all go at it together, we’re no match for it..."

"Are you sending everyone to their deaths?"

"Tell us, isn’t this some conspiracy by your Six Gates? To weaken the strength of our noble sects, you really go through great lengths..."

"..."

All of a sudden, everyone started to clamor.

Yet, the two Golden Robe Admirals remained unhurried, and after everyone had spoken, they calmly said, "If you’re afraid, you can leave now."

No one moved.

Having come this far, how could anyone give up halfway?

Especially since they hadn’t encountered real danger yet, not even seen the shadow of the Fire Flood Dragon.

Seeing no one leaving, the Golden Sir continued, "While the Fire Flood Dragon has lived for thousands of years, it’s trapped here and its mana is drawn daily. Its strength can only maintain at Half-step Divine Treasure. With the strength of those present, killing it might be difficult, but breaking through the gate it guards to retrieve the key is not impossible."

"I’ve said all there is to say, if you don’t believe, you need not follow."

After speaking, he ventured deeper into the cavern first, still letting Chen Ming lead the way.

...

In the end, only five groups followed, while those from the Blood Demon Sect did not.

This was understandable, as when the real fighting began, the other six forces would definitely join hands to eliminate those from the Blood Demon Sect first.

Since they are considered heretics, they attract the most hatred.

After about a mile, they reached the second cave, with two "Fire Element Pearls" growing above.

These "Fire Element Pearls" were respectively taken by people from two groups.

Then, they continued forward.

Before long, everyone halted.

There were two paths up ahead.

The six groups discussed and decided to split up.

...

Then, upon reaching the third cave, three "Fire Element Pearls" hung above. Perfectly, three factions took one each.

Just as they plucked the "Fire Element Pearls," a sudden change occurred, the sound of flapping echoed above as a large swarm of unidentified flying creatures flapped their wings and attacked, moving extremely fast.

"What are these damn things?"

"Not good, they possess True Essence!"

"They’re monstrous creatures!"

"..."

The dozen or so present were suddenly in disarray, with many crying out in alarm.

Among these people, most were above the Third Grade, but facing the attack of this swarm of flying creatures, they were somewhat struggling to fend them off.

Chen Ming crouched down first, clutching the "Mingfeng Sword" tightly, waiting for the flying creatures to draw near before he could see it clearly—a huge bat, with wings spread nearly a meter, and red eyes.

Just as the bat was about to swoop down on him, suddenly a Sword Intent flew in from beside him, slicing off one of its wings. It lost balance and crashed to the ground.

The one who saved him was the Golden Sir.

Chen Ming hadn’t had time to thank him before seeing the bat that lost one wing already stood up and rushed at him again.

He pushed Yu Haitang aside, and with lightning speed, thrust his sword, striking the creature’s head. Almost simultaneously, he felt a terrifying force knock him back, sending him flying instantly.

"Be careful, it’s a Fire Bat, probably with a hundred years of cultivation. Its demonic power carries Fire Poison, do not let it hurt you,"

Chen Ming only felt a buzzing in his head and faintly heard Lord Jin’s warning by his ear.

He looked down to see his chest charred black, with a searing pain.

At this moment, the sound of something cutting through the air came from above, and a shadow pounced down.

He had suffered a severe injury, lacking the strength to swing his sword. He chuckled bitterly, a thought flashing through his mind, "I should’ve known better than to set a FLAG..."

Swoosh!

A long sword flew from beside him, nailing the descending Fire Bat to the ground. The sword continued to tremble.

The Fire Bat was not immediately dead and struggled desperately.

Chen Ming mustered the last of his strength and threw out the "Mingfeng Sword" in his hand, pinning its head and killing it.

[You have killed a level 69 Fire Bat, gaining 50,000 experience points.]

Seeing this notification, he felt a surge of joy, "I snatched it!"

When he killed the first Fire Bat earlier, he saw an identical notification and was startled, which led to his injury.

He had previously tried killing chickens, pigs, and even cows and sheep, but never gained experience points. So he had given up.

Unexpectedly, it was because those animals weren’t considered monsters; only demon beasts like Fire Bats gave experience points upon being killed.

At this time, Yu Haitang came over, pulled out both swords from the ground, and then carried him, soaring off toward a certain direction.

Not far away, the two Golden Robe Admirals from the Six Gates were busy protecting Princess Mingyu and were unable to spare a hand to rescue Chen Ming. Seeing him get hit by the Fire Bat’s demonic fire, they even abandoned the thought of helping him.

Without True Gang protection, being struck by demonic fire, it wouldn’t be long before the Fire Poison would attack the heart, leading to death.

Such a doomed person was not worth saving.

...

Yu Haitang quickly carried Chen Ming away from the battlefield, fleeing in the direction they had come.

Only after they had gotten far away from the cave and could no longer hear any sounds did she stop and place Chen Ming on the ground.

She took out the Fire Element Pearl, and by its faint light, looked at the charred area on his chest, then took out a dagger, placing the sheath in front of his mouth, "Bite down."

What’s she planning to do?

Chen Ming at this moment already felt the terror of the "Fire Poison," a malicious flame continually eroding his Gang Qi and reason.

He converted all his Gang Qi to Water Attribute, barely resisting the poison’s erosion.

Instinctively, he bit down on the sheath, and then his chest burst into severe pain.

Yu Haitang was using the dagger to dig out the charred flesh from his chest, slashing again and again, with blood gushing out.

The pain was unbearable for Chen Ming, nearly causing him to pass out, with the sheath almost bitten in two by him.

"Bear with it."

Large beads of sweat dripped from Yu Haitang’s forehead. After a while, she finally scraped the charred flesh clean, quickly throwing down the dagger, retrieving a bottle from her bosom, uncorking it, and pouring the medicinal powder onto his wound.

Almost instantly, the bleeding stopped.

Chen Ming only felt the pain significantly reduced, with a cool sensation on the wound, followed by a numbing itch.

This was evidently some miraculous wound-healing and muscle-growing medicine.

Next, Yu Haitang took out another white porcelain bottle, poured out a jade-like Elixir Pill, and fed it to his mouth, "Swallow it."

Chen Ming forced himself to swallow the Elixir Pill, and moments later, felt a wave of cool medicinal power spreading, clearing his head.

Having done all this, Yu Haitang seemed exhausted and sat on the ground, gasping for breath.

After a while, she said softly, "Why did you put me down earlier? If you hadn’t, I could have blocked that hit for you."

Right now, Chen Ming just wanted a cigarette. It was the first time he suffered such a severe injury since crossing over.

He licked his dry lips and said weakly, "You were in the way, only affecting my sword draw speed."

At this moment, a voice sounded in their ears, "Young man, are you really stupid or just pretending? At a time like this, just say some touching words and she will throw herself into your arms."

"Who?"

Yu Haitang gripped a sword in each hand, shouting sternly.

In the dark passageway, a seemingly ordinary middle-aged man walked out, looking at her with a peculiar gaze, exclaiming, "Such a stunning beauty. Initially, I only wanted the Unparalleled Divine Weapon in your hand. Now, I have changed my mind. I want you too."

Yu Haitang’s gaze turned icy, "Are you Gao Chen, the affiliate of the Golden Jade Hall?"

The middle-aged man didn’t rush to attack and laughed, "Miss indeed recognizes me, it’s truly my honor. If I’m not mistaken, you must be Yu Haitang, ranked third on the Beauty List?"

"Since you know my identity, why don’t you leave quickly? My aunt will be here soon."

"Haha..."

Gao Chen laughed a few times, "Your aunt and uncle are too busy to care for themselves and won’t be here for a while. Miss Yu, I am not a lecherous person, yet for some reason, I am enamored with you at first sight. I have a feeling, if I don’t have you, I won’t be reconciled in this life..."

Yu Haitang shouted angrily, "Shut up!"

Gao Chen squinted and said, "It seems you have feelings for this boy. Let me kill him first to cut off your thoughts!"

"You dare?"