Chapter 69

Gao Ziqi rode the clouds and mist, carrying Xu Daoyan and Tian Tian, soaring through the nine heavens, breaking through the air at an extremely fast speed. A beam of light enveloped their bodies, otherwise, such a high speed would have torn them apart.

After all, this time they were heading to a cultivation place to avoid being discovered by the Qintian Guard, so they naturally wouldn't move slowly.

Xu Daoyan looked down from a high vantage point at the vast territory under the jurisdiction of the Tian Shi Royal City, which was incredibly expansive and made one feel refreshed and delighted.

"The rivers and mountains of the Nine Provinces Divine Dynasty are truly magnificent!" Xu Daoyan, who had never seen such a view before, took a deep breath and praised loudly.

"Of course!" Tian Tian, who had long been accustomed to it, was more interested in delicious food than in the beautiful scenery: "Do you still have those sugar beans?"

"I don't have any left. When I fought the Xiong people, I went home once, but later, when I was escorting my mother, I didn't talk to her because I had to report military intelligence, so I rushed to Shilong City without stopping!" Xu Daoyan sighed.

"Oh? What military intelligence did you report?" Tian Tian asked curiously.

"I killed the Xiong Prince, Chanyu Longzi. I was afraid that the Xiong army would invade, so I reported it immediately!" Xu Daoyan answered truthfully.

"What? You killed Chanyu Longzi?" Tian Tian was shocked, and Gao Ziqi was slightly surprised. However, this explained why Xu Daoyan would come to the Tian Shi Royal City.

Tian Tian's information had always been that Xu Daoyan was leading troops to guard the border!

"Yes!" Xu Daoyan was taken aback but didn't think it was anything to be surprised about.

"No wonder that old man Tian Shi treated you so well. When I stayed there last time, I didn't even get royal treatment!" Tian Tian snorted, feeling a bit more balanced in her heart. She looked at Xu Daoyan: "But it's clear that Tian Shi wants to cultivate you and make you his confidant!"

"About this..." Xu Daoyan didn't know how to respond to such a situation.

"Once the cultivation is over, you should go with me to the Fulong Academy!" Tian Tian thought for a moment. If Tian Shi wanted to cultivate Xu Daoyan, he would be in the Tian Shi Royal City for a long time, which would give them more opportunities to be together. She wouldn't allow this to happen.

"What is the Fulong Academy?" Xu Daoyan had no idea.

"It's a place where all the generals, feudal lords, and princes of Youzhou send their children. It's the highest academy in all of Youzhou!" Tian Tian said lightly.

"I'll have to ask Tian Shi about this when the time comes!" Xu Daoyan didn't dare to make decisions on his own, as he was still a Shilong Guard under Tian Shi's jurisdiction.

"Alright, I'll talk to Tian Shi about it. Don't worry!" Tian Tian waved her hand. These things were trivial to her. Tian Shi's status was supreme, and even her father respected him. Taking someone from him would naturally require a prior notice!

Gao Ziqi listened to everything and, seeing the two chatting happily, chuckled and said, "The place you're going to for cultivation isn't a good place. First, you need to get through the current difficulties before talking about the future, Tian Tian. You need to be prepared!"

"..." Tian Tian was speechless. She knew that Gao Ziqi wanted to temper her, so the place they were going to would certainly have very harsh conditions.

Xu Daoyan was taken aback and pointed at himself, "What about me?"

"As Tian Tian's guard, of course, you are too!" Gao Ziqi laughed heartily.

"Great!" Compared to Tian Tian, Xu Daoyan was very excited at the mention of cultivation. Now, what he wanted most was to be tempered. It didn't matter to him where he was, as long as he could improve.

On the way, beautiful scenery flew by. Under Gao Ziqi's lead, the group began to approach a desolate mountain range.

Here, the grass and trees were withered, and the land was barren, with no water source. It was clearly autumn, but a wave of heat was rolling from somewhere unknown.

Xu Daoyan saw that not far away, there was a mountain range, pitch black. Looking further, there was a huge volcano.

From the crater, flames would occasionally splash out, accompanied by scorching heat waves, shooting into the sky. The power was terrifying, and even a Human Immortal would be melted if hit by the heat waves!

"Are you serious, Master? We have to cultivate here?" Tian Tian was almost in tears.

"Of course, how could cultivation be as easy as you imagine? Only in such a place can you best temper your mind!" Gao Ziqi laughed, holding a wine gourd and taking a big sip.

"Great!" Xu Daoyan was very excited and cheered loudly.

"What's so great? Do you know how terrifying this place is?" Tian Tian rolled her eyes, despising Xu Daoyan.

"What are you afraid of with me here?" Xu Daoyan patted his chest. Tian Tian's cultivation was at the peak of Upper Human Immortal, 19,999 years old, just one year away from entering the Earth Immortal realm. Now that Xu Daoyan had broken through to the Human Immortal realm, he was also very confident.

However, Tian Tian mainly cultivated the Way of Music, and her physical body was much weaker. To cultivate to the Human Immortal realm in the Way of Music, she could attack enemies from tens of miles away without close combat, so there was no need to cultivate her physical body. Therefore, she was naturally not very willing to come to such a place, as the environment could cause significant harm to her body!

"You act as if you're so great!" Tian Tian glanced at Xu Daoyan, unconvinced.

"Since Daoyan has said so, I'll increase the difficulty of your cultivation. You two should take good care of yourselves!" Gao Ziqi laughed happily.

Tian Tian's face turned green, and she grabbed Xu Daoyan's neck, "You damn fool, don't you know when to stop talking?"

Gao Ziqi brought the two down from the sky and landed on the ground.

Here, volcanoes erupted year-round, and the ground was covered with solidified lava, which was very hot. Heat waves rose from the ground, quickly evaporating the moisture in the human body. If someone with insufficient strength came here, they would quickly become a dried-up corpse.

Even though Xu Daoyan and Tian Tian had reached the Human Immortal realm, their bodies still felt a burning sensation, which was very uncomfortable.

Xu Daoyan immediately used the Revitalizing Qi to envelop himself and Tian Tian. This cool and refreshing feeling made Tian Tian's skin feel moist and very comfortable: "I didn't expect you to have some skills!"

"Hehe, kid, to use such a healing technique to resist heat is really a luxury..." Gao Ziqi looked at Xu Daoyan. Although the Revitalizing Qi seemed unremarkable at first glance, it was like a spring breeze, penetrating the body. Only a very refined combination of scriptures and techniques could achieve such an effect.

"Not afraid, I have enough reserves..." Xu Daoyan grinned.

"I see, then I'll increase the intensity of your cultivation even more!" Gao Ziqi stroked his chin, his eyes narrowing, and he laughed like a cunning old fox.

"Xu! Daoyan! If you say one more word, I'll break up with you!" Tian Tian was almost driven mad. Only she knew how inhumane Gao Ziqi's tempering was. The last time Tian Tian and Gao Ziqi went to cultivate, she almost died, which was why her mother sent the Qintian Guard to follow and protect her!

Xu Daoyan was completely unaware, touched his nose, and didn't say anything more. He followed Gao Ziqi for an hour before reaching the destination.

Above was a large volcano, and at the foot of the mountain, there was a small lake of lava covering more than a mile.

In the center of the lake was a small island less than ten zhang in diameter.

The lava lake was rolling, and bubbles that Gao Ziqi found very cute were rising. When the bubbles burst, they released gray smoke, which caused a burning sensation when inhaled.

Tian Tian's face turned green, and her eyes twitched as she looked at Xu Daoyan, "Look what you've done! If it weren't for you, this wouldn't have happened to me!"

Xu Daoyan's mouth twitched. How could he have known Gao Ziqi would be so ruthless? Fortunately, the Revitalizing Qi nourished his body, or the situation would have been even more tragic!

"How about it, isn't the environment here nice?" Gao Ziqi smiled innocently, looking at the two.

"Nice, nice!" Xu Daoyan dryly laughed.

"Ah... Xu Daoyan, I want to break up with you!" Tian Tian went crazy and shouted.

"It seems you still think the conditions here are too good. I'll make them worse!" Gao Ziqi sent a mark into the lava lake with his hand. From the lake, red, spiky lava fish emerged, with great killing power, leaping and splashing scorching lava.

"Alright, no more talk. You two go in and enjoy it." Gao Ziqi grabbed Xu Daoyan and Tian Tian and threw them out.

Tian Tian and Xu Daoyan's hearts tightened. In mid-air, they controlled their bodies and landed lightly on the small island.

Here, heat waves rolled, and gray smoke surrounded them. From not far away, Gao Ziqi's voice came, "Tian Tian, your task is to freeze the entire lava lake with 'White Snow.' When you can do it, you can leave!"

"What? How is that possible! Without these lava fish, it would be one thing, but with them..." Tian Tian loudly protested.

"Don't you have a companion? With his help, I naturally have to increase the difficulty!" Gao Ziqi laughed, took a sip of wine, and sprayed it on the lava lake.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a layer of pale flames began to burn on the surface of the lava lake, making the entire lava lake even more scorching.

Tian Tian was almost on the verge of collapse. In just a short moment, both of them were drenched in sweat.

Xu Daoyan was speechless. He looked at Tian Tian, who glared at him fiercely, "What are you looking at? Isn't it because of you?"

"..." Xu Daoyan clearly felt that this cultivation was indeed very dangerous. Fortunately, the material of the Thunder Armor he wore was special, able to withstand heat and cold. If it were made of ordinary fine iron or steel, even if it didn't melt, it would cook Xu Daoyan!

Plop!

A lava fish burst out of the lava lake