Chapter 407
All three of them, even Ling Xiao, fell silent.
SheQiu’s voice rang out again, probably because he didn’t hear a reply, this time sounding a little uncertain.
You XiaoMo’s cheeks kept twitching and paused for a moment before saying with a slightly trembling voice, “I know.”
SheQiu was extremely confused. “You know?”
This was the first time they contacted each other down here. How could their master already know? Did Ling Xiao tell him? It didn’t seem very possible there were people!
You XiaoMo said, “Because we’re currently at the bottom of the very well you speak of.”
SheQiu: “...”
Since they didn’t have very much time to explain, Ling Xiao had SheQiu and company wait above for them to come up. Though SheQiu and the others desperately wanted to know why, they could only hold it in for now. Ling Xiao put the Transmitter Stone away, but then saw You XiaoMo taking out a large bucket and three water ladles and couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing with that?”
You XiaoMo paused in confusion. “Weren’t we going to pack away some of the mud in the bottom of the well?”
Ling Xiao raised an eyebrow and asked, “When did I say that?”
You XiaoMo faltered. All this well had was the mud beneath them, exactly like the first one. That was why he had thought this way. “Otherwise there wouldn’t be an Earth Elemental Essence here!”
Ling Xiao mildly said, “There’s no value in bringing back this mud. The Earth Elemental Essence is, in fact, hiding in the mud like the Metal Elemental Essence. I’m going to force it out with fire. You go up first.”
You XiaoMo had PiQiu take him into the air. He wanted to watch.
Ling Xiao didn’t chase him away. After they flew into the air, he also followed. Then, he snapped his fingers and a purple-red flame appeared above his fingers.
The temperature at the bottom of the well immediately shot up, even more overwhelming than the hottest summer.
As Ling Xiao flicked his hand, the flames made a circle through the air, growing larger and larger, like a roaring fire dragon. The moment it touched the mud, the mud began to burn.
The flames lit the well up like daylight, the light tinting their faces with red.
As the flames cooked the mud, it slowly began to change, melting like chocolate. The mud that was at the bottom of the well seemed to contract for a moment before rapidly shrinking into a ball.
Just as You XiaoMo was thinking that the mud would melt into a puddle of sticky liquid, a muddy brown colored light emitted from the mud, as if trying to defend itself against the flames.
However, it was a futile struggle. The muddy yellow light slowly faded, then, as if knowing it couldn’t win, the light disappeared. Not long later, a muddy yellow ball of light wormed out of the mud and shot towards Ling Xiao with incredible speed.
Ling Xiao didn’t even blink, flicking his fingers and encircling the light with even more flames.
You XiaoMo’s eyes widened. He could almost see the desperate expression of the Earth Elemental Essence, continuously trying to charge out from the flames, yet getting forced back time and time again.
He remembered that back when they caught the Wood Elemental Essence at Boundless Sea, it didn’t struggle like the Earth Elemental Essence. It could be seen that the Earth Elemental Essence had long since gained a spiritual awareness and it’s own intelligence.
In the end, the defeated Earth Elemental Essence still fell into Ling Xiao’s hands.
Ling Xiao put it into a rather large jade vial and then put the vial into his pocket dimension.
After getting this last treasure, it was naturally time to leave. That was when Ling Xiao’s transmitter stone suddenly began to glow.
It wasn’t normal for it to glow now. Ling Xiao suddenly raised his head.
A thunderous rumbling sounded.
The entire well began to vibrate. This wasn’t their doing. It came from above, as if the well was being blasted open.
“Ouch!” You XiaoMo suddenly grabbed his head. A stone had fallen down and hit him on the head before falling to the bottom of the well and being consumed by the flames.
That was when SheQiu and the others spoke up in anxiety.
“Master, Boss, a bunch of people are coming this way. Hurry and come out, or else you’ll be found.”
“You guys leave first. If we are split up, then find an exit, leave and wait for us outside.”
After saying this, Ling Xiao immediately grabbed You XiaoMo, rapidly flying upwards. At the same time, he put PiQiu and the Metal Swallowing Beast into his pocket dimension. They wouldn’t be of much use right now, and if the Vermillion Blood Clan and the others saw the Metal Swallowing Beast, they would be suspected of taking the Metal Elemental Essence.
In order to not drag them down, You XiaoMo thought for a moment and said, “Put me inside your dimension as well.”
The situation was very clear to him. Ling Xiao’s should be stronger than those powerhouses from the Vermillion Blood Clan and the Mage Guild, but having to face all those people alone would be harder with him there, otherwise, Ling Xiao would still have to split his attention to make sure You XiaoMo was safe. Plus, SheQiu and the others should be up there still.
“You sure?” Ling Xiao looked down at him.
You XiaoMo replied with certainty, “Very sure.”
“Alright then...”
At the same time, the situation above the well was chaotic.
As Qiao WuShuang had thought, the others must’ve also realized that the Eye of Golden Earth was here.
So, when they realized they couldn’t obtain the Eye of the Sun and Metal Swallowing Beast, they all set their sights on the Eye of Golden Earth. When one of them found the Eye of Golden Earth, the others immediately came over upon getting the news.
SheQiu and LanQiu didn’t dare fight these people.
That was because there were quite a few who were stronger than them. If they really did fight, they definitely wouldn’t win. Instead, they’d simply become a target for everyone. So, it was better if they just hid.
However, the well could only fit four people at a time. No one was willing to let anyone else go in first so they began to fight at this disagreement. The fighting was very intense. Some people even wanted to enter the well while everyone was distracted, but they were noticed anyways.
It was only after around half an hour when Qiao WuShuang and the others finally arrived that the situation was finally under control. Since Qiao WuShuang and the others were here, how would anyone else get a chance at the Earth Elemental Essence?
He hadn’t thought so many people would’ve realized. Qiao WuShuang gave an discrete sigh. Seems like these people probably realized that they had no chance at the Metal Elemental Essence and Metal Swallowing Beast, so they found this place by coincidence when looking for other treasures.
“How come the well is sealed? Did someone take it already?”
You Ming immediately pushed aside the people blocking his way and, upon seeing the state of the well, cast a deadly glare at the other people.
You QingShan came up to him. “Old Ming. The entrance of the well was probably destroyed in the fight. If someone had already taken it, no one would be so calm right now.”
You Ming let out a soft breath of relief before walking over.
“You Ming, aren’t you a little too impatient. Do you take us for corpses?” Seeing You Ming’s impatient act, HuangFu Li mocked him.
“That’s right. You aren’t the only one who wants the Earth Elemental Essence.” Xiong Xiao stepped forwards, displaying his own determination.
Though the people from the Mage Guild didn’t speak, they definitely had the same thought.
However, there was only one Elemental Essence, yet all four groups wanted it. It would be a challenging problem to split it.
You Ming’s expression cooled. He had always known that taking the Elemental Essence under their watch wouldn’t be easy, but it wasn’t impossible. Thinking of this, he immediately turned to the Mage Guild’s Qi Huang and said, “Brother Qi, if the Mage Guild helps us, I will promise you one favor in the name of the Vermillion Blood Clan.”
Qi Hang’s eyes flashed with consideration, but then began to hesitate again. He didn’t want to give up the Elemental Essence. This was a legendary treasure, swapping it in exchange for one favor seemed like an unequal exchange.
“Master Qi Hang. In reality, the Elemental Essence isn’t very useful for the Mage Guild, I trust you know so as well. Plus, with so many people here, the Elemental Essence won’t necessarily fall into your hands at the end. Why not help us? No matter how this ends, it won’t be a loss for you.”
The person to speak was You QingShan.
Qi Hang knew that they were right and gritted his teeth, saying, “Alright, I accept.”
You Ming and You QingShan were delighted.
On the other side, Xiong Xiao and Qiao WuShuang glanced at each other. If the Vermillion Blood Clan and Mage Guild worked together, then they would have to cooperate with each other, too. As for who the Earth Elemental Essence would go to in the end, it wouldn’t be too late to discuss this afterwards. After all, the Cang Alliance and Beast Transfiguration Guild had quite good relations.
A war was about to start.
That was when an ominous looking man walked out of the crowd. Seeing the four powers that had come to an agreement, he spoke up in a low tone. “I think you might be forgetting that I’m here, too.”
Seeing the man, You Ming scowled. This middle aged man was Nan Zhan, the leader of a very infamous group of bandits in the Southern Continent, known as Vicious Wolf. He wasn’t a person to get on the bad side of. They hadn’t expected that he would come, too.