Chapter 28: Seeking Death

  "Li Ran, Li Ran!"

  Hearing the sound of the river outside the cave, Huo Ran, who was deep in thought, suddenly came back to his senses. He changed out of the clothes that had been stained with blood and walked out of the cave. When he emerged from the cave, he found not only Jiang Liu standing there but also a group of disciples from the Western Mystic Cave Heaven.

  "Brother Jiang, what's going on here..." Huo Ran asked in confusion, seeing the strange looks from everyone.

  Seeing Huo Ran's entire person seem to have changed into another, even his cultivation had risen from the Five Elements Realm to the Six Paths Realm, Jiang Liu looked at him with a sideways glance as his senior brother and said: "Is there something on your mind?"

  "Hmm..." Huo Ran, who was almost choked by Jiang Liu's words, chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, laughing: "Brother Jiang, do I look like someone with a problem? I can even kill a tiger!"

  As for Huoran's joke, not only did the crowd not laugh, but their expressions became even more solemn. One of them, a middle-aged man named He Feng, pointed to the cave and said: "For the past three days, your place of cultivation has been emitting a terrifying aura. What exactly happened?"

  It wasn't until then that Huo Ran finally understood why everyone had gathered at his doorstep. It turned out that when he was refining the green essence, the aura emitted by the two great emperors' battle had been sensed by these people. With a sudden change of heart, he pretended to be perplexed and said: "What? I've been cultivating the Western Mystic Technique all along and haven't discovered any terrifying aura. Did you guys sense it wrong?"

  "How is it possible, and yet I'm not alone..."

  "It's us who sensed it wrong!" Just as He Feng was about to retort, saying that not only he but everyone else could sense that terrifying aura, Jiang Liu interrupted him. He smiled at Huo Ran and said, "It's possible that the terrifying aura is coming from outside the Ten Extremes Holy Land, it just happens to be in your direction."

  Upon hearing Jiang Liu's words, Huo Ran couldn't help but smile to herself. She thought that although Jiang Liu appeared dull and foolish on the surface, he was actually very thoughtful and knew that she didn't want to reveal her true reasons, so he made excuses for her instead. Unbeknownst to him, her favorable impression of him rose another level.

  "But I clearly felt that it was the aura emitted from Xiaoran's cultivation place, could it be that my senses were wrong?" It has to be said that the people of Xixuan Cave Heaven all have a common trait, almost everyone is a kind and simple person. When they heard Jiang Liu's words, they didn't think much of it and simply thought that their own senses were mistaken.

  "Alright, alright!"

  Everyone was muttering to themselves, and Master Jiang Liu clapped his hands and said: "Now that Xiao Ran has come out of seclusion, it's also confirmed that the terrifying aura is not from his cave." After a pause, seeing the red clouds filling the sky, he said: "Then let's go have a bonfire party to celebrate several disciples joining the Western Mystic Cave Heaven family!"

  "Oh..."

  "Let's have a bonfire party tonight!"

  "Brothers, let's go! Jiang Ge has already chosen a place!"

  ……

  Seeing the crowd's excited appearance, Huo Ran was slightly puzzled and didn't understand why these ordinary people's revered immortals would also like noise. Cultivating cultivation, shouldn't it be about cultivating one's mind and behavior, sitting alone in a withered seat?

  "Xiao Ran, what are you thinking about? Everyone has left!" Seeing Huo Ran lost in thought, He Feng bumped his shoulder and grabbed his arm to follow the crowd, saying: "If we don't leave now, we won't be able to get the Lingju Yuye anymore!"

  Huoran couldn't help but shake his head and smile wryly, thinking to himself that even those who had long reached the pinnacle of spiritual enlightenment couldn't escape their desires for food and drink.

  When the last red glow of the sky disappeared into nothingness, the dark sky cast a silver curtain, making this small mountain valley faintly visible, full of mysterious colors. The burning bonfire crackled and popped, casting a pale red light on the faces of the people around, making everyone look as if they had drunk too much wine, with flushed faces.

  Everyone laughed and snatched the barbecue rack from someone else's hands, then put it on the fire to roast. The aroma of meat wafted out in waves, and the sound of swallowing saliva could be faintly heard. Sitting among the crowd, Huo Ran looked at the genuine smiling faces of the people and finally understood why they liked the bustle.

  Whether ordinary people or cultivators, when faced with someone else's heartfelt laughter, they can't help but laugh from the heart. At this moment, Huo Ran seemed to be transported back to those bonfire parties with many true friends in the past, the scene and the laughter were all so similar.

  "What flavor?" Suddenly, He Feng wrinkled his nose and sniffed around non-stop. After a moment, he suddenly stood up, his face filled with excitement, saying: "Fruit punch! This is Jiang Ge's fruit punch!" As soon as he finished speaking, his eyes scanned the surroundings until he saw Jiang Liu carrying two large jars walking over. His slightly chubby body moved agilely like a monkey, jumping over several people beside him, and landing next to Jiang Liu. He sniffed the jar in Jiang Liu's hand back and forth, muttering:

  "Wow, fifty-year-old Baiguojian, let me try some first, Jiang Ge!"

  As for He Feng's words, Jiang Liu pretended not to hear and threw a wine jug to Huo Ran, saying: "Xiao Ran, catch!" While hugging another jug, he found a good spot to sit down and said: "Today is a happy day, how can we have no wine?"

  As he spoke, he untied the earth seal on the wine jar, and in the midst of the strong fragrance, said: "Let's start with a toast!" After finishing speaking, he tilted his head back and took a big gulp. After exhaling a mouthful of wine air, he handed it to someone beside him...

  "You guys are so greedy, save some for me!" Seeing everyone taking a big gulp of fruit juice one after another, He Feng's face hurt, and he turned to Jiang Liu with a resentful gaze, muttering: "Why drink like this? Can't you just use a small cup? You're all a bunch of people who don't know how to appreciate good wine!"

  Hahaha...

  When He Feng said what seemed to be a complaining remark, the crowd burst into laughter. A young man who had entered the Western Mystic Cave with Huo Ran couldn't bear it and handed a wine jug to He Feng, saying: "Brother Peak, come on!"

  Fine wine in front, He Feng grabbed it and gave the young man a knowing look, then suddenly gulped down a lot, until he was about to run out of breath before stopping. Wiping away the wine stains from his mouth, he closed his eyes and sighed: "It's been a long time since I've had such good wine, it's worth getting drunk!" After speaking, he took another few sips, until Jiang Liu snatched the wine jug away, still looking like he wasn't satisfied, which made everyone burst into laughter again.

  Seeing He Feng's intoxicated appearance, Huo Ran couldn't help but pucker up his mouth in disbelief that this Hundred Fruits Juice was really so delicious. Without thinking, he also tilted his head back and took a big gulp. The clear liquid entered his throat, seeming to be both spicy and bitter, with a sourness amidst the spiciness and a sweetness amidst the bitterness, as if it truly had a hundred flavors.

  "Good wine!" This was the first time Hou Yan sincerely admired the wine. He had never liked wine before, but now he also drank a few more mouthfuls.

  "Wow, everyone's in high spirits!"

  Just as everyone was clinking cups and having a great time, an out-of-place voice rang out. Suddenly turning his head, he saw two young men strolling leisurely towards him and the others, while the younger and more handsome of the two had an evil grin on his face, saying: "I didn't expect you bunch of trash to not cultivate properly, but instead gather together for pleasure, truly disgracing the reputation of my Ten Extremes Holy Ground!"

  "Wang Xu!"

  As soon as the two arrived, the smile on Jiang Liu's face suddenly disappeared. He put down the wine jug in his hand, slowly stood up, and looked at the handsome young man: "This is our Xixuantian matter, it seems that it's not your turn to intervene yet, Wangwudongtian?"

  "Brother Jiang, you're wrong!" said the handsome young man called Wang Xu by Jiang Liu, shaking his finger slightly and continuing slowly: "Firstly, we are all from the same sect, so we have a responsibility to supervise each other's cultivation; secondly, as the first cave of the Ten Absolute Sacred Lands, our Wangwu Cave Heaven also has the duty to oversee your Xixuan Cave Heaven..."

  "Have you managed the cave?" Before Wang Xu finished speaking, Huo Ran glanced at him sideways and curled his lips: "The cave owners don't even manage it, are you going to be above the cave owner?"

  "Who are you?" Seeing someone interrupt his words, Wang Xu's face turned gloomy.

  He merely imitated Wang Xu's gesture, raising one finger and shaking it, saying: "Who I am, you're not qualified to know."

  "You're looking for death!" Enraged by Huo Ran's repeated provocations, Wang Xu's anger surged forth, and he took a step forward, swinging his fist in the midst of the frenzied atmosphere. The punch whipped up a fierce gust of wind, lifting the grass on the ground into a whirlwind.

  Wang Xu burst out in anger, his shoulders twitching violently, a look of helplessness on his face. Suddenly, he swung his fist and charged forward, curling up the corner of his mouth: "Whether or not you're looking for death isn't up to you to decide!"