Chapter 1054: Parting Ways

The swarm of insects was rapidly approaching, and all of a sudden, it stopped above everyone before circling around in the air above.

Everyone concealed within the cloud of yellow mist was extremely alarmed by this, and even Han Li couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive.

Thankfully, after circling around in the air for a while, the swarm of Fire Age Fireflies suddenly split up into several smaller swarms that scattered in different directions.

Some molten lava erupted out of the volcanoes into the swarms of fireflies, causing them to screech with joy, and they quickly vanished into the distance, much to everyone's relief.

"Looks like this is where the Fire Age Fireflies reside. That makes sense. Even though their flames of time contain time law powers, they're technically a type of fire-attribute spirit insect, so they enjoy environments like this one," Jin Liu said.

"Let's go in a little further," Su Anqian said before leading the way onward, and everyone quickly followed along.

After flying for close to an hour, two giant mountains that extended all the way up into the clouds appeared up ahead, between which was a valley that was completely filled with a downright absurd number of Fire Age Fireflies, easily dwarfing all of the swarms that everyone had encountered prior to this.

The mountain faces on either side of the valley was riddled with countless small holes, making it resemble a beehive, and countless Fire Age Fireflies were constantly flying in and out of these holes.

Deep in the valley was a dark cave that was filled with a type of special energy that kept out spiritual sense, but bursts of formidable time law power fluctuations that were interspersed with hints of spatial fluctuations could be detected coming from inside.

At this moment, Han Li's group was hiding behind a hill far away from the valley.

"It looks like there are quite a few treasures that contain time law powers in that cave. On top of that, these spatial fluctuations are very similar to those from the spatial door from earlier, so it seems like the entrance to the third level of the pagoda is also in there," Su Anqian said in an excited manner, and Han Li was also looking at the valley in the distance with an eager expression.

Even though he had reached a very lofty cultivation base, he was rather lacking in time law threads. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been at such a disadvantage in his battle against Qi Mozi. If he could obtain some treasures that contained time law powers and refine them into time law threads, then that would undoubtedly significantly enhance his powers.

However, everyone else was clearly rather hesitant to proceed at the sight of such a vast number of Fire Age Fireflies.

Su Anqian could see the hesitance in everyone's eyes, and she declared, "Rest assured, everyone, I have a way to deal with these Fire Age Fireflies."

After a brief silence, Yan Ying shook her head as she said, "Perhaps you have a way to sneak past all of these Fire Age Fireflies, but my Ink Fragrance Pavilion is only a small sect with limited power, and this is far too risky an endeavor for us to undertake, so please forgive me, but the cultivators of our Ink Fragrance Pavilion won't be accompanying you any further, Celestial Maiden Su."

This volcanic area was extremely abundant with natural treasures, and much of it was still unexplored, so as opposed to venturing into the lair of the Fire Age Fireflies, it was much more appealing for Yan Ying to go searching elsewhere.

Those fire-attribute spirit materials naturally weren't as precious as whatever was inside the cave, but they were also comparatively much safer to acquire.

Su Anqian and Jin Liu's brows furrowed slightly upon hearing this, but before they had a chance to say anything, the hunch-backed elderly man suddenly strode over to Yan Ying's side and said, "This is where we part ways as well, Celestial Maiden Su. I wish you the best of luck."

Before long, other people began to join them, and in the end, around two dozen people had joined Yan Ying and the hunch-backed elderly man, leaving only the three Heavenly Water Sect cultivators, Han Li, Valley Master Fu, the man with the coarse beard, and seven or eight itinerant Golden Immortals.

"You're all just going to turn back at the first sign of difficulty? How disappointing," Jin Liu sneered.

Yan Ying and the others paid no heed to the mocking tone in Jin Liu's as they turned to depart, while Han Li observed from the side.

Even though this was a slightly cowardly display, it was not an unwise decision.

There was an astounding number of Fire Age Fireflies up ahead, so venturing into the valley was going to be an extremely risky endeavor. If it wasn't for the fact that Han Li had mastered the laws of time, thereby granting him the confidence to ensure self-preservation, he would've also chosen to turn back here.

All of a sudden, Su Anqian appeared in Yan Ying's path.

"Hold on a second, fellow daoists."

"What is the meaning of this, Celestial Maiden Su? Are you trying to keep us here by force?" Yan Ying asked as her brows furrowed slightly.

"Please don't misunderstand, fellow daoists. All of you are free to leave, but prior to that, I would like to beg a favor from all of you," Su Anqian said.

"How can we help you?" Yan Ying asked as her expression eased slightly.

"As you can all see, there's a huge number of Fire Age Fireflies, so it's going to be very difficult to sneak into the cave. Hence, I would like all of you to lure some of the Fire Age Fireflies here away with you as you leave," Su Anqian replied.

"You want us to lure away Fire Age Fireflies for you? Is that supposed to be a joke, Celestial Maiden Su?" the hunch-backed elderly man sneered.

"Rest assured, everyone, I have several Flying Illusion Talismans that can enhance the user's speed by at least 30% for a short time while also granting an aura concealment effect, so you'll definitely be able to get away from the Fire Age Fireflies," Su Anqian said as she flipped a hand over to produce five azure talismans that gave off formidable wind law power fluctuations.

The hunch-backed elderly man raised an eyebrow upon seeing this, but remained silent.

"Of course, I'm not asking all of you to do this for me free of charge. These immortal treasures are all prized items from my collection, and anyone willing to help me can take one," Su Anqian continued as she swept a sleeve through the air to release five or six water-attribute immortal treasures, all of which were giving off tremendous law power fluctuations.

A hint of elation flashed through the hunch-backed elderly man's eyes upon seeing this, and he immediately claimed a Flying Illusion Talisman and a blue bowl immortal treasure as he said, "In that case, I would be happy to help, Celestial Maiden Su. What exactly would you like us to do?"

Yan Ying and the others were also rather tempted by this offer.

"I have five Blood Cloud Jewels here that can be detonated to produce massive blood clouds. Fire Age Fireflies are extremely sensitive to blood, so if you strategically detonate these jewels, then you should be able to lure away most of the Fire Age Fireflies in the valley. I'm going to require the assistance of five fellow daoists for this," Su Anqian replied as she summoned five egg-sized crimson jewels, all of which were flashing with translucent crimson light.

An intrigued look appeared in Han Li's eyes at the sight of the jewels.

They contained a vast abundance of bloodline power, as well as a hint of blood law powers, making them similar to blood lightning.

"Looks like you have this all thought out, Celestial Maiden Su. You can count on me," the hunch-backed elderly man promised as he drew one of the Blood Cloud Jewels into his grasp, displaying a completely different attitude from before.

As soon as those immortal treasures were revealed, the hunch-backed elderly man had immediately begun sucking up to Su Anqian, and that had attracted him much derision from his companions.

After a brief hesitation, Yan Ying stepped forward and claimed a Blood Cloud Jewel, a Flying Illusion Talisman, and an immortal treasure, quickly followed by three itinerant Golden Immortals who were evidently quite confident in their own speed.

Meanwhile, everyone else in the group had already departed, leaving behind only the five people who had agreed to help Su Anqian.

"I'll be counting on all of you then," Su Anqian said to the five of them as they turned to depart.

"Allow me to lead by example, Celestial Maiden Su," the hunch-backed elderly man said as he flew away into the distance, and several seconds later, a resounding explosion rang out near the valley up ahead, following which an enormous, viscous blood cloud emerged.

The Fire Age Fireflies in the valley were immediately swept up into a frenzy, and within mere moments, the entire blood cloud had been devoured.

The hunch-backed elderly man appeared near the valley, then flew away as a streak of azure light, displaying far superior speed to before.

Some of the Fire Age Fireflies near the valley immediately set off in pursuit, and with that, roughly 10% of the Fire Age Fireflies in the valley had been diverted away.

An elated look appeared on Su Anqian's face upon seeing this, and she immediately turned to the other four.

Yan Ying didn't say anything as she rose up into the air and replicated what the hunch-backed elderly man had just done, luring away yet another large swarm of Fire Age Fireflies.

"Next! Hurry!" Su Anqian hurriedly urged.

The five people who had agreed to help Su Anqian had to go one after the other in quick succession. Otherwise, if the Fire Age Fireflies up ahead were to double back around, then all of the prior efforts would've been for nought.

"I'll be going on ahead, everyone!"

An itinerant Golden Immortal flew away as a ball of white light, quickly luring away a third swarm of Fire Age Fireflies, and the remaining two Golden Immortals immediately followed suit as well.

In the wake of their departure, the number of Fire Age Fireflies in the valley had been reduced by more than half.

"Now!" Su Anqian yelled as she summoned that yellow flag once again, conjuring up a yellow cloud around everyone, and the cloud vanished into the ground before rapidly approaching the valley.