Cultivation Online

Chapter 2201  Inferno Alchemists

Three days had passed since they entered the Land of Inferno. Yuan suddenly noticed the cultivatorʼs pace quickening, as though impatience—or something else—was driving him forward.

”Is there something wrong?” Yuan asked him.

”W-What?” The cultivator muttered as he turned to face Yuan, looking startled by the question.

”Youʼre speeding up, almost like you cannot wait to arrive at our destination.”

”Isnʼt that obvious? The faster we reach our destination, the faster I get to go home,” he said.

Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly and spoke, ”What are you hiding? Itʼd be in your best interest to tell me the truth before you do something stupid.”

”Iʼm not hiding anything!” the cultivator snapped, his tone firm—but the flicker of nervousness in his eyes betrayed him.

Yuan fell silent for a moment before speaking again, ”Letʼs see… What are the chances that instead of taking me to the Burning Tree like I told you, youʼre actually bringing me to another location?”

The cultivatorʼs body twitched at his words.

Seeing his reaction, Yuan continued with a cold smile, ”What if youʼre actually taking me to the Chaotic Sect instead?”

”Thatʼs nonsense! Youʼre just making shit up!” The cultivator came to a halt and shouted with a flushed face. ”If you want to kill me, just do it! Thereʼs no need for you to make excuses!”

Yuan then said, ”You know what? I donʼt trust you, but Iʼll still give you the benefit of the doubt. However, I must warn you. If youʼre actually taking me to the Chaotic Sect, things wonʼt play out like youʼre hoping, and youʼll be the reason for their destruction.”

”...”

The cultivator didnʼt immediately respond, and after a moment of silence, he continued flying without a word.

Yuan also didnʼt say anything and continued to follow him.

Several days later, Yuan remarked, ”According to you, we shouldʼve arrived at the Burning Tree by now.”

”I… I accidentally took the wrong turn. We should arrive at our destination in five days. I apologize for the inconvenience,” he said.

”Is that so? Be more careful this time.” Yuan didnʼt pursue the matter and patiently waited.

After another two days, they came to a halt when an individual wearing red and gold robes blocked their path.

”Youʼre not allowed to go any further unless you want to offend the Asura Clan. Turn around and leave,” said the man who was clearly from the Inferno Alchemists.

”Unfortunately, I cannot do that, as I have some business with the Asura Clan,” said Yuan.

The Alchemist immediately frowned at his words and replied, ”The Asura Clan? Who are you? And what is your relationship with them?”

”Weʼre something like friends, I guess.” ”...”

The Alchemist stared at Yuan with wide eyes filled with disbelief before he suddenly burst out laughing.

”Hahaha! Friends?! Surely, you must have a better lie than that! The Asura Clan has no friends!”

”Who are you to claim they have no friends? Are you that close with the Asura Clan?” Yuan questioned, which instantly halted the Alchemistʼs laughter.

”If you claim to be his friend, what is your name? Weʼll ask the Asura Clan about you, and if you turn out to be lying…”

”Tell them Tian Xian is here to see them. If I am lying, you can turn me into dog food or whatever you want,” Yuan responded with a confident smile.

”Donʼt worry, Iʼll do just that. Until we can confirm your identity, you will have to stay with us at the Inferno Alchemistʼs headquarters. After all, we donʼt want you to run away after making such a bold claim.”

”How long will this take?” Yuan asked.

”I donʼt know since itʼs not like we can contact the Asura Clan as we please.”

”...”

After a moment of silence, Yuan nodded, ”Alright.”

Although he didnʼt say it out loud, he decided to give them a month at most. If they couldnʼt contact the Asura Clan by then, he would head to the Burning Tree by force.

”Umm… what about me? I have brought you to your destination, so…” The cultivator from the Chaotic Sect said.

Yuan silently glared at him for a moment before responding, ”Yes, as promised, youʼre free to go.”

”T-Thank you!”

Without hesitation, the cultivator immediately turned around and began fleeing like his life depended on it.

Even as he put distance between them, Yuanʼs voice trailed after him. ”When you return, try to convince the Chaotic Sect not to seek revenge. You wouldnʼt want to squander the second life I gave you, do you?”

”What was that about?” asked the Alchemist.

”Oh, donʼt worry about him. He was just a guide.”

”...Whatever. Follow me.”

Yuan nodded, and he and Mu Xuelian followed the Alchemist back to the Inferno Alchemistʼs headquarters.

A day later, they arrived at the Inferno Alchemistʼs headquarters, a place built like a sect but on a much smaller scale.

When they arrived, the Alchemist brought Yuan to a guest house before leaving to report the situation to his superiors. Of course, he didnʼt leave Yuan and Mu Xuelian unsupervised and had several people guard their place.

”What? A friend of the Asura Clan? What nonsense is that?”

The elders almost couldnʼt believe their ears and were very dismissive about the situation.

”Theyʼre definitely just some troublemaker trying to reach the Spirit Tree. Fools like them occasionally show up.”

”Right? Just kill them and save the trouble. We cannot bother the Asura Clan over such insignificant issues.”

However, the Alchemist who brought Yuan to their headquarters said, ”Thatʼs what I thought at first, too. But heʼs unlike the others. Thereʼs something different about him, and heʼs strangely confident. Otherwise, he wouldnʼt have followed me back here. What if heʼs telling the truth? If we act too prematurely without even investigating a little and accidentally kill someone close to the Asura Clan… wouldnʼt that spell the end of our faction?”

”...”

The elders found logic behind the Alchemistʼs words, and the room quickly fell silent as they pondered their situation more seriously.