Chapter 191: Escaping Alive! Senior Sister, you’re holding onto me too tightly!

"Rumble—!!!"

The entire underground abyss was shaking violently, as if the end of the world had arrived.

Hundreds of thousands of tons of boulders peeled off from the dome, mixed with rusted broken swords, crashing down madly like a dense meteor shower. The scrap iron sword mountain below had completely collapsed, and a stream of dark red core magma gushed out from the cracks, completely swallowing the withered bones and debris.

The Bone Sword Immortal was dead, the taie sword had been pulled out, and this sealed space that had been maintained for thousands of years completely lost its support.

"Senior Sister! Use the red silk to bind her to my back!"

Gu Lan stood on a boulder that was still falling, shouting at Hongxiu. Holding the unconscious Jiang Wanqing in his left hand, he still had to use his right hand to clear a path with his sword, making it impossible to move freely.

"Alright!"

Hongxiu reacted extremely fast, the red silk ribbon in her hand instantly flying out, wrapping around Gu Lan and Jiang Wanqing several times like a spiritual snake, binding the two of them tightly together.

Jiang Wanqing's soft and cold body pressed tightly against Gu Lan's broad back.

Even through their clothes, Gu Lan could still clearly feel her faint heartbeat and her astonishingly curvaceous silhouette.

However, now was not the time to be distracted by stray thoughts.

"Hold on tight!"

Gu Lan shouted, and the Purple Extreme Golden Core inside him spun frantically.

A domineering and matchless purple-black Devilish Qi violently erupted from his body, instantly shattering the falling rocks around him into dust.

He gripped the soul-devouring sword with both hands, staring intently at the only sinkhole exit above that let in a glimmer of light.

"Lanyu, protect the left! Hongxiu, protect the right!"

"Break… open!"

Gu Lan exerted sudden force with his legs, and the boulder beneath his feet instantly shattered. Like a black meteor rising against the current, carrying an unstoppable Aura, he charged frantically toward the top of the abyss!

"Kill!"

Lanyu's long sword was unsheathed, and the deep blue sword light on the left wove into an airtight net, shredding the falling rocks that crashed toward Gu Lan.

Hongxiu was not to be outdone, her red silk turning into a sky full of fiery shadows, sweeping away all threats on the right.

"[Mighty boss! Go, go, go! Smash these broken rocks to pieces!]"

The Soul-Devouring Sword Spirit shouted excitedly in Gu Lan's mind. It was now completely submissive to Gu Lan, wishing it could contribute its strongest power.

"Shut up, cut the crap!"

Gu Lan swung his sword, and the pitch-black sword glow, carrying a sharpness that tore through space, split a house-sized boulder directly from the middle!

"Rip!"

The boulder split in two, brushing past both sides of Gu Lan's body and crashing heavily into the magma below.

"Almost there!"

Looking at the growing exit above, Gu Lan squeezed the true essence in his body once more.

Just when they were less than thirty zhang away from the exit.

"Boom!"

The rock walls on both sides above suddenly collapsed completely, and countless boulders squeezed against each other, forcing the only exit shut!

"Oh no! The path is blocked!" Hongxiu's face changed drastically.

If they were trapped here, once the magma below rose up, they would all turn into roasted meat!

"What's the panic!"

A flash of madness crossed Gu Lan's eyes.

"If there is no path, I will carve one out!"

Instead of slowing down, he poured the Green Lotus Core Flame and Red Lotus Karmic Fire from his Dantian into the soul-devouring sword without reservation.

On the purple-black sword body, a violent flame of interwoven green and red instantly ignited.

"Third Style of Heaven Burning—Burning Sun Heavenly Meteor!"

Gu Lan raised the demon sword in his hand high above his head, as if holding up a burning black sun, and slammed fiercely into the pile of boulders blocking the exit!

"Boom—!!!"

A deafening explosion echoed in the narrow passage.

The terrifying high temperature and extreme destructive power erupted instantly. Under the double strangulation of the exotic flame and Devilish Qi, those hard rocks could not even hold out for a single breath, being directly vaporized into nothingness!

A huge hole over ten zhang in diameter was blasted out by Gu Lan!

"Go!"

Gu Lan, carrying Jiang Wanqing on his back and bringing Hongxiu and Lanyu, turned into three streaks of light, rushing directly out of the blasted hole!

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

The three of them fell heavily onto the dark red soil outside, rolling several times on the ground before stopping.

Behind them, the massive abyss entrance completely collapsed, sinking into a giant basin, with the muffled sound of churning magma faintly echoing from underground.

"Huff… Huff…"

Gu Lan lay spread-eagled on the ground, panting heavily, his chest heaving violently.

That series of moves just now had almost broken his old waist. Especially that last strike, which not only drained his true essence but also overdrawn his physical strength to the limit.

"Ouch…"

A faint groan came from his back.

Only then did Gu Lan remember that Jiang Wanqing was still tied to his back! Rolling on the ground just now must have given her quite a bruising.

He quickly rolled over and hurriedly untied the red silk wrapped around him.

Jiang Wanqing lay quietly on the dark red ground.

Her eyes were still tightly closed, but her complexion was much better than when she was at the bottom of the abyss, and her lips had regained a trace of color. More importantly, her white hair, which had been covered in frost, had now returned to its waterfall-like pitch black.

Between her eyebrows, a faint golden sword mark was faintly visible, exuding a gentle and holy Aura.

The taie sword lay quietly by her side, its blade no longer dim, but flowing with a warm, jade-like luster.

"A divine weapon protecting its master is indeed well-deserved of its reputation."

Gu Lan reached out to feel her pulse, which was beating very steadily.

The Origin power fed back by the taie sword not only saved her life, but was even helping her reshape her recently shattered Foundation.

"This silly woman has actually received a blessing in disguise."

Gu Lan let out a long sigh of relief, sat down heavily beside her, and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Junior Brother, are you alright?"

Hongxiu tidied her slightly disheveled clothes and walked quickly to Gu Lan's side.

Instead of looking at Jiang Wanqing, she took out a pristine white handkerchief from her Storage Pouch, naturally leaned in, and helped Gu Lan wipe the dust and blood from his face.

"You really scared this Senior Sister to death today."

Hongxiu's voice was soft, carrying a trace of relief after surviving a disaster, her fox-like eyes filled with unconcealed affection.

"That strike of yours when you blocked the front just now was really handsome."

"Of course."

Gu Lan unceremoniously enjoyed his Senior Sister's close service and grinned.

"Protecting Senior Sister is my bounden duty. Besides, if I kick the bucket, who's going to cook for you?"

"Slick-tongued."

Hongxiu rolled her eyes at him teasingly, but her movements became even gentler.

Lanyu, who was to the side, also walked over.

She wasn't as intimate as Hongxiu, only holding her sword and standing quietly a few paces away, looking at Gu Lan.

At this moment, Lanyu's gaze was extremely complex.

She looked at the purple-black Devilish Qi still faintly emanating from Gu Lan's body, and then at the notoriously fierce soul-devouring sword he had casually placed on the ground.

"Junior Brother Gu."

Lanyu finally spoke, her voice somewhat dry.

"Whose side… are you actually on now?"

This question was very sharp.

Hongxiu's hand wiping the sweat also paused slightly. She knew Gu Lan was an undercover agent, but Lanyu didn't! In Lanyu's eyes, Gu Lan had not only used a demon sword just now, but had also erupted with such pure Devilish Qi; this was simply the behavior of an out-and-out demonic cultivator!

The smile on Gu Lan's face gradually faded.

He looked up at the gray sky, as the unique, chilling Aura of the Sword Tomb permeated the surroundings.

"Senior Sister Lanyu."

Gu Lan did not answer directly, but asked in return:

"Do you think that down below, if I hadn't used the demon sword and Devilish Qi, we could have come out alive?"

Lanyu fell silent.

She knew the answer was no. A monster of that level was simply not something a common Righteous Path Cultivation Technique could deal with.

"Power has no distinction between righteous and evil; it all depends on the person using it."

Gu Lan stood up and patted the dirt off his clothes.

"No matter what Qi I use, and no matter what sword I hold in my hand, I am still Gu Lan."

"I only do what I believe should be done, and protect the people I want to protect."

He spoke these words with openness and confidence.

Looking at his clear eyes, the barrier in Lanyu's heart finally dissipated slowly.

She nodded.

"I understand. As long as you do not do anything that harms heaven and reason, you will always be Nuanxiang Pavilion's Junior Brother."

"However…"

Gu Lan shifted the conversation, pointing at the still sleeping Jiang Wanqing on the ground, his face once again showing that playful smile exclusive to villains.

"Once we leave this Sword Tomb, in front of outsiders, I am still that heinous demonic cult Sword-Wielding Envoy."

"After all, I snatched the number one Fairy of the Righteous Path right in front of the whole world to be my 'foot-washing maid'."

"If this persona crumbles, the Female Demon Lord will definitely skin me alive."

At the mention of the words 'foot-washing maid', Hongxiu couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"You really are bold. When Eldest Senior Sister wakes up and finds out you've been using this to tease her, watch out for her chopping you with the taie sword."

"Would she have the heart to?"

Gu Lan raised his eyebrows smugly.

Just then.

Jiang Wanqing's finger on the ground suddenly twitched slightly.

Following that, her long eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly's wings, and she slowly opened her eyes.

The moment she woke up, her eyes were still a bit dazed.

But when she turned her head and her gaze met the white-robed youth standing not far away with a smirk on his face, memories flooded back like a tide.

The despair at the bottom of the abyss, his back as he rushed up recklessly to block the front, and that life-and-death moment interwoven with ice and fire…

"Junior Brother…"

Jiang Wanqing's voice was somewhat hoarse, but it carried an excitement that was hard to conceal.

She propped herself up on the ground, wanting to sit up, and the taie sword let out a cheerful, soft hum, automatically flying into her hand.

Seeing her wake up, Gu Lan immediately put on a condescending, arrogant expression and strode over to her.

"What 'Junior Brother'?"

Gu Lan crossed his arms, intentionally pulling a long face, and said in an extremely punchable tone:

"Fairy Jiang, have you still not figured out the situation?"

"You are my spoil of war right now."

"I already said I brought you back to wash my feet, so who are you showing this deeply affectionate look to?"

He originally thought Jiang Wanqing would be like before, so angry that she would draw her sword or give him a cold shoulder.

Who would have thought.

Jiang Wanqing sat on the ground, quietly looking up at him just like that.

In those cold eyes, not only was there not a trace of anger, but they were instead filled with an unresolvable tenderness and a determination that made his scalp go numb.

Suddenly.

Jiang Wanqing reached out her fair right hand, grabbed Gu Lan's collar, and yanked him down hard!