Against The Heavens 46 Returning To The Emerald Volcanoes.

Jing Yimu flew through the air, using his Qi to make sure that Li Yang was flying safely next to him. He was humming a cheerful tune, a bright grin on his face. Li Yang had originally guessed that Jing Yimu would land not far from the valley, the two of them walking towards the emerald volcanoes like they had been doing for the other trials, but now it seemed like he was planning on flying all the way to the emerald volcanoes to undertake the next trial.

Just as Li Yang guessed, Jing Yimu continued to hum cheerfully, not showing any signs of stopping their flight. He glanced at the sky several times, making sure that there were no clouds gathering, but their luck was quite excellent, not a single drop of poisonous rain falling in a whole two days. Since they were now flying instead of walking, two days was more than enough to reach the outskirts of the emerald volcanoes.

It was only upon reaching the outskirts of the emerald volcanoes that Jing Yimu finally decided to land, the grin on his face giving way to a serious expression. The two stepped onto the barren earth that was the outskirts of the emerald volcanoes, but before Li Yang could walk any further, Jing Yimu waved his hand, raising a wall of Qi that surrounded Li Yang and prevented him from moving further.

Li Yang's pupils rapidly shrank, his mind quickly moving as he tried to figure out what Jing Yimu was planning. He still acted calm, not taking any actions until he felt that he was certain what Jing Yimu was planning. Jing Yimu turned around and faced Li Yang, his eyes carrying a gentle light.

"You know, things have gotten better and better for me ever since I met. Not only have I managed to complete one of the trials, I have even found someone that I can give my legacy to, someone to continue my name after I die. I truly believe that our meeting was destiny, a meeting determined long ago. And because of that, I must break my previous promise."

Jing Yimu shook his head, releasing a heavy sigh. To cultivators of his level, breaking their own word was considered a great shame. But right now, Jing Yimu could not be bothered to try and keep the promise he had made to Li Yang. He waved his arm once more, reinforcing the wall of Qi around Li Yang, making sure that there was no chance of it breaking, and then continued to talk.

"I cannot let you take part in this trial. The other three trials are fine, but this one I cannot allow you to attempt. The other trials will give you time to use those talismans, but this trial will shatter your body and torment your soul, you will not have the chance to use those talismans. I refuse to let you die, but if I just leave you alone to wait for me, I am certain that you would just run ahead and try to enter the trial. I know that you want to train yourself, but this is not the place to do it. Just wait quietly for me here, you have enough food and water in your interspatial ring for two years, so just quietly cultivate and wait for me. With this wall of Qi up, nothing will be able to discover or harm you."

The way Jing Yimu saw it, Li Yang trying to attempt this trial was nothing short of suicide. With his body shattered, he would not even be given the chance to use the talismans he had been given, even if he was still conscious after having his soul tormented. Jing Yimu checked the wall of Qi one last time, before turning around and vanishing into the depths of the emerald volcanoes.

Li Yang looked into the distance, and only upon hearing the sounds of Chen Huo attacking Jing Yimu did he sit down and let out a long sigh. He used his knuckles to hit the wall of Qi a few times, a dull knocking sound ringing out. Jinwu also flew around, knocking at the wall of Qi with his beak, but to no avail. Li Yang could only let out another sigh and mutter to Jinwu.

"I know that I wasn't going to attempt this trial again anyway, but that doesn't mean that I want to be stuck here for as long as it takes him to finish the trial."

Li Yang could only knock the wall one more time, letting out a bitter laugh. He already had the emblem that this trial rewarded, it was the very first trial he had completed, why would he bother taking it again? While he could not tell this to Jing Yimu, he could pretend to take the trial, and then have Chen Huo take him away and find him a good place to cultivate. But now it seemed like he was stuck sitting here and waiting.

After a short while of waiting, the sound of rushing wind reached Li Yang's ears. He opened his eyes and slightly raised his head, spotting Chen Huo, who was currently in human form, flying over. Once he saw Li Yang, Chen Huo landed on the ground in front of the wall of Qi, slightly tilting his head.

"Thunder Monarch, so it really was you I was sensing all the way out here. Why are you locked up here?"

Chen Huo could sense everything happening within the emerald volcanoes, and that of course also included the outskirts, so he had immediately noticed that Jing Yimu had left someone behind before attempting the trial. Li Yang could only let out another sigh and shake his head, shortly explaining the situation.

"Jing Yimu did not want to risk me attempting the trial while he was gone, so he locked me up here to wait for him."

Chen Huo could not help but gawk slightly after hearing Li Yang's explanation, he then promptly let out a small laugh.

"Hehe, he seems quite eager to watch your back and keep you safe, you must have done an excellent job of getting closer to him."

The great Thunder Monarch, locked away for his own safety, by the man who was part of the reason he had died no less. Chen Huo could not help but wonder if Jing Yimu knew of Li Yang's true ident.i.ty, what would he think about his own actions? Li Yang simply shrugged his shoulder in a nonchalant manner as he responded.

"I know him quite well, so it was rather easy. But I think I'll pa.s.s on having him watch my back. I already have Jinwu and Ying'er, any more and things will just get out of hand."

Just like he said, he knew Jing Yimu very well, they had once been as close as brothers after all. But no matter how close they had been, or how well Jing Yimu was treating him now, Jing Yimu was the reason Fang Ying had died, Li Yang would never forgive him. Chen Huo gave a slight nod of his head, placing his palm on the wall of Qi.

"Should I break you out?"

Chen Huo was stronger than Jing Yimu, had it not been for the fact that he was locked up into this array to become its guardian, he would have long since chased down and kill Jing Yimu. To shatter a wall of Qi Jing Yimu had set up was incredibly easy for him. But Li Yang shook his head, giving a quick response.

"No. If you do that, he will immediately notice it once he finishes the trial. We are so close to reaching Yawen's trial, so the fewer risks I take, the better. I'll just have to cultivate here quietly and wait for him."

Li Yang wanted to go and visit Fang Xue'er's grave, but he did not want to do anything that would arouse suspicion, especially now that he was so close to achieving his goal. Chen Huo removed his hand from the wall of Qi, giving another nod of his head.

"As you wish, I will make sure that he comes out as fast as possible."

Chen Huo turned around after he finished talking, and was just about to move away when Li Yang's surprised voice caused him to stop.

"You can do that?"

Chen Huo turned around, giving another short nod of his head as he explained. As the guardian of the trial, he could raise the difficulty if certain conditions were met, of course, there was a limit to how much he could raise the difficulty.

"As he has already acquired one of the emblems, I have the right to increase the difficulty of the trial somewhat. I cannot make it outright kill him, but forcing him out faster than usual should be no problem."

Hearing Chen Huo's confirmation, a slight smile spread on Li Yang's face, it seemed like he would not have to wait for as long as he had initially expected.

"Good, please do that."