The Family Head of This Generation (Girls' Love) - Chapter 17

The desert was extremely hot, and its characteristics were dryness and barrenness. It was deserted for thousands of miles. If there were still figures of cultivators searching for a way out a few days ago, now the cultivators only dared to hide in the shade of the sand dunes, only daring to come out and move during the one hour when the day turned dark. As far as the eye could see in the desert, there were golden grains of sand. Each grain of sand was like a tiny elemental fireball. Walking on it was no less than walking barefoot on flames, unbearably scorching.

The “Nine Peaks Pagoda” was too profound. Zhao Ziyan almost traveled the entire desert following behind Zhao Wenxiu, yet they still found nothing for the entrance to the eighth floor. If she hadn’t known she had entered the Martial Venerable’s enlightenment magic treasure, the “Nine Peaks Pagoda,” Zhao Ziyan wouldn’t have been able to confirm if there was an eighth floor. Otherwise, she had searched the entire desert and still couldn’t enter the eighth floor.

Today was the sixteenth day since entering the seventh floor of the ruins. Zhao Ziyan was lazily trailing behind Zhao Wenxiu, her eyes occasionally stealing glances at Zhao Wenxiu’s beautifully sexy body dressed in cooling attire. Since the fifth day of entry, Zhao Wenxiu had shed her gorgeous and noble, Saint-level black professional attire, wearing only a thin layer of light gauze. Her curvaceous figure could hardly be concealed by that thin gauze, which greatly satisfied Zhao Ziyan’s eyes. In her previous life, she lived in poverty and worry, constantly struggling to make ends meet, so she had no time to look at bikini beauties on the street.

“Ziyan, there’s a patch of green forest ahead. Let’s go in and rest for a while. Finally, we can avoid the damned sun for a bit. It’s too hot.” Zhao Wenxiu cheered in surprise. Days of running around in the vast yellow sand had made her almost forget what a forest looked like.

“Good.” Zhao Ziyan was also pleasantly surprised. The desert was too barren, and fire elements filled the air everywhere. The abundance of fire elements made it impossible for water elements to exist, which tormented the cultivators who came to explore. Zhao Ziyan couldn’t even condense a small water ball with her usually proud and powerful cultivation technique, let alone those pure martial artists. Without strong endurance, those martial artists would have probably died of thirst in the desert long ago. A few days ago, the killing was still for treasures, but in the past few days, it was purely for a few drops of clean water in a kettle. If it weren’t for a small lake in the Immortal Artifact space, Zhao Ziyan and Zhao Wenxiu would have probably joined the battlefield of killing for a little clean water.

As soon as she stepped into the forest, Zhao Ziyan’s face darkened. She summoned the Spirit Sword nurtured in her dantian and secretly became alert. Zhao Ziyan looked at Zhao Wenxiu and found that Zhao Wenxiu’s expression was also very solemn, with her beautiful brows tightly furrowed. Zhao Ziyan sensed the zhenyuan surging from Zhao Wenxiu’s body. Undeniably, Zhao Wenxiu also noticed something was amiss with this green patch of forest.

The forest was too quiet, like entering a desolate land. Except for the vibrant trees, not a single blade of grass or even a desert lizard, which was common in the desert, could be seen. The green forest, spanning only a thousand meters, was entirely composed of large banyan trees. The tall banyan tree canopy blocked the big sun outside the crown, and not a single ray of light could penetrate.

“Auntie, let’s go in! Besides this patch of greenery, we haven’t found anything in the rest of the desert.” Zhao Ziyan, relying on her skill and audacity, finally decided to enter. If they didn’t find a way to enter the eighth floor soon, the Zhao family disciples who came for experience might die of thirst in the desert.

Zhao Wenxiu nodded at Zhao Ziyan and was the first to enter the depths of the forest. If they hesitated any longer, none of the outstanding disciples of this generation of the Zhao family might survive. This would be a heavy blow to the Zhao family. The Zhao family had cultivated those disciples for more than ten years, not for them to die meaninglessly in the desert.

…

The two walked side by side on a path that seemed to have been deliberately cleared by humans. The path was very smooth and sturdy, like a meticulously laid gold sand carpet. Walking on the road was very steady, and no footprints appeared after walking, unlike sinking into the desert sand with every step.

Seeing this situation, the two felt increasingly uneasy. How could there be a path for walking in this desolate, uninhabited place? And the ultimate destination of this path seemed to be under the tallest tree in the banyan forest. Could there be human life in the “Nine Peaks Pagoda”? Otherwise, how could a path that had been used for thousands of years appear?

“Ziyan, be careful!” Zhao Wenxiu shouted a warning, and immediately slashed a giant dead vine coming towards them with her sword. The giant vine was as thick as a child’s waist, bare, and had no green leaves.

After the dead vine was damaged by the long sword, a few drops of green sap dripped out. In the high temperature of the desert, the few drops of sap quickly evaporated. Zhao Wenxiu felt extremely regretful. The sap in the giant vine contained immense life force. If the entire vine was swallowed by the Silver Phoenix Gu, the Silver Phoenix Gu might be able to evolve to the mid-stage Gu King sooner. The giant vine seemed to possess intelligence. Seeing Zhao Wenxiu’s powerful martial force, it immediately retreated into the sand layer.

“Auntie, let’s retreat first. Oh no, we can’t get out! The path is gone!” Zhao Ziyan spat bl00d in remorse. She clearly knew this was a ghost place, yet she rushed in without any preparation.

Their retreat route was now blocked by giant banyan trees. Zhao Ziyan was confused. Could these large banyan trees have become spirits? Otherwise, how could they move so quickly and instantly submerge the small path?

Just as she was wondering, countless tiny vines drilled out of the surrounding sand layer, quickly surrounding the two. The vines intertwined and wrapped around the two. Zhao Ziyan understood the giant vine’s intention. The giant vine knew it was no match for Zhao Wenxiu’s sharp sword, so it split into numerous small vines to deplete the zhenyuan of Zhao Wenxiu and Zhao Ziyan. The giant vine had a good plan, but Zhao Ziyan and Zhao Wenxiu were not fools. After much coordination, the two already knew what the other was thinking. Seeing the signaling look from Zhao Wenxiu, Zhao Ziyan understood Zhao Wenxiu’s plan.

Zhao Wenxiu swung her long sword, cutting off all the small vines that came close to her. But those vines seemed endless. Seeing a thick layer of severed small vines covering the ground, Zhao Wenxiu continued to slay the vines without changing her expression.

“Auntie, prepare to break out!” As soon as she finished speaking, the giant sword Zhao Ziyan took out again suddenly erupted with ten feet of raging flames. Zhao Ziyan gripped the hilt of the giant sword with both hands and slashed at the small vines one by one. Scorched by the fire, the leaves of those small vines turned brown and withered into the ground. Wood fears fire. Even wood-type demon beasts that have become spirits still cannot change their habit of fearing fire.

After Zhao Ziyan realized that this forest was formed by a wood-type demon beast, she began to attach the Three-Flavored True Fire formation to her sword. Fortunately, the Immortal Artifact had a black giant sword with no attributes. Zhao Ziyan was curious about the material of the giant sword and once used the Three-Flavored True Fire to burn this seemingly useless giant sword. The result was that the giant sword didn’t even turn red, let alone melt. Today, when the Three-Flavored True Fire was needed, this black giant sword was the best choice. Ordinary spiritual swords might not fear fire, but the Three-Flavored True Fire was not an ordinary mortal fire. It ignited anything it touched. Even high-grade spiritual treasures couldn’t withstand the refining of the Three-Flavored True Fire.

“Ziyan, let’s go in and take a look. What attacked us just now was not the banyan trees but the Vampire Vine. The Vine fears fire. Since we know its weakness, there’s no need to fear it.” Through calm analysis, Zhao Wenxiu still decided to continue forward. How could they stop before finding the passage to the eighth floor?

“Alright, Auntie. Actually, I prefer to burn this banyan forest with one fire. It would be safer and faster to find the passage.”

Zhao Wenxiu glared at Zhao Ziyan with disappointment. “How come you didn’t inherit any of the Zhao family’s gentleness and kindness? Setting fire to the forest—this patch of greenery will disappear forever. The humans who come treasure hunting later will no longer be able to enjoy the slightest shade in the desert. Furthermore, after burning this forest, the ground here will no longer be stable. After being baked by the fierce sandstorms, this green patch you burned will become as desolate as the places we passed a few days ago. Humans and animals will no longer have a safe resting place. Zhao Ziyan, how can you bear it? Think about those weak animals searching all day, still unable to find a place for shade, and finally dying from thirst and hunger.”

“Hypocrisy! You talk as if you genuinely worry about the country and the people. Aren’t you just coveting the immense life force of that giant vine! And you speak so righteously. I’m ashamed to be associated with you.” Seeing Zhao Wenxiu’s face filled with profound anguish, Zhao Ziyan rolled her eyes and immediately mocked her without hesitation.

“Zhao Ziyan, I’ll fight you!” She viciously pinched Zhao Ziyan’s waist, pouting, Zhao Wenxiu was quite annoyed.

“Don’t pinch! Are you embarrassed and angry now? You hypocritical woman.” She put one arm around Zhao Wenxiu’s slender waist, stopping her hand from continuing to pinch.

Zhao Wenxiu glared fiercely at Zhao Ziyan, not to be outdone, and bit Zhao Ziyan’s neck. “You’re the hypocrite! Zhao Ziyan, if you don’t apologize to me, I’ll bite you to death!”

“Are you a dog? Don’t bite! Auntie, you’re quite playful!” Zhao Ziyan teased.

“You rotten pervert!” Zhao Wenxiu’s face instantly turned red. Thinking of the ambiguous hug between herself and her niece, she blushed and pushed Zhao Ziyan away, walking ahead on her own.

…

After teasing each other for a while, Zhao Ziyan finally dropped the thought of continuing to tease Zhao Wenxiu. Undeniably, teasing her simple aunt was a very amusing thing to do. Zhao Wenxiu was very opinionated and even strong in other matters, but she was clumsy and innocent when it came to relationships. Otherwise, after secretly liking Shang Luo for nearly ten years, Shang Luo still treated her like a little sister. Teaching such a pure woman gave Zhao Ziyan a subtle sense of accomplishment.

Thinking too much was useless; they were currently in danger. The first time she came out for experience, she ran into the opening of the Martial Venerable’s ruins. She didn’t know whether to call it lucky or unlucky. However, regardless of the situation, the one thing Zhao Ziyan was extremely grateful for was Zhao Wenxiu’s guidance for a price. Although Zhao Wenxiu had swindled many good treasures from her, Zhao Wenxiu’s exploration experience was incredibly rich. After these days of Zhao Wenxiu’s unrestrained guidance, Zhao Ziyan already clearly knew where demon beasts were likely to be and where precious herbs were likely to appear.

The two continued on their journey. The small path in the banyan forest had disappeared, so Zhao Ziyan had to cut a path about two people wide herself. The Three-Flavored True Fire was very sharp. Wherever it went, the trees were quickly burned to ashes, and the giant vine, fearing the Three-Flavored True Fire, never appeared again.