Grassroots Travel: The Star Lord of Another World

Chapter 167 Sudden Storm

The atmosphere in the tent was heavy and depressing. The three elders and Gao Xingchen sat together, and everyone's face was full of worry. Nan Li's matter was like a dark cloud, hanging over everyone's heart.

“Xingchen, are you really determined to take the risk?” Elder Li broke the silence, his tone filled with worry. “The Fire Cloud Evil God’s power is unfathomable, and we know nothing about his lair. If we act rashly, I’m afraid…”

Gao Xingchen took a deep breath and said with a firm look in his eyes: "Elder, I know this operation is very dangerous, but we have no choice. As long as the Fire Cloud Evil God is not eliminated, the Nine Star Realm will never have peace. For the sake of the people of the world, I must go."

Immortal Sun nodded, patted Gao Xingchen on the shoulder, and said, "Xingchen, we all believe in you, just go for it, we will fully support you."

With the support of the elders, Gao Xingchen felt relieved. He stood up, glanced at everyone in the tent, and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, this operation is extremely dangerous, but I believe that as long as we work together, we will be able to defeat the Fire Cloud Evil God!"

After an impassioned mobilization, Gao Xingchen led the special operations team and set off on the journey. According to the plan, they quietly sneaked into the lair of the Fire Cloud Evil God - an underground palace hidden deep in the volcano.

At the entrance of the palace was a long and deep passage. The walls on both sides of the passage were engraved with strange runes, exuding a frightening aura. Gao Xingchen moved forward cautiously, taking every step with extreme caution.

"Be careful!" The team member walking in the front of the team suddenly exclaimed. Before he finished speaking, there was a violent vibration under his feet. Then, countless sharp arrows suddenly shot out from the walls on both sides of the passage and attacked everyone.

"Ah!" Screams rang out one after another. Several team members who were unable to dodge were shot through the body by arrows and fell in a pool of blood.

Gao Xingchen's face changed drastically when he saw this, and he hurriedly shouted: "Everyone, be careful of the traps, keep in formation, and keep moving forward!"

However, the development of the matter was beyond their expectations. As they continued to go deeper, various traps appeared one after another. In some places, the ground suddenly collapsed, in some places, there were hidden weapons spraying poisonous gas, and in some places, there were sharp blades hidden in the wall...

The special operations team fought through all the obstacles and paid a heavy price before finally reaching the depths of the palace. However, what greeted them was an even more terrifying scene...

The depths of the palace were not magnificent, but dead silent, with the air filled with the sickening smell of blood. Countless bones were scattered on the ground, including many human skeletons, who were obviously the unlucky ones who had mistakenly entered this place and became the sacrifice of the Fire Cloud Evil God.

"What a cruel method!" Witnessing all this, even the battle-hardened members of the special operations team couldn't help but gasp, and looked around with eyes full of vigilance and fear.

Gao Xingchen suppressed his anxiety and whispered, "Everyone, be careful and alert. Find the Fire Cloud Evil God as soon as possible and end the battle quickly!"

The crowd moved forward cautiously, however, they found nothing except the creepy white bones.

At this moment, a creepy laugh suddenly echoed in the empty hall: "Hehehe, I didn't expect that you ants would actually dare to break into my nest. You are really courting death!"

Before he finished speaking, a black shadow descended from the sky, bringing with it a suffocating feeling of oppression, and landed heavily in front of everyone.

"Fire Cloud Evil God!" Gao Xingchen's pupils suddenly contracted and he clenched the weapon in his hand.

The Fire Cloud Evil God in front of him was wearing a blood-red robe, with a haggard face and sunken eye sockets. He exuded a frightening evil aura from his whole body, like a demon crawling out of hell.

"Since you are here, just stay!" Huoyun Evil God smiled sinisterly. As soon as he finished speaking, he flashed and rushed into the crowd like a ghost.

"No, protect the stars!" Elder Li's face changed drastically and he shouted loudly.

However, it was too late. The Fire Cloud Evil God was so fast that the special operations team members had no time to react. In the blink of an eye, several people were knocked to the ground by him, and their lives or deaths were unknown.

"Damn it!" Gao Xingchen roared, commanding Xiao Hei and the remaining team members to fight hard.

However, in the face of absolute strength, all resistance was futile. The Fire Cloud Evil God was like the god of death, wantonly harvesting lives from the crowd, leaving wailing and blood wherever he passed.

Seeing the heavy casualties of the special operations team, Gao Xingchen was extremely anxious, but he was helpless. He knew very well that with his current strength, he was no match for the Fire Cloud Evil God.

At this moment, a black shadow suddenly rushed out from the side and headed straight for the Fire Cloud Evil God.

"Nanli!" Gao Xingchen was surprised and delighted. He knew that it was Nanli who took action at the critical moment.

Nan Li held two blades in her hands, and like a night elf, she moved around the Fire Cloud Evil God and launched attacks continuously. Her attacks were swift and fierce, and each move was fatal, forcing the Fire Cloud Evil God to retreat again and again.

However, Fire Cloud Evil God was an old demon who had roamed the Nine Star Realm for many years and had rich combat experience. He quickly adapted to Nan Li's attack rhythm and began to gradually gain the upper hand.

"Xiao Hei, let's go!" Gao Xingchen knew that they could not wait any longer, otherwise Nan Li would be in danger.

The man and the beast rushed towards the Fire Cloud Evil God like an arrow.

However, at this moment, a sudden change occurred!

The Fire Cloud Evil God suddenly howled to the sky, and a powerful force burst out from his body, knocking Gao Xingchen and Xiao Hei away. Then, the ground shook violently, and countless cracks spread out, isolating Gao Xingchen and Nan Li on both sides.

"Hahaha, just enjoy your despair!" The Fire Cloud Evil God laughed wildly, grabbed Gao Xingchen, and disappeared on the spot in a flash.

"Xingchen!" Nan Li's eyes were bloodshot, and she tried desperately to break through the obstacles, but to no avail. She watched Gao Xingchen being taken away by the Fire Cloud Evil God, and her heart was filled with powerlessness and despair...

Gao Xingchen only felt a flash before his eyes and the world was spinning. When he came to his senses, he found that he had been taken to a gloomy and terrifying secret room by the Fire Cloud Evil God.

This secret room is located deep underground in the palace. The air is filled with a damp and rotten smell that makes people sick. Flickering torches are inserted on the walls, illuminating the horrifying scene in the room. There are all kinds of torture instruments, rusty iron hooks, blood-stained whips, cold and shiny knives... It's chilling.

"Welcome to my 'collection room', kid!" Huoyun Evil God smiled sinisterly and threw Gao Xingchen on the cold ground. "I really want to know, what secrets do you have that made the Tianji Pavilion mobilize so many troops to deal with me?"

Gao Xingchen struggled to stand up, but found that his body seemed to fall apart and he was in great pain. He looked up at the devil-like man in front of him, his heart filled with anger and fear.

“I advise you to cooperate with me obediently, otherwise…” Fire Cloud Evil God said, picking up a red-hot iron and shaking it in front of Gao Xingchen, “I will make you feel a life worse than death!”

Gao Xingchen gritted his teeth and said nothing. He knew that it would be impossible to escape unscathed after falling into the hands of Fire Cloud Evil God. But he would never give in easily, and would not betray any secrets of Tianji Pavilion.

"If you don't accept my toast, then I'll punish you!" Seeing Gao Xingchen being so stubborn, Huoyun Evil God became furious and raised the branding iron to hit him.

At this critical moment, Gao Xingchen's eyes suddenly fell on an inconspicuous corner of the wall. There seemed to be a small bulge there, which was out of tune with the surrounding walls.

Is it...

Gao Xingchen's heart moved, and a bold idea came to his mind. He endured the severe pain in his body, moved his body quietly, and slowly approached the wall.

"Boy, what tricks are you playing?" Seeing this, Huoyun Evil God frowned and stopped his movements.

"It's nothing, I just want to take one last look at this world." Gao Xingchen said in despair, while reaching out his hand towards the bulge.

Huoyun Evil God had no doubts. In his opinion, Gao Xingchen was already trapped in a jar. He sneered at Gao Xingchen's actions, wanting to see what he was up to.

Gao Xingchen's fingers touched the bulge, and he felt a cool metallic touch. He took a deep breath and pressed down hard.

"Crack!"

With a slight sound, a crack suddenly appeared in the wall, and then the entire wall began to move slowly, revealing a passage leading to unknown darkness.

"What?!" Huoyun Evil God was suddenly shocked. He had never imagined that such a secret was hidden in this secret room.

Gao Xingchen ignored Huoyun Evil God's shock. He seized the opportunity, leaped into the passage, and then ran towards the depths without looking back.

“Damn it, kid! Stop right there!” Fire Cloud Evil God roared, not caring about his injuries and chasing after him relentlessly.

Gao Xingchen ran wildly in the dark passage. He didn't know where this passage led to, but he knew that this was his only hope.

The passage was full of dust and spider webs. Gao Xingchen stumbled and ran for an unknown amount of time. Finally, he saw a faint light ahead... The faint light gradually expanded, and Gao Xingchen rushed out of the passage and found himself in a spacious underground cave. The top of the cave was inlaid with some glowing stones, which illuminated the entire space slightly.

"Cough cough..." A few painful coughs came from the corner. Gao Xingchen's heart tightened and he looked hurriedly in the direction of the sound. He saw Elder Li and several special operations team members sitting against the wall. Each of them had injuries on their bodies, their faces were pale, and their breaths were weak.

"Elder Li, how are you?" Gao Xingchen hurried forward to check their injuries.

“Young man, I’m so glad you’re okay!” Elder Li burst into tears when he saw Gao Xingchen. “We were ambushed by the Fire Cloud Evil God and suffered heavy losses. If I hadn’t fought to the death, I’m afraid…”

Gao Xingchen's heart sank. He knew this operation was extremely dangerous, but he didn't expect to pay such a painful price. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "Elder Li, let's not talk about this for now. We have to leave here quickly, otherwise it will be troublesome if the Fire Cloud Evil God catches up with us."

Elder Li nodded and struggled to stand up, but because of his serious injuries, he fell to the ground again. Gao Xingchen quickly helped him up, and he and several other members of the action team supported each other and walked towards the depths of the cave.

They stumbled along the way, groping forward in the cave with their weak intuition. After walking for an unknown amount of time, a ray of light finally appeared in front of them.

"The exit, that must be the exit!" Seeing this, everyone became excited and quickened their pace.

However, just as they were about to reach the cave entrance, a chaotic sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind them, accompanied by the cold voice of Fire Cloud Evil God: "Want to escape? Can you escape?"

Gao Xingchen and the others felt a chill in their hearts, and when they looked back, they saw that Huoyun Evil God and dozens of his men had surrounded the cave entrance. They held sharp blades in their hands, with cruel smiles on their faces, as if they were looking at a group of lambs to be slaughtered.

"What should we do? What should we do now?" Several members of the action team looked pale and their eyes were filled with despair.

Gao Xingchen clenched his fists tightly, scanning the surrounding environment, his brain working rapidly, looking for hope of escape. However, facing dozens of powerful enemies, he gradually felt powerless.

Am I really going to die here today?