A person suddenly appeared, nearly scaring Nan Zhu, who was guarding the cave entrance, into finding a crack in the ground to hide in. He directly twisted his hips to face away.
Realising who it was, he turned back around, sword in hand, leaning against the wall, his fat body practically shrinking in on itself. His plump face nervously asked, “Where are you going?”
He had originally planned to use the large amount of ice outside as cover to quietly run away.
Without Yu Qing causing trouble, Nan and Mu no longer wanted to continue. Their only thought now was to leave this place with Yu Qing as soon as possible. They could not withstand this fright, it was too dangerous.
They had not expected to be discovered.
Behind him was Mu Aotie carrying Yu Qing on his back, and Shen Qingcheng carrying Ning Chaoyi.
Wu Hei, “Leaving the Golden Ruins, are you going or not?”
“Going, going.” Nan Zhu nodded repeatedly, but he was clearly still somewhat afraid. He pointed his sword upward, “Will that big guy let us leave?”
Wu Hei, “We agreed, he will let us go.”
“Ah!” Nan Zhu was overjoyed, waving his hand repeatedly toward the back, “Let’s go, let’s go, quickly, quickly.”
The group hurriedly exited the cave, passed through the rippling waves of air to reach Wu Hei, still unable to resist glancing up at the golden giant on the mountain, their fear lingering.
Shen Qingcheng had hatred in her heart, but dared not voice it.
Seeing only the few of them, Wu Hei questioned, “Just you? Aren’t the others leaving?”
Nan Zhu sighed, “Don’t ask. Apart from your uncle, who knows where he ran off to, everyone else is dead.”
Wu Hei, “That iron-faced man is dead too?”
Using Yu Qing’s words, Nan Zhu said, “He sought his own death, actually running into the earth spring to soak in it, and was devoured by the earth spring’s backlash.”
Backlash? Could the earth spring backlash? Wu Hei looked toward Shen Qingcheng and Ning Chaoyi. Seeing them both nod, he dropped the matter, immediately turned and flew away.
The others naturally followed immediately. However, Nan Zhu still quietly looked back toward the giant on the mountain peak from time to time. His hand subconsciously reached toward a hard lump in his clothes, his fingers repeatedly scratching at it through the fabric, hesitating.
It was that golden fruit. He did not quite know what to do with it now.
To return it to its owner, he dared not go over, nor did he dare say he had picked its fruit.
Not to return it, he feared it would be discovered, feared it would come back to settle accounts, feared being claimed for his life. His heart was filled with anxiety.
To simply take it away, he did not know what this thing actually was. Was it worth taking such a risk for something so inexplicable?
Just then, a bug buzzed and flew in, landing on Yu Qing’s shoulder. It was Big Head.
Several people looked back. Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie breathed a sigh of relief. This was a precious treasure, it was good that it had returned.
The group ran down the mountain. Below their feet was an empty cliff, with fog ahead.
Wu Hei, carrying his son, jumped down first. The rest followed, leaping down one by one, falling with a whoosh. After quickly passing through the clouds, their vision cleared. The world was vast and open, with a boundless sea below.
The group did not land on the sea surface, but on an ice field with a large hole in it.
It was estimated that this ice field would still need quite some time to melt completely at normal temperatures.
Looking back at the cloud cluster drifting away in the air, then at the setting sun about to end, Wu Hei put his son on his back and called out, “Let’s go.” With that, he flew away.
Everyone immediately chased after him. Nan Zhu looked around as he ran, catching up to Wu Hei to ask, “Aren’t you waiting for your father?”
Wu Hei had just one sentence, “He is not leaving.”
“Not leaving?” Nan Zhu was surprised, “Why?”
Wu Hei did not explain why, only loudly reminding everyone, “The golden giant has only given us one day. At sunset tomorrow, he will completely seal the entrance and exit of the Golden Ruins. Those who cannot get out before sunset tomorrow will never get out.”
Nan Zhu exclaimed, “Ah? Just one day? Isn’t that too tight?”
Wu Hei said nothing. One day was completely sufficient for his cultivation level, but it was indeed too tight for the others. The key point was that these people were basically all burdened, carrying people on their backs.
However, pressure meant speed, and the group immediately accelerated their pace.
Before long, they ran out of the ice field area, continuing to run atop the waves on the sea surface.
Running on the sea surface while carrying someone was somewhat strenuous. Wu Hei, who was accompanying them, could not help but look more at the unconscious Yu Qing, asking, “His complexion does not look like he is injured. Is he injured?”
Nan Zhu chuckled, “You have good eyes. Not injured, just letting him rest.”
Wu Hei sensed something abnormal and immediately urged, “We are pressed for time. It would be better to let him walk himself, saving everyone trouble.”
Having said this much, Nan Zhu could only complain repeatedly, “Do you think we don’t want to? Carrying someone is exhausting, but we dare not let him wake up. Don’t you feel something is missing?”
Wu Hei immediately turned back to examine the group. Apart from fewer people, he really did not feel anything was missing.
Nan Zhu explained himself, “The golden coffin! He hid it poorly, insisting on hiding it on the palace dome. Earlier, when that large ice block cracked and fell, the entire immortal palace shook and trembled. The golden coffin slid down from the top. Guess where it fell? Right into the earth spring. He immediately lunged toward the earth spring. The two of us desperately pulled him out of the earth spring, and he still wanted to turn on us. We had no choice, so we knocked him out.
Sir, he really cannot be allowed to wake up. Once awake, we cannot stop him. We know his temperament all too well. Once he goes all out, he fears nothing, not even the golden giant. He will definitely find a way to run back to the immortal palace and dive into the earth spring to retrieve that coffin. Sir, it is better to let him sleep all the way out!”
Having explained this clearly, Wu Hei naturally understood and said nothing more.
However, this made things hard for Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie. The two of them continuously took turns carrying him along the way.
From the ice field to the sea surface, and from the sea surface to land, the sky had darkened. The two of them at least had each other to switch with. Shen Qingcheng, carrying Ning Chaoyi, was the most pitiful one. Yet Wu Hei showed no intention of helping.
Having interacted for so long, everyone more or less understood Wu He’s character. He was simply such a person, always maintaining distance from others.
If he truly felt time was insufficient, this man would probably not hesitate to abandon everyone and leave first.
Later, Nan Zhu could not quite bear watching anymore, feeling that Shen Qingcheng was gradually falling behind. He tentatively said to Shen Qingcheng, “How about, I help you carry him for a bit?”
Willing to help with this, to put it nicely, was wanting to turn hostility into friendship. To put it bluntly, it was having a guilty conscience.
Shen Qingcheng immediately refused outright, “No need!”
Her tone clearly held resentment.
Nan Zhu did not know that her mother had also died at the hands of the golden giant. He only said to Ning Chaoyi, “Mr. Ning, I also did not want things to turn out like this. I truly did not know that picking a fruit would awaken that giant. Look, with her carrying you alone, I fear it will truly be difficult to get you out in time before sunset tomorrow. I am willing to turn hostility into friendship, what do you think?”
Ning Chaoyi did not know whether to laugh or cry, wanting to ask him, are you trying to help, or are you bargaining?
Wu Hei spoke up at this moment, “The golden giant’s awakening had nothing to do with you picking the fruit. It was because the immortal palace was frozen. The time for the immortal palace to rise from the seabed had come, but it could not ascend. The enormous weight exceeded the array’s load, causing a disturbance in the array’s core, which awakened the golden giant. You picking the fruit was merely a coincidence, it actually had nothing to do with you. I also misunderstood you before.”
Hearing this, Nan Zhu’s eyes immediately widened. He beat his chest with both fists and wailed, “What did I say? What did I say? How could picking a fruit cause such a huge commotion, yet you all refused to believe me. You truly wronged me to death.” He complained with his mouth, but his expression was dancing with delight, greatly enjoying the feeling of a wrong being righted.
However, Wu Hei’s words did indeed dissolve Shen Qingcheng’s resentment toward Nan Zhu. The look in her eyes at Nan Zhu was no longer so deep.
Ning Chaoyi seemed to have already seen things clearly, casually asking, “Brother Nan, where is that fruit you picked, what exactly is it?”
Nan Zhu’s eyes rolled around, and he spread his hands, “I don’t know. It scared me to death at the time. Would I keep something that brings disaster? I casually threw it away, without time to examine it closely.”
This could fool others, but not Mu Aotie. He naturally knew why this old seventh fellow was lying. Since the golden giant’s fury was not directed at the fruit, the hot potato was no longer hot. Old seventh’s scheming thoughts needed no further explanation?
However, help that should be given was still given. Nan Zhu ultimately still ended up carrying Ning Chaoyi.
For the rest of the journey, the three who were carrying people took turns, rotating to get a break.
From dawn to dusk, from sunset to sunrise, until near the evening of the next day, the group, not daring to stop, once again saw a familiar scene that left a deep impression.
At the foot of a slope was a large pile of stacked gold, each piece weighing tens of thousands of jin. It was their own handiwork.
This meant the exit was not far.
Nan Zhu looked at the sun about to set, immediately handing the carried Ning Chaoyi back to Shen Qingcheng, “Sorry, we owe a buttload of debts outside. We cannot come here for nothing. No matter what, we must bring some gold out.” Without another word, he jumped down the slope, immediately found a large gold lump and hoisted it onto his shoulder.
Mu Aotie also immediately tucked Yu Qing under one arm, jumped down the slope, and with his other arm alone moved a gold lump onto his shoulder before continuing.
The gold was too heavy, and after running nonstop for a day, they truly could no longer sprint. They could only walk quickly.
Ning Chaoyi immediately indicated for Shen Qingcheng to put him down, “With this little distance, my two hands can easily get through. If not for their help along the way, I fear I could not have gotten out in time. I have no way to repay them. Since they need this gold, let me help with my strength as a small token of thanks.”
Shen Qingcheng nodded, put him down, and also went to hoist a large gold lump.
Wu Hei, standing on the slope, looked at the sun, then jumped down to that pile of gold. He put down his son, then raised gold blocks to smash against gold blocks, creating booming thunderous sounds.
The people already walking on the gobi carrying heavy loads looked back.
Wu Hei flattened one gold block after another, stacking them over a dozen layers high, before turning back to call his son over.
Little Black moved a washbasin-sized gold block from the ground and brought it to him, “Father, here, a rock.”
Wu Hei patted his head, telling him, “This is not a rock. We will also need to use this in the future, and we also need to bring some out.” Afterward, he placed his son together with what his son called a rock onto the stacked gold blocks, had his son lie steady, then raised both arms to lift up the massive pile of gold.
That weight far exceeded what the few people ahead had combined.
Nan Zhu, carrying a heavy load, watched with envy, unable to resist muttering, “Damn, having high cultivation is great, you can even carry so much more money.”