Chapter 294: Chapter 294: Just One Step Away
Just like that, Sun Shijin kept goading the Tiger Flame expert while forcibly treating his injuries.
The Tiger Flame expert’s face remained twisted as he shouted, "I don’t believe it! I just don’t believe it!"
His mental state was already very unstable.
’Now Lu Chao has provoked me even more. How could a fraud like him possibly break out of such a terrifying Illusion Realm?’
’Even though I’m being saved, I’m still not happy about it.’
Meanwhile, Lu Chao had already stepped into the Illusion Realm of the 7th Floor.
His gaze instantly froze. The scene that appeared before him in the Illusion Realm was none other than forty-nine Soldier Dao Battle Arrays.
Judging by the pattern from the previous floors, the difficulty of the Soldier Dao Illusion Realm was cumulative. If it were just that, Lu Chao wouldn’t have been surprised.
What made Lu Chao’s gaze freeze was the sight of Marshal Fan Changcun.
’He and Marshal Fan... they were trapped in the same Illusion Realm...’
After all, on the 6th Floor, he and Sun Shijin had entered the Illusion Realm at the same time, but they had been separated into two different illusions.
But now, two people were somehow in the same Illusion Realm.
Before Lu Chao’s eyes, Marshal Fan was constantly arranging troops and formations, trying to break the forty-nine Soldier Dao Battle Arrays.
And it looked like he was on the verge of success.
Just then...
Fan Changcun suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood. He seemed to be on the verge of collapse, his aged face turning deathly pale.
He hadn’t noticed Lu Chao’s arrival. He said hoarsely, "Just one more step. Why is this last step so difficult?"
With that, he tried to force himself up to continue...
But Lu Chao quickly called out, "Marshal Fan, are you all right?"
At the sound of Lu Chao’s voice, Fan Changcun looked over sharply.
He then stared at Lu Chao in utter surprise and asked in a shocked voice, "Child, how did you get in here? Am I hallucinating?"
Clearly, Fan Changcun was amazed and surprised that Lu Chao had entered the same Illusion Realm as him.
He could hardly believe it.
Lu Chao quickly shook his head. "Marshal, don’t say anything. Let’s get out of here first."
He could see that Fan Changcun was in terrible condition, looking extremely weak and exhausted.
And of course he was weak and exhausted...
Fan Changcun had been trapped here for over half a month. Unable to fight his way out of the so-called Martial Arts Illusion Realm on the 6th Floor, his only choice had been to press forward. He had already been stuck in the Soldier Dao Illusion Realm on the 7th Floor for five whole days.
At his age, he was pushing himself far beyond his limits.
However, in response to Lu Chao’s words, Fan Changcun quickly shook his head. "I can’t leave. I’ve almost succeeded! I’m just one step away from breaking through the 7th Floor! The way out on the 6th Floor is blocked. We can’t get out!"
His voice was incredibly hoarse.
To this, Lu Chao quickly said, "I’ve already figured out the way out of the 6th Floor. We can come back to the 7th Floor later. There’s no rush."
As soon as he said this, Fan Changcun froze. He was stunned for several breaths, clearly in disbelief.
But soon, a look of relief appeared on his aged face.
"That’s right. For you, the way out of the 6th Floor wouldn’t be difficult at all."
Elder Fan knew Lu Chao well. The young man was not only a master of arranging troops and formations, but also an incredibly valiant general in his own right.
Thinking of this, he glanced again at the forty-nine Soldier Dao Battle Arrays of the 7th Floor.
In the end, he shook his head and said, "Alright. Let’s go."
He was reluctant to give up on this final step, but Fan Changcun also knew that in his current state, completing it was basically impossible. It wouldn’t be too late to challenge it again after he had recovered.
「Just like that...」
Lu Chao and Elder Fan severed their connection to the Illusion Realm at the same time, both exiting the 7th Floor.
When they emerged, Fan Changcun was so weak he could barely stand.
Seeing this, Sun Shijin immediately pushed the Tiger Flame expert aside and rushed over to channel True Qi into Fan Changcun and inspect his Heavenly Destiny Bone.
After a quick examination, Sun Shijin said softly, "Marshal Fan is fine. It’s just overexertion due to his age. He’s in much better shape than that idiot over there. Give him some medicine, and he’ll recover quickly."
Hearing this, Lu Chao secretly breathed a sigh of relief...
Just then, Fan Changcun suddenly thought of something and asked, "Child, how were you able to enter the same Illusion Realm as me?"
Lu Chao froze. He had been wondering the same thing and, of course, had no answer.
After they exchanged a confused glance, Lu Chao asked in return, "Marshal, is your knowledge of the Azure Flame Forbidden Land... limited?"
’Logically speaking,’ Lu Chao thought, ’with the remains of so many Azure Flame Sect seniors here, the sect should have some records about this place.’
But Fan Changcun had never mentioned anything before.
Fan Changcun replied softly, "Very, very little. A great disaster befell the Azure Flame Sect two hundred years ago. At that time, nearly all the core members died outside the sect overnight. Then, the ones who remained began to fight amongst themselves for power and profit, killing one another..."
"In the end, right before being wiped out, the losing side destroyed nearly everything of use, including all the records."
"This created all sorts of gaps in the Azure Flame Sect’s history, which is why for the next two hundred years, we’ve been completely in the dark about many things."
"Among them, the most unfathomable is the Azure Flame Forbidden Land."
He explained softly to Lu Chao...
It was precisely because all the core figures of the Azure Flame Sect were wiped out that the remaining ordinary disciples began to fight among themselves.
In the end, to prevent the victors from gaining too much, the losing side destroyed many things in a final act of spite.
For the next one hundred and sixty years, the Azure Flame Sect fumbled its way forward.
During that time, the Azure Flame Martial Dao Sect was also very weak. Until Fan Changcun’s generation, still no one had been able to break through the 6th Floor, which meant no one knew what lay beyond it.
Then, forty years ago, the sect was wiped out directly by the Seven Great Flame Countries.
After Fan Changcun finished, Lu Chao quickly told him about the Dragon Flame King also being an old disciple of the Azure Flame Sect, as well as matters concerning the Cyan Sword Great Empire and the re-establishment of the Azure Flame Sect.
Finally, Lu Chao asked, "Marshal, were you also unaware of these things the Dragon Flame King spoke of?"
He could see that as Fan Changcun listened, the eyes beneath his wrinkles were shining. It was obvious he knew nothing about the Dragon Flame King or the things he had said.
In other words, he didn’t know that it was the Azure Flame Sect that protected this region, keeping it from being conquered by the Cyan Sword Great Empire.
Fan Changcun shook his head. "The Sect Leader... he never told me any of this."
"Forty years ago, I had just taken over the Soldier Dao Sect. Later, before the Sect Leader died, it seemed he had many things to tell me, but in the end, he only managed to say that I must rebuild the Azure Flame Sect, and then he gave me the Sect Leader’s Order."
As he spoke of this, Fan Changcun’s voice grew hoarse.
After a moment of stunned silence, Lu Chao pictured the scene: the Azure Flame Sect Leader, mortally wounded, found by Marshal Fan. The Sect Leader had wanted to explain so many things, but ultimately couldn’t hold on any longer and passed away.
And in the end, Marshal Fan was captured by the Seven Great Flame Countries.
