They could only wait for the day a new sovereign of the human race might appear and unify Wanggu, allowing them to return.
Tens of thousands of years of waiting had made it an extravagant hope.
Ling'er sighed softly at all of this.
This was because it was the same for the Ancient Spirit Race. They waited even longer but there was still no result.
Although the Ancient Spirit Emperor seemed to still be around, the experience in the Spirit Abyss caused Ling'er to have doubts about the Ancient Spirit Emperor. She didn't know if the other party was still the Spirit Emperor who had led the Ancient Spirit Race to unify Wanggu.
Xu Qing looked at these and could only leave silently. He stepped into the Heavenly Mask Race after crossing the territory of the Mirror Image Race.
This race's territory was covered with mountain ranges and had few plains.
They were also a bizarre entity race, but they had a body of flesh and blood. It was just that all their clansmen wore a mask on their faces, or rather, the masks were their faces.
As for their figure, it was similar to the human race but taller.
Most of them were more than ten feet tall. The masks on their faces didn't have ordinary facial features and were covered with all kinds of patterns.
The malice from them was even more intense than what was shown by the Mirror Image Race. Anyone who saw Xu Qing would look at him with greed and evil.
However, the aura from Xu Qing's body caused the Heavenly Mask Race members to restrain their malice. However, there were still some who were ignorant.
As Xu Qing moved along the mountain range, he encountered several ambushes.
One could imagine the outcome.
The buildings in this race's territory were also tall and gave off an unpleasant stench.
However, this race's members clearly breathed in and out the air of this place all year round, so they couldn't smell it. They had long been completely used to everything here.
Xu Qing didn't see any humans here.
He had only seen a tavern in a city of the Heavenly Mask Race.
The owner was an old couple from the Heavenly Mask Race. The masks on their faces emitted kindness, but among the bones hanging at the door that contained a large amount of flesh, there were human bones and the bones of their own race.
The weak were devoured.
This was true anywhere.
Even in Nanhuang Continent, it wasn't rare to see cannibalism at the bottom.
"Chaotic world…"
Xu Qing sighed softly and left. When he reached the border of the Heavenly Mask Race, he arrived at the destination of his trip.
Heavenly Fire Sea.
What reflected in Xu Qing's eyes was an endless pool of red magma. Flames rose from it, as though it was eternal and indestructible, blocking his vision.
This area was too large. Even though Xu Qing rose into the air to take a look, he still couldn't see the end.
Under the illumination of the sea of fire, the sky was also bright. As flames surged into the sky, extreme heat spread out from it.
There were also waves of rumbling echoing in the sea of fire. From time to time, bubbles could be seen exploding on the surface of the magma, splashing up a large amount of earthly fire, as though a world-destroying flower had bloomed.
After staring at it for a moment, Xu Qing charged ahead. As the destructive flowers exploded, he flew forward.
He didn't plan to absorb the fire here immediately. Instead, he planned to take a look and find the most suitable place to cultivate.
After all, he didn't know if there would be any strange manifestations when he refined the life lanterns, which might lead to unnecessary troubles and scrutiny.
There were cultivators moving around here.
After all, this fire was helpful in alchemy and weapon refinement, and there were ways to store the extraordinary fire to a certain degree.
It was a valuable commodity.
There were also some cultivators who were good at the Dao of Fire who chose to cultivate here.
Hence, regardless of whether it was outsiders or local cultivators, Xu Qing occasionally saw them as he flew.
Some of them were alone, and some were in groups of three to five. There were members from all races.
Most of them were vigilant against each other. When outsiders got close, they would quickly distance themselves.
Overall, there were more cultivators from the Mirror Image Race and the Heavenly Mask Race.
Having dealt with this sea of fire for years, they naturally had numerous ways to mitigate the intense heat here and enhance their resistance in this environment.
Xu Qing also discovered something special. There were some cultivators here who held something that looked like a compass in their hands. They seemed to be searching for something as they moved around.
Xu Qing watched all of it silently. His understanding of this sea of fire wasn't comprehensive and this wasn't a good place to ask around. Hence, he habitually observed.
Xu Qing continued to speed across the sea of fire. Although he restrained his speed, he wasn't slow either. But, even after three days, he still didn't see the end of the sea of fire.
"The area is too vast, and trying to explore it all would undoubtedly take a long time…"
However, in the past three days, Xu Qing learned of the reason those cultivators were moving around while holding a compass.
They were searching for a type of white stone.
This stone seemed to be an item naturally formed by this sea of fire. It was similar to spirit stones but it was clearly more valuable. Moreover, there weren't many of them and they were often hidden under magma. One needed a compass to sense them and collect them.
Xu Qing saw these from afar.
However, the other party was incomparably vigilant and revealed hostility. Xu Qing knew his limits and didn't get close. After clearing his doubts, he quickly left.
After flying for a few more days until he completely entered the sea of fire and very few cultivators in the surroundings could see him, Xu Qing dispelled his previous thought.
"It's good to try it here first!"
Xu Qing fell silent and looked at the surface of the sea. After that, he lifted his hand and released a protective barrier that landed on Ling'er.
Ling'er knew that Xu Qing wanted to cultivate, so she didn't disturb him. She only spoke in a crisp voice.
"Brother Xu Qing, you'll definitely succeed. My talent can also be displayed a little now. I can help Brother Xu Qing sense if there are bad people in the surroundings!"
