The maiden listened to Ji Dong in silence, it seemed like she had immersed herself in listening to the explanation. She then muttered to herself, “So the c.o.c.ktail was like this. I think I felt everything you described. It was really delicious, but I think: what you described was more beautiful than this c.o.c.ktail.”
Ji Dong regained his senses, he was also surprised about what he said, when he was mixing the c.o.c.ktail, he would always just mix it and give it to Yang Bing Tian, he would never say as much as he just did. Seeing this perfectly beautiful maiden, he wanted to fully display himself. A moment ago, he seemed to have returned to his former self as the G.o.d of liquor of his generation.
Moderating his mind, Ji Dong said, “I answered your question! Now, can you tell me where we are, and who you are?”
The maiden smiled sweetly, “It has been awhile since I last saw a human. I am also curious how the weak and small you could come here? This is the geocentric. My name is ‘Lie Yan (raging flame)’.”
“Lie Yan” Ji Dong frowned and shook his head, “This is not a good name, it doesn’t suit you, Lie Yan is rash and ruthless, but you didn’t give off such a feeling.”
Lie Yan smiled, “Isn’t there a saying from you humans, that you can’t judge a book by it’s cover? Let alone that I am not even human. You haven’t seen my rash and ruthless side, of course you wouldn’t understand the meaning of my name. Every living creature in the underground calls me empress Lie Yan. But because of your explanation of that c.o.c.ktail, I will allow you to address me by my name.”
Ji Dong was in shock as he had discovered that the aura that came from Lie Yan was going through a skyrocketing change. The lovable and gentle maiden, now emitted the charisma of a sovereign, the formless might and pressure had caused the ocean-vast magma lake to become still, not even a single bubble dared to pop.
But Ji Dong didn’t get timid because of the change of Lie Yan; in his eyes, Lie Yan’s perfection rose to another level, perhaps this was what the feeling of loving a person was like. No matter what she became, she would always be perfect in his heart.
“You said that this is the geocentric? What of the living creatures of the underground? I don’t understand.”, ji Dong said puzzled.
Lie Yan smiled, “You are an interesting human kid, you are clearly just about 10 years old, but you are talking like an adult. You can also mix fine drinks. Since you could come here, it must be some kind of fate, I will make an exception today and talk to you a little more.”
While saying that, like a dance, Lie Yan slowly rotated on one leg on the pillar of magma she was standing on. a fiery red long dress was wrapped around her charming and delicate figure, even though that long dress didn’t have any decoration, it still looked very beautiful when it was dressed on her.
Ji Dong could only feel that his body was light, before he could even react, his body was already floating. While screaming in alarm he floated above the magma lake. The pale red light barrier around him formed a sphere, and like this he was brought flying to the front of Lie Yan.
“Little human friend, don’t be afraid. Without my permission, nothing will harm you here.” Liu Yan’s voice changed back into the gentle and soft one from the start, the imposingness of the empress disappeared.
“I’m sure you haven’t heard of this place. I’m afraid that very few people know of the existence of this place. Under the ground, there are creatures that are different from those above the ground. There are 18 layers in the underground. The more external the layer, the weaker the underground creatures are. For you humans to know about the few most external layers would have been a very difficult achievement. But no matter if it is the humans or the creatures of the underground we all live on the same planet, do you understand?”
Ji Dong nodded, “I understand. The planet we are living on is only a small part of the universe, it rotates itself, and it also rotates around the sun, could it be that this place is the core of this planet?”
Lie Yan was startled, “Universe? What is that? I don’t know. But you seem to know a lot of things! Saying that it is the core of this planet is not wrong, because this is the 18th layer, which is also the very center of the whole planet.”
Ji Dong said. “Then does that mean that you are the strongest existence among all the living creatures of the underground?”
Lie Yan chucked and replied, “I don’t know about that, I’m the only one here in this geocentric lake. Occasionally, I would go to the world of the humankind for a stroll. But in your world I would easily encounter danger, it has been already a long time since i went there.”
Ji Dong looked at the fascinating protective layer surrounding his body, and then looked at Lie Yan who was standing on the magma pillar, he couldn’t help but ask, “You are so strong yet you are afraid of danger?”
Lie Yan said mysteriously, “Little friend, this is a secret, I cannot tell you.”
Ji Dong said grudgingly, “Could you please not call me little friend? I have a name, it is Ji Dong.”
Lie Yan thought about it and answered, “I will call you little Ji Dong then.”
Ji Dong laughed bitterly, “Could you please not say it with the word little?”
Lie Yan giggled, it was a smile as bright as a spring flower. Seeing that, Ji Dong’s nose heated again, “You are little, so why won’t you let me say it? Don’t you like your own name? Then how about I call you little Ji-Ji? Or little Dong-Dong?”
TL: little Ji-Ji is a very cute way of addressing someone, it sounds like “little chick”. And little Dong-Dong means “little thing”
“Uh…., then I would rather have you call me little Ji Dong.”
Lie Yan smiled as if she succeed in having her way, “Little Ji Dong, how did you come here? You must know that not everyone can get in here easily.”
Ji Dong shook his head, “I don’t know how I got here either. I only opened a picture scroll, and then I was wrapped around by five colored light, after that I kept having the feeling of falling downwards. And when the light dispersed, I was already here.”
“A picture scroll? It should be the scroll. Hm, it must be one of the Yin-Yang magical scroll you humans made, the five-Yin-Yang-elements magical scroll. The process of making it seems to be very troublesome. Judging from the energy wave when you came here, that was not a designated teleportation, It should be a kind of random teleportation. To be able to send someone thousand of miles underneath the ground, this scroll’s magical power must be very powerful.”
Ji Dong asked surprised, “Yin-Yang magical scroll? What is that? Can I still return?”
Lie Yan brought her long red hair from her back to the front, and fiddled it lightly in front of her chest, after thinking for a while she said, “Little Ji Dong, How about we make a deal? The c.o.c.ktail you mix was very delicious, if you can often bring them to me to drink, I will help you return to the human world. What do you think?”
“Ok, no problem.”, Ji Dong agreed without the slightest bit of hesitation, which made him himself feel a little strange too, he did not make the decision so quickly to be able to return to the human world, but to be able to see Lie Yan again.
“However, your c.o.c.ktail needs to be tasty, and you also have to tell me stories about the human world. Staying here is really too lonesome, and unfortunately I can’t leave easily. And if your c.o.c.ktail is not tasty, I will get angry. And when I’m angry I will drop you into the middle of the magma lake.”
The threat of Lie Yan wasn’t even a little bit scary, she still had the beaming smile on her face. Looking at her, Ji Dong regained his senses, “I never considered death something scary. Whatever guarantee I make will never be as convincing as facts, am I right? ”
Hearing what Ji Dong said Lie Yan chuckled again. Her chuckles caused her tender body to vibrate slightly. Even though her body was covered by that red long dress, that charming figure was still ever so breathtaking. Ji Dong still considered his will as firm, but whenever he concentrated his attention on Lie Yan’s body, his heart would not be willing to submit to his mind.
“You are a really interesting little guy, you are clearly only a small child but you speak like an adult. But seeing you today made me really happy, let me take a careful look at you.”
Ji Dong could only see that everything in front of him blurred, and the red light barrier grew a bit bigger. Lie Yan who previously stood on the magma pillar now appeared in front of his face. Her pair of jet black eyes were now just a few centimeters away, looking at his face.
Ji Dong could clearly feel the tepid breathing of Lie Yan. Her breath had a special smell, bringing a quiet, contenting and igniting warmth to him. There was still some of the aroma of the Midnight Sunshine c.o.c.ktail, and the rest of it was the scent of pure fresh clean air with some sweet scent of moist plants.
In this world of scorching flames, suddenly smelling such an unforgettable fragrance made Ji Dong fully intoxicated. Those big jet black eyes were like two deep vortexes, firmly attracting his eyes and heart.
Lie Yan raised her hand, and caressed Ji Dong’s head while expressing surprise with a soft voice, “Yin-Yang in balance. That’s really strange, could you humans also have physiques of Yin-Yang in balance? Even more this is an absolute equilibrium, without even the smallest disparity.”
Lie Yan’s voice was really nice to hear. Hearing what she said in such close proximity, while smelling her fragrance: Ji Dong was swayed away and intoxicated; so much that he did not clearly hear what Lie Yan was saying.
“Hey, little Ji Dong, what are you thinking about?” Lie Yan raised her hand and lightly knocked on his head. Immediately a warm flow entered from his Yin-Yang Crown Star, Ji Dong felt his body abruptly heated and a layer of steam seemed to have diffused from his body. It was unspeakable comfortable. The double fire attributes magical powers within him were following and his brain became incomparably clearer. It seemed as if Lie Yan’s knock had driven away all the distracting thoughts from his heart.
“Little Ji Dong, why do you have a body with Yin-Yang balance? As it seems, you should be one of the human’s level one Apprentices or whatever. It’s really my first time seeing a human of balanced Yin-Yang double fire attributes! I think I’m becoming more interested in you.”
Ji Dong said, “Isn’t having Yin-Yang in balance garbage? I need to work with 32 times the effort to become a real Yin-Yang wizard. My Yin-Yang in balance is innate.”
“What did you say?” Lie Yan frowned, the smile on her beautiful face vanished. Once again the imposing manner of an empress blossomed from her. With such a close distance Ji Dong could feel the aura around her, and couldn’t breath due to that pressure; his whole body was pasted onto the red light. It felt as if every bone in his body was about to be crushed to pieces.
“Oh, sorry.” Lie Yan reacted, and the pressure disappeared. Ji Dong’s body suddenly lost all strength and fell down. Lie Yan reached out a hand to pull him up, and from Lie Yan’s hand a warm current flowed into Ji Dong’s body, making him a lot more comfortable.
Lie Yan was somewhat apologetic, “It wasn’t on purpose. It was just that when you said that Yin-Yang in balance is garbage, it made me a little angry. That is because I’m also a Yin-Yang in balance double fire attribute. Look.” While saying that, she held Ji Dong’s hand, and stood alongside him. Before he could see her movements, the magma column which supported her before suddenly changed into two enormous flames and rose into the sky. The world before Ji Dong suddenly turned into two colors. One side was pure white, the other was deep black. The black and white colors of the flames were clearly separated.
“You also have a physique of Bing-Ding double fire attribe?” Ji Dong looked at Lie Yan surprised.
Lie Yan nodded, “That is why, we are really brought together by fate. Who said that we, Yin-yang balanced double attribute are trash? You humankind only seek one-sided cultivation, thinking that it is enough as long as you have Yin and Yang in your body, it would not affect you. But lone Yan does not grow, and lone Yin will not live. If one really wishes to understand the ability of one attribute, then you must possess both Yin and Yang. So what if the cultivation speed is slow? Don’t you humans have combination skills? If you became a double-attribute Yin-Yang wizard, then you could use the combination techniques by yourself, there is simply no need to cooperate with somebody else.”
Ji Dong said, “Right now, what I really want is to condense my Yin-Yang crown first. I want to become a Yin-Yang wizard before I think about anything else. And I will strive for it.”
Lie Yan thought a little and said, “Look since you are like me, I mean having the Yin-Yang balanced double fire element. How about this, from now on you will bring me liquor everyday, and I will allow you to cultivate for 6 hours.”
“Cultivate here?” Said Ji Dong surprised.
Lie Yan nodded, “if you cultivate here, then you can forget about the 32 times of effort. Your pace will be not slower than an ordinary person’s. Consider it as you renting my place, and the rent is paid with your fine liquor.”
Hearing what Lie Yan said, Ji Dong greatly exalted. This news couldn’t be better for him. Not only did he have the chance of becoming a Yin-Yang wizard, he could also meet this dreamlike existence, the perfect Lie Yan everyday. Could there be anything better than this?
Lie Yan smiled, “You can start right now. But I will not help you increase your strength. No matter how you cultivate, it will be your own business.”
Ji Dong said, “It is already a great help for me that you allow me to cultivate here. If I still cannot succeed, then it is my own fault. But I cannot stay any longer today. I carelessly opened head master’s scroll, so I need to hurry back and explain it to him. From tomorrow onwards, I will come everyday, is that ok?”