Chapter 153: On the Brink of Eruption (Part Three)

Temporarily suspend the exploration of the ruins and prepare for battle.

At Julian's command, the staff members immediately removed their equipment and took cover behind the rocky outcrops, while Gonzalez began issuing several orders through his earpiece, causing the soldiers stationed on the mountain slopes to instantly conceal themselves.

Meanwhile, Lu Ming and his group were advancing at a slow pace.

Shi Jidong was completely exhausted. Supported by his assistant, the entire team's marching speed slowed down significantly.

Finally, Shi Jidong plopped down onto the ground and said with an embarrassed expression, "Ah, I truly am old and frail. I've become a burden to everyone."

Xia Yuanfei walked over to him, sat down right beside him with a chuckle, and said, "We have to accept aging whether we like it or not. Look at..."

Julian furrowed his brow and slowly spoke, "What's the situation, Gonzalez?"

The blond man named Gonzalez replied, "A group is approaching our location. There are about ten people, and they are armed."

Julian pondered for a moment before saying, "It seems Professor Xia Yuanfei and his people have arrived."

Julian furrowed his brow slightly and slowly asked, "What's the situation, Gonzalez?"

The blond man called Gonzalez replied, "A team is approaching this area. There are about ten people, and they are carrying weapons."

Julian thought for a moment and then said, "It seems our Professor Xia Yuanfei has arrived. These youngsters... truly, we are getting old."

The two men glanced around at the others and smiled wryly, shaking their heads simultaneously.

At that moment, Lu Ming had already stopped, fished a cigarette out of his pocket, and prepared to light it.

Right then, a ripple stirred in his heart as he felt a faint sensation of being watched. Instantly, his spiritual awareness surged forth like a vast ocean.

Maintaining his spiritual awareness for an extended period was a tremendous burden for him, so under normal circumstances, Lu Ming did not keep his spiritual awareness expanded at all times. Otherwise, even with his level of cultivation, he wouldn't be able to sustain it.

Having reached his current realm, however, he was capable of sensing potential dangers and events beforehand. Thus, the moment his alertness was triggered, his spiritual awareness had already spread out.

A moment later, the valley a few miles away, along with the soldiers lying in ambush on both sides of the valley, were all fed back into his mind.

Lu Ming frowned, lit his cigarette, walked over to Xia Yuanfei and Shi Jidong, and said slowly, "We cannot proceed any further. There is an ambush ahead."

"Young man, stop talking nonsense. We are almost there, and besides, what kind of ambush could there possibly be in these desolate mountains and wilderness?" Xia Yuanfei said with evident displeasure.

At the same time, Xia Xuanxuan, covered in sweat, chimed in with a look of utter disdain.

"Oh, look, a coward has suddenly transformed into a prophet. If there's danger, shouldn't we be hiding instead? Who are you trying to scare?"

Seeing Xia Xuanxuan's contemptuous expression, Lu Ming felt a headache coming on. He had no idea where this young woman's deep-seated prejudice against him came from. Could it simply be because he had talked back to her grandfather?

Shaking his head, Lu Ming ignored her and continued, "In the valley not far ahead, there are at least thirty fully armed soldiers. If we don't take precautions, casualties will likely occur immediately."

"Absurd!"

Xia Yuanfei was completely enraged, and he snapped, "You're just a youngster spouting nonsense. This place is rarely visited by humans, so where on earth would fully armed soldiers come from? It's simply a joke."

Lu Ming sighed and said, "It is entirely possible that someone else has already arrived ahead of us and discovered these ruins."

Xia Yuanfei cast a contemptuous glance at Lu Ming and said with an air of arrogant pride, "These ruins are the culmination of years of my painstaking research. It is utterly impossible for anyone else to know about them. Don't make a laughingstock of yourself here."

Lu Ming's brows furrowed deeply as he weighed the implications.

The soldiers ahead were well-trained and fully equipped. In his perception, they formed a complete combat detachment—first-rate soldiers.

In such a desolate place, for a unit like this to exist, Lu Ming could think of no other explanation besides them being here for the ruins.

However, Xia Yuanfei and the others clearly refused to believe his words. If they continued forward and an armed conflict broke out, given the composition and equipment of their own group, they would undoubtedly suffer heavily.

Although Sheng Guo'an was present, Lu Ming had also sensed that someone in the valley possessed an extremely formidable aura—one not a bit inferior to his own, perhaps even stronger, reaching the level of a half-step grandmaster.

Therefore, Sheng Guo'an's combat power could essentially be discounted, because that opposing individual was fully capable of pinning him down and defeating him.

As for Lu Ming himself, he naturally didn't care. No matter how many enemies there were, Lu Ming was confident that he could annihilate them all single-handedly.

The problem, however, was that he had a group of elderly people, the weak, and women traveling with him. If a battle broke out later, he would have to protect these people, which would inevitably tie his hands. If an accident happened and any of them suffered casualties, he wouldn't bear it.

More importantly, these people did not trust him at all. When the time came, if they refused to follow his arrangements, things would become even more difficult to handle.

Just as Lu Ming was deep in thought, Sheng Guo'an walked over and slowly said, "Once we've rested, we'll set off. Even if there is an ambush ahead, I will handle it. You all need not worry."

As he spoke, Sheng Guo'an glanced indifferently at Lu Ming.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yuanfei immediately smiled and said, "With Mr. Sheng here, naturally nothing can go wrong."

During the wolf pack incident the previous night, Sheng Guo'an had displayed extraordinary prowess. Aside from admiring him, everyone placed immense confidence in him. Naturally, they believed his words implicitly, whereas Lu Ming was the exact opposite—who would care about what a coward said?

Seeing everyone acting this way, a trace of anger welled up in Lu Ming's heart. Since they trusted him so little, let them see for themselves. Once they tasted bitterness, let's see what else they had to say.

With that, Lu Ming turned aside and leaned against a tree to rest.

Meanwhile, deep within the valley, Gonzalez was continuously reporting the situation to Julian, whose face wore a grim expression.

His pursuit of the Huaxia art of alchemy was closely tied to himself—or rather, to his entire family.

His family was a noble lineage of ancient standing, enjoying what could be described as privileged conditions.

Yet, their family suffered from a fatal flaw: hereditary heart disease. Some members of his family were born with severe cardiac defects, and he himself was a patient suffering from this very genetic illness.

Modern medicine had no cure for this condition. Julian should have passed away long ago, but relying on his status as the head of the family and vast amounts of wealth, he had hired a top-tier medical team from the British Isles to perform a cardiopulmonary transplant.

The procedure was not yet refined, and its success rate was low, but Julian had succeeded.

Although it was a success, the doctors warned him that he wouldn't live much longer. Sooner or later, his body might reject the transplanted heart and lungs, and when that day came, not even Jesus could save him.

With Western medicine having exhausted all its options, Julian had no choice but to turn to the study of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

To his amazement, he discovered that the legends surrounding Traditional Chinese Medicine were astonishingly miraculous, especially the art of alchemy, which seemed capable of bringing the dead back to life.

True or false, he was not about to give up a shred of hope. Thus, he began collecting every legend and piece of news regarding Traditional Chinese Medicine and alchemy, which eventually led to his journey to Huaxia today.

Julian absolutely could not afford to fail this time. Because the legendary Baopuzi was not only a divine physician but also a legendary alchemist, if this grotto truly belonged to him, the secrets of alchemy might well be found within.

Julian believed that once he grasped the secrets of alchemy, combined with his immense wealth and modern technology, he could forge elixirs with even greater efficacy. Not only would he save his own life, but he would also become a historic figure in his family's lineage, remembered for all time.

That was why this time, not only had he brought along a powerhouse like Gonzalez, but he had also directly hired a notoriously famous mercenary squad, smuggled them into Huaxia, and quietly arrived at this very spot.

This time, failure was not an option. Anyone who dared to stand in his way would be ruthlessly eliminated.

At that moment, Gonzalez spoke up, "Mr. Julian, that team has started moving and is heading toward us. It seems your judgment was correct."

A cold smile hung on Julian's face as he slowly said, "Anyone who disrupts my operation must die. Arrange the troops; let no one who comes this way escape. We cannot allow any information to leak out."

Gonzalez smiled, nodded, and said, "No problem, sir. I assure you, they will all be buried right here, rotting away slowly, and your mission will not suffer the slightest interference."