Chapter 556: Chapter 556

After more than ten years, Zhouyang finally saw Lu Xuanji, the Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul "Half-Step True Immortal," once again.

The location was still on Profound Sun Peak, but this time it was inside Lu Xuanji’s cave residence, the "Profound Secret Cave."

"Young friend, you are indeed trustworthy; we did not misjudge you."

Inside the cave residence, Lu Xuanji smiled with satisfaction as he greeted Zhouyang, who had arrived as promised.

Seeing this, Zhouyang could not bring himself to smile; he merely bowed respectfully, exchanged a polite remark, and stood obediently, waiting for Lu Xuanji to reveal the answer he sought.

What he didn’t expect was that Lu Xuanji did not immediately address the matter he had summoned him for, but instead began speaking of the spatial rift in the "Sea of Death."

"After receiving your message, I personally went to the Boundless Desert Sea the year before last and found the spatial rift you mentioned."

"The demons gathered there have all been exterminated by me, and I set up a grand array at the site of the spatial rift to cover it. In the short term, there shouldn’t be any more demons emerging."

"However, the spatial rift is truly enormous; unless I advance further in cultivation, this is the best I can do!"

This result was not beyond Zhouyang’s expectations.

Although a Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul Cultivator is called a "Half-Step True Immortal," it is still merely a half-step; compared to a real Tribulation Crossing True Immortal, the gap is immense.

The size of the spatial rift in the "Sea of Death" is so vast that even a legendary Tribulation Crossing True Immortal would struggle to seal and repair it, let alone someone like Lu Xuanji, a "Half-Step True Immortal."

On the contrary, upon hearing about Lu Xuanji’s handling of the situation, Zhouyang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the "Sea of Death" is still quite a distance from the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, if the multitude of demons formed by the demonic qi from the spatial rift is not dealt with, they could appear in the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm at any time.

At that point, the cultivators of the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm would struggle to handle these demons by themselves.

Now that Lu Xuanji has exterminated those demons in advance and set up a grand array to seal off the area around the spatial rift, preventing other creatures from entering and being demonized, it has effectively resolved a major problem for the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm ahead of time.

As for Lu Xuanji and Master Cyan Yang’s concern about creatures from the Demon Realm crossing over, Zhouyang didn’t dwell much on the matter.

What use is worry if such entities appear?

"Your high morality, Senior, commands respect. On behalf of countless cultivators and mortals of the Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm, I thank you for your saving grace!"

Zhouyang respectfully bowed deeply to Lu Xuanji as a gesture of gratitude.

No matter Lu Xuanji’s motives, this matter indeed benefitted the entire Boundless Desert Sea Cultivation Realm and, on a larger scale, the whole "Linghuan Realm."

Lu Xuanji accepted his bow openly then suddenly asked, "How much do you know about the Demon Realm?"

Zhouyang didn’t expect such a question from Lu Xuanji and was visibly surprised.

After pondering for a moment, he bowed and said, "Senior, in truth, I only know that the Demon Realm is a higher world than our [Linghuan Realm], corresponding to the legendary Upper Realm. It’s the origin of all demon cultivators, the holy land that all demonic cultivators aspire to."

"That is not incorrect."

Lu Xuanji nodded slightly but quickly shook his head, saying, "But this is merely a superficial description."

"The Demon Realm, also known as the True Demon Realm, refers to all intelligent races within it as the Demon Race."

"Demon races are varied, each possessing unique racial divine techniques innately, with tremendous growth potential."

"The weakest member of a demon race is equivalent in strength to a Qi Cultivation Stage Cultivator, while slightly stronger ones are comparable to Foundation Establishment Cultivators."

"Human cultivators among our ranks, who are demon cultivators, are essentially still human. They may acquire the demon races’ divine techniques, but reaching the power of the demon races’ techniques is challenging."

"Only demon cultivators who enter the True Demon Realm and undergo alienation by True Demon Qi truly become members of the Demon Race. Upon becoming a demon, not only is their lifespan greatly extended, but their aptitude is fundamentally transformed, making it easier for them to practice demonic techniques and break through higher realms. This is why demon cultivators strive to enter the Demon Realm!"

"As for the Upper Realm you just mentioned, it’s also called the True Immortal Realm, home to countless native races. Our Human Race is one of the native races of the True Immortal Realm."

"In ancient times, great powers from the Demon Race crossed realms, opening channels connecting [Linghuan Realm] to the Demon Realm, bringing countless demons to [Linghuan Realm], slaughtering our Human Race, the Demon Race, and other alien races."

"At the time when [Linghuan Realm] was largely overrun by the Demon Race, nearing complete transformation into a land of demons, our ancestors in [Linghuan Realm] finally used a secret technique to connect with the great powers of the True Immortal Realm, requesting aid from the True Immortal Realm to open a passage between the realms and dispatch reinforcements to the lower realm to eradicate demons."

"After a war that lasted several hundred years, the Demon Race great power that opened the passage between the Spirit Realm and the Demon Realm was finally slain by a Lower Realm True Immortal, and the passage was destroyed. All the Demon Race that invaded our Spirit Realm was completely exterminated thereafter."

"But the wise may err, and the slightest oversight can lead to great trouble. At that time, those Lower Realm True Immortals hadn’t expected that a powerful True Demon of the Demon Race would use a false death technique to deceive them. After they thought the demon calamity had been resolved and returned to the True Immortal Realm, that Demon Race True Demon emerged again to cause chaos."

"Without the assistance of those powerful Lower Realm True Immortals, our native Tribulation Crossing True Immortals of the Spirit Realm couldn’t slay that formidable and cunning Demon Race True Demon. Even when the last Tribulation Crossing True Immortal elder led a large number of Nascent Soul Stage cultivators at the cost of their lives, they could only suppress and seal the demon within a secret realm grotto heaven."

"That secret realm grotto heaven was originally developed by the Lower Realm True Immortals to serve as a secluded place for our Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm cultivators to break through the Tribulation Crossing Stage. Since the secret realm grotto heaven has been used to seal that Demon Race True Demon, the ample spiritual qi inside has been entirely devoted to the suppression array of the demon, rendering it unusable for our breakthrough to the Tribulation Crossing Stage!"

"And our Profound Sun Immortal Sect has been planning for thousands of years, prepared for millennia, and now in my generation, we’ve finally found a way to slay that demon."

While Zhouyang listened intently, Lu Xuanji explained in a low voice some ancient secrets known only to cultivators of major sects.

When he suddenly heard such secrets, Zhouyang’s face was overwhelmed with astonishment. Lu Xuanji suddenly turned serious and said to him, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, you possess the Qianyang Treasure Body and control the Qianyang True Flame, the ultimate yang fire for demon refining, which is an indispensable part of our method!"

Zhouyang’s face drastically changed, his mouth agape as he looked at Lu Xuanji, nearly dumbfounded.

He wanted to ask if he had heard wrong, but seeing Lu Xuanji’s serious expression, the words naturally remained unspoken.

After staring blankly at Lu Xuanji for a while, he finally closed his mouth, a bitter expression on his face, and sighed deeply, "Elder, you really think highly of me!"

"Yes, my Qianyang True Flame is meant to restrain demonic divine techniques, but I am only at the Golden Core Stage!"

He emphasized the words "Golden Core Stage" heavily, knowing that such a statement was essentially useless.

"Indeed, your Golden Core Stage cultivation is somewhat lacking for this plan!"

"But we have no time left."

"I have exceeded the three-thousand-year limit of my lifespan. Even with the consumption of some life-extending treasures, I can only live for at most a hundred more years, and without me, this plan cannot even be discussed."

"Furthermore, if the plan succeeds, I must also leave some lifespan to attempt a breakthrough to the Tribulation Crossing Stage."

"So we really don’t have time to wait for you to form a Nascent Soul!"

Lu Xuanji’s face remained unchanged as he slightly shook his head, and his words completely dashed Zhouyang’s hope.

"You don’t need to be too discouraged; we have planned this for thousands of years, and the success rate is quite high."

"If successful, those of us who participate in the plan will become benefactors of all cultivators in the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm. Even the Nascent Soul Stage cultivators will owe you a favor, and your grievances with the Beast Taming Sect can be settled with just a word from me."

"Most importantly, once this demon-slaying task succeeds, you will gain celestial favor and fortune, which will greatly aid your future Refining Pill and Forming Infant process and even mitigate some of the celestial tribulation’s power during the True Immortal Celestial Tribulation!"

Perhaps feeling that Zhouyang’s spiritless attitude was detrimental to the upcoming plan, Lu Xuanji turned to entice him with the benefits of the plan’s success.

Unfortunately, this kind of empty promise was something Zhouyang himself often used on the younger generation of the Zhou Family, and it did not excite him at this moment.

However, he did catch some useful information from Lu Xuanji’s words.

He squeezed his fingers tightly, forcing a bit of spirit, and said, "This humble one owes a great debt to Elder Lu and Elder Qingyang; giving my life to the two elders isn’t much, but I don’t want to die without understanding why. May I ask Elder Lu, in your plan, what exactly is this humble one supposed to do?"

Zhouyang knew well that from the moment he arrived here and heard Lut Xuanji’s account of ancient secrets, he had no retreat available.

But if he could understand the whole plan, he might still find a chance to survive. ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel[f]ire.net

More importantly, even if he were to die in this plan, he at least wanted to know how he would die.

If it were under the hands of that Tribulation Crossing True Demon from the Demon Realm, at least it wouldn’t be unjust.

But if it were at the hands of Lu Xuanji and others, he wouldn’t just sit back and accept death.

Fortunately, what he feared most did not exist.

"You don’t need to know other aspects of this plan. Your role is to continuously provide Qianyang True Flame for me to perform a secret technique. This secret technique can merge several types of true flames into one, producing power far surpassing any single true flame, so even though your cultivation is only at the Golden Core Stage, you can still be a great help!"

"However, given your cultivation is only at the first layer of the Golden Core Stage, your magical power may not suffice. Once the plan begins, our Profound Sun Immortal Sect’s Supreme Elder, Master Baiyang, will perform a Dharma Transmission Secret Technique, channeling his magical power into you, enabling you to possess the magical power equivalent to a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator."

"Being a smart person, I won’t hide it from you. This Dharma Transmission Secret Technique, while granting you magical power equivalent to a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, will cause significant harm to your body. If the duration is too long, it might even lead to the rupture of all your meridians and result in death!"

"Of course, we have also prepared some spirit pills for you that help in healing and protecting the meridians, which can greatly extend the time you can endure."

Lu Xuanji slowly laid out his plan, hiding nothing, showing genuine sincerity.

He had no choice but to do so.

According to his plan, Zhouyang’s full cooperation was necessary for this matter to succeed.

Not to mention anything else, just speaking of the Dharma Transmission Secret Technique, it must be voluntarily accepted by Zhouyang himself, otherwise, a forced transmission would only cause Zhouyang to explode on the spot.

It was precisely for this reason that he and Master Cyan Yang had always been benevolent to Zhouyang, aiming to make Zhouyang willingly take risks to help.

Now their goal was achieved, as Zhouyang had agreed to help. Naturally, he wouldn’t hide such news, which would obviously reveal flaws, at such a crucial moment.

When Zhouyang finished listening to his words, he felt a stir in his heart, and couldn’t help but ask, "Elder Lu, do you mean that the ’Qianyang True Flame’ I provide is merely a catalyst used to enhance and suppress the powers fused in your secret technique and counter the demonic force?"

"A catalyst? Yes, just as you said. What the old man needs is precisely that ultimate yang power of the ’Qianyang True Flame’. So even if your cultivation is lower, the impact on the plan won’t be too significant, since the leading force is still the ’Profound Yang True Flame’ I cultivated!"

Lu Xuanji nodded slightly, acknowledging Zhouyang’s words.

His "Profound Yang True Flame" is itself a renowned supreme yang fire and is one of the most famous divine techniques of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect.

Zhouyang had long known from the "True Man List" that Lu Xuanji himself possessed the "Profound Sun Spirit Body", a spiritual body most suitable for practicing the foundational cultivation technique of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, "Profound Sun Treasure Manual".

This was why Lu Xuanji previously said time waits for no one.

He is now the strongest cultivator of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect in ten thousand years. If he does not deal with the true demon of the Demon Race in his generation, after his passing, the sect might not produce another powerhouse like him for another ten thousand years.

And once the true demon of the Demon Race is dealt with, given his talent, paired with the celestial favor and fortune he mentioned earlier, achieving a breakthrough into the Tribulation Crossing Stage is not out of reach!

Concerning his own opportunity to become immortal, Lu Xuanji certainly didn’t want any mishaps.

"If so, if the junior can increase the potency of the ’Qianyang True Flame’ to the Great Success Realm, won’t the power of the flame you fused become much stronger? Won’t we not need to engage in prolonged battles then?"

Zhouyang immediately became excited, looking expectantly at Lu Xuanji, but his words shocked Lu Xuanji.

"What did you say? Do you have a way to enhance the power of the ’Qianyang True Flame’?"

Lu Xuanji looked at Zhouyang, filled with surprise and excitement, almost suspecting he had misheard.

Enhancing the power of Zhouyang’s ’Qianyang True Flame’ was something Lu Xuanji had naturally considered. However, since this ’Qianyang True Flame’ divine technique relies on Zhouyang’s ’Qianyang Treasure Body’ to manifest, using external forces to enhance its power wasn’t feasible, at least Lu Xuanji hadn’t found a method.

Now suddenly hearing Zhouyang say that he himself could bring the ’Qianyang True Flame’ to the Great Success Realm, Lu Xuanji couldn’t help but feel excited.

"To be honest, the junior indeed possesses a treasure that can significantly enhance the power of the ’Qianyang True Flame’. As for whether it can reach the Great Success Realm, the junior isn’t certain either."

Zhouyang spoke as he stretched out his hand, summoning the "Qianyang Treasure Pearl".

At this moment, he had no need to hide this treasure. If he died during this operation, the treasure would also be destroyed.

And given that only those with the ’Qianyang Treasure Body’ could use it, Lu Xuanji probably wouldn’t have the face to seize it.

"Tier Seven Immortal Artifact!"

Lu Xuanji, worthy of being a Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul "Half-Step True Immortal", immediately discerned the essence of "Qianyang Treasure Pearl" and couldn’t help but exclaim.

"This item, named ’Qianyang Treasure Pearl’, is a damaged Tier Seven Immortal Artifact. Only cultivators with the ’Qianyang Treasure Body’ can recognize and use it. If the junior activates this treasure, it can temporarily enhance the power of the ’Qianyang True Flame’."

Zhouyang held up the golden treasure pearl and spoke solemnly of his reliance.

Lu Xuanji’s eyes were bright as he stared at the golden treasure pearl in Zhouyang’s hand, his eyes lighting up at his words, and he immediately instructed: "Activate this treasure for the old man to see."

Zhouyang intended to do so, and upon hearing the instructions, he immediately activated the treasure pearl, releasing the strengthened ’Qianyang True Flame’.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent! Didn’t expect the young friend to have such a trump card; it’s truly an infinite surprise, an infinite surprise!"

"Originally, the old man only had fifty percent certainty, but with the reinforced ’Qianyang True Flame’ from the young friend, this certainty can increase by another twenty percent!"

"If this endeavor succeeds, young friend, your contribution will be immeasurable, immeasurable indeed!"

Lu Xuanji shouted in excitement, his face brimming with joy, utterly delighted by the sudden reveal of Zhouyang’s hidden card.

To someone like him who has bet everything, even a slight increase in the probability of success is enough to make him burst into laughter, not to mention a twenty percent increase.

"Only seventy percent?"

Zhouyang murmured to himself, dispersing the golden flame in his hand, then looked solemnly at Lu Xuanji and said, "Junior has an unkind request, and I hope senior can agree!"

Lu Xuanji, hearing this, immediately said, "What do you need? Just say it, if the old man can help you with it, he will certainly do so!"

This was quite a weighty promise.

A promise from a Ninth-Layer Nascent Soul "Half-Step True Immortal" is invaluable.

Of course, if Zhouyang were to make unreasonable demands because of this, even though Lu Xuanji would stick to his word, he would definitely have some thoughts afterward.

So Zhouyang did not make unreasonable demands, only spoke according to his original plan: "This trip is perilous and unpredictable, what I wish to ask from the senior is that if I fall during this trip, please bestow a portion of the [Jade Liquid Golden Pill] to my Dao companion in Immortal Sun City, to aid in her Golden Core Formation."

This request is not excessive at all, and could even be said to have exceeded Lu Xuanji’s expectations. He was prepared for Zhouyang to make a big demand, and was surprised to find it was just such a simple request.

He froze for a moment, then immediately said, "Rest assured, whether the plan succeeds or fails, afterwards, a portion of [Jade Liquid Golden Pill] will be sent to your Dao companion. If it succeeds, the old man will give you two portions!"

The Profound Sun Immortal Sect, including Lu Xuanji, has as many as nine Nascent Soul Stage cultivators!

With this many Nascent Soul Stage cultivators, if each cultivator made one "Jade Liquid Golden Pill" every hundred years, there would be no worry about running out.

And with Lu Xuanji’s status in the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, calling upon one or two portions of "Jade Liquid Golden Pill" is no difficult task.

Nevertheless, Zhouyang solemnly bowed deeply in gratitude, saying, "Thus, junior hereby expresses his gratitude on behalf of his wife to senior in advance!"

Then Zhouyang handed over his storage ring to Lu Xuanji, asking him to have it temporarily kept within the sect so it could be handed over to his Dao companion, Xiao Ying, afterward.

He himself only brought a few commonly used magical artifacts and some spirit talismans, elixirs stored in a spare storage ring.

Having completed these tasks, Zhouyang then left the Profound Sun Immortal Sect along with Lu Xuanji, heading towards the Secret Realm Grotto Heaven he mentioned.

The details of this trip are known to only a few within the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, and there are four cultivators accompanying him, including Zhouyang and Lu Xuanji, among which are three Nascent Soul Stage cultivators of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, including the Supreme Elder "Master Baiyang" who would be performing the Dharma Transmission Secret Technique on him.

This "Master Baiyang" is the second Supreme Elder of the Profound Sun Immortal Sect, with cultivation reaching the Seventh-Layer Nascent Soul. However, this is the highest he will reach in this life because his remaining lifespan is less than fifty years, and this is after he once used a life-extending spiritual object.

Therefore, this time, while others including Zhouyang are uncertain whether they will survive, this "Master Baiyang" certainly will not return.

Because once the Dharma Transmission Secret Technique is performed, the exhaustion of his primordial energy is exceedingly significant, and with his current frail body, it’s hard to say whether he would die before Zhouyang due to depleted energy.

As for the remaining Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, it is the Profound Sun Immortal Sect’s fifth Supreme Elder "Master Jinyang," with a Fifth-Layer Nascent Soul cultivation, also a key participant in this plan.

This "Master Jinyang" is someone with great fortune, as he has refined a "Sun Golden Flame."

It must be known, the "Sun Golden Flame" is among the most powerful of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fires, and cannot be refined by anyone other than a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, and once refined, the benefits gained are immeasurable.

Moreover, the "Sun Golden Flame" is also a form of Ultimate Yang Demon Refining Fire, which restrains demonic power as well as "Qianyang True Flame" does.

Upon learning this news, Zhouyang’s confidence in Lu Xuanji’s ability to kill the demon race’s true demons increased significantly.

Thus, the four of them, led by Lu Xuanji, flew for several days before arriving at a desolate and rugged mountainous region.

To Zhouyang’s surprise, there were others on the mountain, and he was familiar with one of them—a cultivator from the Great Brightness Immortal Palace who had previously taken the "Eye of Light" from the Wood Demon in Kunxu Realm.

Besides this Great Brightness Immortal Palace cultivator, there was also an exceedingly beautiful woman in a red dress on the mountain.

When Zhouyang’s gaze landed on the woman in the red dress, his pupils shrank instantly, and a deep look of shock appeared in his eyes.

The woman in the red dress was unexpectedly a Tier Six Demon King in human form!