Novel11 Chapter 356 : Mysterious Existence
Chapter 356 : Mysterious Existence
Gazing at the pitch-black passage stretching across heaven and earth before them, the Immortal Sect prodigies present all grew solemn, their eyes immediately turning toward the direction of the Shangqing Immortal Sect.According to the rules of the Assembly of Heroes, the entry order of the Thirteen Immortal Sects was determined by the rankings of the Dao Discussion Battle.
As the champion of this Dao Discussion Battle, the Shangqing Immortal Sect enjoyed the privilege of entering the Scarlet Flame Realm first.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhao Yue remained calm. She activated her escape light and led her fellow sect prodigies toward the pitch-black passage.
Just before touching the void gateway, Zhao Yue’s movement paused slightly, and from the corner of her eye, she glanced at Chen Beiwu.
The Assembly of Heroes was different from the Dao Discussion Battle.
In the Dao Discussion Battle, Chen Beiwu had nowhere to evade and could only clash head-on with her to determine victory or defeat.
But within the Scarlet Flame Realm, the spiritual mechanisms of heaven and earth were in chaos, the environment was harsh, and a cultivator’s divine sense would be suppressed by more than half.
Even though Zhao Yue had forged a Pure Yang Nascent Soul, obtained the Dao’s Rhythm of heaven and earth, and her Yang Spirit could roam north to the Northern Sea at dawn and south to Cangwu at dusk—teleporting a thousand miles in an instant—she could still be ambushed and defeated by a prodigy like Chen Beiwu.
However, the reverse was also true!
An Immortal Art killing move like Myriad Spirits Tribulation Transformation required time to brew and could not possibly be without any forewarning. Meanwhile, the divine sense of a Nascent Soul True Monarch far surpassed that of a Golden Core True Person, allowing one to foresee an enemy and strike first.
If she could detect Chen Beiwu in advance with her divine sense and launch a direct assault, she was confident she could take him down within two moves.
In the end, without the supreme killing move of Myriad Spirits Tribulation Transformation, Chen Beiwu was merely a Golden Core peak cultivator.
Even if his combat strength rivaled that of an ordinary early-stage Nascent Soul True Monarch, he was still only Golden Core.
‘I will keep winning!’
Zhao Yue withdrew her gaze and stepped into the void gateway, her figure vanishing.
Seeing this, True Venerable Tao Yan’s gaze flickered slightly before turning toward Chen Beiwu, his eyes carrying a trace of scrutiny.
Although he held high hopes for Chen Beiwu’s future, he did not believe the latter’s achievements could surpass those of the Supreme Yin Saintess Gu Qinghan. So where had things gone wrong?
“Let’s go.”
After giving a slight bow toward True Venerable Tao Yan as a sign of respect, Chen Beiwu activated his movement technique and stepped into the void gateway first.
Behind him, Yu Zhaohua and the other three followed closely, transforming into streaks of light and disappearing.
“Buzz!”
Within the void gateway, colors twisted and shifted. Darkness surrounded them on all sides, with only a faint glimmer of light ahead guiding Chen Beiwu’s group of five forward.
No one knew how long passed—perhaps an instant, perhaps a full day and night.
When the light ahead suddenly expanded and erupted with a suffocating wave of heat, Chen Beiwu’s vision went black, and a buzzing sound rang in his ears.
‘Compared to the teleportation through the Gate of Ten Directions, the transmission experience of the Myriad Worlds Gate is utter trash,’ Chen Beiwu judged inwardly.
The next moment, his body felt light, and solid ground pressed beneath his feet.
Opening his eyes, Chen Beiwu saw Yu Zhaohua looking up at the sky with curiosity.
“So this is the Scarlet Flame Realm?”
Hearing this, Chen Beiwu raised his head and saw three Great Suns hanging high in the firmament, radiating endless light and heat. Even the surrounding air carried a faint scent of sulfur.
Clearly, this realm was a vicious land, inherently close to the Great Dao of Fire, while the other Five Elements laws were suppressed.
“Correct.” Ye Xinya nodded solemnly.
According to what she knew, the Scarlet Flame Realm had once been a thriving middle thousand world and had even nurtured a self-proclaimed Fifth-Realm Beast Sovereign known as the “Flame Emperor.” He had been exceedingly arrogant, provoking the Tianyan Immortal Sect to dispatch a Divine Transformation True Venerable to wage war. With supreme mana, that True Venerable forcibly stripped away the world’s origin, causing its earth veins to turn violent, the land to scorch and wither, and the spiritual mechanisms of heaven and earth to descend into chaos.
“There’s something wrong with this place!” Chen Beiwu frowned slightly in warning.
Before the Immortal Sect Exchange Conference began, the sect had already prepared intelligence for him.
Though some flaws existed—such as outdated information regarding Wang Chan of the Taiqing Immortal Sect and the Three Firmaments of the Shangqing Immortal Sect—it was impossible for even the most basic intelligence about an entire world to be incorrect.
“What’s wrong?” Ye Xinya’s eyes flickered.
“Divine sense,” Chen Beiwu replied concisely.
According to sect intelligence, the Scarlet Flame Realm’s environment was extremely harsh. When a Golden Core True Person entered, their divine sense would be suppressed by fifty percent, and the heaven and earth spiritual energy they absorbed would carry a scorching, violent fire-sha aura.
This fire-sha aura, entering with the spiritual energy, was like a wild horse off its reins. It would burn a cultivator’s meridians, erode Earthly Sha True Qi, and even ignite heartfire—causing agitation or even heart demons.
Yet just now, when Chen Beiwu habitually extended his divine sense outward by ten thousand zhang to cover sixty li of surrounding terrain, he discovered his divine sense here felt heavy and sluggish. Its power was less than thirty percent of usual—far more severely suppressed.
Yu Zhaohua and the others’ expressions changed slightly as they realized the issue, yet they could not determine its source.
“Perhaps the earth veins here are special, causing unusually strong suppression of divine sense,” Mo Qingshuang speculated with a frown.
“Perhaps.” Chen Beiwu swept his gaze around, still sensing something amiss.
When spirit and qi united, the Nascent Soul was formed.
A True Monarch of the Immortal Alliance possessed divine sense like a tide—like liquid mercury spilling across the ground, seeping into every crevice.
An early-stage Nascent Soul True Monarch could perceive everything within thirty li with utmost clarity—even ants crawling would reflect upon the lake of the heart as clearly as palm lines.
If not seeking such detailed clarity, a Nascent Soul True Monarch could condense their divine sense into a single thread stretching a thousand miles—seeing as if with their own eyes, sensing across thousands or even tens of thousands of miles. Such power was beyond the comprehension of a Golden Core True Person.
Precisely because of this, in Chen Beiwu’s view, even if the Scarlet Flame Realm suppressed a Golden Core True Person’s divine sense by fifty percent, it should not be able to suppress a Nascent Soul True Monarch’s by seventy percent.
Moreover, due to Nine-Breath Chaos and Divine Powers enhancement, Chen Beiwu’s divine sense coverage surpassed that of an early-stage Nascent Soul True Monarch, perfectly covering a radius of sixty li.
“Let’s move. We’ll scout the surrounding area first and determine the location of the Innate One Qi Formation Nexus.”
After hesitating briefly, Chen Beiwu decided not to dwell further and proceeded according to plan.
Meanwhile, thirty thousand zhang beneath their location—
Deep within a lava cavern, a pair of crimson eyes slowly opened, glancing upward.
“Interesting. They’ve finally arrived.”
As the words fell, the owner of the crimson eyes curled his lips. With a flash, his figure vanished instantly.
…
One hour later.
Scarlet Flame Realm, within a mysterious valley.
Following the map’s guidance, Chen Beiwu arrived at the valley’s center.
“Buzz!”
Without Chen Beiwu channeling mana, the map in his hand lit up automatically, resonating with the surrounding stone pillars.
“Rumble—!”
The valley trembled as formation restrictions were lifted, revealing a funnel-shaped profound treasure.
Above the treasure, a mass of liquid about the size of a human head—like flowing red-gold—slowly floated upward, causing the entire valley’s temperature to plummet wildly.
Chen Beiwu remained calm, forming hand seals according to the map’s instructions while chanting obscure scriptures.
After three quarters of an hour, the Flame-Yang Liquid shot into the sky, transforming into a streak of golden light and separating from the profound treasure.
Seeing this, Chen Beiwu quickly took out a prepared Spirit-Sealing Jade Bottle, collected the Flame-Yang Liquid, and swiftly sealed it.
“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”
Not long after, four streaks of escape light descended nearby, revealing Yu Zhaohua and the others.
“Senior Brother Chen, we’ve located the Innate One Qi Formation Nexus!” Yu Zhaohua said joyfully.
“Where?” Chen Beiwu’s eyes brightened.
“According to the compass deduction, it should be northwest, about three thousand five hundred li away,” Yu Zhaohua replied.
To win the Assembly of Heroes, there was only one method: defeat the cultivators of the other Immortal Sects, seize all jade tokens, and stand as the last.
To prevent some sects from avoiding battle and to intensify competition, the organizers would place one-time profound treasures at locations such as spirit vein hubs and Innate One Qi Formation Nexuses.
Whoever defeated their opponents and entered these hubs—or seized the one-time talisman treasure at the formation nexus—would greatly enhance their team’s strength.
“Woof!”
Iron Egg barked softly in warning.
He had repeatedly activated Karmic Fire Listening to Sin and detected no special karmic force within a thousand-li radius. Yet he faintly sensed danger—as though something perilous was watching them.
“Na?” (Where?)
The Five Qi Vine glanced around.
The Scarlet Flame Realm’s environment was too harsh and unfriendly to wood-attribute Mystic Beasts like him; he sensed nothing unusual.
‘It’s fine.’
Chen Beiwu patted Iron Egg’s head, soothing him mentally.
If the other party truly possessed the strength to threaten them, they would not hide so furtively.
Moreover, wanton killing was forbidden within the Scarlet Flame Realm. With a Divine Transformation True Venerable of the Tianyan Immortal Sect overseeing, their lives were guaranteed.
“Let’s go. No time to waste.”
Having confirmed the formation nexus’s location, Chen Beiwu led his team onward immediately.
Deep underground, the crimson-eyed existence followed the Yuqing Immortal Sect team, a faint smile on his lips.
…
Elsewhere, at the location of the Innate One Qi Formation Nexus—
Yellow sand filled the sky as prodigies of three Immortal Sects faced off.
“This formation nexus belongs to the Bixiao Immortal Sect,” Xun Xing, the Bixiao Immortal Sect’s chief, declared arrogantly. “You are not my opponents. You may as well retreat.”
Hearing this, the chiefs of the Fulong Immortal Sect and the Xuanhuang Immortal Sect exchanged glances but said nothing.
“Very well. Since you refuse to leave, then leave behind your jade tokens.”
Xun Xing sighed lightly, as though victory were already his.
“Join forces to crush the Bixiao Immortal Sect. You take three shares of the jade tokens; I’ll take two!” the Xuanhuang chief shouted as he attacked.
In a one-on-one, he was no match for Xun Xing. But ten against five? He had some confidence.
The Fulong chief immediately summoned his Companion Beast and led his sectmates to attack first.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
After dozens of exchanges, the Xuanhuang chief stiffened—frozen in place by Xun Xing’s Third-Tier Treasure Art.
Lowering his head, he saw a beast claw suddenly protruding from his chest.
“Why?”
Turning his head, he saw the indifferent gaze of the Fulong chief.
“There is no why. In war, deception is no taboo.”
The Fulong chief kicked him aside, picked up the blood-stained jade token, and casually handed it to Xun Xing.
Xun Xing shook his head with a smile. “Rest assured, our alliance remains effective. The jade token is yours.”
The Fulong chief exhaled in relief.
Those who betray may themselves be betrayed. He had feared Xun Xing would tear up the alliance and seize the opportunity to wipe out the Fulong Immortal Sect.
Witnessing this, the Xuanhuang Immortal Sect cultivators exploded in fury but were swiftly defeated due to the overwhelming gap in strength, ending their Assembly of Heroes journey.
“Clap, clap, clap.”
Sudden applause rang out. Xun Xing and the others extended their divine sense toward its source.
A slender figure approached slowly, followed by four Golden Core prodigies. It was Meng Chengxian, chief of the Dongxuan Immortal Sect.
“Brother Meng, are you here to wade into these troubled waters as well?” Xun Xing frowned.
In terms of combat power alone, he surpassed Meng Chengxian—but the latter was an exceptionally accurate Divination Arts practitioner.
Given what he knew of Meng Chengxian, if the latter appeared, he must have sufficient confidence.
“Indeed.” Meng Chengxian waved his fan calmly. “I cast a divination today. The hexagram was greatly auspicious, without bloodshed. Brother Xun, why not grant some convenience and withdraw?”
“Oh?” Xun Xing’s eyes sharpened. “Then I must test it.”
Whether they could obtain the profound treasure within the formation nexus would determine the success of the Four-Sect Alliance.
The Dongxuan Immortal Sect alone was far from enough to make him retreat.
“Whoosh!”
At that moment, a streak of escape light shot across the distant sky.
“It’s Chen Beiwu!”
Sensing the familiar aura, the cultivators of the Bixiao and Fulong Immortal Sects paled. Even Xun Xing’s brows knitted tightly.
After the Dao Discussion Battle and the Luoxia Villa gathering, the Thirteen Immortal Sects had reached a consensus:
Chen Beiwu was unquestionably the strongest among this generation of prodigies. Only the Three Firmaments of the Shangqing Immortal Sect could defeat him.
Now that Chen Beiwu had suddenly arrived, let alone seizing the one-time profound treasure within the formation nexus—whether they could escape his grasp at all was uncertain!
“Retreat!” Xun Xing shouted sharply, his figure pulling back.
The Bixiao and Fulong cultivators reacted instantly. Before Xun Xing’s voice had fully faded, they had already activated their escape lights, fleeing in all directions.
“Buzz!”
In the next instant, a semi-transparent glazed barrier quietly manifested, sealing off the entire space.
Several cultivators at the front failed to react in time and slammed violently into the barrier.
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
The barrier remained intact. Instead, the cultivators who collided with it suffered heavy impacts, their escape lights shattering.
Seeing this, Xun Xing spun around, face ashen.
At the four cardinal directions, Yu Zhaohua, Mo Qingshuang, Ye Xinya, and Xue Tianyi each stood in position, forming hand seals. Earthly Sha True Qi surged endlessly around them, merging to sever this entire space from the outside world.
“This is the Four Aspects Void-Sealing Art. Without a full-force strike from a Nascent Soul True Monarch, it cannot be broken. Fellow Daoists, you may as well stay,” Yu Zhaohua said calmly.
The cultivators of the Bixiao and Fulong Immortal Sects looked grim, while the Dongxuan Immortal Sect remained composed.
“Indeed. Why not stay here?”
As Chen Beiwu’s voice fell, Golden Egg shot into the sky, displaying his Three-Phase Manifestation Profound Ability and releasing vast pressure comparable to a False Nascent Soul Cultivator.
“Woof!”
Iron Egg flashed, activating Karmic Fire Listening to Sin, turning into a streak of black light.
Wherever he passed, cultivators of the Fulong Immortal Sect found a flame of Severed Karma True Fire igniting on their backsides, burning them into shrill cries.
“Damn it! What kind of flame is this?!”
Unable to expel the Severed Karma True Fire with Earthly Sha True Qi, several Fulong cultivators cursed aloud.
“Na!”
The Five Qi Vine clasped both hands together. The desolate desert suddenly burst with verdant life.
Towering ancient trees erupted from the ground. In the blink of an eye, more than half the desert transformed into a primordial forest of colossal trees, encircling the three Immortal Sects—fifteen Golden Core True Persons in total.
At this sight, a faint, nearly imperceptible bead of sweat formed at Xun Xing’s temple.
“Fellow Daoist Chen, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. We can form an alliance with you and jointly resist the Shangqing Immortal Sect!”