Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Chapter 625 - 610: Vermilion Bird Secret Realm

The Vermilion Bird Mountain Range is located in the southwest of the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, at the border area with the Celestial South Continent Cultivation Realm.

The boundary area of these two cultivation realms is filled with rugged and treacherous terrain, infested with demon beasts and venomous insects. Many demon cultivators and evil cultivators hide within, making it very difficult to cross this area alive without a Golden Core Stage cultivation.

Within this region, the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range is considered extremely dangerous, as it is said that a Tier Six Demon King is in secluded cultivation there.

Under ordinary circumstances, Zhouyang would naturally steer clear of places inhabited by a Tier Six Demon King, avoiding it at all costs.

However, at present, to search for Zhu Zizhen who entered the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, he has no choice but to knowingly walk into danger.

He set out from Donghua Immortal City, detouring to visit the vicinity of the Divine Lady Palace, where he explained his plan to his daughter before heading straight towards the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range.

After traveling for two to three months, he finally arrived outside the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range.

From a distance, thick smoke rolled across the mountains of the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, and the faint appearance of fierce flames could be seen at times.

In Zhouyang’s eyes, the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range was an extremely active volcanic region. Spanning tens of thousands of miles, it was dotted with thousands of active volcanoes, with eruptions occurring almost daily.

In this cultivation world, volcanic eruptions would spew not only lava and ash but also many spiritual objects nurtured within the underground magma sea.

Some cultivators would rush over after a volcanic eruption to search for the spiritual objects that might have been ejected, requiring great luck to actually find anything.

The Vermilion Bird Mountain Range always had many such cultivators lurking outside some active volcanoes, waiting for an eruption, while those with higher cultivation or more bravery would chase after erupting volcanoes, searching everywhere for those volcanic spiritual objects.

This was very dangerous because the true rulers of the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range were all sorts of demon beasts. Many powerful fire element demon beasts lived here, and some specialized species of demon beasts even used volcanic magma as food and habitat.

Every year, many cultivators met their end in the stomachs of beasts here, their bodies never to be found.

After entering the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, Zhouyang encountered many cultivators battling with demon beasts, and he helped everyone he could, nearly saving them all.

Saving people was just a simple act of kindness for him, and rescuing others also allowed him to gather information about Zhu Zizhen, even though he knew that these cultivators, most being at the Foundation Establishment Stage, were unlikely to have seen any trace of Zhu Zizhen.

The only thing he could comfort himself with was that the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range was not large, at least not in terms of his Golden Core Stage cultivation.

He had three or four years to search, which would be enough time to scour the entire Vermilion Bird Mountain Range several times over.

Of course, the demon beasts in the mountains wouldn’t easily allow him to do so.

Therefore, in the initial half-year, Zhouyang often engaged in battles with some Tier Five demon beasts in the mountains.

Out of caution for the rumored Tier Six Demon King dwelling in seclusion within the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, Zhouyang refrained from killing those Tier Five demon beasts, at most only severely injuring them.

His actions seemed to have some effect. At least for half a year, as he trod through most of the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, he didn’t provoke an attack from the legendary Tier Six Demon King.

Meanwhile, over this half-year period, many cultivators seeking treasures in the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range learned about his quest to find someone. Many of those he saved also voluntarily kept an eye out for any news regarding his search.

On this day, Zhouyang was flying through the mountains, seeking any trace of Zhu Zizhen, when suddenly a deafening rumble echoed from a great distance away.

He looked up into the sky and saw that the far-off sky indeed turned crimson, vaguely visible in the gray-black shadows.

"Has another large volcano erupted?"

A flash of peculiar light passed through his eyes. After some contemplation, Zhouyang moved the cloud beneath his feet and headed in that direction nonetheless.

During such large volcanic eruptions, the chance of spewing forth volcanic spiritual objects was many times higher than small eruptions.

In this half-year, Zhouyang also found several volcanic spiritual objects during some eruptions, all of which were good artifact refining materials.

A few hours later, Zhouyang arrived outside the site of the volcanic eruption.

Although a few hours had passed by this time, there was still no sign of the lava cascading from the volcano’s mouth ceasing.

The eruptions poured down from high above, turning the area several hundred miles around the volcano into a vast magma lake, and the volcanic ash clouds floating in the sky formed a thick volcanic ash cloud that completely blocked out the sunlight. If not for the dim red glow emitted by the magma illuminating the surroundings, this thousand-mile region would have already plunged into eternal night.

After observing from afar, Zhouyang dove straight into the volcanic ash cloud-covered area, releasing his divine sense to scan the magma lake below, searching for any spiritual objects that might have fallen into it.

These volcanic spiritual objects were easiest to find when the magma had not yet cooled. Once the magma solidified into volcanic rock, finding those spiritual objects deeply buried in the rocks depended entirely on one’s luck and patience.

Given Zhouyang’s powerful divine sense, he scoured the magma lake that spanned several hundred miles several times in no time, and indeed found a few volcanic spiritual objects, including a precious Tier Five spiritual object - the Thousand-year Fire Crystal Jade.

Even knowing that continuing the search might yield more findings, Zhouyang had already decided not to waste more time on it.

He didn’t come to the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range for these spiritual objects that could be purchased with spirit stones. Moreover, he had already obtained the most valuable items; the remaining bits and scraps could be left for those who made their living from it.

However, just as he was about to leave, there was a muffled sound from within the lava-spewing volcano, and the volcano erupted once more!

A large amount of high-temperature lava poured out with the volcanic eruption, Zhouyang simply didn’t have time to withdraw and leave. He could only activate the Qianyang Celestial Fire Shield divine technique to protect himself, enduring the flood of volcanic lava.

Fortunately, the spouting volcanic lava this time was far less than the first time. After Zhouyang held on for a while, the surging lava calmed down. Although more lava still flowed down the volcanic crater, it no longer sprayed everywhere as before.

"This is really..."

In the sky, Zhouyang looked at the lake of lava that had expanded a lot on the ground, intending to say something about bad luck.

But before he could finish, he suddenly turned his head with suspicion, looking towards the volcanic crater.

He could still hear muffled sounds coming from the crater, but these sounds, to Zhouyang’s ears, resembled some kind of beast’s roar.

"What’s going on? Could it be that the recent volcanic eruption was caused by a demon beast?"

With a flash of confusion in his eyes, Zhouyang suddenly had a thought and couldn’t help but reinforce his shield, flying towards the volcanic crater.

This was because he suddenly remembered that if it was indeed a demon beast causing the volcanic eruption, the beast responsible couldn’t possibly be just a Tier Five Demon Beast. It might well be the rumored Tier Six Demon King that lived in seclusion in the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range.

And a Tier Six Demon King would certainly not trigger a volcanic explosion without reason.

Upon reaching the crater, Zhouyang listened carefully and indeed heard an even stronger muffled sound.

"Let’s go down and take a look."

Upon contemplating the surging sea of molten lava below, he steeled his heart, directly summoned the Flaming Dragon Shield, activated the Flame Dragon Guardian divine technique, and plunged into the molten sea under the protection of a Flame Flame Dragon.

A Golden Core Stage Cultivator with powerful magical powers, entering and exiting the sea of lava wasn’t much of a problem, but staying in the sea of lava for a long time wasn’t easy.

A cultivator in the sea of lava had to continuously maintain defense divine techniques to withstand the high temperature of the lava, essentially enduring constant attacks from another Golden Core Stage Cultivator.

Zhouyang, with deep magical powers and being a Fire Element Cultivator himself, experienced less pressure in the sea of lava compared to cultivators of other attributes.

He kept descending deeper into the sea of lava. The deeper he went, the higher the temperature, which increased his magical power consumption.

Yet, as he delved deeper, the muffled sounds also became clearer, and it was evident to Zhouyang that strong magical combat fluctuations were occurring.

This made him happy rather than fearful, realizing that his guess was probably coming true.

Therefore, he accelerated, rushing directly towards the source of the combat fluctuations.

After two quarters of an hour, Zhouyang finally sensed a familiar aura, belonging to Zhu Zizhen, the Vermilion Bird Demon King.

Through his senses, it was clear that Zhu Zizhen had the upper hand in the battle. The opponent’s intermittent roars corroborated this.

However, because of the molten lava barrier, Zhouyang couldn’t see the appearance of the demon king fighting Zhu Zizhen.

But this didn’t matter; finding Zhu Zizhen was his purpose for coming here. Since his objective was achieved, he had no intention of risking his life by intervening in a battle between two Tier Six Demon Kings.

Thus, he released his own aura to convey his intent to meet Zhu Zizhen and then retreated to the surface, patiently waiting for the battle below the sea of lava to conclude.

The wait was quite long. Zhouyang waited for more than half a month before the battle under the sea of lava truly ended.

As expected, Zhu Zizhen emerged as the victor.

However, she merely defeated the unknown demon king and did not kill the opponent; it was unclear if she lacked the strength or intentionally spared them, considering they both belonged to the Demon Race.

"Human boy, you don’t really think that just because the King once made a deal with you, now you have a qualification to make another deal with the King, do you?"

Outside the crater, the returning victor Zhu Zizhen coldly stared at Zhouyang, who had been waiting there for a long time. Her phoenix eyes filled with fury, her face showed impatience.

Zhouyang appeared in the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, clearly seeking her out for help.

But she didn’t consider Zhouyang, merely a Golden Core Stage Cultivator, qualified to negotiate with her.

Hearing her displeased tone, Zhouyang felt a jolt in his heart and quickly bowed, saying respectfully: "Please calm your anger, senior. This junior is truly in a difficult situation and had no choice but to travel a long distance to seek your assistance. I truly did not mean to disturb your business."

However, Zhu Zizhen was indifferent to his gesture, replying coldly: "What concern is your plight to the King? The King spared you earlier only out of consideration for the deceased Elder Lu Xuanji. Surely you don’t think a dead man still holds enough sway to persuade the King to help you!"

"Elder Lu has long passed into immortality. This junior would not dare to think so. But Senior Zhu, you are the only senior I know in the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm. I’m now at a dead end. Even knowing I might incur your wrath by coming, I boldly ventured here to seek help from you, hoping you might lend me a hand this time!"

After speaking bitterly, without waiting for Zhu Zizhen to speak, he quickly added: "Please, senior, don’t be hasty to refuse. Allow this junior to explain. It won’t take much of your time!"

"If you have something to say, spit it out!"

Zhu Zizhen impatiently retorted with a cold shout, reluctantly agreeing to listen.

Zhouyang saw this and dared not delay any further. He quickly explained the reason for his visit to the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm and the situation of his lover and daughter to the other party.

"What a pity, the Spiritual Object like [True Phoenix Blood] is wasted on a mere Foundation Establishment Stage ant whose cultivation is not even Tier Six, truly squandering a heavenly gift!"

This was Zhu Zizhen’s first comment after listening to Zhouyang, a very hurtful remark.

But Zhouyang could only act as if he hadn’t heard it, eagerly looking at Zhu Zizhen, his eyes full of pleading hope.

Zhu Zizhen, seeing this, indifferently said: "Helping you save your daughter is merely a small matter for me. No matter how powerful the Dragon Taming Clan is, their reach doesn’t extend to the Liuyun Continent Cultivation Realm. I’m not afraid of their revenge afterward."

"But why should I help you?"

Indeed, why should Zhu Zizhen help him?

Zhouyang had thought about this issue many times.

He and Zhu Zizhen weren’t very familiar with each other, at most just acquaintances. Expecting Zhu Zizhen to help because of any camaraderie was a daydream.

And after counting all his treasures, he found he seemed to have nothing that could serve as a bargaining chip to move Zhu Zizhen to lend a hand willingly.

So when he heard Zhu Zizhen’s words, he indeed felt very uneasy.

But despite the unease, after hearing Zhu Zizhen’s words, he didn’t hesitate much and promptly said: "I dare not expect the elder to help for free. How about the elder names a price, and I, being somewhat wealthy, might satisfy the elder."

"Oh, according to my price? Are you sure?"

In Zhu Zizhen’s cold gaze, there was finally a ripple. She looked at Zhouyang with a hint of surprise, seemingly not expecting him to respond like that.

This was equivalent to handing over the pricing power completely to her.

"The elder may speak freely!"

Zhouyang nodded, saying firmly.

Seeing this, Zhu Zizhen seemed to understand something, and couldn’t help but look at him with a half-smile and said: "I want a Tier Seven Immortal Artifact as the payment for my assistance. Can you give that?"

And hearing her extortionate request, Zhouyang replied with a serious face: "Although I understand the elder is joking, I swear to the elder that as long as you help me this once, I will present such a treasure to repay today’s kindness whenever I obtain it!"

"Humph, seems I guessed right. You came to ask for my help but didn’t prepare anything as a reward, completely intending to get something for nothing!"

Zhu Zizhen’s face turned cold, and with a cold snort, her gaze at Zhouyang became extremely unkind.

Handing her the crucial pricing power made her very suspicious, and indeed this probe revealed Zhouyang’s intentions.

Unexpectedly, upon hearing her words, Zhouyang shook his head repeatedly and said: "No, elder is mistaken. It’s not that I haven’t prepared any reward, but I’m afraid my prepared reward might not satisfy the elder, so I asked the elder to price it."

"In fact, I came with absolute sincerity this time. If I didn’t know the elder isn’t interested in Spirit Stones, I would offer all my assets, totaling over five million Spirit Stones, to exchange for the elder’s assistance!"

After saying this, he immediately took off the Storage Ring on his hand and handed it to Zhu Zizhen.

"In this Storage Ring, there are all of my most precious treasures. If the elder doesn’t believe my words, you can take a look."

But Zhu Zizhen didn’t take the Storage Ring, just looked at him coldly and said: "Do you think I’m someone who collects trash? Enough nonsense, hurry up and leave before I lose patience!"

Though Zhouyang was just a mere Golden Core Stage Cultivator, even if he were an ordinary Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, with Zhu Zizhen’s cultivation, she wouldn’t be interested in his wealth.

And her patience was almost entirely exhausted.

"Elder, may I say one more word?"

Zhouyang took a deep breath, silently putting the Storage Ring back on his finger, then waved his hand to take out three Jade Boxes.

He placed the three Jade Boxes in front of him, opening them one by one for Zhu Zizhen to see, and then introduced: "These three Jade Boxes contain, respectively, the [Holy Infant Fruit] obtained from the Secret Realm [Holy Infant Valley] in the Kunxu Realm; a [Fetus Nurturing Pill]; and a rare Spiritual Object [Ice Tear Flower] that can reduce the power of the [Heart Demon Tribulation]. With these three items, I have over sixty percent confidence in successfully forming a Nascent Soul in the future!"

"As for my strength, the elder must have some understanding. Not to boast, but since I successfully established the Foundation and obtained the Upper Realm True Immortal’s inheritance, I’ve rarely met opponents of the same tier. Although I’m now at just the Seventh-Layer Golden Core cultivation, against a Ninth-Layer Golden Core Cultivator, I have ninety percent confidence in defeating!"

Seeing Zhu Zizhen’s expression seem to change, he happily continued: "True, I currently have nothing worthy of the elder’s attention, but with my strength and growth speed, once I successfully form my Nascent Soul, within a thousand years, there’s a chance I might stand shoulder to shoulder with the elder!"

"Elder, you’re not an ordinary Demon King. Surely you understand the saying, ’a single grain sown in spring yields a thousandfold harvest in autumn.’ Helping me overcome this challenge now won’t cost you much, but my family and I will forever be grateful for your kindness and won’t hesitate to risk our lives for you in the future!"

"You might doubt me, but surely you trust Elder Xuanji, right? Back when I was just a small Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Elder Qingyang, Elder Lu’s junior, took a keen interest in me and helped me repeatedly for hundreds of years without pause, all for the sake of my potential value in the [Dome Heaven Immortal Realm] expedition!"

"If the elder helps me this time, the next time I’m capable of accomplishing tasks for you, be it dangers or trials, you only need to say a word, and I will face them without hesitation!"

Zhu Zizhen’s expression finally changed a bit.

She looked at Zhouyang with a slightly grave expression, silent for a moment, as a hint of contemplation appeared in her eyes.

Investment is an art, oh no, investment is a technical skill.

The risk of proactive investment is exceptionally high.

Most people only see the cases of those who succeed, but cannot see the countless failures that vastly outnumber them.

In fact, the majority of proactive investment successes are not due to any extraordinary insight, but to a broad-net approach of bulk investments.

The key to bulk investment is to select projects with small investment amounts but potentially large returns.

A small investment amount means minimal loss upon failure, and even if there are ninety-nine failures, one success in the end may still yield a hundredfold, or several hundredfold returns!

Zhouyang has been invested in twice in this lifetime; the Golden Core Stage Cultivator Cao Wenjin from the Yellow Sand Sect once invested in him, reaping several times the reward afterwards.

Meanwhile, the returns from Master Cyan Yang and Elder Xuanji’s investments are currently immeasurable, because as his cultivation grows, the yield from this investment will also grow exponentially.

The previous two investments were made proactively by others who saw his potential.

But this time, it was him who proactively sought out investment from others.

As someone seeking investment, understanding how to convince investors of your potential and make them willing to invest is also an art.

The best way is to let the results speak for themselves.

Hence, Zhouyang first presented three spiritual objects that assist in Nascent Soul Formation, showing Zhu Zizhen his investment potential, assuring her that this investment wouldn’t be in vain.

Then, he used the successful cases of Master Cyan Yang and Elder Xuanji to demonstrate that he is a performer with a track record of rewarding investors, reliable in character and credibility, with no worries of reneging post-investment.

Now, he has done all he can; the final outcome still depends on Zhu Zizhen’s willingness.

If Zhu Zizhen is someone unwilling to take any risks, someone devoid of investment awareness and ideas, he could do nothing but quickly move on to the next prospect.

"Kid, you’ve successfully piqued this King’s interest, but if you want this King’s help, you must first agree to do something for this King, something that might even cost you your life. Do you dare to accept?"

Zhu Zizhen stopped pondering, looked at Zhouyang with a playful gaze, and revealed her decision.

"Might I ask what this is, Senior?"

Zhouyang suppressed his delight and asked earnestly.

"It’s simple, accompany this King into the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm and assist this King in some pathfinding tasks."

Zhu Zizhen’s lips curved, and her face lit up with a rare smile.

Zhouyang’s face immediately froze.

In fact, he had long guessed why Zhu Zizhen appeared in the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range.

Back in the Dome Heaven Immortal Realm, to secure Zhu Zizhen’s full support against the Heaven-Sundering True Demon, Lu Xuanji promised to inform her about the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm.

Zhouyang was present at that time and naturally heard about it.

This time, upon learning of Zhu Zizhen’s presence in the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, he surmised that the so-called Vermilion Bird Secret Realm must be here.

When he discovered Zhu Zizhen fighting with the Demon King in the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, he deduced that the conflict must be over the ownership of the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm.

However, he didn’t expect Zhu Zizhen to have him, a Human Race Cultivator, follow her into the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm.

He was naturally averse to entering such a dangerous secret realm, let alone taking on the cannon fodder role of pathfinding.

But he knew that if he refused, he could forget about Zhu Zizhen helping to rescue his wife and children.

So, with a stiff expression and after hesitating for a long time, he reluctantly said, "Vermilion Bird Secret Realm is supposedly a secret realm left by the ancestors of your Demon Race, is it truly appropriate for me, a Human Race Cultivator, to enter?"

"If this King says it’s appropriate, then it’s appropriate. You only need to answer whether you are willing or not."

Zhu Zizhen looked at him indifferently, shattering his last wisp of hope with her words.

"Then I have no problem and am happy to serve you, Senior!"

Zhouyang forced a smile and, bowing, reluctantly agreed.