Cultivation Begins From The Desert

Chapter 627 - 612: Innate Fire Essence Qi!

Zhu Zizhen did not know what benefits she obtained in the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm, but she needed to retreat for three years to absorb these benefits. This was a burden for Zhouyang.

He originally planned to take Zhu Zizhen to Donghua Immortal Palace after the trip to the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm and then use Zhu Zizhen’s influence to persuade Ling Chao, the Young Palace Master of Donghua Immortal Palace, to also lend a hand.

As the Young Palace Master of Donghua Immortal Palace, if Ling Chao truly wished to help, mobilizing one or two Nascent Soul Stage cultivators to help would certainly be no problem.

By then, regardless of whether the Green Robe Ancestor, who Jiang Yufeng said had a grudge with Divine Lady Palace, would cooperate, there would be a great chance of rescuing Jiang Fengxian and her daughter.

But now he was stuck in this Vermilion Bird Secret Realm, and by the time he got out in three years, there would be less than half a year left before Jiang Yufeng’s wedding.

With such tight timings to rush around addressing everything, unless Zhu Zizhen was willing to act as his driver post-retreat, he could only choose one party as a persuasion target if he were to travel by himself.

"This truly is man proposes, God disposes; plans never change fast enough!"

He sighed heavily, appearing dejected, yet there was nothing he could do.

Without Zhu Zizhen leading the way, relying solely on himself—even with the Qianyang Treasure Pearl to counteract the collapsing Fire Law’s influence—he would not dare to easily leave this small island.

Moreover, even if he could leave the secret realm, without Zhu Zizhen by his side, how was he to convince Ling Chao and the so-called Green Robe Ancestor to believe in him?

Helpless, he could only quell such thoughts and calmly ponder how to spend these three years.

Without having figured out what to do, Zhouyang suddenly sensed a movement—the Three-eyed Fire Fox he had accompanied onto the island was restless.

He saw this old fox secretly moving towards a certain spot deeper within the island.

Upon meeting his gaze, the old fox winked at him and motioned for him to follow.

This piqued Zhouyang’s interest, and he immediately followed along.

Man and fox traveled over twenty miles towards the depths of the island, finally stopping in a place just over ten miles from the crimson curtain.

This place was a small sunken valley on the island, seemingly unremarkable at first glance.

However, once Zhouyang entered the valley with the old fox, he quickly noticed that the fire attribute spiritual qi within the valley was a few notches stronger than outside and significantly less violent.

Even more importantly, within that fire attribute spiritual qi, Zhouyang distinctly sensed a special power. Though he didn’t understand what it was, he instinctively knew it could be absorbed and refined, greatly benefiting him.

While he was sensing these things, the old fox had already found a spot in the valley to lie down, closing its eyes and resting on the ground.

Zhouyang could sense that as the fox lay there, with every breath in and out, the dense fire attribute spiritual qi flowed into its body, being absorbed and refined to enhance its cultivation.

Seeing this, Zhouyang’s eyes flickered, and he also found a spot to sit cross-legged, running his cultivation technique and absorbing the fire attribute spiritual qi.

The results were astonishing.

After cultivating for one hour, Zhouyang discovered that one hour of cultivation here matched the effect of cultivating for an entire day in the cave abode on Chongxuan Mountain!

The reason for this was entirely due to the special force mingled with the fire attribute spiritual qi here.

"What exactly is this power? Why does it exist only here on the island?"

With suspicion and curiosity on his face, Zhouyang looked around the valley, seeking the source of this power.

Soon, he found where it originated.

It turns out the power mingled with the fire attribute spiritual qi was seeping out from underground.

"In that case, the deeper underground, the stronger this power?"

With that thought, his gaze turned fiery, and he raised his hand to summon a flying sword, preparing to dig.

Goo goo!

The old fox, previously resting with its eyes closed, suddenly opened its eyes, scolding sharply to stop Zhouyang.

It stared unhappily at Zhouyang, shaking its head repeatedly, and gestured towards the center area of the island shrouded by the crimson light screen, its indication quite clear.

Seeing this, Zhouyang couldn’t help but say, "Are you worried I’ll disturb Elder Zhu? Don’t worry, my actions will cause little commotion and definitely won’t affect her."

With that said, he was about to continue his work.

But the old fox darted in front of him, stood upright, and gestured frantically, calling "goo goo" nonstop, refusing to let him start digging.

"Do you mean that by digging, this power would disappear?"

As he looked at the old fox never ceasing its gesturing, a strange expression flickered across Zhouyang’s face as he asked his question.

Goo goo.

The old fox nodded fervently, a relaxed expression appearing in its eyes.

It seemed it had spent considerable effort to make Zhouyang understand.

"Alright, since you brought me here, I’ll trust you this time and won’t mess with it."

Looking at the relieved old fox, Zhouyang hesitated briefly, but nodded in agreement, putting away the flying sword and choosing to trust it.

Upon hearing that, the old fox cast him a sideways glance, shook its head, and returned to its original spot to lie down.

Was he being despised by a demon beast?

Feeling both amused and annoyed, Zhouyang looked helplessly at the old fox before abandoning the idea of making things difficult over such a trivial matter and sitting down to continue cultivating.

This time, instead of using the fire attribute spiritual qi to enhance his cultivation, Zhouyang employed it to cultivate the Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light.

He had spent years cultivating this divine technique, just a step away from Small Success Realm. He hoped to use the special power here to help him cross that threshold.

The result was astonishingly effective again!

The unknown power genuinely helped in his divine technique cultivation, appearing even more beneficial than simple cultivation enhancement.

This discovery thrilled Zhouyang greatly, and he wholeheartedly focused on cultivating the divine technique.

Just half a year later, he easily crossed that threshold, successfully cultivating the Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light to Small Success Realm.

During this time, Zhouyang also attempted cultivating other divine techniques, but found that the special power here was only effective for cultivating fire element divine techniques like the Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light and not for others like the Stinging Dragon Avoiding Tribulation Technique.

Having successfully cultivated the Silent Extinction Soul-Burning Divine Light, he wasted no time in beginning to practice another fire element divine technique he had never cultivated before, the Profound Celestial Fire Thunder Pearl.

The cultivation method of the Profound Celestial Fire Thunder Pearl was acquired during a journey in the Kunxu Realm and perfectly aligned with the Qianyang True Flame divine technique he possessed. However, he had never really settled down to practice it due to other preoccupations.

Now, the environment within the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm was already ideal for this divine technique cultivation, not to mention the assistance of the strange power.

His decision to cultivate this divine technique instead of others inherited from the Qianyang Treasure Pearl was primarily due to it being the easiest to master and capable of maximizing the power of his Qianyang True Flame.

The results proved his choice right.

In just two short years, he had cultivated the Profound Celestial Fire Thunder Pearl to the Small Success Realm, achieving what others might take twenty years or more to accomplish.

This remarkable progress was not only attributable to the special environment and power of the Vermilion Bird Secret Realm but also to Zhouyang’s cultivation technique and natural talent.

In the Small Success Realm of the Profound Celestial Fire Thunder Pearl, he could condense up to three thunder pearls within his body at a time. Once used, they needed to be refined again to replenish.

A single thunder pearl refined using Zhouyang’s Qianyang True Flame could unleash a power comparable to a Tier Five top-grade technique executed by a Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator.

If three were unleashed simultaneously, their combined power could likely seriously injure or even kill an average Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator.

Such power exceeded Zhouyang’s expectations, fully justifying his efforts over the past two years.

By now, less than half a year remained until the three-year period Zhu Zizhen mentioned would be up.

With less than half a year left, time was insufficient to cultivate another divine technique, so Zhouyang concentrated on absorbing spiritual qi for cultivation.

After another five months passed, Zhu Zizhen had not yet emerged as promised, prompting Zhouyang to rise and leave the valley, then unleash twelve Great Derivation Geng Metal Swords to fiercely assault the crimson curtain.

The crimson curtain’s defense was terrifyingly strong. Zhouyang’s full-power attacks seemed like clay oxen entering the sea, unable to shake the curtain in the slightest.

Despite this, he remained undaunted and continued his relentless assault.

He had no retreat; the consequences of not awakening Zhu Zizhen were unbearable for him.

After several days of constant assault, an exhausted Zhouyang finally heard Zhu Zizhen’s voice transmitting to him.

"Just wait for another month; I need a little more time to succeed."

The voice that came through said only this sentence, yet Zhu Zizhen’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

Seeing this, Zhouyang, despite looking extremely grim, couldn’t do anything but grit his teeth and halt his attack, returning to the valley to continue waiting.

After waiting another month like this, Zhu Zizhen finally flew out from within the scarlet light screen.

However, at this moment, Zhu Zizhen’s appearance surprised Zhouyang greatly.

Its true form, the Vermilion Feather Crane, although a descendant of the Vermilion Bird with the Vermilion Bird Bloodline, generally looked no different than an ordinary crane, only its feathers were vermilion like fire, appearing more magnificent.

But now Zhu Zizhen’s form had undergone a major transformation.

The original crane shape has now transformed into a peacock-like bird shape, about eighty percent similar to the Vermilion Bird designs Zhouyang had seen!

If not for the aura still being Zhu Zizhen’s, Zhouyang wouldn’t dare believe that the majestic divine bird flying out from within the scarlet light screen now was the same Zhu Zizhen that disappeared three years ago.

Looking at the current Zhu Zizhen, Zhouyang’s eyes flickered with wonder, and he quickly understood what Zhu Zizhen had experienced over these three years.

Bloodline transformation!

Zhu Zizhen had evidently obtained the true Vermilion Bird inheritance, and the Vermilion Bird True Blood, akin to the True Phoenix Blood, or even the remains of an actual Vermilion Bird, within that scarlet light screen!

As a descendant of the Vermilion Bird who had already awakened the Vermilion Bird True Blood, and now having obtained the true Vermilion Bird inheritance and remains,

Zhu Zizhen could easily induce a bloodline transformation using the power of the remains, pushing itself towards becoming a true Vermilion Bird; it wasn’t a difficult task.

Of course, such a bloodline transformation also has its limits; it couldn’t directly transform Zhu Zizhen into a true Vermilion Bird, only into a powerful demon bird similar to a Vermilion Bird.

Only when she ascends to Tier Seven and overcomes the "True Spirit Celestial Tribulation" can she fully shed her mortal form and become a true Vermilion Bird Divine Bird.

However, even so, the current Zhu Zizhen was much stronger than she was three years ago.

Moreover, Zhouyang quickly noticed that besides the major change in her true form, Zhu Zizhen’s aura was also much stronger than it was three years ago, seemingly having used the power of the Vermilion Bird remains to ascend to become a Tier Six High-grade Demon King.

"Congratulations to Elder on further improving your cultivation; may you soon attain Dao and ascend to the True Realm!"

After a series of expressions, Zhouyang quickly bowed towards Zhu Zizhen who landed outside the valley, congratulating her with a face full of respect.

The seventh tier of the Demon Race is called "True Spirit," hence one aims to attain it and, for them, the True Realm is equivalent to the "True Immortal Realm," meaning the realm where True Spirits reside.

Whether it’s human cultivators or demon kings of the Demon Race, their greatest goal is to cultivate into a True Immortal and a True Spirit, then ascend to the "True Immortal Realm."

The world of the Spirit Realm is limited in rank, able to support the existence of only up to Tier Seven. To advance further, one must go to higher worlds like the "True Immortal Realm" where there is an opportunity for ascension.

The process of reaching the "True Immortal Realm" is thus referred to as "ascension."

At this time, hearing Zhouyang’s words of congratulations, Zhu Zizhen’s bright phoenix eyes bore no joy as she glanced at the valley beneath them, solemnly asking, "How did you come to know the mystery here?"

"You should ask this old fox for that, as I followed it here,"

Zhouyang’s heart skipped a beat, yet he didn’t hesitate to sell out the old fox, truthfully explaining the entire process.

"The old fox brought you here?"

Zhu Zizhen aimed her sharp gaze at the old fox.

At this time, the old fox was already frightened to the ground by the overwhelming aura emanating from her, and upon seeing her gaze, it wailed, desperately trying to plead for itself.

"Is that so? Well, since you were able to discover the scattered Innate Fire Essence Qi here, you have luck on your side, and I am in a good mood now, so I will not pursue your theft of the Secret Realm’s power of origin!"

Said Zhu Zizhen, suddenly extending her claws to seize Zhouyang and the Three-eyed Fire Fox each in one, then with a flap of her wings, she directly left the island and headed towards the entrance of the Secret Realm.

Half an hour later, above the mouth of a particular active volcano in the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, a flash of light suddenly appeared, revealing a vermilion divine bird similar to a Vermilion Bird Divine Bird, with a human and a fire fox in its two claws.

"Old fox, when you return and see your master, tell him that I took the inheritance within the Secret Realm. The Secret Realm will completely collapse within a century. If he wishes to use the Innate Fire Essence Qi within the Secret Realm to ascend, he should do so early; otherwise, he will miss the chance!"

In the sky above the volcano, Zhu Zizhen, with her eyes looking down at the Three-eyed Fire Fox in her claws, casually instructed a few words before releasing her grip, letting it fall.

Then, with a flap of her wings, she carried Zhouyang away from the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, heading straight towards Donghua Immortal City.

Zhu Zizhen was willing to be the "driver" to hurry along their journey, which Zhouyang was glad for, as he was indeed pressed for time.

However, being caught in her claws like a chick by an eagle and flying through the "Nine Heavens Forbidden Realm" was not the life he had envisioned.

He knew that struggling would be useless, and if he inadvertently displeased Zhu Zizhen by struggling and she decided not to carry him anymore, he wouldn’t have time to even cry about it.

Therefore, he attempted to persuade her in a gentle manner: "Elder, isn’t it inappropriate for you to fly in your true form above the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm? If other Nascent Soul Stage Cultivators see you, it might cause misunderstandings and lead to a siege!"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Zhu Zizhen gave him a not-so-friendly glance, her voice sullen as she said, "Kid, do you think I want this? If it weren’t for knowing you’re in a rush to save people, I wouldn’t have come out without fully mastering my newly acquired power!"

After speaking, her claw loosened slightly, and with a cold voice she said, "Stop with the nonsense. If you feel uncomfortable being grabbed by me like this, then travel down on your own!"

"Elder, please calm down, please calm down, I meant no such thing at all!"

Zhouyang quickly embraced her claw, as thick as a person’s waist, yelling out "calm down" and dared not bring up the topic again.

Although the flying experience was extremely poor, the speed of a Tier Six High-grade Demon King was undeniable, especially since Zhu Zizhen was a Flying Bird Demon King.

Zhouyang had taken two to three months traveling alone from Donghua Immortal City to the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range, but Zhu Zizhen took him back to Donghua Immortal City from the Vermilion Bird Mountain Range in just over ten days, faster by seven or eight times!

And after flying consecutively for over ten days, Zhu Zizhen seemed to gradually adapt to her suddenly surged strength through the method of power consumption. Finally reverting back to human form before entering Donghua Immortal City, she entered the city together with Zhouyang.

Time was pressing, and as soon as Zhouyang returned to Donghua Immortal City, he immediately sent a transmission to Ling Chao, the Young Palace Master of Donghua Immortal Palace, inviting him to a meeting.

Previously, it had always been him visiting Donghua Immortal Palace to see Ling Chao; this was the first time he asked Ling Chao to come see him.

Zhouyang did this not only because Zhu Zizhen’s cultivation and status made it inconvenient for her to enter Donghua Immortal Palace, but also to regain some initiative for himself.

Zhu Zizhen had been promoted to a Tier Six High-grade Demon King, and had even transformed her bloodline, far surpassing the expectations Zhouyang originally had for her strength.

Now, even without assistance from others, just accompanying Zhu Zizhen to rescue people gave Zhouyang certain confidence in success.

These messages were all hinted at in his communication to Ling Chao, believing that Ling Chao would understand his intentions.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you’ve finally returned. Ling has been worried due to not seeing you back all these years. Luckily, the heavens help the worthy, and you’ve managed to return in time!"

Within the Immortal Inn where Zhouyang stayed, Ling Chao, who had come in disguise, greeted Zhouyang waiting outside with a smile and cupped hands.

Seeing this, Zhouyang felt pleased, his face showing a genuine smile as he replied, "Young Palace Master Ling, despite being so busy, still takes the time to worry about me, causing me to feel ashamed. After this matter is settled, I’ll arrange a meal to thank the Young Palace Master together with Feng’er and her mother."

Ling Chao merely smiled at these words without responding to them, swiftly changing the topic, "I wonder if Elder Zhu is present? When my father heard of Elder Zhu from me, he specifically entrusted me to convey a few words to her."

Zhouyang’s face immediately became serious as he looked solemnly at Ling Chao before slightly nodding, "Elder Zhu is resting inside. If the Young Palace Master wishes to see her, I can inform her for you."

The notification was of course just a formality. Zhouyang invited Ling Chao over precisely to let him meet Zhu Zizhen in person, hoping to persuade him to help.

However, the fact that Ling Chao’s father, the Palace Master of Donghua Immortal Palace, was also interested in Zhu Zizhen heightened his vigilance.

For Zhouyang, the most urgent matter now was to rescue Jiang Fengxian and Jiang Yufeng, and any variable that might hinder this was greatly unwelcome.

Fortunately, his worries seemed a bit excessive. After Zhu Zizhen and Ling Chao talked privately for a while, she called him in.

"Fellow Daoist Zhou, your timing is perfect. After discussing with Elder Zhu, I believe that since even she is willing to assist you, it indicates that your rescue mission indeed holds great promise. Therefore, I am also willing to lend a modest hand in helping Fairy Yufeng out of her predicament."

Upon entering the room, Ling Chao gave a slight smile and spoke what Zhouyang found to be an incredibly delightful piece of news.

He had waited a long time for those words.

"Wonderful! With the Young Palace Master willing to help, the matter can certainly be accomplished!"

He clapped his hands in delight and solemnly extended his thanks to Ling Chao with a cupped fist salute: "The Young Palace Master’s help is greatly appreciated. On behalf of Fengxian and her mother, I thank you in advance, and once the matter is settled, a formal banquet will be held to thank both the Young Palace Master and Elder Zhu!"

Ling Chao slightly sidestepped, declining the salute, and instead waved his hand, "Thanksgiving can wait until after the matter is resolved. Now, we should discuss the specific plans for the rescue."

Seeing this, Zhouyang’s eyes flickered slightly before nodding, "Alright, let’s leave that for after the matter is done. May I know what advice the Young Palace Master has regarding the rescue mission?"

Facing his inquiry, Ling Chao did not hold back and immediately replied, "Considering the overall situation of the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, even if I were to assist, it would at most be as a friend to Fairy Yufeng and not take any direct action against the Dragon Taming Clan myself. Hence, for the task of rescuing Elder Jiang at the Divine Lady Palace, leave it to me. I am confident I can persuade the Green Robe Ancestor to accompany me."

"As for rescuing Fairy Yufeng, I can help you contact a senior from the Beiting Continent Cultivation Realm. While traveling through the Donghua Continent Cultivation Realm, that senior suffered a significant loss at the hands of the Dragon Taming Clan. Surely, given a chance to make the Dragon Taming Clan stumbling, he would be very interested."

At this point, he paused slightly before looking at Zhouyang and continued, "However, although I am confident in convincing that senior to act, the compensation will likely need to come from you, Fellow Daoist. The amount of Spirit Stones involved is expected not to be small. What do you think about this, Fellow Daoist?"