A Predecessor's Hidden Estate, Black Huan the Fire Serpent

A Predecessor's Hidden Estate, Black Huan the Fire Serpent

Bai Ying returned to the Azure Fox Clan's territory to invite her parents, while Qingman volunteered to stay behind as a show of good faith.

However, Qingman had not expected Jiang Sheng to have no interest in her whatsoever.

Tian Ming'an, who had been awakened, was instead quite amazed by such a huge fox and kept glancing at her from time to time.

After standing around idly for more than three hours, Bai Ying finally arrived at dawn with an azure fox and a white fox.

The azure fox was Qingman's elder sister, Qing Yun.

The white fox was Qingman's brother-in-law, Bai Shang.

"Bai Shang and Qing Yun greet you, Daoist."

The white and azure foxes, each as tall as a person, were somewhat restrained.

Clearly, they too knew that this Daoist, who looked strikingly handsome and gentle as jade, possessed exceedingly ruthless methods.

"Greetings, fellow Daoists. I presume the little one has already told you both."

"This poor Daoist will not conceal it from you. The Jade-Green Lotus is indeed useful to me, and I must obtain it."

Seeing Jiang Sheng be so frank, Bai Shang and Qing Yun exchanged a glance. Bai Shang stepped forward and said, "That Black Fire Serpent seized our husband-and-wife cave estate. We must avenge this grievance."

"If Daoist is willing to help us reclaim our cave estate, Bai Shang is willing to give the Jade-Green Lotus to you."

"I only hope that Daoist will leave us two lotus seeds."

The lotus platform and lotus seeds of the Jade-Green Lotus each had their own wondrous uses.

The lotus platform contained an enormous amount of pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It could help living beings increase their cultivation and extinguish tribulation fire.

The lotus seeds, meanwhile, could be refined into the second-rank treasure, the Azure Lotus Pill. A single Azure Lotus Pill was enough to increase the cultivation of a being at the early Foundation Establishment stage by more than one level.

Three Azure Lotus Pills were enough to allow a being at the early Foundation Establishment stage to cultivate to the middle Foundation Establishment stage.

Two lotus seeds would be more than enough to refine five or six Azure Lotus Pills.

Jiang Sheng examined Bai Shang. "Fellow Daoist Bai, are you an alchemist?"

Bai Shang did not hide it. "I learned some alchemy techniques in that senior's hidden estate. Refining some second-rank pills is within my abilities."

Jiang Sheng slowly nodded. "This poor Daoist also has a rudimentary grasp of alchemy. If there are enough lotus seeds, I can refine them together with Fellow Daoist. We can simply split the Azure Lotus Pills evenly."

Bai Shang's eyes filled with delight. "Daoist is willing to split them evenly with us?"

It was no wonder Bai Shang was so delighted. In the cultivation world, the strong had always devoured everything.

Jiang Sheng was the strongest among them. He could slay a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator with a single sword. For such a ruthless figure to be willing to split the pills evenly with a few fox demons like them was simply like a dream!

"This opportunity arose because of Fellow Daoist. Why should this poor Daoist not split the pills with you?"

Overjoyed, Bai Shang hurriedly expressed his thanks to Jiang Sheng.

Afterward, Jiang Sheng learned from Bai Shang and Qing Yun that the Black Fire Serpent had yet to enter the hidden estate, but there was no guarantee it would not seek helpers.

After all, the Jade-Green Lotus ripened only once every five hundred years, and there was less than half a year left until it matured.

Bai Shang also said that the Black Fire Serpent would likely fear that they might seek help, so it might well have been racking its brains these days to open the hidden estate.

If the Black Fire Serpent truly found helpers, or if others learned of this news, the situation might change.

Jiang Sheng pondered for a moment before saying, "The sooner this is handled, the better. Since this poor Daoist now knows of the situation—"

"Then naturally, no accidents will be permitted."

"Would the three of you be willing to make the trip with this poor Daoist right now?"

Bai Shang and Qing Yun naturally had no objection, but they were clearly worried about their daughter.

Jiang Sheng said that Bai Ying could stay temporarily in Qingxuan Temple with his disciple. With a third-rank formation in place, Bai Ying's safety would be assured.

Bai Shang did not refuse, clearly taking this as a way to show Jiang Sheng his sincerity as well.

Thus, Bai Ying finally entered the Qingxuan Temple she had always been curious about.

As the Liuguang Sea Area water curtain closed, Jiang Sheng and the three person-sized foxes rose directly into the air and flew toward the eastern side of Qingping Mountain.

Qingping Mountain stretched for twelve hundred li from east to west, covering Dongjun, Sea Commandery, and Long Commandery.

According to Qingman, the Azure Fox Clan lived on the northern side of Qingping Mountain. After her elder sister Qing Yun had successfully established her foundation, she and her brother-in-law Bai Shang had made their home on the eastern side.

Only after listening to Qingman did Jiang Sheng realize that Qingping Mountain truly contained no small number of living beings.

When Jiang Sheng recited Daoist scriptures during his morning lessons each day, many living beings had gained spiritual intelligence merely by listening to him recite them.

Later, many more living beings had wanted to come listen to Jiang Sheng recite scriptures, but unfortunately, Jiang Sheng had already entered seclusion.

Jiang Sheng wore a smile, yet his eyes remained calm and unruffled.

In truth, he had not lowered his guard even now.

Until he saw the Black Fire Serpent, saw the Jade-Green Lotus, and obtained the Jade-Green Lotus and swallowed it, he would never relax his vigilance.

At that moment, amid the mountains on the eastern side of Qingping Mountain, a Black Fire Serpent over twenty zhang long was coiled before a cave estate.

The Black Fire Serpent's entire body was covered in hard black-red scales, and strands of fiery saliva occasionally spilled from its jaws.

Whenever the fiery saliva dripped onto the slick stone surface, waves of heat rose up, showing that it was exceedingly hot.

The Black Fire Serpent was named Black Huan. It had cultivated on the eastern side of Qingping Mountain for over a hundred years and had only advanced to Foundation Establishment after accidentally eating a red fruit.

Later, Black Huan found the small tree that bore the red fruits and made that place its lair.

Whenever Black Huan encountered a bottleneck, it ate red fruits. By the time it had eaten all the red fruits, it had unknowingly reached the late Foundation Establishment stage and had already faintly touched the barrier of the Purple Mansion Realm.

Yet Black Huan did not dare touch that barrier lightly.

The memories in its bloodline told Black Huan that a Black Fire Serpent's bloodline would undergo a transformation upon reaching the Purple Mansion Realm. At that time, black tribulation fire would descend upon its body. If it could not control that black fire, it would be burned alive while opening its Purple Mansion.

Conversely, as long as Black Huan could control the black fire, it would certainly advance to the Purple Mansion Realm, after which its body could transform into human form.

The memories in its bloodline told Black Huan that if it wished to advance to the Purple Mansion Realm and control the black fire, it either had to endure it by force or seek out spiritual treasures of heaven and earth.

The red fruits Black Huan had eaten before were one kind of spiritual treasure of heaven and earth, known as Fire Spirit Fruits.

If fire-attributed beings consumed Fire Spirit Fruits over a long period, it could greatly stimulate their bloodline and increase their cultivation.

Yet in the same way, the Fire Spirit Fruits greatly stimulated its bloodline. When Black Huan opened its Purple Mansion, the black fire would become exceptionally violent!

It truly was a case of fortune and misfortune relying upon one another.

But once Black Huan controlled that stronger black fire, it would have hope of entering the Golden Core Realm, growing a single horn from its head, and leaping from a Black Fire Serpent into a Black Fire Flood Dragon!

Originally, Black Huan had often worried over how to break through to the Purple Mansion Realm and control the black fire. But it had accidentally discovered that the pair of foxes living in these mountains actually knew of a heavenly treasure like the Jade-Green Lotus!

The memories in Black Huan's bloodline told it that if it could obtain the Jade-Green Lotus, it would certainly be able to open its Purple Mansion. It might even have hope of reaching the Golden Core Realm!

A heaven-sent opportunity lay before it. How could Black Huan possibly let it slip by?

It went straight to the fox pair's lair and drove them away with its powerful cultivation.

But Black Huan had not expected that while the Jade-Green Lotus was said to be in the foxes' lair, it was not actually in the foxes' lair.

Because there was astonishingly a cave estate within the fox pair's lair!

That was where the Jade-Green Lotus was!

These days, Black Huan had constantly been trying to break through the cave estate's formation and force its way inside.

But as day after day passed without success, Black Huan's mood grew increasingly irritable.

It had a faint premonition that if it could not break the cave estate's formation and obtain the Jade-Green Lotus within half a year, it feared it would no longer be able to suppress its breakthrough!

The savagery in its bloodline and the pressing crisis made Black Huan increasingly violent. It kept trying all kinds of methods to break the formation, even going so far as to kidnap human cultivators who entered the mountains and make them help open the cave estate.

At present, seven or eight Qi Refinement cultivators inside the cave estate were staring bitterly at the formation, wracking their brains.

They wanted to run, but behind them was that terrifying late Foundation Establishment Black Fire Serpent. They had no path of escape at all.

And seeing the tattered clothing inside the cave estate, they knew they were not the first unlucky group to be captured by the Black Fire Serpent.

"You lot, hurry up!"

"If you cannot open the cave estate, I will eat you!"

Black Huan's hoarse voice was overwhelmingly oppressive within the cave estate. Together with its enormous body, it left these Qi Refinement cultivators unable to even summon the thought of resisting.

After studying the formation for a long while and trying every kind of method, the Qi Refinement cultivators finally reached a conclusion: this was not some second-rank formation at all, but a stronger third-rank formation.

One Qi Refinement cultivator gathered his courage and said, "Great King, this is a third-rank formation. We Qi Refinement cultivators cannot break it."

The moment Black Huan heard this, it was about to fly into a rage. That Qi Refinement cultivator hurriedly said, "Great King, please calm your anger! Though we cannot break it, we have another method!"

"What method?" Black Huan asked.

The Qi Refinement cultivator cautiously asked, "Great King, do you know the Zhao Clan of Sea Commandery?"

Seeing that Black Huan did not grow angry, the Qi Refinement cultivator voiced his idea. "The Zhao Clan is a Purple Mansion Realm clan and has many formation masters. We can go deceive a few Zhao Clan members into coming here. They will surely have a way to open this cave estate."

"How do I know you are not going to join forces with the Zhao Clan to kill me?" Black Huan countered.

The Qi Refinement cultivator was speechless. That had indeed been his plan.

Cruelty filled Black Huan's vertical pupils as it suddenly opened its mouth and swallowed the Qi Refinement cultivator.

As Black Huan chewed, large chunks of severed limbs and flesh fell to the ground, frightening the remaining Qi Refinement cultivators so badly that they collapsed to the floor, their bodies going limp.

With the flesh in its stomach, blood and fiery saliva still dripped from Black Huan's mouth.

Those cold, cruel vertical pupils stared at the Qi Refinement cultivators. "If you cannot open this formation, you die!"

The cultivators looked at one another, then hurriedly rose to their feet in terror and continued searching for flaws in the formation.

At last, one cultivator with sharp eyes spotted something amiss. He shouted in delight, "Great King, Great King, there is a flaw! There is a flaw!"

Black Huan's enormous, heavy serpent body slithered over. "What flaw?"

The cultivator pointed at an area where the formation's circulation of spiritual energy was somewhat sluggish and said, "Great King, who knows how long this formation has been maintained? Its spiritual energy must be nearly exhausted by now."

"The formation here has already begun to suffer from sluggish spiritual energy. If Great King attacks this point with all your strength, you will surely be able to break the formation!"

Black Huan studied the place the cultivator had pointed out and tentatively spat out a mouthful of flames.

Sure enough, the portion of the formation touched by the flames showed a sluggishness in its spiritual energy flow.

Black Huan grew excited. It seemed its constant attacks over the past few months had worked. The formation was about to give out!

Scorching flames continuously poured from Black Huan's mouth, burning that part of the formation until it grew even weaker.

Finally, the formation turned into fragments of flowing light and scattered away.

The cave estate was exposed before Black Huan with nothing left to obstruct it.

Black Huan's eyes blazed with desire. "Jade-Green Lotus, I, Black Huan, am coming!"