Heavenly Demonic Flame Surges (Part 1)

"Master, why do I feel like these so-called techniques, the closest thing to immortal arts in the mortal world, are tailor-made for demons and monsters?" Li Feng sat by the stream, his bare feet dipping into the liquefied Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, while gnawing on a two-pound chunk of Nine-Leaf Seven-Colored Lingzhi Mushroom. He mumbled the question through his mouthful.

Zhao Yue'er leaned against the Little Cat's back, grooming its soft fur. Hearing Li Feng's nonsensical ramblings, she chided, "Nonsense. These techniques were passed down by our Ancestor, the Yellow Dragon True Man, and used by ancient Qi Refiners. How could they be for demons and monsters?"

Li Feng raised a bamboo scroll in his right hand, which emitted a faint red glow, and shouted, "But look at this 'Heavenly Fire Surge'! Once cast, it uses the caster's body as the center, summoning meteors within a hundred-mile radius, erupting earth fire, and a nine-heaven gale carrying the God-Slaying Yin Fire from the eighteenth level of hell. This is purely a suicidal technique. Besides the great demons you mentioned, Master, those with exceptionally sturdy bodies who aren't afraid of external damage, who else could survive? Isn't this technique written specifically for demons and monsters?"

Li Feng took another bite of the Lingzhi mushroom, chewed a few times, stretched his neck, and swallowed before continuing, "Even after reaching Nascent Soul perfection and refining our physical bodies a hundred times over, we cultivators would still be sliced in half by the edge of a flying sword. Not to mention encountering things like meteors, celestial gales, or the blazing fires of the netherworld. Only those demons with extraordinary innate talent might be able to withstand them. Hmph, that celestial gale is one of the three great tribulations for cultivators. With slightly weaker cultivation, a mere scratch would scatter your soul to the winds."

Zhao Yue'er frowned, her mind beginning to seriously ponder the issue. It was true, these techniques were immensely powerful, but they often took the caster down with them. Essentially, with the current level of cultivation in the world, being hit by such a technique meant no survivors, except for those ancient cultivators who had already reached the 'Void' realm and might have a chance to escape. After thinking for a long time, Zhao Yue'er didn't want Li Feng to think her sect's collection of scriptures was related to demons and monsters, so she said against her better judgment, "Not necessarily. Perhaps the Qi Refiners of ancient times had bodies that could be cultivated to be as resilient as demons and monsters, with extremely strong regenerative abilities. Combined with their True Essence protecting them, they might have been fine."

Li Feng lay down completely by the stream, yawning, "Then, what's the difference between gods and monsters? Hmm, hmm, I still feel that many of these techniques are related to monsters. For example, that scroll preserved by the Gonggong Clan. I don't think the Gonggong Clan was any good in mythology, especially their chief general, that fellow named Xiangliu or Liu Xiang, wasn't he the one causing trouble everywhere and eventually slain by Great Yu?"

Zhao Yue'er was speechless. Li Feng suddenly laughed, "So, I feel like our great-great-grandfather, relying on his powerful magic, went to other people's homes and snatched their inherited techniques. Or perhaps he simply scavenged them from the corpses after the Chan Sect and Jie Sect clashed in their magical duels."

With a 'whoosh', a fist-sized stone flew past Li Feng's head and landed in the stream. Li Feng flinched in fear and shouted, "I'm just speaking the truth! If you work hard to kill an enemy, wouldn't it be foolish not to search their corpse for any good magic treasures or spellbooks they might be carrying?"

Zhao Yue'er yelled in anger, jumping up and kicking towards Li Feng. She felt Li Feng was speaking too disrespectfully of their Ancestor. How could their Ancestor be someone who picked things from corpses? He was, after all, righteous, just, great, noble, pure, upright, the embodiment of all human virtues. Li Feng's words were truly tarnishing their Ancestor's reputation. Heaven and Earth knew, how could she know that what Li Feng said was actually the truth?

Li Feng shouted and yelled, tossing the scroll aside, and with the Lingzhi mushroom in his mouth, he jumped up and ran. Zhao Yue'er shrieked, "Stop right there! Let me teach you a lesson for slandering our Ancestor."

Li Feng mumbled indistinctly, "Mmm, mmm, what I said was..."

As they were running circles around the 'Purple Palace Abode', the entire 'Lesser Celestial Realm' suddenly trembled slightly. Zhao Yue'er's heart jolted, and she stopped abruptly. Li Feng froze, casually tossing the Lingzhi mushroom in his mouth into the stream, and asked, "Master, what's wrong? Could it be that our Ancestor is truly angry and going to collapse this 'Lesser Celestial Realm'? Oh no, we should run quickly, or we'll lose our lives."

The Little Cat had already stood up from the stream, its large eyes fixed on the sky. A beast's intuition told the Little Cat that something not-so-good had happened.

Zhao Yue'er quickly ran forward, leaving behind a sentence, "Fengzi, stay here honestly. Little Cat, come with me. I want to see who dares to cause trouble at our Yiyuan Sect's base. Hmph, if it's those people from the Emei Sect again, don't blame me for activating the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' and sending them to dreamland in an illusion... Fengzi, stay here. When it comes to fighting, you're not as useful as Little Cat."

Li Feng was taken aback, then shook his head, "I'm not as useful as Little Cat? Hey, it always seems like I'm bullying Little Cat, not the other way around. Can I really not even beat that stinky tiger? Damn it, I'll burn all of Little Cat's fur off next time." Li Feng felt his pride had been severely wounded by Zhao Yue'er. He lazily walked to the stream, fished out the Lingzhi mushroom, and without caring if it was covered in dirt, he put it back in his mouth and slowly began to gnaw on it.

Above Qingyun Flat, a vast illusion enveloped an area of twenty miles. A thin old man in a golden robe embroidered with countless monstrous beast patterns, with a dark complexion and eyes radiating green light, said with a grim voice, "It is indeed the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting'. Illusionary Spirit Divine Lord, your contribution this time is significant. If we can successfully obtain the 'Chiyou Banner', this 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' will be yours. Hehehehehehe... Fortunately, I also have the 'Chaos Mirror', otherwise it wouldn't be so convenient to attack the Yiyuan Sect in broad daylight." He looked at the illusion above his head and let out another proud cackle.

The black-clothed man who had rushed into the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' half a month ago and escaped in a sorry state said respectfully, "It's all thanks to Right Saint's mighty power. Heh heh... If this plan succeeds, Right Saint will have great merit with the Master. We merely relied on Right Saint's strength and contributed a little effort."

The Right Saint proudly stroked his chin, which was adorned with a slender beard, and nodded, "Hmm, we can begin. This brat who set up the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' has too low a cultivation, at most early Golden Core, so he can't unleash the power of this treasure at all. Heh heh, this makes things convenient for us... Attack, what are you all waiting for? Hurry up and attack, first use the 'Form Transformation Art' to suppress the illusion below, then use the 'Light Splitting Art' to retrieve the magic treasure. Do I have to do everything myself?"

Three black-clothed men dressed identically to the Illusionary Spirit Divine Lord responded with a thunderous "Yes!" With a wave of their hands, over a hundred black smoke flashes appeared, and over a hundred black-clothed cultivators materialized in the air. They chanted incantations simultaneously, and streaks of dim, dark light shot towards the ground. Instantly, the mountains and rivers transformed by the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' began to tremble, emitting ripples. The combined power of these black-clothed cultivators was immense. Even though the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' itself was powerful, Zhao Yue'er's cultivation was too low to fully utilize its myriad wonders. The Illusionary Spirit Divine Lord watched as the illusion continuously shrank, and he let out a few strange laughs. With a wave of his hand, the 'Rivers and Mountains Painting' fluttered and returned to its original form as a small scroll, landing in his hand.

The Illusionary Spirit Divine Lord looked proudly at the three similarly dressed black-clothed men beside him and said with a smile, "Three Divine Lords, Illusionary Spirit has taken the lead today. Heh heh... However, the Yiyuan Sect is known as the foremost righteous sect in the cultivation world, so there must be countless magic treasures inside. Once we're in, it will depend on whose luck is better. Perhaps we'll even find some rare treasures."

A black-clothed man with a small crystal embedded on his forehead laughed, "Illusionary Spirit Divine Lord, you're too kind. As long as we can bring back the Chiyou Banner, the Master will surely bestow great rewards. If we can obtain some secret techniques, these rare treasures won't matter much."

Another black-clothed man whose entire face was covered in faint green poisonous insect tattoos repeatedly nodded, "Yes, Spirit Heart Divine Lord speaks wisely. I, Spirit Sky Divine Lord, share the same view. As long as the Chiyou Banner is obtained, nothing else matters. I'm just afraid the disciples of the Yiyuan Sect are too powerful, and we might not be their match. Although Right Saint has transcended the Spirit Severing stage, he is still a sliver away from the 'Void' realm. If the five elders of the Yiyuan Sect were to make a move, Right Saint might..."

The Right Saint was displeased and sneered. The last black-clothed man immediately said, "Spirit Sky, what nonsense are you spouting? Even the strongest among the Five Elders of Yiyuan, Daoist Qingquan, is only at the early Spirit Severing stage. There's quite a gap between him and Right Saint. Why don't you quickly apologize to Right Saint?"

Spirit Sky suddenly came to his senses, trembled all over, and then prostrated himself in the sky towards the old man Right Saint, "Right Saint, Spirit Sky misspoke. I beg your forgiveness. Spirit Sky meant well! I was afraid the Five Elders of Yiyuan would disregard their reputation and attack you together. It's not like people of the righteous path wouldn't do such things. I implore you to take care of your golden body. Our future all depends on you!"

Hearing Spirit Sky Divine Lord speak so eloquently, the Right Saint couldn't help but nod and smile, "It's fine, you misspoke for a moment. I, Right Saint, have a broad mind, why would I care? Heh heh, actually, it's nothing. The Five Elders of Yiyuan will absolutely not fight. The Chiyou Banner is not an easy treasure to refine, especially if they want to refine it with righteous techniques. Heh heh, that's just asking for trouble. The twelve senior disciples of the Yiyuan Sect are also all seriously injured, so there's no need to worry about them. The only ones left are the sect master's daughter, and who else? Hmm? Oh, could it be that insignificant tiger spirit?"

The Right Saint laughed heartily, while Illusionary Spirit, Spirit Sky, and Spirit Heart looked at each other in doubt, "Right Saint, where did you get your information?"

The Right Saint pointed at the last black-clothed man, "Illusionary Absolute Divine Lord gave the pháp điển (scriptures) of the Blood God Cult to a few unpromising disciples of the Emei Sword Sect last time. Heh heh, the information this time came from them. Heh heh, speaking of which, it's interesting. Emei, also a righteous sect, actually helped us a great deal." The Right Saint proudly recounted how Old Daoist Wu Shen led people to the Yiyuan Sect to seek justice, then suddenly attacked and seriously injured all twelve disciples of the Yiyuan Sect.

Illusionary Spirit, Spirit Sky, and Spirit Heart suddenly understood, and their gazes towards the smug Illusionary Absolute Divine Lord were tinged with a hint of jealousy.

The Right Saint laughed for a while, looked at the hazy green light below, and nodded, "Marvelous! The 'Great Five Elements Exterminating God Array'! Marvelous! If it were any other formation, I, your grandfather, would have trouble. But unfortunately, I was trapped in this formation a thousand years ago. All its life and death transformations are crystal clear to me. Heaven has decreed that the Yiyuan Sect shall be destroyed by our hands. Heh heh. I, your grandfather, know nothing about formations, yet I am as familiar with this 'God Slaying Array', hailed as the foremost killing array of ancient times, as I am with my own palm."

After a bout of self-praise, the Right Saint said, "Back then, I offended a few rogue immortals in the East Sea and was trapped in an incomplete 'Great Five Elements Exterminating God Array'. Heh heh, I was trapped for a full three years, but didn't I still break out? Everyone, don't worry. The formation is powerful, but it needs someone to preside over it. Currently, besides a little girl, there's no one else in the Yiyuan Sect. This formation requires at least six people to operate it fully. So, don't worry, follow your grandfather down."

The Right Saint let out a few more strange laughs and transformed into a black smoke, plunging into the 'Great Five Elements Exterminating God Array'. Illusionary Spirit and the other three were stunned, "An incomplete 'Great Five Elements Exterminating God Array'? But the one at the Yiyuan Sect should be complete, right? Then, then..." Seeing that the Right Saint had already rushed in, they could only grit their teeth and, along with over a hundred black-clothed cultivators, turn into a stream of black smoke and descend.

The Right Saint made a mistake. It was true that he had been trapped by this formation in the past, and it was true that he had broken out. But as he himself said, it was incomplete. The one set up by the Yiyuan Sect, however, was not only complete but also had some extremely subtle variations. Therefore, as soon as he led his subordinates in, he found himself in a strange space. The sky and the earth were only about ten feet apart, stretching infinitely. The sky was blue, the earth was white, and a faint mist swirled in the air. Small peaks were scattered throughout this heaven and earth, and at a glance, it was impossible to tell how many there were.

The Right Saint laughed heartily, "See, it's exactly like the scene I encountered back then. Hmm, let me think... From which direction and which peak did I break out? Hmm, after entering the formation, sense the flow of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy. The peaks with red light flashing in the direction of the Spiritual Energy flow, the ninety-fifth peak, hmm, it was like this... Huh... Why are there no peaks flashing red light?" The Right Saint was dumbfounded, while the four Divine Lords and over a hundred subordinates behind him looked at each other speechlessly.

PS: The story has begun... 10 chapters will be released today.