Fire Virtue Immortal Clan

"How have you been these past few years, Uncle?" Lu Cheng'an asked with a smile.

“I’m doing very well. Come and see, this is your youngest cousin, Lu Chengnin!”

Lu Wenhua beckoned to Lu Cheng'an and handed his youngest son to him.

After Lu Cheng'an took his younger cousin from him, a gentle smile appeared on his face. He looked at his uncle and suddenly understood why his uncle was so fond of this younger cousin.

Because his younger cousin looked very much like his cousin Lu Xing, who had passed away hundreds of years ago, especially his eyes.

Lu Cheng'an's gaze fell on his younger cousin's face again, and he felt a sense of disorientation.

Lu Cheng'an and his nephew Lu Wenhua did not talk about cultivation-related matters, but only chatted about family matters.

Before leaving, Lu Cheng'an gave his younger cousin a jade pendant. This jade pendant was a secret treasure that could enhance a child's spiritual intelligence and was also a protective treasure that could withstand three full-force attacks from a cultivator at the peak of the Golden Core realm.

After parting ways with his uncle, Lu Cheng'an did not return to his cave dwelling, but instead sped off towards the Heavenly Sword Sect.

A year ago, he received a message from True Monarch Wenjian, saying that the situation in Yanzhou had changed and that the immortal cultivation sects in Yanzhou, such as the Heavenly Fire Sect, might abandon their territory in Yanzhou and move into the territory of Hezhou.

This is because the sand demons of the Vast Desert have greatly increased in strength, and the Heavenly Blade Palace has been destroyed by their attacks.

Of the many Nascent Soul cultivators in the Heavenly Blade Palace, only Heavenly Blade True Monarch and Blood Blade True Monarch, both at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, escaped. All the other cultivators perished at the hands of the Sand Demon.

The reason for this tragic situation is that a terrifying sand demon, comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator, was born in the Vast Desert.

That sand demon possesses a Nascent Soul realm and can use the power of Dao Condensation to attack.

This power of condensed Dao is similar to the power of condensed Dao that invaded the body of True Monarch Wenjian when the Sand Demon collapsed.

Although Nascent Soul sects like the Heavenly Fire Sect possess extraordinary foundations, such as the Haoyang Mirror, these foundations are disposable and cannot possibly withstand the endless attacks of the Sand Demon containing the power of condensed Dao.

The Heavenly Blade Palace is adjacent to the Vast Sea Desert, and it was this Nascent Soul sect that suffered the first calamity. Only the Heavenly Blade True Monarch and the Blood Blade True Monarch, two cultivators at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, escaped with the sect's resources.

After the destruction of the Heavenly Blade Palace, the sand demons of the Vast Sea Desert directly invaded all of the Heavenly Blade Palace's territories, occupying almost one-third of the Yan State.

Now, the most powerful Nascent Soul sect in Yanzhou is the Heavenly Fire Sect, which is adjacent to the Vast Sea Desert. However, even the Heavenly Fire Sect still doesn't have much of a chance against the sand demons of the Vast Sea Desert.

It is for this reason that the cultivators of the Heavenly Fire Sect and the Nine Heavens Sect are thinking of withdrawing from Yanzhou now, so as to avoid the same fate as the Heavenly Blade Palace.

However, it was by no means an easy task for cultivators from the Heavenly Fire Sect and other Yan Provinces to retreat to Qing and He Provinces.

After all, there lies a treacherous abyss between them.

On that day, True Monarch Wenjian and others threw the sealed sand demon into the Black Abyss, which provoked a counterattack from the terrifying power within the Black Abyss.

Therefore, it is very likely that something similar to the Vast Desert exists in the Black Abyss, but they haven't made any moves yet.

If a large number of cultivators from Yanzhou wanted to travel to Hezhou through the Black Abyss, it would very likely attract the attention of the creatures within the Black Abyss.

For this reason, although the Nine Heavens Sect and the Heavenly Fire Sect have considered retreating, they have not yet taken any action.

After learning of the plans of the Heavenly Fire Sect and the Nine Heavens Sect, the cultivators of the Heavenly Sword Sect were naturally extremely worried.

Because the Heavenly Sword Sect is located on the edge of Hezhou, right next to the Black Abyss.

Once the cultivators from Yanzhou enter Hezhou, the Heavenly Sword Sect will inevitably be the first to confront them.

Although the Heavenly Sword Sect is the most powerful Nascent Soul sect in Hezhou, it is definitely no match for Nascent Soul sects like the Heavenly Fire Sect in Yanzhou.

As soon as True Monarch Wenjian discovered the plans of the Heavenly Fire Sect and other immortal cultivation forces in Yanzhou, he sent a message to Lu Chengan.

At that time, Lu Cheng'an was helping Lu Wenxing and the other two refine their natal magic weapons and did not immediately go to the Heavenly Sword Sect.

The reason he is heading to the Heavenly Sword Sect so readily now is not because of the Nascent Soul sects in Yan Province such as the Heavenly Fire Sect, but because he wants to enter Yan Province to investigate the true nature of those sand demons.

He wanted to verify whether there really were cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage in the Vast Desert. If there were, even if he couldn't kill them now, he would do his best to prevent them from recovering.

Otherwise, once it fully recovers its strength, the current power of this cultivation world simply cannot withstand the invasion of such a being.

After leaving the Lu family, Lu Cheng'an first went to the Haoyang Sect to borrow the Haoyang Mirror, a secret treasure.

The Haoyang Mirror is a fire-attribute treasure, which is extremely compatible with Lu Cheng'an.

This treasure can only be used when placed within the Haoyang Sect's protective array. It has not been used by the Haoyang Sect for a long time, and it has already accumulated enough power within it.

Of course, even if Lu Cheng'an exhausts all the power within, he is not afraid. If he relies on the power of the Fire Domain, he can also use his own magic power to activate this treasure.

Even so, there is still a big gap between his magical power and that of a Nascent Soul cultivator. He can only activate the Haoyang Mirror three times now.

The Haoyang Sect cultivators of the Blazing Sun True Lord were well aware of the terrifying strength of Lu Cheng'an, after all, even the Butterfly Transformation Demon King had died tragically at Lu Cheng'an's hands.

Moreover, Lu Cheng'an's purpose in coming to borrow the Haoyang Mirror was mainly to investigate the true nature of the Sand Demon, which was also a good thing for them.

Therefore, after comforting themselves, the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Haoyang Sect, including True Lord Lieyang, readily lent the Haoyang Mirror to Lu Cheng'an.

After leaving Haoyang Sect with Haoyang Mirror, Lu Cheng'an quickly arrived at Tianjian Sect and borrowed the secret treasure Tianjian Talisman from Wenjian Zhenjun.

It was True Monarch Wenjian who first approached Lu Cheng'an about this matter, and since Haoyang Sect had lent out Haoyang Mirror first, Tianjian Sect naturally wouldn't refuse to lend out Tianjian Talisman.

Moreover, when Lu Cheng'an borrowed books about the Nascent Soul realm from the Heavenly Sword Sect, True Monarch Wenjian had thought that Lu Cheng'an would take the Heavenly Sword Talisman with him.

Now that Lu Cheng'an is asking them to borrow the Heavenly Sword Talisman to investigate the true nature of the Sand Demon, he naturally won't refuse.

"The Heavenly Fire Sect, the Nine Heavens Sect, and the Heavenly Blade Palace have also produced Nascent Soul cultivators. These three sects are even stronger than your Heavenly Sword Sect. They should also have secret treasures similar to the Heavenly Sword Talisman in their sects now!"

After Lu Cheng'an put the Heavenly Sword Talisman into his storage ring, he smiled and looked at True Monarch Wenjian, asking, "Does Fellow Daoist Zhai know what fifth-tier secret treasures these three sects possess?"

The Sword Inquiry True Monarch glanced at Lu Cheng'an with surprise, then immediately said, "The foundations of these three sects are much deeper than those of the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Haoyang Sect. As far as I know, the Nine Heavens Sect has two secret treasures: the Nine Heavens Flying Star Bracelet and the Yellow Heaven Profound Qi Pearl; the Heavenly Fire Sect has three secret treasures: the Golden Sun Heavenly Fire Pearl, the Azure Sun Heavenly Refining Furnace, and the Black Sun World-Destroying Scissors; and the Heavenly Blade Palace has one secret treasure: the Heavenly Blade Blood God Light."

Among them, the Heavenly Blade Blood God Light of the Heavenly Blade Palace had been consumed by the joint efforts of the Heavenly Blade True Monarch and the Blood Blade True Monarch. The power of this secret treasure was extremely terrifying, directly slaying two sand demons with the power of condensing the Dao! A look of surprise appeared on Lu Cheng'an's face. He had thought that the strength of the three sects of the Nine Heavens Sect was stronger than that of the Heavenly Sword Sect and the Haoyang Sect, but he did not expect it to be so much stronger.

The Nine Heavens Flying Star Bracelet and the Golden Sun Heavenly Fire Pearl are only the fifth-tier secret treasures that the Sword Inquiry True Monarch knows about these three sects. These three sects may very well have even more powerful secret treasures.

Of course, the possibility that the Heavenly Blade Palace possesses even more powerful secret treasures is relatively small.

If they had, neither the Heavenly Blade True Lord nor the Blood Blade True Lord would have stood by and watched the Heavenly Blade Palace's millennia-old foundation be destroyed.

"Does Fellow Daoist Lu wish to borrow treasures from the Nine Heavens Sect and the Heavenly Fire Sect?" True Monarch Wenjian inquired tentatively.

"I do have that plan!"

Lu Cheng'an smiled faintly and said, "I believe that the Nine Heavens Sect and the Heavenly Fire Sect will lend me a fifth-tier secret treasure!"

"This concerns the foundation of our sects, and these two sects may not be willing to lend us their treasures. Moreover, both sects have fifth-order protective formations within their mountain gates. Fellow Daoist Lu, you must be careful!" True Monarch Wenjian said with a worried expression.

He had great faith in Lu Cheng'an's strength; if the Nine Heavens Sect and the Heavenly Fire Sect came to Hezhou, Lu Cheng'an would definitely be able to hold them off.

However, if Lu Cheng'an were to go to these two sects, his situation would be extremely dangerous.

Although Lu Cheng'an is extremely powerful, he is not a Nascent Soul cultivator after all. If he were to venture deep into the two sects, it would certainly be extremely dangerous.

"Thank you for the reminder, Fellow Daoist Zhai!"

After learning about the situation of the three Nascent Soul sects in Yanzhou from the Sword Inquiry True Monarch, Lu Cheng'an left the Heavenly Sword Sect and sped towards Yanzhou.

In a short while, Lu Cheng'an left the territory of Hezhou and appeared above the Black Abyss.

When Lu Cheng'an first entered the sky above the Black Abyss, he didn't feel anything. But when he entered the central area of ​​the Black Abyss, he vaguely felt the faint power of the Great Dao sinking to the bottom of the Black Abyss.

"It must be the power of water!"

Beneath Lu Cheng'an's feet, clouds and mist surged as he secretly sensed the power of the Great Dao flowing beneath the Black Abyss.

That power of the Great Dao was extremely weak and intermittent. If Lu Cheng'an had not deepened his understanding of the power of the Great Dao over the years, he would never have been able to sense the existence of the power of the Great Dao below the Black Abyss.

This was Lu Cheng'an's first time setting foot in the Black Abyss, but he had heard many rumors about it before.

This Black Abyss is also an extremely dangerous place. If cultivators below the Nascent Soul Realm want to cross the Black Abyss, they are very likely to fall into it inexplicably.

Initially, some Nascent Soul cultivators also ventured into the Black Abyss to explore, but none of them came out alive.

After that, the Black Abyss became a forbidden area, and no cultivators entered it again.

Lu Cheng'an frowned slightly. He suspected that there might be something beyond the Nascent Soul realm in the Black Abyss, and he really wanted to go deep into the Black Abyss to explore.

But a moment later, he suppressed the thought that had surfaced in his mind.

There is a greater possibility that something beyond the Nascent Soul realm exists in the Vast Desert, and that thing has already been born. So, the first thing to deal with now is naturally the thing in the Vast Desert.

Something beyond the Nascent Soul realm is about to exist in the Black Abyss, but it hasn't made a sound yet, so we can ignore it for now.

If he were to enter the Black Abyss now and provoke it, causing something beyond the Nascent Soul realm to emerge from within, it would surely be a disaster.

Moments later, Lu Cheng'an swiftly left the Black Abyss and entered Yanzhou territory.

After entering Yanzhou, Lu Cheng'an did not go directly to the two Nascent Soul sects, Jiuxiao Sect and Tianhuo Sect. Instead, he sent a message to the Nascent Soul cultivators of these two sects, asking them to come and meet him to discuss how to deal with the sand demons in the Hanhai Desert.

Lu Cheng'an naturally followed the advice of Tianjian Zhenjun, as the foundations of Jiuxiao Sect and Tianhuo Sect were much deeper than those of Tianjian Sect and Haoyang Sect.

These two sects not only possess fifth-tier secret treasures such as the Nine Heavens Flying Star Bracelet and the Golden Sun Heavenly Fire Pearl, but also have a fifth-tier mountain-protecting formation within their mountain gates.

Even with Lu Cheng'an's strength, his life would be in danger if he were trapped in these two sects.

Although Lu Cheng'an accomplished many great things in Qing, He and Tai states, and became the most powerful Nascent Soul cultivator in the three states.

However, this news was not known to the Nine Heavens Sect or other forces in Yan Province.

It was only because what Lu Cheng'an did was not widely known that even in the three states of Qing, He, and Tai, only Nascent Soul cultivators and a few Golden Core cultivators knew about it.

Furthermore, the cultivators of Yanzhou were corrupted by the sand demons of the Hanhai Desert, so they naturally had no energy to investigate the situation in Qingzhou and Hezhou in detail.

This is mainly because the three Nascent Soul sects, namely the Nine Heavens Sect, the Heavenly Fire Sect, and the Heavenly Blade Palace, did not take Qing and He prefectures seriously.

Lu Cheng'an used the words of the Sword Inquiry True Monarch to send a message to the cultivators of the Nine Heavens Sect, the Heavenly Fire Sect, and the Heavenly Blade Palace.

Upon receiving the message from True Monarch Wenjian, the cultivators of the three sects immediately felt extremely strange, worrying that True Monarch Wenjian and the cultivators of Qing and He states might have done something to plot against them.

After all, they were the ones who plotted against the Nascent Soul cultivators of Qing and He prefectures first, and since then, the Nascent Soul cultivators of Qing and He prefectures have severed ties with them.

Now that the Sword-Seeking True Lord has suddenly sent a message to them to discuss how to deal with the sand demons of the Vast Sea Desert, it naturally arouses their suspicion.

When the Nascent Soul cultivators of the three sects of the Heavenly Fire Sect received Lu Cheng'an's message, they did not immediately reply. Instead, they discussed it privately and ultimately decided to send Nascent Soul cultivators from their sects to investigate the true nature of Sword Inquiry True Monarch.

Lu Cheng'an set the meeting place in Black Plum Mountain, 800 miles away from Black Abyss. The environment there was harsh, the spiritual energy was thin, and the mountain was full of black plum trees that released miasma. There were no living creatures in the area.

Such harsh conditions naturally had no effect on Nascent Soul cultivators like Lu Cheng'an. In addition, Black Plum Mountain was located in Yanzhou, which is why the three sects of the Heavenly Fire Sect readily accepted Lu Cheng'an's invitation.

After deliberation, the three sects of the Heavenly Fire Sect finally decided to send four cultivators at the Nascent Soul Perfection Realm: Jade Cloud True Monarch, Holy Fire True Monarch, Heavenly Blade True Monarch, and Blood Blade True Monarch.

Of the four, Heavenly Blade True Monarch is the strongest. However, since Heavenly Blade Palace has been completely destroyed by Sand Demon, the two remaining Nascent Soul cultivators of Heavenly Blade Palace have been mobilized.

After the three sects of the Heavenly Fire Sect finished their discussion, the four members of the Heavenly Blade True Monarch rushed directly towards Black Plum Mountain.

Soon after, the four members of the Heavenly Blade True Monarch arrived at Black Plum Mountain and quickly detected Lu Cheng'an's presence.

"May I ask who you are, fellow Daoist?" (End of Chapter)