My blind date failed, so I had to ascend the throne and become emperor.

Chapter 204 The Cruel Death Rate
Deep in the jungle.

Zhou Ping was unaware that all the cultivators in the lava sea had entered the jungle. After resting and recovering his mana, he continued on his way.

The deeper you go, the more numerous and larger the flying insects become.

Even with the Samadhi True Fire, he could hardly move and had to use the power of a celestial treasure to barely reach the core of the island.

Looking at the pool of water that appeared before them.

At the very center of the pool is a colorful whirlpool, exuding an aura different from that of the lava environment.

"This should be the exit!"

His face was calm as he cautiously surveyed his surroundings. What he saw made his scalp tingle. At the edge of the pool, there were layers of thick, blanket-like vegetation. Upon closer inspection, he realized that all of this vegetation was made up of purple flying insects. They were stacked together, as if they were hatching or laying eggs.

New flying insects are generated from time to time.

"Judging by the number, there are probably hundreds of millions!"

"None of those previous exploration teams of cultivators will make it this far!"

Even the little cauldron in the sea of ​​consciousness was filled with solemnity, clearly it was shocked, "This path to immortality is really too dangerous, it's already this terrifying before we've even reached the outer perimeter!"

Zhou Ping took a deep breath. "High risk often comes with high reward. Maybe this path to immortality really does hold the opportunity to become an immortal!"

Xiao Ding said, "Perhaps, but how easy is it to reach the core of the Immortal River!"

It didn't have high hopes.

Although Zhou Ping had many trump cards, in its eyes these trump cards were nothing more than a remnant of a near-immortal level. It might have some chance of getting through the early elimination environment, but once it entered the real outer area, it would likely encounter other near-immortal level powerhouses.

Yes.

Xiao Ding had already guessed that this magma environment was designed to eliminate a large number of cultivators who were on the path to immortality. Only those who survived were qualified to enter the outer perimeter.

Zhou Ping also realized this, but unlike other cultivators, he was confident, after all, he had a cheat code. The National Fortune Virtual Frame had not disappointed him so far. Just this time, he relied on the National Fortune Virtual Frame to enhance the essence of the flames when he broke into the core of the island.

The Void God Technique is still being digested. Once it's fully digested and absorbed, it might bring even more surprises, as it consumes even more power than the Source of Fire.

"Let's wait at the edge first. With so many flying insects, I'm afraid you won't be able to get in by yourself!"

Xiao Ding reminded.

Zhou Ping nodded. Although he was confident, he was not a reckless man. Flames were powerful, but they ultimately required the use of magic to unleash their power. If so many flying insects attacked together, many of them would definitely be able to break through the fire wall.

At that time, he will face a massive onslaught of spiritual energy.

So I found a spot nearby and sat down cross-legged to wait.

With twenty teams from the Lava Sea, Zhou Ping was certain that some cultivators would be able to reach this point.

Time passed little by little.

He digested the illusory god technique while waiting.

Two full months later.

Finally, a group of cultivators approached.

They were three disheveled Void Returning cultivators, covered in wounds, clearly having fought their way here through fierce battles.

Upon seeing the dense carpet of insects, they were all terrified.

However, since they were only at the Void Returning stage, they chose to wait, just like Zhou Ping. During this time, they also sensed Zhou Ping's aura. While they were shocked that a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator like Zhou Ping could survive to get here, they did not disturb him.

Two or three months passed.

One after another, other cultivators rushed over, all looking extremely miserable; they were much slower than Zhou Ping.

In this regard.

Zhou Ping wasn't surprised. After all, those flying insects, especially the purple ones, were terrifying. Soul attacks required soul-related methods and magic weapons; otherwise, one could only form an array to defend against them.

Wait until six months later.

To his surprise, the Holy Son of Heavenly Sun and Fairy Fei Huan also came.

See Zhou Ping.

They were both shocked at first, then their faces lit up with joy.

"Brother Canglan, I never imagined you could cross this jungle all by yourself. You are truly admirable!"

Tianyang Shengzi sighed.

The Fairy Fei Huan, covered in azure protective armor, had a curvaceous and alluring figure that was incredibly alluring. Her beautiful eyes were filled with surprise.

Zhou Ping waved his hand, "I was just lucky. I came in from another direction and didn't encounter many flying insects. And it might be because I was alone. There were only a few thousand flying insects at most."

Tianyang Saint suddenly realized, "Even if there were only a thousand or so, Brother Canglan's ability to kill them all is truly remarkable, unlike us, who almost perished inside."

Zhou Ping looked at the two of them, and could tell from the fluctuations they exuded, "By the way, where are Seniors Bloodhand and Qingyin?"

Fairy Fei Huan shook her head. "They didn't make it."

Zhou Ping was silent for a moment.

Of the four cultivators he initially met, the Heavenly Sun Saint was the weakest, while the Flying Fairy was the strongest. Therefore, he was not surprised at all that the Flying Fairy was alive, but the Heavenly Sun Saint survived.

It seems they guessed Zhou Ping's thoughts.

Tianyang Saint said, "I was able to get through the journey thanks to Senior Fei Huan and some of the life-saving secrets of my Tianyang Sect."

Zhou Ping didn't ask any more questions. Every cultivator has their own secrets, and even he couldn't explain why the flames were so strong.

Fairy Fei Huan shook her head and said, "Alright, now that we've entered the path to immortality, our lives are in the hands of fate. The most important thing now is how to enter that five-colored vortex. Zhou Ping, you arrived earlier than us. Have you made any other discoveries?"

Zhou Ping frowned as he looked at the dense, thick carpet of insects. “There are hundreds of millions of those purple insects. To get through, we have to lure them away. Moreover, these insects are different from those outside. Even if they sense a cultivator’s aura, they won’t move. They might only attack when you get close. I’ve been waiting for more people to gather, and then we might be able to find a way.”

Tianyang Saint sighed, "Right now, we can only rely on Tianxuan Saint and that Red Lotus Fairy. They are the strongest among our group in the lava."

Another ten days or so passed.

The procession of Tianxuan Saint and Red Lotus Fairy has finally arrived.

Compared to other exploring cultivator teams, these two teams did not suffer significant losses, only appearing to have consumed more resources.

The old man beside the Holy Son Tianxuan glanced around and said indifferently, "It seems that only a few people are still alive!"

The other cultivators who had returned to the Void Realm remained silent.

They now fully understand the cruelty of the path to immortality. Although it is unclear how many Void Returners entered this magma environment, there were hundreds who made it to the island alive. But now, there are less than fifty left!

This is assuming that the teams led by Tianxuan Saint and Red Lotus Fairy did not suffer too many losses.

If you calculate it really carefully...

You will then discover just how terrifying the death rate is on the path to immortality.

"Holy Son Tianxuan, Fairy Honglian, the five-colored whirlpool in that pool should be the exit from this place. But how do we deal with all those flying insects around us? Do you two have any ideas?"

A monk asked.

Tianxuan Saint Son remained indifferent, not even hearing these words.

The Crimson Lotus Fairy, dressed in a vibrant and colorful rose-red fitted dress, smiled and said, "Although the flying insects are strong, they can still be dealt with if we pay the price. However, since we've all come this far, we should all do our part. After all, no one knows what kind of environment lies on the other side of the Five-Colored Exit!"

The other cultivators exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Zhou Ping and Tianyang Shengzi both nodded.

They all knew that dealing with so many flying insects was no easy task and that they could only rely on Tianxuan Saint and Red Lotus Fairy.

So they rested for half a month. After all the surviving cultivators had recovered, the Holy Son of Tianxuan took out a jade pen, while a red ribbon appeared on the body of the Fairy of Red Lotus.

"Everyone, please channel your magic power into these two magical treasures!"

Listen to this.

All the cultivators activated their magical power.

boom.

As magic power was infused.

The jade pen emitted a dazzling light and quickly wrote the character "封" (seal) in mid-air.

The red ribbons stretched out wildly, enveloping the character "封". Although these two magical treasures were not at the near-immortal level, they were only a hair's breadth away from it, and their power was extremely strong. In particular, with so much magic power activating them, they directly suppressed and sealed off hundreds of millions of purple flying insects.

"Alright, this magic weapon's power can last for a hundred breaths. Quickly enter the five-colored vortex!"

Tianxuan Saint Son said coldly.

soon.

One of the cultivators rushed into the pool and saw that the purple flying insects were restless but unable to break through the blockade of the jade pen and ribbon. The other cultivators were delighted and followed closely behind.

Zhou Ping, Tianyang Saint, and Feihuan Fairy also rushed over immediately.

Soon.

Only the Holy Son of Tianxuan, Fairy Honglian, and the old man beside them remained.

"If I'm not mistaken, these flying insects are the infamous Corpse Insects on the path to immortality. As long as they can be refined, one can condense a Corpse Puppet..."

Tianxuan Saint's eyes gleamed. "In that case, let's refine these flying insects!"

While talking.

He waved his sleeves, and a large amount of water covered the purple insect carpet. This water was incredibly heavy, each drop weighing as much as a mountain, and even contained the essence of water.

moment.

Hundreds of millions of flying insects disappeared.

The Red Lotus Fairy's red lips parted slightly, her beautiful eyes sparkling with a myriad of colors. "The Heavenly Pivot Saint's methods are truly extraordinary; I, Red Lotus, am truly impressed."

Tianxuan Saint ignored the other cultivators, but when facing Fairy Honglian, he still showed a smile, "Fellow Daoist Honglian is joking. I admire your methods. Alright, this place is not suitable for us to stay any longer. Let's leave first."

As the three cultivators entered the five-colored vortex.

The entire magma environment immediately began to collapse, and within just a dozen breaths, it completely disappeared, as if it had never existed.

……

heat.

My whole body felt sticky.

As soon as he emerged from the colorful vortex, Zhou Ping felt as if he had entered a furnace. His body soon broke out in a lot of sweat. He looked at the endless towering ancient trees and numerous low shrubs in front of him and frowned deeply.

It's too hot here.

Unlike the lava environment, this place is completely sweltering.

It was as if there wasn't a breath of wind.

This was unbelievable to him. After all, as a Nascent Soul Realm cultivator, he was no longer afraid of severe cold or heat, but he couldn't withstand this kind of environment at all.

Xiao Ding said, "This environment is filled with a special energy that can seal the pores of a cultivator's skin, preventing magic power and divine sense from penetrating the body... It's very similar to the challenges in the Lotus Pond. Now it seems that the various dangers set up in the Lotus Pond are definitely based on the path to immortality."

Zhou Ping nodded in deep agreement. He had just activated some magical power, but it was indeed difficult to exert it from his body. He couldn't even isolate his senses through his skin. It could only circulate in his meridians, dantian, and sea of ​​consciousness. As a result, he couldn't even activate the most basic spells, let alone use things like storage bags.

Fortunately, he possessed magical power and his physical strength remained intact.

soon.

He tried to activate the immortal energy.

With this activation, the immortal energy quickly protected his body, which relieved Zhou Ping. It seemed that this place could not suppress the magic power of near-immortal level, and although the immortal energy was difficult to exert its full power, it could still be activated.

It feels much cooler now.

He walked forward, stepping on thick, decaying layers of fallen leaves.

Because his divine sense was suppressed and could only cover a radius of about ten meters, Zhou Ping did not dare to fly freely and could only walk slowly and cautiously.

It took about half a day to walk.

In reality, you can't perceive time here; you can only estimate it in your mind.

"Watch out, to the left!"

Xiao Ding suddenly reminded me.

Zhou Ping almost instinctively dodged to the right.

Bang.

A metal arrow with strange patterns appeared where he had been standing.

Before Zhou Ping could react, Xiao Ding reminded him again.

I dodged five times in a row.

Those who secretly shot arrows have stopped making a move.

"Where is that guy?"

Zhou Ping hurriedly looked around, but because it was all ancient trees and bushes, he couldn't see much, and his divine sense could only cover ten meters.

Xiao Ding said, "That guy is gone..."

Zhou Ping breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Senior Ding, thank you. It seems the opponent isn't very skilled in archery, otherwise I might not have been able to dodge it."

Xiao Ding nodded, "No one is stupid. They must have anticipated this suppressed environment and taken out their magic weapon in advance. However, the opponent's archery skills are indeed mediocre. He was shooting at you from a thousand meters away, so it's normal that you couldn't sense him. But the fact that he was able to detect you in advance means he must have a special ability."

Here, magical power cannot be activated, but the physical body is not restricted.

Therefore, as soon as other cultivators are discovered, they can use their physical bodies to attack in advance. The opponent is also very clever and has chosen archery, which allows them to make full use of their physical ranged strength.

Unfortunately, Xiao Ding was alert in advance.

That's how that guy missed his target.

Of course.

With his protective aura, even if an arrow hits him, he won't die; at most, he'll be injured.

"You need to be extremely careful from now on, as these kinds of surprise attacks are likely to happen frequently!"

Hear this.

Zhou Ping nodded with a gloomy expression. His cultivation level was still limiting him. If he were at the Returning Void Realm, his divine sense might be able to cover a range of a thousand meters.

no way.

Now that we're here, we have to be prepared for this.

"It will probably take another six months to digest and absorb the Void God Technique, so let's not continue forward. Let's set up the surrounding area first, and then set off again after we have digested and absorbed the Void God Technique!"

(End of this chapter)