Cultivation begins in Qingfeng Market.

Before long, the cultivators of Tongxuan Sect discovered that the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm had changed.

The first to notice were the rogue cultivators who spent years in the secret realm searching for treasures and hunting monsters. They discovered that the fire elemental energy on the periphery was slowly dissipating, as if it had been drawn away by something.

The magma that was once everywhere cooled and solidified into black rocks, and the scorching sensation in the air faded day by day.

The monsters also began to migrate to the core area in an unusual way, as if something was amiss.

However, the spiritual energy in the core area not only did not weaken, but continued to increase.

Above that massive crater, hundreds of miles wide, the fire elemental energy was so dense that it formed a visible heat wave, resembling a distorted mirror from afar.

The cultivators of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty are the most sensitive, as countless of their relatives died in the catastrophe of that year, and their fear of this place is etched into their bones.

Now that the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm is acting strangely again, their first thought is—will it happen again?

The Tongxuan Sect issued an exploration mission, attracting many cultivators.

However, the core area of ​​the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm is not accessible to ordinary cultivators. The deeper one goes, the more violent the spiritual energy becomes, and even Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot last more than a few hours.

After several groups of people went in, they either returned empty-handed or never came back at all.

In the end, Zhu Yan came in person. He was a witness to the destruction of the Heavenly Fire Dynasty and is now a Core Formation True Person. He has an obsession with this land that no one else has.

This giant pit was the final battlefield where the Jade Yang Fire Fiend Dharma Body was besieged and killed.

The shockwave generated by the self-destruction of the Nascent Soul Dharma Body leveled everything within a radius of hundreds of miles.

He was also on the battlefield at the time, but he was not qualified to approach the core of the battlefield. He was only clearing out the monsters that were disturbed by the battle of the Dharma Body on the periphery.

He had been here many times since the war, but this time was different. Countless fire-attribute spiritual energies were converging from all directions and seeping down along the cracks, as if something was absorbing spiritual energy deep underground.

Zhu Yan took a deep breath, flew underground, passed through the cooled rock walls, and continued downwards. The surroundings became increasingly hot, and the protective aura around him was distorted by the flames.

He carefully concealed his breathing, trying not to disturb anything.

But it was no use. A clear phoenix cry came from the depths of the rift, and then a golden figure flew out from it.

Red feather golden phoenix,

A pair of golden feathers grazed the rock face, carving two deep grooves into the hard rock as easily as cutting tofu.

Zhu Yan's pupils contracted sharply, and without thinking, he retreated. His escape light was fast, but Jin Huang's speed was even faster.

Those golden wings, with a wingspan of over fifty feet, shimmered with an incomparably sharp golden light as they slapped towards us.

Zhu Yan hastily unleashed the Crimson Flame Demon Blade, its blade glowing with demonic runes and bursting with flames as it met the Golden Phoenix's wing attack.

The moment the blade collided with the golden wings, the Crimson Flame Demon Blade shattered with a deafening roar, its fragments swirling in the air, and its demonic runes extinguished like candle flames.

Zhu Yan was sent flying backward by the aftershock, his back slamming into the rock wall and creating a human-shaped dent.

He coughed up blood, and with a surge of spiritual power, the fragments of the Crimson Flame Demon Blade reignited their demonic runes, gathering and fusing in the air to condense back into the blade.

But the radiance on the blade had dimmed considerably.

This magical artifact, which once slew a Core Formation cultivator, cannot even withstand a single ordinary attack from the Crimson Feather Golden Phoenix.

Zhu Yan broke free from the rock wall and flew upwards without looking back.

The golden phoenix did not pursue. It hovered in the center of the crevice, its wings flapping slowly. Its crimson-gold feathers shimmered with a cold metallic luster in the reflection of the lava. It circled once in the rock strata, then flew back into the underground rock wall to continue its patrol.

Zhu Yan flew out of the edge of the giant pit, away from the core area, until he saw the bushes and weeds at the edge of the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm.

He stopped his escape and stood in mid-air, panting for several breaths. His chest was still burning with pain, and his robe crumbled into powder at the slightest touch.

This thing is definitely comparable to the late stage of Core Formation; it would probably take the combined efforts of the Tongxuan Sect to fight against it.

He transformed into a streak of red light and returned to Tongxuan Sect.

After Zhu Yan relayed the news back to Tongxuan Sect, he requested to convene a meeting to discuss the formation of the Core Formation stage.

Over the years, more than ten Core Formation Realm experts from the three major dynasties have joined the Tongxuan Sect.

The council hall was filled with two rows of Core Formation cultivators.

Zhu Yan recounted his ordeal—from ten thousand feet underground, a golden phoenix struck him, sending him flying, his blade shattered and his body flying.

He didn't hide any details.

The hall remained quiet for a while; no one wanted to explore its secrets anymore.

The being capable of swatting Zhu Yan away with a single blow must be at least in the late Core Formation stage, or even higher.

Of the dozen or so Core Formation cultivators present, most were in the early stages, with only four in the middle stages. Even combined, they wouldn't be enough to defeat them.

As for the only late-stage Core Formation cultivator in the Tongxuan Sect—the Supreme Elder of Xuanchen Valley—he didn't even attend the meeting.

Only the two Core Formation cultivators from the Heavenly Fire Dynasty were unwilling to accept this.

Zhu Yan is one, and the other is Li Xuandu, who was also one of the Seven Sons of Heavenly Fire back then. With Zhu Yan's support over the years, he has also successfully formed his core.

The two stayed behind alone after the meeting.

Li Xuandu asked directly, "Then, do you think the Golden Phoenix is ​​a demonic beast or—"

Zhu Yan shook his head.

It is impossible for a real phoenix to exist in the human world; at most, there are demonic beasts with some phoenix bloodline.

If it were a demonic beast, it would be easier to handle. Although powerful, there are always cultivators interested in demonic beasts with phoenix bloodlines. Spreading the word might attract powerful Core Formation cultivators to take action.

Zhu Yan said, "That is very likely a powerful puppet at the late stage of the third tier."

Li Xuandu remained silent for a long time.

A puppet at the late stage of the third tier is comparable to a late stage Core Formation puppet. The person who can control a puppet of this level is likely to have an even higher cultivation level.

Peak Core Formation?

Is it still the same as before, another being comparable to a Nascent Soul or Dharma Body?

The other Core Formation cultivators of the Tongxuan Sect could naturally guess this as well.

Such beings could easily crush an ordinary Core Formation cultivator, so naturally they were unwilling to get involved.

Zhu Yan remained silent as the two sat in the empty council hall.

Forty years later, the shadow of the Jade Yang Dharma Body incident resurfaced from the depths of the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm, weighing heavily on them. They were powerless to do anything about it; weakness was a sin.

Tongxuan Sect went on high alert, but soon discovered that the terrifying entity deep underground seemed to have no interest in the outside world.

A year has passed, and nothing has happened.

The spiritual energy in the core area is still increasing, and the monsters are still running inside, but nothing can come out from underground.

After several attempts, the cultivators discovered that as long as they didn't venture deep into the core area, they wouldn't trigger the Golden Phoenix's attack, and they gradually got used to it.

At the Tongxuan Sect's headquarters, Luo Yu, Ye Xiaoxiao, and Lin You were also discussing this matter.

The three had just returned from a mission and sat on a large rock behind their camp, looking towards the direction of the Heavenly Fire Secret Realm.