I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Chapter 350 Refining Spiritual Treasures! Divine Mountain Kunwu! The Ye Family's Scheme!

At this point, more than a month had passed since Zhou Yuan left Bitter Bamboo Island.

He had long since left the vast sea and returned to the interior of the Great Jin Dynasty, heading west until he finally arrived above a remote and sprawling volcanic field.

The area is volcanically active, with the air thick with the smell of sulfur and heat. Below, billowing smoke from volcanic craters and solidified black magma rocks can be seen everywhere.

Zhou Yuan hovered in the air for a moment, then selected the tallest active volcano with the most intense and active earth fire energy, and swooped down directly towards the crater that was emitting crimson flames.

He traversed the billowing volcanic ash and scorching heatwaves to reach the depths of the volcano, where he found a naturally formed platform on the rock wall above a lava lake.

Several feet below, the surging, boiling, and terrifyingly hot crimson magma was an excellent source of subterranean fire.

"To forge the Three Flames Fan, one needs to draw upon the three flames of Heaven, Earth, and Man. Earth flames are easy to find, and this place is an excellent source of earth flames."

Human fire is my own infant fire. As for heavenly fire—”

Zhou Yuan muttered to himself, then flipped his hand and took out more than a dozen white jade bottles with spirit-sealing talismans attached.

These jade bottles contain the heavenly thunder fires that he collected and stored during his early travels.

Thunder and fire are violent and difficult to tame, but they have incredible uses when used for refining weapons.

Without further hesitation, he began to set up the array. He first used his magic to clear a flat area on the platform, then took out several array-setting tools and rare materials, and set up a simple restrictive array around it that combined the functions of gathering firepower, isolating detection, and stabilizing the space.

Once everything was ready, he sat down cross-legged, took a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with a calm and focused gaze.

With a flick of his finger, a thick, crimson fire, like a fire dragon, was drawn upwards from the lava lake below and poured into the void in front of him, forming a blazing fireball.

Immediately afterwards, he opened his mouth and spat out a fist-sized ball of his natal infant fire, pale golden in color, radiating astonishing high temperature and pure magical energy fluctuations, which merged into the earth fire.

Finally, he carefully opened a jade bottle and drew out a wisp of silvery-white, flickering, and destructive heavenly lightning fire, which he then added to the flame.

"Sizzle—!"

The moment the three flames came into contact, they emitted a violent repulsion and a loud crackling sound!

The violent energy fluctuations caused the entire interior of the volcano to tremble!

Zhou Yuan dared not be negligent. He quickly activated his powerful divine sense and magic power, carefully harmonizing the three flames with different attributes to achieve a delicate balance.

The three flames of Heaven, Earth, and Man have finally merged successfully! A ball of flame, displaying a magnificent tri-colored luster and radiating a heart-palpitating high temperature and an aura of destruction, burned quietly in front of Zhou Yuan.

Without further hesitation, Zhou Yuan began to throw the rare materials he had prepared into the three-colored flames.

The feathers of the Haoyang Bird, the scales of the Crimson Fire Dragon, the tail feathers of the Black Phoenix, and the Crimson Cloud Flowing Gold Sand —

Each material is a rare treasure, slowly melting and deforming under the scorching heat of heaven, earth, and man. Impurities are removed, and the essence is purified. Following a mysterious trajectory, it begins to re-integrate and reshape itself.

This process is extremely taxing on both magical power and mental energy.

However, thanks to the near-infinite mana regeneration from his equipment slots and his powerful divine sense comparable to that of a Nascent Soul cultivator, Zhou Yuan managed to persevere.

He was completely focused, single-minded, and meticulously controlled the fusion process of the flames and materials, casting profound spells and imprinting runes and restrictions onto them.

Time slips away unnoticed.

While Zhou Yuan was immersed in refining weapons, in the depths of a remote primeval forest in the southern border of the Great Jin Dynasty, on the shore of an unnamed lake, a tense and solemn scene unfolded.

Groups of cultivators were quietly gathering here.

These cultivators were all dressed in uniform, exuding a sharp and well-trained aura.

At a glance, there are as many as eight cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage!

There were dozens of Core Formation stage cultivators and hundreds of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators!

Such a powerful force is none other than the elite of the Ye family, the royal family of the Great Jin Dynasty!

The person leading the group was none other than Ye Tianhua, the second elder of the Ye family.

But at this moment, standing beside him was a strange man with an unusually large head, more than three times the size of a normal person's head, but a rather thin figure.

Although this strange man had an odd appearance, his aura was as deep as an abyss, and he was actually a great cultivator in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm!

"Seventh Uncle—I never imagined you were still alive! With your personal assistance, the Ye family's grand plan will surely be successfully completed!"

Ye Tianhua looked at the big-headed strange man, his face filled with admiration and joy.

This strange, big-headed man is none other than Ye Yuesheng, the genius cultivator of the previous generation of the Ye family!

He is now over a thousand years old, but his cultivation has reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Back then, the former Grand Elder of the Ye family worried that Ye Yuesheng's talent was too high and would arouse the jealousy and assassination of the major sects of the Great Jin Dynasty. So he arranged a fake death so that Ye Yuesheng could hide in an assumed name.

This hiding lasted for hundreds of years.

Two hundred years ago, Ye Yuesheng finally broke through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm. His return this time was in response to the request of the current Grand Elder Ye Tianshi, to help the Ye family complete that earth-shattering event that had been planned for hundreds of years!

"Alright, enough of the small talk. Before breaking the seal, we must first set up a concealment formation to prevent the commotion from leaking out and causing unnecessary trouble."

Hazuki Sei shook his enormous head and said in a hoarse voice.

His gaze fell upon the seemingly calm, nameless lake.

Deep beneath the lake lies a massive seal left over from ancient times.

Beneath that seal lies the legendary Kunwu Mountain, the first sacred place for cultivation that has long since vanished from the human realm!

It is said that Kunwu Mountain was the most prosperous and flourishing immortal cultivation holy land in the human world in ancient times. There are countless treasures in the mountain, and there may even be supreme treasures of the level of heaven-reaching spiritual treasures!

However, for some unknown reason, the entire sacred mountain was sealed by an ancient powerful being using extraordinary means, sank into the ground, and disappeared from the world's sight.

After hundreds of years of investigation and research, and countless efforts, the Ye family finally determined the exact location of the Kunwu Mountain seal, which is located beneath this nameless lake!

In order to obtain the two extraordinary treasures that might exist in the mountains, and thus free the Ye family from their puppet fate of being secretly controlled by the ten major sects of the Great Jin Dynasty, the Ye family decided to take a risk and do everything in their power to break this ancient seal!

"I understand, Seventh Uncle. Once the preliminary preparations here are almost complete, the Grand Elder will personally come here to preside over the final breaking of the taboo ceremony!" Ye Tianhua nodded and replied solemnly.

At Ye Yuesheng's command, hundreds of Ye family cultivators began to silently dive into the lake like diligent ants, setting up an extremely large and complex concealment formation according to the pre-rehearsed positions.

They must cover up the possible celestial phenomena that might occur before the seal is broken, so as to buy the Ye family enough time to enter Kunwu Mountain and retrieve the treasure!

However, what the Ye family did not know was that spies had already been planted among them by the ten major sects of the Great Jin Dynasty.

The crucial concealment formation was tampered with by a spy during its setup, leaving a fatal vulnerability.

Meanwhile, in Shuangxie Mountain in the southern border, five mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators gathered—three men and two women, all of them extraordinary individuals.

"Fellow Daoist Fu, for the sake of the Nascent Soul Pill, I will accompany you on this journey—"

A muscular, bare-chested man spoke to the old man in black.

-

"Don't worry, I've been planning this for a long time, there won't be much danger this time!"

The old man in black nodded.

This person is named Fu Cheng, from the Nine Nether Sect of the Great Jin Dynasty. He has studied an ancient pill formula, the Nascent Soul Pill. If this pill can be refined, taking it can strengthen the Nascent Soul of a Nascent Soul cultivator!

However, it lacks one key ingredient.

Yinzhima.

Some time ago, Fu Cheng discovered that there were traces of the Yin-Yang Horse in the Yin-Yang Cave deep in the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons in Southern Xinjiang.

However, the Yin-Yang Cave is dangerous.

The constant, terrifying winds in the cave alone would cause even a Nascent Soul cultivator to have their soul instantly scattered if they were caught in them.

Not to mention that the cave is located in a place of profound yin energy, where yin energy gathers year-round, and various powerful and extraordinary ghosts have already sprung up in the cave.

Therefore, Fu Chengcai formed such a team to explore the Yin-Yang Cave together!

Several months later.

Deep within the volcano.

The tri-colored flame that had been burning for months finally began to die down.

Zhou Yuan slowly stretched out his hands, and a small fan, only a few inches in size, exquisitely crafted, and shimmering with gold, silver, and red light, floated quietly above his palms.

On the fan surface, countless runes and spiritual patterns are layered upon each other, as if containing some kind of ultimate truth of heaven and earth. With a slight sway, the three-colored spiritual halos alternate and change, emitting a terrifying pressure that makes people's hearts tremble.

"Finally finished!"

Looking at the small fan that had consumed countless hours of his effort and precious materials, Zhou Yuan's face showed heartfelt satisfaction and a smile.

He stood up, gripped the small fan handle, and with a sway of his body, rushed out of the crater and into the sky outside.

He took a deep breath, and the immense magical power within him poured into the Three Flames Fan in his hand like a floodgate opening!

"Buzz—!!!"

The small fan, which was originally only a few inches in size, instantly grew to several feet in length! Three-colored spiritual light suddenly shone on the fan surface, and a terrifyingly scorching aura spread out like a tide!

Zhou Yuan aimed at a deserted, desolate mountain in front of him and gently fanned it!

"Eh-!!!"

A clear and melodious phoenix cry rang out! A surge of three-colored flames erupted from the fan, and all the flames suddenly condensed in the air, transforming into a fire phoenix with a wingspan of over ten feet, its entire body formed from three-colored flames, and trailing three magnificent long feathers! The fire phoenix, carrying a terrifying aura that could burn away the eight wastelands, crashed fiercely into the barren mountain!

"boom-!!!"

A deafening roar shook the heavens and the earth! The barren mountain, hundreds of feet high, was shattered into pieces by the fire phoenix!

Rocks flew everywhere, and lava flowed! All that remained was a huge, charred crater, still emitting wisps of smoke!

"Not bad! With this power, an ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator probably couldn't even withstand a single blow!"

Zhou Yuan nodded in satisfaction.

He could sense that if he were to unleash the Crimson Cloud Flowing Gold Sand at the same time, the power of the Three Flames Fan would increase even further!

He put away the Three Flames Fan and turned his gaze to the distant southern border of the Great Jin Dynasty.

"Judging by the timeline, the Ye family should be making their move soon."

Zhou Yuan muttered to himself.

As a time traveler, he naturally knew about the Ye family's schemes and the secrets of Kunwu Mountain.

He was also very interested in exploring that legendary sacred mountain.

Without further hesitation, he transformed into a streak of light and sped off towards the southern border of the Great Jin Dynasty.

A month later, Zhou Yuan appeared in the southern border region of the Great Jin Dynasty.

Southern Frontier is one of the few regions in the Great Jin Dynasty that is not completely controlled by the ten major sects of righteousness and evil.

This place is home to numerous sects, numbering over a dozen in total, each with its own unique cultivation methods. These sects are known for their insidious and mysterious techniques, often employing poison, insect repellent, and curses, making them quite feared by cultivators from other regions.

Although these sects are constantly embroiled in internal strife, they will immediately unite to fight against any external intrusion.

Therefore, even the ten major sects of the righteous and demonic factions have never been able to truly penetrate the Southern Frontier, making this place resemble a self-contained country.

Several days after Zhou Yuan ventured deep into the southern border, he was flying over a primeval forest when suddenly his gaze sharpened, and he looked sharply to the southwest!

In that direction, he sensed an extremely subtle yet immense abnormal fluctuation!

Although the fluctuation was being concealed by some force, his powerful divine sense, comparable to that of the Nascent Soul stage, still managed to detect a trace of it!

"It seems that the Ye family's efforts have ultimately failed."

Zhou Yuan thought to himself.

He knew that, according to the original story, although the Ye family had made thorough preparations, spies had already been planted within the clan by the ten major sects of the Great Jin Dynasty.

At the crucial moment of breaking the seal, the spy destroyed part of the concealment formation, causing the huge commotion of breaking the seal of Kunwu Mountain to inevitably leak out!

It's likely that before long, the Southern Frontier will be a place of great upheaval, attracting countless cultivators from all over the Great Jin Dynasty to explore this legendary ancient sacred mountain!

A bloody storm is about to begin!

Meanwhile, on a mountain in southern Xinjiang, a smiling old man was using a lightness technique to travel while talking animatedly with several Qi Refining stage cultivators beside him.

These young people, traveling for the first time, listened with great interest and enthusiasm.

If Zhou Yuan were here, he would immediately recognize the smooth-looking old man as Xiang Zhili, whom he had met before.

"This is----"

When Zhou Yuan discovered the situation, Xiang Zhili was also looking at the distant sky!

"Who on earth dared to break the seal on that hellhole?!"

Xiang Zhili murmured to himself.

Then, he disappeared from the spot without anyone knowing when, which surprised the Qi Refining cultivators around him. They were just right next to him a moment ago.

>