Starting as a Talisman Master

Chapter 263 Demonic Flame Takes Shape (5.2k)

Lu Chi's figure flickered, transforming into a dim phantom, and he quietly slipped into the ruins of the Flame Demon Valley.

Although the grand formation within the valley has been dismantled, the spiritual energy troughs left behind by the formation's operation in the past can still be faintly discerned.

He strolled among the empty palaces and walkways. Everywhere he went, the scripture pavilions, alchemy rooms, and treasure vaults had been emptied. Even the low-grade spiritual herbs growing in the cracks between the floor tiles had been uprooted, showing how thoroughly they had been looted during the evacuation.

Lu Chi didn't care much about these external things. He found a high cliff and stopped, slowly closing his eyes. The next moment, his vast divine sense suddenly spread out, like mercury spilling onto the ground, sweeping through the entire valley inch by inch along the cracks in the mountain rocks.

After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked at a dried-up deep pool in the forbidden area behind the mountain.

With a flash of light, Lu Chi landed at the bottom of the pool. He flicked his sleeve, shattering the remaining rough illusion on the stone wall, revealing a dark stone staircase. Descending the staircase, he arrived at a spacious underground chamber.

The air here is heavy and oppressive, with lingering traces of the aura unique to Golden Core cultivators. It must be where True Person Yanxiao usually secludes himself for cultivation or to hold meetings.

Several dim moonstones were embedded in the surrounding stone walls, and a broken array plate, now devoid of magical power, stood in the center.

Lu Chi walked to a stone table in the corner, where several jade slips were scattered carelessly. He picked up one of the ancient-looking jade slips and probed it with his magic power.

After reading it carefully for a moment, Lu Chi's eyes revealed a look of understanding.

This jade slip is not some profound cultivation technique, but a sect record describing the miscellaneous affairs and geographical features of the Flame Demon Valley. In just a few strokes, it reveals the true origin of the Flame Demon Valley's establishment here four hundred years ago.

When the founder of Flame Demon Valley traveled here, what he valued was not the spiritual flames of heaven and earth, but the "Crimson Poison Fire Fiend" that constantly spewed out from the outer perimeter of the Burning Bone Cave.

The Crimson Fiend Technique, which is the main cultivation method of the Flame Demon Valley, and the weapon-forging techniques within the sect rely heavily on this violent fiery energy to temper the demonic body and forge magical artifacts.

They suppressed the mountain gate above the fiery cave, actually treating the earth's veins as a natural furnace, extracting surface fire energy year after year for cultivation.

As for the depths of the Burning Bone Cave, the jade slip was marked with cinnabar as "Death Ground," strictly forbidding disciples of all generations to venture deep into it.

It clearly states that the venomous fire in the abyss is extremely mixed and ferocious, not only useless for cultivation, but also capable of burning away one's foundation if one is not careful, causing nothing but harm.

Lu Chi casually put the jade slip down.

If the Flame Demon Valley truly knew that a strange fire was brewing deep within, the successive valley masters over the past four hundred years would never have contentedly absorbed its essence from the surface. Even if they couldn't subdue it, they should have long ago set up a powerful array to guide it, or left behind secret scrolls for exploring the abyss.

It seems that Li Qianyou's previous speculation was wrong. The fact that the Flame Demon Valley established its sect here was indeed just a coincidence. The entire sect was completely unaware of the strange fire opportunity deep within the Burning Bone Cave.

"That's good." Lu Chi felt a little more at ease.

Then the Burning Bone Cave will have fewer human-caused variables and schemes. Without such external constraints, this place is indeed worth exploring.

He didn't linger any longer, turned and fled from the ruins of the Flame Demon Valley, and soon returned to the edge of the Burning Bone Cave.

Standing on the edge of the abyss, a scorching wave of heat mixed with poisonous fire rushed towards them.

Lu Chi did not rush in. With a wave of his sleeve, two burly second-tier beast puppets quietly landed in a hidden rock crevice behind him.

He then took out two concealment talismans and affixed them to the puppets. The aura of the two beast puppets instantly vanished, as if they were two inanimate objects, remaining there as a temporary perimeter for guard duty.

Having done all this, Lu Chi's face was cold and solemn as he activated his will. The four swords, Xuan Yuan, Ting Feng, Guan Yu, and Jing Shuang, were drawn from their sheaths with a clang, transforming into four sharp sword beams that connected end to end, swirling and circling around his body.

The Styx Soul Refining Banner also fell into his sleeve, ready to be unleashed.

His magical power surged forth without reservation, activating all the array patterns on his close-fitting armor and outer robe, creating several thick protective light screens that overlapped and flowed, protecting him completely.

Then, he took out a pill to clear his mind and detoxify, tilted his head back and swallowed it, letting the medicinal power dissolve in his body to protect his mind and prevent the poisonous fire and evil energy from eroding his mind.

With a light touch of his right hand, several top-grade second-tier talismans silently slipped between his fingers. His left hand rose slightly, and a ball of dark blue flame leaped forth, its piercing chill instantly dispelling the oppressive heat.

Only after his divine sense spread out and he discerned the truth of the path ahead did Lu Chi lightly touch the ground with his toes, transforming into a streak of light enveloped in layers of radiance, and steadily disappear into the abyss where poisonous fire raged.

Inside the Styx Soul Refining Banner, Li Qianyou took in everything, a look of astonishment flashing across his illusory face.

Looking back four hundred years ago, he came to explore the Burning Bone Cave as a Golden Core True Person. Relying on his profound cultivation, he believed that he had made thorough plans and taken proper precautions.

But seeing Lu Chi's meticulously planned and meticulously organized procedures today, he felt a mix of emotions. Compared to this, his own past reliance and procedures seemed rather rudimentary and even inferior.

Why are the younger generation so afraid of death these days?

Lu Chi's body continued to fall. The surrounding scenery was just as Li Qianyou had said earlier, a huge underground rift valley shaped like a funnel.

The deeper one goes, the thicker the venomous fire from the earth veins becomes, carrying a fierce, dark red hue that presses in from all directions.

The poisonous fire was extremely domineering, but fortunately, the dark blue flame held by Lu Chi's left hand emitted an extreme chill, creating a cold zone about ten feet away from him, which forced back all the raging poisonous fire.

Lu Chi determined the southwest direction and quietly flew past, skimming along the steep, dark red stone wall.

Li Qianyou once said that there was a broken stele here, so he naturally had to go and examine it first to determine whether the old ghost's words were true or false.

After flying for about half an hour, the view ahead widened slightly. Sure enough, below a cliff, lay a dark red boulder, several tens of feet in size and shaped like a reclining ox.

Lu Chi lowered his escape light and stopped several dozen feet away from the giant rock.

A sweep of divine sense revealed the faint ruins of several collapsed ancient cultivation caves behind the giant rock. In the void surrounding the ruins, several faint gray-white spiritual lights lingered, exuding a chilling aura of killing intent.

"This is the incomplete Four Fiends Locking Yuan Formation," Li Qianyou warned. "Fellow Daoist, do not touch the formation. Look to the left of the Sleeping Ox Rock; there is a dried-up underground river channel. You can sneak through there to bypass the restriction."

Lu Chi looked as instructed and indeed saw a dark crevice, taller than a person, below the cliff on the left. He concealed his aura, his figure transforming into a shadow, and silently disappeared into the crevice.

Following the dried-up underground river for several miles, the surrounding array fluctuations completely subsided. The view ahead suddenly opened up, and they had already bypassed the Four Fiends Locking Yuan Array, finding themselves inside the ancient cultivation ruins.

The place was a scene of devastation, with palaces long since reduced to rubble. Lu Chi stopped in a corner of a collapsed stone palace.

Amidst the rubble, a half-buried, broken stone tablet lies hidden. Its surface is covered with traces of weathering over time and scorch marks from toxic fire.

Lu Chi brushed away the ash clinging to it and examined it closely. Most of the inscription was blurred and illegible, but the eight ancient seal characters at the very bottom, "Extreme fire breeds evil, extreme yin transforms into lotus," were still discernible, the characters being more than an inch deep and exuding an ancient charm.

He stared at the eight characters for a moment, memorizing the remaining traces of his life force.

The clues have been confirmed. Lu Chi turned around, his gaze fixed on the deeper parts of the rift valley. There, the venomous fire of the earth veins had transformed into a rolling, dark red sea of ​​fire, its malevolent aura soaring to the heavens.

He activated his four flying swords to protect himself, and his left hand blazed with a bright, eerie fire. He leaped into the deepest part of the rift valley, where the poisonous fire was most intense and the malevolent energy was strongest.

The venomous fire at the bottom of this Bone-Burning Cave is beyond description in terms of density. Looking around, all that can be seen is a sea of ​​fire as thick as red slurry, with the nauseating smell of sulfur and the raging fire energy intertwined into an invisible net.

The poisonous fire seemed to have a life of its own; sensing the presence of a living person, it frantically pressed and devoured Lu Chi.

Lu Chi's expression was cold and stern, his left hand outstretched. The dark blue flames suddenly shone brightly. The extreme cold spread out from him, creating a vacuum zone about ten feet in diameter within the crimson, liquid-like sea of ​​fire.

The two extreme auras, azure and crimson, clashed violently, producing a teeth-grinding hissing sound. Although the poisonous fire was raging, it retreated under the extreme cold of the Xuanhuo, unable to cross the line even half a step.

Lu Chi secretly sensed the power of the poisonous fire outside and felt a chill run down his spine.

The fiery aura deep within the earth's veins is too ferocious; it can not only easily burn through a cultivator's protective magic power, but also climb along the energy flow and directly scorch their divine consciousness.

"In such a harsh and desperate situation, even an ordinary Golden Core cultivator would not be able to withstand the endless consumption of poisonous fire for long before his mana is depleted and his foundation is damaged."

This natural barrier, which could easily block even Golden Core cultivators, made Lu Chi even more certain that the strange fire, which was subtly recorded on the stone tablet and nurtured deep within such a treacherous environment, must be of extraordinary quality and power.

Just as he was pondering this, a sudden change occurred.

Several feet away from Lu Chi, in the viscous sea of ​​fire, the dark red poisonous flames that had been rolling suddenly twisted strangely.

The ball of poisonous fire rapidly rose and condensed as if it were alive, instantly transforming into a small fire snake about half a foot long, its entire body as red as blood.

This fire serpent had no facial features, only two pale, ferocious lights on its head.

As soon as it took shape, it was like a venomous snake that had smelled blood. Its tail suddenly sprang out, transforming into a barely perceptible dark red streak of light that silently pierced through the waves of fire and headed straight for Lu Chi's nape.

Its speed was so fast, almost like a thunderbolt, and it did not produce the slightest sound of wind or fluctuation of magical power, making it extremely stealthy in this environment full of fiery energy.

Lu Chi did not move, but his divine sense had already detected it. With a slight change of thought, the Frostbite Sword coiled to his side split off a wisp of sword energy and slashed down to meet the dark red light.

The Frostbite Sword Qi was icy and sharp, instantly slicing the small fire snake into several pieces.

Lu Chi's gaze sharpened slightly as he noticed something amiss.

After the fire serpent's body broke apart, it did not extinguish or dissipate. Its remaining flames twisted and distorted under the nourishment of the surrounding poisonous fire, and in the blink of an eye, it split into dozens of even thinner fire serpents. Their speed did not decrease at all, and they continued to pounce and bite at his face.

Before he could activate his magic to deal with it, the viscous sea of ​​fire around him suddenly surged violently.

Amidst the dark red poisonous flames from all directions, countless pale white points of light appeared one after another.

Hundreds and thousands of identical crimson fire snakes materialized out of thin air, layer upon layer, completely surrounding him from all sides.

If he were truly faced with a combined attack from thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators, Lu Chi would not hesitate for a moment and would immediately turn around and flee.

However, when he scanned them with his divine sense, he realized that these fire snakes were nothing more than inanimate objects formed by the earth's venomous fire following its instincts, and they had no intelligence or formation to assist them.

The "Taiyuan Xuanshui Jing" he cultivates is a top-tier Daoist technique of the Five Elements Water category passed down from the ancient Taiyuan Daoist sect, which is precisely what counteracts this kind of fire evil.

With a slight thought, Lu Chi unleashed his inner power, channeling it into the four swords beside him.

The four swords, Xuanyuan, Tingfeng, Guanyu, and Jingshuang, rang out with a clang, their sword light flowing and intertwining, instantly forming the Four Phases Overturned Water Sword Formation.

Vast amounts of water vapor appeared out of nowhere, transforming into chilling sword waves that swept outwards. Amidst the surging energy, they rivaled the fiery serpents that filled the sky, showing no signs of being at a disadvantage.

Watching the sword formation easily shred and extinguish the large number of fire snakes that were attacking him, Lu Chi secretly rejoiced. He was grateful that his Uncle Han Yuan had taught him this divine ability back then, which allowed him to deal with such a desperate situation of a sea of ​​fire so calmly today.

At this moment, black energy surged from Lu Chi's sleeves, and Li Qianyou emerged from the Styx Soul Refining Banner.

He waved his hand, unleashing several cold, black beams to help shatter the fire snakes that had slipped through the net from the side, thus relieving some of the pressure.

Once he regained his footing, Li Qianyou's gaze swept over the smoothly operating Four Phases Overturning Water Sword Formation, and a look of shock appeared on his face.

His eyes were sharp, and he saw through the deception at a glance. The reason why this sword formation possessed such devastating power was partly due to the exquisite nature of its supernatural abilities, but the key factor was Lu Chi's magical power. That magical power was pure, profound, vast, and enduring, without the slightest impurity or superficiality.

Li Qianyou, well-versed in the rules of the cultivation world, tactfully suppressed the urge to inquire about the origin of Lu Chi's cultivation technique. However, she couldn't suppress her astonishment and exclaimed, "Fellow Daoist, your magical power is so pure and your foundation so profound—"

Could it be that what was forged back then was a flawless foundation for the Dao?

Lu Chi remained calm as he manipulated the sword formation forward, casually replying, "Senior is too kind. It was merely a matter of chance and good fortune in the past."

After hearing this, Li Qianyou fell silent for a moment.

He was filled with suspicion and uncertainty, increasingly unable to figure out Lu Chi's true background, but he also knew that they were currently in a dangerous and perilous situation, and it was definitely not the time to inquire about his origins or chat casually.

Lu Chi's face was cold and stern, and he did not speak again. The earth vein poison fire in the Burning Bone Cave was endless. If they continued to be entangled and consumed here, they would eventually run out of strength.

With a thought, he unleashed the power of the Four Symbols Overturned Water Sword Formation, causing layers of chilling sword waves to tear a wide passage through the fiery serpents.

Taking advantage of the situation, Lu Chi used his escape light to rush forward into the deepest part of the rift valley without lingering in battle.

After diving an unknown distance, the raging, boiling fire energy around them suddenly vanished. The fire serpents, which had been inseparable and fearless, seemed to have lost their anchor, instantly turning into specks of dark red sparks and dissipating into nothingness.

Lu Chi concealed the brilliance of the sword formation and landed steadily.

What came into view was an extremely empty and desolate underground valley. Not only was there not a trace of poisonous fire, but even the nauseating smell of sulfur from the surrounding area had vanished.

The surrounding temperature dropped instead of rising, exuding a bone-chilling cold, and it was so quiet that only the faint sound of Lu Chi's internal energy circulating could be heard.

Li Qianyou emerged from the Soul Refining Banner, his gaze sweeping around with a solemn expression.

He surveyed the flat, dark red, almost black rock beneath his feet, feeling the stagnant, icy air, and began to ponder.

"This kind of place where things inevitably turn around—"

Li Qianyou recalled the eight ancient seal characters on the broken stele and had already made up her mind.

The places where wondrous things of heaven and earth are born are often accompanied by extraordinary phenomena of creation. While the surrounding area is engulfed in raging poisonous flames and rampant fire evil, the depths of this abyss are deathly silent and cold to the bone, perfectly embodying the principle that "extreme fire breeds evil, and extreme yin transforms into lotus."

Beneath this eerie calm often lurks true danger, and the true nature of that strange fire is probably just around the corner.

After walking about a hundred feet, a silhouette suddenly appeared in the shadows ahead. Lu Chi stopped and probed with his divine sense, discovering it was a skeleton leaning against a rock wall. The robes had long since weathered away in the chilling atmosphere, but the bones had not decayed; instead, they gleamed with a faint jade-like luster.

Li Qianyou examined him carefully and said in a deep voice, "This person must have been a Golden Core cultivator in his previous life."

A Golden Core cultivator once ventured into this place and ultimately perished here.

A sudden sense of unease crept into Lu Chi's heart. He instantly sensed something was wrong and immediately channeled his magical power, attempting to retreat rapidly.

Almost simultaneously, the black rock to the side shattered silently. A dark, afterimage tore through the deathly silence, aiming straight for Lu Chi's throat. The attack was extremely swift, revealing not a trace of its aura or magical power beforehand.

At the critical moment, several second-tier top-grade protective talismans that Lu Chi had been secretly holding in his fingertips suddenly activated, transforming into several thick light screens that overlapped and blocked in front of him.

However, the dark afterimage was unstoppable. With a few muffled thuds, the talisman's light barrier was pierced one after another.

The afterimage continued its momentum, crashing directly into the defensive array patterns on Lu Chi's outer robe.

The light barrier of the robe only lasted for half a breath before it was torn open.

The afterimage pierced through the formation and struck his inner armor again.

The armor's spiritual light trembled violently, emitting a mournful cry of unbearable strain, finally managing to negate most of its power.

After breaking through several thick lines of defense, the afterimage finally showed signs of weakness.

Taking advantage of the half-breath of space gained by these layers of interception, Lu Chi relied purely on the physical instincts of a second-tier high-grade body cultivator to forcibly twist his waist. His internal bones emitted a muffled cracking sound as he forcefully shifted half a foot to the side.

A bone-chilling cold brushed against his neck. Had he been less prepared with a layer of protection, or if his physical body had been even slightly weaker, this blow would likely have ripped his skin open.

Lu Chi steadied himself and retreated several feet with a burst of speed. The Four Phases Overturning Water Sword Formation immediately contracted, tightly protecting his body and leaving no opening.

At this moment, the object that had launched the sneak attack finally revealed its true form.

It was a black-scaled serpent several meters long, coiled up beside the skeleton.

Its snout was slightly open, unfurling a dark red forked tongue, and its vertical pupils radiated an inorganic, icy coldness. As it appeared, an immense, suffocating pressure spread across the desolate abyss.

"A third-tier demonic beast." Li Qianyou's voice transmission revealed shock.

Lu Chi's gaze was cold and stern, his magical power surging wildly through his meridians. A third-tier demonic beast was comparable to a Golden Core cultivator, far beyond the reach of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As the human and the ghost remained on guard, Li Qianyou scanned the surroundings with his divine sense and a sense of doubt arose in his heart. He transmitted his voice again: "Fellow Daoist, this is already the end of the Bone Burning Cave. Even Golden Core cultivators have perished here. Why is there still no trace of that strange fire?"

Lu Chi did not reply. He slightly raised his left hand, and the ball of dark blue flame in his palm was now leaping violently, emanating a restless energy that was a mixture of attraction and apprehension from the same source.

His gaze fell upon the demonic serpent ahead. Upon closer inspection, the serpent's black scales lacked any fleshy texture, and dark, flickering flames could be faintly seen flowing between the scales. The aura emanating from its body was not ordinary demonic energy, but rather an extremely pure, chilling fiery aura.

"Senior, please don't bother looking for me." Lu Chi said calmly.

"This demonic serpent is the strange fire."