Traversing countless worlds from the primordial era

Chapter 36 Seclusion in Fengdu Kingdom

The black-eyed lizard roared, and thick fog suddenly rose from the swamp.

"Fellow Daoist, be careful!" Jin Lu warned, his body radiating demonic flames, while the Five Poisons Master used the Five Poisons Beasts to protect his body.

"Fellow Daoist, help me!" Jin Lu shouted, and the Earth Spirit Banner grew to a size of over thirty feet. The banner swept around and enveloped the Black-Eyed Lizard Beast, and Yin Sha Qi rushed into the Black-Eyed Lizard Beast's head.

The Five Poisons Master took out a golden iron plaque, spat out a mouthful of blood onto it, and then unleashed it. The iron plaque grew longer in the wind, reaching over ten meters in length, before slamming it hard into the head of the Black-Eyed Lizard Beast. After the strike, the iron plaque's light dimmed, and the Five Poisons Master reluctantly withdrew it. Half of the Black-Eyed Lizard Beast's head was shattered, and Jin Lu seized the opportunity to sever its head with his flying sword.

After killing the Black-Eyed Lizard Beast, the two retrieved its demon core, separated the Black-Eyed Lizard Beast's identity, and left the swamp.

"What a cunning little thief!" Jinlu said bitterly. Killing the demon beast had also taken a toll on them.

The Black-Eyed Lizard was lured by Lei Ming, who used his escape technique to steal the spiritual medicine guarded by the lizard. The lizard chased after him and encountered Jin Lu and the Five Poisons Master. It didn't care who stole the medicine and attacked the two of them frantically. Jin Lu and the Five Poisons Master had no choice but to watch Lei Ming escape, while they themselves were forced to fight a fifth-tier demonic beast.

"This is deep within Hidden Dragon Ridge, where there are quite a few fifth and sixth-tier demonic beasts. We must be extra careful." The Five Poisons Master, having recovered his magical power, asked, "Fellow Daoist, who exactly is that junior, and why does he possess such exquisite escape techniques?"

Jin Lu said with a wry smile, "To my shame, this man stole two treasures from my Demon Flame Sect, and I've been chasing him for so long, yet I still don't know his identity."

"No matter what, we absolutely cannot let him leave alive." The anger in Wudu Shangren's heart was no less than that of Jinlu.

Two days later, the two chased each other to a volcano.

"Fellow Daoist Jin, are you sure you haven't come to the wrong place?" Upon entering the volcanic area, Master Wudu was still somewhat worried. "This is the most dangerous place in Hidden Dragon Ridge. The volcanoes here are extremely active. Once they erupt, even we won't be able to stop them."

"Di Mo can't be wrong!" Jin Lu said. "That little thief is only at the Foundation Establishment stage, he would never dare to go too deep. Let's search some more."

Seeing the two enter the volcanic cluster, Lei Ming immediately withdrew, revealing his aura at the same time. Di Mo sensed Lei Ming's aura and immediately gave chase. When he flew to the center of the volcano, a world-destroying aura suddenly descended.

"What a pity for my Crimson Fire Toad!" Lei Ming watched as the volcanic cluster erupted, crimson lava spewing from the ground and turning half the sky red. The clouds in the sky were dispersed, and then boundless black clouds descended, slowly falling from the sky and enveloping the earth, leaving the surrounding area for dozens of miles in deathly silence.

When the volcano erupted, Jin Lu and Wu Du Shangren were the first to be hit. Wu Du Shangren quickly summoned the Jade Umbrella, while Jin Lu used the Earth Spirit Flag for protection. Both of these magical treasures were very powerful, but they could not withstand the power of heaven and earth for long.

"Run!" Jin Lu transformed into a streak of blood-red light and burst forth from the center of the magma. Wu Du Shangren sat atop the back of the Frost Centipede, using the other poisonous creatures to fend off the magma. The two eventually escaped the eruption zone, but neither fared well.

Jin Lu used Blood Escape, burning half of his life essence and losing his natal magic weapon in the process. The Five Poisons Master's Jade Umbrella was destroyed, all the demonic beasts he had cultivated died, and he himself was seriously injured.

Lei Ming was unaware of their situation; otherwise, he might not have left.

"The power of a volcanic eruption is truly terrifying. It was worth the great risk I took to enter the depths of the magma using the Fire Avoidance Technique and Earth Escape Technique to find the weak point in the magma, and then have the Crimson Fire Toad self-destruct to trigger the magma..."

Lei Ming paid a heavy price for severely injuring Jin Lu and Wudu Shangren during the volcanic eruption. He estimated that even if the two didn't die, they would be seriously injured and wouldn't come looking for him anytime soon. So he captured another fire-attribute demon beast, the Fire Scale Beast, in Hidden Dragon Ridge before leaving.

To escape the Demon Flame Sect, Lei Ming traveled tens of thousands of miles in one go, finally reaching the Fengdu Kingdom. Fengdu was a large country comparable to Tianluo Kingdom, more than three times the size of Yue Kingdom and Yuanwu Kingdom. The power of the six demonic sects was concentrated in Tianluo Kingdom, while Fengdu was controlled by the righteous alliance. The two forces were evenly matched and constantly clashed.

Lei Ming sat on the back of the Golden Crowned Eagle, a fourth-order demon beast that was skilled in flight and whose speed was comparable to that of a Core Formation cultivator. A few days later, Lei Ming entered the territory of Fengdu Kingdom.

Fengdu Kingdom is far larger than Yue Kingdom, and its cultivators are far more powerful. The entire Fengdu Kingdom is controlled by an organization called the Righteous Path Alliance, which consists of more than a dozen sects of varying sizes. Its core strength lies in three major sects: the Heavenly Sword Sect, Qiyun Mountain, and Luohan Temple. The Righteous Path Alliance is incredibly powerful, ranking among the top in the entire Tiannan region, with each of its three major sects having a powerful cultivator in charge.

The Righteous Alliance and the Six Demonic Sects are natural enemies, having fought several major battles, all of which ended inconclusively. Afterwards, they reached a tacit agreement to cease their direct confrontation and instead expand in opposite directions. This information was recorded in the *Tiannan Handbook*, which Lei Ming had read long ago.

Lei Ming has now offended the powerful Demon Flame Sect. The safest place for him is Fengdu Kingdom, where the Demon Flame Sect would never dare to cause trouble.

Three Lakes City, a medium-sized city in the southern part of the Wind Capital Kingdom, is famous for its three large lakes. These three lakes are the most scenic spots in the city, and the residents are all wealthy and noble.

Ordinary people only know that this is a place for wealthy people, but they don't know that at the confluence of the three lakes, there is an area hidden in the formation, which is a gathering place for cultivators.

This area is the market town of the Myriad Laws Sect. The Myriad Laws Sect is a mid-level sect, whose cultivators are known for their magical abilities. Lei Ming has been living in seclusion here for ten years, running a weapon-refining shop, but he doesn't usually take on many customers.

"Fellow Daoist Lei, you've finally opened the door." Lei Ming had been in seclusion for two months, and as soon as he opened the door, two Foundation Establishment cultivators rushed in.

"Fellow Daoist Huang, Fellow Daoist Wu, what are you doing?" Lei Ming asked.

The two were considered Lei Ming's friends. One was named Huang Qian, who was in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, and the other was named Wu Fang, who was in the late-Foundation Establishment stage. They were both elders of the Wanfa Sect and often interacted with Lei Ming.

"We've been waiting for you for ages," Huang Qian said. "If you don't open the door soon, we'll have to find someone else!"

Lei Ming asked the two to sit down: "Don't rush, tell me slowly."

Wu Fang said, "It's like this, the Southern State Secret Realm will open in half a month. We came here this time to team up with Fellow Daoist Lei."

"The Hidden Realm of Southern Continent!"

Lei Ming had lived in Sanhu City for 10 years, so he naturally knew about this matter. The Southern Continent Secret Realm was the most famous secret realm in the Sanhu City area, and one of the few open to independent cultivators. It opened once every 50 years, allowing cultivators below the Core Formation stage to enter. It was said that the Southern Continent Secret Realm contained spiritual herbs that could help people form their Core, and each time it opened, hundreds or even thousands of Foundation Establishment cultivators would enter.

"Fellow Daoist Wu, although the Southern Continent Secret Realm is open to independent cultivators, there must be some requirements, right? If that's the case, no amount of spiritual herbs will be enough," Lei Ming asked with a smile.

"Fellow Daoist Lei is a wise man. The so-called complete openness is just a figure of speech. Rogue cultivators can enter the Southern Continent Secret Realm, but they need a recommendation from a sect disciple, and each sect disciple can only make one recommendation. Rogue cultivators must also hand over one-third of their gains in the Secret Realm to their sect," Huang Qian said, stroking his beard.

Lei Ming was not surprised. Cultivation resources in this world are limited, and most of them are occupied by sects.

"It seems you two fellow Daoists have come to see me because you want to recommend me," Lei Ming said.

"Exactly," Wu Fang said. "Senior Brother Huang gave his recommendation spot to his family. Unlike him, I have a large family to take care of, so I wanted to recommend Fellow Daoist Lei. Others may not know Fellow Daoist Lei's abilities, but the two of us do. With Fellow Daoist Lei joining us, I have a better chance of success on this trip to the secret realm."

"To be honest, fellow Daoists, I am also very interested in the secret realm. However, this spot is so precious, Fellow Daoist Wu wouldn't just give it to me for nothing, would he?"

Wu Fang smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Lei is indeed reasonable. I do have some other requests. I know that Fellow Daoist Lei is skilled in the Five Elements magic and has forged a flying sword with the metal attribute. Fellow Daoist Lei also knows that I have both earth and metal attributes, and am a sword cultivator, so I need such a magic weapon the most."

(End of this chapter)