313: Chapter 314: Go to welcome the demon envoy in person

“What happened?”

On the Northern Liang’s winding Heavenly Gate, the northern city wall was covered in white frost. Above the nine main gates, a streak of light shot directly into the sky, intercepting the Ao Tian Falcon.

The Garrison Commandant, clad in green armor, saw three red flags behind the messenger, indicating an urgent message, and his expression tightened slightly.

“Tianxiong Pass, eight hundred li urgent!”

“There’s an important military matter!”

“By order, I must see Ninth Zhonglang!”

Meanwhile, more than two thousand meters beneath General Mountain, Chen Yuan entered a strange golden fire domain.

Inside, there was a world-destroying aura that could incinerate everything.

Brilliant fire feathers bloomed above his head, radiating a vivid fiery glow that blocked these terrifying flames.

At this moment, Chen Yuan witnessed a shocking scene: amidst the golden fire, a broken stone platform, several acres in size and hundreds of meters high, stood erect, floating in the fire domain.

The bricks of these stone platforms were as pure as scarlet crystal, each one a scarlet fire crystal. This stone platform, composed of countless scarlet fire crystals, was slowly collapsing, with scarlet fire crystals flying upwards, whistling towards higher ground.

What made Chen Yuan’s pupils contract was a massive crimson-gold coffin floating dozens of meters above the gradually collapsing stone platform.

The coffin, sparkling like fire, was over a hundred zhang long, radiating Spiritual Qi and a powerful pressure. Its lid had been flung open, as if something inside had escaped, and it was now empty.

He could hardly imagine what kind of being was buried inside!

The coffin was divided into two parts: the inner coffin and the outer sarcophagus. What remained here was clearly just the outer sarcophagus that encased the coffin, while the inner coffin had vanished without a trace.

Then, Chen Yuan’s gaze shifted to one side of the huge coffin, where a very small, only three-foot-long, yet incredibly conspicuous crimson branch extended from it.

It had two small leaves, identical to the phoenix tree leaf on Chen Yuan’s head, but much smaller, only half the size of a palm.

This scene caused Chen Yuan’s thoughts to churn violently, overturning all his previous conjectures!

Clearly, the Qi Luck Spiritual Root that manifested outside was not naturally born, but rather…

Light flickered in Chen Yuan’s eyes as he stared at the sarcophagus. The fire essence on this sarcophagus was astonishingly rich. If he wasn’t mistaken, this sarcophagus was entirely hollowed out from the trunk of a Spiritual Root.

And the coffin inside, naturally, went without saying!

Thus, he had a bold conjecture.

With the reopening of the Luck in the Shu region, this sarcophagus, formed from the trunk of the Qi Luck Spiritual Root, gained new life. The coffin inside first sprouted, broke out of the sarcophagus, and thus the celestial phenomenon occurred.

And the remaining sarcophagus stayed here.

How abstract!

But Chen Yuan felt his guess should be close to the truth.

The only curiosity now was what kind of existence had such a grand plan to bury itself under this General Mountain.

Subsequently, he actually saw lines etched across the entire sarcophagus, like some kind of pattern, covered by the brilliant Spiritual Light emitted by the sarcophagus itself.

His Dharma Eye between his brows emitted brilliant divine light, quickly scanning all four sides of the sarcophagus, imprinting it with his Dharma Eye. Then, golden patterns flowed through his eyes one after another.

The first pattern depicted several people leaving a place similar to a celestial palace in the clouds. Three large characters were written on the celestial palace, filled with a mysterious beauty, which he did not recognize.

The second pattern depicted these people fighting against demons. It clearly showed demon imprints familiar to Chen Yuan, such as Fei Yi, Tian Gou, and Gǔdiāo, exactly ten demons. Chen Yuan immediately realized these were the Ten Fiends.

The third pattern depicted one of these people dying in this mountain. His companions went to a certain great mountain to kill a Fire Phoenix, found a phoenix tree divine wood, used it as a sarcophagus, and buried this person in this mountain.

The fourth pattern showed heavy snow falling from the sky, and a person sitting up from the sarcophagus.

At this moment, the eyes of the person in the pattern seemed to be staring at him, giving him a chilling sensation as if he were looking at himself!

Chen Yuan’s gaze sharpened, and the golden light in his eyes receded, but he quickly recovered, his mind regaining its calm, though his heart couldn’t help but surge.

He couldn’t help but think of a possibility.

Were these people the great Divine Ability users who sealed the Ten Fiends Tribe back then?

And this place was once a battlefield, which is why it was called General Mountain. It's just that those years have passed for over fifteen hundred years, and there are few records in local gazetteers, all becoming fleeting clouds.

The one buried in this coffin was one of those who died in battle!

And the meaning of the fourth pattern was quite intriguing: the dead person woke up on a day with heavy snow.

When Chen Yuan thought of this, he realized it belatedly, his pupils constricting. The day of heavy snow was the day when the Seal of the Ten Thousand Mountains began to lift and Luck was reshaped, which was now.

People from over a thousand years ago were resurrected, and their companions seemed to have designed this for that purpose, and there was a legend of the Fire Phoenix’s Nirvana.

Chen Yuan’s thoughts diverged, feeling that the content was truly astonishing. The coffin flew away, did the person inside truly come back to life after more than a thousand years?

Chen Yuan thought for a moment and decided not to bother with it for now. He would just take everything away first.

How could one enter a treasure mountain and return empty-handed?

A sharp glint flashed in Chen Yuan’s eyes. Without a word, he reached out and tore at the space below.

Suddenly, a huge black crack, fifty to sixty zhang long, appeared above this stone platform, and then the entire golden fire domain violently churned, forming a huge vortex.

The golden magma, with a terrifying temperature, could destroy a Martial Storage Physical Body. If used against enemies, especially multiple enemies, it would be a great weapon!

A several-hundred-meter-high scarlet crystal mountain, comparable to a mine, could provide him with massive amounts of fire essence. At the very least, Chen Yuan would not have to worry about opening the second Fire Divine Storage.

The rest was the sarcophagus. It was entirely crafted from the main trunk of a Qi Luck Spiritual Root, and most importantly, it had sprouted a new branch!

Sprouting a new branch meant that this Qi Luck Spiritual Root had experienced a second spring.

However, given the uniqueness of the Qi Luck Spiritual Root, it was debatable. The suspected “coffin” that flew away was clearly much more mature, having taken most of the Origin, while this one only sprouted a small branch, even smaller than his nascent Dragon Qi Mother Tree.

He would collect it first.

He watched as the golden magma, carrying countless scarlet fire crystals, roared into the Pot Heaven, and the huge coffin was slowly and heavily sucked up by the black crack.

As if imbued with sentience, the small leaf sprouting from the coffin radiated brilliant firelight. A dazzling fiery glow quickly condensed into feathers and a body, and a clear, resonant cry was about to emerge.

Suddenly, a golden light shot fiercely onto the fiery glow condensed by this tiny branch, knocking it back to its original form.

Then, two large hands, condensed from golden magma, lifted the mountain-heavy sarcophagus, and with a strenuous roar,

“Get in!”

A tremendous rumble echoed, and the entire fire domain shook violently.

It took him about seven or eight breaths of effort before he finally managed to stuff the thing into the black crack.

And his Pot Heaven space was also filled after about half an incense stick’s time.

His current Pot Heaven space was roughly four thousand zhang, and within it, he could separate several spaces according to Chen Yuan’s thoughts.

A black prison for detaining people, a treasure vault for storing Cultivation resources, and so on.

One point could add one zhang. Chen Yuan had continuously spent thousands of points on this, allowing this Divine Ability to gradually grow stronger. It had now become one of his trump cards.

At present, the golden magma was endless and certainly couldn’t be fully contained. Leaving it here meant no one else could take it. He only needed to move the remaining quarter of the scarlet crystal mountain, so he added another two hundred points to this Divine Ability.

More than ten breaths later, Chen Yuan’s treasure-collecting journey was successfully completed!

Things went unexpectedly smoothly, just like when he obtained the Dragon Qi Mother Tree.

However, ultimately, it was still because his wings had grown stronger!

If he hadn't controlled the Ninth Mountain Army and killed some disobedient individuals to establish his authority, preparing in advance for various anomalies, and sealed this mountain, he wouldn't have been able to let his Ninth Mountain Army get that phoenix tree leaf in the first place, giving him the Opportunity to break into the layers of the fire domain to obtain the treasure. Otherwise, with his current Cultivation, he would have found the fire domain here difficult to contend with.

These events were all interconnected.

The objective had been achieved, so what next?

Chen Yuan suddenly looked up, his gaze like lightning. With a flick of his single hand, the majestic Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Spear condensed into existence!

He sensed that many people had arrived!

Because the fire domain here was extraordinarily powerful and the fire essence surged, his Dharma Eye was greatly suppressed, but he could scan streaks of light. Many people had entered the upper fire domain, and the three closest ones were five to six hundred meters above, trying to descend but trapped there. That should be the purple fire region.

Three Martial Storage Realm experts!

He sensed their auras. One of them seemed even stronger than the Martial Storage human demon who escaped from his hands.

This made his eyes turn cold. He didn't know if the human demon from the Place of becoming a Saint or the Martial Storage Realm expert in the painting were among them.

Chen Yuan had always been thinking about these two guys, wanting to get rid of them quickly.

With that thought, he held the Three-Pointed, Double-Edged Spear, carried by wind and fire, soaring upwards. The great spear grew to about thirty zhang against the wind. Then, his Physical Body furnace roared open, his body surged, and his golden, resplendent Primordial Spirit Dharma Idol rose blazing from the golden fire domain.

“Clang!”

His large hand gripped the long spear and shook it violently.

The originally boiling golden fire domain, as the long spear violently shook, emitted a terrifying whistling sound. In three or four breaths, it formed a huge golden vortex with a diameter of about a li, also mixed with some scattered scarlet fire crystals.

Then, his large hand forcefully pushed the spear handle!

The long spear broke through the fire domain, carrying the golden fire vortex and shooting upwards, a magnificent sight!

Before this, in the upper layers of the volcanic fire domain, figures either reached out to snatch the dazzling fiery glows erupting from below, tucking them into their sleeves, or took out Dao Soldiers or external Magical Artifacts to continuously absorb the rich fire essence in the fire domain, all with astonished expressions, as exclamations rang out.

“What rich fire essence.”

“High-grade scarlet fire crystals are erupting; there must be a priceless mineral vein below.”

“The temperature inside is too high; the Physical Body can’t withstand it.”

“What a pity. Those several Martial Treasure Divine Ability users must have already entered the depths. There might be extraordinary treasures inside.”

Some were pleasantly surprised and wanted to dive deeper, but the terrifying high temperature forced them back, making them gasp in horror.

Those who could enter had Cultivation levels above the Dao Soldier Heavenly Gate, but those in the Dao Soldier Realm could only stay in the uppermost layer. Those in the Dao Fruit Realm could embed themselves in a deeper layer, and those with higher Cultivation could explore even further, while those with lower Cultivation could only pick up what others left behind.

Just then, the entire General Mountain shook violently, and the magma fire sea began to boil intensely, with a rich and scorching vital Qi raging below.

Everyone was first startled.

Then, as if realizing something, their eyes lit up with brilliant light.

“A treasure is about to emerge.”

Some showed fervent expressions and began to rein in their Qi, standing by in full readiness.

Indeed,

“Whoosh!”

“Whoosh!”

“Whoosh!”

Streams of dazzling fiery glows surged out from below.

A large amount of scarlet fire crystal erupted from the bottom, and everyone made their move, scrambling to snatch them, becoming deeply convinced.

Below, in the purple fire zone, three massive Dharma Idols, one in front and two behind, were trapped in the purple fire domain, struggling to move. This purple fire was too overbearing; the current diving depth had reached their limit.

The strangeness of this place made them believe that there must be an Opportunity here, but what was infuriating was that they couldn’t go down.

How did that Zhonglang General go down?

At this moment, the Beiliang Wang Mang, who had dived three hundred meters deeper than the two Martial Treasure users, showed a hint of urgency in his eyes.

Damn it!

According to Jin Taiyuan’s report, there was a high probability of traces of a Qi Luck Spiritual Root here, and the Ninth Mountain Army had already seized the initiative. That Ninth Mountain Zhonglang General must have gone down, and he might have already obtained the treasure.

But he had already used all his strength, with all four divine treasures fully open, making it impossible to advance even an inch further.

The terror here exceeded his expectations!

At this moment, he was the first to feel the earth shaking violently below, as if something was about to emerge.

Was it a treasure, or that Zhonglang General?

A cold glint flashed in his pupils, and his aura became bizarre. Then, a version of himself with fiery red hair walked out of his Dharma Idol, and a layer of fire light rolled up on the original Dharma Idol, disappearing into the purple fire domain, hiding and waiting for an Opportunity.

Soon after, a rumbling sound from below rapidly approached.

Then, a great spear, carrying a golden figure, ascended, with a vibrant fiery feather suspended above its head, charging into the purple fire domain.

The divine spirit of the Beiliang Wang Mang’s divine treasure, seeing the figure rushing out, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes. In a flash of lightning, he raised his hand and slammed it down fiercely, causing the purple magma to churn with astonishing momentum.

But in the next second, beneath that great spear, rolling golden fire magma surged upwards, suddenly boiling in the purple fire domain, and the terrifying and scorching high temperature instantly incinerated everything.

“Ah!”

The large hand that the Beiliang Wang Mang had slammed down immediately felt a scorching burn, and then, under his astonished and enraged gaze, it was swallowed by the blazing golden magma. Golden flames instantly ignited on this Primordial Spirit divine spirit.

“You are despicable!”

A furious roar sounded from the other side of the boiling purple fire domain, and a misty gray light struck. Chen Yuan’s Dharma Eye between his brows suddenly absorbed it, then he wielded his long spear and thrust it straight forward.

...

One minute later,

“Boom!”

The volcano on General Mountain suddenly erupted.

Fire shot into the sky, magma splattered, and screams rose with it.

Figures, covered in flames, rushed out of the volcano, crying out and scrambling down the mountain.

Some had their clothes burned away, their scalps and eyebrows singed, running out naked. Others were even more tragic, turning into fire people halfway, unable to extinguish the flames, and were completely burned away.

After a short while, three powerful streams of light rushed out of the volcano, shooting away in three directions, not pausing for a moment.

One of them was Wang Mang, the revered guest of the Northern Liang Royal Mansion.

This person, stepping on a flowing cloud shuttle, moved with incredible speed. At this moment, his gray hair was completely burned away, and his clothes were tattered, looking utterly disheveled. His originally sharp and arrogant eyes had turned gloomy, and he let out a hiss sound.

“Prince!”

“Hurry!”

He flew towards a patch of forest northeast of General Mountain, where a carriage lay horizontally in the snow.

Behind him, a dazzling cold star flew towards the carriage with a thunderous roar, swift as a meteor.

The carriage was about to move, but then the cold star’s speed suddenly surged, and with a chop, a cold light directly struck the carriage, splitting its roof diagonally in two.

The carriage exploded, and a silver python-robed figure inside finally revealed his true appearance.

His face was like a jade crown, a gentle and refined gentleman, with long, narrow eyes and eyebrows.

“Crack!”

The white jade crown on his head cracked, and a few broken hairs from his temples and hair tips fell down with it!

His eyes suddenly opened wide, and he gripped the armrest of his seat tightly, his gaze fixed on General Mountain, from where the sharp edge flew, shining like a cold star.

But in the next second, Wang Mang swept his sleeve, raising a flurry of wind and snow, and carried the python-robed man away, leaving behind only a shattered carriage!

On the other side, above General Mountain, the cold light flew back!

With a “clang,” Chen Yuan gripped the returning great spear, then flashed, and the long spear disappeared in his hand.

He watched as the Crown Prince of Northern Liang was taken away by his retainers, observing the other party’s performance from afar. It was quite good; he remained calm in the face of danger, so it seemed he wasn't some useless fellow.

He then looked at other places, and the onlookers also scattered.

He chose not to engage in a major conflict. General Mountain was now an unstable furnace. If a big fight broke out, it would be like kicking over the Grand Supreme Elder’s Pill Furnace, causing heaven and earth to collapse. If others died, so be it, but his own Ninth Mountain Army was near this mountain, and it wasn’t worth the risk.

With his thoughts collected, Chen Yuan flew down the mountain and landed on an uninhabited, protruding hill outside. His feet crunched in the snow, accompanied by the snapping sound of breaking branches.

He squatted down, picked up a branch, and began to draw and write in the snow.

Soon, two gusts of wind flew over, landing behind him, followed by crunching sounds, stopping two or three steps behind him.

“General!”

The newcomers were Cloud Skyborn and Gao Yu.

“You two, come forward.” Chen Yuan was still drawing something.

Cloud Skyborn and Gao Yu quickly stepped forward. Seeing the General squatting, they didn’t feel right standing, so they squatted down on either side of Chen Yuan.

“I’m giving you a few tasks.”

“Tiansheng, General Mountain is like a Pill Furnace, very unstable. Order the Ninth Mountain Army to retreat another ten li.”

“But this General Mountain is also a treasure land. The fire essence here is abundant, suitable for refining True Qi and strengthening the Physical Body. Prepare to set up camp and bring the Ninth Mountain Army here for training. Additionally, you and Liu Qing should prepare a Formation to Seal this mountain, to prevent the vital Qi from dissipating.”

He had taught Cloud Skyborn and the other two this Divine Ability of Formation, hence this arrangement.

“Yes!”

“Gao Yu.” Chen Yuan then turned his head to the other side.

“This subordinate is here!”

“You are to deploy your Ninth Mountain Army and other means to search within a two-hundred-li radius of General Mountain for any unusual places.”

Chen Yuan pointed in the snow.

He still believed that the thing that flew out must be hiding somewhere.

But in the snowy landscape, it was vast and wide, so a large-scale search was needed.

“Yes!”

Meanwhile, a few li away, behind them, in the bustling military Formation at the foot of the mountain where people and horses galloped everywhere, a chuckle rang out.

A woman in a blue palace dress looked at their three retreating figures from afar, finding it very amusing.

“Sister, let’s go.”

Qin Rushuang impatiently pulled Du Gu伽罗, preparing to leave.

They had originally thought this commotion would lead to a major conflict, but the matter ended surprisingly abruptly, and it was no longer appropriate for them to stay there.

“Alright!”

Du Gu伽罗 looked back, smiled charmingly, and turned with Qin Rushuang, preparing to leave quickly without greeting them, as it would be inappropriate to disturb them.

Just as the two women walked out of the military Formation from the north, a silver light shot down.

Then a messenger soldier quickly came down.

“Take me to see Ninth Zhonglang.”

“Tianxiong Pass, eight hundred li urgent!”

A shout.

The military Formation quickly made way.

In the distance, Chen Yuan stood up, turned around, then swayed, appearing before the messenger soldier.

The other Ninth Mountain Army immediately made way, creating a large open space.

Qin Rushuang and Du Gu伽罗 were also among them, watching from afar.

The messenger soldier, seeing Chen Yuan, knelt on one knee.

“This subordinate carries an urgent order from Zhonglang General Wei!”

“There is no secret letter, only an oral message.”

“The General said that the Town Demon Envoy’s Ninth Mountain Army has arrived outside Tianxiong Pass.”

“And also…”

“The new Town Demon Envoy sent a message, asking you to personally welcome him!”