Chapter 187 - 180: The Secret Realm’s Enemy
The Fire Phoenix Egg really is in the Phoenix Secret Realm!
Jiang Zuo’s spirits lifted.
He had been longing for this Fire Phoenix Egg for quite some time.
’There’s no prompt for its specific location, but that’s not a problem. It’ll just take a little more time to figure out its general position from the hints.’
’The Secret Realm will be open for about a month, which is plenty of time.’
’The top priority right now is to find the Parasol Phoenix Blood Tree and pick the Phoenix Blood Fruits.’
Jiang Zuo surveyed his surroundings, trying to determine his location.
If one entered the Secret Realm from within the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion, the entry point would be more or less fixed.
But the farther one was from the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion, the greater the deviation in their arrival point would be.
However, before he entered, the Nangong Daoist Lord had already drawn a rough map for him, marking some of the Secret Realm’s features and the locations of various important resource points.
’This mountain in front of me should be Luofeng Mountain, and the Sword Tomb is located halfway up it.’
’The Secret Realm has no sun or stars, so I can only rely on my naked eye to determine direction.’
’The Phoenix Blood Secret Realm is primarily a place where the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion tests its disciples. Aside from the native birds, outsiders are forbidden from flying. Otherwise, finding the important resource points would be easy.’
’But that’s not a big problem for me.’
Jiang Zuo sprinted along the foot of the mountain for a few steps and soon saw several small, chirping birds.
Jiang Zuo whistled, and upon hearing the sound, the small birds immediately flew over to him.
As some blurry images from the small birds’ minds flashed through his own, Jiang Zuo smiled and waved for them to leave.
With a flicker of his body, Jiang Zuo sprinted off to the left.
As he ran, distance prompts for the Fire Phoenix Egg would occasionally appear before his eyes.
’The Parasol Phoenix Blood Tree is located within a cluster of academy buildings. These buildings were modeled after the residence of the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion’s founder.’
’After entering the academy, there won’t be any Demon Beasts from the Secret Realm, but there will be a heart-state trial. Only by passing this trial will I be qualified to pick the Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruits.’
’But the Nangong Daoist Lord told me that this trial shouldn’t be too difficult for me.’
’Even if Nie Xukui’s disciples enter the academy first, I should be able to break free from the trial before they do.’
’That Nangong Daoist Lord... I get the feeling she’s seen through something.’
Jiang Zuo thought as he walked. After interacting with the Nangong Daoist Lord a few more times, he discovered that she seemed to have a strange sense of confidence in him.
Jiang Zuo suspected that the Nangong Daoist Lord might have seen through his hidden strength.
He had originally been very confident in the concealing effect of the Mysterious Stele.
After all, it had deceived even the Celestial Dao and the Spirit Root assessment array, so a Cultivator should have been no match for it.
But now, with the Nangong Daoist Lord acting this way, Jiang Zuo wasn’t so confident in the Mysterious Stele’s effect anymore.
However, Jiang Zuo didn’t have time to dwell on it.
Up ahead on the path, a giant Fiery Red Ape sat in a tree, staring menacingly at Jiang Zuo.
Jiang Zuo didn’t want to get entangled with it and immediately decided to take a small detour.
According to the Nangong Daoist Lord, the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm didn’t used to have so many Divine Body Realm Demon Beasts.
But during the 800-plus years that the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion had lost the Phoenix Blood Order, the Demon Beasts of the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm had benefited from resources that went unharvested for over a millennium. In particular, several Demon Beasts had broken into the academy and eaten the Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruits.
They already possessed a trace of phoenix blood in their lineage, which was greatly enhanced as a result.
The Red Fire Phoenix race, in particular, saw the greatest improvement.
After eating two Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruits in a row, one Red Fire Phoenix not only experienced a huge boost in its bloodline but also gained Enlightenment in a Bloodline Breathing Technique, ascending to new heights in a single step.
It was rumored that the strongest Red Fire Phoenix in the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm had once reached the peak of the fourth rank.
The Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion was powerless against that Red Fire Phoenix. Every time the Secret Realm opened, they could only hide from it. It wasn’t until it finally died of old age that they could stop being so cautious.
The Nangong Daoist Lord’s own Red Fire Phoenix also came from the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm.
When the Fiery Red Ape saw Jiang Zuo taking a detour and not invading its territory, it paid him no mind.
Most of the Demon Beasts in the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm had evolved from weaker races and were not overly aggressive.
As long as you didn’t invade their territory, they wouldn’t readily attack strangers on sight.
However, there were a few places that were impossible to bypass.
Such as the Sword Tomb on Luofeng Mountain, the Enlightenment Tower, and certain places where Spiritual Medicine and Spirit Fruits grew.
If one wished to go to these places, a battle with the Secret Realm’s Demon Beasts was unavoidable.
Soon, Jiang Zuo saw a cluster of ancient buildings appear in the distance.
In front of the academy, Nie Xukui’s five disciples had already arrived.
"Yan, my Celestial Eye Technique sees someone approaching the academy. He’s very fast."
A disciple who had been keeping his eyes closed suddenly opened them and spoke to Yan Yuming.
"How much longer until he gets here?"
Yan Yuming thought for a moment and asked.
"He’s moving very quickly. I think he’ll arrive before we can get through the heart-state trial."
"That fast?"
"Fine. It’s better that he’s coming to us. It saves us the trouble of finding him."
"We’ll wait for him here. Kill him first, then go in and pick the Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruits."
Yan Yuming considered for a moment and decided they couldn’t underestimate the newcomer.
If they entered the academy, they wouldn’t all emerge from the heart-state trial at the same time.
If this person had a strong heart-state and broke free from the trial first, he could pick them off one by one.
The other four had no objections.
They were extremely confident in their own strength, but they knew even more clearly that this mission had to succeed. Failure was not an option.
Otherwise, when they got out, Nie Xukui wouldn’t let them off easy.
But as long as the five of them were together, they had nothing to fear, no matter how powerful the newcomer was.
Soon, a figure appeared in their line of sight.
Jiang Zuo, of course, saw them too.
Seeing them waiting outside the academy entrance, he breathed a sigh of relief.
He had been worried that he was a step too late and that they had already taken the Parasol Phoenix Blood Fruits.
If that had happened, even if he had the power to crush them, it wouldn’t be easy to get the Phoenix Blood Fruits back.
After all, this was the Phoenix Feather Sword Pavilion’s sect Secret Realm. These people could likely leave the Secret Realm at any time, just like him.
"This guy... he doesn’t seem to be at the Dao Foundation realm yet?"
As Jiang Zuo drew closer, Yan Yuming and the others were stunned when they sensed the aura he was emitting.
"I think it’s for real. It doesn’t look like he’s using a Concealing Technique!"
The five of them found it hard to believe, but it seemed to be the truth.
"I don’t know what’s going on, but if he’s only at the Qi Cultivation stage, it would be easiest for me to handle him," said the disciple with the Celestial Eye Technique.
He closed his eyes and shouted softly, "Celestial Eye Technique! Subdue!"
Nie Xukui’s preparations for this day were by no means ordinary.
He had long anticipated that the person he found would likely be unable to kill the Nangong Daoist Lord directly.
The Nangong Daoist Lord’s master was an Ascension Great Cultivator, who would certainly have left her with some life-saving measures.
There wasn’t much he could do about the Nangong Daoist Lord herself.
But he had put a great deal of thought into these disciples.
This disciple with the Celestial Eye Technique was one with exceptional talent in Divine Sense, born with powerful Spiritual Power.
At the peak of the Dao Foundation realm, he was only a step away from opening his Sea of Consciousness.
Once he broke through to the Divine Body Realm, he would be able to open his Sea of Consciousness during the promotion process.
The moment Jiang Zuo got close, he felt an invisible pressure from the outside invading his Sea of Consciousness.
’Heh, a Mental Attack?’
Jiang Zuo immediately countered with a move of his own Divine Sense.
"AHH!"
The disciple with the Celestial Eye Technique never imagined that the person opposite him had already opened his Sea of Consciousness, and that his Spiritual Power was immeasurably stronger than his own.
He let out a bloodcurdling scream as his vision went black, and he nearly fainted.
"Careful! This person is no simpleton!"
"Attack together!"
Seeing this, the expressions of Yan Yuming and the others changed drastically.
"I’ll tie him up! You guys attack when you see an opening!"
A brawny, muscular disciple strode toward Jiang Zuo.
This was a disciple with a talent for physical cultivation, possessing extremely strong defensive capabilities.
With his physical body alone, even a peak Dao Foundation Cultivator wouldn’t be able to do anything to him in a short time.
Once a Dao Foundation Cultivator was entangled by him, they couldn’t hope to escape easily.
This was also part of the plan they had decided on long ago.
Jiang Zuo, of course, did not retreat. As the brawny disciple charged him, Jiang Zuo charged forward to meet him head-on.
Facing the brawny disciple, Jiang Zuo threw a punch.
’What a powerful fist!’
The fist hadn’t even landed, but the brawny disciple’s heart had already turned cold.
’But he’s just a guy with nothing but brute force,’ the brawny disciple thought to himself.
Great Capturing Technique!
Just as Jiang Zuo’s fist was less than a fist’s length away from the brawny disciple,
the brawny disciple’s figure suddenly flickered. He moved along Jiang Zuo’s punching arm like a phantom and wrapped around to his back.
He didn’t take the opportunity to attack, but instead shot out his long arms and tightly bound Jiang Zuo’s arms and upper body from behind.
With this, Jiang Zuo was completely immobilized.
"Now’s our chance!"
"Kill him!"
Yan Yuming and the other two had been waiting for this moment. The three of them each unleashed a second-rank Magic spell, shooting them toward Jiang Zuo.
Hmph!
Jiang Zuo snorted coldly, fully unleashing his muscles for the first time in a long while.
His seemingly gentle and scholarly appearance instantly transformed into that of a muscular giant, his entire body a web of interwoven muscles as hard as steel.
The brawny disciple was horrified to find that his own arms felt as if they were about to snap.
"ARGH!"
Under the excruciating pain, he felt that if he didn’t let go, his arms would be lost forever.
He could only release his arms and then punch Jiang Zuo’s back with all his might.
But the result of this punch horrified him even more.
Among Dao Foundation cultivators, no one should have been able to withstand his punch without magical protection.
But his punch was like a stone sinking into the ocean, causing no ripples whatsoever.
Especially when he saw Jiang Zuo ignore the three incoming Magic attacks and simply turn, a fist the size of a bushel basket smashing down at him.
’I’m going to die!’
It was the only thought in his mind.
Heedless of anything else, a bloody light flashed from the brawny disciple’s body, and he escaped the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm just before Jiang Zuo’s fist landed.
At that moment, the three Magic spells landed on Jiang Zuo one after another.
Yan Yuming and the other two watched in horror as their full-power attacks only made the man’s body tremble slightly.
"Yan, what do we do? This man is too strong! There’s no way he’s a Qi Cultivation Cultivator!" one disciple said, slightly panicked.
"Into the academy!"
Yan Yuming also knew that they were no match for the man before them.
This person’s physical body was so powerful. He was probably a Divine Body Realm Cultivator who had used some unknown means to conceal his Cultivation to enter the Phoenix Blood Secret Realm.