Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension-Chapter 665 - 405 Earth Abyss Fire Sea, Launch Imminent_2

Chapter 665 -405 Earth Abyss Fire Sea, Launch Imminent_2

As the Great Sun ascended the high heavens, its scorching rays shone upon Azure Mist Peak, casting a long shadow in front of the mountain that fell straight onto a vast square, covering ten miles.

At that moment, in the center of the square, two hundred-member Daoist Soldier Corps formed two neat square formations, standing solemnly in their places, utterly motionless.

All were silent as iron-blooded auras surged to the sky, transforming into a dense, fierce killing aura that enveloped the square, nearly taking form visibly.

Over the millennia, the Southern Sky Zhao Family had trained numerous strong Daoist Soldier Corps, yet the most elite were always the Five Elements Daoist Soldiers.

The Five Elements Daoist Soldiers were established during the early stages of the second war between realms, faced the first wave of the Otherworld’s massive invasion, endured the long and brutal battle at the Golden Wall, and were later the vanguard in the counter-attack into the Shattered Star Sea.

After the war between the realms ended a thousand years later, the Five Elements Daoist Soldiers faced multiple blood-soaked trials, almost being driven to extinction several times, yet they fiercely rebuilt themselves time and again.

The current status of the Southern Sky Zhao Family could rightly be attributed to the monumental efforts of the Five Elements Daoist Soldiers.

To this day, the Five Elements Daoist Soldier Corps had been renamed as the Five Elements Banner, each flag composing of at least two hundred members, with the least among them in the Qi Refining Late Stage, and at least one-fifth possessed personal power comparable to Foundation Establishment.

For example, each Thick Earth Banner member, when controlling specially crafted Second-Order High-Grade Vajra Stone Puppets, had combat power no less than a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

If a hundred men formed a great array, commanded by a Golden Core Flag Commander, it could even trap a Nascent Soul Ancestor for a short time.

Even when facing twice the number of Foundation Establishment Cultivators, the Thick Earth Corps could easily crush them.

To eradicate the Earth Flame Palace in one fell swoop, the Zhao Family spared no expense, deploying the Thick Earth and Fiery Sun Banners and summoning over twenty Golden Core Masters, only a few of whom were from their own clan, the majority hastily called in from numerous vassal forces.

Besides this, the Zhao Family also dispatched two Nascent Soul Ancestors, Eleven Ancestor Zhou Li and Sixteenth Ancestor Zhao Qiongtian.

As the Great Sun gradually ascended to mid-sky, Zhou Li and Zhao Sheng stood suspended above the square, quietly waiting for something.

After a quarter of an hour, the communication jade plates at the waists of the two Nascent Soul Ancestors suddenly flashed simultaneously.

Zhao Sheng exchanged a glance with Zhou, and both extended their Divine Thought into the jade plates simultaneously.

After reading, Zhao Sheng immediately said, “The Third Ancestor sent word, Ksitigarbha Sect has just set out.”

Zhou Li smiled slightly, “The timing is perfect; the people from Purple Sun Sect have also moved out. We too shall depart immediately!”

Senior Zhou decides well, I have no objections,” Zhao Sheng said, willingly yielding the lead.

Shortly after, a Cloud Boat nearly a thousand feet long, a “Banyue” class vessel, slowly came to a stop above the square.

Upon seeing this, each Golden Core Master transformed into tunneling light and flew into the Cloud Boat, while the Thick Earth and Fiery Sun Banners rose into the air and entered in succession. Lastly, the two great Nascent Soul Ancestors followed.

Before long, the large Cloud Boat silently lifted off the ground and soared directly into the high heavens. Then, with a thunderous roar, it broke through the clouds, speeding like lightning towards the east.

…

In the eastern part of Central Continent lay a continuous range of volcanoes known as the Fire Cloud Mountain Range. Here, the volcanoes erupted year-round, the ground charred and devoid of life, and the skies above the mountains perpetually enveloped in thick black clouds, hidden from sunlight.

Descending along the mouths of the volcanoes deep into millions of feet below, one reached an enormous and boundless Earth Abyss, where countless rivers of molten lava converged from all directions, forming a vast subterranean Magma Sea.

Above this vast Magma Sea, the hot, thick lava slowly flowed, covered by a thin crust of crimson rock. Occasionally, huge dark red fire bubbles would slowly swell, expanding to miles or even tens of miles in diameter, appearing from afar like slowly moving “hills.”

Whenever a massive fire bubble suddenly burst open, it emitted a boom as loud as a bull’s roar, explosively releasing an overwhelming amount of deadly gases that spread into the atmosphere above the Earth Abyss.

After millions of years, the skies above the Earth Abyss were already full of dark smoke, filled with highly toxic gases, where a common man would drop dead instantly upon inhaling, and even a Qi Refining Realm Cultivator couldn’t last long in such a harsh environment.

The main gate of the Earth Flame Palace was a giant floating island, constantly moving unpredictably over the Magma Sea, exceptionally hidden.

And because of this uniquely advantageous environment, the Earth Flame Palace had escaped encirclement many times, allowing its Daoist lineage to continue for nearly ten thousand years.

But this time, would it continue to be “lucky”?

That day, at a particular location in the Earth Abyss Fire Sea, a thick, straight gray stone pillar suddenly protruded from the Magma Sea, with a rugged, heavy gray stone hall standing dominantly at the summit of the pillar.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

At that moment, five or six streaks of tunneling light suddenly burst through the black smoke, one after another, flying into the grand hall.

Zhao Sheng and Zhou Li, accompanied by four Golden Core Masters, had just entered the grand hall when Zhao Sheng’s expression slightly froze.

Seated in the main seat of the grand hall were not only the Triple Ancestor Zhao Changdu but also a bald, elderly man dressed in a Yin Yang Tai Chi Robe, apparently discussing something in a low voice with several figures clad in Ksitigarbha Sect garments standing on both sides.

There, standing amid the crowd in his luxurious, fine robe, was Zhao Zhengzhuo, closely next to a stunning young lady in a red dress, his gaze constantly on her, seemingly smitten.

The young lady in red was vibrant, her phoenix eyes particularly striking, her gaze clear and lively, as if she could peer into one’s heart.

As Zhao Sheng and his group had just stepped through the hall’s entrance, everyone inside immediately looked over.

“Greetings to the Third Ancestor.”

“No need for such formalities among our own!”

Zhao Changdu waved his hand, indicating for Zhao Sheng and Zhou Li to come up and take a seat.

Once the two were seated, he smiled and said, “Qiong Tian, let me introduce you. This is the renowned `Array Master` of Central Continent, Master Huang Yu, Master Huang!”

Zhao Sheng’s eyes flashed, and he immediately bowed and said, “Junior Zhao Qiong Tian, has seen Master Huang.”

Zhou Li, who already knew Huang Yu, did not need to exchange formalities.

“Ah, Senior Zhao flatters me too much. The way of formations is profound and vast; I barely grasp a fraction of it and dare not claim the title of master,” the bald elder said with exceptional humility.

This man had previously secluded himself in Heavenly Pillar Mountain, working alongside the other two Array Masters to attempt to repair the Ascension Array.

Later, he was personally invited by Zhao Changdu to leave seclusion, all to unravel the Mountain Guardian Formation outside the Earth Flame Palace.

Upon seeing this, Zhao Changdu smiled and said to Zhao Sheng and Zhou Li, “Not everyone has arrived yet; let’s wait for the people from the Purple Sun Sect. Once everyone is here, we’ll discuss the serious matters.”

Zhao Sheng and Zhou Li nodded slightly, then closed their eyes to rest.

The grand hall quickly fell silent.

About half an hour passed when suddenly, a hint of purple tinted the outside of the grand hall, the temperature inside skyrocketing, making the air extremely hot and dry.

At this moment, a resonant sound of footsteps approached, drawing the attention of most people in the hall.

Zhao Sheng followed the sound, looking towards the hall entry as more people walked in alongside the spreading purple hue.

The leader, dressed in a purple Fiery Sun Robe, moved with the stride of a dragon and the pace of a tiger, exuding dominance. He appeared to be in his thirties, very tall, but somewhat lean and with a sunburnt skin tone, as if singed by fire.

As Zhao Sheng’s divine thought swept over this man, his pupils slightly constricted.

This man seemed outwardly imposing, but his entire aura was incredibly contained, like a copper wall and iron barrier, rejecting all external probes.

Two people trailed behind the hawk-eyed man, one of them the strikingly handsome Qu Feng. The other was a delicate and beautiful woman wearing a golden phoenix hairpin and with a flame mark on her forehead.

Even though Zhao Sheng was not frequently seen in the world, he immediately recognized the identities of the newcomers. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

“The Purple Sun Sect has actually sent the most famous Nascent Soul couple from within their sect, Shangguan Longhu and Ling Fengqi. They must be plotting something significant!” he thought secretly.

Shangguan Longhu, with a cool expression, disregarded the gazes around him, leading the two quickly up the stage. He bowed to Zhao Changdu, saying, “Longhu, accompanied by his Daoist companion Fengqi, has come to join the battle, greetings to Taoist Zhao.”

“Good, everyone has arrived,” Zhao Changdu nodded to the trio of Shangguan Longhu, then stood up.

Seeing this, the entire hall fell deathly silent, the atmosphere turning serious.