CHAPTER 494: CHAPTER 479: DEMON CAVE SHOWS OFF!

The "Black Death Secret Realm" is located in the Lion Barbarian Mountain Range in the southwest of Golden Lion Country. This mountain range is a habitat for demon beasts, among which there are even Tier Six Demon King level beings.

However, in this Land of the Far West, the influence of human cultivators is strong. Even if it is a Tier Six Demon King, unless a cultivator intrudes into its core territory or lair, it will not easily deal with cultivators entering the mountain range to hunt demon beasts.

Of course, human cultivators can’t overdo it either. For instance, if a Golden Core Stage cultivator enters the Lion Barbarian Mountain Range and starts a slaughter of demon beasts below Tier Five, that is something the Tier Six Demon Kings absolutely cannot tolerate.

If any Golden Core Stage cultivator does this, even Nascent Soul Stage cultivators can’t protect him.

This time, when the "Black Death Secret Realm" emerged within the Lion Barbarian Mountain Range, the Tier Six Demon Kings inside had already been warned by the Nascent Soul Stage cultivators of the Anti-Light Alliance not to attack the cultivators entering the secret realm for treasure hunting.

Moreover, to prevent Golden Core Stage cultivators entering the Lion Barbarian Mountain Range from taking the opportunity to harvest a wave of Tier Five demon beasts, the Tier Six Demon Kings, after receiving the warning, gathered these Tier Five demon beasts into their own lair to avoid trouble.

As such, for Golden Core Stage cultivators, the current Lion Barbarian Mountain Range is virtually undefended.

Liu Boyong, carrying Yan An and Zhouyang, flew straight to the outside of the "Black Death Secret Realm" without stopping after entering the Lion Barbarian Mountain Range.

By now, many cultivators had already gathered outside the secret realm, among them no shortage of Golden Core Stage cultivators, with some already teaming up to venture inside for exploration and treasure hunting.

"You two junior brothers wait here for a moment; I’ll go find someone to gather some information to see how many notable figures have already entered."

Outside the secret realm, Liu Boyong disembarked from the flying ship, letting Yan An and Zhouyang wait where they were, while he walked over to an acquaintance who was a Golden Core Stage cultivator to inquire about the news.

Seeing this, Zhouyang also secretly observed the cultivators present.

He had been in the Land of the Far West for decades. Although he hadn’t visited too many places during that time, having lived there for so long, and with a mind to understand the situation in the Far West from the beginning, he had researched the symbols of several well-known sects and clans.

Generally speaking, for exploring a public secret realm like the "Black Death Secret Realm," cultivators from established powers prioritize cooperation with their sect or clan members. Even if they plan to find others for temporary collaboration outside the secret realm, they would wear attire representing their power, making it easier to find suitable partners.

Therefore, at a glance, Zhouyang identified people from more than ten renowned sects and clans within the Anti-Light Alliance, including sects as famous as the Celestial Spirit Sect and the Golden Body Fighting Sect, which stood on par with Haoyang Sect.

While Zhouyang was observing others, their group of three newcomers was also being watched and assessed by those people.

The territory of the Anti-Light Alliance is vast, but the circle of high-tier cultivators is limited. Around Jinyang Country and its neighboring nations, many cultivators had heard of the reputation of Guo Jinhong’s registered disciples.

Seeing the three of them arrive together, those in the know realized that Elder Guo from Haoyang Sect was also interested in Master Heisha’s legacy, adding a powerful competitor into the mix.

Time passed slowly, and Liu Boyong soon gathered the information and returned to explain the situation to Zhouyang and Yan An.

"The situation is somewhat unfavorable now. Before we arrived, two teams of cultivators from Li Huo Sect and Celestial Spirit Sect had already gone in. Each team has three Golden Core Stage cultivators, and the leader from Li Huo Sect is none other than the Red Eyebrow Old Monster, a Ninth-Layer Golden Core cultivator!"

He spoke with a serious expression, turning his gaze to Zhouyang and asked, "Junior Brother Zhou, although the master said you don’t need to participate in Golden Core Stage battles, to complete the master’s task, someone will certainly try to stop us, and you can’t stay out of it then."

"Now I ask you, if a battle with Golden Core Stage cultivators occurs, can you help us hold off an opponent?"

Zhouyang frowned at these words, his expression turning grim as he replied, "Senior Brother Liu, you’re overestimating me. I’m merely at the Purple Mansion Stage. How could I be a match for a Golden Core Stage cultivator? If a battle occurs, I can only escape as a priority, which the elder has also approved!"

"Hmph, don’t use the master as an excuse. If the task fails, I don’t believe you can get away unscathed!"

Yan An let out a cold snort, clearly dissatisfied with Zhouyang’s response.

Liu Boyong squinted his eyes slightly at this and persuaded gently, "Junior Brother Yan, don’t be angry. Let’s do this: if a battle with Golden Core Stage cultivators occurs, Junior Brother Zhou, you can escape, but before you do, try to hold off one of the Golden Core Stage cultivators for us. If you can draw them to pursue you, that’s as good as accomplishing the task perfectly."

Zhouyang understood that this was likely the biggest concession Liu Boyong could make. So, after pondering for a moment, he nodded and said, "This is acceptable, but I can only engage in combat with Early-Stage Golden Core cultivators. If it’s a Mid-Stage Golden Core cultivator, I’m afraid I can’t manage it."

"Then it’s settled. Let’s head into the secret realm."

Liu Boyong cut off Yan An, who wanted to say more, decisively setting the course of action.

The secret realm is located in a valley and consists of two parts: the Earthly Immortal Realm above and the Underground Demon Cave below.

The Earthly Immortal Realm is just as the initial cultivators who discovered the secret realm saw it: full of abundant spiritual energy, with spirit herbs and elixirs scattered everywhere, and numerous immortal pavilions and palaces—a complete scene of an Immortal Blessed Land.

Yet within those immortal pavilions and palaces are passageways leading to the Underground Demon Cave, where Yin Sha Qi pervades the area, breeding countless demon corpses and ghostly entities.

Master Heisha’s true legacy and treasures are located within the Underground Demon Cave.

Both the Underground Demon Cave and the Earthly Immortal Realm are enveloped by an enormous Tier Six Array that encompasses concealing breath, invisibility, illusion, defense, attack, and forbidden functions.

For thousands of years, the Secret Realm has been guarded by a Grand Array, never discovered by anyone.

But now, the Concealing Breath and Invisibility functions of the Grand Array have ceased to work, even its defensive abilities have shown flaws, allowing cultivators below the Nascent Soul Stage to enter it.

When Zhouyang was outside the Secret Realm, it appeared to him as nothing more than a lush forest; however, once he entered it, the Secret Realm transformed into a vast valley basin with mountains and water.

Since the Secret Realm was discovered more than half a year ago, various treasures within the Earthly Immortal Realm have been mostly looted clean by cultivators who came for treasure hunting adventures. Those Immortal Killing Arrays and Puppets have long been overcome.

Therefore, upon entering the Secret Realm, Zhouyang and his group headed directly to the nearest black hall, where there was a passage leading to the Underground Demon Cave.

This passage and the hall are protected by the power of the Array, making it extremely difficult to destroy. The demons and ghosts inside the Underground Demon Cave cannot breach the passage to reach the surface.

This is why some of the first cultivators who ventured into the Underground Demon Cave managed to escape and spread the news.

"Junior Brother Zhou, please go ahead."

Inside the black hall, Zhouyang and his group stood outside a pitch-dark underground passage. After observing the darkness within the passage for a moment, Yan An stretched out his hand with a smirk towards Zhouyang, making a gesture for him to lead the way.

According to Guo Jinhong’s division of tasks, Zhouyang was mainly responsible for intimidating and slaying the demons.

Thus, even though he knew Yan An’s intentions weren’t sincere, Zhouyang did not refuse and immediately summoned the "Profound Turtle Shield" to protect himself before diving into the underground passage.

Hehehe!

Roar!

Haunting ghostly screeches and the howls of demon corpses echoed continuously. The number of demons in the Underground Demon Cave far exceeded Zhouyang’s expectations.

As soon as he entered the Underground Demon Cave, four humanoid demon corpses with auras equivalent to Late-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, along with two Foundation Establishment Ghosts, rushed towards him, only to be incinerated into ashes by a single "Qianyang True Flame" he unleashed.

However, this signal was not a good omen.

Sure enough, as Zhouyang and the following Liu Boyong and Yan An delved deeper into the Underground Demon Cave, the number of demons charging from all directions increased rapidly.

The number of these demons was enormous, and although most of them were Low-Tier Demons at the Qi Cultivation Stage level, many ants can kill an elephant.

In the cramped setting of the Underground Demon Cave, facing swarms of low-tier demon assaults, Zhouyang and his group could only continuously kill and burn them away.

Moreover, the Yin Sha Qi in the Underground Demon Cave was dense, and in this environment, they consumed magical power casting spells without being able to replenish it from the outside, relying only on the Spirit Stones they carried with them.

But constantly casting spells to kill demons and merely using Spirit Stones to replenish magical power, even if they were willing to use top-grade Spirit Stones, couldn’t sustain them for long.

Furthermore, they had to keep enough magical power handy to defend against attacks from high-tier demons and ghosts and possibly other cultivators.

"Continuing to fight like this isn’t feasible; even though my True Flame restrains the demons, my magical power won’t be sufficient to eradicate them all. Brothers, quickly devise a plan, or else I’ll have to retreat to restore my magical power first!"

In the Underground Demon Cave, Zhouyang was engulfed in golden flames, resembling a Flame Celestial God, throwing out waves of "Qianyang True Flame" to burn the approaching demons and ghosts into black smoke, issuing a "final ultimatum" to the two brothers idly biding their time.

The two Golden Core Stage cultivators were hiding behind him, a Purple Mansion Stage cultivator, idling around. Even if Zhouyang knew that their actions were warranted, he was quite dissatisfied and annoyed.

After all, it was him who was doing all the hard work!

"Hahaha, Junior Brother, don’t be anxious. I have already found a passage leading deeper into the Demon Cave. Just follow my instructions and advance in the direction I indicate."

Liu Boyong laughed aloud and finally broke his silence, pointing out a route among the numerous passages within the Demon Cave.

Zhouyang, seeing this, didn’t bother questioning the accuracy of Liu Boyong’s judgment and immediately charged ahead in the indicated direction, surrounded by fierce flames.

Along the way, any demon with a Purple Mansion Stage cultivation and below was ignited by the "Qianyang True Flame" while still several feet away, their demonic qi consumed, screaming and turned to ashes.

As the renowned "Demon Refining Fire" in the Cultivation Realm, "Qianyang True Flame" is even more effective against demons than Thunder Skill.

After all, spells are unsustainable, whereas True Fire Divine Techniques like "Qianyang True Flame" can be maintained as long as Zhouyang’s magical power remains sufficient.

ps: I recommend a new book by a friend, "I Just Want to Quietly Be a Wealthy God," a story about a wealthy scoundrel. Interested book friends may check it out and add it to their collection!