Chapter 100: Chapter 100: Seven Fire Demon Smoke

Inside the stone chamber.

Ye Yan was sound asleep.

Fang Cheng stood before the bed, with no desire to sleep.

First, his cultivation of the Celestial Fire Body Forging Technique was growing more profound by the day. His qi and blood were so abundant that he could go for days and nights without rest and feel no ill effects.

Second, the appearance of the Glazed Jade Golden Flower had slightly disturbed his peace of mind.

If he could truly obtain this flower, given his current comprehension of the Cyan Profound Sword Technique and the fact that his deficiency in Magical Power had been rectified, he would be able to fully unleash the ultimate technique, Sword Qi Thunder Sound, as long as his Divine Sense improved to a certain level!

At that point, his combat prowess would leap to an entirely new realm!

With two or three hours still left until dawn, he simply sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed and began to cultivate.

He made a gentle pushing motion in front of him, as if opening a door. Magical Power spread from his palm, coalescing before him into a round mirror one foot in diameter.

The front of the mirror was perfectly smooth, but on the back, right in the center, was an ancient, eye-shaped talisman!

This talisman resembled a bizarre and bewitching eyeball. Its patterns were ancient and unadorned, yet they radiated a startling demonic intent.

Surrounding this talisman were many more, each the size of a grain of rice. They were interconnected, forming five exquisite "rings."

He had already cultivated the Divine Technique, Red Nether Condensing Light, to the fifth level.

Such a multitude of talisman formations was the ultimate test of one’s patience and resilience, and it was also the best way to calm the mind.

Fang Cheng gazed at the intricate yet unified rings of talismans on the back of the mirror, then closed his eyes and focused his mind.

After a moment, he extended his index and middle fingers and slowly began to trace in the air before him. Pure Magical Power flowed out, outlining a talisman.

This talisman consisted of a full one hundred and thirty-three strokes, making it complex and profound, brimming with the rhythm of the Dao.

He channeled his Magical Power to refine the talisman, shrinking it from the size of his palm down to the size of a grain of rice, transforming it into a shimmering particle.

Then, using his Divine Sense, he controlled the particle and slowly pressed it onto the back of the Magical Power mirror.

The moment the talisman particle touched the mirror, it bloomed with a ripple of light that spread across the entire surface.

Wherever the light passed, the affected talismans also began to flash.

The five already-formed rings of talismans immediately began to rotate slowly, each at a different speed and in a different direction.

The eye-shaped talisman in the center of the mirror became even more lifelike, as if it had gained a gaze of its own!

This Divine Technique was an extreme test of a Cultivator’s talent for talismans, as well as their mental fortitude.

With so many talismans, if even one was refined incorrectly, the entire model of the Divine Technique would collapse.

Fang Cheng had relied on the comprehension gained from the Creation Golden Talisman to carefully reach his current stage.

During this process, he had nearly made mistakes several times but had managed to salvage the situation just in time.

As a result, his cultivation of this Divine Technique was intermittent, and he often needed to do other things as a diversion.

Before he knew it, the night had passed.

The five of them walked out of the Stone Meditation Hut and watched as Chen Yu Yan used a Secret Technique to shrink the giant boulder to the size of her palm and put it into her storage pouch.

Afterward, Senior Sister Yang summoned her Flying Paper Kite and carried everyone straight toward the canyon where the Glazed Jade Golden Flower was located.

...

「Half a day later.」

Several miles from the canyon, the Flying Paper Kite slowly came to a halt in the sky.

Senior Brother Liu said gravely, "Junior Brother Fang, if we go any further, that Tier Two beast will notice us. Let’s sneak through the forest from here."

Fang Cheng nodded. Their goal was to ambush a Tier Two Demon Beast, so caution was paramount.

The five disembarked from the Flying Paper Kite and each used their own Escape Technique, silently weaving through the dense jungle as they rapidly approached their destination.

Many low-tier Demon Beasts in the forest spotted the group and tried to engage them, but they were casually struck down by the five using their Divine Techniques.

Soon, a towering mountain appeared before them.

At the foot of the mountain were seven or eight great ravines that stretched up to the mountainside, as if a ten-thousand-foot giant had taken a few brutal swings with an axe.

The five silently flew into one of the canyons.

Inside the canyon was a dry riverbed strewn with boulders. Strange plants grew on both sides, concealing countless insects and birds amidst a pervasive miasma.

The canyon was over a hundred feet wide, flanked by sheer, towering cliffs. Many natural caves dotted the cliff faces, looking dark and ominous, as if hiding great dangers.

The five advanced cautiously for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, when they suddenly heard the roar of a Demon Beast in the distance.

Looking into the distance, they saw a thick cloud of gray smoke swirling in the center of the canyon ahead. Flashes of fire occasionally appeared within the smoke.

Whenever the fire flashed, a Demon Beast’s roar would follow.

An Array!

The five knew at a glance that the huge cloud of gray smoke was, in fact, an active Array.

More than ten Tier One Late Stage Demon Beasts paced restlessly around the edge of the Array, as if something inside was incredibly tempting to them, yet they didn’t dare to approach.

Ye Yan focused her gaze on the Grand Array for a few moments, her expression turning strange. "It’s the Feng Family’s Seven Fire Demon Smoke Formation."

Senior Brother Liu nodded. "Correct. They must have lit Beast God Incense inside the Array to lure the Demon Beasts in. Then, they use the Array’s power to suppress and weaken the beasts before leisurely hunting them down."

Many families in the Abyssal Marsh were fond of hunting Demon Beasts on such a large scale. However, the technique for creating Beast God Incense was complex, and only the Xu Family was skilled in making it, so it was always in short supply.

The five hid behind a large boulder by the riverbed, whispering as they observed.

Fang Cheng asked in a low voice, "Where are the Glazed Jade Golden Flower and that Tier Two beast?"

The Seven Fire Demon Smoke Formation was causing such a commotion that it should have alerted the Tier Two beast long ago.

Senior Brother Liu also looked puzzled. He pointed to a cave on a cliff not far from the Seven Fire Demon Smoke Formation and said, "The Glazed Jade Golden Flower is right beside that cave. I concealed it with an Array years ago and covered it with vines. That cave is the Tier Two beast’s lair."

Fang Cheng glanced at Senior Brother Liu and said calmly, "It seems our luck is good today. The Tier Two beast isn’t in its lair."

Senior Brother Liu replied solemnly, "Junior Brother Fang, not a single word I said last night was false. With the Feng Family’s Grand Array set up in the canyon, if the Tier Two beast were here, it would have definitely been alerted by now. Since it’s not here, there’s only one possibility."

"Someone killed it!"

Fang Cheng nodded, agreeing with this assessment.

With a flick of his finger, a Vajra Gu transformed into a faint golden light and flew silently from behind the boulder, slowly making its way along the cliff face.

The Vajra Gu bypassed the Seven Fire Demon Smoke Formation and arrived next to the cave on the cliff.

A large curtain of dark green vines hung like a waterfall over the cliff face. The Vajra Gu flew into it and, just as expected, found a small Array that concealed its aura.

Inside the Array, there was indeed a cluster of exotic flowers, among which nine jade-gold blossoms were particularly eye-catching.

The Glazed Jade Golden Flower!

After sensing the flower through the Vajra Gu, Fang Cheng’s mind grew steady.

’The flower is still there!’

’Now the only question is how to get it.’

If the five of them were to fly over directly, they would surely be detected by the Cultivators in the Array, which would lead to inevitable trouble.

But if they waited until the Cultivators in the Array had hunted enough Demon Beasts and left, they feared that the longer they waited, the more could go wrong.

Ye Yan whispered, "I have a Concealing Breath Secret Technique that can hide my form and aura. Why don’t you let me go get the flower?"

With that, she activated the Secret Technique. A flash of Demonic Light flickered over her delicate body, and she vanished without a trace before their eyes.

Even her aura was completely concealed, without a single trace remaining.

It was as if she had vanished into thin air!

Only Fang Cheng, through his Sword Heart, could sense a faint trace of her aura.

Fang Cheng nodded. "Be careful."

Ye Yan hummed softly in agreement and silently departed.

Fang Cheng, feeling a bit uneasy, sent out a Poison Gu and another Vajra Gu to protect Ye Yan.

Outside the Seven Fire Demon Smoke Formation, a few Tier One Late Stage Demon Beasts could no longer restrain themselves. With a roar, they charged into the Array. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

BOOM!

Instantly, the thick smoke roiled and fire flashed.

Amidst the roars of the Demon Beasts, Fang Cheng clearly sensed seven auras within the Array.

All of them were Late-stage Sensing Cultivators!

One of the auras was quite familiar...

’How is he here?’

Fang Cheng frowned, but then he understood.

’With the Feng Family’s Grand Array here, it’s not surprising that my senior brother who married into the Feng Family is also present.’

Meanwhile, Ye Yan had silently flown to the cliff face, arriving at the spot covered by hanging vines. There, she indeed saw the nine legendary Glazed Jade Golden Flowers!

Their petals were like thin strips, and their stamens were as fine as needles. Delicate and fragile, they were extremely beautiful to behold.

She dispelled the Concealing Array.

The nine jade-gold exotic flowers burst forth with spiritual light, their fresh fragrance filling the air.

Just by smelling a wisp of their fragrance, she felt her soul soothe, her Divine Sense clear, and her thoughts become much more agile than usual.

’What a treasure!’

’No wonder Senior Brother Liu and Senior Sister Yang had such a hard time making a decision.’

She took a jade box from her storage pouch, plucked the nine Glazed Jade Golden Flowers, and carefully placed them inside.

Afterward, she sealed the jade box, put it into her storage pouch, and prepared to return to Fang Cheng’s side.

Just as she emerged from the vines, she froze.

A stealthy, strange beast with bright eyes was lying at the edge of the cave, its ruby-like eyes staring unblinkingly at Ye Yan.

The beast was pure white with soft fur, resembling a puppy, except its eyes were crimson red. Its nose was constantly twitching as it sniffed the air, as if trying to identify a scent.

’Damn it. I must have accidentally let the flower’s fragrance escape when I dispelled the Concealing Array, luring this beast here...’

Ye Yan maintained her concealing Secret Technique, remaining perfectly still for fear of alerting the young beast.

The young beast sniffed the air again, then suddenly began to wag its head and tail. Facing Ye Yan’s location, it opened its mouth to bark.

Suddenly!

A speck of golden light shot out, instantly piercing the young beast’s neck and killing it on the spot.

It was the Vajra Gu.

Seeing this, Ye Yan wasted no more time and immediately headed back toward Fang Cheng.

Meanwhile, from within the Seven Fire Demon Smoke Formation, a furious roar suddenly erupted.

"Who killed my beloved pet?!"

A figure trailing billowing smoke shot up from the Grand Array.

He was dressed in a black robe, enveloped in a sinister aura. His gaze was grim as he scanned the valley back and forth, as if searching for prey.

Soon, his eyes fell upon the young beast on the cliff by the cave, which had been killed by the Vajra Gu.

"Hmph!"

The black-robed man snorted coldly. With a wave of his large sleeve, he summoned a ghastly Black Jade Square Seal.

The black seal hovered in the air, surrounded by countless swirling gray streams of light.

"Freeze!"

The man shouted in a low voice.

Within a radius of a thousand feet, the very air seemed to solidify.

Ye Yan cried out as her Secret Technique was broken, her figure flashing into view.

Countless gray lights instantly flew toward her, forming a square cage in the blink of an eye and trapping her inside.

The black-robed man’s chilling gaze swept over, and upon seeing Ye Yan, the corners of his mouth curled into a smirk.

"What an enchanting prize."

...