Chapter 498: Celestial Sound Sect

Yes! This was the power.

The moment Shen Daoxing landed, he felt a scorching power surging toward him, causing all the Spiritual Power within his body to boil.

WHOOSH!

Deep underground, within the dim space, a mysterious breeze whispered by. The flames atop the lava suddenly erupted, bursting forth in a dazzling, magnificent light. They then bloomed like a red lotus, filling the entire space.

At this moment, the Blood Dragon’s voice echoed in Shen Daoxing’s mind:

"Kid, this is Red Lotus Earth Fire. It can only form deep underground in lava where the Primordial Energy is anomalous. It takes at least ten thousand years to form and can only appear in places uniquely favored by the heavens. It’s an exceptionally rare Extreme Path Fire. You’re in luck, kid. This Extreme Flame can melt anything in the world, making it perfect for forging Divine Weapons. It’s a true Artifact Refining Divine Fire, but..."

The Blood Dragon’s voice trailed off for a moment before it slowly continued:

"Hehehe... but the greatest use for this Red Lotus Earth Fire is to help you cultivate your Venerable Body Refining. Hehehe... This flame comes from the Earth’s Core Extreme North and gathers the essence of the Earth Source. It can melt all things in creation, making it the perfect flame for tempering your Venerable Body. Kid, you must seize this opportunity!"

Tempering the Venerable Body!

Shen Daoxing paused, instinctively lifting his hands to examine his body.

That’s right!

After fusing the Celestial-Origin Power and the Power of the Earth Source, his Venerable Body Refining had successfully reached the Fourth Layer, but he had also hit a bottleneck. Even with the Flood Dragon and Thousand-Eyed Demon Chapter as training partners repeatedly helping him temper his body, the results were diminishing. He needed a greater stimulus.

And the Red Lotus Earth Fire before him was perfect.

Then, he turned to look around.

In this underground Grotto Heaven, besides the Red Lotus Earth Fire over the roiling lava fissure, Shen Daoxing spotted a massive anvil resting silently on the edge of the magma.

The anvil was ancient and profound, its surface clearly bearing the marks of countless hammer blows.

At the same time, on the stone wall behind the anvil, iridescent light shimmered and flowed. An array of swords, sabers, and Magical Treasures hung there, each one gleaming brightly, obviously extraordinary.

Clearly, this was an Artifact Refining Room, and not an ordinary one.

When Qing Luan, Fu Ren, Fu Yi, and the others saw everything clearly, their eyes lit up.

"So there’s a whole other world down here."

"Th-This is the Divine Weapon Divine Origin Sword! The Divine Soldier ranked sixteenth on the list of World Divine Soldiers! Wasn’t it destroyed four hundred years ago? How could it be here?"

Fu Ren suddenly raised a cyan Treasure Sword, his eyes widening in disbelief.

Beside him, Fu Yi also cried out, "Th-This is a Divine Soldier too! It’s definitely ranked in the top twenty of the World Divine Soldiers."

His tone was filled with excitement.

He was holding a long, wickedly sharp saber that pulsed with a gentle light, clearly another extraordinary weapon.

Even Xuan Ye, who was always serious and stern, couldn’t hide the excited glint in his eyes after picking up a silver-white Treasure Sword.

The Treasure Sword in his hand radiated a sharp, unconcealed killing intent. It was clearly a blade on par with a Divine Soldier.

"Everything here is a top-grade treasure!"

Fu Ren and Fu Yi couldn’t help but widen their eyes in excitement, looking at Shen Daoxing in disbelief. "Little Junior Brother, how did you find this place?"

Before Shen Daoxing could speak...

SQUEAK SQUEAK SQUEAK!

The Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat let out a proud squeak. It shot Fu Ren and Fu Yi a disdainful look. ’If you can’t even find a simple place like this,’ it seemed to say, ’how can I live up to my name as the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat?’

Then, with a flick of its body, the Golden-Eyed Treasure-Seeking Rat leaped to the edge of the lava fissure. It opened its great maw and began to devour the Red Lotus Earth Fire.

Fu Ren’s eyes shone brightly. "Quick, quick! Let’s take all of this stuff! These are all treasures! We can’t let those bastards from the Celestial Sound Sect get their hands on them again. They don’t get a single piece!"

With that, Fu Ren made a grabbing motion, and a gleaming Treasure Sword flew into his possession.

The Divine Weapons and Magical Artifacts here were impressive, but Shen Daoxing wasn’t particularly tempted. He already possessed the Great Ming Demon Sparrow, the Venerable Dharma Seal, and even Ta’e, the Lifebound Magical Artifact left behind by Ancestor Dan Chen. He also had the Shattering Void Sword—ranked third among all divine treasures in the world—not to mention the Divine Soldier he’d seized from the Celestial Profound Sacred Land. Each of his weapons was a Treasure Artifact on par with a Divine Soldier.

Since Shen Daoxing didn’t have his eye on any of the Treasure Swords and was not in need of new weapons, he decided to leave these Treasure Artifacts for Qing Luan and the others. It would be a good way to strengthen their Cyan Nether Sword Sect.

So, Shen Daoxing quietly made his way to the edge of the lava fissure and sat down to meditate.

Instantly, the Red Lotus Earth Fire swirled toward him, enveloping his body.

Shen Daoxing felt his blood begin to boil. Without any conscious effort, his Venerable Power started to circulate on its own.

The strands of Venerable Power intertwined, hammering against his body time and again. The process was agonizing, but Shen Daoxing relished the sensation.

Shen Daoxing slowly closed his eyes, his mind drifting into a serene, ethereal state.

However, as Shen Daoxing was cultivating...

RUMBLE!

A loud noise, like the sound of an explosion, suddenly echoed down from above.

The surrounding space trembled.

Fu Ren and Fu Yi, who were still gathering the Treasure Artifacts from the wall, were instantly on alert. They looked up. "What’s going on?"

Beside them, Qing Luan frowned. She extended a hand, and with a flip of her palm, a folded paper crane lifted off from her palm. It flew slowly back out through the entrance of the cave.

Qing Luan then extended a finger and tapped lightly in the air. A shimmering light appeared, projecting a scene before everyone’s eyes—it was the view from the paper crane.

The image showed the paper crane emerging from the cave entrance, back in the Fire Source ore mine above.

However, just as the crane took flight, the view revealed a large hole that had been blasted through one of the mine’s wide stone walls.

Disciples from the Celestial Sound Sect were now pouring through the hole. When they saw the cavern filled with Fire Source Ore, their eyes lit up.

Upon seeing the image from the paper crane, Fu Ren couldn’t stop himself from cursing. "Dammit! It’s those Celestial Sound Sect bastards again! Wherever we go, they follow. Are they all sons of bitches? We can’t ever seem to shake them!"

As he cursed, the image showed the Celestial Sound Sect disciples swinging their swords to carve out chunks of Fire Source Ore, which they then stored in their Dharma Rings.

Fu Ren’s eyes widened in alarm. "Oh no! They’re going to steal our entire Fire Source Ore Vein!"

He said, about to charge out in a rage.

Seeing this, Qing Luan remained perfectly calm. She reached out, grabbing Fu Ren’s shoulder to stop him. "Fu Ren, don’t be rash. The Celestial Sound Sect outnumbers us. We’re no match for them."