Chapter 476 - 451: Live for Another Three Months

"Originally, I planned that once I stepped into immortality, I would fight to the death to break out, and if all else failed, I would self-destruct. They shall not easily obtain the Great Sun Melting Furnace,"

Shen Yinuo said.

"Yinuo, my soul is special, I might be able to help you refine the Soul Ban on your Primordial Spirit."

Lu Yan said.

"No, the moment you help me refine the Soul Ban, the Skull Fire Mountain’s Master will immediately sense it."

Shen Yinuo said.

Lu Yan pondered. Shen Yinuo was right. Indeed, even if he could help Shen Yinuo refine the Soul Ban, he could not do it within Skull Fire Mountain. They would have to get far away from the mountain.

"In that case, we can only endure for the time being and look for an opportunity."

"Yinuo, don’t increase your cultivation level too quickly. Wait until my cultivation level rises, and then we can break out together. Mr. World has also arrived. Since coming here, he has been advancing rapidly. If we can delay until he breaks through to the Immortal Fourth Layer Heaven, we can cooperate from inside and outside, and surely we can make our escape,"

Lu Yan said.

"I’ll try to delay as much as possible."

Shen Yinuo said.

The two chatted a bit more, and then Shen Yinuo rose to take her leave.

Lu Yan never once revealed his true face throughout.

"I also need to quicken my pace. I must at least reach immortality when Yinuo breaks through,"

Lu Yan thought to himself.

The only two ways to speed up cultivation were either by tempering with the Thunder Sword or by taking Soul Pills.

Now, he could easily concoct Soul Pills with an extremely high success rate. There were many opportunities to tamper with the process.

For example, if a batch yielded twelve pills, he could take six and claim only six were successful.

Lu Yan got up and left the backyard.

Just after Lu Yan had left, a shadow emerged from a corner—it was Miao Yan.

"That slut actually came to see a new disciple and didn’t even visit me. What does that Zhang Wei have that I don’t?"

Burning with jealousy, Miao Yan’s eyes lit up.

Since the first time he saw Shen Yinuo, he had been haunted by thoughts of her, unable to forget her. He had always wanted to find a chance to get close to Shen Yinuo, but the Mountain Master kept a tight watch on her, and she was always in seclusion within her chamber.

Furthermore, Shen Yinuo herself didn’t want to deal with him at all, rejecting him time and again.

Not long ago, he looked for another opportunity to approach Shen Yinuo but saw her heading towards the Elixir Workshop, so he followed her in secret, hiding and observing the meeting between Shen Yinuo and Lu Yan.

"No, it looks like they’re just strangers chatting on the surface, but their eyes... their eyes are off. That bitch Shen Yinuo looks at others with cold indifference, quite aloof, but when she looks at Zhang Wei, her eyes are warm and... there’s longing. Yes, longing. Even though she tries her best to hide it, a trace of it still slipped through. These two, they must know each other well."

With a gleam in his eyes and various speculations in his mind, Miao Yan thought, "This Zhang Wei is extremely strong, far surpassing his peers. His entry into Skull Fire Mountain is definitely not ordinary. Right, Shen Yinuo was brought back by Chi Luan from a remote continent. Could it be that Zhang Wei is also from that remote continent? I should go and ask Chi Luan."

With this thought, Miao Yan hurriedly left to find Chi Luan and relayed his speculations to her.

"A friend of Shen Yinuo’s? Can you depict his appearance for me to see?"

Chi Luan said.

Miao Yan immediately set to work and drew Lu Yan’s likeness on a piece of white paper, almost lifelike.

In the Immortal Realm, one remembers everything at a glance. They possess an astonishing degree of control. Even without having learned painting, they can still depict a person’s appearance with precision.

Chi Luan picked up the drawing and examined it meticulously, recalling the faces she had seen in Da Wu.

But none of them matched the face in the drawing.

"The one you drew, I haven’t seen before. It’s possible that he’s disguised his appearance a bit, altering his facial muscles to prevent us from recognizing him. You mentioned that he spent some time under your command. Have you seen him perform martial arts?"

Chi Luan inquired further.

"He should be skilled in body refining martial arts, and he’s also highly proficient in several of them. When he uses them, scales appear on his body..."

Miao Yan had taken action against Lu Yan once, though he didn’t put much effort into it, and Lu Yan had blocked him. It was a memorable encounter, and he described it in detail.

"This type of body refining martial arts..."

Chi Luan’s pupils contracted as an image surfaced in her mind.

Lu Yan!

Emperor Da Wu, Lu Yan.

The warriors of the Immortal Clan had once joined forces to attack Da Wu Imperial City, where Lu Yan and Shen Yinuo had confronted their enemies. She had watched from the shadows.

She had seen not only the wonder of Shen Yinuo’s Great Sun Melting Furnace but also Lu Yan’s martial arts.

"It’s Lu Yan, the local emperor of the continent where Shen Yinuo is from, and also her husband. He has come, what audacity to infiltrate our Skull Fire Mountain,"

Chi Luan said coldly.

"Shen Yinuo’s husband? He’s seeking death."

Murderous intent thickened in Miao Yan’s eyes.

"Since Lu Yan has infiltrated Skull Fire Mountain, he must be planning to take Shen Yinuo away by seizing the opportunity. We cannot let him stay. Let’s go and kill him now."

Chi Luan’s cold voice was decisive and swift.

...

Elixir Workshop.

Right after Shen Yinuo had left, Dan Hua found Lu Yan.

"Zhang Wei, was Miss Yinuo’s visit truly just to discuss Soul Pills?"

Dan Hua asked.

"It truly was just about Soul Pills."

Lu Yan nodded and replied.

"Zhang Wei, your talent in pill refining is extremely high. If you work hard, I will take you as my personal disciple in the future. But I must warn you, Shen Yinuo is the mountain master’s favorite, and you must not get too close to her. If the mountain master becomes angry, even I won’t be able to protect you,"

Dan Hua warned with a solemn face.

"Yes, Zhang Wei understands."

Lu Yan nodded.

"Next, there is a task for you. Come with me."

Dan Hua said.

Lu Yan followed Dan Hua to the front courtyard, where he found that many people had already gathered—around thirty or so.

Among them, the auras of two individuals were immensely strong and unfathomable; they were likely masters of the Immortal Realm.

The rest, more than thirty people, were all below Immortality.

Not all were from the Elixir Workshop; in fact, only a few were from the Elixir Workshop. The rest were disciples from the various courts and halls of Skull Fire Mountain.

"The Elixir Workshop is short on Spiritual Medicine. We have gathered you here to prepare for entering the Cangyan Mysterious Land to harvest Spiritual Medicine. Of course, after turning in the harvested Spiritual Medicines, you will be given corresponding rewards,"

"Some among you will be going to the Cangyan Mysterious Land for the first time. On the way, I will explain in detail what the Cangyan Mysterious Land is about."

After finishing speaking, Dan Hua waved his hand, and a huge Pill Furnace flew out.

It was Dan Hua’s Immortal Treasure.

The Pill Furnace rapidly expanded, becoming as large as a mountain, with Dan Hua flying upon it.

"Come on up,"

Dan Hua commanded.

All the disciples, along with the two Immortals, flew up and landed on the Pill Furnace.

With a swoosh, the Pill Furnace broke through the air and in the blink of an eye, left the domain of Skull Fire Mountain.

"Speaking of which, the Cangyan Mysterious Land has innumerable connections to our Skull Fire Mountain. More than one hundred thousand years ago, a world-shattering battle erupted in the Wild Ocean, and a powerful being was beheaded. His head transformed into Skull Fire Mountain, while his body became the Cangyan Mysterious Land,"

"The Cangyan Mysterious Land is a self-contained space, isolated from the outer world, a realm of flames where the energy of fire is exceedingly abundant. Ordinary plants cannot grow here, yet it breeds numerous Fire Attribute plants and gives rise to many Fire Attribute Spiritual Medicines, which you are tasked to harvest this time."

"But remember this one point: within the Cangyan Mysterious Land, there are many powerful Fire Attribute beasts, including those of the Immortal Realm, even dreadful beasts of the Immortal Fourth Layer Heaven. These beasts are highly sensitive to strong presences. Should they discover any Immortals trespassing, they will attack in swarms. However, those below Immortality generally won’t attract much attention from the powerful beasts."

"Therefore, I and the others won’t be entering. The two elders will go with you but will generally not take action. You will have to rely on yourselves. Do you understand?"

Dan Hua gave a serious warning.

"Understood."

Everyone nodded.

"Also, do not provoke those Immortal Realm beasts. No one would be able to save you then,"

Dan Hua added another sentence.

The Cangyan Mysterious Land was not far from Skull Fire Mountain, merely over thirty thousand li away. With Dan Hua’s speed, it only took a moment to arrive.

A huge Flame Gorge appeared before them.

Dan Hua descended and retracted the Pill Furnace.

"Through this gorge, we will enter the Cangyan Mysterious Land. Inside, you may encounter people from other forces. Try not to provoke them. Our main objective is to gather herbs. Let’s set off."

Dan Hua instructed.

"Follow us,"

The two Immortal Realm elders led the way, with everyone else following as they entered the gorge.

At the end of the gorge, there was a fiery-red vortex continuously spinning, emitting waves of heat.

The two Immortal Realm elders leapt forward, rushing toward the vortex and disappearing from sight.

"Is this the Space Door?"

Lu Yan observed curiously and then followed the other disciples, rushing toward the vortex.

A dizzying sensation came over him, as if the stars were shifting, and the next moment, Lu Yan found himself in a land of fiery red.

Looking around, his eyes were met with barren rocks, a hard rocky surface on which a few fiery-red trees stubbornly grew.

Waves of heat assaulted him, as if he were inside a furnace.

Of course, those who entered here were cultivators of the Rule of Fire. Although the temperature was high, it didn’t affect them; instead, it was like a fish in water.

Lu Yan extended his Spiritual Sense, feeling as if he could perceive the Rule of Fire dancing in the air.

The cultivation environment here was just as good as Skull Fire Mountain.

Above their heads, a vortex slowly spun.

"You are now free to move about. Remember, you only have three months. After three months, meet back here, and we will leave,"

One of the Immortal Realm elders ordered.

"Yes,"

The disciples acknowledged and turned into beams of prismatic light, scattering in all directions.

Not long after Lu Yan left with Dan Hua, Chi Luan and Miao Yan came to the Elixir Workshop.

"Went to the Cangyan Mysterious Land to gather herbs?"

Miao Yan was surprised when he heard the news, his face slightly grim.

"It doesn’t matter. Gathering herbs takes at most three months. After he returns in three months, it won’t be too late to kill him,"

Chi Luan said coldly.

"Then let the kid live for three more months."

Miao Yan’s killing intent was chilling as he spoke, then added, "Shen Yinuo is meeting with someone in secret and harbors ill intentions. We must be on guard."

"Don’t worry, Mother has made every preparation. No matter how she struggles, it will be useless,"

Chi Luan gave a slight smile, confident in her plans.