Immortality and cultivation begin with drawing talismans...

Chapter 436 The Golden Flame First Blooms: The Secret Pact Sets Sail [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

The news of the birth of a fire-type transformed demon caused a huge uproar.

The Demon Abyss Forest contains many ruins, so one can imagine the immense impact a fire-type transformed demon would have.

More importantly, some people suspect that this is a naturally born creature, or perhaps the spirit pet of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

If it were naturally born, that would be one thing, but judging from the current situation, it seems to be the spirit pet of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Since it was within the territory of the Protectorate Alliance, many cultivators secretly began to speculate about which fellow Daoist it was.

Many Nascent Soul cultivators who kept fire-type spirit pets were suspected, causing them a great deal of trouble.

If it were true, that would be one thing, but they are innocent.

The location of the breakthrough, at the border of Corpse Valley and the Ten Thousand Poisons Sect, has become a suspect, since both are long-established sects.

However, if one is from one of the two major sects, then breakthroughs should be made within the sect, as the risks outside are still quite high.

However, just when countless people were having doubts, Daqian suddenly revealed that the Sima clan kept fire-type spirit pets, and that more than a hundred years ago, the Sima clan used an ancient ruin to plot against Daqian.

What treasures are hidden within this ancient ruin? Are there any ancient elixirs that can help a third-tier spirit pet break through to the next level?

For a time, much attention was diverted to the Sima clan.

The person who started all of this was leisurely drinking spiritual tea in the sect's cave.

Inside the cave on Qingzhu Mountain.

"Master, now that I've broken through, can you return all my spirit stones?"

The phoenix bird, with its innocent appearance as a little girl, actually had darting eyes that were clearly eyeing the treasure it had previously handed over.

Upon seeing this, Lin Chang'an, who was drinking tea, glanced over and teased:
"Great! Taking it back will save me the trouble of finding other materials to forge your magic weapon."

When the phoenix-bird girl heard that she was to have a magical artifact forged for her, her eyes lit up.

“Master, look at what you’re saying. I was just saying whether the spirit stones I gave you before were enough. If not, I’ll go outside and find another opportunity to… collect some more.”

The phoenix, who almost let slip the secret, quickly denied it and changed the story to picking up some spirit stones.

"Master, have some tea."

The girl, transformed from a phoenix, inexplicably puts on a fawning expression, a cunning incongruity that leaves one speechless.

Perhaps because it had just transformed, it still had some habits it hadn't broken, and its arms would occasionally want to flap.

"Alright, that's not how you brew spirit tea."

When Lin Chang'an saw the Phoenix Bird wasting its tea, he couldn't help but feel sorry for it. The sword attendant inside the cave smiled and took the teapot from the Phoenix Bird's hands.

“Master, I never expected that the Phoenix Bird would take the form of an eight or nine-year-old girl. Outsiders who don’t know the truth might think she is your daughter.”

The sword attendant also curiously observed the phoenix bird, after all, it was the first time she had ever seen a transformed great demon.

Especially considering that the phoenix bird, with whom I've spent so much time, has transformed into this form.

"daughter!?"

Lin Chang'an's eyes twitched as he looked at the Phoenix Bird's opportunistic behavior. He wondered where it had learned that trait from.

"Now that you have taken human form, you should have your own name."

The Phoenix Bird is merely the name of a mythical beast; it doesn't really count as a name.

Just as Lin Chang'an opened his mouth, he held a cup of spiritual tea and took a sip, imitating his master's manner, and then habitually tilted his head back to swallow.

Suddenly, with a cry of "Ouch!", a flash of light appeared, and then with a "plop," it transformed back into its original form as a phoenix.

"How could this be?"

The phoenix, now in bird form, stared wide-eyed and hurriedly caught the teacup with its wings, not spilling a single drop.

"It's normal for a young True Spirit bloodline to be a little difficult to control when it first takes human form; it will get better once it becomes more proficient."

Seeing this, Lin Chang'an's eyes twitched. He put down his teacup and said helplessly, but his heart was filled with envy.

Normally, this situation wouldn't occur with a fully-formed demon, but the problem is that the Phoenix Bird's bloodline is too advanced.

According to the remnant soul in red, the true spirit is a truly top-tier bloodline in the cultivation world.

"Golden Flame Divine Phoenix, True Spirit Bloodline, how enviable!"

The Green Horned Ox, which started at a similar level to the Phoenix Bird, has now fallen significantly behind.

The mutated bloodline of the Green Horned Ox is top-tier and rare even from the perspective of a Nascent Soul cultivator, but it is completely different from the True Spirit bloodline.

"Owner."

The phoenix, now in its true form, reluctantly hopped onto the table, held the teacup with its wings, and continued to sip tea, mimicking its master.

Lin Chang'an shook his head upon seeing this.

"I see you have a lively and unconventional personality, so I'll call you..."

Upon seeing that its master was about to name it, the Phoenix Bird quickly put down its teacup, flapped its wings, and said, "Ahem, Master, no need. I have a name, I have one."

"I inherited the bloodline of the Golden Flame Divine Phoenix, so I will take Jin as my surname and Feng as my given name, meaning that one day I will become a true Golden Flame Divine Phoenix and soar above the nine heavens."

The Phoenix Bird hurriedly spoke, knowing full well how terrible its master was at naming things. It had been so many years since it, along with the Green Horned Ox and that Yin Spirit Two-Headed Tiger, had done so.

As a result, they couldn't come up with a name and just used names based on their breed.

If its owner were to name it, it would be laughed at by outsiders for the rest of its life.

"Golden Phoenix?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Chang'an narrowed his eyes and nodded with an expression of appreciation.

"It's not bad, it's exactly what I was thinking. I was originally planning to call you Erfeng or Jin Er."

Good heavens, upon hearing this name, the phoenix bird frantically flapped its wings.

It developed intelligence early on, and its learning level from human cultivators while following its master was quite high.

It was even more fortunate that it had made preparations in advance. When that greedy, stupid ox transformed into human form, it would see what kind of name its master would come up with.

Although it saw its owner's teasing look and knew that its owner was doing it on purpose, it dared not actually try it.

"Alright, now that you've successfully transformed into human form, you've truly awakened a portion of your bloodline power. Do you possess any supernatural abilities?"

Lin Chang'an was somewhat intrigued by the power of the True Spirit Bloodline described by the woman in red, and couldn't help but show a look of curiosity.

The sword attendant, while pouring tea, was also somewhat curious.

In front of its master, Jin Feng, with an arrogant expression, raised its head and began to talk about its powerful supernatural abilities.

"You've already seen my speed, Master, so I won't go into details. As for the powerful physique, recovery ability, and long lifespan that come with the True Spirit Bloodline, these are nothing compared to what I've already experienced."

"If we're talking about supernatural powers, it's naturally the golden divine flame that you've been longing for, Master."

As soon as the golden phoenix opened its mouth, a wisp of golden flame flickered and smoldered, and the temperature inside the cave rose sharply in an instant.

Even the passive defensive restrictions within the cave were activated instantly, and with a few ripples, the bookshelves, jade slips, and other items inside the cave were preserved.

However, some of the nearby flowers, grasses, and spiritual plants withered instantly, and the teacup in Lin Chang'an's hand visibly began to evaporate.

"Golden Divine Flame!"

The terrifying heat that suddenly appeared made Lin Chang'an's face light up with joy, while the sword servant beside him blushed as he stared in shock at the wisp of flame.

It was just a wisp, yet it exuded an aura of destruction.

Even with her late-stage Core Formation cultivation, she could clearly sense that anyone who touched even a trace of it would surely die.

"Okay! Okay!"

Upon witnessing the power of the golden divine flames, Lin Chang'an was overjoyed. With a broad smile, he first raised his hand and summoned a magic weapon at the Core Formation level.

As a result, under the golden divine flames, the magical artifact was visibly heated red-hot and then slowly melted.

Immediately afterwards, he raised his hand and thirty-six sun-piercing divine swords flashed out.

The next moment, the golden divine flames landed on the thirty-six sun-piercing divine swords, not only without causing any damage, but also creating a complementary effect.

With their powers complementing each other, the Sun Piercing Divine Sword emitted bursts of humming sounds, seemingly filled with joy.

"The power of this golden divine flame is no less than that of the Ice Lotus Frost Flame."

Then he raised his hand again, and the Ice Lotus Flame appeared in his palm, a lotus-shaped flame flickering continuously.

A chilling aura and the scorching heat of the golden divine flames formed a standoff, which Lin Chang'an watched with a gleam in his eyes.

"What is this? The Golden Phoenix is ​​still in its infancy and has just taken human form. As its strength grows, the Golden Divine Flame will also become a kind of growing divine flame. Its power and potential are far beyond what this cold flame with only lotus seeds in your hand can compare to."

Just then, seemingly sensing discomfort, the scroll slowly opened, and the remnant soul in red formed a hand seal to create a shield before slowly speaking.

After all, she was in a remnant soul state, so she naturally felt uncomfortable with these two flames that restrained her.

These are two completely different types of spirit flames, but the Ice Lotus Flame lacks a lotus body, resulting in a significant reduction in its power.

"Just like I told you, Jin Feng is still in her infancy. The growth of her true spirit bloodline is not so easy."

Although what the woman in red said made a lot of sense, Lin Chang'an directly revealed a stark reality.

No matter how great the potential, it ultimately lies not in the present, but in the future.

The two spiritual flames seemed evenly matched, but Jin Feng had only recently broken through and had not yet cultivated many spiritual flames within her body.

In other words, in terms of endurance and attribute advantage, Ice Lotus Frost Flame is currently superior.

"However, with the assistance of the Golden Phoenix, it will greatly help in both the restoration of the natal magic weapon, the Sun Piercing Divine Sword, and the refining of this Ice Lotus Frost Flame."

It would normally take another twenty or thirty years to fully refine this lotus seed, but now Lin Chang'an feels that with the help of the golden phoenix's golden divine flames, it could be fully refined in ten years at most.

However, at that moment, a transmission talisman suddenly flashed with spiritual light, and Lin Chang'an looked at it.

Sure enough, it was the True Lord of the Dark Moon.

"He just broke through, and now he's already sending a telepathic message. This Fellow Daoist Mingyue is really keeping a close eye on things."

After activating the communication talisman, Lin Chang'an heard the congratulations from True Lord Mingyue and the renewed mention of exploring the secret realm, which was exactly what he had expected.

However, this fellow Daoist Mingyue did not mention at all that the Phoenix Cry Bird had not contacted her for protection when it broke through, which can be considered as an unspoken wariness between the two.

After all, he couldn't possibly trust this fellow Daoist Mingyue.

The two are currently only united because of an agreement and a vow made by their inner demons.

Lin Chang'an then replied to this Mingyue Daoist, saying that the Phoenix Crying Bird had just broken through and needed to stabilize its realm for a while. He also inquired again about the specific situation of this secret realm.

Now that the Phoenix Bird has successfully broken through, the two are about to enter the next stage of their cooperation, so he naturally wants to know some details.

It is true that the Phoenix Bird needs to stabilize its realm after breaking through, but it is also true that it needs to refine the Ice Lotus Frost Flame.

Once refined, he will be able to completely control a powerful divine ability, even without the Phoenix Bird.

However, when the True Monarch of the Nether Moon replied, Lin Chang'an's expression immediately hardened. Sure enough, he knew that the Demon Abyss Forest, a secret realm that could be plotted against in this way, was definitely not simple.

"There's actually a fourth-tier demonic dragon inside this secret realm, and due to the restrictions, only cultivators at the early Nascent Soul stage can enter..."

Looking at the more detailed intelligence, Lin Chang'an's expression became serious. At this moment, he understood why the other party had been so focused on the Phoenix Bird.

The Phoenix Bird has an attribute that is superior to that of demonized monsters, possessing an absolute suppressive attribute.

"This demonic dragon is trapped in the secret realm, which means its strength must be beyond the early stage of the fourth rank, otherwise it would have come out long ago."

Legend has it that when the Demon Abyss Forest erupted, natural phenomena and spiritual veins trembled, forming many natural restrictions.

As time has passed, these natural barriers have preserved many spiritual treasures of heaven and earth.

"This is quite a problem. It's at least a mid-stage fourth-tier demonic dragon, and there might be other problems as well."

Lin Chang'an's eyes flickered, but considering his current strength, he figured that if the two of them joined forces, plus the Phoenix's attribute advantage, there wouldn't be much of a problem.

Even if there really is a problem, his original vow to his inner demons didn't say he had to risk his life.

He believed that with his own strength, and now with the Phoenix's flying speed, escaping shouldn't be too much of a problem.

After exchanging telepathic messages several times, the two reached an agreement.

"Next, I will go into seclusion to continue my cultivation. Once I refine this Ice Lotus Frost Flame, I will be able to fight against even those in the mid-Nascent Soul stage."

Lin Chang'an remained calm, realizing that strength was indeed the key.

As his strength continued to increase, he became more and more confident.

……

In the days that followed, Lin Chang'an continued his secluded cultivation while also maintaining the rhythm of occasionally healing the Ice Butterfly Fairy.

As for the rumors circulating outside about fire-type monsters transforming into human form, as time went by and the major forces found nothing in their investigations, the matter gradually faded away.

Such things do happen in the cultivation world, and some people suspect that it was done by rogue cultivators from other countries.

Only the Sima clan was tricked by the Great Qian Dynasty, and many people have their eyes on the so-called secret treasures of the Sima clan.

After all, the Great Qian Dynasty is currently eyeing them covetously, and the Sima clan is not doing well. They need the support of other forces, and which of these Nascent Soul forces isn't a wolf in sheep's clothing?

One by one, they greedily demanded the treasures of the secret realm.

After all, the reason why the Great Qian Dynasty was tricked back then was because of this secret realm. If you say that this secret realm is fake, then no one will believe it.

A secret realm that can attract the attention of the entire Great Qian Dynasty must be an ancient secret realm.

However, the Sima clan also had their own grievances. They claimed to the outside world that there were indeed some treasures in the secret realm, but they were all pills, which they had already consumed.

Otherwise, why would the Sima family have such confidence?

Some people were skeptical, while others felt that even if the Sima family's claims were false, they were not far off.

After all, the Sima clan only had two Nascent Soul cultivators at the time, but a Nascent Soul cultivator was born just a few years after the incident, so they naturally obtained the treasure.

As time goes by, the least valuable thing in the world of cultivation is time itself.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. During these ten years, apart from the Great Qian and the Sima clan, the territory of the Protectorate Alliance has been relatively stable.

During Lin Chang'an's seclusion, the Lingyou Sanren visited him again, saying that the cave ruins he had discovered last time were merely that cultivator's temporary cave dwelling.

It was obvious that they wanted Lin Chang'an to help break the restriction, and they even promised that he wouldn't have to take any risks. As long as the restriction was broken, they would pay him a generous reward in advance.

If they have found something after their exploration, we will give them another treasure.

Unfortunately, although Lin Chang'an was somewhat tempted, his immediate priorities were refining the Ice Lotus Frost Flame and fulfilling his promise to this fellow Daoist Mingyue.

However, Lingyou Sanren still made an agreement to talk about it after he came out of seclusion.

【Lifespan: 356/2073】

[Realm Level: Early Nascent Soul Stage (10/100)]

Ten years is truly a blink of an eye for a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Inside the cave, Lin Chang'an slowly opened his eyes, and as he raised his hand, a lotus flower formed from cold flames slowly appeared in his palm.

Under his control, the icy flames moved with the ease of his own hand, constantly shifting and changing shape.

"I'm not exactly weak among Nascent Soul cultivators now, no wonder that old demon Xuan Yin meticulously plotted for three hundred years just to obtain this Ice Lotus Frost Flame."

After experiencing the terrifying power of the cold flames, Lin Chang'an couldn't help but nod in approval.

Many Nascent Soul cultivators, when their cultivation stagnates or they encounter a bottleneck, will resort to cultivating a powerful divine ability to greatly increase their strength.

Only with great strength can one have the opportunity to scheme for more cultivation resources and treasures, thereby further enhancing one's strength.

Meanwhile, outside the cave, Jin Feng, who had long since stabilized her cultivation level, was excitedly cheering while hugging her spirit stones, accompanied by a woman in red.

This remnant soul and the bird seemed to get along very well, spending a long time together.

Meanwhile, the sword attendant continued to cultivate. With his powerful talent and sixty years of experience in the late stage of Core Formation, his cultivation was nearing its peak.

The Green Horned Ox outside the cave has been hiding from the Phoenix Bird these past few years, basking in the sun inside the waterfall, and its cultivation progress hasn't fallen too far behind.

Lin Chang'an couldn't help but show a satisfied expression at this scene.

"Ten years have passed, and it seems that Fellow Daoist Mingyue should have arrived as promised."

Now that his strength has greatly increased, and with the Phoenix Bird by his side, he is even more confident.

However, while all of this is as thriving as the rising sun, there has also been a less than ideal situation over the past decade.

That was Elder Cheng, the Grand Elder of the sect. His health was deteriorating day by day, and the signs of his declining health could no longer be concealed.

"Alas, even the most powerful Nascent Soul cultivators cannot escape birth, aging, sickness, and death after a thousand years."

Thinking of this, Lin Chang'an sighed softly and slowly got up. He was going out for a trip and would first go see this Senior Brother Cheng.

　Thank you all for your concern. The fever at home is just caused by overeating and indigestion, not the flu.

　　At first I thought it was the flu, but when I went to the hospital for a checkup, it turned out to be indigestion from overeating. I'm speechless.

　　[I'm having some writer's block today, only 5,000 words left. Updates will resume tomorrow. Thank you all for your support.]

　　
　
(End of this chapter)