Chapter 856: Fire Qilin Clan's Secret Land

The Black Stone Mountain Range is located in the southern part of the Fire Cloud Nation. The entire range is black, characterized by coarse, dark grey rocks visible everywhere.

Thousands of peaks, varying in size, dot the range; the largest tower thousands of meters high, while the smallest are merely over a hundred meters tall. The mountain range is intensely hot, as it was once a cluster of volcanoes. Over a thousand years ago, these volcanoes ceased erupting magma and all became dormant.

The Fire Cloud Sect, the foremost sect in the Fire Cloud Nation, established a market city on the outskirts of the Black Stone Mountain Range. This area is rich in fire spiritual energy, fostering the growth of rare spiritual herbs and housing numerous fire-attribute demonic beasts, thereby attracting many cultivators who come to hunt beasts and gather herbs.

Deep within the Black Stone Mountain Range, over fifty cultivators gathered at the base of a thousand-meter-high mountain peak. From a distance, its shape resembled a V-shaped tree fork.

The cultivators' clothing bore a river pattern, the emblem of the Profound Water Palace, the foremost sect in the Stream Nation.

Three men and one woman stood at the forefront, with the others following behind them.

A blue-robed elder with youthful features and white hair held a slightly tattered parchment scroll depicting a topographical map. A young woman in a green dress (in her early thirties), a yellow-robed elder (in his early fifties), and a large man in red robes stood on either side of him. All were Core Formation cultivators, with the blue-robed elder possessing the highest cultivation at the seventh layer of Core Formation.

A light blue water barrier enveloped them, as if they didn't want their conversation to be overheard.

Wang Rongmiao looked at his four senior sect members with a strange expression on his face.

Wang Rongmiao, a disciple of the Green Lotus Villa, had narrowly escaped a disaster in the past. Adopting the alias Wang Miao, he joined the Profound Water Palace using a Profound Water Token.

He had cultivated to the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment. According to his family's arrangements, he had kept a low profile since joining the Profound Water Palace and hadn't attracted much attention. By chance, he once rescued a fellow female cultivator and killed two cultivators of the same cultivation level.

He hadn't left any contact information. Later, the sect master sought him out, and only then did he learn that the female cultivator he saved was Sun Weiwei, the great-granddaughter of a Core Formation cultivator named Sun. He neither sought credit nor excessively courted Sun Weiwei, which ironically piqued her interest.

From then on, the sect frequently assigned him important tasks, and he gradually gained the Profound Water Palace's recognition.

Several months ago, Wang Rongmiao suddenly received an order to accompany his senior sect members on a very important mission.

"Junior Brother Wang, what are you thinking about?"

A woman's clear, bell-like voice rang in Wang Rongmiao's ear.

A young woman in a blue dress, in her twenties, walked over. She had a beautiful face and a captivating figure; it was Sun Weiwei.

"Nothing," Wang Rongmiao replied, his tone calm.

The Green Lotus Villa had been attacked, and his wife, children, and elders had all perished. His sole focus was revenge. As long as his great vengeance remained unfulfilled, he would not consider matters of personal affection.

Sun Weiwei's delicate eyebrows furrowed slightly. All other fellow disciples tried to curry favor with her and flatter her, but only Wang Miao seemed to pay her no mind. This, ironically, made Sun Weiwei more interested in him.

"Senior Brother Sun, are you certain this is the place?" the young woman in the green dress asked, her gaze showing a hint of doubt.

"Yes, this is indeed the place," the blue-robed elder affirmed, his expression growing excited. "This is a secret realm controlled by the Fire Kirin clan. The Fire Kirin clan was once among the top three demonic beast clans in the Eastern Barrens. However, ever since the Four Seasons Sword Venerable killed their Grand Elder and humanity began large-scale development of the Eastern Barrens, the Fire Kirin clan slowly declined. I scoured ancient texts to uncover this information."

"Since it's a secret realm of the Fire Kirin clan, there must be many treasures inside," the yellow-robed elder urged, sounding impatient. "Senior Brother Sun, let's quickly open the realm and retrieve them!"

"Opening the secret realm could very well cause the volcano to erupt," the blue-robed elder instructed. "Junior Brother Li, you and the other disciples are to control the Spirit Concealment Array to prevent too much commotion from attracting other Core Formation cultivators. Junior Sister Chen, Junior Brother Yang, and I will attack the realm entrance. We don't have a specific magic treasure, so we'll have to use brute force to break open an opening." For this treasure hunt, most of the Profound Water Palace's elites had come.

The yellow-robed elder nodded, then took out hundreds of blue formation flags and disks, distributing them to his disciples, instructing them to cooperate with him to control the formation.

Soon, a large expanse of blue mist emerged from the ground, enveloping the entire mountain peak.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, the ground suddenly shook violently. Wang Rongmiao's heart jumped, and he looked towards a nearby cave.

*Boom!*

A deafening roar resounded as a thick stream of crimson magma burst through the mountaintop, soaring straight into the sky. The formation disk in Wang Rongmiao's hand shattered.

The nearby temperature rose abruptly, and the ground became hot to the touch.

Large quantities of magma splashed everywhere. Where it landed on the ground, fierce flames immediately ignited. When it splashed onto the Profound Water Palace disciples, they screamed, fell, and their bodies were engulfed in roaring flames, leaving nothing but ash.

Wang Rongmiao reacted swiftly. He immediately conjured a shimmering blue command flag, which transformed into a thick blue water barrier, protecting his entire body.

This Profound Water Banner was a top-grade defensive magic artifact that Wang Rongmiao had acquired from his family's treasury, and it had saved his life multiple times.

That wasn't all. He slapped three second-tier defensive talismans onto himself, adding several layers of light barriers around him.

The crimson magma splashed onto the light barriers, piercing through several layers in quick succession. Fortunately, it was blocked by the final blue water barrier.

The dormant volcano had suddenly erupted, resulting in significant casualties among the Profound Water Palace disciples.

Two somewhat disheveled figures rushed out of the cave; one Core Formation cultivator was missing.

"Senior Brother Sun, what happened? Didn't you set up a defensive formation?" the yellow-robed elder asked with a frown, realizing that had he not protected his disciples, they might have all perished.

"The restrictions were too powerful; the defensive formation was instantly broken by the magma," the blue-robed elder explained. "Junior Sister Chen unfortunately perished. Fortunately, we managed to open a breach. Let's go in quickly! We opened this breach by brute force, and it won't last long. We also don't know how many days we can stay inside."

The blue-robed elder explained briefly, then looked at Wang Rongmiao and the others and instructed: "All disciples, heed my command! Follow me into the secret realm to seek treasures. This is an unknown realm, so proceed with caution. We don't know how long the realm will remain open, so gather as many spiritual items as you can!"

"Yes, Senior Uncle Sun."

Wang Rongmiao and the others followed the blue-robed elder into the cave. Above a ten-meter-wide underground fire pool, a red light gate, several meters across, hovered. A rich surge of fire spiritual energy poured out from within.

"Hurry in, and proceed with caution."

The Foundation Establishment cultivators flew into the red light gate one after another, with the three Core Formation cultivators following close behind.

The anomaly here attracted the attention of other cultivators.

Dozens of kilometers away, Wang Ruyan stood on a blue flying boat. Several Wang family disciples, including Wang Tianqi, stood behind her.

"Great-grandmother, look there!" Wang Tianqi exclaimed, pointing towards the distance. "It looks like a rare treasure has appeared, or perhaps an unknown secret realm."

Looking in the direction she pointed, a massive crimson light could be seen.

"Since we've encountered it, let's go take a look." Wang Ruyan nodded. With a hand seal, the blue flying boat glowed brightly and accelerated.