The records from Tiannan regarding the origins of Fallen Demon Valley are quite vague. They can only vaguely recall that a great battle seemed to have taken place here, ultimately destroying the entire space of Fallen Demon Valley, filling it with countless spatial rifts, and turning it into a notorious and dangerous place.
Ancient cultivators sealed off the entire Fallen Demon Valley to prevent anyone from accidentally entering. However, according to the information Lu Xuan knew, the restriction was probably not to prevent accidental entry, but rather to seal the ancient demon within. But as the saying goes, even if those cultivators knew there was an ancient demon inside, they would still enter. It was probably only when that ancient demon appeared and slaughtered a dozen or so Nascent Soul stage cultivators like chickens that those people truly felt a trace of regret.
There's nothing we can do; this is the world of mortals. The cultivation world is cold, selfish, and ruthless to the extreme.
Upon hearing the news of the Fallen Demon Valley, Lu Xuan immediately emerged from seclusion. By this time, nearly two hundred years had passed since the three had gone into seclusion.
Over the course of these two hundred years, Lu Xuan not only perfected the puppetry techniques of the Great Evolution Divine Lord, but also spent enormous resources to create over a dozen Nascent Soul stage puppets. He also completed the cultivation of the Iron Fire Ants.
This thing had been in his hands for nearly three hundred years. Lu Xuan used the secret method of the Beast God to cultivate it for three hundred years. Finally, he successfully gave birth to a queen ant from the Iron Fire Ant.
Lu Xuan guessed that the reason this thing couldn't produce a queen ant before was because someone used some kind of supernatural power to castrate some of its abilities. The queen ant that was reborn later was essentially a product of the iron fire ants' re-mutation and evolution. It was no longer a species at all compared to the original iron fire ants.
In a specialized breeding garden, hundreds of millions of fire ants were swarming around Lu Xuan. Countless fire ants floated in the sky, forming a dense black cloud.
The next second, the dark clouds suddenly swooped down, transforming into various weapon shapes in mid-air. Swords, spears, throwing knives, even flying needles... all these magical treasures gleamed with a strong metallic aura. They didn't reach the level of top-tier magical treasures, but their sheer number made up for it.
In the blink of an eye, thousands of magical treasures rained down upon them. For most cultivators, this was a nightmarish attack.
The endless black clouds contracted again in the sky, covering Lu Xuan. They swiftly transformed into a black and red armor. The armor's defensive capabilities were sufficient to withstand attacks from mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators. However, it wouldn't be enough to withstand attacks from late-stage cultivators. But this armor had one major advantage: powerful endurance.
Even if it's breached, the remaining fire ants can quickly replace it. As long as the fire ants aren't all dead, the armor won't be truly broken. Furthermore, the armor also possesses the ability to freely change its form. Any part can suddenly transform into an offensive weapon, somewhat like Iron Man's nanotech suit. Under Lu Xuan's targeted training, the various abilities of these fire ants are extremely well-developed.
Lu Xuan controlled the fire ants by signing a contract with the queen. However, the queen's intelligence wasn't high. This was a result of Lu Xuan's special control. After all, a queen with too high intelligence wouldn't be a good thing.
The advantage of this method is that these fire ants are virtually immune to betrayal. The disadvantage is that controlling them requires a significant amount of divine power. Only cultivators with exceptionally strong divine power, such as Lu Xuan or Han Laomo, can precisely control them.
It seems that Han Laomo's Gold-Devouring Insects also required a large amount of divine power in their later stages. I wonder if there's any connection between them.
Besides the puppets and the Gold-Eating Insects, Lu Xuan was accompanied on this expedition by Hongxiu, Xin Ruyin, and Xiao Hui. Hongxiu and Xin Ruyin, needless to say, are masters of formations. Entering a place like the Fallen Demon Valley requires the help of such professionals. As for Xiao Hui, thanks to Lu Xuan's tireless feeding with various rare and precious materials, the little monkey finally advanced again, reaching the level of a tenth-level demon beast.
It still shows no sign of taking human form. However, its consciousness has been fully awakened, and it is no different from a normal human being.
With this, Lu Xuan, Han Laomo, and Xiao Hui—three late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators—plus the array support from Hongxiu and Xin Ruyin, Lu Xuan's twelve hidden puppets, and Han Laomo's puppets, their combined strength was enough to sweep across Tiannan. This trip to the Fallen Demon Valley was, on the surface, a crushing victory.
Even if both ancient demons of Fallen Demon Valley (whose souls and bodies had split into two) were to be resurrected, Lu Xuan was confident he could crush them both again. However, the ancient demons' physical bodies were one of Lu Xuan's targets, so he would try his best not to harm them.
Lu Xuan's main objective upon entering the Fallen Demon Valley was the Spirit Garden. This was a legendary ancient cave dwelling. As a site of ancient warfare, the Spirit Garden in the Fallen Demon Valley was likely torn apart and absorbed into a spatial rift.
In the original novel, Han Laomo once entered a fragment of the Spirit Garden. It was filled with spiritual herbs over 100,000 years old. Even Han Laomo, a character known for his drug-fueled overpowered abilities, was stunned. He ended up advancing to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm in just over twenty years. His emergence shocked the entire cultivation world.
Now, Old Demon Han has advanced to the mid-Nascent Soul stage. His strength is no weaker than in the original story. After all, most of the various cultivation techniques and secret arts collected by Lu Xuan were made available to him. Old Demon Han, who has always been a lone wolf, has never received such treatment before. In recent years, besides advancing to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, he has also cultivated many supernatural abilities and secret arts that he has taken a liking to. His combat power is far beyond that of ordinary cultivators.
The Great Evolution Divine Lord had originally intended to accompany the group to the Fallen Demon Valley. However, he ultimately couldn't go. He was currently at a crucial moment in his advancement to the Nascent Soul stage. After the possession, he needed to resume his cultivation. Therefore, he simply couldn't leave seclusion.
However, just as everyone was ready to head to Tiannan for the Fallen Demon Valley, Hongxiu suddenly raised her hand and stopped them.
"Wait a minute." Even without her saying it, Lu Xuan could tell. The teleportation array seemed to be malfunctioning.
As a master of formations, Hongxiu was always responsible for the ancient teleportation array leading to Tiannan. Therefore, she immediately noticed something was wrong. After activating the teleportation array and observing it for a while, she spoke.
"There's something wrong with the teleportation array. Someone might have tampered with it."
"Heh, looks like someone doesn't want us to go back."
"There are heavy guards on the other side of the teleportation array. Logically, this shouldn't be the case."
"Hmph, anyone who dares to tamper with the Hidden Immortal Sect can't possibly succeed. There are only three great cultivators in Tiannan. With the opening of the Fallen Demon Valley this time, all the major sects are prepared. It seems they want to eliminate one of their rivals in advance."
Han Laomo, who was standing to the side, witnessed this scene, but his face remained expressionless. Over the years, he had come to know this Sect Master Lu far too well. Such a small problem could not possibly stump him.
"Let's go, this road is blocked, let's find another way."
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Chapter 534 Spatial Rift
Over the years, Hongxiu and Xin Ruyin have long since completely cracked that ancient teleportation array. At the same time, according to Lu Xuan's instructions, teleportation points were set up in the Chaotic Star Sea, Tiannan, and even further into the Great Jin Dynasty.
Because the power of Lu Xuan's Hidden Immortal Sect had already begun to circulate in Tiannan, the sects there probably didn't want them involved in this expedition to Fallen Demon Valley. After all, the competition was already fierce. The Mulan people had shamelessly interfered. Add to that Lu Xuan, a powerful cultivator whose background was unknown, and the Hidden Immortal Sect had become their biggest obstacle to entering Fallen Demon Valley. Therefore, someone resorted to some underhanded tactics to delay Lu Xuan and his group.
The other party didn't actually intend to kill. It's unrealistic; if the teleportation array were modified too much, it would be easily detected. Therefore, they only slightly altered some minor details to cause a slight deviation in the teleportation.
A slight deviation in the teleportation array could translate to a difference of millions of kilometers in reality. The round trip could potentially delay Lu Xuan and his group for several years, by which time the Fallen Demon Valley would likely already be closed.
“Life without rivals can be quite boring. Since someone has come to challenge us, we can’t be rude. Hongyu, gather some of your elite disciples and have them come over to prepare. Perhaps it’s time for us to announce our presence to Tiannan.”
Lu Xuan ignored the rest and returned to Tiannan via the portal. He then quickly headed towards the Fallen Demon Valley.
At this time, over a hundred cultivators had gathered in the Fallen Demon Valley. Of course, the lowest cultivation level among them was the Golden Core stage. Those below the Golden Core stage were directly stopped outside by disciples of major sects. Without a sect's guidance, they couldn't even approach the entrance.
Cultivation is all about acquiring resources. The Fallen Demon Valley is filled with countless treasures, and over the thousands of years, thousands of cultivators have perished there, including many once-renowned masters. Therefore, although dangerous, it is also incredibly alluring.
Among the cultivators outside the valley, the people from the Ghost Spirit Sect stood out the most. A group of disciples were busily setting up a large formation. After watching intently for a while, Hongxiu came to Lu Xuan and said...
"Master, this should be a teleportation array. It also has a certain effect of stabilizing spatial rifts. It seems that the Ghost Spirit Sect is setting up a one-way teleportation array."
"I heard that several years ago, the Ghost Spirit Sect started selling something called the Fallen Demon Token. It seems they were planning to charge admission here and make a quick buck. Oh, right. It's not just about making a quick buck. Their grand formation has sealed off the largest spatial rift. That's equivalent to controlling the best passage into Fallen Demon Valley. For a mere Ghost Spirit Sect to act so blatantly, it seems they've found a powerful backer."
Lu Xuan had barely finished speaking when dozens of streaks of light flew in from not far away. One of the two at the very front was someone Lu Xuan recognized—it was Wei Wuyai, one of the three great cultivators of Tiannan. Behind him were more than a dozen disciples of the Huayi Sect.
The other one, whom I hadn't seen before, was no less powerful than Wei Wuyai, but was surrounded by an evil aura; I'd guess he was the Old Demon of the Hehuan Sect. Those following behind him were naturally from the Hehuan Sect. As for the other of the three great cultivators, the Supreme Yang Master, he was not present at the scene.
As soon as the Old Demon of Hehuan arrived, he immediately sided with the Ghost Spirit Sect. It seemed he was the Ghost Spirit Sect's backer. It was unclear what price the Ghost Spirit Sect had paid to get the Old Demon of Hehuan to support them. As for Wei Wuyai, his position was somewhat peculiar. He wasn't particularly close to the Ghost Spirit Sect, but at the same time, he avoided other sects. Clearly, he had also received benefits, albeit unwillingly. But he remained on the Ghost Spirit Sect's side.
"Heh, no wonder the Ghost Spirit Sect is so bold, blatantly blocking the entrance and charging money. It turns out the three great cultivators managed to win over two of them at once."