"Him? Master, is someone inside?"
"You'll see when you get there."
After sending two disciples to run the dungeon, Lu Xuan made some preparations himself and then set off.
This time, Lu Xuan went directly to the location of the Incense Valley sect in Southern Xinjiang.
Even at Lu Xuan's speed, it took him more than ten days to reach the Hundred Thousand Mountains in the southern border region of this world.
He didn't go directly to Incense Valley, but instead wandered around the southern border region. However, he didn't find anything. There was no way around it; the terrain there was simply too complex. The Ten Thousand Mountains truly lived up to their name.
After getting a general idea of his surroundings, Lu Xuan entered the Incense Burning Valley. With his cultivation level, as long as he didn't expose himself, no one in the valley could detect him. Therefore, Lu Xuan easily entered the deepest part of the valley, where eight large characters appeared before him.
This is a sacred place of Xuanhuo; disciples are to stop here.
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Chapter 444 Eight Fierce Profound Fire Formation
The Xuanhuo Altar was a place Lu Xuan had wanted to visit for a long time. However, he had been busy preparing for the sect's establishment and dealing with various other matters, and had never had the time. This time, he finally managed to find some free time to come here.
As a crucial location within the Incense Burning Valley, the Xuanhuo Altar was naturally protected by numerous arrays. However, to Lu Xuan, these arrays were simply too crude. After all, the witchcraft of this world was known for its ancient and grand style, not for its elaborate or intricate spells. Although the Incense Burning Valley had made significant improvements, Lu Xuan still found them insufficient.
Lu Xuan easily bypassed the various magical traps and entered the depths of the Xuanhuo Altar. Then Lu Xuan understood why the outer defenses of this Xuanhuo Altar were so weak. Because the real defense system was located here.
Inside was an enormous hall, five zhang high, circular in shape. The walls, like those outside, were made of reddish-brown rock, devoid of any carvings or decorations, simple and unadorned. Yet, against the backdrop of this vast space, it possessed an indescribable grandeur and majesty. Lu Xuan's first impression upon seeing this place was that it was somewhat out of place compared to the surrounding architecture.
The red light emanating from the entire hall originated from its center. The closer one got to the center, the brighter the surroundings became, and from a distance, under the red light, the hall appeared as if a blazing flame was burning.
Beneath his feet lay a dense array of stones, covered with finger-thick engravings that stretched out to both sides. The stones were winding and uneven. A foot in front of Lu Xuan, similar finger-thick engravings crisscrossed the hard, reddish stone, forming a pattern about a foot in size.
That's a deity! It looks like some kind of unknown, primordial pantheon.
The deity's head was bald, but had slightly curved horns like ram's horns. Its face and features were similar to a human's, except that beneath its sinister, empty eye sockets were clearly sharp fangs. The sculptor even carved several tiny holes next to the fangs, like dripping blood, adding to its ferocity and grotesque appearance.
Lu Xuan had long noticed that all the worship in this world featured this fierce and menacing image. Even some righteous totems bore this style. This was very close to his deduction: the cultivation world of this world was in a state of barbarism.
But in Lu Xuan's view, the carvings on the ground were far more than that. Those ancient and desolate engravings intertwined and spread, gradually transforming from a rough and grand style into an angry and unrestrained one. A kind of utter madness surged up from these engravings.
The gentle engravings instantly intensified, cascading down the torso and merging with the lower body of the ferocious deity, transforming into a raging flame. A red light flickered and shone, and a sinister smile seemed to creep onto the deity's lips, as if it were about to burst forth from the earth in a resurrection!
This is no ordinary carving; rather, it embodies the divine will of the sculptor and can be considered a natural formation.
The carvings continued along the ground, and Lu Xuan followed them. He gradually discovered a second statue, then a third. Finally, after circling the central red flame, he found a total of eight divine images carved on the ground. No two were alike, but all were depictions of fierce gods.
In these images, humans are depicted as mere sacrifices to these deities, like food. They are torn apart by the ferocious gods, their heads, hearts, livers, spleens, and lungs carried away. The entire hall is now filled with a chilling atmosphere, as if some malevolent force is growling in the shadows with the discovery of these images.
Beyond these ferocious images, a marking encircles them all. However, it's not a complete circle; it sometimes curves inward, sometimes tumbles outward. Undoubtedly, all these patterns combined constitute the legendary Eight Fiends Mystic Fire Array.
This formation system is completely different from those of Taoism and Buddhism. It is an ancient formation that incorporates totems, primitive worship, and other elements. Even before the formation was activated, Lu Xuan could already feel its terrifying, primal power.
Lu Xuan, who was inside, could even feel his blood inexplicably boiling. He felt an urge to unleash the full power to destroy the wormhole.
Suppressing the strange urge, Lu Xuan walked to the very center of the main hall. This was the source of the red light in the hall.
A structure resembling a stone well, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, appeared in the center of the main hall. It was three feet high and no more than two feet in diameter, and like the stones on the ground, it was constructed of that reddish-brown rock.
But on the smooth well surface, there was a crystal-clear, white, transparent stone. It appeared to be round at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it was discovered to have countless facets of varying sizes. A dazzling light flowed and covered it.
The red light continuously shooting from the well, after passing through this crystal-like strange stone, was refracted layer by layer, making it seem as if there were strands of blood flowing within it. These rays of light condensed into a red ball of light three feet above the strange stone, which was the flame that Gui Li had seen from afar, resembling a burning flame, and the source of light for the entire hall was from here.
Slowly approaching the well, nearing the seemingly transparent, dazzling rock, I looked down. Below, scorching magma surged and roared. Like a raging ocean tide, it surged and receded endlessly, splashing lava against the hard rock walls with a hissing sound.
This Xuanhuo Altar was actually built on top of a volcano that looked like it was about to erupt.
However, just as Lu Xuan was about to investigate further, a violent surge of spiritual energy came from behind him.
Lu Xuan turned around abruptly and saw that the carvings of fierce gods on the ground were lighting up one after another. The crooked stone carving on the outer edge was also flashing an eerie red light.
All these rays of light formed a gigantic flame totem, enveloping all the malevolent spirits. The surrounding spiritual energy surged rapidly, even forming a gale. As the gale grew stronger, the totem's light shone even brighter.
The hideous, ferocious gods seemed to have come back to life, laughing wildly within the enormous, flame-shaped, blood-red halo. At this moment, the darkness in the hall had been completely dispelled, and every corner was illuminated by this dazzling halo.
Laughter, cries, screams—a variety of eerie sounds seeped into Lu Xuan's brain, causing him a strange sense of unease.
He silently recited some Taoist calming mantras to suppress his agitation. At this moment, the red light had reached its peak. Endless red light shot into the sky, illuminating the top of the hall.
Under Lu Xuan's gaze, a colossal creature emerged from the red light.
Its enormous body is several meters tall, with four thick legs and extremely sharp claws at the ends.
Above its enormous head was a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth, and its large eyes were almost invisible, replaced by two burning flames. Moreover, the surface of this beast's massive body was covered with blazing, intense fire, as if the flames were an integral part of its body.
Lu Xuan recognized it as one of those fierce gods carved underground, which you thought were even more so.
The Eight Fierce Mystic Fire Formation!!!
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Chapter 445 The Mutation of the True Fire of the Sun
This scene was different from what Lu Xuan had imagined. The Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation? Shouldn't there be eight? But with such a huge commotion, only one appeared in the end?
Legend has it that the Incense Valley's mastery of the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation was incomplete, and now Lu Xuan is certain this is true. After all, the final result of this imposing formation was rather disappointing.