Chapter 523: The root of thunder of heaven and earth, Lu Chensha!

“Evil-warding Golden Lightning? Is this a heaven and earth spiritual plant?”

Lu Changsheng’s brow slightly raised upon seeing this reward.

There are many natural spiritual objects between heaven and earth.

Heaven and earth spiritual fire, heaven and earth spiritual plant, essence of water spirit, spirit of earth veins.

And the Origin seed formed by lightning is called the Heaven and Earth Thunder Root.

Its effect is similar to the Thunder Astral Flame and Burning Heart Flame he previously drew.

All of them, through fortuitous opportunities and the creation of heaven and earth, nurtured a bit of spirituality and then formed an Origin Thunder Seed.

If one Cultivates a lightning-attribute Cultivation Technique and refines a Thunder Root, it can transform into their own Thunder Spell, greatly increasing the power of their lightning Dao Spells and Divine Abilities.

However, compared to heaven and earth spiritual fire, lightning is even more violent and overbearing, making it difficult to control.

For Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire, due to professions like Alchemists and Artifact Refiners, many people study fire control methods, thinking about how to subdue and refine them.

But lightning is much rarer.

Not only are Heaven and Earth Thunder Roots more rare, but they are also more difficult to control and refine.

Lu Changsheng’s mind stirred slightly, and he looked at the details of this Evil-warding Golden Lightning.

[Thunder Seed: Evil-warding Golden Lightning]

[Quality: Third Grade]

[Description: A ten-thousand-year-old Golden Thunder Bamboo, under the bombardment of heavenly lightning, gave birth to a bit of spirituality, forming an Origin Thunder Root. Its attribute is yang and overbearing, with the effect of expelling demons and warding off evil. It has a certain restraining effect on Demonic Path and Ghost Dao.]

“Restraining effect on Demonic Path and Ghost Dao?”

Lu Changsheng immediately thought of the Yinming Ghost Sect in Jin Country.

However, for the short term, he had no intention of seeking trouble with the Yinming Ghost Sect.

Unless he Breakthroughs to the Nascent Soul Stage, at most he could only deter the Yinming Ghost Sect.

After all, with the protection of a Fourth Grade grand array, even if he Breakthroughs to Core Formation Late Stage, or even Core Formation Peak, he still wouldn’t be able to do anything to the Yinming Ghost Sect.

“This kind of Heaven and Earth Thunder Root is extremely violent, and even ordinary Core Formation cultivators find it difficult to refine.”

“Although Lu has someone who Cultivates lightning Dao Cultivation Techniques, they cannot refine this Third Grade Thunder Seed.”

Lu Changsheng secretly mused, planning to refine this Evil-warding Golden Lightning himself later.

On one hand, no one in Lu could use it.

On the other hand, he also knew from the Lei Gang Dragon Flame that even without Cultivating fire or lightning Spells, for pure Body Cultivator close combat, the attack effects boosted by such Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire and lightning are quite good.

Currently, the effect brought by Lei Gang Dragon Flame is only average.

If he refines another lightning Origin, it could further enhance his close combat effectiveness.

Moreover, his own Lei Gang Dragon Flame was already supremely yang and rigid, possessing lightning Dao attributes.

If he were to refine this Evil-warding Golden Lightning again, perhaps the two could merge, doubling their power.

Even if the effect isn’t ideal, when he no longer needs them in the future, the Thunder Astral Flame and Evil-warding Golden Lightning can still be stripped out and kept in Lu as a foundation.

Purple Nether Secret Realm.

A somewhat damp forest filled with a decaying scent.

Lu Qingyan opened her eyes, instantly clutched a Talisman in her palm, and cautiously surveyed her surroundings.

Only after confirming there was no one did she let out a soft breath and take out a map from her Storage Pouch.

Although her Family didn’t have much experience with the Purple Nether Secret Realm.

Her father had prepared a detailed information file on the Purple Nether Secret Realm for all of them.

It recorded several landmark locations and sceneries within the Purple Nether Secret Realm.

It also indicated which places had what kind of Spirit Medicine and where was relatively dangerous, all in great detail.

Lu Qingyan compared the map with the scenery before her, roughly ascertained her location, and then took out her Family identity jade token, injecting Spiritual Qi into it.

Instantly, a faint Qi pull told her that there was a Lu Family Disciple in a distant direction.

She didn’t rush to go there, quietly waiting for the other few to activate their tokens.

About a quarter of an hour passed, and a total of four Qi pulls were sensed remotely.

“How is one missing?”

Lu Qingyan frowned slightly.

The six of them had already agreed.

To activate their tokens immediately upon entering the Secret Realm.

Then gather at the Spirit Spring Pool in the Secret Realm’s center.

If two people’s locations were close, they would meet up nearby.

How could one person still be missing after a quarter of an hour?

“Could they have been teleported to a dangerous location?”

Lu Qingyan, clad in silver armor and wielding a silver spear, was beautiful and valiant.

The Purple Nether Secret Realm involved random teleportation.

Some were directly teleported to the core area, where Spiritual Plants and Spirit Medicines were abundant.

Others landed directly in a group of Yao Beasts, or even were sent to a desolate place.

Although such a probability was very small, it couldn’t be ruled out.

“It’s also possible that the location is too remote, or some place where it cannot be sensed.”

She pondered for a moment, then quickly walked towards the Spirit Spring Pool.

However, during this process, she remained extremely vigilant and cautious, lest someone ambush her along the way.

Because there was a group of people in the Purple Nether Secret Realm who gave up entering the central area and instead formed teams in the outer regions to hunt Cultivators.

In a valley.

“Damn it!”

Lu Yunfei’s body was enveloped in a golden light shield, his face extremely grim.

He hadn’t expected to be teleported to a valley surrounded by wolves right after entering the Secret Realm.

Although these Blood Shadow Wolves were all First Grade Yao Beasts, there were too many of them.

If it weren’t for the Second Grade Golden Light Talisman, he would have almost died just now.

“If this continues, I won’t be able to break through.”

“Once the Golden Light Talisman’s energy is exhausted, I’ll be in danger again, and I’ll have to use the ‘Substitute Talisman’.”

Lu Yunfei knew that he couldn’t break the encirclement with his own strength.

The only way was to use the Substitute Talisman his father had given him.

However, each Lu Family Disciple only had one Substitute Talisman.

It was a true life-saving Spirit Talisman.

To use it so soon after entering the Secret Realm made him feel very unwilling.

Moreover, the Substitute Talisman teleported randomly, and he was somewhat worried that he might be teleported to another dangerous place.

“Roar—”

Just as he was thinking of a way to break through, he suddenly heard a deafening roar.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—”

A strong wind swept through the cliff, and a strong, foul-smelling gust of wind surged towards Lu Yunfei.

He looked up and saw a massive blood-colored Wolf King appear on the cliff at some unknown time.

The Wolf King let out a low growl, its entire body enveloped in a blood-red glow, like burning blood flames, as it pounced towards him, exuding terrifying power.

“Not good!”

Lu Yunfei’s hair stood on end, and his scalp tingled.

He had felt something was off just now; this wolf pack didn’t have a Second Grade Wolf King.

He hadn’t expected that the Wolf King wasn’t here.

He quickly formed a hand seal, and a wall of earth formed before him.

But the other blood wolves nearby also instantly roared and charged.

“Roar, roar, roar—”

The wolves swarmed, and the blood-colored Wolf King unleashed a blood-colored Qi stream, striking him with the force of a mountain, intimidating and soul-stirring.

“Bang!”

Lu Yunfei was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, his Qi and blood churning.

The golden light shield on his body instantly dimmed considerably, almost dissipating.

However, under the biting of the other blood wolves, the light shield began to crack and shatter.

“Damn it!”

Lu Yunfei knew he couldn’t hesitate any longer.

If the Golden Light Talisman shattered and he was severely injured before using the Substitute Talisman, the situation would be even more dangerous.

“Buzz—”

The ‘Substitute Talisman’ between his eyebrows instantly ignited, unleashing a mysterious power that enveloped his entire body.

Then, like a streak of rainbow light, he shot out, leaving behind a wooden-faced Puppet that was torn to shreds by the wolves.

Lu Chensha sat cross-legged on a pitch-black, shiny centipede with many legs and a ferocious appearance, cautiously observing his surroundings.

If one looked closely, they could see tiny black flames flickering on the centipede’s abdomen.

Riding a Thousand-legged Centipede like this, while somewhat flamboyant,

was the safest for Lu Chensha.

On one hand, a First Grade Peak Thousand-legged Centipede could provide a certain deterrent to others.

On the other hand, Yao Beasts like the Thousand-legged Centipede have extremely keen spiritual senses, far surpassing Cultivators of the same Grade.

If there was any movement or fighting in the distance, it could be alerted immediately, avoiding the danger of ambush.

However, doing so naturally had its drawbacks.

Cultivators seeing Lu Chensha, adorned with Magical Artifacts and riding a Thousand-legged Centipede, would find him troublesome and not consider him prey.

But for Yao Beasts, the aura of a Thousand-legged Centipede was a provocation, and they wouldn’t care so much.

Not long after.

“Hoo, hoo, hoo—”

Heavy breathing and footsteps came from the nearby forest.

Lu Chensha’s expression tightened as he saw a pitch-black wild boar, like a small mountain, charging towards him.

Its eyes were blood-red, its tusks sharp, its fur like steel needles, and wisps of Demonic Qi emanated from its body, exuding a terrifying aura.

This was a First Grade Peak Yao Beast.

It was probably only half a step away from advancing to Second Grade.

Facing this wild boar Yao Beast, Lu Chensha’s expression was vigilant, and he lightly raised his palm.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz—”

Below the Thousand-legged Centipede’s abdomen, the flickering black dots of fire suddenly swarmed towards the wild boar, forming tiny black ant-like insects with wings.

These black ant-like insects, like a sharp blade, directly entered the wild boar Yao Beast’s blood-red pupils, causing it to shriek and its pupils to bleed.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss—”

At the same time, the Thousand-legged Centipede raised its body, and dark poisonous mist spewed from its ferocious centipede mouth.

“Roar, roar, roar—”

The wild boar roared in pain, trying to escape.

But the black ant-like insects clinging to its body held it tightly, causing its black-furred body to gradually char.

Lu Chensha stood on the Thousand-legged Centipede, observing the surroundings through the Huishen Insect, and then maintained his distance while pursuing.

The wild boar seemed to know it couldn’t escape, and it charged at Lu Chensha like a mad beast.

However, after circling with the Thousand-legged Centipede for a moment, its massive body collapsed with a crash, charred and covered in blood.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss—”

The black ant-like insects wrapped around it immediately devoured the wild boar’s flesh and blood frantically, causing its life aura to weaken, eventually leading to its complete death.

Lu Chensha calmly watched the scene before him.

He already knew the strength of the Iron Fire Ants.

That’s why when his elder brother Lu Ping’an took them on training expeditions, he never allowed him to use the Iron Fire Ants.

“Once I Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, I can Cultivate and control more Iron Fire Ants. By then…”

Lu Chensha became more and more excited for the Purple Nether Secret Realm to end and for him to Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment.

Currently, his Divine Sense could control eight hundred Iron Fire Ants, which was already his limit.

But if he Breakthroughs to Foundation Establishment, the number he can control could multiply several times!

Eight hundred Iron Fire Ants were like a black fire cloud!

Eight thousand Iron Fire Ants would be a sky-obscuring fire cloud!

If it was eighty thousand Iron Fire Ants… he would be an army of one.

“However, to control tens of thousands of Iron Fire Ants, I’m afraid I’ll need to Breakthrough to Core Formation.”

Lu Chensha chuckled to himself, suppressing the thoughts in his mind.

After the Iron Fire Ants had devoured a small portion of the wild boar Yao Beast, he took out a boning knife and went forward to butcher all of the wild boar’s flesh and blood, then put it into his Insect Nest Pouch.

The reason his Iron Fire Ants grew and multiplied so quickly was inseparable from the Insect Nest Pouch.

Not only is it suitable for Iron Fire Ants to reproduce and survive, but if Yao Beast flesh and blood are placed inside, it will automatically transform into flesh and blood insect pills.

After finishing everything, the Iron Fire Ants immediately hid like grains of sand in the abdomen of the Thousand-legged Centipede, and then Lu Chensha rode the Thousand-legged Centipede forward to meet up with the others.

“Bihu Mountain boy, today you’re unlucky to meet us!”

A young man nearly two meters tall and a cold, beautiful woman of about twenty-five or twenty-six years old looked at Lu Qingze and sneered.

As they spoke, they directly conjured Magical Artifacts and attacked him.

Knowing that the two in front of him were from the Xuanwu Ridge Sima Family and their strength would not be inferior to his own, Lu Qingze did not linger in battle. He immediately took out a High Grade Tier 1 Divine Wind Talisman from his embrace, activated it, and turned to flee.

When they entered the Secret Realm, in addition to the Talismans, Magical Artifacts, and Puppets given by the Family, they also prepared some methods themselves.

For Lu Family Disciples like them, it was very convenient to purchase Talismans on a daily basis, so they would generally prepare a few extra Talismans for self-defense.

“Hmph, trying to run!”

The two Sima Family Cultivators immediately gave chase, unwilling to let Lu Qingze go.

This time, their Sima Family had directly ordered that if they saw a Bihu Mountain Lu Family Cultivator, they were to kill them without mercy.

For each person killed, they would be rewarded with a Foundation Establishment spiritual item!

If two people were killed, they would have priority in obtaining a Foundation Establishment Pill!

With such conditions, how could they be willing to let him go?

Several days later.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz–”

Seeing the Iron Fire Ants kill the two Cultivators, Lu Chensha then rode the Thousand-legged Centipede forward, using his Huishen Insect to sense the surrounding situation and check if there were any more ambushes.

After confirming that the danger was cleared, he went forward to clean up the two people’s bodies and Storage Pouches.

“No wonder there’s always been the saying ‘murder and arson make a golden belt’; just these two people yielded thousands of Spirit Stones…”

“If I were to follow my regular income and the income from raising Spirit Beasts, it would probably take me ten years to earn this many Spirit Stones.”

Lu Chensha looked at the Storage Pouch in his hand, feeling a bit emotional.

Bihu Mountain had monthly resource allowances, so they weren’t really short of Spirit Stones.

But not being short didn’t mean they’d dislike having more money.

Looking at the usual Family missions, or being busy outside, one could at most earn a thousand Spirit Stones a year.

But in the Secret Realm, killing two Cultivators could yield thousands of Spirit Stones, which still made him feel a bit emotional.

“The ambush they set up earlier, it’s a good thing I had the Thousand-legged Centipede and Huishen Insect, otherwise, it would have been dangerous.”

“However, their method is quite suitable for me.”

“I could completely imitate them, enticing people with Spirit Medicine, or disguising their corpses as if they were gnawed by Yao Beasts, making it look like a mutual destruction, leaving behind Storage Pouches, and then having the Iron Fire Ants hide within the corpses.”

“As long as someone greedily approaches, I can directly command the Iron Fire Ants to attack.”

“Most Qi Refining Cultivators wouldn’t even be able to react.”

Lu Chensha reviewed the recent situation, and a thought suddenly arose in his mind.

He felt that if he did this, he could completely make a fortune.

But as soon as the thought emerged, he startled himself.

This was his first time killing someone.

Perhaps it was because the Iron Fire Ants did all the work, so he didn’t feel anything.

It was just like killing a Yao Beast before.

But this kind of disregard for human life and the idea of the strong preying on the weak still surprised him.

Neither his previous personality nor Bihu Mountain’s teachings to them were so indifferent to life or so reckless.

“One who often walks by the river is bound to get their shoes wet. Many people choose to become Rogue Cultivators or Demonic Path Cultivators because they’ve tasted a bit of sweetness.”

“If I do this, I might encounter some powerful individual; it’s better to rendezvous first.”

Lu Chensha discarded this thought, tidied himself up, and continued forward.

But the thought he just had, his first time killing, still made him feel much more indifferent to life.

His mind also subtly underwent some changes.

About half a day later, Lu Chensha met up with Lu Qingyan and Lu Qingze.

Both of them bore traces of battle.

Especially Lu Qingze, his face was somewhat pale, not only having consumed a great deal of energy but also having sustained considerable injuries.

Lu Chensha, on the other hand, sat on the Thousand-legged Centipede, his clothes clean and tidy, without even a single wrinkle.

“Sima Family.”

Lu Chensha heard Lu Qingze’s words and said that if they encountered them later, they would fight back directly.

After waiting for two days, Lu Mingfeng and Lu Ziyun arrived.

The two of them were relatively close at the time, so they met up first.

Both also had traces of battle, but were not injured; they had only encountered Yao Beasts along the way.

“Only Yunfei is left. He must have been teleported to some remote place, so the token cannot sense him.”

Lu Qingyan said with a solemn expression.

Generally, such situations were very dangerous.

“What should we do now? Should we search for Spirit Medicine in the outer area here and wait for Yunfei’s situation, or head to the central region?”

Lu Mingfeng asked.

“We haven’t gained much since we rushed to meet up, so we can stay here for now and see if Yunfei can send a signal.”

Lu Qingze mused for a moment, then said.

He also needed this time to recuperate from his injuries.

“Alright.”

The others had no objections and began to act together.

Although Lu Qingze was injured and didn’t fight much.

Lu Qingyan, Lu Chensha, Lu Mingfeng, and Lu Ziyun were enough to handle most situations.

As the five began their exploration, most Family Cultivators and Immortal Sect Disciples in the Secret Realm had also largely completed their group formations and began to cleanse the lone Loose Cultivators.

If they were fellow Family Cultivators, in groups of three to five, and had no enmity, they would tacitly pass each other by, or stop short.

Several days later, Lu Qingyan and Lu Chensha encountered Cultivators from Golden Dragon Ridge.

Upon meeting, both sides naturally became extremely hostile.

“Kill!”

There were also five Cultivators from the Jin Family’s side.

But they saw that Lu Qingze was injured.

Moreover, the Lu Family’s side had just experienced a battle and were somewhat depleted, so they wanted to take advantage of the Opportunity to kill one or two people.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh–”

They conjured Magical Artifacts and cast Spells, directly attacking Lu Qingze, intending to kill him first.

“Hmph!”

Lu Qingyan, clad in silver armor and wielding a silver spear, directly blocked in front.

“Buzz!”

Although Lu Qingze found it inconvenient to use too much magical power, he still had Puppets.

And Lu Chensha gave him his Puppet, allowing him to control two Puppets directly.

“Puppets!?”

The Jin Family Cultivators narrowed their eyes upon seeing this, but they weren’t too surprised.

Bihu Mountain Lu Family was famous for its Talisman Dao, but its most widespread business was Puppets.

Not only the Hongye Valley Market, but even the Puppet market on their Golden Dragon Ridge side had been taken over by Bihu Mountain.

Lu Mingfeng and Lu Ziyun, on the other hand, one controlled a Flying Sword, and the other cast Spells.

“Buzz!”

Lu Chensha stood behind the three, seemingly forming hand seals to cast some secret Spell.

But he secretly controlled the Iron Fire Ants, then seized an Opportunity, causing the Iron Fire Ants to shoot like a black Flying Sword towards one of them.

“Wind Dragon Art!”

Upon seeing this, the Jin Family Cultivator’s spiritual power surged, raising a dragon-like silver hurricane that swept towards the Iron Fire Ants.

However, the Iron Fire Ants, like a black Flying Sword, directly pierced through the hurricane, breaking through his protective magical barrier, causing his chest to explode with a hot, stinging pain.

Immediately after, the black Flying Sword buzzed and transformed into a swarm of Iron Fire Ants, covering his entire body, tearing and gnawing at his flesh and blood.

“Ah–”

He immediately let out a painful roar.

“Kunfei!”

The others nearby were startled and quickly cast Spells to help him drive away the Iron Fire Ants.

But in this situation, they were also afraid of injuring Jin Kunfei, so their attacks weren’t too fierce, resulting in the Iron Fire Ants only being repelled and flying out, yet completely unharmed, continuing to burn and gnaw.

Jin Kunfei screamed incessantly, his spiritual power surging, but he could only repel a few Iron Fire Ants.

“Kill!”

Lu Qingyan and the others were also somewhat surprised by the Iron Fire Ants’ methods.

They actually instantly broke through the opponent’s Spell and protective magical barrier.

However, seeing the Jin Family in disarray, they immediately launched a fierce assault.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss–”

At this moment, the Thousand-legged Centipede also hissed forward, spewing poisonous mist indiscriminately.

However, Lu Chensha and the others had already prepared antidote pills, each putting one in their mouth.

“Hold your breath through your pores! Go!”

The Jin Family Cultivators immediately shouted upon seeing this.

Seeing Jin Kunfei covered in black ants, his flesh scorched and bloody, they dared not linger in battle.

They knew that the five Lu Family members in front of them were not simple opponents, and they themselves were no match.

“Sister Qingyan, don’t chase!”

Lu Chensha saw Lu Qingyan seemingly wanting to pursue and quickly shouted.

Although his Iron Fire Ants could catch opponents off guard and quickly deal with Qi Refining Cultivators.

Their current numbers were not yet sufficient for group attacks.

Moreover, the Purple Nether Secret Realm was dangerous; if other forces saw them fighting, it was inevitable that someone would benefit from their conflict.

Lu Qingyan and the others naturally understood this principle. They intercepted and killed Jin Kunfei, who was entangled by the Iron Fire Ants, then gave up the pursuit.

“Chensha, you really are full of hidden depths.”

Lu Mingfeng looked at Lu Chensha and said with some emotion.

Previously, when the six of them trained with Lu Ping’an, Lu Chensha had not shown himself to be too outstanding, nor had he used his Iron Fire Ants.

And these past few days, with five people acting together, there was no need for Lu Chensha to use his Iron Fire Ants, so they were unaware of Lu Chensha’s strength.

“Just luck, it was just a surprise attack.”

Lu Chensha said very modestly.

He knew that the Opportunities he had gained from the Family were more than those of other Lu Family Disciples, so he usually kept a very low profile to avoid attracting envy.

“This time, Chensha, you have rendered the greatest service. This person’s Storage Pouch is yours.”

Lu Qingyan took another look at her younger brother.

In her impression, Lu Chensha had always been very low-key, without much presence.

The only impressive thing was that his beast-controlling talent was good; his father seemed to have entrusted the Family’s Black Water Flood Dragon to him to take care of.

“Everyone contributed, how can I be so presumptuous? I’ll just pick a few items.”

Lu Chensha said with a smile.

Afterward, the group tidied up and found a cave to meditate and rest.

Once their condition was almost adjusted, the group discussed and decided to head to the central region.

These past few days, Lu Yunfei had not been sensed, so it was very likely he was directly teleported to the central region.

Because the Purple Nether Mountain in the central area was covered in mist for a long time, it was very likely to block the token’s Qi sensing.