Cultivation Begins From The Desert-Chapter 700 - 684: Enter the Array!

Zhao Yuanpu's speculation quickly became a reality.

The cluster of

he retrieved soon transformed before the three of them into a burst of pure fire attribute spiritual energy and dissipated.

This result left all three silent.

It was obvious that since the

was formed by the power of the array, they couldn't dispel this sea of pink flames in front of them without breaking the array.

And to break the array, they first had to enter the array.

But the problem now was, even if they entered the array, could they really break it?

"Ahem, fellow Daoists, please listen to what Zhao has to say."

Amid the silence, Zhao Yuanpu suddenly coughed, drawing the attention of Zhouyang and

to him.

He glanced at their faces and said solemnly, "Zhao understands the concerns of both fellow Daoists, yet wealth and fortune are sought amidst danger. At our level of cultivation, merely retreating into closed-door cultivation is the least favorable option."

"Take Zhao himself as an example; my cultivation was stuck at the mid-stage Nascent Soul bottleneck for over two hundred years with no progress. To break through this bottleneck, Zhao risked his life plunging into the territory of a barbaric alien race, seizing a Tier Six spirit elixir

guarded by them, almost meeting his demise under two Tier Six entities of the alien race."

"Later, Zhao traveled the Celestial South Continent Cultivation Realm and coincidentally encountered an ancient cultivator's cave mansion that had been hidden for thousands of years. At that time, over a dozen Nascent Soul cultivators were drawn there, all fighting incessantly for the treasures within. Zhao, too, risked life and limb to seize a transformation elixir from the numerous competitors, thereby successfully breaking through the late-stage Nascent Soul bottleneck with the help of its medicinal power!"

"I never deny the dangers of this cave mansion before us, considering even the gifted Ancestor Zhen Nan from my sect likely perished inside. But for that very reason, it proves that substantial treasures lie hidden within. Otherwise, why would Ancestor Zhen Nan have ventured here for exploration?"

"Furthermore, Zhao believes that thousands of years later, the array and other things within this mansion surely cannot compare to their power from thousands of years ago. We have many people this time, well-prepared. Even if we can't attain full success in one attempt, withdrawing is not necessarily difficult!"

Zhao Yuanpu did not use any uncertain treasure to tempt Zhouyang and

but rather conveyed facts and reasoning, sharing his thoughts and analysis with them, while also expressing his intentions.

He was determined to enter the array for a deeper exploration!

If Zhouyang and

were willing to follow him in, it would be ideal. If not, he would adventure in alone.

This was not because he was braver than Zhouyang but because his path had reached its end, leaving him without concerns.

Even if he did not venture into this array, with his remaining three to four hundred years of lifespan, he couldn't reach the "Half-Step True Immortal" realm of the ninth-layer Nascent Soul.

Thus, regardless of whether he entered to reclaim the sect's ancestral remains and relics or to find a new path on his nearly severed cultivation road, venturing into the array was imperative for him.

Zhouyang and Master Fire Dragon could also surmise this, hence their expressions fluctuated after hearing Zhao Yuanpu's words.

After a moment passed, , with a determined expression and flickering gaze, looked at the sea of flames and murmured, "Though I started cultivating a century or two later than fellow Daoist Zhao, having lived over two thousand years is sufficient. Now, the path is difficult and the opportunity is before me; if I don't take a chance, I fear I will regret it for life!"

With these words, he also expressed his intentions.

Then, both of them turned their gaze to Zhouyang.

Unlike the two of them, Zhouyang was still very young, with over two thousand years of lifespan left. Even if he missed this opportunity, he had plenty of time to seek others in the future.

So, they weren't very confident about whether Zhouyang was willing to join them.

However, faced with their gazes, Zhouyang smiled broadly and said, "Do you think, having come here, there's any chance I would return empty-handed?"

"Hahaha, fellow Daoist Zhou, your words resonate with me. After going through so much to get here, how could we not try!"

laughed heartily, nodding approvingly, then looked at Zhao Yuanpu and said, "Fellow Daoist Zhao, you decide what needs to be done."

"Zhao doesn't have much to say; regarding the way of arrays, Zhao is not proficient. Moreover, given the profoundness of this place's array, even an Array Grandmaster may not discern anything. Hence, our only viable choice to break the array is to force it straight through."

"However, Zhao has prepared a small gift for both of you."

As Zhao Yuanpu spoke, with a wave of his hand, two white jade pendants were tossed towards Zhouyang and the .

"These two

should be kept safe by you both. After entering the array, if the array's power separates us, we will rely on them to guide us back together."

Once Zhouyang and

secured the pendants, he continued, "The conditions inside the array are unknown, so there's little more to say now. After entering the array, we must reunite as quickly as possible. To avoid accidental harm before we regroup, I suggest focusing on defense and trying to avoid using large-scale attack divine techniques unless absolutely necessary."

"Indeed, this is how it should be."

Zhouyang and

both nodded, fully agreeing with his statement.

After the three agreed, they each summoned their magical artifacts and divine techniques to shield themselves and, with mutual consent, charged together into that pink sea of flames.

Shortly after they entered the pink sea of flames, the previously injured exotic beast

emerged at the spot where they had been lingering.

After the exotic beast emerged, its fiery red eyes studied the pink sea of flames for a moment, then, with a flash of ferocity, it followed and rushed into the array!

Amidst the array, Zhouyang had no mind to pay attention to the 's movements.

Upon entering the pink sea of flames, he indeed was separated and moved away by the array from the other two.

Though Zhao Yuanpu's

hinted that the two weren't far from him, reaching them proved to be quite difficult.

Inside the realm space formed by the array, similarly filled with , this fire was enormously powerful. Zhouyang had to constantly expend considerable magical power to defend against its refinement.

Yet, the

was only the fundamental divine technique accompanying the array; the array's true offensive means were even more severe.

For instance, at this moment, he was facing attacks from two fire wolves, each with an aura comparable to Early-Stage Nascent Soul cultivators, while also guarding against fireball attacks falling from the sky and fire column attacks erupting from the ground.

Both the descending fireballs and the erupting fire columns possessed power capable of injuring Nascent Soul stage cultivators, leaving no room for underestimation.

When Zhouyang first entered the array, due to a momentary lapse in concentration, a pillar of fire directly struck him, almost breaking through his defenses.

Compared to the fireballs and fire pillars, the two fire wolves created by the array's power were evidently more difficult to deal with.

These fire wolves did not possess true physical bodies; even if Zhouyang shattered them, they would quickly resurrect within the array.

They might not be as powerful as a true Tier Six Demon King, but their tenacity far surpassed those of the same tier.

"I wonder what the situation is over there with Zhao Yuanpu and Master Fire Dragon!"

"If they are facing the same situation as I am, given Zhao Yuanpu's cultivation strength, he should easily be able to come over and join me, right?"

"Should I wait here for him to come find me, or actively seek them out?"

Zhouyang, with a golden treasure tower above his head and surrounded by golden light, watched the two fire wolves who had reshaped their forms after being dispersed a second time, a trace of hesitation flickering in his eyes.

He had quite a few trump cards, and even though entangling with the two fire wolves here would greatly deplete his magical power, he could rely on refining Spirit Marrow Stones, which quickly replenish magical power, to sustain himself for a long time.

But doing so would not only waste a large number of Spirit Marrow Stones; his nature also disliked resting his hopes on others.

His hesitation did not last long, as it was interrupted by sudden changes in the array.

He saw that after the two fire wolves succeeded in reshaping their forms, their aura became stronger than before.

If when Zhouyang first saw these two fire wolves, their aura was equivalent to a First-Layer Nascent Soul Cultivator, now after reshaping their forms a second time, their aura was stronger than Zhouyang, reaching the level of a Third-Layer Nascent Soul Cultivator.

This change was undoubtedly alarming.

Zhouyang did not know if dispersing the two fire wolves again would lead them to reshape their forms once more, and whether their strength would further advance to the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul level.

This uncertainty made him wary of staying here any longer. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Roar!

With a furious roar, he decisively activated the Cyan Dragon Transformation divine technique, entered a transformed state, and directly rushed towards the position indicated by the nearest Unity Pendant.

His escape naturally did not sit well with the two fire wolves, who immediately roared in anger, spitting two crimson fire pillars towards him.

Zhouyang's figure flickered, dodging one of the fire pillars' impact, but he was hit squarely by the other.

This strike broke through the protective golden light from the Qianyang Golden Tower, blasting into his body covered with cyan gold dragon scales.

At this moment, his powerful physical defense showed its benefits; despite this strike, not a single scar appeared on him, instead accelerating forward by leveraging the fire pillar's impact.

He moved through flames, disregarding the Red Lotus Earth Fire that permeated the realm space, exuding an aura of immunity to various mystical powers.

Howl!

The two fire wolves seemed to feel humiliated, letting out angry roars as they lunged forward, disappearing from their original position, and suddenly appeared beside Zhouyang, snapping their jaws at him from both sides.

Even knowing the two fire wolves' bodies weren't solid, this scene was quite startling for Zhouyang.

Suddenly caught off guard, he had no time to make other moves, hurriedly roaring and swinging his punch towards the wolves' mouths.

The punch landed on the fire wolves' mouths as if hitting water, with little resistance felt.

Instead, the scorching heat from inside the fire wolves made Zhouyang feel his fists were plunged into boiling oil, prompting him to quickly summon the power of the Qianyang Treasure Pearl to deploy the Qianyang Celestial Fire Shield divine technique, forcefully pushing the fire wolves away.

Then, looking at his hands covered in dragon scales, he found the cyan gold dragon scales were burned black and cracked, exposing the scorched flesh underneath.

Such injuries could not be healed quickly by his body's self-recovery ability, prompting Zhouyang to ingest a drop of Rejuvenating Immortal Dew, relying on the healing treasure to recover his wounds rapidly.

This time, looking at the two fire wolves, his eyes were filled with apprehension.

The ability of the fire wolves to suddenly appear beside him must have been acquired during their second body reshaping; within this realm space formed by the array, they were exceedingly difficult to eliminate with such abilities.

Moreover, Zhouyang dared not gamble on whether they would transform into stronger beings upon being destroyed again.

With steely determination, he canceled his transformation divine technique, fully activated the dual defenses formed by the Qianyang Treasure Pearl and Exorcism Treasure Robe, plus used the Qianyang Golden Tower and Thick Earth Heaven-Sealing Seal both to block the fire wolves' various long-range attack methods, advancing despite the two fire wolves' onslaught.

After advancing for a while, Zhouyang had to stop.

He had discovered that no matter how far he progressed, he would quickly loop back to his original position.

This was not due to being blinded to his senses, but an effect of the realm space accompanying the array's "space cycle" feature, unable to break the cycle meant eternally looping within.

Zhouyang had two methods to easily break the "space cycle," one being to fully utilize the Vermilion Bird Fan to attack any point, using power that exceeds what the array can confine to break the cycle.

The other method was to employ the Azure Dragon Sky Splitting Slash divine technique, relying on its "Sky Splitting" effect to sever the cycle.

But deploying either method would cost him dearly, and he could not ensure that breaking the array cycle with this strike would not harm Zhao Yuanpu or Master Fire Dragon inside the array.

Moreover, such methods were certainly not proper methods for breaking arrays, as even late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators might not possess such power.

"It seems the key to breaking the array lies with these two fire wolves!"

With a thoughtful glance at the two fire wolves who had pursued him all the way, Zhouyang's eyes flashed with a peculiar light, seemingly realizing how to break the array.