Chapter 657 - 179: Burial Immortal Valley, Immortal Demon Blood... The Profound Origin Secret Realm Competition Begins

Chapter 657: Chapter 179: Burial Immortal Valley, Immortal Demon Blood... The Profound Origin Secret Realm Competition Begins

North of Qing Province City, the Tuo Cang Mountain Range lay coiled like a great dragon, stretching for a thousand miles without end. Amidst its overlapping peaks, clouds and mist swirled, and a faint Spiritual Mechanism flowed.

In the deepest part of Tuo Cang Mountain, a strange region lay hidden.

It was the dreaded "Forbidden Land for the Living," a place where ordinary cultivators dared not take a single step.

If one were to look down from high above, a boundary line was starkly clear.

It was as if a god had swung a giant blade, cleaving the vast earth in two. The two halves were distinctly different.

Outside the line, the scenery was still of the mortal world.

Rolling mountains gave way to lush, layered forests. Ancient trees soared to the heavens, blocking out the sun, their branches intertwining like a net.

Dark green pines and cypresses clung to the cliff faces, sturdy and straight, growing tenaciously despite the wind and rain.

Occasionally, spirit birds would skim across the sky, their wings tracing arcs against the clear expanse, leaving behind a few crisp cries that broke the tranquility of the forest.

Streams trickled from the cracks between rocks, converging into gullies, the gurgling of the water pleasant to the ear as it nourished the plants along its banks.

But once one crossed that invisible line, the world itself seemed to change in an instant...

The land looked as if it had been brutally crushed by a colossal hand from beyond the heavens. A lifeless, ochre-brown wasteland stretched as far as the eye could see, with not a single blade of grass in sight.

The rocks were fractured with a spiderweb of crisscrossing cracks. A faint, dark red glow emanated from the depths of the fissures—the surging magma beneath the earth, containing a terrifying heat.

A thick stench of sulfur and burning filled the air, acrid and foul.

Every breath felt as if countless tiny, fiery needles were piercing one’s lungs, an unbearable, searing pain.

This place was the Flame Fire Forbidden Land.

It was one of the greatest mysteries of the Tuo Cang Mountain Range for thousands of years, and exceptionally perilous.

At this moment, at the heart of the desolate land, a figure stood silently, like a statue.

He was a young man in a dark cyan brocade robe, who looked to be about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old. He had an extraordinarily handsome face, with sharp, blade-like brows and eyes as bright as stars.

Yet his expression was as stern and cold as ten-thousand-year-old ice, devoid of any warmth.

He stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his robes remaining perfectly still amidst the scorching heatwaves.

Within a three-foot radius of him, there seemed to be an invisible barrier, completely blocking out the surrounding Flame Fire Evil Qi—hot enough to melt gold and smelt iron—and leaving him utterly unaffected.

This person was none other than Zhang Tianyu, the eldest son of the Zhang Family, the foremost of the three great Noble Families of Qing Province.

Zhang Tianyu’s eyes were shut tight, his brow slightly furrowed. His Divine Sense surged out like a tidal wave, spreading across the land...

It combed through this desolate land inch by inch, thread by thread—every fissure, every charred rock, every inch of soil—unwilling to miss even the slightest anomalous fluctuation.

His vast Divine Sense, at the peak of the Bright Heart Realm, was as fine as a comb and exceptionally sharp.

Even the faintest, most imperceptible residual aura could not escape its notice.

His sister, Zhang Ling’Er, had come to this Flame Fire Forbidden Land to cultivate, only to vanish without a trace and meet her end here.

"Ling’Er..."

Zhang Tianyu slowly opened his eyes, a flash of unconcealable pain passing through them.

Immediately after, that pain was completely consumed by a deeper chill, a cold so profound it was heart-stopping.

’His sister had been willful and headstrong since childhood, thoroughly spoiled. Relying on the Zhang Family’s power in Qing Province, she ran roughshod over the city, acting arrogantly and tyrannically. She had indeed caused a great deal of trouble and made many enemies.’

’But within Qing Province, who didn’t know of the Zhang Family’s might?’

’Who would dare to actually lay a lethal hand on a direct descendant of the Zhang Family?’

The Zhang Family was the head of the three great Noble Families of Qing Province, with deep roots and immense power.

The family’s Ancestor, Zhang Xuanming, was a peak Immortal Realm expert with unfathomable cultivation. He held sway over the region, and no one dared to challenge his might.

’Who would risk offending the entire Zhang Family and courting their own doom, all for the sake of one Zhang Ling’Er?’

And yet, someone had done just that.

Not only did they strike a fatal blow, but they did it cleanly, leaving not a single trace behind.

The Zhang Family had mobilized a vast amount of manpower and resources from within the clan.

The Demon Suppression Bureau had also dispatched experts to assist in the investigation.

But after more than a month, they hadn’t found a single useful clue. It was as if the incident had never happened.

They couldn’t even confirm whether Zhang Ling’Er had actually died in this Flame Fire Forbidden Land!

It was as if an invisible hand had silently and flawlessly erased everything that had transpired here.

Zhang Tianyu let out a long breath. The moment the air left his body, it was distorted, vaporized, and dissipated without a trace by the surrounding high temperature.

He slowly retracted his Divine Sense, his face thunderous. The pressure around him was terrifyingly low.

’Nothing.’

’Absolutely nothing.’

’If not for this, with his proud status as the great young master of the Zhang Family, why would he have ever lowered his head and begged the Demon Suppression Bureau for help?’

He slowly turned around, his gaze as sharp as a sword. He scanned the ravaged, crimson land, rage and killing intent intertwining in his heart.

Suddenly, he shot his right hand up, his fingers held together like a sword. A dim light slowly swirled at his fingertips, and he began to chant an obscure, ancient incantation.

At first, the sound was low and hoarse, like the buzzing of a gnat. It gradually became ethereal and otherworldly, as if originating from the depths of the Nine Nether Hell, carrying a strange, soul-stealing rhythm that unsettled the spirit.

"O soul, come back... O soul, come back..."

As the incantation began, the scene within the Flame Fire Forbidden Land changed in an instant.

The Flame Fire Evil Qi, which had been raging wildly, seemed to be forcibly suppressed by an invisible power, subsiding considerably.

From the crimson earth, billowing black mist suddenly rose, blotting out the sun and sky.

The mist was as thick as ink and churned without end. From within it came waves of incredibly shrill wails, as if countless vengeful souls were struggling and howling inside, their sorrow heart-wrenching.

The surrounding temperature plummeted. In an instant, the unbearably hot inferno transformed into a grim and terrifying Ghost Realm, and the Cold Qi was overwhelming.

The three Zhang Family experts standing at the edge of the desolate land saw this, and their expressions changed drastically, becoming grave.

The one in the lead was an old man with white hair, dressed in a gray robe, his figure slightly stooped. He leaned on an Ebony Walking Stick, and the Mo Yu inlaid at its top was now trembling slightly, emitting a faint Spiritual Light.