Chapter 746 - 375: Shadow Alliance, Flame Prison City

Chapter 746: Chapter 375: Shadow Alliance, Flame Prison City

Looking at the information from Soul Gathering Steles number one and two, the situation was basically what he had expected.

Their Grade hadn’t changed, but surprisingly, they had both absorbed Tier Three Divine Souls. He figured it wasn’t that their wielders had fought Golden Core cultivators, but rather that Golden Core Divine Souls had been present in certain places and were subsequently collected by the Soul Gathering Steles.

When he noticed the coverage area of the Yin Realm, he realized that the Divine Souls absorbed on the battlefield were gradually increasing its effective range. Other than that, nothing had changed.

With a solid understanding of the situation, Cheng Zongyang left the Realm of Ten Thousand Races and headed for Ice City.

An hour later, Cheng Zongyang had inquired at every major Commerce Association and Sect outpost. Even after spending Spirit Stones, he received only one answer—there were no statistics.

The Cultivation Immortality Realm didn’t have Dynasties; Sects would never bother with something so unnecessary.

If even the Sects didn’t keep track, there was no point dwelling on it.

Unable to resolve the matter of a population census, Cheng Zongyang prepared to resume his unfinished task of collecting Spirit Veins.

Spirit Veins were a vital resource. Not only did they provide Cultivators with abundant Spiritual Qi, but they were also the key to a power’s rise or fall. The Shadow Alliance had long been entrenched in the Fire Realm, their strength on par with the Five Great Immortal Sects. They were not to be underestimated.

Cheng Zongyang knew that if he could seize the Shadow Alliance’s Spirit Veins, he could likely drive them out of the Fire Realm. It might even provoke a conflict between the Shadow Alliance and the Five Great Immortal Sects. He wanted to continue stirring up the situation, forcing more people to enter the Realm of Ten thousand Races.

He had seen members of the Shadow Alliance stealing a Spirit Vein once before when he was collecting them himself. He just hadn’t engaged them at the time.

Cheng Zongyang wasn’t worried about the chaos. On the contrary, he believed chaos was often rife with opportunities. As long as he could seize the right moment, he could funnel even more people into the Realm of Ten Thousand Races.

According to Lin Changfeng, the Fire Realm was far more dangerous than the Ice Realm, all because of the Shadow Alliance.

Once you entered a certain range, you were trespassing on Shadow Alliance territory.

Beyond that point lay all sorts of man-made traps, Arrays, and more.

Therefore, to reach the Shadow Alliance from these outer regions, one either had to use their Teleportation Array or force their way through.

Each direction had only a single path. Take a wrong turn, and you would face astounding temperatures, Fire Element toxins, Fire Element Demon Beasts, Fire Element Spirit Monsters, and the Illusion Arrays and Killing Arrays laid by the Shadow Alliance.

With so many deadly threats, not even a Nascent Soul Cultivator would dare to enter rashly.

But none of this concerned Cheng Zongyang.

He piloted his Flying Cloud Shuttle to a stop before a Fire Abyss several dozen yards wide with no end in sight.

’This must be the border region.’

Cheng Zongyang had traveled a long way. Gazing at the strange landscape before him, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of gravity. He consulted the map in his hand and halted.

The temperature here was on another level entirely, and the environment was completely different. Looking across the Fire Abyss, one could see what looked like a world ruled by fire. The surrounding air shimmered and distorted from the extreme heat, and waves of it rolled off the chasm.

But none of this had the slightest effect on him. Possessing an adaptive Talent, he had long been able to ignore the constant, oppressive heat.

The blazing Fire Realm was like a great furnace, enough to make any ordinary Cultivator recoil in fear. But to Cheng Zongyang, it was merely an adventurous land, full of challenges.

He took out the map of the Fire Realm he had purchased from a Commerce Association. It had cost him a pretty penny. The map not only detailed the geography and terrain of the Fire Realm, but also marked the location of the Shadow Alliance’s headquarters.

That was one of the primary targets for this trip.

Studying the intricate lines and symbols on the map, Cheng Zongyang located a route. Based on his current position, he chose one with fewer Demons but with denser, hotter toxic mists.

Next, Cheng Zongyang put away his Flying Cloud Shuttle, preparing to proceed with more stealth.

He cast a Secret Technique, perfectly concealing his aura and Cultivation. Then, he took out a Magical Treasure Robe. This robe not only offered Defense, but also shielded him from Divine Sense probes. More importantly, it had a chameleonic function, changing its color to match its surroundings.

After he put on the robe and activated its Array Patterns, he seemed to melt into the surroundings, as if he had turned invisible.

Then, he took out two Soul Gathering Steles. One floated beneath him, and he sat cross-legged upon it. The other shrank to the size of his palm and rested quietly at his side, ready to be deployed at a moment’s notice.

In addition, Cheng Zongyang took out an Array Entry Token. This token would allow him to bypass any Array below Tier Six he encountered along the way, removing one potential obstacle from his path.

With all his preparations complete, Cheng Zongyang controlled the Soul Gathering Stele and silently flew across the Fire Abyss.

Within the Fire Abyss, scorching magma churned and seethed, radiating a terrifying heat and a dreadful aura. Cheng Zongyang dared not let his guard down for even a second. He kept his eyes fixed ahead, doing his best to avoid the most dangerous zones.

He took out his map, oriented himself, and officially began his journey into the depths of the Fire Realm.

Along the way, Cheng Zongyang witnessed many astonishing sights. The temperature was so high it felt like it could melt anything. The air was thick with a pungent, toxic gas emanating from various strange flames and minerals. He even saw some Fire Element creatures spewing poison.

But he had to remain constantly vigilant, using his Talent and Secret Techniques to continually adapt to these influences.