"Correct."
Ye Yunfei nodded.
As soon as the words left his lips, Ye Yunfei suddenly lifted his head and gazed into the distance. In the southern part of the city stood a barren mountain, its slopes riddled with caves that continuously spewed forth fire.
"Master, that mountain is called Flame Mountain. It perpetually emits flames that never extinguish. It's a famous landmark in Fire City," Fengyun Jue said, following Ye Yunfei's line of sight.
As a steward of the Fengyun Family, he often represented his clan when coming to the Alchemy Tower to request pills. Having visited Fire City many times, he was quite familiar with it.
"That's the place! Let's go!" Ye Yunfei declared. With a flash of his figure, he rushed towards Flame Mountain.
Fengyun Jue hurriedly followed.
In the blink of an eye, the two arrived atop Flame Mountain, standing before a cave that endlessly belched fire.
"It indeed contains a trace of Earth Lung True Fire," Ye Yunfei nodded after sensing the flames emerging from the cave.
Then, Ye Yunfei strode boldly into the cave.
"Master! You shouldn't enter these caves recklessly. They say the deeper you go, the higher the temperature and the fiercer the flames," Fengyun Jue cried out in alarm.
"It's fine. Wait for me outside. Find a place nearby," Ye Yunfei's voice echoed out from within the cave.
"Alright," Fengyun Jue hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.
Inside the cave, Ye Yunfei continued his descent. As expected, the temperature grew hotter and the flames fiercer the deeper he went.
Billowing tongues of flame surged towards Ye Yunfei.
However, having already trained his Greenwood Emperor Body to the Small Success stage, the quality of his fleshly body was exceptionally robust. Brilliant cyan radiance blossomed from his form, instantly driving the encroaching flames away.
Ye Yunfei strode forward unhurriedly within the cave. Wherever he went, all flames automatically receded, unable to harm him in the slightest.
After a short while, he reached the very end of the cavern.
There, numerous ground fissures spewed forth raging flames.
Ye Yunfei stomped down with his foot.
Boom!
The ground collapsed, revealing a crack several meters wide.
Ye Yunfei drifted downward.
And so, following the flames, Ye Yunfei continuously descended deeper underground.
Ye Yunfei's comprehensive fleshly body power had already reached twenty million jin. Any casual movement from him could produce terrifying destructive force.
Coupled with having trained his Greenwood Emperor Body to the Small Success stage, his physique was resilient to an incredible degree.
The thick, heavy earth beneath the ground felt as flimsy as paper to Ye Yunfei, offering no resistance. He moved as effortlessly as if walking on the surface.
Soon, Ye Yunfei had descended over a thousand meters underground.
Roar…!
Ahead, a sea of fire appeared, accompanied by violent roars.
Ye Yunfei realized he had arrived in an underground world of magma.
As far as the eye could see, boiling, churning lava seethed and burned.
A fire dragon hundreds of meters long lay coiled upon this sea of magma. Its two enormous dragon eyes seemed to possess awareness as they fixed upon Ye Yunfei.
"This fire dragon is formed from millennium-old Earth Lung True Fire condensation. Too precious," Ye Yunfei's gaze couldn't help but reveal greed, and he practically drooled with desire.
Roar…!
Suddenly, the fire dragon roared furiously, clearly not welcoming this intruder.
Its blazing dragon body abruptly lunged, charging straight for Ye Yunfei.
The surrounding flames underwent a terrifying transformation, shifting from crimson to blue. The temperature skyrocketed a hundredfold in an instant, sweeping toward Ye Yunfei to engulf him.
"Impressive!"
Ye Yunfei's body bloomed with dazzling cyan light.
Whoosh!
Ye Yunfei activated his Sky Shadow Robe, shifting his position and evading the frenzied dragon's assault.
At the same time…
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Earth Flame and Three Crow Dark Fire simultaneously manifested, swelling with the wind to form two seas of fire that protected Ye Yunfei within.
In fact, Earth Lung True Fire was also a type of Earth Fire.
There were eight types of Earth Fires in the world. Earth Lung True Fire ranked third on the Earth Fire Ranking! Earth Flame ranked fifth.
The fire dragon before them was an illusionary manifestation formed from Earth Lung True Fire.
Moreover, this fire dragon had been nurtured here for nearly a thousand years, now at its peak state, incredibly powerful and fearsome.
Fortunately, Ye Yunfei was a Pill Venerable, well-versed in fire control techniques, with an intimate understanding of the characteristics of the various Hetero-Flames across the world.
More importantly, he had the protection of Earth Flame and Three Crow Dark Fire.
Add to that the extraordinary toughness of Ye Yunfei's physical constitution.
Otherwise, Ye Yunfei wouldn't dare provoke this dragon.
"To think... in this mere Tianxuan Continent, I've actually found three Hetero-Flames. Quite unbelievable. No matter what, I must subdue this fire dragon!" Ye Yunfei stared at the dragon bursting with astonishing fire-attribute energy before him, feeling immensely satisfied, and muttered to himself.
Roar…!
While he spoke, the fire dragon pounced again.
"Come then!" Ye Yunfei bellowed.
Boom! Boom!
Earth Flame and Three Crow Dark Fire erupted simultaneously, colliding head-on with the fire dragon.
In truth, Three Crow Dark Fire ranked second on the Earth Fire Ranking, placing it higher than Earth Lung True Fire.
However, this fire dragon had been nurtured within the earth veins for over a thousand years, possessing astonishing energy.
Whereas Earth Flame and Three Crow Dark Fire were currently in a weakened state, temporarily unable to match it.
"Cease your madness!" Ye Yunfei executed an advanced fire control art, sending a series of incantations towards the fire dragon.
Boom…!
A deafening roar resounded through the underground space.
This fire dragon was simply too savage. Even for Ye Yunfei, subduing it would prove extremely difficult.
Time slowly passed.
Unknowingly, two days went by.
That day…
Fire City was jammed pack with people.
Today was the day the five veteran pill refining masters would face Master Liuyun in an alchemy competition.
Above Fire City, suspended in the sky, was a platform dozens of meters wide.
Master Qihuang, Master Qianyao, Master Xinglin, Jiuqu Wanderer, and Master Tianmu—five renowned pill masters—stood in a line upon the platform, their expressions cold and aloof.
Clearly, this platform was the arena for the alchemy competition!
Moreover, the air around the platform was filled with intimidating experts.
Most were Mystic Liquid Realm experts!
Among them was Yuan Sheng.
Whether in the sky or on the ground, Fire City was filled with martial artists who had come to witness the spectacle.
"Who do you think will win this alchemy competition?" someone whispered.
"Hah, is there even a need to ask? Master Qihuang, Master Tianmu, Master Xinglin, Jiuqu Wanderer, and Master Qianyao—each is a recognized pill master of the Central Continent.
As for that Master Liuyun, rumor has it he's a fraud, not a genuine Treasure Alchemist. Likely, today he'll be exposed!"
"Taking the most generous view, even if Master Liuyun truly is a First-Grade Treasure Pill Master, he must have only recently broken through.
Regardless, he stands no chance against Master Qihuang and the others, who have long-established reputations."
"Well said. Master Liuyun is sure to lose this alchemy competition."
...
The vast majority believed Master Liuyun would be defeated.
Even before the competition began, various gambling dens throughout Fire City had opened for betting. The odds were overwhelmingly skewed.
The payout for betting on Master Liuyun was initially one to a hundred, then climbed to one to several hundred.
One particularly brazen gambling den even offered odds of one to a thousand for betting on Master Liuyun!
Unfortunately, no one placed such a bet.
"I wager five million low-grade Spirit Crystals on Master Liuyun winning!"
Suddenly, a burly, imposing middle-aged man loudly declared, pulling out five million low-grade Spirit Crystals to place his bet.
"It's the White Tiger Gang's Chief Lu!" someone exclaimed in surprise.
"Humph! All of you bet on Master Liuyun losing, but I insist on betting on him to win!" Lu Dachong declared proudly.
Upon hearing the news of the competition in Fire City, he had immediately brought his son along to cheer for Master Liuyun.
At that moment.
Upon the platform, the five pill masters had waited from morning until noon, yet Master Liuyun was nowhere to be seen. Anger simmered in their hearts.
"Humph. Could it be this Liuyun was too afraid and quietly slipped away?" Jiuqu Wanderer snorted coldly.
"If so, his true colors would have been exposed by us," Master Qihuang said.
"Esteemed guests, today's competition may disappoint you all. That so-called Master Liuyun likely fled in fear," Master Qianyao declared even louder, his voice echoing throughout Fire City.
"What?! Master Liuyun ran away?"
"It seems this so-called Master Liuyun truly is a con artist!"
"I came all this way for nothing! To hell with Master Liuyun!"
...
The mood in Fire City turned turbulent immediately. Curses and complaints arose from everywhere.
"Master Liuyun couldn't possibly have run. Where exactly is he?" Those who supported Master Liuyun, like Lu Dachong, were consumed by anxiety.
Just then.
"Who says I ran? Are clowns like you five even worth fearing?"
A calm voice rang out, resounding through the heavens and the earth. Then, Ye Yunfei arrived, walking unhurriedly with Fengyun Jue at his side, his hands clasped behind his back.
Instantly, all eyes in Fire City focused upon Ye Yunfei.