Chapter 241: Profit Sharing? I

The perception of danger in a primordial martial artist far surpasses that of an ordinary martial artist.

“This is...”

The instant the rainbow-hued “big” character fire seal came into view, Cheng Yuan, Zhu Junwen, and Shi Jian’s pupils shrank to needle points simultaneously.

A long-forgotten sense of heart-pounding dread stabbed into their hearts like an ice pick.

Hiss... hiss... hiss...

Where the fire seal passed, even the void was warped and distorted by its extreme heat.

The air was thick with the scent of scorching.

On Cheng Yuan’s aged face, the cruel grin that had moments ago radiated triumph was now frozen solid.

There was no time left for them to think.

The next instant.

“Explode!”

A cold, sharp command detonated like thunder.

In the sharply contracted pupils of the three primordial martial artists, the rainbow-hued fire seal erupted like a volcano that had been suppressed for millennia, finally finding its outlet.

BOOM—!!!

A searing wave of fire, laced with crimson-gold flames like molten lava, surged forth and instantly engulfed the entire peak.

Cheng Yuan, Zhu Junwen, and Shi Jian were too close to the fire seal to dodge.

Their bodies were swallowed whole by the violent flames at the same instant.

From afar, the entire peak seemed to have truly become an erupting volcano.

A column of crimson-gold fire shot skyward, turning the sky above the peak a searing, charred red.

“Sss...”

Liu Qingyu, standing at the eastern peak’s boundary, stared at the apocalyptic scene before her and involuntarily drew in a sharp breath.

Her usually calm starlike eyes were now filled with shock and terror; she instantly tapped her foot and shot backward in a blur.

Even from afar, the scorching heatwave made her feel as if she stood in molten lava.

The hem of her moon-white robe curled and blackened from the heat.

Had she retreated a moment later, she might have been swept into the firestorm.

Before coming to the peak, she had asked Jiang Ye what method he planned to use to seize the primordial qi.

Jiang Ye had merely said calmly that she should help obscure the peak’s line of sight.

He would act when the time came.

And then she had witnessed this cataclysmic scene before her.

Could a Qi Realm martial artist really unleash a technique like this...?

Liu Qingyu’s starlike eyes brimmed with disbelief and terror; her full chest rose and fell with her racing emotions, creating a breathtaking curve in the air.

The terrifying power made her begin to suspect the three primordial martial artists might even perish...

A Qi Realm martial artist defeating a Primordial Realm one?!

The moment this absurd yet undeniable thought flashed through her mind, the usually composed Peak Mistress Liu, her teeth trembling, nearly bit her own rosy tongue.

She instinctively turned her gaze toward the distant figure in gray.

There, Jiang Ye was enveloped in a layer of crimson-gold fire Qi, calmly stepping onto the peak as the raging firestorm still churned around him.

“The power is decent.”

Jiang Ye felt the searing heat still roaring around him, nodded slightly, and a flicker of satisfaction passed through his eyes.

This fire seal was the Three-Qi Fire Seal, primarily formed with Great Sun Heavenly Flame True Qi, supplemented by Wood and Water True Qi.

Even with his own Great Sun Heavenly Flame True Qi as a fireproof outer shield, he could still clearly feel the terrifying heat of this firestorm.

As for why he didn’t use the Five-Element True Qi to cast this “Heaven-Scorching Flame Explosion Seal”...

Jiang Ye simply feared the power would be too great and burn the primordial qi to ash.

He looked up at the peak, where six slender, pure-white strands of primordial qi drifted gently amid the churning flames, and silently exhaled in relief.

Good—it hadn’t burned away.

Now was the time to take the qi.

Jiang Ye tapped his foot hard and shot toward the peak like a gray shadow.

“Good heavens...”

“This... this...”

“What on earth is going on...?”

Disciples of the Crimson Flame Sect, Ten Thousand Streams Sect, and Azure Peak Sect all screamed and retreated in panic.

Every face was etched with disbelief and terror.

They were farther from the peak, having seen only the sudden appearance of the white mist, followed immediately by the volcanic explosion of fire that engulfed the summit.

Among these three sects, several were Qi Realm martial artists.

Yet even they, facing this torrential firestorm, felt their hearts pound and their spines chill.

Suddenly—

A Qi Realm martial artist from the Crimson Flame Sect threw his head back and burst into loud laughter, his face, thick with fat, now glowing with renewed confidence: “Hahahaha! This must be Elder Cheng’s technique!”

“Such brutal fire heavenly might—throughout the entire Tianyun Peak, only Elder Cheng could possibly wield it!”

Hearing this, the other Crimson Flame Sect disciples snapped back to their senses; their fear vanished, replaced by ecstatic fervor:

“That’s right!!!”

“Only our Elder Cheng could unleash such a terrifying firestorm!!!”

“Elder Cheng is invincible!!!”

The Crimson Flame Sect disciples erupted in cheers; the disciples of the Ten Thousand Streams Sect and Azure Peak Sect exchanged uneasy glances, their faces turning grim.

Then what of their own Elders Zhu and Shi? Were they in grave danger?

Amid the tense, anxious gazes of all present—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three muffled explosions, like distant thunder, rang out from within the raging firestorm.

Then—

Three torrents of Primordial Qi surged outward like gales, scattering more than half the firestorm atop the peak.

The crowd finally saw the scene on the summit clearly.

And every single pair of eyes widened in shock.

Especially the Crimson Flame Sect disciples who had just been cheering—they were suddenly silenced, as if their throats had been clamped shut, standing frozen like statues.

What had they just seen...?

There, Elder Cheng Yuan of the Crimson Flame Sect, his red robe completely burned away, revealed large patches of charred, blackened flesh, faintly emitting a stench of burning.

Most of his hair had been incinerated; his eyebrows were entirely gone, leaving his already fierce, scarred face looking both monstrous and absurd.

Where was the dignity of a primordial martial artist now?

Elder Zhu Junwen of the Ten Thousand Streams Sect and Elder Shi Jian of the Azure Peak Sect fared no better—their robes were tattered, their exposed skin blistered and reddened in patches.

The three primordial martial artists who had ruled Tianyun Peak for decades now looked utterly disheveled and ridiculous.

But this wasn’t the most outrageous part.

In the nearly stunned gazes of the crowd—

A humble gray-robed elder slowly collected the last strand of primordial qi into a blue jade vial.

He lowered his gaze, sweeping his eyes over the crowd below.

Finally, his gaze settled on Cheng Yuan’s face—browless, grotesque, and absurd—and he smiled faintly:

“Elder Cheng, congratulations on your name change.”

“From now on.”

“Your name is Yuan Cheng.”