Chapter 393: Tang Huo

Hearing the lead man enthusiastically describe the Zhihuo Mountain Range and the power of the Burning Flame Valley, several young boys with very youthful faces all wore expressions of longing.

"Senior Jia Lun, may I ask how one can truly join the Burning Flame Valley?" One boy, drenched in sweat, followed behind as they climbed, raising his hand to ask.

The lead man, named Jia Lun, laughed heartily: "Hahahaha, actually, you're already considered disciples of the Burning Flame Valley—your cultivation realm and talent have met our requirements."

Disciples within the Burning Flame Valley obviously cannot reproduce on their own; it is a sect, not a clan. It regularly recruits disciples from various cities.

But unlike Jia Nan Academy, once you join the Burning Flame Valley, you cannot casually leave—it's not like Jia Nan Academy, where after reaching a certain cultivation realm, you may choose to graduate and depart or stay as an Elder to continue training.

Joining the Burning Flame Valley means you become one of its members, cultivating its cultivation methods and Dou Techniques.

Moreover, to join the Burning Flame Valley, you must possess Fire Attribute Battle Qi.

In truth, even geniuses without Fire Attribute Battle Qi cannot join the Burning Flame Valley, since every aspect—from its cultivation methods to its Dou Techniques and even its famed Heavenly Flame Three Mystical Transformations—is fire-based.

If you have Ice Attribute, naturally you'd join the Ice River Valley!

"However, the Valley still has assessments for entry-level disciples, grading them based on their combat strength and their comprehension of cultivation methods and Dou Techniques—from Entry Disciple, to Ordinary Disciple, to Inner Disciple, to Core Disciple," Jia Lun, a talkative man, rattled on.

At this moment, he did not notice a man in a black robe was tailing them.

"Oh, I see. Well, I'll just infiltrate the Burning Flame Valley first and find a way to locate its Valley Master. If I can talk to him, great—if not, it'll be troublesome." Xiao Yan followed along, gaining much more insight into the Burning Flame Valley.

First, the Valley Master of the Burning Flame Valley is named Tang Zhen, with a cultivation realm of Five-Star Dou Zun—higher by one star than Xiao Yixian, and his strength is utterly unfathomable.

Second, the Nine Dragon Thunder Gangfire is the ancestral heirloom passed down through generations of Valley Masters, currently in Tang Zhen's possession; his daughter, Tang Huo'er, apparently attempted to refine the Nine Dragon Thunder Gangfire not long ago, but it seems she failed.

This was good news for Xiao Yan—if Tang Huo'er could even attempt to refine the Nine Dragon Thunder Gangfire, then this Heavenly Flame was not locked away.

As Xiao Yan fully entered the depths of the Zhihuo Mountain Range, he clearly saw it: the lush greenery was extremely rare; at a glance, most of the land was crimson red, with not even a patch of grass covering the ground—clearly, the environment here was indeed harsh.

The temperature in the sky above the Zhihuo Mountain Range had risen sharply; for these young teenagers, it had already left them drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.

But this heat meant nothing to Xiao Yan—he paid it no mind.

Jia Lun's gaze swept across the mountain range, then arrived beneath two towering crimson mountains, tightly pressed together, with a winding stone staircase climbing up from their base.

Secretly following, Xiao Yan's gaze halted just ahead of the stone staircase, then flickered with surprise—the space there subtly emitted an astonishing spatial fluctuation, clearly concealing something beyond.

"I didn't expect this—there's a Space Lock here! This Space Lock's range is enormous—it's definitely not something a Dou Zun could create; this must have been set by a Dou Sage!" Xiao Yan's heart jolted—this Space Lock's scale was absurdly vast, the largest he had ever seen.

"Hehe, follow me," Jia Lun smiled, then pulled out a Soul Token and opened the Space Lock, stepping onto the stone staircase first; behind him, he methodically checked names to prevent sneaky troublemakers like Xiao Yan from slipping in to sabotage the Burning Flame Valley.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan's face twisted in helplessness—sneaking in quietly was clearly impossible.

Miao~o(=∩ω∩=)m!

Xiao Yan groaned: "Good thing I've got you."

Mao Wu patted Xiao Yan's head, signaling not to worry—this Space Lock was the Cat Lord's job!

Moments later, after Jia Lun's group had all entered the Burning Flame Valley's Space Lock, Xiao Yan halted at the end of the stone staircase, gently pressing his palm against the Space Barrier—a powerful rebound force instantly surged forth, violently flinging his hand away.

"Tsk tsk tsk, strong—ordinary Dou Zuns wouldn't easily break through by force."

Huhuh!! Mao Wu took a deep breath, then spat a burst of Black Flame straight at the Space Lock. Xiao Yan didn't idle—he poured in Battle Qi and Soul Force to catalyze the Black Flame as it burned through Space.

Even though Xiao Yan's Soul Force had reached the Spirit Realm and Mao Wu was Earth Sub Flame, carving out a hidden Space Channel was still no easy task.

After roughly thirty minutes, a Black Flame passage, just wide enough for Xiao Yan to pass through, was finally opened.

"Indeed sturdy—glad I've got Mao Wu." Xiao Yan wasted no time—shhh—he slipped silently into the passage.

"So this is what's called a self-contained world."

As Xiao Yan stepped through the spatial rift, the light ahead suddenly blazed bright—when he saw the scene before him, astonishment flooded his eyes.

Compared to Yun Lan Sect, Mo Yan Valley, and Tian She Mansion, they were absolute trash!

The great factions of Zhong Zhou are truly great—their depth is something Xiao Yan's Yan Alliance, a mere upstart, could never match.

Before Xiao Yan now stretched a long, endless stone staircase of blue-green stone; around it, lush green shade stretched out—gazing far, he saw numerous buildings peeking through the foliage, distant voices faintly echoing, finally swirling within this valley with no visible end.

"A self-contained world—no wonder it's one of Zhong Zhou's famed Three Great Valleys," Xiao Yan, even he, could not help but marvel.

Xiao Yan reached out and grasped empty air before him—the Fire Attribute Energy here remained as dense as outside, yet its ferocity had significantly weakened, clearly the Space Lock also possessed purification capabilities.

He looked up at the sky, sensing a faint distortion—clearly, the entire Burning Flame Valley was enveloped within a warped layer of space; this method resembled the Inner Court, but the Space Mirror here was far more solid, sturdy, and vast.

"When I reach Dou Zun, I'll do the same to the Xiao Clan's courtyard back in Wutan City."

As Xiao Yan marveled inwardly, sudden whooshing sounds erupted from the mountains around the staircase—dozens of agile figures flashed past. Xiao Yan's heart leapt—he hastily retracted all Black Flame and sealed the passage.

Instantly, he donned his Soul Robe and vanished into the shadows, avoiding these patrol disciples.

"Tsk tsk tsk—all Dou Wangs. And their talent isn't weak either—this Burning Flame Valley must have Dou Wangs as common as dogs." These figures all wore red robes, and their ages weren't large—probably a few years older than Xiao Yan, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight.

Yet the faint Battle Qi emanating from their bodies was remarkably thick and powerful, causing Xiao Yan to nod repeatedly—this Burning Flame Valley's young disciples had exceptional talent indeed.

Of course, disciples who entered the Burning Flame Valley could hardly be weak in talent; combined with its top-tier cultivation methods, powerful Elders' instruction, and dense Heavenly Energy, it was no wonder their cultivation advanced rapidly.

"No wonder Tian She Mansion dreams of returning to Zhong Zhou—this place truly is blessed with talent and fertile land; it's impossible not to grow strong here."

Compared to the Jia Ma Empire, the Jia Ma Empire was nothing but a backwater—cultivation here relied entirely on luck.

"So now the question is—how do I find Tang Zhen?" Xiao Yan pondered—would he really have to cause a ruckus here and lure out the Valley Master? Would that be too impolite?

Xiao Yan pulled out the Xiao Clan's Clan Token and summoned the Yin Yang Fish. To his great disappointment, his Ancestor Xiao Xuan had clearly left no special means here.

"Ancestor, are you even capable?" Xiao Yan sighed inwardly—his Ancestor was unreliable.

Unlike the Life and Death Gate before, the Clan Token gave no response.

"Miss Huo'er's strength is too great—how does she cultivate? At such a young age, she's already a Dou Zong!"

"Yes, Miss Huo'er's freakish talent is truly discouraging."

"If Miss Huo'er succeeds in refining the Nine Dragon Thunder Gangfire, her strength will surely rise another level."

"I just saw Miss Huo'er instructing disciples on the Training Ground—most of them were left black and blue from her beatings."

"Tsk tsk tsk, let's not go over there—let's head somewhere else."

At this moment, hidden in the shadows, Xiao Yan blinked and murmured: "Huo'er? Could that be Tang Huo'er, Tang Zhen's daughter?"

(End of Chapter)