Chapter 803: Divine Fire

Shopkeeper Lei spent the whole day pulling strings, finally managing to clear the obstacles with the Fire Spirit clan with the help of a certain blue-skinned broker, and obtained an admission ticket to trade in the West District. This consumed a massive amount of his wealth and a vast quantity of his energy; upon returning to his lodging, he felt both physically and mentally exhausted.

After returning, he did not rest, but first quietly inquired whether the Young Master had returned. Upon receiving the answer that he had returned a step earlier and had already gone into his room to rest, his spirit lifted slightly, and he put on an appearance of being both weary and full of drive.

He had originally intended to find Xiaochong to ask where they had gone to wander about today, what the harvest was like, and whether they had stirred up any trouble.

However, he could not find the lad for a moment, and everyone he asked said they hadn't seen him, so he had to give up for the time being. He couldn't help but curse the boy a few times for being so inconsiderate as to not report to him voluntarily, then went off to the innermost courtyard to find Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao's courtyard was not the most spacious or comfortable among the lodgings they had rented temporarily, but it was the most secluded, located at the very back with only one small door. Theoretically, apart from Shopkeeper Lei, no one was allowed to enter without permission. Therefore, Shopkeeper Lei composed himself and hurried inside, but as he looked up and called out "Young Master," he froze.

"You... why are you here?"

Xiaochong, who was sitting on the bed, was extremely embarrassed and said, "Uncle Lei, that... actually, it has always been me."

Shopkeeper Lei asked in astonishment, "What do you mean it has always been you? Where is the Young Master?"

Xiaochong said, "I went out with the Young Master, but only I returned; he did not. Then he performed a very strange trick on me... I didn't feel anything myself, but to outsiders, I looked just like the Young Master. I just pretended he had returned, and as soon as I got back, I ducked into the room to wait for you. The Young Master specifically instructed that no one except you must know he has left."

Shopkeeper Lei muttered, "Left? He just left like that? To think I spent the whole day busy pulling strings for him, and he just left without a sound? That's not right, is it? Wasn't it said at the beginning that I would take him into the Fire Spirit clan to scout the situation, and then we would plan accordingly?"

He was momentarily unable to react to this news, and slapping his thigh, he said, "You, come here and tell me where you went today?"

Xiaochong had a very good memory, so he told him about how he and Tang Zhao went to the Shenmiao and spoke with the wood-selling vendor in front of the Shenmiao.

He emphasized, "I think there might have been some key in what that vendor said. Before that, the Young Master was still in a very relaxed state while wandering, but after hearing those words, his state changed instantly. He became tense, and after pausing for a while, it was as if he had made some decision. Then he went into the Shenmiao with me, circled around it, and called me over to say, 'Xiaochong, we shall part ways here. You go back first, I must leave first...'"

Shopkeeper Lei asked, "What did you see when you went into the Shenmiao?"

Xiaochong said, "Nothing much, it's just a Shenmiao. Although their Shenmiao are all built in strange ways, they are actually all built around a god, and the layout is more or less the same. However, the center of this Shenmiao is a ball of flame, seven or eight zhang high, almost taller than a typical three-story building. The color changes from bright red on the outside to golden yellow on the inside; it is vivid and quite spectacular. Of course, after seeing it, I really felt this flame carried a bit of divinity. At the time, the Young Master also watched it for a while and suddenly smiled."

Having said this, he paused and unconsciously revealed a smile, perhaps imitating Tang Zhao, though the imitation was very abstract, and said, "The Young Master might have had some idea at that moment and then decided to leave. But how he came up with the idea, I don't know."

Shopkeeper Lei frowned and said, "He is elusive and leaves as soon as he says he will; I am not surprised by that. But where did he go? And how did he go? He is considered a cautious person; he wouldn't just charge into a dragon's den or a tiger's lair on a whim, would he? Otherwise, he wouldn't have hired me."

Xiaochong suddenly slapped his head and said, "Ah, I thought of something that might be related to where he went. When we were watching the fire, we heard two Fire Spirit people say: 'Going back to the Shenghuodi tomorrow? I really can't bear to leave...' The person behind said, 'This is a good thing. We leave tonight.' I didn't listen carefully later, but I remember the Young Master seemed to be listening intently; he probably followed them..."

"Shenghuodi?" Shopkeeper Lei recited the place name twice, suddenly feeling a palpitation, and said, "You mean the Young Master went straight to their lair? That Shenghuodi sounds like their core lair, doesn't it? How many powerful people must be there? No matter how strong a person is, once they enter someone else's territory, they are still one man against many. He is alone... this is terrible!"

Xiaochong, on the other hand, comforted him, "Uncle, don't worry. I don't think the Young Master is that kind of reckless person. Doesn't he have that kind of trick? Turning one person into the appearance of another so that no one can see through it? He might have used a disguise and snuck in. He followed the person who said they were returning to the Shenghuodi and went in without anyone knowing."

Shopkeeper Lei spat, "What trick? That is Sword Art. You wouldn't understand even if I told you. You think it's magical because your strength is far too lacking; you'd mistake a needle for a club. But the real Shenghuodi doesn't have little fools like you; they are all truly heaven-defying experts. Not to mention there is a god; how could he possibly hide it... Sigh, I thought he was a cautious person, I didn't expect..."

Xiaochong was also panicked when he heard this and said, "Then what should we do? Will it implicate us? Should we run away overnight?"

He remembered that when Shopkeeper Lei entered the city, he had stated in advance that if anyone caused trouble, they would save them if they could, but if they couldn't, they would retreat, and whoever caused the trouble would have to fend for themselves.

Shopkeeper Lei said irritably, "Run? I just registered my name in front of several factions today, and now I'm going to run away overnight? Wouldn't that instead arouse suspicion and lead to us being hunted down overnight? Besides, if that Young Master returns safely and finds that we didn't support him according to the original plan, he will also cause us trouble. It's difficult on both sides. For now, we can only... only follow the original plan, pretend nothing has happened, and see how the wind blows first..."

Xiaochong thought to himself: Doesn't that mean being at a loss and waiting for death? So this uncle of his, who used to be all-powerful, can now only sit and do nothing.

He complained to himself, feeling quite fearful and even more resentful, thinking of Tang Zhao:

Where did this guy go?

At this moment, a team with red hair left Sishang City and headed toward the Shenghuodi of the Fire Spirit clan.

They set off at night and arrived at night.

Well, they arrived instantly.

Because they were not riding horses or carriages, nor were they using Flying, but the fastest method in the world: teleportation.

This teleportation spanned several thousand miles west from Sishang City, all the way to the edge of Lingjie.

A long-distance teleportation for multiple people consumes a terrifying amount of energy; unless it is war, it is absolutely not worth it.

This time, the exception to activate the teleportation array was not because there was some high-ranking VIP in the team, but something even higher—

This time, it was to send the Divine Fire of Sishang City back to the Shenghuodi!

The Divine Fire in every Shenmiao is a fire seed taken from the sacred fire of the Shenghuodi, and they all truly possess the power of a god.

However, the sacred fire itself is constantly growing, and its power is becoming stronger and stronger, but once divided, the Divine Fire has no way to grow; instead, it will continue to be consumed and eventually become ordinary. Therefore, the Divine Fire must be recycled after a period of time and replaced with a newly divided Divine Fire.

And the old Divine Fire is not extinguished on the spot, but must be sent back to the Shenghuodi to return to the embrace of the sacred flame.

This was something everyone knew in the past, and welcoming the Divine Fire and sending off the Divine Fire became important ceremonies and even festivals.

However, at some point, the Shendian began to treat this matter as a taboo. Perhaps after comparing with other god clans, they felt that the power of a god should be eternal and should not have the concept of decline. If they admitted that their Divine Fire would weaken, it seemed they would be showing weakness to others.

So now, changing the Divine Fire has turned from a public celebration into a sneaky little action. Everyone takes advantage of the night to swap the Divine Fire, and the next morning they act as if nothing happened, pretending it is still the original one.

This batch arrived at the Shenghuodi from Sishang City within the stipulated time; half were the clergy from the Shenmiao itself, and the other half were envoys sent by the Shenghuodi. However, they were all young people; the god Taixiong likes enthusiastic and lively young people to serve him.

The journey was quite relaxed, and it was easy for young people to talk together. Fire Spirit people are generally more enthusiastic and are also very good to their own kind. They carried the Divine Fire to the entrance Shendian in front of the Shenghuodi, and while waiting for the gatekeeper, they had a rare moment of leisure.

"The state of this Divine Fire is very good; I don't think it's any worse than the new fire I sent over. Actually, it's just that the stipulated time has arrived, otherwise, there would be no need to change it given the state of the Divine Fire. You must have served it very piously, right?" a Shenghuodi priest said with a relaxed expression.

After the Divine Fire is divided, the speed of decline varies. Actually, no one has figured out the reason, so they can only attribute it to whether the people serving it are pious or not. Anyway, this thing is idealistic, similar to "sincerity leads to efficacy," but in fact, it is "efficacy leads to sincerity." Anyway, if the Divine Fire hasn't declined, it means your heart is sincere enough; conversely, you might as well reflect on yourself.

The young priest from Sishang City sighed: "As far as we are concerned, we are of course serving with all our might, but it is strange to say that since yesterday, the state of the Divine Fire has been even better than usual. I suppose the Divine Fire has a spirit and is rejoicing at the thought of returning to the embrace of our god."

The Shenghuodi priest nodded. Actually, this kind of thing seems to have never happened before. Thinking about it carefully, it is a bit strange, but these young people are all pious believers of the fire god Taixiong, and anything involving divine anomalies is thought of with divine thinking; they didn't think of any messy "un-divine" things at all.

At this time, they heard the sound of bells ringing outside, the main gate opened wide, and the gatekeeper with the reddest and most vivid hair opened the door and verified the identities of these young priests one by one. The identities of these people had long been verified through multiple layers, they were familiar with each other, and there were passwords and secret codes to ensure it; it was absolutely impossible to be impersonated.

After verifying their identities, the gate made of sacrificial wood, which was superior to gold and stone, slowly opened, and the young priests carried the blazing, golden-centered Divine Fire inside in a dignified manner.