Chapter 72: The Legendary Infernal Fire

Where are those three people?

Yuan Caimei turned her head to look behind him and found no one else, nor any signs of struggle on his body; her expression froze slightly.

“I persuaded them with heartfelt words; they cried and swore they knew their mistake and would never dare again, even moved enough to hand me their money pouch.”

Ji You smiled faintly, causing Yuan Chen to shiver.

Is this a gift after being moved? Or is this more like an inheritance…

Yuan Caimei didn’t grasp it, only thinking she’d seen a ghost; she fell silent, for she couldn’t fathom just how strong Ji You’s sword had been within the ruins.

Ji You shoved the money pouch into his robe, then pulled out a jade gourd he’d found on the matron, activating it with spiritual light.

Inside the gourd were five blood-red zhuguo fruits, some spirit stones of varying quality, and between them two elixirs.

The elixirs looked utterly plain, pitch-black and showed no signs of anything unusual.

But since they were medicine, Ji You carefully picked them up and held them out to Yuan Chen: “Take a look—what kind of elixirs are these? Are they valuable?”

Yuan Chen picked up one pill, glanced at his sister, and whispered: “Brother-in-law, you’d better keep them yourself—they’re yang-boosting elixirs…”

“?”

Ji You thought back to the trio’s setup and mused: So middle-aged men chasing romance are even more reckless than the young.

But he didn’t really need this—he was already strong.

Ji You carefully stowed the elixirs back into the gourd, tucked it between his belt, then led the two into the mine tunnel…

Meanwhile, in the endless night above Qiling Mountain, thousands of flying carriages rushed toward them.

News of immortals and noble youths from sects who had entered the mountain and broken through their realms continued to spread.

A cultivator from the Chen Clan stood atop a high peak, drinking celestial dew descending from the sky; now he radiated the aura of the Yingtian Realm.

And his age was even one year younger than the junior master of Lingjian Mountain.

A direct disciple of the Shanhai Pavilion’s branch broke through two realms here, reaching Wujiang.

This aura seemed directly poured into him, merging steadily into his spiritual essence.

In a daze, he felt as if he could reach out and touch the sky, gradually sensing his body’s immortality—overwhelmed with ecstatic joy.

From the moment the evil seed left the ruins, to the attacks orchestrated by those controlling the seeds, to the assault on Danzong.

They had traced their steps here, deducing that the ruins must conceal something strange.

But no one imagined they’d stumble upon such a vast celestial fortune.

The temptation was too great.

For thousands of years, countless cultivators had rushed to pursue the Dao, hoping to ascend to immortality, never knowing that Qingyun’s world concealed a place where one could awaken to the Dao in a single moment.

Yet some hesitated, lingering uncertainly before Qiling, unable to make up their minds.

For only recently, the master of Lingjian Mountain had sent a message with eight characters: The mountain holds calamity; men turn into evil seeds.

“Someone must have accidentally entered the ruins, activated the hidden immortal legacy, and unleashed this evil plague.”

“Evil seeds with consciousness had appeared before in Shengjing; it’s said a young man from the Chen Clan was like this—his realm was profound, his body peerless. I suspect they all gained immortal fortune within the ruins.”

“And becoming an evil seed is the price of that immortal fortune.”

“But likewise, those who became evil seeds should retain the ability to control them.”

“This may not be a disaster—just like you and me, who’ve long been stuck; sitting idle in the mountains is worse than risking everything.”

“Even if one becomes an evil seed, so what? Consciousness remains; when finally ascending to immortality, one can shed the mortal body and forge an immortal form—it won’t matter.”

“Moreover, if trained properly, evil seeds could serve as our noble clans’ combat force, allowing us to dominate a single province.”

Immortal sects and noble clans each harbored their own calculations, weighing the gains and losses of this immortal fortune.

Meanwhile, Ji You and the two others had escaped from Hongshan Mine and reached the gentle slope above the mining grounds.

Whether illusion or not, the moment Ji You stepped out, he felt the prickling sensation on his scalp suddenly ease.

He looked around and saw all the miners who had been trapped had escaped.

So his guess was right—they’d already found another tunnel through the mountain wall.

Ji You exhaled in relief, but before he could speak, a sudden explosion erupted beside them.

Unprepared, Ji Hanfei felt a violent force strike his waist and was flung backward.

This sudden event startled Yuan Chen and Yuan Caimei; they immediately scanned the surroundings but found no one—only shattered jade everywhere.

“Who attacked? I… I didn’t even see anything!”

Ji You rose from the ground, staring at the scattered spirit stones and elixirs, frowning: “Not an attack—it was the storage gourd exploding. Don’t use something you can’t afford—why make such shoddy products?!”

Yet as he finished speaking, the zhuguo fruits between the spirit stones and elixirs began to wither, finally turning into piles of black ash.

Yuan Chen’s eyes widened: “How could this happen?”

Ji You was also stunned, then recalled the grotesque, twisted visions he’d seen during his spiritual sense’s flight through the ruins; after a long silence, he said: “Perhaps… the Dao rejects this.”

“What do you mean, the Dao rejects this?”

“The Dao above our heads… seems unwilling to allow such things to exist.”

Yuan Chen thought for a moment, then froze: “Oh no—I can’t feel my brain.”

Yuan Caimei, hearing Ji You’s muttering, froze, then turned back toward the ruins, her pupils slowly contracting.

She raised her right hand and silently recited a spell.

Amidst a dark glow, her slender hand grew translucent, then hardened into jade-like stone.

This was the Xuan Jade Palm of Danzong—a technique used in alchemy.

As she willed it, a string of flickering flames leapt from her palm—flames of a lurid black, like liquid black milk quivering.

Ye Huo…

Yuan Caimei stood frozen for a long while, thinking: So it’s true.

Danzong inherited its alchemical arts from the Honglu furnace, then spent centuries refining its elixir theories.

One such theory, though ancient, had never been verified.

According to elixir laws, a celestial fire from the ancient age should exist—but they’d searched for centuries without finding it; since it remained undiscovered, the theory was deemed dead, abandoned by all.

But just because it’s unfound now doesn’t mean it won’t be found later—so every alchemical system must be known.

Yuan Caimei lifted her head, gazing upward, and suddenly felt a chilling thought.

What rises from the mountains isn’t always immortal light—it could also be alchemical qi nearing boiling point.

Alchemy and immortality are both branches of the Dao; thus, when supreme-grade elixirs emerge, celestial light surges, just as when someone ascends.

Now, it’s about to open its furnace…

(End of Chapter)