“Since everyone is here, let’s open the cauldron!”
Chapter 857 Opening the Cauldron
“Open the cauldron!”
When Chi Jing’s clear voice rang out across the area, countless gazes converged over the Great Flame Mountain. Lava rivers boiled as something enormous slowly emerged.
It was a humongous cauldron.
The cauldron looked as if it were made from colored glass. Its interior was extremely vast and mountains seemed to rise within it.
It was the Heaven Flame Cauldron!
When it appeared, sect master Xuan Kun nodded with a nonchalant face.
Swish!
Ninety-nine figures flew into the air and appeared below the cauldron where ninety-nine magma stone platforms sat. The ninety-nine figures quickly seated themselves.
These figures gave off powerful Genesis Qi undulations, and faint burning suns seemed to rise behind them.
These were ninety-nine Heavenly Sun stage experts.
Zhou Yuan could not help but sigh inside as he watched from afar. The Tianyuan Region’s foundations were indeed strong. A Heavenly Sun stage expert would probably be able to take on the position of an elder in the Cangxuan Sect. What was more, even all the Heavenly Sun stage experts in the entire Cangxuan Sect could not possibly add up to ninety-nine.
In contrast, a single Heavenly Spirit Sect in the Tianyuan Region was more than capable of gathering such a number of Heavenly Sun stage experts. From this, one could easily see how terrifying the entire Tianyuan Region was. The power of a single region could easily match the entirety of Cangxuan Heaven.
All of this was because Hunyuan Heaven was a very blessed and lucky land.
While Zhou Yuan was sighing, the ninety-nine Heavenly Sun stage experts shouted in unison. Their shouts boomed across the area like thunder, and the Genesis Qi suns behind them grew increasingly dazzling. When the brightness reached its peak, golden flames began to burn.
Zhou Yuan’s eyes burned with desire. This was the Heavenly Sun Fire unique to Heavenly Sun stage experts!
If the Divine Dwelling halos were the mark of the Divine Dwelling stage, Heavenly Sun Fire was the symbol of the Heavenly Sun stage.
Once Heavenly Sun Fire was born, it would tirelessly refine one’s Genesis Qi and body. In other words, once one stepped into the Heavenly Sun stage, even someone with a weak body would slowly grow stronger under the tempering of the Heavenly Sun Fire.
Although Zhou Yuan’s body was quite strong due to the Mythic Saint Body, he might not be able to stand up to ordinary Heavenly Sun stage experts in terms of physical prowess.
Of course, when Zhou Yuan reached the Heavenly Sun stage, his physical body’s starting point would naturally be much higher than a normal Heavenly Sun stage expert’s.
The Heavenly Sun Fire on the ninety-nine Genesis Qi suns grew increasingly intense. In the end, the suns began to revolve as ninety-nine pillars of fire shot out, pouncing towards the enormous Heaven Flame Cauldron.
Ancient runes squirmed on the Heaven Flame Cauldron and ultimately merged into a giant vortex that swallowed the fire and sent it into the cauldron.
As the cauldron devoured the Heavenly Sun Fire, the interior of the cauldron turned golden. Countless wisps of golden fire rained down within, the golden light growing purer and purer due to the purifying effect of the Heaven Flame Cauldron.
Golden fire drifted inside like golden fire lotuses floating in the air.
Desire emerged in the eyes of the numerous Divine Dwelling stage experts present as they gazed at the golden fire lotuses.
Chi Jing gave a faint nod as she watched atop her magma lotus seat. The appearance of the golden fire lotuses represented the beginning of the Heaven Flame Ritual.
“Four pavilions, prepare to send your Spirits into the Heaven Flame Cauldron,” her clear and commanding voice echoed in everyone’s ears.
The members of the four pavilions respectfully acknowledged her before quickly seating themselves.
Bzzbzz!
Spirit light flickered between their brows. In the next instant, tens of thousands of Spirits soared into the sky, creating an extremely spectacular sight.
Zhou Yuan’s Spirit stood amongst the few thousand Wind Pavilion Spirits. His Spirit appeared exceptionally corporeal compared to the surrounding Spirits, and the Spirit undulations that pulsed from him were far more powerful than the others.
These Spirits immediately moved towards the Heaven Flame Cauldron. The cauldron lid cracked open slightly as a suction force emerged, swallowing the several tens of thousands of Spirits nearby.
Countless gazes were cast towards the interior of the Heaven Flame Cauldron as looks of curiosity and anticipation emerged on everyone’s faces. They knew that the entertainment was finally about to begin.
Atop the magma lotus at the highest point of the mountain, Chi Jing’s bright eyes flickered slightly as she watched attentively.
By the side, only indifference was visible on sect master Xuan Kun’s aged face as he asked, “Grand elder Chi Jing, who do you think will be the biggest winner this time?”
Chi Jing was seated in a cross-legged posture, her body long and slender and her face as fair as jade. “The Fire Pavilion should be the strongest, but that does not mean anything. The appearance of a dark horse, on the other hand, will be a pleasant surprise.”
Sect master Xuan Kun smiled faintly. “The dark horse’s weakness is too obvious. I’m afraid that it still lacks experience.”
Chi Jing did not comment on his remark and instead cast her gaze towards the interior of the Heaven Flame Cauldron.
“Talk is useless, let reality speak for itself.”
When Zhou Yuan’s Spirit was sucked into the Heaven Flame Cauldron, the scenery before his eyes dazzled for an instant before a wave of heat surged towards him. He hurriedly concentrated and found himself in a different world.
Majestic peaks towered across the land. The trees on the mountains were not green but red like copper.
A golden fire lotus drifted past before his eyes.
Zhou Yuan’s Spirit power whizzed out and caught the lotus, bringing it towards him. The golden lotus slowly revolved in the air as strange undulations pulsed from the golden flame within. The flame was tiny but capable of swiftly burning Genesis Qi like fire burning oil.
“Is this Heavenly Sun Fire?”
Zhou Yuan felt the wisp of extremely pure fire within the golden fire lotus, amazement flitting across his eyes. Although he was not a Heavenly Sun stage expert, he had encountered quite a number of them before and could naturally sense that the Heavenly Sun Fire within this golden fire lotus was far purer than the Heavenly Sun Fire produced by them. Most importantly, the golden fire lotus did not contain any thoughts or will, making it absorbable by anyone.
Even though Zhou Yuan’s Spirit was currently separated from his body, he could still feel a surge of desire coming from his body.
It felt as if an extremely thirsty and starving person had seen a delicious feast.
“This Heaven Flame Cauldron is a great treasure.” Zhou Yuan could not help but sigh.
While Zhou Yuan was sighing, several thousand Spirits hurriedly approached him from all directions, led by Ye Bingling, Yi Qiushui and the rest.
The Wind Pavilion members’ Spirits were gathering together.
Zhou Yuan peered into the distance. The other three pavilions had also begun to gather.
The Heaven Flame Ritual battle had formally begun.
Zhou Yuan took a deep breath, feeling the heat of the Heaven Flame Cauldron. His gaze swept across the area as he solemnly said, “We’ll first occupy one of the mountains and begin cutting down the scarlet copper trees to craft scarlet copper umbrellas and the fire-gathering stage!”
Zhou Yuan had crammed a lot of information into his head over the past few months and was now extremely familiar with the Heaven Flame Ritual. He knew that the temperature would rise as more and more Heavenly Sun Fire entered the cauldron un
til it eventually became harmful to the Spirit.
To avoid being burned, the participants needed to craft scarlet copper umbrellas from the scarlet copper trees in the Heaven Flame Cauldron.
Only with a scarlet copper umbrella would one’s Spirit be able to freely move about within the cauldron to collect Heavenly Sun Fire.
The scarlet copper umbrella also had the function of absorbing and storing Heavenly Sun Fire, making collection much easier.
The fire-gathering stage was even more important. Since they had entered the cauldron in Spirit form, they did not have any container to store Heavenly Sun Fire and could not possibly keep trying to herd the fire together with their Spirits. Without discussing how many fire lotuses each Spirit could manage, trying to keep ahold of the Heavenly Sun Fire would handicap them and become a burden when they wanted to fight.
Hence, instead of fighting, the priority was to first craft scarlet copper umbrellas and the fire-gathering stage in the Heaven Flame Ritual.
Under Zhou Yuan’s lead, several thousand Spirits flew towards a large mountain covered in numerous scarlet copper trees.
When they landed, Zhou Yuan waved his hand, and Ye Bingling and Yi Qiushui swiftly assigned roles to everyone. One group was in charge of standing guard, another started to collect the drifting golden fire lotuses, and the remainder began to chop down the scarlet copper trees.
Several thousand Spirits hurried about on the scarlet-red mountain, making it strangely lively.
Zhou Yuan stood on the peak of the mountain, an icy light flickering in his eyes as he gazed towards the far away Fire Pavilion. Let’s see what Lu Xiao’s next move is.
Chapter 858 Scarlet Copper Umbrella, Fire-Gathering Stage
Zhou Yuan’s Spirit was seated atop the peak of a scarlet-red mountain. His Spirit power spread, stopping the golden fire lotuses that slowly fell from the sky before pulling them towards him. They hovered around his body.
There were already more than twenty golden fire lotuses around Zhou Yuan.
However, using his Spirit to grab and draw in the lotuses was far too troublesome. According to Zhou Yuan’s estimates, he would at most be able to collect a hundred lotuses. Any more would only create a frustrating situation, and he would not have any attention to spare for anything else.
Fortunately, Yi Qiushui’s Spirit flew over an incense stick of time later.
“The scarlet copper umbrellas are ready!” With a wave of her hand, a flash of scarlet light shot towards Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan’s Spirit rippled, and the scarlet light came to a stop before him. He looked over and saw a scarlet-red umbrella within the light. The surface of the umbrella was as smooth as a mirror. It was clearly made from wood but looked as if it was crafted from copper.
“So this is the scarlet copper umbrella?”
Zhou Yuan was a little curious. His Spirit curled around the umbrella and opened it. Faint scarlet light immediately sprinkled downwards, enveloping his Spirit. The surrounding heat swiftly dropped as if the scarlet light blocked it.
Zhou Yuan twirled the umbrella at the twenty golden fire lotuses around him. The fire lotuses were immediately drawn towards the umbrella, taking the shape of small flames as they slowly flowed around the umbrella’s edge, creating a dazzling and beautiful sight.
A look of joy involuntarily rose on Zhou Yuan’s face. Although manually pulling the golden lotus flames had not exhausted a substantial amount of his Spirit power, it was still quite a hassle. In comparison, the scarlet copper umbrella made it much easier to collect the fire lotuses.
He estimated that this scarlet copper umbrella would be able to temporarily house over a hundred golden fire lotuses at once.
It was no wonder the umbrella was necessary in the Heaven Flame Ritual. It was indeed much more convenient with them around.
“How much longer before we can equip everyone with one?” asked Zhou Yuan.
Once everyone was equipped with a scarlet copper umbrella, they would be able to move freely in the Heaven Flame Cauldron. After all, there was a limited amount of Heavenly Sun Flames in one particular location, and they needed to constantly move about in order to collect more.
Yi Qiushui answered, “We’ve crafted a little over three hundred so far, so it should take about half a day to equip every member. Besides this, I’ve also come to report that the fire-gathering stage is in the process of being constructed.”
Zhou Yuan followed her gaze and found a giant scarlet stage slowly taking shape in the valley below. The stage was also made from scarlet copper wood and scarlet rock, and it looked like a giant scarlet ball from a distance.
This was the fire gathering stage.
Zhou Yuan nodded in approval. “Continue the construction. Those who have been allocated scarlet copper umbrellas can start to spread out and gather Heavenly Sun Fire.”
“What about the Fire Pavilion?” asked Yi Qiushui.
Zhou Yuan said, “Let’s calmly observe for the moment. They are a powerful force, and we have no choice but to wait for them to take action first. Only then will we be able to find an opening to defeat them.”
The Fire Pavilion was much stronger than their Wind Pavilion. They would have zero advantage if they took the initiative to attack.
Yi Qiushui nodded. With nothing else to report, she turned around and leaped downwards, returning to the other Wind Pavilion members to urge them to hasten the construction of the fire-gathering stage and the scarlet copper umbrellas.
Zhou Yuan raised his head and peered into the distance as his eyes narrowed slightly. It might seem calm, but a storm was brewing under the calmness.
For the next half a day, no battles erupted in the Heaven Flame Cauldron. More and more scarlet copper umbrellas were completed and quickly distributed to the Wind Pavilion members.
“Pavilion master, the fire gathering stage is complete!”
A sliver of joy flitted across Zhou Yuan’s eyes at this happy voice. His figure moved and appeared in the valley as he cast his gaze forward. A giant scarlet ball several dozen feet wide could be seen.
“Pour the Heavenly Sun Flames into it.” Zhou Yuan waved his hand.
At his command, numerous figures quickly appeared around the scarlet ball. The scarlet copper umbrellas in their hands slowly pointed forward before being closed. Golden flames leaped from umbrella towards its sharp tip, flowing along its body and pouring into the fire-gathering stage.
Crackle!
As more and more flames poured in, a golden flame began to burn in the fire-gathering stage. The surrounding scarlet copper turned red, but the heat did not spread due to its insulative properties.
Zhou Yuan also drifted forward and sent the few dozen Heavenly Sun Flames he had collected in his umbrella into the fire-gathering stage.
As the fire within the stage grew, looks of joy were revealed on the faces of the several thousand Wind Pavilion members. The bigger the flame, the more Heavenly Sun Fire they would receive later on.
“Oh?”
But it was at this moment that Zhou Yuan suddenly raised his head and looked towards a certain spot in the far away sky. With a wave of his hand, he said, “Be on guard!”
Several thousand Spirits immediately entered a state of alert as they moved into formation.
About a thousand Spirits appeared in the distant sky. They were from the Fire Pavilion.
At the very front of the group was a somewhat familiar figure. It was one of the deputy fire pavilion masters, Wang Chen.
Zhou Yuan’s Spirit slowly rose into the air, a chilling expression in his eyes as he stared at Wang Chen and said, “Does the Fire Pavilion think such a small group will be able to take on the entire Wind Pavilion?”
Wang Chen looked at Zhou Yuan with disdain as he replied, “Pavilion master Zhou Yuan thinks too highly of us. I am merely here on our pavilion master’s orders. Our pavilion master wishes to give you another chance. If your Wind Pavilion offers us a hundred thousand fire lotuses, our Fire Pavilion will
leave you a little face.”
Wang Chen’s arrogant words instantly caused fury to color the Wind Pavilion members’ faces. A hundred thousand fire lotuses…wasn’t the Fire Pavilion being a little too greedy? This was equivalent to making the Wind Pavilion work for free.
Zhou Yuan stared at Wang Chen, but did not display any anger. Instead, he laughed and said, “Deputy pavilion master Wang Chen, how about you come forward for us to have a better discussion?”
Wang Chen sneered, “Pavilion master Zhou Yuan, I hope that you won’t fail to appreciate our kindness. This is your final opportunity. Otherwise, it won’t be just the few of us coming next time.”
Of course he would not approach. How could a mere thousand of them possibly be the entire Wind Pavilion’s match? This distance was the safest, they could choose to retreat or advance without pressure.
Zhou Yuan shook his head, his eyes filled with contempt.
Wang Chen’s expression darkened substantially, but he ultimately managed to restrain his anger. He knew that Zhou Yuan was doing it on purpose. If he succumbed to his emotions and got too close, Zhou Yuan would surely finish them off to cut the Fire Pavilion’s overall power.
Zhou Yuan shook his head in disappointment. He could no longer be bothered with Wang Chen and instead looked towards the Wind Pavilion members. “Make use of the time to collect as much Heavenly Sun Fire as possible.”
He knew that Wang Chan’s group was sent by Lu Xiao to keep an eye on them. He had originally believed Lu Xiao would be impatient to cause trouble for them, but it seemed that Lu Xiao was still able to maintain his composure. It was likely that the Fire Pavilion would not attack before equipping all their members with scarlet copper umbrellas so as to prevent even a single Wind Pavilion member from escaping.
However, Zhou Yuan was unafraid. He was fully prepared and only needed to wait for the perfect opportunity to present itself. As for who would be last one standing, everyone would only find out after they fought.
Under Zhou Yuan’s command, the Wind Pavilion left a thousand members behind to keep an eye on Wang Chen’s group while the others swiftly scattered to gather Heavenly Sun Flames.
Dragon Prince Yuan c1-1251 Page 451
