The Flame Mountain used to be a desolate mountain. Now, it was a mountain enveloped by flame, and it was quite a spectacular sight to behold. Any other mountain lit on fire would stop burning after all the plants were burned. But here, the fire refused to stop, as if the fire wasn't going to give up before the mountain itself was destroyed. The unending fire was also how people had noticed that a millennium earthcore fire had appeared here.
The millennium earthcore fire was a flame that had existed for a millennium, becoming a flame that was of a higher existence than a regular flame. It was indestructible and would continue burning unendingly. Not even water could stop this flame from burning everything in existence.
Each millennium earthcore fire would take a long time to form, and each appearance of millennium earthcore fire would be a large event among humans. Even Kings would be attracted when one appeared.
This time, the Cloud Margin Pavilion had made a decision that only those below the King Realm could search for the earthcore fire. Because of that, the Kings had no choice but to look from afar and sigh in regret. But that did not mean that the Kings would sit aside willingly. Some had tried to harvest the earthcore fire in the dark, but all who tried had died for the weirdest of reasons. Those deaths were most likely the Cloud Margin Pavilion setting an example out of them. In the territory under jurisdiction of Cloud Margin City, their words were the law, and anyone who disobeyed would die.
After traveling through Chen Clan's blockade, Xiang Shaoyun's group finally arrived before the Flame Mountain. Looking at the more than 10 burning mountain ridges and sensing the intense heat, Xiang Shaoyun lamented, "This is indeed a place where a millennium earthcore fire has been born. The power of fire is so thick here."
"Yeah, the millennium earthcore fire is somewhere in there. It won't be easy to find it. A lot of people have died trying. We must be careful," Gong Qinyin said.
"I have the coldstar stone to protect myself from the heat. How about you?" Xiang Shaoyun asked curiously.
"Don't worry. My king-grade frost armor will offer me enough protection to go in," Gong Qinyin said.
"Good. Let's not wait, let's go in immediately," Xiang Shaoyun said.
"Don't we need to figure out the whereabouts of the earthcore fire before we do anything?" Gong Qinyin asked.
Xiang Shaoyun waved his hand and said, "That won't be necessary at all. The earthcore fire will be right where the fire started."
Xiang Shaoyun was a well-read person. He also had a certain degree of understanding of the earthcore fire. Generally speaking, it would stay right where it was formed. It would not move away easily as it still needed to grow. For example, the current millennium earthcore fire would be trying to grow into a ten millennia earthcore fire, becoming a supreme and divine flame.
That was a path of evolution for the flame, similar to the growth of a cultivator.
"Oh, you sure know a lot," Gong Qinyin said admiringly.
"If you read more books, you will know more as well," Xiang Shaoyun said before walking toward the volcano.
On the way, they encountered many Transformation Realm experts, with a lot of them traveling in groups. Of course, some were also traveling alone. It was obvious all they were here for the millennium earthcore fire.
These people were basically all people with backgrounds, with the majority of them being the disciples or overseers of Cloud Margin Pavilion. These were the people that weren't stopped by the Chen Clan's blockade.
Of course, there were also cultivators from other organizations and unaffiliated cultivators around. These were the people who hadn't entered through the main entry point where the blockade was located. Rather, they had entered through the sides.
The only reason the Chen Clan set up the blockade was to reduce the number of people searching for the millennium earthcore fire in order to reduce Chen Zilong's competitors. They never really intended to fully put the mountain on lockdown. Not even the Cloud Margin Pavilion would let them do that.
The nearer Xiang Shaoyun's group got to the volcanic crater, the higher the temperature. Their mounts were starting to roar in protest due to the rising temperature. Left with no choice, Xiang Shaoyun had to dismount and leave Mo Mo behind to look after his mount.
Gong Qinyin did the same and hopped off her snow lion and left a Gong Clan member behind to look after the mount. At this point, they had to start traveling on foot. But they hadn't even moved far before someone came looking for trouble.
"Leave all the valuables on you behind or prepare to suffer!" said one of the newcomers.
There were seven of them, the size of their group almost similar to the size of Xiang Shaoyun's group. None of them were weaker than the Transformation Realm, and from their attire, they were likely members of some hunting groups or bandits.
"Mo Mo, I'll let you deal with them." Xiang Shaoyun couldn't even be bothered to waste any time with them.
At the command, Mo Mo charged the group without a second thought. Although they were all Transformation Realm cultivators, the strongest was merely a sixth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator. For a group like that to have the guts to rob Xiang Shaoyun's group, it was tantamount to suicide.
Right after Mo Mo attacked, the robbers regretted their decision. Unfortunately, it was too late to regret. They were fated to suffer.
"This will be a cruel path. Are you ready?" Xiang Shaoyun asked Gong Qinyin.
With a resolute expression, Gong Qinyin replied, "The worst that can happen is death."
Xiang Shaoyun gave Gong Qinyin a thumbs up before he started moving.
Naturally, Gong Qinyin followed him. Behind her, four other Gong Clan members followed as well.
After a while, Xiang Shaoyun noticed that all four of the Gong Clan members were enveloped by a red radiance, seemingly having blended into the environment. He mumbled inwardly in astonishment, So turns out they all cultivate the power of fire. No wonder they don't fear the temperature here. Perhaps some of them are even main members of the Gong Clan.
After studying them for a bit, Xiang Shaoyun's gaze ultimately landed on a young man that looked completely ordinary. That man was about 25 years old, and due to the darker shade of his skin, he looked slightly older than his actual age. He looked completely inconspicuous, but he had the combat prowess of a sixth-stage Transformation Realm cultivator.
Xiang Shaoyun also noticed that the other three Gong Clan members were in a way keeping him in the middle, protecting him instead of Gong Qinyin. It was obvious that he was the actual leader of the Gong Clan's group.
Inwardly, Xiang Shaoyun thought, Looks like the Gong Clan does not fully trust Gong Qinyin. Or perhaps she is lying to me?
Since the betrayal he had suffered, Xiang Shaoyun had been on guard against anyone he met. Even if it seemed like he had a good relationship with Gong Qinyin, he wouldn't fully trust her. That was also why he was able to notice the young man in the group.
Right this moment, a large group of people ran down from the mountain, one of them shouting, "Run! The flame beasts are attacking!"