As soon as Ye Qiu arrived in front of the canyons, he felt a scorching aura, as if he had reached a mountain of flames.
He did not hesitate at all and directly entered a canyon.
On the mountain peak.
Elder Sheep said, “Brother Ye has gone in.”
“This kid has decent courage, but he is too foolish.” Elder Monkey said, “He took no protective measures at all and entered the canyon directly. He will suffer for it.”
“That may not be the case.” Elder Sheep said, “Brother Ye was able to obtain the supreme opportunity from the Undead Mountain. This is enough to show that his fortune is profound. Perhaps entering the canyon will be smooth sailing for him.”
Elder Monkey said disdainfully, “You have never entered that area of canyons. You simply do not understand. Just wait and see. Even if that kid obtains a strange fire, he will shed a layer of skin.”
Elder Sheep smiled. “Fine, I will wait. In any case, I have confidence in Brother Ye.”
…
After Ye Qiu entered the canyon, he clearly felt the scorching sensation grow stronger. Hot winds blew against his face, making his mouth dry and his tongue parched.
If an ordinary person without cultivation entered the canyon, they would probably be turned into a desiccated corpse by the heat waves.
Ye Qiu was now at the extreme of the Cave Heaven realm, so for the time being, these heat waves posed no threat to him.
He raised his eyes and looked around.
Ye Qiu’s gaze fell into one canyon, where he saw a pale red flame about the size of a washbasin, eerily floating in the air.
The surroundings were completely scorched.
Although it was far away, Ye Qiu could clearly feel that the power of that flame was very strong.
“That flame should be a low-grade yellow-level strange fire.”
Ye Qiu only glanced at it once, then strode forward without lingering.
Soon, he saw a second strange fire.
It was also in a canyon. That strange fire was pink, with towering waves of flame.
Ye Qiu still only swept a glance and continued onward.
Along the way, Ye Qiu saw at least dozens of strange fires, but he did not stop at any.
Because from the beginning, his target had been the emperor-level strange fire at the very core.
After advancing more than ten li deeper, the temperature became even more blistering. Even though his physical body was extremely tough, signs of cracking appeared.
“Buzz!”
Without hesitation, Ye Qiu activated the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Art. A layer of golden light circulated over his body surface, isolating the scorching sensation.
At the same time.
Ye Qiu increased his speed.
“Swish!”
His figure shot forward like an arrow.
He ran for over a hundred li, passing countless canyons. Suddenly, Ye Qiu felt as if his skin was splitting open.
Lifting his eyes, he saw in the canyon ahead a mass of pitch-black strange fire.
This strange fire was only the size of a water cup, floating quietly in the air, yet it resembled nether flames, making Ye Qiu’s heart palpitate.
If not for the divine light protecting his body and his extremely strong physique, Ye Qiu would probably have met disaster. Even so, his entire body burned with pain.
“The power of this strange fire is clearly stronger than all those I have seen before. It is at least earth-level.”
“This kind of flame is enough to burn a Cave Heaven realm cultivator to death.”
Ye Qiu paused briefly, then gritted his teeth fiercely and directly used One Step Hundred Li, instantly crossing a hundred li.
As soon as his foot landed, he felt a chilling sensation all over his body. The Xuanyuan Sword buzzed a warning in his mind.
Ye Qiu saw a golden flame dancing in the canyon. Even separated by a thousand metres, it made him feel unable to endure.
At this moment, his skin cracked, as if about to ignite. He felt he was about to turn to ashes. Even operating the Nine Revolutions Divine Dragon Art to its limit could not resist it.
“Clang—”
A sword chime rang out.
The Xuanyuan Sword flew out on its own, hovering above Ye Qiu’s head and cascading strands of golden light downward.
Finally, the sensation of turning to ashes vanished.
Ye Qiu looked ahead. The core canyon was still far away.
However, with the Xuanyuan Sword protecting him, his courage grew.
“Swish!”
Ye Qiu continued using One Step Hundred Li several times in succession. Finally, he drew closer and closer to the canyon at the core position.
But the Xuanyuan Sword trembled violently, already unable to bear the strain.
He knew this was because the Xuanyuan Sword lacked a sword spirit.
At the same time, the scorching fire waves were like peerless divine weapons, nearly slicing Ye Qiu apart. His primordial spirit trembled uneasily, as if it might shatter at any moment.
Ye Qiu sensed a heaven-shaking destructive might. Without hesitation, he immediately withdrew the Xuanyuan Sword and sacrificed the Qiankun Cauldron.
The Qiankun Cauldron hovered above Ye Qiu’s head, cascading a curtain of light like a heavenly net, protecting him within.
“Whew~”
Ye Qiu breathed a sigh of relief. He found that the power was blocked and immediately looked around.
He discovered that, with himself at the centre, there were four huge canyons in the east, south, north, and west directions.
In the eastern canyon, there was a mass of flame about a hundred zhang long, resembling a gigantic divine dragon with nine dragon heads. It floated in the air, dancing and emitting thick dragon might, making one feel oppressed.
In the southern canyon, there was also a mass of flame shaped like a giant turtle, covered in sharp fire spines. Its ferocious giant mouth was filled with brown flames like long spears.
The northern flame resembled an ancient towering tree. Leaves formed from emerald green flames flickered with endless light, like stars, brimming with vast vitality.
As for the flame in the western canyon, it resembled a gigantic Buddha, dense with golden light and emitting bursts of Buddhist chants.
Even though the seals of the Eternal Azure Heaven Great Emperor were in those canyons, preventing the strange fires from breaking out, the pressure they emitted was extremely terrifying.
“These should be the four saint-level strange fires that Elder Monkey mentioned.”
“Thank goodness I have the Qiankun Cauldron. Otherwise, even a peak Spirit Severing powerhouse would be unable to reach here.”
Ye Qiu could not help feeling fortunate. If not for divine artefacts protecting him, he would have long perished.
Ye Qiu observed the four strange fires for a moment, then began moving forward again.
This time, even with divine artefact protection, he did not dare use One Step Hundred Li again.
After all, he was getting closer and closer to the core canyon.
Ye Qiu proceeded cautiously, step by step. It took him several hours. When he was still a thousand metres from the core canyon, Ye Qiu stopped.
Unexpectedly, here he felt no heat waves at all. Strange flowers and rare herbs grew around the canyon, making it look like a paradise beyond the world, extraordinarily tranquil and peaceful.
“Logically, the closer one gets to the emperor-level strange fire, the stronger the pressure should be. Why is there no pressure here at all?”
Ye Qiu felt something strange. He raised his eyes and looked. In the most core canyon, everything was hazy. He could not see the shadow of any strange fire.
Immediately, he activated his heavenly eye.
In an instant, his vision pierced through the haze, but he still saw no strange fire. Instead, he saw a vast expanse of azure mist.
That azure mist drifted in wisps, like immortal vapour, swirling between the canyons.
“Could that mist be the emperor-level strange fire?”
“But I do not feel any scorching aura?”
“Something is odd!”
Ye Qiu stood in place for a while, then made his decision and continued forward.
Until he reached the front of the canyon, there was still no abnormality.
“Emperor-level strange fire, here I come!”
With the Qiankun Cauldron suspended above his head, Ye Qiu stepped into the canyon.
