Chapter 455 73: Supreme Elder of True Fire

Inside the All Heaven Stars Formation.

In a vast, pitch-black void, countless stars glittered, hiding a deadly intent.

A majestic Cloud Palace darted through the stars. It moved forward and backward, up and down, its trajectory completely erratic.

Yet, despite its haphazard movements, it miraculously avoided the vast winds of silent death, the turbulent void currents, and even the Returning Ruins Vortexes.

If the array were fully active, with the Star River flowing and the light of a billion stars weaving together, survival would be impossible.

Even Dharma Realm cultivators would be in mortal danger if trapped within this array.

At this moment, Jingyuan was commanding the Great Wei Cloud Palace Token. Relying on the defensive power of the Fourth-rank Talisman and the "route" through the Grand Array recorded on the Golden Foil Treasure Map, he was flying toward the exit, step by step.

After a long while, the Grand Wei Cloud Palace broke through a patch of deep, black void and suddenly appeared under a clear, azure sky!

Two massive figures were not far away.

Jingyuan could see clearly that one of them was his father's Feather Divine Soldiers.

'I'm finally out!'

He sighed with emotion as he put away the Great Wei Cloud Palace Token and appeared in the sky.

Compared to before, he had clearly matured a great deal. His face held a weathered resilience, and his gaze was steady and grave.

The brow of the Feather Divine Soldiers CRACKED open, and Fang Cheng stepped out. His eyes fell upon his son, and he couldn't help but frown.

"Jingyuan, your cultivation?"

Jingyuan gave a bitter smile and said, "When the Grand Array was activated, the flow of time inside was altered. One day outside was one year inside. I was trapped in there for more than ten years, so my cultivation naturally progressed."

Before coming to Jin Country, he had only just entered the Life Talisman Realm. Now, he was already in the Late-Life Talisman Stage.

Such a cultivation speed was enough to shock the entire Cultivation Realm.

Fang Cheng, however, could see that his Qi Sea was unstable and his Magical Power was impure. It was obvious he had relied on consuming pills to advance, which would cause immense problems down the line.

"This is not the place to talk. Come with me." With a sweep of his large sleeve, Fang Cheng brought Jingyuan to the top of a nearby mountain.

Over there, Elder Yingya had also withdrawn the Primordial Image Cauldron's Spiritual Ape form and was beginning to dismantle and collect the All Heaven Stars Formation.

As father and son watched Elder Yingya work, they talked. Jingyuan recounted the important parts of his journey one by one.

At first, everything had gone smoothly. Guided by the Golden Foil Treasure Map, he quickly found the ancient cave of the Qinghao Wanderer. After venturing a hundred zhang deep into the cave, he reached its end.

At the very end was a "Starry Night Sky" several zhang in size.

He entered it and followed the directions deep into the array, where he saw a magnificent palace standing in the center of the Star River.

The palace contained the Qinghao Wanderer's lifelong collection, which consisted mainly of Spirit Pills and Spiritual Medicine.

Unfortunately, before he could finish collecting it all, the Grand Array activated. The Starry Night Sky expanded, the Profound Mechanisms of the array began to operate, and the area outside the palace instantly became fraught with danger, making it impossible to leave.

Even more frightening, Jingyuan learned from the records left by the Qinghao Wanderer that this array had the ability to distort the passage of time. If he remained trapped, he would perish in less than a year of outside time.

So, at the critical moment, he used the Talisman Array left behind by Li Chan to call for help, which led to Fang Cheng coming to his rescue.

During the ten-odd days he was trapped in the array, he could only pass the time by cultivating.

Fortunately, the palace lacked for nothing, especially not Spirit Pills!

The Spirit Pills that boosted one's cultivation had astonishing medicinal power, and Jingyuan began an incredibly extravagant path of cultivation.

The long years were lonely and hard to bear. After cultivating alone for a year, he released the two sisters, Ning Shuang and Ning Xue, from the Lingxiao Three Sceneries Talisman.

The two sisters had been trapped for over a year and were also feeling down.

The three of them, confined within the palace and spending their days and nights together, inevitably developed feelings for one another.

After that, one thing naturally led to another. Jingyuan, out of curiosity, had secretly learned several Dual Cultivation Secret Methods during his early years on Primordial Qi Celestial Island, and he put them all to use now.

The three used the Dual Cultivation Secret Methods to refine the medicinal power of the pills and ward off their loneliness, and their cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds...

Later, when Fang Cheng forced back the other cultivators and joined forces with Elder Yingya to stabilize the Grand Array, Jingyuan immediately used the Great Wei Cloud Palace Token to break free.

After listening to the whole story, Fang Cheng said, "Come back with me to the True Flame Sect to cultivate for a while. You need to properly stabilize your foundation. Do not take any more Spirit Pills for the time being."

Jingyuan's expression turned serious. He knew that with his father's guidance, the negative aftereffects of consuming so many Spirit Pills could likely be eliminated.

Fang Cheng then took out a jade slip and handed it to Jingyuan. "This *Supreme Yin Yang Profound Origin Treasure Scripture* has an extraordinary origin. The Yin Yang Harmony Technique within it is a Xuanmen Orthodox Sect method and is miraculously effective at harmonizing yin and yang for mutual growth..."

As he spoke, he pointed out the hidden dangers in Jingyuan's Qi Sea one by one and told him how to resolve them.

Jingyuan listened humbly, a secret fear growing in his heart as he realized just how reckless he had been.

In the distance, the "Starry Night Sky" formed by the All Heaven Stars Formation gradually shrank until, a few days later, it vanished completely.

Elder Yingya had successfully collected the Fifth-rank Array. Carrying an array diagram and ninety-nine Array Flags, he came to the mountain where Fang Cheng and his son were, smiling. "It is done! The value of this array is even greater than that of a Fifth-rank Magical Artifact. Young Master Jingyuan deserves most of the credit for this!"

With that, he handed the array diagram and other items to Fang Cheng.

Fang Cheng didn't stand on ceremony. After taking the diagram, the three of them set off back to the True Flame Sect.

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「Three hundred li from the True Flame Sect's gates.」

Nine dazzlingly brilliant Golden Beads suddenly flew in front of the Ruyi Celestial Escape Shuttle, their divine light shimmering as they blocked its path.

The power of these nine Golden Beads was extraordinary, seeming to hold the might to crack the heavens and shake the earth. They were clearly a rare, complete set of Fourth-rank Magical Artifacts.

Fang Cheng was about to pilot the shuttle to ram right through them but was stopped by Yingya, who sighed and said, "It's my Martial Uncle. Let me go out and speak with him."

With that, he flashed out of the shuttle and appeared before the Golden Beads.

A cloud of luminous mist emerged from one of the Golden Beads, then coalesced into an old man in a Daoist Robe.

The old man had a full head of silver hair, yet his face showed no signs of age. A faintly intimidating aura emanated from between his brows.

He had cultivated for a thousand years and was the oldest cultivator in the True Flame Sect, deeply admired and revered by all its members.

Yingya bowed and said, "Martial Uncle, what matter required you to come in person?"

The old man said coldly, "Opening the door for a thief, willingly becoming another's slave... If I hadn't come out, you would have handed over the entire True Flame Sect to an outsider."

Elder Yingya knew that news of what happened in the Hundred Barbarian Mountain Range had reached the True Flame Sect. Someone on the Elder Council must have seen the situation turning sour and gone to ask this Supreme Elder to intervene.

These nine Golden Beads were the old man's Lifebound Magical Artifact, and they had slain countless enemies for the True Flame Sect.

Yingya sighed. "Martial Uncle, it's a long story..."

Since things had come to this, he no longer hid anything. He started from when he was ambushed by the Master of Ten Thousand Transformations Sect in his early years and placed under the Soul-Devouring Spell, all the way to how he was now helping Fang Cheng repair the Feather Divine Soldiers with the future prospect of refining the legendary Profound Celestial Divine Puppet.

"The two of us are in a cooperative relationship. Although Fellow Daoist Fang only has a Life Soul Cultivation, his methods are astonishing. He even destroyed the physical body of the Great Chi Demon Sect's Celestial Refining Demon Monarch, forcing his soul to flee with heavy injuries. If our True Flame Sect can gain Fellow Daoist Fang's assistance, I am certain we will rise to a new level."

Yingya said slowly.

The old man frowned in silence. After a moment, he asked, "Is there really no way to break that Soul-Devouring Spell?"

Yingya shook his head. "And I truly cannot think of any treasure in the True Flame Sect that could move Fellow Daoist Fang enough for him to willingly undo this spell for me."

The old man sighed, then said in a clear voice, "Fellow Daoist Fang, would you please come out and meet with me?"

Fang Cheng stepped out of the shuttle and said nonchalantly, "I am here. What guidance might you have for me, Fellow Daoist?"

The old man performed a Daoist salute. "Just now, Yingya told me the whole story. Fellow Daoist, you have resided within our sect's gates for many years now and can be considered half a True Flame Sect cultivator. I wonder, would you be willing to become a Supreme Elder of our True Flame Sect?"

Fang Cheng listened, pondered for a moment, then nodded. "There is nothing improper about such an arrangement. I accept."

Yingya felt a sense of relief, thinking to himself that the True Flame Sect had averted another crisis.

Then he heard Fang Cheng say, "What I am after is the Tier Five Profound Celestial Divine Puppet. Until that is complete, I will naturally not treat your esteemed sect poorly. You have my word, Fellow Daoist."

The old man nodded. "If I can participate in the refining of such a treasure in my lifetime, I will have no regrets."

He was filled with emotion. The man before him was only a tenth of his age, yet with the Profound Celestial Divine Puppet, he had fought one against two and defeated two Dharma Realm demon cultivators.

Especially the Celestial Refining Demon Monarch—the old man was very familiar with his strength, yet he had been no match for this person either.

It seemed that besides the treasure he possessed, his true strength was also not to be underestimated.

Fang Cheng thought to himself that this old Daoist was truly cut from the same cloth as Yingya. Their style was nearly identical: worldly-wise, smooth, and pragmatic, almost like businessmen. It was no wonder the True Flame Sect had stood firm in the Cultivation Realm for so many years.

Afterward, the nine Golden Beads shot through the air and returned to the True Flame Sect.

Fang Cheng also had Jingyuan exit the shuttle. The three of them then boarded Elder Yingya's magnificent cloud chariot and flew toward the True Flame Sect.

From far away, they could hear the nine tolls of a bell from within the True Flame Sect, long and resonant.

After the cloud chariot passed through the nine great gates in the canyon and entered the True Flame Sect, they saw a thousand streaks of Escape Light descending from the sky like a shower of starry rainbows, all gathering neatly before the chariot.

It was the thousand-some Elders and disciples of the True Flame Sect, all gathered together.

At the head was a group of Life Soul Realm Elders, followed by numerous Life Talisman Disciples led by the ten True Disciples. Behind them were the disciples of the Inner Sect, outer sect, and so on.

Dressed in a Profound Robe, Fang Cheng stepped down from the cloud chariot, flanked by Elder Yingya and Jingyuan.

Li Chan hurried forward, bowed deeply, and said, "Disciple respectfully welcomes Master."

Behind him, the thousand members of the True Flame Sect bowed in unison and said, "We respectfully welcome Master Fang's presence."

Their voices were immense, echoing through the mountains.

"There is no need for such ceremony."

Fang Cheng waved his sleeve, signaling for everyone to rise. Then, accompanied by Elder Yingya, he made his way to the True Flame Sect's Ancestral Hall.

Yingya's Martial Uncle, Wansong Taoist, was already waiting there in person.

Subsequently, Fang Cheng changed into the True Flame Sect's formal crown and Profound Robe, held the Spirit Incense, and joined Wansong and Yingya in paying respects to the past patriarchs and saints of the True Flame Sect.

In front of all the sect members, Wansong personally announced Fang Cheng as a Supreme Elder of the True Flame Sect.

Outside the Ancestral Hall, the sect members bowed in unison once more.

Next, the Life Soul Realm cultivators of the Elder Council entered the Ancestral Hall to meet Fang Cheng, followed by the sect's ten True Disciples.

By now, Fang Cheng's name had not only shaken Jin Country but had also sent massive waves throughout the entire East Cyan Domain, like a giant boulder thrown into a lake, sparking countless discussions.

When the members of the True Flame Sect learned that such a figure had become their sect's Supreme Elder, they were filled with a mixture of complex feelings.

After the ceremony, Fang Cheng returned to Spirit Rock Peak.

...