Chapter 279: Chapter 226: 30 Years: True Flame Refines Magical Treasure! [Second Update!]_2
Taking disciples.
This was an idea Chen Jichuan had for a long time.
However, prior to this, Chen Jichuan had been single-mindedly focusing on cultivation. Adding to that, he was merely a True Inheritor of the Heaven Mending Sect with Qi Refinement cultivation, limited resources, and limited time, so he hadn’t started implementing his plan.
After advancing to the second order, with a thousand years of lifespan, he could finally set aside some time.
If he could train seven or eight second-order disciples, even if his own cultivation stagnated, relying on his age, seniority, and connections, he could still hold a respectable status within the Heaven Mending Sect.
"To take disciples for future reliance, it’s best to choose youths around sixteen to twenty years old."
"Those who come already skilled lack a certain quality."
"But currently, as I am guarding Nine Yang Island and need helpers to gather True Flame, I can select some Qi Refinement Tenth Layer disciples from within the sect. As for direct disciples, I’ll choose them from recruits who have just recently entered the sect."
The former have limited potential. Tempting them with rewards, they can be useful in the short term.
The latter are valuable for their loyalty. Building emotional bonds with them can make them inheritors of the legacy.
After careful deliberation for a time.
Once confident in his plans, Chen Jichuan began to act.
Time passed swiftly.
Another thirty years went by.
...
On this day.
Within Nine Yang Island.
As usual, Ding Xuan summoned the second-order Magical Treasure ’Heavenly Silkworm Bowl’ bestowed by the Island Master, True Person Dai, walking through the sea of fire, searching and gathering ’Taiyang Flame.’
The fire sea surged endlessly.
The True Flame danced nimbly.
Coupled with its rarity, it was already difficult to locate, let alone gather. Even for someone like Ding Xuan, a cultivator at the peak of Qi Refinement, it would require years to successfully gather just a single strand of True Flame.
Ding Xuan had been in Nine Yang Island for thirty years.
Up to now, he had only managed to gather nine strands of True Flame. However, with the second-order Magical Treasure gifted by True Person Dai, he was able to venture into the depths of the fire sea to cultivate, significantly improving his cultivation and mastery of magic.
By comparison.
The hardship of gathering ’Taiyang Flame’ hardly seemed significant.
Having completed his cultivation for the day, Ding Xuan wandered the fire sea, searching for Taiyang Flame, hoping he could seek a Clear Spirit Pill or a Meridian Traveling Pill from True Person Dai.
True Flame was scarce and elusive—most often a matter of fortune.
Ding Xuan was merely gambling on luck, relying only on his fire-based skills for a faint detection. After two hours of searching amidst sweeping flames, he felt his inner fire blazing uncontrollably, nearing his limit.
Such monotonous searching required patience and caution.
Cultivators like Ding Xuan, over two centuries old and nearing their lifespan’s end at the Qi Refinement Tenth Layer, mostly abandoned further pursuits, choosing to enjoy life’s comforts instead. Only a select few retained the ambition to strive toward the second order, clinging to a faint hope for thousand-year longevity.
Ding Xuan belonged to the latter group.
For thirty years, he had been relentlessly scouring every day. Subduing his inner fire and suppressing his restlessness, he sought to extend his area of search a little more.
But, just at that moment.
Suddenly.
"Boom!"
A thunderous roar shook the fire sea, which had been relatively calm moments ago, now erupting into chaos.
"Wasn’t this suppressed just two years ago? How—"
Ding Xuan was startled.
No time for questions, and unwilling to risk continuing his search for True Flame, he hastily pushed the ’Heavenly Silkworm Bowl’ to its limit, propelling himself toward the outer edges of the fire sea.
The fire sea was perilous.
Once it erupted violently, its capacity for destruction became unimaginable. Even second-order True Persons had to tread carefully, let alone first-order cultivators like them.
Fortunately, he had the ’Heavenly Silkworm Bowl.’
Covered entirely by the treasure’s protective veil, he surged straight out from the fire sea. Raising his head, he finally saw the ’culprit’ responsible for the fire sea’s upheaval.
"Roar~"
Overhead, a fire dragon coiled in the sky, vividly lifelike, roaring toward the heavens. Towering flames swept across the skies, resembling a fiery heavenly tribulation, as if bent on destroying everything.
As the fire dragon roared.
It stirred the fire sea into churning waves, nearly linking the nine major fire domains together.
"This—"
Ding Xuan stared up, visibly shaken.
Judging by the fire dragon’s formidable aura, even if Island Master True Person Dai confronted it head-on, he might not be able to prevail.
"Could it be that a demon beast beneath the fire domain has emerged?"
Ding Xuan speculated, anxiety creeping into his heart.
Though True Person Dai was powerful, his reputation within the sect even suppressing many elder cultivators, he had only been a second-order cultivator for thirty years. He might not be able to subdue this fire dragon.
While mulling over this.
Ding Xuan continued swiftly toward Nine Yang Hall.
Although this fire dragon looked extraordinary, and while True Person Dai might not be its match, Nine Yang Island was protected by the grand formation arranged by True Person Jiulong. If the worst came to pass, activating the formation could refine and annihilate it.
Quickening his pace.
Ding Xuan kept an eye on the fire dragon while hurrying toward Nine Yang Hall.
Yet, as he drew closer, he suddenly noticed, beneath the towering flames and the majestic yet terrifying fire dragon, True Person Dai, the ’Jade-faced Judge,’ standing atop Nine Yang Hall, holding a crimson banner that fluttered in the wind. From the banner, smaller fire dragons soared into the sky and merged into the larger fire dragon.
A closer look at those strands of fire revealed that they were none other than the most precious treasure of Nine Yang Island—’Taiyang Flame’!
"This is—"
"Could True Person Dai be refining a treasure?"
Ding Xuan finally grasped the situation, realizing that the fire dragon wasn’t a demon beast from the fire domain but was being refined directly from the crimson banner.
Outside Nine Yang Hall.
Several cultivators were gathered, looking up in awe.
Nine Yang Island was part of the Heaven Mending Sect and was presided over by True Person Dai. Other than True Person Dai’s disciples and dependent cultivators like Ding Xuan, there were only a handful of cultivators from inside or outside the sect who had connections to True Person Dai or had found other ways to gain permission to cultivate on Nine Yang Island.
Their numbers were few, totaling just several dozen.
At this moment, they were all gathered outside Nine Yang Hall.
Ding Xuan spotted a familiar figure and quickly approached: "Mr. Chou."
The man known as ’Mr. Chou’ appeared middle-aged, wearing a gray robe and possessing a kind demeanor. Hearing someone address him, he turned to see Ding Xuan approaching and greeted him with a smile, "Brother Ding."
He was Chou Zhengqing, a direct disciple of Cui Xiong, the island’s former guardian, who had leveraged Cui Xiong’s friendship with True Person Dai to reside on Nine Yang Island for cultivation.
He and Ding Xuan were considered fellow sect members.
Furthermore, Chou Zhengqing admired Ding Xuan’s seniority and his diligent cultivation, and the two had shared frequent interactions during these years. Their friendship was decent.
"Mr. Chou, do you know the origin of this fire dragon?"
Curious as ever, Ding Xuan skipped unnecessary pleasantries and glanced at the fire dragon in the sky before blurting out the question.
He had chosen the right person to ask.
Upon hearing this, Chou Zhengqing chuckled and began explaining, "This is a treasure that True Person Dai has been refining during his thirty years overseeing Nine Yang Island, made from the ’Taiyang Flame’ he collected. It is said to be crafted in imitation of the sect’s legendary treasure, the ’Fire Dragon Immortal Banner.’ Judging by the fire dragon’s aura, this treasure contains no less than two or three hundred strands of True Flame. Truly an enormous undertaking!"
Two to three hundred strands of Taiyang Flame—equivalent to two to three hundred second-order pills, worth tens of millions of Spirit Stones.
This was undoubtedly a monumental feat.
"Taiyang Flame."
"Fire Dragon Immortal Banner."
Only then did Ding Xuan confirm that True Person Dai was indeed refining a treasure, and all his doubts dissipated. Yet, he remained even more astounded: "True Flame is incredibly rare. True Person Dai has only been guarding Nine Yang Island for thirty years, and he managed to collect several hundred strands of True Flame. This is truly—"
Hearing this, Chou Zhengqing chuckled again.
He understood.
Ding Xuan was partly shocked by True Person Dai’s ability to gather such a tremendous amount of True Flame within thirty years.
And partly appalled by True Person Dai’s audaciousness in openly pocketing two or three hundred strands of Taiyang Flame for personal treasure refinement.
But Chou Zhengqing was well aware of the inside story—
"True Person Dai possesses a trump card called the ’Daluo Heavenly Sleeve.’ Once executed, even second-order True Persons would be trapped within and left at his mercy. With such an Absolute Skill, collecting Taiyang Flame becomes as effortless as flipping a hand. If not for the limited amount of True Flame on Nine Yang Island, let alone two or three hundred strands—even two or three thousand strands would be easily attainable for True Person Dai."
"As for refining treasures, it’s an established tradition. A guardian must submit sixty strands of True Flame per term."
"The rest remains outside strict oversight."
"Moreover, True Person Dai is considered the greatest genius of the past few generations in the sect, and no one dares to cross him unnecessarily."
Chou Zhengqing, being a Direct Disciple of an Enlightenment True Person, was highly knowledgeable about the sect’s affairs.
He also understood the nuances of Nine Yang Island.
Yet, two to three hundred strands of Taiyang Flame was indeed an extraordinary amount, even causing him to feel daunted. As he shifted his gaze to True Person Dai and the crimson banner paired with the soaring fire dragon, he couldn’t help mulling over the treasure’s potential power.
Moments later, he clicked his tongue in astonishment.
"I see."
By now, Ding Xuan fully grasped the situation.
Looking once more at the figure atop Nine Yang Hall, his gaze radiated a newfound admiration.
...