Chapter 1014: Fire Source City

This search for the ruins was not a matter for one person; it involved great stakes, even concerning the entire human race. Therefore, the Qingyuan Master Teacher Academy took it very seriously, sending not only Master Wu but also a七星 peak formation master to help everyone break the seals and find the correct path.

Although this junior uncle of his was young, he was bold and reckless, daring to do anything. It was better to give him a heads-up in advance to avoid unnecessary trouble later.

"Don't worry!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Seeing his confident expression, Master Mu did not know how to respond. He looked at Luo Ruoxin nearby, who smiled slightly, seemingly not too convinced by this guy's assurance either.

No wonder.

Back when he took him to the Sealing Saint Platform and told him to show more respect, he ended up causing the entire cliff face to collapse. If not for Master Kong's intervention, he would probably have been beaten to death.

This guy, sometimes astonishingly talented and extremely clever, other times seemed foolishly endearing.

The three chatted casually, and Zhang Xuan asked more about the ruins, learning that it might be related to Master Kong, filling him with excitement.

Last time at the Sealing Saint Platform, he had personally asked Master Kong and learned that the other also had innate fetal poison. Since it was related to him, perhaps he could find some clues.

The journey was uneventful. The flying sacred beast was extremely fast, and after five days, they saw Fire Source City appear before them.

"Fire Source City is already scorching hot, and now it's summer. If not for being cultivators, it would be hard to bear..."

Looking at the city in the distance, slightly red under the sunlight, Master Mu said.

"Indeed, it's quite hot!"

Feeling the surrounding temperature, Zhang Xuan nodded.

A few days ago, they had been at Jingyuan City, where it snowed all day and was cold as ice, while here it was like a furnace. If not for being there in person, one would doubt how two places with such temperature differences could belong to the same empire.

"Although this place is not far from the Sealing Saint Platform, the temperature is vastly different!"

Last time, he and Luo Ruoxin came to the Sealing Saint Platform, which was not too far from here, only a few hundred kilometers away. At such a close distance, the climate there was normal, without the scorching heat here. "The Sealing Saint Platform, where heaven and earth seal saints, is blessed by saints, so naturally the weather is favorable. But here, there are several huge active volcanoes, so the heat is inevitable!"

Master Mu explained.

Zhang Xuan nodded.

He had a map of the Hongyuan Empire in his mind and knew the situation here.

Fire Source City, called 'Fire Source,' the source of fire... without thinking, one could imagine the unbearable temperature.

"Since it's so hot here, why build a city and have so many people stay?" Luo Ruoxin couldn't help asking.

With so many active volcanoes that could erupt at any time, and the extreme heat, why would people stay and not leave?

"Hehe!"

Before Master Mu could answer, Zhang Xuan smiled: "Although it's hot here, it's very suitable for growing some dry-loving medicinal herbs, such as withered leaf grass! This plant can grow without water, and during growth, its leaves always appear withered, hence the name! A single withered leaf grass, when sold, can fetch the price of a high-grade spirit stone."

"So expensive?" Luo Ruoxin was startled.

For ordinary people, one high-grade spirit stone was enough to eat and drink for a lifetime, with plenty left over.

A single herb at such a price was enough to make countless people flock here, willing to stay in such a place.

"Not only that, there are also some special sacred beasts and spirit beasts here, each very rare, and selling them fetches a high price... Moreover, it's a treasure land for mineral deposits!" Zhang Xuan continued.

Having read all the books in the Master Teacher Academy, he knew more about the situation in the Hongyuan Empire than many native master teachers.

"I see..." Luo Ruoxin understood.

There must be a reason for people to stay here and even build such a huge city.

"Hehe, junior uncle is indeed knowledgeable!"

Hearing his introduction, Master Mu gave him an approving look.

This junior uncle of his, though somewhat unreliable in his actions, had solid knowledge. Whether it was humanities, geography, or special professions, he could speak of them with ease, making people admire him.

It was for this reason that the Hongyuan Academy, a ten-thousand-year-old gathering place for master teachers, had chosen him to lead.

"Just casual talk, nothing much!" Zhang Xuan smiled.

"There's still some time before the seal opens. I think we should first go to the Master Teacher Hall and gather with everyone!"

As the three spoke, the sacred beast had already arrived over the city and slowly descended. Soon, they came before a towering hall.

Master Teacher Hall!

This city was much more vast than Jingyuan City, with a denser population. It had a branch of the Master Teacher Hall, but the strongest hall master was only at the early stage of Saint Domain First Layer, far inferior to Hongyuan City.

"Greetings, Master Mu!"

As soon as they entered, a middle-aged man came forward.

"Mm, where are Formation Master Han Xu and Master Wu? Take us to them!" Master Mu said with a smile.

"Master Wu and the others left... for Yanlin Mountain two days ago!"

The middle-aged man quickly replied.

"Went to Yanlin Mountain?" Master Mu was startled. "Isn't the seal opening still a few days away? Why go so early?"

"I don't know. I was just told to stay here and receive other arriving master teachers, asking them to hurry over as soon as possible!" the middle-aged man said hastily.

"Understood!"

Nodding, Master Mu asked no more and looked over: "Since Master Wu and Formation Master Han Xu have already gone, it seems the seal's situation is more serious than I previously knew. Let's go take a look too!"

"Mm!"

Zhang Xuan and the other nodded and mounted the flying sacred beast's back again.

"The seal is not within the city but deep in the Yanlin Mountains, over three hundred kilometers from here. There is a huge active volcano there, extremely hot, and usually uninhabited..."

Standing in the room on the beast's back, Master Mu detailed the seal's situation.

The place where the seal was established, like the island where the Poison Hall was located, was an active volcano. The massive formation was maintained by the power released from the volcano. Without understanding formations, trying to force one's way in would not only fail but also cause the mountain to collapse, destroying the ruins.

Therefore, before the seal opened, even with countless experts from the Master Teacher Hall, they dared not act rashly and could only wait here.

The distance of three hundred kilometers was not too far. In less than ten minutes, they saw a tall mountain peak appear before them, several thousand meters high and majestic, but bare without any vegetation, almost entirely of fiery red stones. Even before approaching, it gave a feeling of burning the skin.

"This is a Qinghuo Pill! Taking it can counteract the effects of fire poison and prevent harm!"

With a flick of his wrist, Master Mu took out two pills and handed them over.

Although with their strength, this level of heat was nothing, staying too long would still allow fire poison to invade the body and cause illness.

To prevent this, half a month ago, the new Dean Zhou of the Alchemist Academy had many students refine enough Qinghuo Pills.

This pill could be refined by a four-star alchemist; it was not complicated, made from some heat-clearing and detoxifying herbs, and was effective in eliminating fire poison.

"Thank you!"

For Zhang Xuan, who had Heavenly Dao true energy in his body and was not afraid of even strong poisons, naturally he was not afraid of this fire poison. However, not wanting to refuse the好意, he casually took it and swallowed it.

As the pill entered his throat, a cool sensation spread throughout his body, and the previous heat seemed to disappear.

"This is... not an ordinary Qinghuo Pill?" His eyes lit up.

Although there was no difference in appearance, the nature of this pill was clearly much stronger than ordinary ones.

"I collected many herbs and refined it myself..." Master Mu smiled.

"No wonder!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

He was a seven-star master teacher with alchemy as a secondary profession. For him to refine a fourth-grade pill, its efficacy was naturally extraordinary.

The sacred beast flew for a short time and arrived at the top of Yanlin Mountain. Looking down, they saw a huge circular pit. Countless students sat cross-legged around it, continuously channeling true energy to a certain place, sweat pouring from their heads.

"They are stabilizing the seal..."

Master Mu's face darkened.

It seemed the seal was indeed more dangerous than they had imagined; otherwise, so many people wouldn't be working together.

"It should be the ten thousand students brought by the dean of the Formation Academy..."

Zhang Xuan nodded after a glance.

These were all students from the Master Teacher Academy, wearing special clothes that were easy to identify.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Just as he felt these students were struggling to hold on, another group of students arrived. Each waved their hands, placing newly refined formation flags in fixed positions.

These positions, though unable to change the seal's structure, could make it more stable.

These were students from the Artifact Refinement Academy.

The students from the two academies cooperated seamlessly, their movements fast and smooth, showing they had done this many times over the past few days.

Seeing so many students working hard to stabilize it, and the circular pit below seeming ready to erupt at any moment, Zhang Xuan frowned. Patterns flickered in his eyes as he looked straight down.

"Such a complicated formation..."

After a glance, his eyebrows jumped.

His understanding of formations was not inferior to a seven-star formation master, but looking at the restrictions below, he still felt dizzy and found it hard to comprehend.

"And yet it doesn't seem quite right..."

The more he looked, the more puzzled he became.

It looked like a formation, yet not quite.

Although this seal was somewhat unstable, it was not activated, so he could not evaluate it with the Library of Heaven's Path. Relying solely on his Eye of Insight, with his current knowledge, it would take months to understand it.

If it were truly a formation, without a doubt, it would be above the seventh level!

A formation above the seventh level... No wonder so many master teachers from the Qingyuan Empire Master Teacher Hall dared not act rashly.

It was already beyond their ability to handle.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

While he was observing, Master Mu beside him controlled the sacred beast to slowly descend.

Landing on the ground, before they even reached the circular pit, Master Wu came forward: "Master Zhang, Master Luo, Master Mu, you're here!"