Isn't this the Fire Domain? Where is the fire?

The escaping light sped along.

The Fire Domain was very far from Yan State. Even with Li Yu traveling at top speed, it took him a day and a night to reach it.

"As expected of the Fire Domain, this fire is truly terrifying!"

Seeing the scene of flames churning ahead, Li Yu couldn't help but gasp.

For a hundred miles around, the land was engulfed in raging flames, even burning half the sky red. Even from a distance, he could feel waves of heat washing over him.

Even where Li Yu stood, the ground was scorched and cracked. The scorching heat made Li Yu's forehead sweat.

"Good heavens, how many years has this fire been burning? Has it never gone out?"

Activating the system's resource recycling function, the oncoming heat waves were collected by the system before they could reach Li Yu.

Finding no discomfort, Li Yu then stepped towards the Fire Domain.

The Fire Domain was divided into nine layers. Li Yu first faced the crimson flames of the first layer.

"Magma Earth Fire? Are you kidding me? Where's the magma? There's only fire here!"

Hearing the system's prompt, Li Yu couldn't help but complain.

Fortunately, his complaints didn't affect the system's collection of fire. Invisible fluctuations swept out, and the surrounding churning flames were drawn into a massive vortex, being continuously collected by the system.

"A Fire Domain spanning a hundred miles, it's going to take quite some time to collect it all."

Even though the system was collecting the flames in front of him at high speed, it barely seemed to make a dent in the hundred-mile expanse of the Fire Domain.

"No rush anyway, I'll just keep collecting it like this."

Wandering freely within the flames, Li Yu proceeded around the Fire Domain in the first layer of red flames. Riding his escaping light, he circled, once, twice, thrice...

By the ninth circle, the outer red flames had completely vanished.

"Not bad, not bad."

Looking at the Earth Fire stored in the system's resource library, Li Yu nodded. "The red Earth Fire is collected. Next up are the blue flames."

Stepping closer to the blue flames, Li Yu stopped. "System, is there any danger in collecting the blue flames?"

"No danger."

"Then I'm relieved."

The same process followed. After some effort, the blue, ethereal Nanming Li Fire was also plundered by Li Yu.

The third layer was white flames.

Pure, flawless milky-white flames exuded a sacred aura.

"This is the Moonlight Holy Fire?"

Li Yu was slightly stunned upon seeing the name, then continued his plundering endeavor.

The fourth layer was the pitch-black Nine Netherworld Fire. The fifth layer was the golden Solar True Fire. The sixth layer was the purple Mystic Heaven Purple Fire. The seventh layer was the five-colored Five Elements True Fire. The eighth layer was the multicolored Seven Emotions Heart Fire. The ninth layer was the colorless and transparent Formless Immortal Fire.

Starting from the fourth layer, Li Yu's movements became increasingly cautious.

The Nine Netherworld Fire's bone-chilling flames felt strange and awkward, as if his senses were disoriented.

Fortunately, Li Yu didn't need to face the Nine Netherworld Fire directly. He only needed to get close to collect it, which reassured him greatly.

The Solar True Fire was strong and scorching. The moment he got close, his heart filled with dread.

The Mystic Heaven Purple Fire on the sixth layer even brought purple energy from the east, vast and mighty, inspiring a sense of submission.

The Five Elements True Fire on the seventh layer could burn anything within the five elements. If Li Yu hadn't reacted quickly, his hair would have been completely burned off. Even so, Li Yu lost a pair of boots.

Changing into a new pair of boots and continuing his advance, the Seven Emotions Heart Fire on the eighth layer almost drove Li Yu...

The fire of the seven emotions burned human desires. If not for the system guarding his mind, Li Yu's spirit would have been completely incinerated the moment he approached this fire domain.

Even so, Li Yu couldn't help but reminisce about his difficult past.

The awkwardness of his first love, the pain of a breakup, the loss of loved ones, the frustrations of life—all these made Li Yu cry uncontrollably.

The Formless Immortal Fire on the ninth layer... well, Li Yu moved forward inch by inch.

Because this flame was invisible! If he plunged in, even with the system's power, could he be resurrected?

Moving forward bit by bit, and only because the system constantly guided him, Li Yu managed to approach the area of this most powerful flame.

It wasn't that the system hadn't shown Li Yu the area of the Formless Immortal Fire in his mind, but this thing was constantly changing, with no fixed form.

It truly lived up to its name, Formless. It had no fixed shape and couldn't be seen or touched.

Fortunately, no matter how powerful it was, it was still an inanimate object and ultimately couldn't escape being collected.

"Phew! Finally done."

Li Yu let out a deep breath, feeling utterly exhausted.

"As the mastermind, I'm really not suited for this kind of tough job. From now on, I'll leave this kind of thing to Zhou Yi!"

Looking at the Fire Domain, which had no trace of fire left, Li Yu smiled with satisfaction.

"It won't be long before this barren land recovers and upgrades, transforming into fertile soil."

Li Yu stood with his hands behind his back, a look of compassion on his face.

"This raging flame has been a scourge upon this region. Today, I shall collect it, bringing fortune and immeasurable merit! If this world had a Heavenly Dao or anything similar, wouldn't it bestow boundless merit upon me?"

He glanced around, noticing a patch of ground ahead that had been fused into a glassy, glazed surface.

"People leave their names behind, just as geese leave their calls. Our traditional customs must be upheld! I have to inscribe a few words here."

Approaching the glazed ground, Li Yu flicked a strand of Sword Qi from his fingertip, swiftly etching a line of text onto the surface.

"Years ago, I was refining pills here, and accidentally left behind a spark. It unexpectedly became this scourge. My fault. I have now collected this fire to atone for my past mistakes."

"Off I go! Off I go! No one's watching, so there's no point in showing off!"

After writing the line, Li Yu chuckled, then summoned an Escaping Light and shot into the sky, disappearing into the distance.

Several hours later, a dark streak of light streaked through the sky, landing upon the ruins of the Fire Domain.

"This… isn't this the Fire Domain?"

This was a Taoist-robed man in his fifties, his attire adorned with glossy, black feathers.

"Isn't this the Fire Domain? Where's the fire? Where's the fire? Caw! Caw! Caw!"

The Taoist-robed man, in a fit of rage, circled the remains of the Fire Domain several times, shouting furiously, eventually letting out caws like a crow.

"Damn it! Where did the fire go?"

"Without the supreme divine fire of the Fire Domain, how can I forge my divine bell? Damn it, why has the Fire Domain vanished?"

"Ah…"

The Crow Taoist squawked and darted about the ruins of the Fire Domain. Suddenly, he spotted the line Li Yu had left behind, causing him to tremble all over.

"Leaving a single spark behind during alchemy turned into a hundred-mile Fire Domain? Just how unfathomably powerful must this person be!"

One day later, the world was in an uproar.

A vast Fire Domain, spanning a hundred miles, a fiery wasteland that had burned for countless years, had… simply disappeared.

Even more terrifying was the revelation that this Fire Domain had been formed from a single spark left behind by someone during alchemy. And this person had then reclaimed the Fire Domain.

"Could there still be Great Emperors alive?"

The entire world fell into a sudden silence, so stunned by the news that they dared not even breathe.

Li Yu, however, was unaware that the line he had casually carved as a joke before leaving had managed to pull off an astonishing display of bravado.