Though it was a wooden door, it was made of some unknown material and still felt heavy to the touch. Under the force of his push, the thick, weighty door rumbled dully and slowly swung inward.
A faint red light shone from inside. The air around them seemed to grow several degrees hotter, becoming unbearably stifling.
Before Hao Shuai could take in the scene beyond the door, an elderly voice suddenly rang out. "Who dares trespass in the forbidden grounds of the Profound Fire Altar?"
Hao Shuai followed the voice and saw an old man sitting cross-legged in the center of the altar. He had a lean face and wore a simple, unadorned gray robe. There was nothing remarkable about him. If he were walking down an ordinary town street, no one would ever guess he was a cultivator.
"Shangguan Ce?" Hao Shuai asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Who are you? How do you know this old man?" The moment Shangguan Ce heard Hao Shuai say his name, his gaze sharpened like a pair of knives and bore into Hao Shuai's eyes.
"As one of Fenxiang Valley's greatest experts, second only to Yun Yilan, Elder Shangguan's reputation has reached my ears." Hao Shuai wasn't flattering him. In his perception, Shangguan Ce's strength was on par with Tian Buyi and Cang Song, both at the Upper Clear Ninth Realm.
But wasn't Fenxiang Valley supposed to cultivate the supreme yang energy of the Fenxiang Jade Tome?
So why was Shangguan Ce's spiritual power so profoundly yin?
"Heh. This old man was ordered to guard the Profound Fire Altar and hasn't left Fenxiang Valley in nearly a century. How could you have heard of me?" Shangguan Ce sneered.
Hao Shuai: "..."
Had guarding the Profound Fire Altar driven Shangguan Ce crazy?