Section 45: The Hidden Fire Virtue Palace in the Mountains
The boat stopped at a secluded shore, and Chu Yun and Jin Bihan disembarked.
"Thank you. I believe our cooperation will be very pleasant." Chu Yun waved goodbye to Crimson-Robed Immortal.
"I hope so." The Crimson-Robed Immortal stood at the stern of the boat, the night wind ruffling her fiery, flowing dress. Even the deep darkness could not conceal her radiant beauty.
"Oh, by the way, this Ten-Thousand-Whisker Ginseng Dragon-Eye Necklace is for you." The boat had already set sail when the Crimson-Robed Immortal suddenly tossed her a necklace.
This was one of the gifts that Tie Ao gave to Crimson-Robed Immortal at a great cost.
Chu Yun was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously grabbed the necklace. He hadn't expected to obtain the eye of another top-grade dragon beast in this way, following the eye of the Polar Ice Dragon.
The Ten-Thousand-Whisker Ginseng Dragon, the Polar Ice Dragon, the Azure Sea Dragon, and the Ten-Thousand-Year Azure Dragon are all top-grade Demon Beast.
"No need to thank me, just abide by the agreement." As the boat sailed further and further away, Crimson-Robed Immortal's voice gradually faded into the rushing water. "Brother Chu, what kind of poem did you write? It has such great charm that Crimson-Robed Immortal risked her life to escort you. And before leaving, she even gave you such an expensive necklace?" Jin Bihan finally couldn't hold back anymore. Her heart was not at peace, and she cast a curious and questioning gaze at Chu Yun.
Chu Yun trusted Jin Bihan, so he didn't hide anything from her and told her everything.
" Crimson-Robed Immortal, is that Crimson Tiger?" Upon hearing this bombshell, Jin Bihan's eyes widened in disbelief. "Then how did you know, Chu Yun?"
Chu Yun, naturally, wouldn't reveal the secret of her rebirth, so she simply recounted her analysis of how she dealt with Crimson Tiger in detail, which immediately stunned Jin Bihan.
"You can deduce this from these things? Chu Yun, you're truly amazing. The legacy of three generations of Academy Master, the Star Sea Dragon Palace, and this time... If you were to become a Relic Explorer, you would definitely be a top-tier expert." Jin Bihan's gaze was glued to Chu Yun. She felt that Chu Yun was like a box full of "surprises," and every time she opened it, she would reap a surprise.
"However, we still don't know Crimson Tiger's purpose, what she wants to collect. What should we do when the one-month deadline comes?" Thinking of this question, Jin Bihan frowned again.
"Therefore, I need to take this time to repair the Drunken Snow Blade. With the power of the Spirit Demon, I will have more confidence. Besides that, I need to figure out what Crimson Tiger's purpose is." Chu Yun replied. Now that he has the Drunken Snow Jade and the Heavenly Extreme Ice Crystal, he can upgrade the Drunken Snow Blade to the highest grade.
He had never possessed the power of Spirit Demon in his previous life, so he was naturally very much looking forward to it.
"Yes, you've cracked the secrets of three generations of Academy Master and the Star Sea Dragon Palace one by one. This kind of thing will definitely be a piece of cake for you, Brother Chu." Jin Bihan nodded, full of confidence in Chu Yun.
However, at this moment, a strange change occurred.
"So that's how it is! The Crimson-Robed Immortal is actually the Crimson Tiger. What an earth-shattering secret!"
Flames burst forth, transforming into a giant net of fire that instantly enveloped the unsuspecting Chu Yun and Jin Bihan. The Yan Family Patriarch laughed heartily and materialized out of thin air.
" Yan Family Patriarch, how could you actually infiltrate Shu Family Island?" Jin Bihan was shocked.
Chu Yun struggled desperately, but the giant net of flames tightened, binding him tightly from head to toe.
"Struggling is useless. My Heartflame Brush is at the Spirit Demon level. Ahahaha." The Yan Family Patriarch's eyes flashed with golden light as he wielded the Heartflame Brush, the brush moving like dragons and snakes, drawing fire circles in the air.
The ring of fire flew down and swiftly encircled the openings of the Immortal Pouch around Chu Yun and his companion's waists. This meant that even if Chu Yun broke free from the fire net's restraints, he wouldn't be able to open the Immortal Pouch and retrieve any demonic creatures to fight.
"The art of war says: 'Make the real appear unreal, and the unreal appear real.' Didn't expect that I would be waiting for you on Shu Family Island?" The Yan Family Patriarch looked down from his high position, his aura arrogant and domineering, like a raging fire.
"If you think you can win this war by capturing me, you're delusional, old man." Chu Yun's tone was indifferent, as if he were detached from the situation and not the one trapped in it.
The more perilous the situation, the calmer he became.
"You brat, kneel down and beg for mercy, kowtow and admit your mistake," the Yan Family Patriarch sneered, clearly disgusted by Chu Yun's defiant gaze in the face of danger.
"Keep dreaming." Chu Yun sneered.
"If you have the guts, then I'll kill your companions first!" The Yan Family Patriarch laughed and pointed his Heartflame Brush at Jin Bihan's brow.
"Stop!" Chu Yun shouted, his eyes blazing with fury. "How could the Yan Family Patriarch be so despicable? He has brought shame upon the five ancient clans!"
"I've said it before, I've always acted without restraint. If you obediently kowtow to me, I'll let him go for now." The Yan Family Patriarch enjoyed seeing Chu Yun grit his teeth; his pent-up frustration instantly dissipated...
"Hmph, this lousy net can't hold me, Chu Yun. I'll go back and get reinforcements right away." In desperation, Jin Bihan activated her true trump card—the supreme Daoist technique within the Golden Cicada Garment.
A flash of golden light, and she vanished from her spot, leaving only a phantom image of a golden cicada. The fire net bound the phantom, preventing it from making any movement.
"Hmm, the supreme Dao technique Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell?" This change was beyond the expectations of the Yan Family Patriarch. When he tried to stop her, Jin Bihan had already vanished without a trace.
"Slippery X, you've got quite a few trump cards. Let's go." The Yan Family Patriarch snorted coldly, then picked up Chu Yun and transformed into a streak of fire, shooting away like lightning.
Before long, a deafening dragon roar echoed across Shu Family Island.
The Azure Sea Dragon transformed into its original form, carrying Shu Tianhao, and soared into the sky, chasing after the direction where the fiery rainbow had disappeared.
Witnessing all of this, Chu Yun's expression turned very unpleasant.
"It seems you hold a significant place in Shu Tianhao's heart. It's a pity that All-Star Fierce Tiger is so foolish, easily falling for my scheme." The Yan Family Patriarch did not leave. Holding Chu Yun in one hand, he stood in the dense forest of Shu Family Island, laughing triumphantly.
The fiery rainbow that shot into the sky was just a smokescreen to lure out Shu Tianhao. He himself remained on Shu Family Island.
Shu Tianhao, out of love and eagerness, was tricked and lured off the island.
Chu Yun remained silent, secretly channeling his spiritual energy in an attempt to summon Demon Beast. However, the fire net surrounding him immediately tightened, causing him to groan and show signs of pain.
"Stop struggling, this is the difference in strength. Without the power of Spirit Demon, how can you break through my fire net bindings? If you obediently listen to me, I'll spare your life." The Yan Family Patriarch sneered, picked up Chu Yun, and actually walked into the depths of the forest.
Along the way, all the Demon Beast retreated, and the journey was unimpeded. The Yan Family Patriarch held the Spirit Demon Heartflame Brush, and his rank suppressed even the high-level demonic Demon Beast in the Shu Family Island forest, which were only at the level of Great Demon.
The Yan Family Patriarch continued his journey until he reached the Nameless Volcano where Chu Yun had incubated the Heavenly Fox Egg. He then leaped down into the volcano.
Chu Yun's heart skipped a beat as he was about to plunge into the scorching lava. Suddenly, the Yan Family Patriarch summoned the Ashen Horse, which carried the two of them and flew into a side path on the cliff face.
Following the fork in the road, the young master of the Yan Family, leading a group of elite members of the Yan Family, appeared before Chu Yun.
"Your subordinates respectfully welcome the venerable patriarch's triumphant return."
"The Ancestor's divine might makes it easy for him to capture Chu Yun. When Chu Yun encounters the Ancestor, he's like a mouse meeting a cat."
" Chu Yun, you've finally met your match, Ancestor! Why don't you just kill him and use his head as a sacrifice?" Someone with a fierce look on their face stared at Chu Yun with ill intent.
"This brat is interesting. Keeping him alive will make Shu Tianhao hesitant to act rashly; that's worthwhile." The Yan Family Patriarch glanced at Chu Yun and sneered.
The young master of the Immortal Pouch Yan Family's eyes lit up with greed as he thought of Chu Yun's top-grade demonic creature and reached for the Immortal Pouch at Chu Yun's waist.
"Ouch... that hurts!" But the next moment, as if he had been electrocuted, he withdrew his hand.
"Hmph, do you know the consequences of acting rashly?" The Yan Family Patriarch sneered, reprimanding him, "My fire net can only restrain his movements. Grandson, you need to change your ways; how can you be so impulsive?"
"Grandpa's words of advice are well-received and I will keep them in mind." Facing his ancestor, the young master of the Yan Family tucked his tail between his legs and behaved very obediently.
"Hmph, the Heavenly Fox and the Mount Li branch will be mine sooner or later. You can keep them for now." Then, the young master of the Yan Family glanced at Chu Yun, snorted coldly, and his face was very sinister.
To seize a monster that already has an owner, the simplest method is to kill the Spirit Beast Master, causing the monster to lose its owner and become wild. Then, use methods such as the Immortal Pouch to capture the wild monster.
However, the Yan Family Patriarch did not want to kill Chu Yun, but wanted to keep him alive to win the war. In this way, in order to seize the Heavenly Fox and the Mount Li Dragon Eye Branch, the only way was to forcibly sever the spiritual connection between Chu Yun and them.
This is troublesome.
Not only are the methods cumbersome, but they are also quite time-consuming. The conditions here are not met, and it needs to be carried out slowly back on Yan Family Island.
Chu Yun's face was cold and stern, but inwardly he was deeply shaken. A group of the Yan Family of the Yan family were actually hiding on Shu Family Island. How did they get in, and what were they up to?
"How's it going?" the Yan Family Patriarch suddenly asked.
The young master of the Yan Family reported in surprise, "We're still stuck at that level, Grandpa. We've been searching for ages, but we can't find a way to open the gate and go to the next level."
"Let's go take a look first," the Yan Family Patriarch said in a deep voice.
What happened next surprised Chu Yun.
He was carried by the Yan Family Patriarch and walked down the passageway. They ended up in an ancient palace and stopped in front of a huge, three-zhang-high, tightly closed door.
"How could this be? A palace ruin is hidden in the Nameless Volcano of Shu Family Island. What's going on?" Chu Yun was shocked, his eyes wide as he looked at the scene before him in disbelief.
"Hmph, surprised? Why do you think our Yan Family would attack your Shu Family Island? Why do you think we would deliberately sacrifice our interests and engage in trade during peace talks?"
Seeing Chu Yun's surprised expression, the young master of the Yan Family felt quite smug. He laughed three times and continued, "Without merchant ships entering your Shu Family Island, how can we secretly set up a gemstone gate? Without a gemstone gate, how can we enter here unnoticed?"
"What exactly is this place?" Chu Yun no longer cared about the minor details the young master of the Yan Family had mentioned. He asked the crucial question.
The Yan Family Patriarch laughed heartily, "Good question! This is the place of death of the ancient king-level powerhouse, Fire Virtue King —our ancestor of the Yan Family —and also the place of inheritance left to future generations Fire Virtue Palace."
.