Summoned

It had been five years. He had long since grown used to this being his father's way of greeting him.

The first time they met, that slap had nearly sent his soul flying out of his body.

"Dad, take it easy."

Fang Yan spat out the Windtail Grass in his mouth and slowly sat up.

"It's fine if Sky Pillar Peak collapses, but what if it crushes the flowers and grass?"

"It won't collapse."

Fang Lie burst into laughter and plopped down beside Fang Yan. His gaze landed on the cyan mark between Fang Yan's brows, and a trace of gratification flashed through his eyes.

"A Wind Law Imprint. Good boy, you're better than your old man."

"Of course I am."

Fang Yan was not modest in the slightest.

Fang Lie gave him another slap, though this one was much lighter.

"The ancestor learned that you broke through. He wants you to go back."

Fang Yan raised a brow.

The Fang Family's ancestor was an unparalleled existence who oversaw Yinghuo Star.

An Immortal God!

Throughout the Southern Border Star Domain, Immortal Gods were the heavens—beings all living creatures looked up to yet could never reach.

At this early stage of the universe era, the Human Race was still in a period of rapid development. There were only two ultimate experts at the level of Universe Lord: Dragon Walker Lord and Origin.

Immortal Gods were still far from being as common as they would become in later times.

As for what stage of Immortal God this ancestor was at, that was unimportant. What mattered was that the Wind Crystal Spirit Fruit he bestowed was truly irresistible!

Fang Yan licked his lips. After gaining the Law of Wind's recognition, the Wind Crystal Spirit Fruit's effects had already been greatly reduced...

"The ancestor wants to see me?"

There was a subtle undertone in Fang Yan's voice.

Although the Virtual Universe capable of covering the entire Primordial Universe did not yet exist, humanity's current technology was still enough to build a Virtual Universe covering Yinghuo Star.

In the five years since he had come to this universe, he had never once met this legendary ancestor in person.

It was not because the ancestor put on airs, but because Fang Yan had deliberately avoided him all along.

The existence of the Spring Autumn Cicada Clone was simply too heaven-defying. If the innate secret technique of Time Reversal were exposed, it would not just shake the Southern Border Star Domain—the entire Primordial Universe would erupt into chaos.

Could an Immortal God see through his secret?

Seeing his son standing there blankly, Fang Lie assumed Fang Yan was nervous about meeting the ancestor. He grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Don't worry. The old ancestor has a great temper. Back then, he could even sit down and chat with stray dogs by the roadside."

Fang Yan: "..."

The way he put it, why did it sound like he was describing a lonely old man?

"Let's go."

Fang Lie rose to his feet and casually hauled Fang Yan up from the ground as well.

"The ancestor said that if you gained the Law of Wind's recognition, you were to go find him at the Flame Ruins Palace."

Flame Ruins Palace.

Fang Yan had heard of the place.

It was where the Fang Family's ancestor cultivated in seclusion, located deep within Yinghuo Star's core. The entire palace was built from a special type of fire-element stone.

It was said to increase one's comprehension of the Fire-Space Fusion Law.

In the era of the Eight Beast Gods, their cultivation paths had also been quite popular during the early days of the Primordial Universe.

When Fang Yan heard that the ancestor was following the Fire-Space Fusion path, he immediately laughed.

There's more to this than meets the eye. This old ancestor probably can't handle it...

"Dad, what exactly does the ancestor want with me?"

Fang Yan asked tentatively.

Fang Lie scratched his head, and a rare trace of confusion appeared on his rough face.

"To be honest, I don't know either. The ancestor only said you'd understand once you got there."

"Fine. I'll meet him, then."

Fang Yan brushed off dust that did not exist on his clothes.

Who wasn't a young man raised under the red flag?

Even though this was already his third life, Fang Yan had never forgotten that brief and ordinary experience.

"I've grown attached to being a workhorse..."

Fang Yan took a deep breath and suppressed those distant memories.

Fang Lie leaped down from ten thousand zhang in the air with Fang Yan.

Sky Pillar Peak was the tallest mountain on Yinghuo Star. Looking down from here, the entire planet resembled a crimson wasteland, occasionally crossed by winding silver rivers. Those were wonders formed by liquid-metal mineral veins flowing across the surface.

Most of the Fang Family possessed fire attributes, so cultivating in such an environment naturally yielded twice the results with half the effort.

Yet Fang Yan alone had emerged as a wind-attributed genius, giving the Fang Family quite a headache.

They could not rest easy leaving such a genius outside, after all. The outside world was so dangerous.

Besides, Fang Yan himself did not want to leave Yinghuo Star.

If he did not cling to a powerful backer, he would be an idiot!

Thus, under Fang Lie's doting indulgence, Sky Pillar Peak came into being.

Meanwhile, eight hundred light-years away in the Spirit Wind Secret Realm, Spirit Wind World Master, the Spirit Wind Race's strongest expert, was still silently weeping.

"Waaah! He's a Flame World Master, so why does he need my Spirit Wind Divine Mountain?"

An incomparably majestic city stood before them. Its walls were built from Fire-Pattern Stone, a specialty of Yinghuo Star, and glowed dark red beneath the sunlight. From afar, it looked like a giant beast crouching upon the earth.

The entire city stretched for a thousand li. Pavilions and towers stood in dense rows within it, while cultivation platforms of every size floated everywhere. From time to time, streaks of light shot up from the city.

Fang Yan followed Fang Lie as they descended into the center of the city.

"Greetings, Seventh Elder!"

"Greetings, Little Saint Son!"

Fang Lie waved a hand, signaling the guards that there was no need for ceremony.

Fang Yan, following behind him, curled his lips.

"Whoever came up with such a cringe-worthy title as 'Little Saint Son'? I might as well be 'Little Blackie.'"

Fang Lie led Fang Yan through the central plaza and headed north.

Along the way, members of the Fang Family stepped aside and saluted them. Cries of "Seventh Elder" and "Little Saint Son" rose one after another.

"We're here."

Fang Lie stopped before the gates of a towering palace.

Fang Yan looked up and saw that the structure before him was entirely different from the pavilions and towers of Fire-Pattern Stone throughout the city.

It was a square palace entirely black in color. A thick stone pillar stood at each of its four corners, their surfaces carved with intricate flame patterns.

The palace had no doors, only a deep entrance. The interior was pitch-black, and waves of heat faintly surged out from its depths.

"The Flame Ruins Palace."

Fang Lie put away his usual roughness, and his tone became unusually serious.

"The ancestor is waiting for you inside. Go in yourself. I won't accompany you."

"Dad, you aren't going in?" Fang Yan was somewhat surprised.

"The ancestor only summoned you."

Fang Lie grinned and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. The ancestor won't eat people. Even if he really wanted to, your little body wouldn't be enough to fill the gaps between his teeth."

Fang Yan: "..."

He took a deep breath and stepped toward the pitch-black entrance.

The instant his foot crossed the palace threshold, the surrounding temperature abruptly soared. It was not the dry heat that scorched the skin, but a sensation that penetrated into his bones, as though even his soul were being roasted.

The passageway was long. Fang Yan walked for about the time it took to burn an incense stick before the view before him suddenly opened up.

The core region of the Flame Ruins Palace was a vast hall spanning several thousand zhang.

The hall's dome was several hundred zhang high, and countless fist-sized Fire-Origin Crystals were embedded in the walls all around. Those Fire-Origin Crystals emitted a gentle red radiance, brightly illuminating the entire space.