Falling Fire Town, near Burning Heaven Cliff, was a small town built against a volcano. Most of its residents made their living mining fire-attribute ores and capturing fire-type spirit pets, and the locals were fierce and hardy. Mo Chen settled Xiao Yan in the town's largest inn and summoned its best physician to treat him.
After examining Xiao Yan, the physician knitted his brows. "This young brother has exhausted his Origin Qi and suffered injuries from a shock. Fortunately, his heart meridian is unharmed. He only needs to rest and recuperate, and he absolutely must not use his Origin Qi again."
Mo Chen breathed a sigh of relief and stayed by Xiao Yan's bedside, circulating his Origin Qi to recover while studying the jade bottle containing the netherworld ghost flame. The faint blue flame burned quietly inside, giving off a chill that coated the bottle in white frost, utterly unlike the heat of an ordinary flame.
"As expected of the Fallen Heart Flame's companion flame. Its nature is truly peculiar," Mo Chen murmured. He tried injecting a wisp of pill flame into the jade bottle, only for the netherworld ghost flame to freeze it instantly. Startled, he hurriedly withdrew his Origin Qi.
"It seems we can only wait for Brother Xiao Yan to wake up. Only a Heavenly Flame can subdue it."
Three days later, Xiao Yan finally woke.
He slowly opened his eyes. His whole body ached, but his Origin Qi had mostly recovered, and his shock injuries had improved considerably. Seeing Mo Chen keeping watch by his bed, he smiled faintly. "How long was I asleep?"
"Three days." Mo Chen quickly handed him a cup of water. "How do you feel?"
"Much better." Xiao Yan took the cup and drained it in one gulp. "Did you get the netherworld ghost flame?"
"I did. It's right here." Mo Chen handed him the jade bottle.
The bottle was icy to the touch. Xiao Yan could sense the netherworld ghost flame inside. It was similar to his own netherworld core flame, yet utterly different, like the opposite poles of ice and fire.
"It really is a fine treasure." Delight flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes. "Once I've regained some strength, I'll subdue it."
He circulated his cultivation technique and spent another day regulating his breathing. When he felt that he had mostly recovered, he began trying to subdue the netherworld ghost flame.
In a secret chamber at the inn, Xiao Yan took out the Burning Heaven Cauldron and held it suspended before him. He first guided the netherworld core flame into it. The faint blue flame burned quietly at the bottom, giving off a cold, intense heat.
"Come out."
Xiao Yan opened the jade bottle. The netherworld ghost flame shot out as a streak of faint blue light and circled once in the air, seemingly surveying its surroundings with caution.
"Don't be afraid. We'll be partners from now on," Xiao Yan said gently, guiding the netherworld core flame in the cauldron slowly toward it.
The netherworld ghost flame seemed to sense the presence of its own kind. It dropped its guard and slowly flew toward the netherworld core flame. When the two flames met in the cauldron, they did not clash. Instead, like friends reunited after a long separation, they slowly blended together.
A trace of deep black gradually appeared within the faint blue flame, and its temperature grew even stranger, now chilling to the bone, now scorching hot.
"We did it!" Mo Chen exclaimed in delight.
Xiao Yan also breathed a sigh of relief. He could feel that, after subduing the netherworld ghost flame, his control over Heavenly Flames had risen another level. In particular, his understanding of flames with a cold attribute had deepened.
"Next, it's time to find the ancient teleportation array." Xiao Yan put away the Burning Heaven Cauldron, anticipation flashing in his eyes.
According to the map Xuan Kongzi had provided, the ancient teleportation array lay in Fallen Fire Valley, a hundred li west of Falling Fire Town. It had once been a battlefield in ancient times, and many experts' bones and treasures remained there, but it was also extremely dangerous.
The two did not dare delay and set out for Fallen Fire Valley that very day.
Fallen Fire Valley was even more desolate than Burning Heaven Cliff. Black rocks covered the valley floor, bearing traces of scorching, and a faint, bloody smell hung in the air. Deep in the valley, a huge circular platform was faintly visible. Covered in intricate runes, it was the ancient teleportation array.
"That's it!" Mo Chen pointed at the platform, excitement flashing in his eyes.
The two made their way cautiously through the valley. Along the way, they encountered several demonic beasts mutated by flames, but dealt with them all easily. The closer they came to the teleportation array, the stronger the spatial fluctuations in the air became, and the brighter the runes shone.
The teleportation array was about ten zhang across, with a damaged stone pillar standing at its center. A blurred character meaning "pill" was carved into the pillar. Most of the surrounding runes had worn away, but their intricacy was still apparent.
"This teleportation array... seems badly damaged." After examining it closely, Mo Chen knitted his brows. "Many of the crucial runes have faded. I'm afraid it can't be activated directly."
Xiao Yan stepped forward as well and reached out to touch the runes. When his fingertips met them, they suddenly lit up with a faint glow. A familiar bloodline resonance came from the teleportation array, answering the Pill God Bloodline within him and the Burning Heaven Cauldron!
"Hum!"
The teleportation array suddenly shook violently. Dazzling golden light burst from the central pillar, and the worn runes slowly repaired themselves within it, radiating ancient, boundless power!
"This is..." Mo Chen stared in shock at the sight before him. "What's going on?"
Xiao Yan was stunned too. He could feel that the power of his bloodline had activated the teleportation array!
It seems this teleportation array recognizes only the Pill God's bloodline descendants, Xiao Yan thought, his eyes filled with shock and confusion.
Once the runes had finished repairing themselves, a swirling spatial passage appeared at the center of the teleportation array. Within it, the faint image of a continent shrouded in clouds and mist could be seen, radiating dense Pill Essence and spiritual Qi.
"Is that the Pill Realm?" Mo Chen murmured, his eyes full of longing.
Just as the two were about to enter, the passage suddenly shook violently, and an old, feeble voice came from its depths. "...Protect... protect... the Pill Realm... no... must not... let darkness... invade..."
The voice came in fits and starts, full of pain and unwillingness, as though a dying old man were letting out his final cry.
"Who's there?!" Xiao Yan demanded sharply.
But the voice did not sound again, and the image within the passage began to grow unstable, as though it might collapse at any moment.
"The teleportation array is losing power!" Mo Chen said anxiously. "Let's get in, or we won't have another chance!"
Xiao Yan hesitated, glancing at the unstable passage and then at the surrounding runes. Finally, he gritted his teeth. "Let's go!"
They hesitated no longer and stepped into the spatial passage together.
Inside, all was pitch-black, save for countless streaks of light rushing past them. Powerful spatial forces constantly tore at their bodies. Xiao Yan quickly brought out the Origin Stabilizing Divine Stone and the Void Origin Stone Fragment, forming a spatial barrier around them both.
After an unknown amount of time, a glimmer appeared ahead. It grew larger and larger, finally becoming an exit. A tremendous force propelled the two through it, sending them crashing heavily to the ground.
"Cough, cough..."
Xiao Yan and Mo Chen struggled to their feet and looked around, finding themselves on an unfamiliar continent.
The sky was pale gold, and the concentration of Pill Essence in the air was more than a hundred times that of the Pill Region. Distant peaks resembled pill furnaces, seven-colored spiritual liquid flowed through the valleys, and here and there they could see unfamiliar medicinal herbs glowing and giving off enticing fragrances.
"This... this is the Pill Realm?" Mo Chen gazed at everything before him in shock, scarcely able to believe his eyes.
Xiao Yan was deeply stirred as well. This place was even more wondrous than he had imagined; with every breath, he could feel his Origin Qi growing rapidly. But he soon noticed something amiss-the continent was beautiful, yet far too quiet. There was no trace of any living being, as though it were a vast, empty city.
"Strange. Why can't I sense anyone?" Mo Chen frowned as well.
The two proceeded cautiously, passing many magnificent palaces and medicinal fields, but all were deserted. Only the occasional Pill Bird-a spirit bird that fed on Pill Essence-flying overhead proved that this was not a dead land.
They came to a vast plaza, at whose center stood a palace even more magnificent than the Pill King Hall in the Pill Region. A golden plaque hung above it, bearing three large characters: "Pill God Palace."
"The Pill God Palace!" Xiao Yan's heart stirred, and he strode toward it.
The palace gates were tightly shut, their surface carved with runes similar to those on the teleportation array. Xiao Yan placed his hand on the gates, and the bloodline resonance sounded once more. The gates slowly opened.
Dust lay everywhere inside the palace. Clearly, no one had been here in a long time. At the very center stood a massive pill furnace, its body covered in patterns of stars and medicinal herbs. It bore some resemblance to the Burning Heaven Cauldron, but was more ancient and majestic.
"Is this... the Pill God's natal pill furnace, the Primordial Cauldron?" Mo Chen cried out, his eyes full of awe.
Xiao Yan walked up to the Primordial Cauldron. He could sense that the presence it radiated came from the same source as the Burning Heaven Cauldron's. He reached out and gently touched its surface.
The instant his fingertips made contact, the Primordial Cauldron suddenly erupted with dazzling golden light. Countless pieces of information and images flooded into his sea of consciousness like a tide-
They showed the history of the Pill Realm: it had once been the Great Thousand World's holy land of the pill path, home to countless pill path masters. Under the Pill God's leadership, they had refined countless Divine Pills and safeguarded the peace of the Great Thousand World.
They showed the invasion of darkness: the Lord of Darkness's army had broken through the Pill Realm's barrier, and countless alchemists had risen in resistance. With their lives and pills, they had fought bloody battles against the creatures of darkness, ultimately holding the Lord of Darkness's main force outside the Pill Realm. But the Pill Realm had been shattered in the process, and its living beings had dwindled.
They showed the Pill God's message: "My descendant, by the time you see this message, I may be gone. The Pill Realm's seal is about to break, and the remnants of the Lord of Darkness's forces still lurk within the Pill Realm. Take my Burning Heaven Cauldron, find the scattered fragments of the Heart of the Pill Realm, and reforge the seal. To protect the Pill Realm is also to protect the Great Thousand World. Remember, the final Heavenly Flame for the Primordial Purification Pill lies at the top of the Pill Realm's Blazing Sky Tower..."
The images faded, and a piercing pain struck Xiao Yan's sea of consciousness, but his heart was full of shock and a sense of duty.
So the Pill Realm was the first line of defense against darkness!
"Brother Xiao Yan, what's wrong?" Seeing Xiao Yan's pale face, Mo Chen hurriedly asked.
Xiao Yan took a deep breath and told Mo Chen about the Pill God's message and the state of the Pill Realm.
When Mo Chen had heard it all, his expression also grew exceedingly grave. "So we not only have to search for the Heavenly Flame and the Pill God's secrets, but also reforge the Pill Realm's seal?"
"That's right." Xiao Yan nodded, his gaze resolute. "This is our responsibility."
He looked at the Primordial Cauldron. The golden light on its surface gradually dimmed, but a palm-sized crystal appeared at its center. It emitted a gentle light and was none other than the core fragment of the Heart of the Pill Realm.
"It seems the Pill God prepared everything for us long ago." Xiao Yan picked up the crystal fragment and could feel the immense power it contained. "As long as we find the other fragments, we can reforge the seal."
Just then, a roar suddenly came from outside the palace. A familiar dark power swept in from afar, carrying a thick stench of blood!
"Creatures of darkness!" Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened. "They really are lurking in the Pill Realm!"
The two exchanged a glance and tightened their grips on their weapons.
Their journey through the Pill Realm had only just begun. Awaiting them were not only a lost civilization and powerful Heavenly Flames, but also lurking darkness and an arduous mission.
But there was not a trace of fear in their eyes, only steadfast conviction.
For they knew they could not stop.