After the great battle, Xuanhu Mountain returned to tranquility.

Ye Qingchen stood with his hands behind his back in the void. He observed that the disciples of the Daluo Sect, who had once prided themselves as the chosen ones, all bowed their heads deeply. The strength of this young man before them had far exceeded their imagination.

Even if they disliked him, they had to respect his power!

Three strikes!

Ye Qingchen, with just three moves, wiped out the Flame Flood Dragon, which almost obliterated them. Especially the final strike, it was awe-inspiring to the crowd, just like a divine hand descending!

Seeing everyone bow their heads.

Only then did Ye Qingchen cast his gaze upon the gradually calming magma below, raising his hand. With a ’boom’, an enormous phantom figure flew out.

"What is that?"

Lu Yanwu stared attentively.

It was a massive stone, pitch black throughout, measuring several dozen feet in diameter.

As the stone flew out, the temperature in the void increased sharply, even causing the air to spontaneously combust. Meanwhile, the boiling magma below suddenly cooled, to the point of showing signs of solidification.

"This is the essence of fire!"

The more Ye Qingchen looked, the wider his smile became.

This essence of fire had been formed by condensing over a thousand years of fire element Spiritual Qi within the volcano. Having it could advance his "Heaven-Repairing Fragment" to the next level.

As Ye Qingchen was thinking this, he saw Kong Jing, after resting for a while, coming towards him surrounded by others.

"Are you going to renege?" Ye Qingchen asked with genuine interest, looking at her.

The reason he had waited for her nod before dealing with the Flame Flood Dragon was to avoid entanglement afterwards. Hearing Ye Qingchen’s words, Lu Yanwu and Zhou Hai behind him both looked displeased.

"Mr. Ye, you must be joking!"

Kong Jing’s face was full of bitterness. Having witnessed his methods, how could they dare do such a thing?

Seeing Ye Qingchen’s playful look, she sighed deeply before speaking, "I wish to purchase this essence of fire from your hands, Mr. Ye. Name your price. Even if I have to sell everything, I’ll buy it!"

"Buy? Since you want to negotiate, I’ll be straightforward with you. I’m cultivating, so I can’t do without the five-element materials! No matter how much you offer, I might not sell!"

Ye Qingchen’s gaze swept over the giant stone floating in his palm.

The stone was sealed with chains of True Qi, and not a trace of its temperature leaked out. Only through the thick rock layer could one see the flickering flame within, like a candle!

That was the essence of fire.

As Kong Jing despaired, Ye Qingchen continued: "However, I only need the essence of fire from it. Much flame will remain within the rock shell. Though it can’t compare to the essence of fire, its large quantity should suffice for you. If you want it, you can exchange it for five-element materials!"

Five-element materials?

Kong Jing, Lanyu, and several others exchanged glances.

Yet they knew ordinary items wouldn’t move Ye Qingchen. If anything could, it would be the five-element materials. But how could they possess them?

"Senior Sister Kong, what about that item?" Lanyu pondered for a moment and suggested.

Upon hearing this, Kong Jing furrowed her brows, gritted her teeth, and then addressed Ye Qingchen: "Mr. Ye, I know a place where there are five-element materials. Are you daring enough to venture there?"

"Oh?"

Ye Qingchen had almost given up hope. Hearing this, he raised an eyebrow, showing interest on his face:

"Tell me, where?"

Kong Jing lightly parted her lips and spoke a name:

"Earth Spirit Mountain!"

...

With the essence of fire issue resolved, Ye Qingchen began his formal cultivation.

It’s been several months since he reached the Celestial Venerable Seventh Layer. Earlier, at Hidden Dragon Mountain, he cultivated the Profound Water Armor using six Creation Lotus Seeds, leaving him with surplus Spiritual Qi. He increasingly felt just a step away from the Celestial Venerable Eighth Layer.

Although he removed the essence of fire from Xuanhu Mountain, much Spiritual Qi remained. Instead of waiting for it to disperse into the atmosphere, it was better to absorb it in one go.

Not only did Ye Qingchen have this idea, but Lu Yanwu, Kong Jing, and others shared the same plan.

With a glance at those around him sitting cross-legged, absorbing Spiritual Qi, Ye Qingchen withdrew his gaze and focused entirely on his palm, where a flame the size of a needle tip danced.

He had already given the stone shell outside the essence to Kong Jing.

"It has begun!"

Sitting cross-legged along the volcano’s edge, Ye Qingchen swallowed the flame in one gulp.

"What is he doing?"

Seeing this scene, the previously cultivating Kong Jing and others widened their eyes. That was the essence of flame, small as a needle tip, yet it was over ten thousand degrees. An unguarded Celestial Venerable touching it would likely be reduced to ashes in an instant!

Boom!

Under the shocked gazes of everyone, Ye Qingchen directly swallowed the essence of fire in one gulp. In an instant, an intense heat surged up, and raging flames erupted from Ye Qingchen’s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

"Refine!"

Ye Qingchen endured the scorching pain and shouted in a low voice.

The flames that poured out were suddenly bound by a tremendous force, as if drawn by the Ancient Fire God with a pen, inscribing a complex array of fiery symbols. These symbols were incredibly intricate and complex, with each rune possessing the power to control fire!

"What kind of cultivation technique is this?" Lanyu was utterly stunned, "How did I not know that the Taotian Palace had such a cultivation technique?"

Only Kong Jing squinted thoughtfully and said, "If I’m not mistaken, he’s cultivating the ’Heaven-Repairing Fragment’!"

As Kong Jing spoke, she couldn’t help but feel shocked.

It’s said that the original version of the ’Heaven-Repairing Fragment’ is not only extremely difficult to cultivate but also prone to unexpected accidents. Even a slight mistake could lead to life-and-death consequences. Therefore, it had long been abandoned, and in the entire Taotian Palace, there are less than a handful still cultivating this method!

But she did not expect Ye Qingchen to be one of them! 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"No wonder he needs items of the five elements..."

Kong Jing secretly suppressed the shock in her heart.

Ye Qingchen completely ignored the astonished crowd and tightly bound the fiery power within the essence of fire, transforming it into fiery talismans that revolved around him.

Having prior experience in refining the Profound Water Armor, naturally, refining the essence of fire was much faster than before.

Soon enough.

This array of fire runes enveloped his entire body.

Just then.

The Sword Spirit clad in Profound Water Armor suddenly appeared behind him, and the boundless fire runes seemed to come alive, swirling around the Profound Water Armor. The black armor now had a bright red fiery pattern, blooming like a lotus flower.

The Profound Water Armor, far from being disrupted by this added fire pattern, actually grew in strength, becoming even more formidable than before.

"Finally done!"

Ye Qingchen opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath.

"No wonder it’s the original version of the ’Heaven-Repairing Fragment.’ If I were cultivating the revised version, I might have already mastered it by now. But now I’m still three steps away!" Ye Qingchen sighed inwardly, but he felt no regret.

Instead, he felt a bit excited.

Now that the elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are formless, he had already completed two of them, and there was no need to worry about the remaining metal and wood. Once he retrieves that item from Earth Spirit Mountain, mastering the ’Heaven-Repairing Fragment’ would be just around the corner!

Seeing Kong Jing, Lu Yanwu, and others still cultivating, Ye Qingchen began to stabilize his cultivation level, and along the way, he found some rare Spirit Grass from Xuanhu Mountain and refined several furnaces of elixirs.

Until the seventh day, when Kong Jing, who was in a meditative state, gradually awakened.

Seeing Ye Qingchen looking over, Kong Jing was momentarily stunned, a slight blush appearing on her face.

"Next, we should head to Earth Spirit Mountain, right?" Kong Jing said with a smile, "But Earth Spirit Mountain is not as easy as Xuanhu Mountain. Although it’s not a place of dragons and tigers, it’s still a deadly place!"

"Oh? Tell me more," Ye Qingchen nodded slowly.

"Well, I found out by chance from reading ancient texts. It’s said to be the place where an Earth Immortal Demon Beast fell."

"That Earth Immortal Demon Beast was a rare Rock Dragon, a transformation of mountains and rivers. It died who knows how many years ago, but the demonic aura still lingers, rendering the entire Earth Spirit Mountain barren."

"Some speculate it’s because of the Dragon Bead of the Rock Dragon, but countless people have searched for it to no avail."

Kong Jing calmly explained the history of Earth Spirit Mountain.

"I see!" Ye Qingchen smiled and nodded, "In that case, there’s no time to lose, let’s set off quickly!"

Hearing this, everyone hurriedly got up, preparing to explore Earth Spirit Mountain.

Boom!

However, just at that moment.

A thunderous voice suddenly erupted from the void:

"Ye Qingchen, you can go nowhere! This Xuanhu Mountain shall be your burial ground!"

Rumble!

The voice, like rolling thunder, appeared without warning, spreading across the entire Xuanhu Mountain. Endless magma churned, transforming into a sea of fury.

Amidst everyone’s shock, a figure emerged from the void!

"Who is that?"

Everyone looked up promptly.

And there.

The figure was clad in a black robe, surrounded by Demonic Qi, resembling an evil Asura emerging from the abyss. His overwhelming aura was like an ocean, causing the void to tremble violently.

Seeing the newcomer, Ye Qingchen’s eyes sharpened:

"Ten Thousand Gods Sect?"