Chapter 1061: 惊恐发现

"Brother Yun, let me take you to Brother Huoye," Huo Poyun quickly offered, marveling internally. "As expected of Brother Yun, his elemental control is truly astonishing. To think someone at the Divine Origin Realm, cultivating ice-attribute profound arts no less, could stay here for nearly half an hour. Even the Flame God disciples at the Divine Origin Realm couldn't possibly endure this long."

"Look at me, I completely forgot about that! Poyun, take young Yun to rest for a while," Huo Rulie chimed in quickly.

"No need," Yun Che said, wiping the hot sweat from his forehead and waving his hand. "Brother Poyun, this event is too important; even missing a moment would be an irreparable regret. Besides, I'm just stepping away to rest for a bit. It’s not a major issue, so there’s no need for anyone to accompany me."

As he spoke, Yun Che, breathing heavily, quickly departed. "Brother Poyun, I'll be back later."

"Ah... alright," Huo Poyun mumbled, instinctively taking a step forward. He then considered Yun Che's words and ultimately decided not to follow.

With the Divine Master battle underway, no one wanted to miss even a single moment. After Yun Che departed, no one so much as glanced in his direction; all eyes remained intently fixed on the Vermilion Bird projection.

Yun Che quickened his pace, swiftly moving dozens of miles away. He then paused behind a tall igneous rock, and after repeatedly confirming that no aura was tracking him, he quickly used "Flowing Light Thunder Concealment" to completely conceal his presence.

"Good, this is the perfect time to infiltrate the God Burying Inferno Prison," Yun Che murmured to himself.

Within the million-mile expanse of the God Realm's ruins, its depths might actually contain a rare treasure capable of propelling him directly into the Divine Tribulation Realm—and the chances weren't small!

Yun Che, his aura carefully concealed, moved eastward for dozens of miles at a moderate pace before turning towards the edge of the inferno prison. When only a few miles from the perimeter, he enacted "Broken Moon Shadow Skimming" as a precaution, instantly rendering himself invisible.

With the ultimate concealment provided by "Broken Moon Shadow Skimming" and "Flowing Light Thunder Concealment," combined with the Flame God Three Sects' attention being solely focused on the Vermilion Bird projection, detection should be virtually impossible.

Yun Che slowed his steps, cautiously approaching the edge of the sea of flames.

As smoothly as he anticipated, he quickly reached the edge of the inferno prison. The entire process unfolded without alarm or incident; not even a single aura swept across his location. Yun Che took a shallow breath, maintaining his concealed state, and silently plunged into the endless inferno prison.

Yun Che's body was instantly enveloped by the swirling flames, his invisible state vanishing. Immensely powerful destructive energy surged from all directions, then transformed into streams of warm air, eagerly flowing into his body.

Immersed in the sea of flames, he could more clearly sense the distant surges of power.

Upon entering the fiery expanse, Yun Che's body rapidly descended, reaching a depth of a thousand zhang in moments. This was the maximum depth Yan Wancang's spiritual power could reach, a detail Huo Poyun had mentioned casually. It meant that at this depth, even if the three Flame God Sect Masters fully extended their spiritual senses, they would absolutely not detect him.

Like the Underworld Ice Heavenly Pool, the deeper he descended, the more terrifying the flame power of the God Burying Inferno Prison became. At a depth of a thousand zhang, the intensity of the flames here was beyond anything he had ever known.

"A single cluster of flames here could probably incinerate an entire ocean in the lower realm," Yun Che murmured. "It's only a thousand zhang deep, yet it's already this terrifying; it's unimaginable how much worse it gets below. And such a fearsome place, spanning a million miles, has been burning for at least a million years without any sign of extinguishing."

"Its source of power, that fiery vein..." Yun Che let out a soft sigh. That fiery vein was a relic from the era of ancient True Gods. The True Gods who reigned over chaos in that time were beings utterly incomprehensible to creatures of the current era.

It was likely that even the peak of chaotic power today—the Divine Master Realm—would be rendered insignificant before the might of a True God.

Ceasing his marveling, Yun Che roughly gauged the speed at which the flame aura flowed into his body. He then stopped lingering, circulated his profound energy, and rapidly descended deeper into the fiery world below.

Two thousand zhang...

Three thousand zhang...

Four thousand zhang...

Five thousand zhang!!

At this moment, Yun Che looked downwards and suddenly spotted a crimson arc of light far in the distance.

In this place, where the flames were too searing to be described by any mortal language and all light was consumed by their radiance, this crimson arc of light, though clearly very far from him, shone with incredible clarity and brilliance within the purgatorial world.

Yun Che's descent slowly ceased at this point, his profound energy no longer able to propel him downwards.

Beneath his feet lay the very bottom of the God Burying Inferno Prison!

His feet settled on a firm, flat surface that felt like rock. Yet, Yun Che knew that any stone, even the most ancient and wondrous, would instantly melt upon contact with these flames. Perhaps the "rocks" at the bottom of the inferno prison were also artifacts from the True God era.

Flame spiritual energy surged into his body like a storm. However, from a depth of a thousand zhang, the absorption rate had reached its limit and remained unchanged thereafter, precisely as it had been in the depths of the Underworld Ice Heavenly Pool.

The God Burying Inferno Prison's depth was also quite similar to that of the Underworld Ice Heavenly Pool, both reaching approximately five thousand zhang.

Compared to the extreme purity found at the bottom of the Underworld Ice Heavenly Pool, this world was undoubtedly the most terrifying hell imaginable for humans. Yun Che stood there stunned for a while, a thought suddenly surfacing in his mind: "I can actually survive here."

Not forgetting his purpose for being there, Yun Che began to move forward swiftly. The extreme flames at the bottom of the God Burying Inferno Prison did not impede his senses or speed; instead, they became a source of his power. However, searching for rare treasures or relics within the million-mile expanse of the God Burying Inferno Prison was undoubtedly like searching for a needle in a haystack. Yun Che's presence there was a gamble, and instead of choosing a random direction, he moved rapidly towards the distant crimson arc of light.

That crimson arc of light was very likely the ancient fiery vein supporting this God Burying Inferno Prison!

Towards the crimson arc of light, Yun Che moved straight ahead, piercing through layers of flames. As he swiftly traversed, the surrounding world remained entirely unchanged: the peculiar rocks beneath his feet, the surrounding flames, temperature, and aura were all identical. Compared to the Underworld Ice Heavenly Pool, this was a different, yet far more immense, form of purity.

An hour passed...

Two hours passed...

The surroundings remained a pure world of flames. He had traversed in the same direction for over two hours, yet found no rare treasures or ruins, nor even a slightly different aura. The only change was that the crimson arc of light in his vision had grown significantly larger.

"No, this is taking too long," he muttered. "Returning will take the same amount of time. I'll search for another half an hour, but even if I find nothing, I'll have to go back."

Yun Che murmured with a hint of reluctance, subtly increasing his speed through the sea of flames. Just then, his heart suddenly gave a violent thump.

Yun Che's movements abruptly ceased, and his hand instinctively pressed against his chest.

This feeling...

Ahead, was something calling to him?

It was a strange sensation—mysterious, hazy, seemingly illusory yet exceptionally clear. As if an ancient voice had powerfully struck his soul.

Yun Che's gaze fixed on the ancient crimson arc of light in the distance. He vaguely sensed that this peculiar feeling was emanating from that direction.

What could it be?

Could it be like the Ice Phoenix Divine Spirit at the bottom of the Underworld Ice Heavenly Pool—an ancient divine spirit that hadn't entirely vanished, remaining here eternally to preserve its last vestiges of existence?

Was its soul calling to him?

With this thought, Yun Che's spirits instantly surged, and his speed sharply increased as he rushed forward. But after only a few miles, a massive shadow suddenly appeared ahead, and the surrounding aura subtly changed, revealing a presence that was not of fire.

What was this?

Yun Che immediately slowed his pace, carefully approaching the strange shadow ahead. As he drew closer, the unusual aura rapidly intensified. When it reached a certain density, Yun Che suddenly realized...

This aura... it was very similar to that of the ancient Horned Dragon!

The Vermilion Bird's projected will could display not only images but also sounds and some basic auras.

When he first detected this unusual aura, he had a vague sense of familiarity. Now, he could confirm that this was undoubtedly the Horned Dragon's aura!

Could this be...?

Yun Che sped up again, quickly reaching the shadow, which measured approximately a hundred zhang in both height and width.

"Indeed..." Yun Che murmured.

This shadow was clearly the shape of a nest.

Given its ability to exist in this environment, even without an aura, Yun Che was absolutely certain that this could only be the lair of the ancient Horned Dragon.

Huo Poyun had previously mentioned that the ancient Horned Dragon always appeared near the northern shore of the inferno prison, meaning its lair was certainly in this direction. And so it was!

He hadn't expected it to be so close. It seemed that whenever the dragon shed its scales and emerged, it would deliberately move far south beforehand, likely to protect its lair from destruction during battles.

To have accidentally stumbled upon the ancient Horned Dragon's lair... A wave of belated fear suddenly surged through Yun Che's heart. It was fortunate he had infiltrated at this moment; otherwise, he wouldn't have survived getting this close.

Since he was here... he certainly couldn't leave empty-handed!

An ordinary dragon's body was full of treasures, let alone an ancient Horned Dragon! Energized, Yun Che excitedly rushed into the lair.

Soon, he emerged with a grim expression.

The dragon's lair was practically spotless, as if it had just been thoroughly cleaned. Aside from a heavy Horned Dragon aura, there was nothing else.

Not even a single dragon scale... nothing at all, not even a wisp of dragon hair!

"Ah, well," Yun Che sighed dejectedly. "I should have realized that anything shed from the ancient Horned Dragon would instantly be incinerated to dust by these flames once separated from its body... Hmm??"

As he muttered, Yun Che's brow suddenly furrowed, and deep suspicion flashed in his eyes.

Just under a mile ahead, he spotted another shadow.

The shape and size of this shadow were very similar to the dragon's lair he was currently in.

"What's that? This creature couldn't possibly have built two lairs, could it?"

Puzzled, Yun Che flickered forward, quickly arriving before the shadow, where he then paused, startled.

This was, astonishingly... truly another dragon's lair. And it wasn't merely similar to the previous one; it was practically identical.

It had the same size, shape, and material; only its orientation was different.

It truly built two lairs... Yun Che was somewhat speechless. It was one thing to build two lairs out of idleness, but to make two identical ones? Was there any difference in living in them?

But then, Yun Che's expression suddenly shifted, and deep surprise and doubt quickly surfaced in his eyes.

Wait... the dragon's aura in this lair, why did it seem... slightly different from the previous one?

The extremely high-level flames here would completely seal off even Yan Wancang's spiritual senses, were he to arrive and survive, but they had no effect on Yun Che. This lair also contained the presence of the Horned Dragon's aura. However, Yun Che's spiritual senses were exceptionally sensitive. Having just exited the first lair, his memory of its dragon aura was naturally crystal clear, and transitioning to the dragon aura of this second lair gave him a sudden, unsettling sense of discord.

Yun Che quickly turned back to the first lair, paused briefly, then swiftly returned to the second lair, and then, still unwilling to give up, went back to the first lair yet again.

After several rounds of back-and-forth, Yun Che stood between the two lairs, his thoughts in disarray.

What was going on?!

There were two Horned Dragon lairs here, both emitting dragon auras... And while these two auras were very similar, they were distinctly, subtly different! Could it be...

Suddenly, Yun Che thought of the ancient Horned Dragon's dragon horn...

A thousand years ago, during the dragon-slaying battle, the ancient Horned Dragon's dragon horn was injured. Mu Xuanyin and Yan Wancang had both been utterly convinced that it was impossible for it to recover within a millennium.

But the one today... its dragon horn was completely intact!

Could it be...?

Could it be that there aren't just one, but *two* ancient Horned Dragons in the God Burying Inferno Prison?!

And there have *always* been two of them!!

And their shedding cycle isn't a thousand years... but *two* thousand years?!

Every thousand years, it's two ancient Horned Dragons alternately shedding their scales and appearing! Their auras are extremely similar, and they emerge a millennium apart each time, making them impossible to distinguish. Furthermore, when they are concealed within the God Burying Inferno Prison, their presence is completely undetectable...

As soon as this thought emerged, it rapidly became clear. All the previous feelings of discord suddenly made perfect sense under this terrifying conjecture.

A sudden chill ran through Yun Che's body. He then let out a sharp cry and dashed frantically in the opposite direction.

He no longer cared about the ethereal soul's summons, nor about the ancient fiery vein. His profound energy exploded without reservation, wishing he could tear through space.

Damn it! Master is in danger!

But she had shattered her sound transmission jade... he couldn't even inform her immediately!

Neither ancient Horned Dragon was in the lair, meaning the other was very likely hidden beneath the nearby inferno prison.

If this hunt, like those in previous years, ultimately proved unsuccessful, then the other Horned Dragon wouldn't appear either, just as before. This was their strategy, a trump card to be played only as a last resort!

But this time was different! Judging by the demeanor of the three Flame God Sect Masters earlier, Mu Xuanyin was very likely to successfully hunt the Horned Dragon this time. Therefore, at some point before that Horned Dragon was completely incapacitated, the other Horned Dragon would surely appear!

Mu Xuanyin had shattered her sound transmission jade precisely to avoid any distraction. As she focused her mind and exerted her full strength against the ancient Horned Dragon, her own profound energy would be greatly depleted. In such a state, an unexpected, fully charged attack from the other ancient Horned Dragon, lying in wait...

...would undoubtedly be a fatal, desperate blow!

"Hiss!!" Yun Che gritted his teeth, almost shattering them, and forcefully activated "Sky Shattering," pushing his speed to its absolute peak. He now only prayed that Mu Xuanyin had not yet driven the ancient Horned Dragon to desperation. He desperately hoped she hadn't.

Faster... even faster!

Who could have imagined—who would have dared to imagine—that there were two Horned Dragons in the God Burying Inferno Prison?!

Records concerning the ancient Horned Dragon of the God Burying Inferno Prison date back over six hundred thousand years. Yet, throughout that entire time, no one had ever noticed this crucial detail.

If Yun Che hadn't infiltrated the very bottom of the inferno prison, he would never have even dreamed of such a possibility.

These two ancient Horned Dragons were not only incredibly powerful but also terrifyingly cunning! They had deceived and played the Flame God Realm for hundreds of thousands of years!