Chapter 599: Immortal Fire

**The Mortal Realm**

The sword energy had persisted for untold millennia.

After entering the Ziwei Palace, Qin Sang had encountered too many unimaginable existences. Repeated shocks had numbed him.

This sword mark had severed a mountain and shattered countless ancient halls. To this day, it remained a warning to future generations not to trespass on this mountain.

Qin Sang stared blankly at the sword mark when a faint 'click' sound suddenly reached his ears. He quickly lifted his wrist to look and saw a slender crack had appeared on one of the dragon scales of his dragon-shaped wooden bracelet. Qin Sang’s expression changed drastically. The wooden bracelet was on the verge of losing its ability to suppress the mark.

Healing Yun Youzi was a promise he had made long ago. For this, Yun Youzi had tirelessly helped him obtain the Scarlet Cloud Purple Fruit, and Qin Sang had already reaped his benefits. He could not go back on his word. Fortunately, there was only one crack on the wooden bracelet, so it should last a while longer.

Originally, because the Flying Yaksha's transformation was not yet complete, Qin Sang and Yun Youzi had agreed to conserve the true essence of the Corpse Core to handle unforeseen circumstances. Now, they dared not wait any longer. He immediately unsealed the Corpse Core and said in a deep voice, "Senior, please guide the way." Without daring to delay, the two immediately began their ascent.

After entering the mountain mist, the mountains and ancient halls within sight vanished. There was a massive illusion array within the mountain. Yun Youzi took out a compass-like object and tossed one to Qin Sang, instructing him on its use. This item appeared to be a magical artifact specifically crafted for the illusion array here. Once activated with spiritual energy, a golden needle would appear in the center of the compass, guiding their direction. The golden needle pointed to a winding and perilous mountain path. Fortunately, their journey was smooth, encountering no dangers, and they soon reached the mountaintop.

At this moment, they stood before a dried-up small lake. Opposite them lay ruins, and in the distance, endless mist still enveloped the entire mountain within the illusion array. Yun Youzi stepped forward, manipulated the compass, pointed across the lake, and said in a deep voice, "Go there!" Qin Sang led the way, directly entering the small lake and moving straight ahead.

After passing over several collapsed ancient halls, Qin Sang frequently swept his spiritual sense through the ruins but found nothing. However, Qin Sang noticed that the arrangement of these ancient halls seemed to hold a deeper mystery, serving a special purpose.

"As far as I know," Yun Youzi said, "these ancient halls might all be alchemist chambers from ancient times!" While using the compass to determine their position, Yun Youzi clarified Qin Sang’s doubts. Pointing to the trenches on the ground of the ancient hall ruins, he said, "These might be fire channels, designed to work with spirit arrays to draw flames from elsewhere, aiding in alchemy."

Qin Sang had long found these trenches strange. He hadn't expected them to actually be fire channels. He asked doubtfully, "The Ziwei Palace is so mysterious; even if not everyone living here was a grand expert, their cultivation must have been significant. Core Formation cultivators can already use their alchemical flames for alchemy and artifact refinement, with power surpassing earthly fire. What kind of flames were they drawing in, distributing among so many people, that were even stronger than the spiritual fires manifested from their own true essence?" Qin Sang knew a bit about artifact refinement, and there were similarities between alchemy and artifact refinement. There were countless ancient halls in the mountain. If they were all alchemist chambers, with so many alchemists performing alchemy simultaneously, what kind of immortal fire would be powerful enough to sustain them all?

Yun Youzi explained, "Alchemical flames aren't necessarily stronger than all earthly fires. Do you remember the Mountain Within a Mountain from the Void Spirit Sect, junior brother? Inside it, there was a mutated earthly fire, far superior to ordinary earthly fire, and it was the foundation of the Void Spirit Sect. There are countless unique spiritual fires in the legends of the cultivation world; some can be called immortal fires, far more powerful than the Nascent Soul flames of Nascent Soul cultivators. When cultivators refine these fires for alchemy and artifact refinement, they can achieve twice the results with half the effort, significantly increasing their chances of success. Moreover, these ancient halls must have had powerful restrictions to complement and restrain the flames, so the refiners wouldn't need to divert their attention to control them. As for what kind of flame it is, you'll soon find out, junior brother Qin..."

Qin Sang had also heard about the things Yun Youzi mentioned. The Nine Nether Demonic Fire sealed within the Ten Directions Yama Banner was one such unique spiritual fire. Qin Sang had long been considering using the Nine Nether Demonic Fire for artifact refinement. With only one Ten Directions Yama Banner, the Nine Nether Demonic Fire could offer limited assistance. However, Qin Sang now knew how to deploy the three demonic banners in an array, which would greatly increase the demonic fire's power. Whether it would be effective, he would only know after reaching the Core Formation stage and being able to freely manipulate the Ten Directions Yama Banner. Hearing Yun Youzi say that the divine fire in the immortal palace was still burning, Qin Sang couldn't help but feel immense anticipation. This fire must be extraordinary. Could it be the legendary Grand Yin True Fire, or the Solar Essence Fire? If it truly was an immortal fire rarely found in the world, could he emulate Old Ancestor Kuiyin's method of refining the Ten Directions Yama Banner and try to subdue it once his cultivation improved? With this thought, Qin Sang became even more proactive, darting forward.

The further they went, the more thoroughly the ancient halls were destroyed. Qin Sang silently calculated their position and realized that Yun Youzi was leading him directly toward the sword mark. No wonder there was such terrifying pressure emanating from ahead. Under the oppression of the sword energy, their speed was forced to slow down. They dared not fly anymore, trudging step by step on the ground, drawing closer and closer to the sword mark. Qin Sang was drenched in sweat. He not only had to resist the sword energy's oppression but also assist Yun Youzi, and the true essence within his Corpse Core was rapidly depleting. But now, he couldn't afford to worry about such things. While climbing the mountain, a second crack had appeared on the wooden bracelet. Qin Sang had no spare energy to pay attention to anything else, fully channeling the Corpse Core to protect himself, when he finally heard Yun Youzi speak.

"We've arrived," Yun Youzi said.

Qin Sang's eyes widened as he looked forward. Ahead was a steep mountain cliff, and built into it was a massive stone hall. Its style resembled those below, but it was much taller and more magnificent. Surprisingly, this stone hall had not collapsed. However, it was not entirely undamaged. The sword mark had precisely cut through the center of the stone hall, splitting it directly in two. The severed edges were incredibly smooth, and the parts of the hall on either side of the mark remained perfectly intact. Ages had passed, and wind and sand had eroded it. Now, the stone hall, stripped of its former grandeur, was pockmarked and weathered, revealing its ancient age. The main entrance of the stone hall was wide open, revealing an empty interior with nothing inside.

Resisting the pressure, the two moved inch by inch into the stone hall. Qin Sang curiously looked around but saw no spiritual fire and sensed no strange fluctuations. Yun Youzi surveyed the surroundings, pondered for a moment, then walked deeper into the stone hall. He located a specific stone brick, squatted down, and pressed his hand onto it. A strange light swirled, and suddenly, a rumbling sound echoed from deep underground. Yun Youzi said to Qin Sang, "The fire channel where the spiritual fire is sealed is actually deep underground, hidden just like the Immortal Platform in the Spirit Gathering Hall. It cannot be detected from the outside; I only found out about it by accident..."

Before he finished speaking, the floor of the stone hall suddenly cracked open, revealing a hidden passage leading directly underground. As the hidden passage opened, an intensely scorching aura immediately rushed out, causing the temperature inside the stone hall to surge. Deep within the passage, a ball of deep red firelight emerged. Yun Youzi's expression relaxed, and he said with relief, "Good! The spiritual fire is still here; no one else has discovered it!"