Chapter 534: Withering-Flourishing Fire of the Flame Alliance, The Key Is in the Clouds

At the heart of the southwest region of the Jade Cauldron Domain stood two grand immortal cities: Flame Yang Immortal City and Great Radiance Immortal City. Yet neither of them was the true centerpiece of the land.

The true overlord of the southwest had always been the Flame Alliance. Unlike the other Golden Core major sects in the domain, the Flame Alliance, though it claimed a lineage, lacked true internal cohesion. The reason was simple: It had never been an orthodox sect to begin with. Its roots traced back to a rogue cultivator from another domain, a Golden Core Adept who had moved over and built the sect from scratch.

After the Frontier War four hundred years ago, its name had spread far and wide. The growing fame had not been built upon battle prowess alone. The true turning point had come in the depths of Incense-Burning Valley.

That founding Adept had stumbled upon a Sourceless Flame known as the Withering-Flourishing Fire! From that moment, fire had become the very core of the sect, and its founder had formally renamed it the Flame Alliance. True to its name, the alliance had opened its doors to countless cultivators whose sects had perished in the chaos of the Frontier War. Thus, what had begun as a rogue cultivation force turned into a true alliance.

What tied them together was undoubtedly the massive profits from artifact creation and trade. Yet behind the wealth had lain a far greater temptation: the Withering-Flourishing Fire, a mysterious flame said to touch upon the threads of immortality. It was rumored that if one could refine even a wisp of the flame, it might extend an Adept's life by several decades! Such an irresistible claim naturally lured in those Adepts that were desperate to escape the grim fate of dwindling lifespans.

It was even said that the Flame Alliance's rise from a mere loose gathering of rogue cultivators into a well-acknowledged sect owed much to their skillful use of the Withering-Flourishing Fire to curry favor with the powerful Jade Cauldron Sword Sect. Of course, how much of this tale was truth and how much fabrication, no one could say for certain. After all, a flame capable of granting such miraculous longevity wouldn't remain in the hands of a single major sect for long. Had it truly held such power, it would have long since been seized by the Sword Sect itself, or maybe even by a Nascent Soul sect from beyond the domain.

When war erupted once more, the Flame Alliance did not hesitate. They allied themselves with the Sword Sect and threw their forces into the fray, waging relentless campaigns beyond their borders. In sharp contrast, the Falling Cloud Sect and its three allied sects chose to hold back, conserving their strength while the Flame Alliance advanced with fanatical zeal.

To an outsider, a war between cultivators appeared vastly different from wars between mortal kingdoms. The blaze of grand battles lit the skies, mountains crumbled, and valleys split. But in truth, the essence remained the same.

War was a matter of accounting.

Among all wars, the most expendable and also most necessary resources were not cultivators, but the weapons they wielded. Enchanted artifacts, especially low-grade ones, were chewed up and destroyed in droves.

And the Flame Alliance happened to be the number one artifact-creating sect in the entire Jade Cauldron Domain! As war raged across the land, their furnaces never once grew cold. They earned more spirit stones than anyone could count, and secured more resources than any could even imagine.

The hundred-some artifact manufacture halls within Incense-Burning Valley had never once ceased operation. The enchanted artifacts they produced were not only sold to the Sword Sect but also supplied to its vassal forces and the many rogue cultivators under its banner, forming a vast and intricate web of trade and influence. In fact, they even sold low-grade enchanted artifacts to the Four-Sect Alliance under Falling Cloud Sect's camp, albeit through secret channels and with great caution.

For the higher-ups of the Flame Alliance, this was exactly how the war should be fought. So long as it did not cripple them, they were willing to wage war for decades and even centuries. This was precisely why Duan Feng couldn't get his artifact business off the ground on Golden Sand Floating Island: With the Flame Alliance controlling the market and Skysail City dominating the outside, where would he find space to expand? Even though he refined top-grade enchanted artifacts, he barely got some crumbs of profit, let alone a slice of the cake.

In truth, Luo Chen and Duan Feng had both misjudged the situation. Many other small forces that specialized in artifact creation had also failed to gain any benefit from the ongoing war. In fact, the market had become increasingly hostile, and many of them had been squeezed out altogether.

Beneath the surface clashes and the endless machinations of war, one truth remains: Conflict is the best kind of business. Here too, every spirit stone and every resource formed part of an infinite ledger. Deep beneath the Incense-Burning Valley, in the heart of the Flame Alliance's stronghold, there was someone who had grown tired of counting.

The subterranean air was thick with the strange aroma of incense and smoldering flame. Amid the drifting haze, a solitary figure sat cross-legged atop a towering stone pillar, his expression somber and unmoving. Another man stepped through the cavern mouth and looked up toward him. He called softly, "Elder Di, you are leaving seclusion?"

With his head lowered and grief weighing on him like a millstone, Di Wanyun replied in a voice that trembled, "Leader... my son is dead."

The air turned heavy in an instant. After a long pause, the leader of the Flame Alliance finally spoke up. "If that's the case, I won't stop you."

As Di Wanyun rose to his feet, the leader added, "But you should be aware. Your body is weak, and your cultivation has weakened. If you meet an enemy of the same realm, you'll be nothing more than a lamb to the slaughter."

Di Wanyun gave a cold laugh. "At worst, I'll break the Withering-Flourishing seal and go all out. Apart from late-stage Adepts, I fear no one!"

The leader frowned but slowly nodded. Di Wanyun's combat prowess was not to be underestimated. So long as he didn't cross paths with a Sword Sect cultivator or a top-tier Golden Core Adept, very few could do anything against his strength. Even so...

"If you do break the Withering-Flourishing Seal, your lifespan will be consumed as backlash. With what little time you have left, you'll..."

Di Wanyun retorted quietly, "And what if I do? I am already barely clinging to life anyway."

Across the underground chamber, nearly twenty stone pillars rose like ancient totems, each bearing a cultivator in motionless meditation. Most of them were Golden Core experts. Had any outsider stumbled upon the sight, they would have been struck speechless.

In the Jade Cauldron Domain, the sects with the most Adepts were the Sword Sect and Green Pill Valley. Or so the world thought. But here, within the hidden depths of the Incense-Burning Valley, the Flame Alliance housed over a dozen such figures in seclusion. And that wasn't even counting the five Adepts roaming the world above!

Di Wanyun himself had only recently faded from the public eye. Most believed he'd simply grown old and chosen to retreat from worldly affairs. But the truth was far more unsettling. This was power that far exceeded that of Green Pill Valley. In sheer numbers, even the other four sects, including the recently elevated Falling Cloud Sect, could not compare to what the Flame Alliance concealed within its depths.

After casting his gaze across his fellow sectmates, Di Wanyun slowly said, "With the others present, this Withering-Flourishing Grand Formation will not falter just because of my absence. Leader, allow me to avenge my son before I do anything else."

The Flame Alliance leader furrowed his brow. "Are you confident you'll find the culprit?"

A flicker of sorrow passed through Di Wanyun's eyes, but only briefly. His expression quickly hardened, and his voice turned cold and sharp. "My son burned his divine soul to leave behind a Withering-Flourishing Mark. There's no way I won't find them."

The leader gave a slow nod. The Flame Alliance's bloodline art was no trifling matter. Anyone marked by the Withering-Flourishing Mark would find it nearly impossible to escape detection, unless they fled the Jade Cauldron Domain entirely.

"Very well," the leader said at last. "But once it's done, return quickly."

After speaking, his gaze fell upon the small fiery pit at the valley's bottom. He murmured, "Without someone to keep it suppressed, once the Withering-Flourishing Fire backlashes, they will all be doomed."

Di Wanyun said nothing more. Under the watchful gaze of a few conscious companions seated atop their stone pillars, he slowly stepped down from his own.

As soon as he descended, a visible weight seemed to lift from his body. A silver-white light flickered over him, and in the blink of an eye, his figure vanished from the depths of Incense-Burning Valley.

Almost immediately after his departure, a subtle ripple stirred within the fiery pit at the center of the stone circle. The tiny flickering flame quivered, then grew visibly stronger.

***

Deep underground, Luo Chen stared at the double doors before him with eyes filled with curiosity.

The double doors were ancient and unadorned. There were no carvings of birds or beasts, no ancient characters, and not even the kind of door plaque that typically marked such places. All that remained was the weathered marks of time and age, along with chaotic, lightning-shaped lines that crossed the surface like living serpents.

The double doors were shut tight, leaving not a single crack through which one could glimpse what lay beyond. Yet for such a gateway to exist here, in the most mysterious and dangerous depths of the ninth mountain of Jilei, its significance needed no explanation.

Luo Chen turned away, swallowed hard, and rasped, "Brother Wang... did we just stumble upon the cave residence of an ancient cultivator?"

"It seems so," Wang Yuan replied, anticipation burning in his eyes.

Everyone in the cultivation world understood what such a discovery could mean. An ancient cave might contain nothing more than remnants of dust and decay, or it could hold the entire inheritance of a high-tier cultivator. For juniors like them, such a find could change their fate entirely. If the cave was truly extraordinary, it might even elevate an entire sect, just as the Sky Ascension Secret Realm had once done for the Jade Cauldron Sword Sect after the Frontier War.

Rumors claimed that the secret realm had belonged to a Divine Transformation cultivator. That discovery had allowed the Sword Sect to turn defeat into dominance within a few short years. Now, the double doors before them seemed no less extraordinary than the gate to that legendary domain!

"Shall we give it a try?" Luo Chen asked, extending his spirit consciousness to probe for danger. When nothing revealed itself, he turned to Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan nodded and stepped up. Together, they placed their palms on the door and pushed. With the combined strength of their Physique Refinement cultivation, immense force poured forth from their arms. Yet the door didn't budge even half a cun.

"It won't open..." Luo Chen frowned slightly. "Is it a formation? A seal or some kind of hidden mechanism?"

"Should we try using spirit power?" Wang Yuan offered.

Luo Chen nodded in agreement. Both drew upon their spirit power and pressed their palms to the stone once more. Still, the door remained motionless.

Crack!

Both of them leaped back instinctively, only to see lightning strike down. It was not toward them, but directly upon the door itself. The lightning sank into the stone as if drawn by some kind of unseen will, and wisps of electric light began to dance across the surface, winding through the lightning-shaped grooves.

Above them, black clouds began gathering—the very clouds that had hung dormant over Trapping Hollow Valley for centuries.

Luo Chen's expression changed. "Let's go!"

Without hesitation, Wang Yuan turned and followed. Together, they retreated swiftly from the door and escaped into the open air.

From outside, Luo Chen looked up at the sky, watching as the storm churned and thickened. His face wavered between awe and realization.

After a long breath, he muttered, "I know what the key is."

Wang Yuan also looked up at the storm. "Is it lightning power?"

Luo Chen nodded. "Most likely. And maybe... just maybe, the formation of the entire Jilei Nine Mountains has something to do with this place."

"So what do we do now?" Wang Yuan asked, some hesitation surfacing in his eyes.

Luo Chen gave an easygoing smile. "Brother Wang, there's no need to be greedy. Staying alive is more important than anything. Even if we had the means to channel the lightning and open the door, the moment it happens, every Golden Core cultivator on the battlefield will sense it. Once they arrive, they will not even leave us crumbs."

Wang Yuan clenched his jaw and glanced back at the sealed gate. Though unwilling to turn away, he could not deny that Luo Chen's words were true.

"Let's leave it for now," Luo Chen said. "This cave residence has been hidden here for over a thousand years without discovery. Once we've grown stronger and the war has passed, we can quietly return and explore it then. Who knows? Maybe it even holds a chance at Nascent Soul... or maybe even Divine Transformation."

The thought was hopeful, yet beautiful all the same.

Wang Yuan did not try to refute the idea. Thus, they began erasing all traces of their presence, sealing the entrance and burying Trapping Hollow Valley beneath earth and stone. Finally, Luo Chen cast Cleanse over the battlefield, sweeping away every trace of their presence.

Only then did the two depart in haste. The ninth mountain returned once more to stillness, and all that remained was the ever-thickening mass of black clouds high above.