Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

'A newly formed Celestial Fire?' Ling Fei's heart leaped with joy as he said in a firm tone, "Given this chance, I naturally don't want to miss it."

He had waited so long for this day. How could he give up?

"Good. In that case, you should prepare well and head to the Dongze Ruins as soon as possible. After all, a Heaven and Earth Anomalous Fire of this kind is extremely rare and coveted by many Cultivators. If the other major Sects learn of this, they will also send people to try and fuse with this fire. But don't worry. Even if we can't enter the ruins ourselves, we will dispatch some experts to act as your Guardians. Furthermore, we will also gift you some life-saving treasures to ensure your safety."

Sect Leader Yuan said.

"In that case, I thank you, Sect Leader." Hearing this, Ling Fei felt his confidence grow.

"Don't be so formal," Sect Leader Yuan smiled. "Do you have any other needs?"

"I need some Heaven and Earth Spirit Essence to replenish my Essence Qi," Ling Fei said.

Yiyi was still sleeping but had mostly recovered.

It had woken up once while Ling Fei was in seclusion, but with nothing to do, it had simply gone back to sleep.

If the little fellow could eat more Spirit Essence and Elixirs, its strength would surely increase, which would in turn improve Ling Fei's chances on this trip.

"No problem," Sect Leader Yuan chuckled. "You can ask Peak Master Yuan for any Elixirs and Spirit Essence you need."

"Haha, that's right. Come with me to the Medicine Garden later. Whatever herbs you set your eyes on, just take them," Master Yuan Chun laughed heartily.

"Then I won't be polite." Ling Fei cupped his fists.

"Go and prepare first. The Sect is currently selecting some geniuses to be your guards for entering the Dongze Ruins," Sect Leader Yuan said with a smile.

After asking Ling Fei about his recent situation, the Elders left one by one.

Ling Fei went to Master Yuan Chun's place and selected a large amount of Spirit Essence and Elixirs.

Master Yuan Chun was extremely generous, even giving him some Spirit Essence that he had been cultivating for two hundred years.

Clearly, he was also very much looking forward to Ling Fei's successful fusion with the Celestial Fire.

This was not just Peak Master Yuan Chun's expectation, but the hope of all the Lingyun Sect's Elders.

'Peak Master Yuan is truly generous. This should be enough for Yiyi to eat, right?' Ling Fei thought happily as he returned with a large haul of Elixirs.

Many of the medicinal herbs he received were incredibly rare.

Even Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun himself was reluctant to use them for Alchemy, yet Ling Fei had walked away with them.

How could an ordinary disciple receive such treatment?

'I must fuse with the Celestial Fire. Only then can I live up to the expectations of these seniors.' At the same time, Ling Fei secretly made up his mind.

He knew full well why he was receiving this treatment.

It was because he had displayed exceptional talent for Alchemy.

As for whether the Sect was using his talent to rejuvenate its standing, Ling Fei didn't feel there was anything wrong with that.

After all, without the Sect's support, he would never have been able to grow so strong.

Thus, Ling Fei was very grateful to the Sect.

Ling Fei returned to his residence.

He immediately activated his Dragon Bone, forming a Qi Vortex that devoured the Spirit Essence. A massive amount of Essence Qi poured into the Dragon Bone Space.

The Essence Qi then flowed and converged toward Yiyi.

YIP!

Sensing the dense Essence Qi, the little fellow let out a soft yip and immediately stood up on its hind legs. Its nose twitched, and with a flash of Light Pattern, it formed a Qi Vortex of its own. It directly absorbed all the Essence Qi that had entered the Dragon Bone Space, then immediately wore a look of being far from satisfied.

"You're awake?" Seeing Yiyi wake up, Ling Fei smiled. With a thought, the Dragon Bone Light Pattern flickered, and Yiyi flashed out from within.

Yiyi appeared, its eyes narrowed into a simple, good-natured smile.

Then, it rubbed its fluffy little head against Ling Fei's neck, looking utterly adorable.

Ling Fei chuckled and directly took out a few stalks of Spirit Essence for Yiyi.

YIP!

Upon seeing the Spirit Essence, the little fellow's eyes lit up. It extended a fluffy little paw and took the stalks.

Then, it turned to one side, and its little mouth opened and closed, gobbling down a stalk of Spirit Essence in just a few bites.

Only after finishing did it turn back, squinting its eyes at Ling Fei.

The little fellow didn't speak, but from the look on its face, it was clearly waiting for Ling Fei to give it another stalk of Spirit Essence!

"Here." Ling Fei patted Yiyi's head and took out a few more stalks.

YIP!

Seeing that there were several stalks of Spirit Essence this time, Yiyi's eyes shone, and it squeaked with excitement.

Its little paws moved, and it unceremoniously snatched them up and began to munch away.

Seeing the little fellow's greedy appearance, Ling Fei just smiled faintly.

Sensing its aura carefully, he realized Yiyi was now much stronger than it had been back in the Great Tang Empire.

If he had to quantify it, its power should be at the Profound Pill Level.

'With this little fellow around, I have another ace up my sleeve,' Ling Fei thought.

After all, Yiyi possessed the Shuttle Divine Technique!

While Yiyi happily ate the Spirit Essence, Ling Fei consumed some Soul Dao Essence himself.

However, even in the Southern Wilderness, such Soul Dao Essence was a rare sight.

After consuming numerous medicinal herbs, Yiyi's strength had clearly improved a lot, and the little fellow was no longer sleeping all the time.

It accompanied Ling Fei, and whenever they entered or left the Medicine Garden, a mischievous glint would appear in its eyes as it stared at the herbs inside, practically drooling.

"These herbs aren't mature yet, so don't be greedy." Seeing this, Ling Fei shook his head and smiled. "In a few days, we're going to some ancient ruins. I'm sure there will be plenty of herbs there. That's when you can put your herb-stealing skills to good use. Er, I mean, your herb-finding skills."

"But for now, don't go running around causing trouble," Ling Fei warned.

He was genuinely afraid the little fellow would plunder the Lingyun Sect's entire supply of medicinal herbs.

If that happened and they were found out, he would lose an incredible amount of face.

"Yip!" Yiyi nodded earnestly, then gestured with its little paws, as if to say that time in the Imperial Palace, it had only done so because it was really, really hungry.

Seeing this, Ling Fei smiled and gently stroked Yiyi's little head.

Afterward, Ling Fei took a Vein Condensing Pill to increase the resilience of his meridians.

'The Vein Condensing Pill uses the power of the Elixir to strengthen one's meridians, but its effects are still inferior to the True Dragon Transformation Technique,' Ling Fei murmured to himself after taking the Pill.

Even after taking the Vein Condensing Pill, the meridians in his body were still not as strong as those in his arms, which had been tempered by the True Dragon Bloodline Power.

Of course, the True Dragon Transformation Technique had to be cultivated step-by-step; it couldn't be mastered overnight.

Excavating the Bloodline Power within his body wasn't something he could do every day. It required a period of accumulation; otherwise, depleting his Blood Qi would only damage his foundation.

After taking the Vein Condensing Pill, Ling Fei felt that he had reached his peak condition.

His Cultivation had now reached Late Stage Celestial Spirit Perfection, and he was already beginning the process of Condensing Gang into Liquid.

His comprehension of the Sword Dao, the True Dragon, and the Cold Dao had also reached a bottleneck.

His Soul Power was also immense, far surpassing what it was when he first joined the Lingyun Sect.

'Now, all that's left is to go to the Dongze Ruins.' Ling Fei was filled with anticipation.

***

「Three days later.」

Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun found Ling Fei.

"We will depart for the Dongze Ruins tomorrow," Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun said. "These are three Soul Condensing Flowers, and a medicinal liquid refined from Soul-Condensing Flower Stems."

"Take these herbs for now. When you encounter the Celestial Fire, use them to lure it into consuming a Soul Condensing Flower, then find an opportunity to fuse with it."

"Yes!" Ling Fei accepted the herbs, his heart pounding with excitement.

He had waited for so long, and this day was finally about to arrive!

The next day, on a mountaintop within the Lingyun Sect.

Many of the Lingyun Sect's geniuses had gathered there.

The Elders from each peak were also present.

"Everyone, your mission in the Dongze Ruins is to protect Alchemist Ling Fei. Therefore, I expect all of you to remember your duty. Anyone who is afraid or unwilling to protect him with their life may withdraw from this operation now. Otherwise, if anyone is found shrinking back in the ruins and causing Alchemist Ling Fei to face danger, their Cultivation will be crippled by the Sect, and they will be stripped of their status as a Lingyun Sect disciple! Do you all understand?"

On a high platform, an Elder with a sharp gaze spoke in a heavy tone to the genius disciples below.

There were many of these genius disciples, three hundred and twenty in total. Every single one had reached the Profound Pill Realm; they were the geniuses among geniuses.

"We all understand." When the Elder's words fell, the three hundred and twenty genius disciples below all nodded.

If one looked closely, a woman in a pale blue robe could be seen standing prominently at the forefront of these genius disciples.

This woman was none other than the most dazzling genius disciple of the current generation in the Lingyun Sect, Lian Shuang.

She had condensed a Small Yuan Pill within a short six months of joining the sect.

After a year, she was already a Profound Pill Realm disciple.

Now, a year and a half after joining, she was already a Late Stage Profound Pill Realm expert, on the verge of reaching the Celestial Pill Realm.

With such talent, even Li Qinghou couldn't hope to compare.

"Very good. I trust you all understand the talent of Alchemist Ling Fei and what this operation means for our Lingyun Sect. Therefore, this mission absolutely cannot fail. None of you are to leak any information about this. If anyone is found to have leaked this matter, it will be considered treason against the Sect, an offense punishable by death! Do you understand?" the Elder said sternly.

"We will put the Sect's interests first and will never betray it," the three hundred and twenty geniuses declared in a heavy tone.

"Excellent!" The Elder nodded.

The various Peak Masters beside him also nodded slightly.

This matter was truly too important to them; not the slightest mistake could be tolerated.

However, this matter was too big. After mobilizing so many people to search for an Anomalous Fire, any intelligent person could probably guess what was happening.

Therefore, it was basically impossible to keep it a secret from outsiders.

This was also why they had chosen the geniuses within the Sect to protect Ling Fei.

The goal was to prevent any accidents.

As for these geniuses, most of them had no objections.

For them, this trip was not just a simple matter of protecting an Alchemist; it was also a form of training.

To be able to contribute to the Sect while undergoing training—why wouldn't they be happy to do it?

One had to understand that in this Martial Arts World, only when one's Sect was powerful could one have a firm footing when traveling outside.

Furthermore, if they could build some friendship with Alchemist Ling Fei during this expedition, it would be easier for them to ask for favors in the future.

Therefore, for many of these geniuses, this was a rare opportunity—one that many others wanted but couldn't get.