Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

"That's right. Ling the Pill Master, you carry the heavy burden of our Sect. We are all willing to help you successfully merge with the Celestial Fire."

The young men beside him all nodded.

To have been chosen to come here, they were naturally all ambitious people.

Seeing that these senior brothers all understood the greater good, Ling Fei felt a sense of relief.

'Geniuses are always arrogant; it's rare to find those who can see the bigger picture.'

"Haha, everyone, you are all the hope of our Lingyun Sect. In the future, please feel free to interact more with the people of my Medicine Vein. Let's work together to strengthen our Sect." Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun smiled. Although he was a Great Pill Master of incredibly noble status, he did not look down on geniuses of Martial Arts. For a Sect to grow strong, it had to develop in all aspects.

Only then could it be passed down for ten thousand generations.

"Of course." Seeing Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun speak, He Tianming and the others nodded repeatedly with smiles.

"Ling the Pill Master, my name is Fang Yuan. You'll have to look after me from now on, okay?" Fang Yuan walked up, batting her long eyelashes. She looked up at Ling Fei, her large eyes filled with fervor, and said, "I've admired you, the legendary alchemy genius, for a very long time!"

"Haha, I'll have to trouble Senior Sister Fang on this trip, then," Ling Fei said with a smile.

Nearby, Lian Shuang remained indifferent. She stood tall, her figure graceful and slender. Her face was exquisite and stunningly beautiful—so much so that it was breathtaking.

Her features were as perfect as a painting, yet tinged with a cold aloofness.

Yet, this only enhanced her transcendent air, making many people unable to resist sneaking a few glances at her.

Even Ling Fei couldn't help but take a second look at this Senior Sister Lian Shuang.

"Heehee, this is Senior Sister Lian Shuang. Although she has many suitors, she doesn't have a lover yet. If Ling the Pill Master has taken a liking to her, you should definitely try to pursue her! I'm rooting for you." Seeing Ling Fei's reaction, the nearby Fang Yuan giggled, seemingly eager for him to pursue Senior Sister Lian Shuang.

'She wondered if this seemingly heart-of-ice senior sister would finally be moved, pursued by an alchemy prodigy like him.'

"Ahem." Seeing Fang Yuan teasing him like this, Ling Fei gave a dry cough.

"Haha, let's get going!" Nearby, Grand Elder Fang said to Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun.

"Alright!" Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun nodded and urged the Flying Boat toward a Teleportation Array not far away.

The Teleportation Array there was already active.

The Array Platform was very high, engraved with profound Array Patterns that could lead to the various major regions of the Southern Wilderness.

"Go!" Grand Elder Fang directly piloted the Flying Boat into the Qi Vortex that had formed in the Void above the Array Platform.

Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun followed.

...

"They've departed." Atop a mountain peak in the Lingyun Sect, Li Zheng gazed at the Qi Vortex that had suddenly materialized in the distance and murmured.

"The Dongze Ruins..." Beside him, Li Yufeng grinned. "By now, I'm sure plenty of people have already caught wind of it and are on the move, right?"

"I heard the Dongze Sect has produced a genius with extremely strong Soul Power and considerable talent in Alchemy. Since the news has been spread, they will definitely head into the Dongze Ruins. When that time comes, it won't be so easy for Ling Fei to merge with the Celestial Fire. Perhaps this time, he'll meet his end in the Dongze Ruins."

"We spread the news long before the Sect even received word of the Celestial Fire. By now, many factions must have already gathered in the East Marsh Valley," Wang Yuyang sneered.

"The more people who go to the Dongze Ruins, the better. Only then can they contend with the Lingyun Sect's geniuses," Li Qinghou said with a cold laugh, his arms crossed over his chest.

"The Dongze Ruins are incredibly dangerous. Even with three hundred geniuses protecting him, I'm afraid it will be useless. Now, we just wait for news!" said Li Yufeng.

Although they had not gone to the Dongze Ruins themselves, they had already planned everything out.

...

Ling Fei and the others plunged into the Transmission Vortex, as if swallowed by an abyss. However, the Flying Boat was shielded by Dao Patterns, so there was no sensation of being torn apart.

After just a moment, a halo of light appeared in the teleportation channel.

The next moment, the Flying Boat broke through the Void and appeared in a vast, open world.

"Ahead of us is the Dongze Mountain Range." Arriving in this space, Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun smiled and said to Ling Fei beside him.

The Southern Wilderness had several major domains.

Such as the Southern Domain where the Lingyun Sect was located, the Eastern Domain, the Beiming Realm, and the West Mountain Domain.

The Dongze Mountain Range was located in the Eastern Domain. It was relatively close to the Lingyun Sect, only eight hundred thousand li away.

On the Flying Boat, a glint flashed in Ling Fei's eyes as he gazed into the distance.

He saw rolling mountain ranges ahead, crisscrossed by numerous great rivers.

WHOOSH!

The Flying Boat streaked across the Void, heading toward a stretch of marshland in the distance.

The ancient ruins were located within that marsh.

After flying for an hour, the group passed over forests and cities, finally spotting a boundless stretch of marshland.

But just as they appeared in this area, the pupils of Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun and Grand Elder Fang constricted, and their expressions darkened.

"There are people ahead!"

"Those are people from the Dongze Sect, and from Wind Watching Cliff... and those are from Thousand Lakes Mountain..."

With a single glance, the Elders spotted people from seven different Sects up ahead.

Although none of these Sects could compare to the Lingyun Sect, they were not to be underestimated. Each had Nascent Soul Realm experts holding the fort.

This was especially true for the Dongze Sect, Thousand Lakes Mountain, and Wind Watching Cliff. They were nearly on the level of the Four Major Sects.

"Why are they all here?" Upon seeing these people, the expressions of the Lingyun Sect's Elders all darkened.

From the looks of it, people from all the various Sects had arrived here some time ago!

"The Dongze Ruins were left behind by the East Marsh King. For a thousand years, their existence has been known to the people of the Southern Wilderness. However, because Cultivators at or above the Profound Pill Realm cannot enter, no one has ever obtained the East Marsh King's inheritance. As a result, any explorers who came here were few and far between. But this time, the various Sects have clearly come with a purpose." Master Yuan Lang's brow furrowed as he murmured, "Could it be... they've also come for the Celestial Fire?"

"The Celestial Fire..." Beside him, Ling Fei's brow furrowed. "Didn't they say only disciples from our Lingyun Sect had discovered it?"

"Perhaps disciples from other Sects discovered it one after another as well," Master Yuan Lang said.

"Even if disciples from various Sects discovered it, they would only have informed their own Sects; they wouldn't spread the news to outsiders. For all the Sects to know about it now, someone must have leaked the information. The only question is, which Sect was it?" Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun stroked his beard, a glint of wisdom in his eyes.

Although the Lingyun Sect had launched a high-profile search for the Celestial Fire...

...the disciples who found it had kept it a secret and not spread the word.

Even these three hundred and twenty escorting disciples had only learned today that their destination was the Dongze Ruins.

Even if they had wanted to leak the news, outsiders couldn't have appeared here so quickly.

"In that case, doesn't this add more risk to Junior Brother Ling's trip?" Yuan Chong frowned.

"It's no matter. So what if disciples from every Sect have come?" Grand Alchemist Yuan Chun stroked his beard, not overly concerned.

"I will obtain this Celestial Fire, no matter what," Ling Fei declared, also fearless.

No matter how dangerous it was this time, he was determined to acquire the Celestial Fire.

'Judging by the Ancestor's and Ling Fei's expressions, they clearly have something up their sleeves.' Seeing this, Yuan Chong breathed a small sigh of relief.

WHOOSH!

The Flying Boat flashed and appeared in the sky above the edge of the marshland ahead.

The edge of the marshland was surrounded by a series of mountain ranges.

The Elders of the various Sects stood upon the mountain peaks, gazing at the marshland before them.

In the distant Void, a massive Qi Vortex was churning.

That was the entrance to the Dongze Ruins.

As the Lingyun Sect's Flying Boat sped toward them, the Elders from every Sect turned to look.

"It's the people from the Lingyun Sect!" Gasps of surprise arose as they saw the approaching Flying Boat.