Divine Wilderness Dragon Emperor

"That's the Red Eagle Flying Boat! It's the flying boat of Grand Elder Fang Zhijing from the Lingyun Sect!"

"That Elder Fang is an Array Master and one of the Lingyun Sect's top powerhouses. Don't tell me he came too?"

"That's the Purple Cloud Boat, the flying boat of Great Pill Master Yuan Chun! Is he here too?" An uproar erupted as the crowd spotted the two leading flying boats.

The cultivators standing on the various mountain peaks immediately turned to look.

"Look, it's Elder Fang! He's really here!" someone soon exclaimed, spotting Elder Fang standing aboard one of the flying boats.

"That's Great Pill Master Yuan Chun! He's one of the seven greatest Pill Masters in the Southern Wilderness today. I can't believe he came here too!"

As everyone looked over, they immediately spotted Great Pill Master Yuan Chun.

At that, the gasps of shock grew even louder.

A figure of his stature stood at the pinnacle of the Southern Wilderness Martial Arts World. He was someone rarely seen, yet now he had appeared in this very place.

"Could it be that the Lingyun Sect has truly produced a peerless genius?" Even the elders from the other sects couldn't help but show their surprise.

Beyond their surprise, the eyes of the elders from the three major sects flashed, and their faces turned grave.

At the same time, their gazes shifted, landing on Great Pill Master Yuan Chun's Purple Cloud Boat.

'I heard the Lingyun Sect has produced an alchemy prodigy this time, one who obtained the legacy of Pill King Yuan Feng,' an elder from Thousand Lakes Mountain thought, his gaze hardening. 'Although this person doesn't possess a True Fire, he managed to refine a Flawless Pill in just four short months and became an Alchemist. The Lingyun Sect has been desperately searching for a Celestial Fire for him lately. From the looks of it now, Great Pill Master Yuan Chun must be here for the Dragon Spirit Fire inside the Dongze Ruins.'

"If that genius from the Lingyun Sect successfully fuses with a Celestial Fire, I'm afraid they'll produce another Pill King!" a few nearby elders said with worried expressions.

If the Lingyun Sect produced a Pill King, these other sects could forget about ever surpassing them and taking their place.

"Fortunately, the Dongze Ruins have restrictions. Cultivators at the Profound Pill Realm or higher cannot enter. Otherwise, with the Lingyun Sect's show of force, they might have really obtained the Celestial Fire. But as for now? It's still unknown who will get the Celestial Fire. After all, our people have already gone inside long ago."

After their brief surprise, the elders of these seven sects breathed a sigh of relief.

With their advantage in numbers, they wouldn't necessarily be afraid of the Lingyun Sect's disciples inside the ruins.

'It would be even better if we could kill this Ling Fei,' they thought, secretly hoping for just that.

Otherwise, Ling Fei's existence would remain a huge threat hanging over their heads.

As the five Lingyun Sect flying boats slowly approached, Great Pill Master Yuan Chun's eyes flashed. 'Only some elders are left. It looks like their people have already entered the ruins.' After sweeping his gaze over the members of the seven sects on the mountaintop, he turned to the genius disciples beside him. "Once you enter the ruins, you must regroup with Ling Fei as quickly as possible to ensure he successfully fuses with the Celestial Fire. Do you understand?"

"We will do everything in our power to help Ling the Pill Master obtain the Celestial Fire," the twenty geniuses said in unison.

"You must all be careful of people from the other sects trying to sabotage this," Elder Fang also said to the three hundred geniuses behind him.

"We will follow the Elder's command! If anyone stands in our way, we will kill them without hesitation!" the three hundred declared in unison.

They knew the gravity of the mission they now shouldered, so none showed the slightest hesitation.

"Good!" Elder Fang nodded slightly.

Then, the five flying boats descended toward the mountain peak ahead.

WHOOSH!

Just then, streaks of light cut across the void from the opposite direction. Three enormous flying ships were approaching.

With their powerful Heart Spirits, Elder Fang and the others clearly made out the figures on the approaching vessels.

Ling Fei released his Heart Spirit as well.

Apparently spotting the group below, the three flying ships immediately changed course and headed straight for them.

"It's people from the Beiming Sword Sect!" Aboard the Purple Cloud Flying Boat, Yuan Lang the Pill Master frowned. "Why are they here too?"

The Beiming Sword Sect was located in the northern part of the Southern Wilderness, a great distance from here. Their disciples usually operated around Beiming Lake and rarely ventured this far.

By all rights, their disciples shouldn't have known about the Celestial Fire here.

And yet, here they were.

'Did someone intentionally leak the news to the Beiming Sword Sect?' Suspicion immediately bloomed in the minds of many.

'Who could it be?' Great Pill Master Yuan Chun's gaze hardened. He had a growing feeling that something was very wrong.

"I hope this ends well," Master Yuan Lang said, looking slightly worried.

This turn of events had exceeded their expectations.

"Beiming Sword Sect?" Ling Fei also frowned upon seeing the suddenly appearing flying ships.

The Beiming Sword Sect was the undisputed leader of the Southern Wilderness Martial Arts World.

Even the Lingyun Sect was a step below them.

With them getting involved now, things had just become more complicated.

'Thankfully, these ruins have restrictions. Otherwise, this would be a real problem.' Despite his frown, Ling Fei secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He wasn't under too much pressure when facing cultivators at the Small Primordial Pill and Profound Pill Realms.

But if he had to face experts from the Celestial Pill Realm or the Nascent Soul Realm, he would have very little chance of obtaining the Celestial Fire.

At that moment, the Beiming Sword Sect's flying ships also came to a halt above the mountaintop.

"Heh, what a coincidence. Elder Fang, you're here too!" A man in an ink-black robe emerged from their midst.

A group of youths followed behind him.

"So it's Beishan Jianxiong of the Beiming Sword Sect," Master Yuan Lang murmured.

Ling Fei gave him a questioning look.

"This man is a Sword Dao prodigy, the youngest elder the Beiming Sword Sect has had in a hundred years. He's already a Nascent Soul Realm powerhouse," Yuan Lang said.

"I just wonder how many Divine Techniques he's formed."

"A Nascent Soul Realm powerhouse?" A glint flashed in Ling Fei's eyes.

At this time, Great Pill Master Yuan Chun and the others deactivated the flying boat's Array Patterns, but they did not step out.

Although this Beishan Jianxiong was an elder of the Beiming Sword Sect, in front of Great Pill Master Yuan Chun and Elder Fang, he was merely a junior.

"Your sect is located in the Northern Domain, yet you've come all this way. I doubt it's a coincidence," Elder Fang said coolly.

At the same time, his gaze shifted, and he looked towards the people from the Beiming Sword Sect.

'They actually brought three hundred disciples.' A glint flashed in Elder Fang's eyes.

The Beiming Sword Sect had also brought three hundred Primordial Pill Realm youths here.

Each carried an imposing aura, clearly the cream of the crop among prodigies.

Such a lineup was in no way inferior to that of the Lingyun Sect.

"Heh, I heard a Celestial Fire appeared here, so I brought some of my sect members to take a look. If we can find it, it would be a great stroke of fortune!" Beishan Jianxiong said with a smile.

At the same time, his gaze shifted to look at the Purple Cloud Boat.

"Who is Ling Fei?" he secretly sent a voice transmission to the person beside him as he glanced toward the Purple Cloud Boat.

If one looked closely, one would see Steward Cheng, who had once gone to the Great Tang Empire, standing right beside him.

In addition, Liu Chen was also there.

"It's the young man next to Yuan Lang the Pill Master," Steward Cheng said in a low voice.

He wore a wistful expression as he looked at Ling Fei.

Back then, he had thought Ling Fei was a genius worth recruiting.

Unfortunately, Ling Fei chose the Lingyun Sect to pursue alchemy.

At the time, he had felt it was a pity.

He never expected that, just a few months later, news would spread of the young man becoming an Alchemist.

Now, he was even here to fuse with a Celestial Fire, with the ambition of becoming a Pill King.

Although Steward Cheng also admired Ling Fei quite a bit, they now served different masters, so he could only let out a sigh.

"So that's the boy?" A glint flashed in Beishan Jianxiong's eyes as he looked at Ling Fei.

'He's a young genius, all right. But with my Beiming Sword Sect here, it won't be so easy for him to fuse with a Celestial Fire and make a bid to become a Pill King.'

A cold smile touched his lips.

The Beiming Sword Sect had not originally paid any attention to the Dongze Ruins.

However, a few days ago, they had received news about the Lingyun Sect.

Thus, they had immediately gathered the geniuses of their sect and rushed to this place.

The purpose of their trip was, naturally, to obstruct the Lingyun Sect and prevent them from producing a Pill King.

After all, the emergence of a Pill King in the Lingyun Sect would be enough to change the entire power structure of the Southern Wilderness.

Naturally, they had to nip such a genius in the bud.

"Heh heh, in that case, let's just see who can obtain this Celestial Fire," an elder from the Lingyun Sect said with a laugh.

However, the expressions on the faces of Elder Fang and Master Yuan Chun were grim.

They could already guess they were being targeted.

"Perhaps someone planted in our Lingyun Sect by the other sects leaked this matter," a few Vice Peak Masters communicated via voice transmission.

At this moment, they also sensed the gravity of the situation.

If these moles weren't rooted out, it would hinder the Lingyun Sect's future development.

Ling Fei also felt that this matter was most likely related to him.

However, no one let it show on their faces.

Since it had already happened, there was nothing for their Lingyun Sect to be afraid of.

"Are you confident?" Master Yuan Lang looked at Ling Fei.

"As long as stronger experts can't enter the ruins, I'm seventy percent confident," Ling Fei said.

After all, the Lingyun Sect also had three hundred disciples.

Even if the other sects wanted a fight, it wouldn't be so easy to deal with them.

Besides, he had trump cards of his own.

Before setting out, Grand Elder Fang and Great Pill Master Yuan Chun had both given Ling Fei protective treasures.

"If you really find yourself outmatched, don't fight to the death. Protecting your own life is what's most important," said Yuan Lang the Pill Master. "The Celestial Fire is important, but there will be other chances in the future. You, being alive, is what truly matters." In his view, as long as Ling Fei was alive, he would have another chance to fuse with a Celestial Fire and break through to the Pill King Realm.

Therefore, staying alive was the top priority.

"I understand," Ling Fei nodded.

"Everyone, let's move out!" Elder Fang said to the geniuses beside him.

"Yes!" the three hundred replied solemnly.

Then, with a flick of his will, Elder Fang piloted the flying boat over the swamp ahead.

Great Pill Master Yuan Chun's flying boat followed.

When they were three hundred meters from the Qi Vortex, Elder Fang waved his hand, and a current of air swept the three hundred geniuses forward.

At the same time, Ling Fei, along with the group of twenty geniuses including Lian Shuang, was also guided toward the massive Qi Vortex ahead.

WHOOSH!

In a flash of figures, they disappeared into the Qi Vortex.

The Qi Vortex was immense, with Dao Patterns swirling across its surface like a mystical diagram. It swept Ling Fei's group inside, and a powerful force instantly bound them.

In the blink of an eye, all 321 of them had vanished into the Dongze Ruins.

Only then did Elder Fang and Master Yuan Chun maneuver their flying boats to land on the mountain peak.

Meanwhile, a glint flashed in Beishan Jianxiong's eyes. He too piloted his vessel, carrying his sect's geniuses, over to the Qi Vortex.

Then, three hundred geniuses disappeared into the Qi Vortex, and Liu Chen entered among them.

After these geniuses had entered the Dongze Ruins, the elders of the various sects stood atop the mountain peaks.

Great Pill Master Yuan Chun and the others sat cross-legged on the peak, closing their eyes in meditation.

'All the sects should know about the Lingyun Sect's business by now,' Beishan Jianxiong thought with a grin, settling down cross-legged on a nearby peak. 'With the Eight Great Forces working together to stop them, there's a seventy percent chance we can ruin Ling Fei's attempt to fuse with the Celestial Fire, and a fifty percent chance of killing him. Now, we'll just have to see how things play out.'

The Southern Wilderness Martial Arts World appeared harmonious between the various sects on the surface, but in reality, it was always full of undercurrents.

This kind of thing, assassinating geniuses, happened from time to time, but it was always done in secret.

With this operation, they had clearly resolved to eliminate Ling Fei and prevent any future trouble.