Wild Dog was caught off guard, never expecting the Fen Xiang Valley to agree. What about the honor of the righteous sects?
"Master Uncle, how can we..."
Li Xun's words trailed off, his tone urgent and doubtful. However, Shangguan Ce interrupted him with a serious and urgent expression.
"Say no more. That demon is not someone I can handle. Do you want the thousand-year incense of my Fen Xiang Valley to be extinguished today?"
"This valley is called Fen Xiang Valley because we are here. As long as our disciples survive, any place in the world can be Fen Xiang Valley. But if our gates are destroyed, what good is this valley?"
After Shangguan Ce's powerful display, Li Xun was silenced and did not speak again.
As soon as he finished speaking, Shangguan Ce commanded his disciples to start moving the Fen Xiang Valley's belongings, with Li Xun helping to oversee the process.
Wild Dog watched with a bewildered expression, unsure why he felt that this gray-clothed old man seemed even more anxious than their own side.
Li Xiu stood suspended in mid-air, watching Shangguan Ce give orders on the ground with a sneer on his lips. This old fox was a skilled strategist, and Yun Yilan's death had immediately sparked his imagination.
Currently, Shangguan Ce was the only elder left in the Fen Xiang Valley. He had originally been tasked with guarding the Profound Fire Altar, but as long as the Fen Xiang Valley relocated away from this location, he would be freed from the constraints of the altar and could avoid his enemies at the same time.
When the disaster struck and the disciples of Fen Xiang Valley were left homeless, Li Xun, despite his young age and limited experience, stepped forward to comfort and encourage everyone and take charge of the situation. He knew that he might be the next valley master of Fen Xiang Valley.
Even if they had to bow their heads temporarily, it was all for the sake of the sect's prosperity. In the end, there was no harm done.
After just one stick of incense, Shangguan Ce led the disciples of Fen Xiang Valley, including Li Xun, away. Although Li Xiu saw through Shangguan Ce's intentions, he had no intention of keeping any of the remaining members of Fen Xiang Valley. He only wanted to forge his sword and did not care about anything else.
Wild Dog began to direct his men to fortify the area and prepare for long-term residence. After gathering their belongings, he followed Li Xiu, who was carrying various boxes, and followed him to the Forbidden Grounds of Fen Xiang Valley, where the Profound Fire Altar was located.
The narrow path was unexpectedly long, with overgrown flowers and plants on both sides. It looked desolate and abandoned, with few signs of anyone passing through.
Before long, a white stone monument appeared on the side of the road. The eight striking red characters on it read, "Profound Fire Altar: Disciples must not pass."
Li Xiu glanced at it and continued on, ignoring the warning. The monument seemed to mark a boundary of some sort, as the plants on either side of the path became noticeably less dense after passing it.
At first, there were just patches of grass, followed by shrubs, and gradually the trees became more sparse. Towards the end, there was not a trace of green, and even the ground began to crack as if it had been scorched by fire. The air grew increasingly dry, and the cool mountain air was replaced with a stifling heat.
At the end of the narrow path, Li Xiu stopped where scorching heat waves assailed them, unbearable for ordinary folks.
In the center of the open space stood a massive circular altar, suspended at the base and upheld by thirteen white jade pillars that towered several zhang high. Surrounding it were twelve slimmer pillars, each as thick as several people's arms, while the one in the middle was several times thicker than the others.
Above the altar, at the center, loomed a tall and grandiose temple made entirely of a peculiar red stone, shaped like a pagoda, with three tiers, each several zhang high.
The combination of the three tiers appeared like a blazing red flame piercing the sky, inducing feelings of insignificance in people.
Even the Wild Dog, who was always rough and bold, took a deep breath and was speechless, unable to resist exclaiming in admiration at the amazing work of nature and humans.
As they approached, the scorching sensation intensified, even more unbearable for cultivators with shallow cultivation.
Li Xiu climbed the steps, holding onto the red railing. The Wild Dog had intended to help but instinctively pulled back his hand halfway. He felt as if he had just reached out to touch a red-hot iron ingot and was afraid his flesh would be burnt to shreds.
A hint of fear flashed in the Wild Dog's eyes. The people who could live here must have had formidable cultivation, far surpassing his own.
The tower-like altar had no windows, and only a door on the lowest floor was opened. Li Xiu pushed the door and stepped inside.
In the first palace, a "flame" flickered in the center. The smooth and seamless red floor was no longer plain like outside; instead, patterns or formations appeared.
At the foot of Li Xiu, a finger-thick groove extended, and on the reddish stone, there was a several-feet-sized divine picture, full of a vigorous and primitive feeling.
The deity had no hair on its head, but slightly curved horns like those of a goat. Its face and eyes were similar to those of a human, except that the eye sockets were dark and hollow. It had sharp fangs in its mouth, which seemed to be stained with fresh blood, adding a bit of ferocity.
On its tiger and leopard-like strong body, there were four arms, one holding a knife, one holding a shield, one tightly grasping a person twisted in pain, and the other holding a bloody heart.
The original simplicity and desolation of the carving suddenly became angry and crazy here. Li Xiu looked at it and had some hallucinations, as if he was no longer seeing a monotonous red carving, but really seeing such a scene, hearing the desperate screams of the person in the deity's hand.
Li Xiu shook his head, returning to his senses. His eyebrows slightly furrowed, and he felt that these carvings were indeed somewhat eerie and malevolent. However, they were only a few feet in size, yet he had been staring at them for so long.
As he looked around, he saw that the carvings extended further, and there were a second, third... and eighth godly image. Each carving was different in terms of the godly figure and posture, but they were all malevolent and eerie in their own way.
The eight evil divine images were connected by a carving that wrapped around them all, forming an incomplete circle that sometimes bent inward and other times flared outwards.
After taking it all in, Li Xiu muttered to himself: "This must be the Eight Evil Profound Fire Array."
Li Xiu suddenly recalled something and headed towards the fiery glow within the temple. As he drew closer, he noticed a stone well, and the flickering flames were revealed to be molten magma slowly streaming into the well. It dawned on him that the Profound Fire Altar was built on top of an active volcano.
Above the stone well was a broad circular opening that led directly to the second level of the Profound Fire Altar.
As Li Xiu ascended, he was once again engulfed in darkness, except for a stone platform that emitted a faint cylindrical column of light. The surface of the platform was carved with a circular groove, which precisely matched the shape of the Mysterious Fire Mirror.
Li Xiu took out the Mysterious Fire Mirror and pressed it into the stone platform. After a moment, another circular hole appeared in the previously smooth dome above his head, but this time, what rushed out from inside was a bone-chilling coldness.
Within it, Li Xiu keenly sensed a powerful aura.