The Celestial God Palace did not accommodate overnight guests. Visiting guests were typically arranged to stay in the pavilions flanking the palace.
Zi Tianjun personally saw to it that Yan Zhen and the others were settled in the Heavenly Sunset Pavilion on the west side of the Celestial God Palace. The pavilion’s name came from the stunning sunsets visible from there—the most beautiful in the entire domain.
In contrast, the Heavenly Dawn Pavilion on the east side offered views of the first rays of morning sunlight.
To the north lay the Heavenly Star Pavilion, designed specifically for stargazing under the night sky—a building steeped in poetic charm.
They had chosen the west side because Zi Xunyi resided in the Purple Robe Hall in the western palace, making it convenient for visits.
Once the four of them had settled in, Zi Tianjun promptly sent over gifts of atonement: a Tier 8 Great Herb, an Ancient Scripture, a strand of World Origin Power, and a pouch of Heaven Crystals.
Heaven Crystals were stones infused with spatial power, far more precious than Mystic Crystals formed from condensed Mystic qi. They were essential cultivation resources for Mystic Venerables.
Clearly, the great herb was for Chen Xi the Pill Refiner to use in pill refinement, the ancient scripture for Jialan Fairy to collect, the World Origin Power for the Evil Consort to stabilize her cave heaven, and the Heaven Crystals for Yan Zhen to advance his cultivation.
However, Yan Zhen had yet to refine his eighth Extreme Flame, so he could not improve his cultivation for now. Compared to the Heaven Crystals, what he needed more were new Extreme Flames.
In his previous life, his eighth Extreme Flame had been the Beautiful Female Master’s Starlight Glazed Fire.
But that was then. For now, Yan Zhen had no intention of claiming the Starlight Glazed Fire.
As the seventh-ranked Extreme Flame, it would still provide significant aid to a Mystic Saint.
He didn’t dare ask for Zi Xunyi’s Jade Firmament Purple Dome Flame either.
In his previous life, she had given it to him, but if she lost it now, the two Zi Ji entities would fuse uncontrollably.
Better to seek other Extreme Flames instead—like the Primordial Injunction Flame and the Mortal Sin Flame, which were entangled together, the former binding the latter.
Those two Extreme Flames were hidden in the void fissures. In his previous life, he had sensed the locations of the major Extreme Flames while communing with the Mandate of Heaven, allowing him to retrieve them.
Beyond those, the second-ranked Creation Destruction Divine Fire and the third-ranked Three Thousand Dao Fire actually resided within the Fire Refining Starry Sky, sustaining its existence and operation.
That was the fundamental reason the Fire Refining Starry Sky could suppress other Extreme Flames—it ranked higher and was stronger!
The Emperor Flame Technique that Yan Zhen cultivated had originated from the Three Thousand Dao Fire, which contained the essence of the Great Dao.
In the distant past, before the birth of Extreme Flame: Boundless, the rankings of the Heavenly Extreme Flames had each shifted up by one. From highest to lowest, the top ten had been:
Creation Destruction Divine Fire.
Three Thousand Dao Fire.
Pseudo-God Tribulation Fire.
Primordial Injunction Flame.
Mortal Sin Flame.
Starlight Glazed Fire.
Xuan Huang Dual Qi Flame.
Jade Firmament Purple Dome Flame.
Rootless Earth Spirit Fire.
Azure Sea Tide Birth Fire.
These ten Extreme Flames represented the ultimate forms of their respective elemental extremes.
With all ten in hand, one could harness the power of the Fire Refining Starry Sky to summon lesser Extreme Flames and ultimately fuse them into Extreme Flame: Boundless.
In the quiet room, Yan Zhen lay on the bed, lost in thought.
His ultimate goal was to claim the Emperor Throne, but first he had to ascend to the position of Emperor. Even with Extreme Flame: Boundless aiding him, it would not be easy.
But—
He flipped open his palm and summoned that pitiful little flame seed. The thing had always looked like this, showing no change even after he had tried nurturing it.
It was the greatest contingency left by his previous self. Though he felt a deep connection to it, Yan Zhen still had no idea what kind of flame it was. Could it be the strongest Extreme Flame born in the Main World?
The script recorded nearly all of his previous life’s experiences, yet it omitted this crucially important segment. How strange.
—System-chan, what’s going on with you? Getting lazy?
【Ding! The script’s generation has nothing to do with the system’s will.】
—Sigh, System-chan, you’re getting more useless by the day. Seems like you can only keep your status by changing belts or card boxes.
【……】
—Do you at least know what this flame seed is?
【Ding! This is the seed of the host himself.】
—What does that mean?
【The host is a transmigrator, so this is the flame seed that came with you—a seed not belonging to this world.】
???
Yan Zhen slowly typed out three question marks.
“Could you explain that a bit more clearly?”
【The host is a genius.】
“…”
Yan Zhen thought it over but decided not to press further. Perhaps he had to figure out the answer for himself.
“Forget it, no more questions from you. Time to wash up and sleep.”
Yan Zhen began meditating to regulate his breathing.
The next morning, he awoke early, stepped out of his room, and soon Xunyi arrived, bringing some tea and snacks she had made herself.
Back at the Cliffside Small Building in the Holy Land Academy, she had developed the habit of making dim sum in the morning to last the whole day. She had stuffed both Yan Zhen and Long Ying to the brim.
“Should we call Master Chen Xi and the others to eat together?”
“Master and the others haven’t come out yet. They probably don’t want to disturb us.”
Xunyi’s pretty face flushed slightly. Yan Zhen reached out as he spoke, wrapping an arm around her slender waist and feeding her a piece of pastry.
Xunyi resisted a little—her father could show up at any moment—but under Yan Zhen’s gentle persuasion and wheedling, she parted her rosy lips and took a small bite from the round snack.
“Let me have a taste too. The flavor’s pretty unique—”
With those words, Yan Zhen leaned in and captured Xunyi’s lips, slipping his tongue inside to steal the morsel she had just taken.
Caught off guard by the sneak attack, Xunyi quickly succumbed. She melted into his embrace, kissing him back without resistance.
When their lips finally parted, both were breathing heavily with desire. After all, they were like an old married couple now. Their gazes locked, growing ever more heated.
“Ahem.”
A cough poured over them like a bucket of cold water, snapping them back to their senses.
They turned to see Zi Tianjun striding in through the courtyard gate, his face wearing an expression of “what a fine view,” though his gaze had already swept over Yan Zhen twice like a laser glare that could kill.
Xunyi hurriedly pushed Yan Zhen away and straightened her posture, signaling her innocence.
Even the thick-skinned Yan Zhen felt a bit awkward. He greeted proactively:
“Fath—er, Clan Leader Zi, is it time already?”
Zi Tianjun gave a faint hum.
“Follow me.”
At the sound of his voice, the three beautiful masters emerged one after another from the pavilion. They joined Yan Zhen and Xunyi in trailing behind Zi Tianjun to a vast square.
A crowd of Heavenly God Clan members had already gathered around the square. After yesterday’s commotion, everyone knew about the marriage proposal from the Jialan Holy Land. Today was the day to test whether that Jialan Holy Son was worthy of their clan’s prized pearl!
The younger generation thought the Jialan Holy Son unworthy of their god-level bloodline treasure, Your Highness Zi Ji. They didn’t believe he could pass the trials, so they had come specifically to watch him fail.
At the center of the square stood a mysterious array platform. Even with Yan Zhen’s Divine Soul Realm cultivation, he couldn’t fully comprehend it—at least an eighth-tier formation.
Yan Zhen and Xunyi’s appearance together stirred an uproar from the onlookers.
Zi Tianjun turned to Yan Zhen.
“For this round of three trials, the first is the Bone Root Test. Simply stand on the array platform, and it will reveal the quality of your bone root. Besides you, Young Friend Yan Zhen, this old man has specially arranged two opponents. Defeat them, and you pass. Fail, and you do not. Understood?”
