Chapter 78: Blazing Flame Mountains

"Long Feng." Bai Liying came closer and greeted him.

Long Feng looked at her with a smile.

"You’re here."

"Of course. I couldn’t afford to late for this wilderness training."

She had worked hard to secure a place among the top thousand and barely able to get a bottom rank. How could she not excited for today?

Long Feng glanced around the gathering area.

At the front stood three elders. They were the same elders who had appeared during the reward ceremony after the Inner Disciple Ranking Tournament.

One of them stepped forward and swept his gaze across the thousands of gathered disciples.

"Everyone, quiet down."

His voice wasn’t loud, yet it spread clearly across the entire area.

The noisy crowd immediately became silent.

The elder looked over the gathered disciples before nodding in satisfaction.

"Since everyone is here, we can begin our journey."

The atmosphere instantly became excited again. However, before the elder could say anything else, a huge shadow suddenly appeared above them.

The disciples looked upward and their eyes widened.

"What is that?"

A massive flying ship slowly emerged from the clouds.

Its body was several dozen meters long, and its surface was covered with complicated formation patterns that flickered with faint spiritual light.

The entire ship was constructed from dark spiritual wood, giving it a majestic appearance.

A powerful spiritual fluctuation spread from it, causing the surrounding spiritual energy to tremble slightly.

"It is a flying spiritual ship!"

"So we’re going on that?"

"I’ve heard about this ship before!"

"Wow... It’s much bigger than I imagined!"

Even some of the older inner disciples couldn’t hide their excitement.

Long Feng looked at the flying ship. He had spent nearly six years in the Azura Heaven Sect, so he had naturally seen flying ships before.

However, seeing one from such close range still made him slightly excited.

The ship was simply too large. Moreover, it was obviously not an ordinary flying ship. The complicated formations carved across its surface were enough to show that it was extremely valuable.

The disciples were even more excited than he was. Some had been in the sect for only a few years and had never traveled in such a large flying ship.

Even those who had experienced it before couldn’t hide the smiles on their faces.

Several disciples began discussing among themselves.

The elder looked at their excited expressions and couldn’t help but smile.

For cultivators, flying itself represented freedom.

Although powerful cultivators could travel through the land at extremely high speeds using their own strength, flying in the sky was an entirely different experience.

Flying beasts were another option.

However, a flying beast had limited space. It couldn’t possibly carry thousands of disciples comfortably, nor could it provide such a stable environment during a long journey.

This enormous spiritual ship was different.

It could carry all of them while providing spacious living areas, cultivation rooms, and a stable environment.

Perhaps that was one reason why so many people dreamed of becoming powerful cultivators.

To travel through the heavens, to stand above the clouds and see vast mountains and rivers from a height ordinary mortals could never reach.

For countless mortals, the sky was something they could only look at.

But for cultivators, the sky was merely another road.

Long Feng looked at the clouds above him.

Perhaps this is what cultivation is really about. To break free from the limitations of an ordinary life.

Of course, Long Feng’s thoughts were different from those of ordinary disciples.

He didn’t cultivate simply to see beautiful scenery.

He wanted strength, absolute strength.

With enough strength, he could control his own destiny and do whatever he wanted without worrying about anyone standing above him.

"All disciples, board the ship."

The elder’s voice sounded.

The disciples immediately became excited. One after another, they flew toward the ship. Long Feng and Bai Liying also followed together.

As soon as Long Feng stepped onto the ship, he was slightly surprised.

The interior was far more luxurious than he had expected. There were spacious halls, cultivation rooms, resting areas, and even small independent rooms.

Formation patterns covered the walls, constantly supplying the ship with spiritual energy.

The entire interior was extremely clean and orderly.

"This is amazing."

Bai Liying looked around with some amazement.

"Hmm, not bad." Long Feng also smiled.

They continued forward with the other disciples.

Some disciples immediately went toward the cultivation rooms, while others gathered in groups and began chatting.

Once all the disciples had boarded, the three elders entered the main control area.

A moment later, the entire ship trembled and a powerful spiritual pressure spread outward. The formation patterns covering the ship lit up one after another.

The enormous flying ship slowly rose from the ground. Then, it shot into the sky.

Whoosh!

The disciples immediately rushed toward the outer deck.

Clouds passed beneath their feet, the mountains gradually became smaller. Some disciples laughed excitedly.

"Look! We’re already this high! This is incredible!"

"I can see the entire sect!"

"Look over there! That’s the mountain where the outer disciples live!"

The atmosphere on the deck became lively.

Some disciples leaned against the railing while looking at the scenery below. Others simply stood there silently, enjoying the feeling of flying.

Long Feng stood near the edge of the deck.

The wind blew against his face. Looking at the endless clouds ahead, even he felt a faint sense of excitement.

The ship continued forward at tremendous speed.

The journey that would have taken several days by ordinary means was shortened to only a few hours.

The disciples spent their time cultivating, talking, or simply enjoying the scenery.

Several hours later, the flying ship finally began to slow down. The atmosphere on the ship changed. The excited voices gradually disappeared.

The elders gathered the disciples toward the front.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves."

The disciples immediately became serious.

Long Feng walked forward with Bai Liying. From the front of the ship, they could already see an enormous mountain range below.

Towering peaks stretched endlessly across the horizon. Some mountains were covered with dense forests, while others had exposed reddish-brown rocks.

Even from this height, a faint red glow could be seen among the mountains.

The spiritual energy in the surrounding area also seemed to contain a trace of heat.

The elder pointed toward it.

"We have arrived. Below us is the famous Blazing Flame Mountains. But before we go down, there are some rules you need to know."

Everyone became quiet and listen carefully.

"This wilderness training is actually a competition between our Azura Heaven Sect and the Vermilion Flame Sect."

A murmur immediately spread through the disciples.

The Vermilion Flame Sect was also one of the seven great sects of the Central Region. Like the Azura Heaven Sect, they were also famous for their alchemy skills.

However, their relationship with the Azura Heaven Sect was far from friendly.

Since the borders of the two sects also overlapped in several areas, conflicts over resources had occurred between them many times. Over the years, this had gradually developed into a deep rivalry.

The elder nodded.

"That’s correct. Over the years, there has been considerable competition between our two sects."

He looked toward the valley.

"Every three years, both sects send their one thousand most powerful inner disciples into the Blazing Flame Mountains."

"The wilderness training will last for one month. During this month, your primary objective is to collect a special kind of spiritual resource called Fire Spirit Stones found within the mountains."

"Fire Spirit Stones?" Several disciples immediately became interested. Some of them had heard about such thing for first time in their life.

The elder nodded.

"Fire Spirit Stones are different from ordinary low-grade Spirit Stones. Their spiritual energy contains a concentrated fire attribute."

"They are extremely useful to cultivators practicing fire-related cultivation techniques, and they are also important materials for certain alchemy and artifact-refining methods."

Several alchemy-focused disciples immediately became excited.

The elder continued, "Both sect’s disciples will collect these stones."

"At the end of one month, the sect whose disciples have gathered the greater total amount of Fire Spirit Stones will be declared the winner of the first stage."

The disciples immediately became excited after hearing that they were going to compete against the Vermilion Flame Sect.

A few disciples clenched their fists. Others exchanged determined glances.

However, the elder raised his hand again.

"Don’t become too excited yet."

The crowd gradually quieted.

"Remember, finding Fire Spirit Stones also involves some luck. Some areas contain far more stones than others. Therefore, simply relying on luck won’t determine the final result."

The elder’s eyes swept across them.

"After the first stage ends, the disciples with the highest individual rankings from both sects will enter the second stage."

"In that stage, the strongest disciples of the two sects will fight. The final victor will determine the ultimate winner of this wilderness competition."

The atmosphere instantly became heated.

Some disciples were already imagining themselves fighting the geniuses of the Vermilion Flame Sect.

Long Feng narrowed his eyes.

So that’s how it is.

The first stage tested one’s ability to survive, search, and collect resources. The second stage tested pure combat strength.

It was a fairly interesting arrangement.

The elder continued, "And don’t think the rewards are limited to what you obtain during the competition. The sect has prepared additional rewards for the disciples who perform exceptionally well."

The prospect of obtaining valuable cultivation resources immediately made the atmosphere much more competitive.

After all, for inner disciples, every valuable resource could save them months or even years of cultivation.

The flying ship continued descending. Below them, the vast Blazing Flame Mountains gradually became clearer.