Chapter 213 - 211: Fire Cloud Cave

Chapter 213: Chapter 211: Fire Cloud Cave

Wen Rou looked at Chen Yuan helplessly.

This guy had always been one to have his own ideas, even back in Lianshan City.

However, back in Lianshan City, Chen Yuan’s strength hadn’t been particularly great. To stage an act, he had even needed help from the outer members of Wen Rou’s Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower.

But now, he held two spots on the Hidden Dragon Rankings all by himself. His prestige among the younger generation was boundless, his strength unmatched, and he had grown even more self-assured.

Of course, if he succeeded, it would be hailed as extraordinary confidence and superior strength. If he failed, it would be condemned as arrogance and a death wish.

Since Chen Yuan had chosen to take the risk, Wen Rou didn’t try to dissuade him further. She simply asked, "Are you planning to just fight your way out?"

"Of course not."

Chen Yuan shook his head. Pointing to a fiery red spot on the map, he asked, "Is this place the Fire Cloud Cave in Qin Province?"

Wen Rou nodded. "That’s the Fire Cloud Cave, but the place has long been abandoned. Why do you ask?"

The Fire Cloud Cave was a natural cavern created by an underground fire vein.

Inside, Earth Fire once raged, fierce and scorching. Thus, several thousand years ago, many Weapon Masters and Alchemists came here to forge weapons and practice Alchemy, using the underground fire vein to save a great deal of effort.

However, after being depleted over a long period, the underground fire vein’s Earth Fire went out a thousand years ago. The Weapon Masters and Alchemists all departed, and the Fire Cloud Cave fell into ruin.

Although the Earth Fire is gone now, residual heat remains, making it uninhabitable. For miles in every direction, not a single blade of grass grows. It is, for all intents and purposes, a useless wasteland.

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Tower Master Wen, do me a favor. Doesn’t your Celestial Wind Listening Rain Tower have informants inside Sword Worship Manor?"

"Help me spread a rumor. Say that I’m hiding in the Fire Cloud Cave. Lure the people from Sword Worship Manor there to surround and kill me."

Wen Rou was about to ask Chen Yuan why he wanted to make his move in the Fire Cloud Cave, but she swallowed the question.

’This young man is extremely guarded. If there are things he doesn’t want to say, it’s useless for me to ask.’

"Alright, then. I’ll go spread the rumor. We’re less than thirty li from the Fire Cloud Cave, and there are no Sword Worship Manor ambushes nearby. You can head straight over."

With that, Wen Rou’s slender figure flickered, transforming into a crimson streak that vanished in an instant.

Chen Yuan, in turn, headed straight for the Fire Cloud Cave.

As soon as he stepped within a ten-li radius of the Fire Cloud Cave, the ground became a stretch of cracked, scorched earth. There wasn’t a hint of green to be seen, all life was gone, and a deathly silence hung in the air.

The entire Fire Cloud Cave resembled a small mound sitting on the plains, its central cavern having been scorched into existence by a violent eruption of Earth Fire long ago.

Chen Yuan entered the Fire Cloud Cave and looked around. The rock of the walls and ceiling was not its natural earthen color. Instead, thousands of years of Earth Fire had tempered it into a deep, dark red and ochre, its surface covered in a vitrified, molten crust.

Chiseling marks were visible everywhere on the cave walls, along with rows of long-abandoned square niches. These had been carved out a thousand years ago by Weapon Masters and Alchemists to hold their tools and vessels.

The world believed the Earth Fire beneath the Fire Cloud Cave had been extinguished. In reality, the underground fire vein had merely fallen dormant, and it still contained an incredibly scorching power.

In the original story, the world later descended into chaos, and the Grand General of the Crushing Army, Qin Sicheng, was ordered to pacify Qin Province.

From the very beginning, he feigned defeat and acted as bait, leading his Personal Guard in a retreat to the Fire Cloud Cave. In the end, he triggered the Earth Fire to incinerate the Rebel Alliance, wiping out thousands of their elite troops in a single battle.

Afterward, while the rebels were leaderless, the waiting forces of the Crushing Army ambushed their main camp, slaying tens of thousands.

At the time, the Rebel Alliance included the Sword Worship Alliance led by Zhu Zhaoxiong, and they, too, suffered disastrous losses in that battle.

Of course, even though the Court won that battle, the world was already in turmoil. Rebellions were springing up everywhere, so a single victory couldn’t change the overall situation. The Crushing Army was unable to completely suppress the rebellion in Qin Province.

This time, Chen Yuan planned to imitate the future Grand General of the Crushing Army, Qin Sicheng, and use the Power of Earth Fire to annihilate his pursuers.

Now that Zhu Zhaoxiong was dead by his hand, if he succeeded this time, Sword Worship Manor itself would be completely annihilated. Naturally, there would be no Sword Worship Alliance in the future.

’Thus, the future rebel forces in Qin Province will be short one faction. I wonder if, with things developing this way, the Qin Province rebellion will still be as formidable as it was in the original story.’

Chen Yuan moved deeper into the Fire Cloud Cave. He formed a Seal Technique with his hands, and a blazing, fiery-red Blood Fiend power erupted from his body.

At the same time, the Power of Celestial Fire also poured out. The two forces merged, their combined might astonishing.

After he fused with the Seven Kills Stele, his Blood Fiend Power had transformed into Li Yan Blood Fiend—a form of Blood Fiend Power filled with scorching, destructive energy.

Moreover, this power was complementary to his *Celestial Fire Secret Manual*. If he used the Power of Starfire to ignite the Li Yan Blood Fiend, its might would become even more terrifying.

As the Li Yan Blood Fiend and the Power of Celestial Fire emanated from him, Chen Yuan closed his eyes, sensing for the core of the underground fire vein.

In the original story, the Grand General of the Crushing Army, Qin Sicheng, had set up an Array in the Fire Cloud Cave beforehand. He then activated it, using the Power of Earth Fire to wipe out the rebel troops.

Chen Yuan didn’t know how to set up Arrays, but he possessed both the Li Yan Blood Fiend and the *Celestial Fire Secret Manual*. Both were supreme powers of the Fire Attribute, perfectly capable of drawing out the power of the underground fire vein and locating its core.

Once Chen Yuan found the spot, he immediately dug a pit. He then took out a large number of Primordial Stones he had obtained from the Myriad Phenomena Ninefold Tower and began infusing them with his Li Yan Blood Fiend and Power of Celestial Fire.

These Primordial Stones could contain a great deal of power; using them directly for Cultivation would be something of a waste.

However, the Li Yan Blood Fiend and the Power of Celestial Fire were too tyrannical. The Primordial Stones wouldn’t be able to contain them for long; they would shatter in three days at most. For Chen Yuan, however, three days was more than enough.

Chen Yuan repeatedly infused his power into the Primordial Stones before burying them directly above the core of the underground fire vein.

Whenever his True Qi Power ran out, he would immediately consume an Elixir to restore it, and then repeat the cycle. Only after doing this several times did Chen Yuan finally stop.

This much power was already sufficient to trigger the Power of Earth Fire. All that remained was to wait for the people from Sword Worship Manor to take the bait.

Meanwhile, Wen Rou acted quickly.

By the time Chen Yuan arrived at the Fire Cloud Cave, the news had already spread throughout Sword Worship Manor.

With Zhu Xinwu away, Sword Worship Manor was left in the charge of his three disciples: Zhang Tingye, Lü Tiancheng, and Shi Fei.

All three had a Cultivation at the Condensing Truth Realm Late Stage. Although Zhu Xinwu hadn’t taught them the *Mixed Element Sword Scripture*, he had still trained them as Core Disciples of Sword Worship Manor.

Upon learning that Chen Jiutian was in the Fire Cloud Cave, the three immediately made a decision. They ordered all the Sword Worship Manor Martial Artists lying in ambush elsewhere to rush to the Fire Cloud Cave at once. They had to take down this Chen Jiutian before Zhu Xinwu returned!

They knew very well what Zhu Zhaoxiong meant to Zhu Xinwu.

That was the Manor Master’s sole heir, his most beloved and only son, and now he had died at the hands of that Chen Jiutian.

It didn’t matter that Chen Jiutian was from Zhenwu Hall. Even if he were the Emperor’s own son, the Manor Master would still raise the banner of rebellion.

They had failed to protect Zhu Zhaoxiong this time. When the Manor Master returned, they would surely be severely punished.

But if they could capture Chen Jiutian, they might be able to atone for their failure.

In truth, the three of them were in a rather unfair position.

It wasn’t that they had failed to protect Zhu Zhaoxiong. Rather, who could have possibly imagined that he would run into such a disaster simply by attending a wedding banquet?

If they had known this would happen, they would have never let Zhu Zhaoxiong attend the wedding banquet at Heaven Returning Pavilion.

But it was too late for regrets. Capturing Chen Jiutian was now the most important task.

Under the command of the three, the vast contingent from Sword Worship Manor marched straight for the Fire Cloud Cave.

Over a hundred Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artists and more than eight hundred Sea of Reincarnation Realm Martial Artists sealed the entrance to the Fire Cloud Cave completely.

Because they weren’t strong enough, the Martial Artists below the Sea of Reincarnation Realm didn’t enter the cave. Instead, they stood guard outside.

Upon stepping into the Fire Cloud Cave, Zhang Tingye and the other two were stunned to see Chen Yuan, leisurely eating a roasted chicken.

Taking advantage of the residual heat in the cave’s floor, Chen Yuan had somehow procured a wild pheasant, wrapped it, and buried it to cook in the style of a beggar’s chicken. The aroma was surprisingly pleasant.

The scene was so bizarrely out of place that Zhang Tingye and his two companions simply froze, momentarily at a loss for words.

Chen Yuan finished his chicken, wiped his hands, and looked at Zhang Tingye’s group with a faint, mocking smile. "What, you want some too?"

Zhang Tingye snapped back to his senses and snorted coldly. "Chen Jiutian! Cut the crap! You have no way out!"

"When you mercilessly killed our Sword Worship Manor’s Young Manor Master, did you ever imagine this day would come?"

Chen Yuan shook his head gently. "Can’t say that I have. But the three of you should be Zhu Xinwu’s personal disciples, right?"

"Zhu Zhaoxiong is dead. You three should be happy about that, shouldn’t you?"

"You’ve been his disciples for so many years. Don’t tell me you don’t know that Zhu Xinwu has been holding out on you."

The moment he said this, the expressions on the faces of Zhang Tingye and the other two changed.

Of course, they knew Zhu Xinwu was holding out on them.

After so many years at Sword Worship Manor, they had sensed that there was more to the strength of the father and son, Zhu Xinwu and Zhu Zhaoxiong, than met the eye.

Sword Worship Manor made all its Cultivation Techniques public, so in theory, they should have all learned the same things.

Yet when Zhu Xinwu and his son used the same Sword Techniques, their attacks were stronger and possessed a distinctly different quality.

The three of them were no idiots. They had naturally guessed that Zhu Xinwu and his son were keeping secrets, but they didn’t dare say a word about it.

They were all Zhu Xinwu’s personal disciples and held considerable power within Sword Worship Manor.

Some things were best left unsaid; ignorance was bliss. If they brought it out into the open, they would no longer be able to remain at Sword Worship Manor.

That was why, upon hearing of Zhu Zhaoxiong’s death, all three of them had subconsciously felt a sliver of secret delight.

’With Zhu Zhaoxiong dead, Zhu Xinwu could only rely on them, his three personal disciples. Would he finally pass on his most treasured Cultivation Techniques to them?’

The three of them had never spoken of this to one another, yet today, Chen Yuan had laid their innermost thoughts bare.

"Nonsense! Seize this maniac!"

Zhang Tingye roared. Lü Tiancheng and Shi Fei also waved their hands, and in an instant, an overwhelming barrage of Sword Qi from over a hundred Condensing Truth Realm Martial Artists shot toward Chen Yuan!