Chapter 284: Chapter 284: Mysterious Restriction

Legend says there are only eighteen types of Celestial Fire in existence.

The experts of the Celestial Profound Continent ranked them according to their strength.

Ranked first among them is the purely legendary Chaotic Profound Fire.

The Endless Molten Flame is ranked third.

Ye Xuan was able to recognize the Endless Molten Flame because of its unique aura. It was named "Endless" precisely for this quality—an aura that felt as if it would never fade or perish.

An ordinary person would never be able to perceive such an aura, but Ye Xuan sensed it immediately.

’It’s actually the Endless Molten Flame, the third-ranked Celestial Fire on the Celestial Profound Continent! If I can obtain it, I’ll be halfway to achieving my dream of surpassing my previous life’s accomplishments in Alchemy.’

Ye Xuan trembled with excitement just thinking about it.

The three most important factors for an Alchemist were talent, flame, and personal strength.

As for talent, the reborn Ye Xuan had no concerns. The fact that he became one of the most heaven-defying Tier Nine Alchemists in his past life was a testament to his astonishing natural gift.

As for his flame, in his past life, Ye Xuan had possessed the Earth Fire Heart Marrow Flame, ranked third among Earth Fires. But what he was seeing now was the Endless Molten Flame, ranked third among Celestial Fires.

Compared to the Endless Molten Flame, the Heart Marrow Fire was like an undeveloped infant—they weren’t even in the same league.

WHOOSH!

Suppressing his excitement, Ye Xuan approached the mysterious altar. He didn’t act rashly, instead beginning to examine it carefully.

He saw that the Endless Molten Flame was continuously infusing its aura into the many dangling roots above, which appeared to connect directly to the Seven-Colored Lotus.

Evidently, the fiery aura emanating from the Seven-Colored Lotus was due to this Endless Molten Flame.

’The roots of the Seven-Colored Lotus actually reached all the way down here? It truly is worthy of the name Rootless Flower.’

Ye Xuan was secretly amazed.

The Seven-Colored Lotus was also known as the Rootless Flower—not because it lacked roots, but because its roots and its main body typically grew in two separate locations, linked only by a flow of life force.

Simply put, the part of the Seven-Colored Lotus in the cavern above was just its stem, leaves, and blossom; its true roots were actually here.

And while the roots of the Seven-Colored Lotus couldn’t compare to its blossom in some respects, in terms of life force, they were even more potent.

Although the roots of the Seven-Colored Lotus were themselves a heaven-defying Spirit Medicine, Ye Xuan’s gaze only lingered on them for a moment before returning to the Endless Molten Flame.

Judging by its aura, this Endless Molten Flame didn’t seem particularly powerful; it even felt a little weaker than the Heart Marrow Fire he had possessed in his past life.

Ye Xuan immediately understood this was because the Endless Molten Flame had yet to fully mature.

If a fully matured Endless Molten Flame were to appear here, it could easily incinerate the entire mountain peak into nothingness.

But as it was, the Endless Molten Flame had merely nurtured the Seven-Colored Lotus, which indicated that its foundational aura was not yet very powerful.

Far from being disappointed by this, Ye Xuan grew even more excited.

With his current strength, if he were to encounter a fully formed Endless Molten Flame, he wouldn’t even be able to think about absorbing it; he’d be lucky to escape with his life. Only now, while the Endless Molten Flame was still in its infancy, did Ye Xuan have any hope of absorbing it.

It was true that the growth of a Celestial Fire was exceedingly difficult, requiring at least a century and the absorption of countless Heaven and Earth Treasures to go from its initial stage to its perfect form.

But Ye Xuan was confident that after he obtained the Endless Molten Flame, he could help it mature over time.

With this in mind, Ye Xuan no longer hesitated and prepared to claim the Endless Molten Flame.

But just as he was about to act, he suddenly sensed something was wrong. He froze, utterly astonished.

He had been wondering why a nascent Endless Molten Flame would be here, and now he had his answer: there was a mysterious Restriction on the altar, and the flame was trapped within it.

To absorb the Endless Molten Flame, he would first have to break this Restriction.

But that wasn’t what truly shocked Ye Xuan. What shocked him was that he had been standing here for so long without detecting the Restriction’s existence, only discovering it by chance when he prepared to absorb the flame.

This left Ye Xuan reeling. He knew exactly how profound his mastery of Arrays was—he was definitely on the level of a Tier Nine Array Master—yet he had failed to notice a simple Restriction.

’Just who was the person who laid this Restriction all those years ago?’

Ye Xuan was aghast. He swept his Soul Sense across the Restriction, only to be shocked yet again. On the surface, the Restriction appeared quite simple, not at all complex. But when he tried to analyze it closely, it gave off an unfathomable and profound feeling, as if it were impossible to decipher.

This Restriction was as complex as an exceptionally difficult Array.

Furthermore, Ye Xuan sensed a familiar quality to this Restriction. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was extremely similar to the Restriction on the void-piercing Profound Talisman he had obtained from Wu Xu; it was the same craftsmanship.

Then, Ye Xuan’s attention shifted to the altar beneath the Endless Molten Flame.

He had initially assumed the altar had formed naturally as the Endless Molten Flame developed, but a closer look left him stunned—the altar was clearly man-made.

’Could it be that some powerful expert intentionally nurtured the Endless Molten Flame here?’

The thought surfaced in Ye Xuan’s mind, but he quickly dismissed it. He couldn’t imagine any expert who would go to the trouble of raising a Celestial Fire.

Celestial Fires were so precious on the Celestial Profound Continent. Who would obtain one and, instead of absorbing it themselves, choose to nurture it here instead?

Besides, this was a mystic realm that only opened once every ten years. Even if someone wanted to cultivate a Celestial Fire, they wouldn’t do it inside an ancient mystic realm, would they?

Or perhaps... was this Celestial Fire left behind by the very person who created this realm?

One guess after another flashed through Ye Xuan’s mind.

But regardless of whether someone was nurturing it or not, Ye Xuan had no intention of leaving the Endless Molten Flame behind.

A Celestial Fire was simply too important. Since he had found it, it was his destiny. He couldn’t be bothered with anything else.

With that thought, Ye Xuan began to carefully study the Restriction.

At that very moment, in the molten cavern above, the battle between the humans and Demon Beasts had reached a fever pitch.

In terms of overall strength, the Demon Beasts still held the upper hand, but Guild Master Zhu Tianlan and the others had immediately deployed a large Array.

Although Red Flame and the other two great Profound Beasts were powerful, they were helpless against the humans’ Array. For the moment, both sides were locked in a stalemate.

"I can’t believe the treasure here is the legendary Seven-Colored Lotus! That’s a Tier Seven treasure! If consumed, it allows any Martial Artist below Tier Six to advance a full tier unconditionally, no alchemy required. Senior Brother, what should we do now?"

In a dark corner of the cavern, Ye Fanxing and his two companions watched the clash between the Human Race and Demon Race, their eyes gleaming with tense excitement.

"The Seven-Colored Lotus, you say?"

Luan Hong frowned, his gaze fixed on the Seven-Colored Lotus, his thoughts unreadable.

"Senior Brother."

Ye Fanxing and the others prompted him, unable to wait.

Luan Hong seemed to snap out of his trance, muttering, "Something’s not right."

"What did you say, Senior Brother?"

"I said, something’s not right." A sharp glint appeared in Luan Hong’s eyes. "The Seven-Colored Lotus is indeed a heaven-defying Spirit Medicine, but its aura should be focused entirely on life force and Profound Power. This lotus, however, is emitting an incredibly dense Fire Element energy. The flames it generates are even burning Martial Artists who get too close. That’s not normal at all."

Now that Luan Hong mentioned it, Ye Fanxing and the other two also frowned in confusion.

Hailing from a major sect, their knowledge far surpassed that of Zhu Tianlan’s group.

They hadn’t noticed it before Luan Hong spoke, but now they also realized something was amiss. The fiery aura from the Seven-Colored Lotus was far too dense.

"This fiery aura is incredibly potent," Zhou Liang remarked. "Before we even entered the cavern, we thought the rare treasure here must be some kind of Earth Fire..."

A flash of inspiration struck Luan Hong.

Earth Fire?

"That’s it! I know why the Seven-Colored Lotus feels wrong. The fire energy coming from it is too potent. It’s definitely on the level of an unusual flame."

"Could there be some kind of Earth Fire beneath this lava?"

Compared to the Seven-Colored Lotus, an Earth Fire was obviously far more important.

"The three of you stay here and keep an eye on the Seven-Colored Lotus. The source of this fire energy seems to be underground. I’m going down to investigate."

The moment he finished speaking, Luan Hong vanished from his spot.

Down in the underground altar, Ye Xuan was working feverishly to break the Restriction.

He had never encountered a Restriction like this before, so before he could break it, he first needed to understand how it was constructed.

If he could figure that out, it would not only be a huge help in breaking the Restriction, but it would also be a great boon to his future mastery of Arrays.

The Profound Qi Ye Xuan cultivated was exceptionally sensitive. Combined with the fact that he was a supreme Array Master, he was well-equipped for the task. Although his Profound Sense was a far cry from what it was in his past life, after some time, his analysis finally revealed the Restriction’s unique properties.

Though this Restriction was unlike any other, all Restrictions required an energy source and a structural framework. It was from this perspective that Ye Xuan began to deconstruct the bizarre Restriction, piece by piece.

After a full half-hour, Ye Xuan finally broke the Restriction.

BOOM!

The instant the Restriction shattered, a terrifyingly powerful wave of fire energy swept over Ye Xuan’s body.

Even with Ye Xuan’s physical fortitude, his robes were instantly incinerated, and his very flesh began to melt.

’What terrifying fire energy!’

Although Ye Xuan was only a Third Layer Tier Three Earth Martial Artist, he had cultivated the Nine Revolutions Sacred Body, giving him physical fortitude that far surpassed that of an ordinary Celestial Martial Artist. Yet even a body like his couldn’t withstand the power naturally radiating from the Endless Molten Flame.