The incarnation noticed that the scale of the palace halls here was comparable to the main Ice Palace, indicating it was at least an important sector of the Fire Phase Hall.
Fire Rhinoceros Island's formation was peculiar, dividing the floating island into nine sections. Each fire dragon corresponded to a spirit formation nexus, suggesting that the layout of the Fire Phase Hall likely matched the formation's arrangement.
Apart from the indisputable core, the Central Palace, the outer halls each had their own purposes.
The incarnation swept his gaze around but found no plaques or steles. The place was simply too severely damaged to determine what the halls had once been used for.
Looking ahead, his momentary hesitation allowed the Fire Jade Centipede to scurry far off.
He hurriedly flashed forward to catch up with the centipede, not lingering here.
If that treasure was indeed on Fire Rhinoceros Island, it was most likely placed in the Central Palace of the Fire Phase Hall, right at the formation hub just like the ice disc, replenished with energy via a special formation.
The treasure attracting the Fire Jade Centipede was also in the Central Palace.
He would head to the Central Palace first before considering searching anywhere else.
Passing through this stretch of ruined halls, he arrived before vast swathes of forest. Not only were there fire pu trees, but also various spiritual plants with similar properties, including many precious spirit flowers and fiery trees.
The Fire Jade Centipede wound around twists and turns, but kept consistently toward the direction of the Central Palace.
Passing through the forest.
A river of magma blocked the way ahead.
Estimating the distance, crossing the magma river would bring him into the Central Palace of the Fire Phase Hall. Sure enough, the silhouettes of halls began to reappear on the opposite bank, though scattered far and wide.
Reaching the opposite bank and travelling further, the incarnation realized that it was not that the halls were sparse, but rather that the great battle had reduced them to rubble; less than one in ten remained standing in the Central Palace.
It was easy to imagine that the main enemy forces back then had likely assaulted the island from the south, directly shattering Fire Rhinoceros Island's southern sector. The Wuxiang Immortal Sect had been forced to retreat time and again, culminating in a decisive battle at the Central Palace.
Rumble...
A deafening roar rolled in from ahead.
The source of the roar was a magma waterfall, situated right within the Central Palace region!
Gazing as far as he could see, the incarnation observed crimson fire drifting across the sky ahead of the ruins, suffused with extraordinarily violent energy.
This energy would indiscriminately attack any intruder. While its might was not necessarily strong enough to suppress and kill him, forcing his way upstream against the magma waterfall would inevitably create an immense commotion impossible to conceal, so he had opted against taking that shortcut.
Everywhere he looked lay ruins.
The incarnation's expression grew increasingly solemn.
Yet the mood relayed by the Fire Jade Centipede grew ever more excited. Twisting and thrashing, its speed surged by another third as it transformed into a golden streak, instantly darting through expanses of crumbled walls and ruined masonry.
As expected, being the core of the Fire Phase Hall, the original density of buildings in the Central Palace was in no way inferior to Bingyi Palace.
Moving swiftly amidst the ruins.
The incarnation glanced left and right, searching for remnant traces of the Fire Phase Hall's grand formation. Deducing the formation eye's location from these remnants was undoubtedly the most efficient method.
Regrettably, the devastation here was too severe; even after searching for a good while, he could not discern any pattern.
The roar of the magma waterfall grew louder and louder.
He could even see molten crimson splashes flying through the air.
Just then, the relentlessly darting Fire Jade Centipede finally paused.
The incarnation felt a stir in his heart and flashed over to the centipede's side. Ahead of them stood a sculpture of a fire dragon carved from fire jade. Its posture was majestic as it soared riding flames, its scales glinting with a fiery crimson radiance that added to its imposing presence.
Unfortunately, the head and tail had been smashed, leaving only a scarred length of the dragon's torso.
Behind the sculpture lay nine tiers of jade steps, atop which stood a battered palace hall. The ancient hall leaked wind on all sides, its roof punctured with holes, leaving its interior laid bare to sight, though magnificent carvings were still faintly discernible on the walls.
Judging by the layout, the fire dragon sculpture served a role more akin to a guardian spirit beast before the gate.
Yet the Fire Jade Centipede kept its gaze fixed firmly on the dragon.
To be precise, it was staring at one of the dragon's claws. Only two claws remained on the sculpture: one hovering in midair and the other treading upon a carved flame pedestal. It was this second claw that the centipede watched.
While the incarnation was still examining the hall behind the sculpture, the centipede, without showing any stance of attack, plunged headfirst into the dragon claw.
An unexpected scene unfolded.
The instant the Fire Jade Centipede struck it, the dragon claw suddenly turned translucent, and an opening emerged atop the flame pedestal. Red light surged forth from it, resembling the mouth of a magma well.
Seeing the centipede's reckless action, the incarnation had silently formed an incantation gesture, preparing for emergencies. At this sight, he could not help but be taken aback. "Could this be... the Fire Phase Hall has a hidden hall as well?"
Even as the thought flashed through his mind, the Fire Jade Centipede vanished inside.
The incarnation chose to follow.
The ancient well was deep.
As he descended further, the light actually grew brighter.
The incarnation discovered that the well's walls were covered with bizarre runes. It was clearly lined with restrictions, yet none attacked him or the centipede.
He engraved the restrictions in his mind, pondered them carefully, and gradually came to an understanding.
These restrictions held no offensive function.
Connecting this with the fire dragon sculpture outside, he judged that they were meant to draw upon the abundant power of the external flame veins and channel it toward the bottom of the well.
There was definitely more than one such fire dragon sculpture, and the place where their auras converged had to be somewhere of supreme importance.
With this discovery, the incarnation felt a flicker of quiet delight.
Channeling fiery aura—wasn't that remarkably similar to the ice dais in Bingyi Palace?
Descending to an unknown depth, he finally reached bottom, though it was not the end; a path leading forward opened up. After walking briskly for a while, he reached the end, where a stone door blocked the way.
The door was left ajar.
Even through the stone door, the incarnation could sense the extraordinarily dense fiery aura within. The Fire Jade Centipede grew even more lively and excited.
The incarnation reached out with a finger tap.
The Fire Jade Centipede was restrained, greatly vexed.
Ignoring its protests, the incarnation directed the Snow-Treading Divine Saber with a thought, using the precious blade to push open the stone door.
Creak!
The door swung open.
A thermal wave surged out violently.
The incarnation narrowed his eyes, finding an expansive underground palace behind the door. Dazzling red light filled the underground palace, lined with rows of railings sculpted from fire jade.
Notably, the ground was a scene of utter disarray, littered with corpses.
"In a place like this... how could corpses possibly be preserved until now?"
Puzzled, the incarnation took a closer look and realized they were not the corpses of cultivators, but the wreckage of puppets crafted from a peculiar jade.
Stepping into the underground palace, he immediately heard the sound of jade grinding and clattering.
His gaze sharpened. Looking toward the sound, he saw a puppet crawling up nearby, its two eyes—resembling fire jujubes—staring fixedly at him.
Swish!
A gust of hot wind swept toward his face.
The puppet vanished from where it stood, leaving trails of afterimages in midair at an astonishing speed.
Unperturbed, the incarnation slashed his saber.
In an instant, cold gleams intersected in the air with chilling severity.
As if throwing itself into the saber beams, the puppet tore apart, severed into several pieces on the spot as fragments scattered all over the ground.
To his surprise, before he could even sheath his saber, a crimson shadow flew out from the center of the underground palace and plunged onto the floor. The fragments instantly pieced themselves together, restoring the puppet to its original state in the blink of an eye as it pounced forward once more.
The incarnation's gaze darkened, his pupils suddenly turning stark white. He raised a hand and unleashed a beam of Ice Soul Divine Light churning with cold fiend, freezing the puppet into a block of ice.
Approaching the ice block and inspecting it, the incarnation remarked, "So that's how it is."
This puppet was actually a type of talisman puppet, yet distinct from those of the Shangyuan Pure Tranquility Palace. Within it was a core talisman seal; as long as the seal remained undamaged, the puppet could be reborn. It was quite an ingenious creation.
The energy that enabled the puppet's rebirth was that crimson shadow.
The incarnation stepped forward to the railing, taking in the full view of the underground palace.
There were eight stone doors around the perimeter of the underground palace, matching his earlier deduction that eight sculptures corresponded to them on the outside. However, several stone doors had been smashed, their restrictions heavily destroyed.
Concentric corridors wrapped around the chamber, extending downward all the way to a square spirit pool at the very bottom.
The spirit pool was less than half the size of the underground palace. All the fiery aura channeled into the underground palace gathered inside the pool, extraordinarily thick. The incarnation had to pour true essence into his eyes to pierce the almost tangible fiery glare and perceive the true scene within.
The fiery aura had condensed into a pool of flowing fire. Over ten thousand years, it had undergone some unknown transformation, and the exceptionally pure flowing fire had actually turned golden.
Beside the spirit pool stood a low stele, inscribed with five large characters: "Flowing Fire Phantasm Pool."
"Flowing Fire Phantasm..."
The incarnation murmured under his breath, shifting his gaze upward to see phantom silhouettes amidst the golden firelight.
Bound by invisible restrictions, these phantoms were crowded together, confined to the zone above the Flowing Fire Phantasm Pool.
The lowest phantoms closest to the Flowing Fire Phantasm Pool were tinged with gold. Higher up, they gradually shifted to crimson, their auras steadily weakening in distinct layers.
Corresponding to these were the tiers of outer corridors.
Each tier of the corridor featured protruding platforms. Though there were no prayer mats, it was clear they were prepared for cultivators to meditate and capture the phantoms within.
The higher one's cultivation, the deeper the level one occupied.
"It looks like a place for artificially nurturing spirit apparitions..."
Examining the phantoms, the incarnation realized they were similar to fire spirits.
Yet they differed from naturally born fire spirits: their eyes were hollow, passively restrained above the Flowing Fire Phantasm Pool by the restrictions. They behaved stiffly and dully, possessing no desire to escape their cage or yearn for freedom, behaving almost like inanimate objects.
Even the golden phantoms closest to the Flowing Fire Phantasm Pool were no different.
Recalling the talisman puppet's behavior just now, it was only when a crimson shadow merged into the puppet that it was imbued with the intent to fight.
This was abnormal, a deliberate outcome engineered by whoever created this spirit pool.
Naturally, fusing with talisman puppets was not the only purpose of fire spirits; they possessed many other wondrous uses.
Such fire spirits would be far easier for disciples to subdue, after which secret arts could be used to cultivate their intelligence, greatly reducing the risk of betrayal. Moreover, the restrictions of the spirit pool were exceedingly profound, and their potential was likely in no way inferior to naturally formed fire spirits. To mass-produce them so that every person could have one...
Any random spot bore testament to the astounding foundation of the Wuxiang Immortal Sect.
Even while clicking his tongue in marvel, the incarnation felt rather disappointed. This place was far from what he had anticipated; what had attracted the Fire Jade Centipede was not a treasure, but these fire spirits.
The fire spirits were born from the purest fiery aura, and most valuable of all, their sentience had not yet awakened. They could be devoured directly without fear of backlash, making them an immense tonic—no wonder the Fire Jade Centipede was so impatient.
The incarnation released his restraint.
The Fire Jade Centipede had long been unable to wait. Undaunted by the surging fiery aura from the spirit pool, it charged directly into the cluster of fire spirits. Beginning at the uppermost tier, it burrowed into a crimson fire spirit's body.
That fire spirit quickly withered and vanished.
The Fire Jade Centipede reemerged, its aura visibly heightened, and pounced toward another without hesitation.
A commotion rippled through the fire spirits, yet lacking intelligence, they did not swarm to attack. Only the one being assaulted would counterattack by instinct.
However, the Fire Jade Centipede was already a fourth-metamorphosis spirit insect; counterattacks of this level could not harm it in the slightest.
Watching the centipede feast rapaciously, the incarnation turned his gaze back to the Flowing Fire Phantasm Pool. "What a pity. The fiery aura accumulated here over ten thousand years is not what it used to be. If the true body came to collect it, he could gain no small benefit. Who knows if it will still be here once he returns from Dishou Mountain..."
He had not forgotten his mission on this trip.
Yet he tried several times, only to find the Fire Jade Centipede bent solely on gorging itself, refusing to stop until stuffed. It held zero interest in other treasures and possessed not the slightest intention of continuing the search.
Helpless, the incarnation thought to himself: could this mean that the Fire-attribute supreme treasure was not here? Otherwise, the centipede would never behave like this.
Letting it eat to its heart's content, the incarnation set to work on his own.
Although he had not found the supreme treasure, the restrictions of the underground palace were relatively intact. The incarnation noticed that some restrictions did not belong to the underground palace itself, but were almost certainly part of the Fire Phase Hall's grand formation. He prepared to deduce the location of the formation eye from them.
Even though Qin Sang possessed no mean skill in this art, it cost him immense mental effort before clues gradually emerged, leading him to move along the formation's flow.
...
Just as the incarnation was occupied.
In an unknown valley.
A mountain breeze blew past, swaying light and shadow. Suddenly, three figures materialized—none other than the Poison King and his two companions.
"This should be the place where they last clashed..."
The Poison King looked around, his gaze settling on the valley, his tone certain.
Drawn by the phenomenon at Bingyi Palace, they had hurried over without pause, only to discover traces of combat along the way and follow the trail to this valley. Important details had been deliberately wiped away, but the remaining marks made it clear that both combatants were formidable.
In truth, there were no weaklings left inside the immortal heritage site.
"Three people! One side had assistance, while the other fought alone. The outcome doesn't look too good for the latter!" Old Devil Fan assessed.
Master Huaiyin, however, held a different opinion. He had kept his eyes closed, his breathing steady as if in meditation. Suddenly his nostrils twitched, and he emerged from contemplation to say, "There is something strange. Those two may actually have been one person. Those two qi signatures were distinct, yet seemed interconnected."
Master Huaiyin's spiritual sense was extraordinarily sharp; he had actually discerned the subtle difference, drawing close to the truth.
This place was indeed the battlefield between Su Zinan and Old Man Yanshan.
After Su Zinan succeeded, although he cleaned up the scene, his heart was set on the immortal hall's opportunities, and distracted by the phenomenon at Bingyi Palace, his cleanup was not entirely thorough.
He had overlooked a few subtle clues, which Master Huaiyin detected.
The Poison King trusted Master Huaiyin's divine abilities. "Does the master mean a spirit slave, a puppet, or an avatar?"
Old Devil Fan's eye twitched as he sneered, "Old monk, take a better look. That person's opponent was no weakling. If he truly did this all alone by himself, then his strength... humph..."
Their debate reached no conclusion.
The Poison King turned his gaze toward the northeast, where the sky glowed crimson and the faint silhouette of a floating island could be seen. He murmured, "Did they have an old grudge, or were they fighting over something?"
"The victor has already been decided. Even if there were treasures, it wouldn't be your turn!"
Old Devil Fan snorted coldly, pointing toward Dishou Mountain and saying impatiently, "Light and shadows are flickering in several places on that mountain; people are clearly ascending it right now. The beam of light phenomenon erupted near that mountain as well. If we delay any longer, there will only be leftovers left!"
The Poison King had also noticed the phenomena on Dishou Mountain. Hesitating, he said, "Flames blanket the sky over that floating island. Accumulated over ten thousand years, it must have condensed fiery poison, which is of great use to this king. Why don't the two of you go on ahead? Once I collect the fiery poison, I will meet you on the mountain."
Chapter 1643