Northern Yan - Chapter 49: Abyss of Profound Flames

Upon hearing that question, "Where are you going?", Mo Hao knew immediately that things had taken a turn for the worse. Realizing he could neither escape nor run at this moment, he calmly stepped out from the bushes and walked directly toward the young man.

The youth wore an amused expression. He had never expected anyone to try the old trick of the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Yet, the young man was evidently brimming with self-confidence; seeing Mo Hao approach, he did not show a shred of defensive posture, which caught Mo Hao completely off guard.

As Mo Hao drew close, before he could even utter a word, the youth spoke:

"It's you?"

A pang of doubt stirred in Mo Hao's heart. Could this youth possibly know him? Yet, as far as he could recall, he had never laid eyes on this exceptionally formidable young cultivator before.

Nevertheless, driven by curiosity, Mo Hao looked the youth over carefully. Beneath the unfamiliarity, there lingered a faint sense of recognition. After half a moment of hard thought, Mo Hao suddenly realized that this person appeared to be a fellow disciple from their very own Void Sword Sect. More than that, he was the cultivator who had overwhelmingly seized first place among the ten chosen ones during this expedition. As for his name, it finally surfaced in Mo Hao's mind, slipping past his lips before he could stop it:

"Xu Jian!"

The youth nodded, the tension easing considerably from his face. After all, both of them were disciples of the Void Sword Sect, and there were only ten Void Sword Sect disciples present within this Haze Fog Mystic Realm. Before everyone entered, the golden-elixir elder Lian Chen had repeatedly admonished them to look out for one another.

"Are you here for the Heavenly Stone as well?"

The youth asked casually, as if nothing Mo Hao could possibly say would either surprise or concern him.

Seeing no hostility between them, Mo Hao flipped his palm and retrieved a stone from his Qiankun pouch, one that was remarkably similar in material and size to the one held in the youth's hand.

"You managed to acquire a Heavenly Stone so early. No wonder! That must mean the very first Heavenly Time Tree was activated by you!"

A trace of inadvertent surprise flickered across the youth's face, quickly replaced by a look of perplexity:

"Then why on earth would you come here to ambush those two? You only need a single Heavenly Stone to gain entry to the Temple of Heavenly Time!"

Mo Hao felt a touch of awkwardness. He knew absolutely nothing about Heavenly Stones, the Temple of Heavenly Time, or the Heavenly Time Trees. Caught off guard by the youth's question, he found himself unexpectedly blushing.

"Well, about that! Ahem! I actually had no idea what this thing was!"

Hearing Mo Hao's confession, a faint smile inadvertently touched the youth's stern features.

"What? Hahaha! Then your luck is truly astonishing. There are only nine such items in the entire Haze Fog Mystic Realm. Very well, since you have no clue, I will enlighten you. By the way, your name is Mo Hao, isn't it?"

Mo Hao nodded. To his surprise, the youth actually remembered his name. Watching the youth begin to lecture with the solemn demeanor of an elderly scholar, Mo Hao was suddenly reminded of the days when Xuanfengzi was still around and he had to attend formal classes—where the instructor had been exceptionally stern.

"Let me first tell you about the Temple of Heavenly Time. Ever since this Haze Fog Mystic Realm was first discovered, the Temple of Heavenly Time has existed within it. Moreover, this temple only opens when the extreme cycle is reached—specifically, upon the ninth opening. To my knowledge, it has only ever opened three times before, making this the fourth. You must understand, this Haze Fog Mystic Realm is not restricted to practitioners of the Qi Condensation realm alone!"

"What?"

Mo Hao felt as though he had just heard an unbelievable answer. According to the youth, there were no realm restrictions within this Haze Fog Mystic Realm.

"Could it be related to the Temple of Heavenly Time?"

The youth nodded, a satisfied smile gracing his face, as if silently praising Mo Hao as a youth of considerable promise.

Seeing this expression, irritation flared up in Mo Hao's chest. However, since the youth was in the middle of a lively explanation, Mo Hao refrained from interrupting and simply gestured for him to continue.

"Indeed. The Temple of Heavenly Time contains no heaven-defying magical treasures or talismans, nor any miraculous pills or arrays. Entering it serves solely to temper oneself. However, this self-tempering requires breaking through five successive barrier stages. Should you fail to breach even a single stage, your physical body and soul will be utterly destroyed. I merely overheard this by chance from a senior martial brother; my master strictly forbade anyone from telling us. Judging by your blank expression, your master must have omitted this as well?"

Seeing Mo Hao listening with rapt attention, the youth couldn't resist teasing him before continuing:

"The first barrier stage requires you to fight ten Qi Condensation late-stage cultivators. The second stage pits you against a single half-step Foundation Establishment cultivator. The third stage involves fighting two half-step Foundation Establishment cultivators. The fourth stage confronts you with your own doppelgänger, which can replicate all your combat capabilities. And the fifth stage is said to simulate the entire process of breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm! Naturally, all of this is still tailored somewhat to your own cultivation realm."

"What? Breaking through to Foundation Establishment!"

Mo Hao was deeply shocked. What kind of trial was this? To force a Qi Condensation late-stage cultivator, who had yet to even experience the half-step Foundation Establishment stage, to endure the harrowing process of a Foundation Establishment breakthrough—wasn't that pure suicide?

"Precisely. That is why neither your master nor mine chose to reveal the secret of the Temple of Heavenly Time to us. Yet, despite the immense danger, I still intend to try. Oh, and by the way, although clearing each stage offers no rewards of treasures or pills, based on your current realm, I estimate that breaking through three stages should naturally elevate your cultivation to the half-step Foundation Establishment realm! Would you care to try? I will not force you; it is entirely your own decision. If you wish to attempt it, I shall teach you the method to utilize the Heavenly Stone!"

Hearing that it could lead to a breakthrough to the half-step Foundation Establishment realm, it would be a lie to say Mo Hao was unmoved. After a brief moment of contemplation, he nodded. What was the pursuit of immortality if not for moments like this? Without taking a risk, what hope was there? After all, this was a world where the strong preyed upon the weak; lacking strength meant resigning oneself to being slaughtered at will.

"Since you wish to go, listen carefully. As a rule, no one will attempt to rob you of your Heavenly Stone once it is refined with your natal essence blood, for it can never change ownership thereafter. At that time, you will sense the exact location of the Temple of Heavenly Time and know the precise moment of its opening. However, once you perform the blood refinement, you must understand there is no turning back—you are bound to head for the Temple of Heavenly Time with absolute certainty, facing a genuine trial of life and death. Very well, having said this, I suppose our paths must part here. Do as you see fit. You must perform the blood ritual at least three days before all nine trees are fully activated, otherwise the stone will lose its effect. Should you choose not to go, remember to gather as many spiritual flowers and herbs as possible if you manage to exit this Haze Fog Mystic Realm, so as to win some glory for our Void Sword Sect."

With these words, the youth tossed over a Qiankun pouch and floated away gracefully into the distance. Mo Hao cupped his fists in a parting salute toward the retreating figure. He opened the Qiankun pouch to find hundreds of rare spiritual flowers and herbs inside. At that sight, Mo Hao knew that Xu Jian had already made all his preparations.

Holding the small Heavenly Stone in his palm, the ordinary-looking pebble seemed entirely unremarkable. Yet, armed with the secrets of the Temple of Heavenly Time revealed by Xu Jian, he knew this tiny stone held the potential to propel him into the half-step Foundation Establishment realm.

Drawing the Hantong Sword, Mo Hao gently pricked a small opening at his fingertip. Though no blood flowed initially, he circulated his inner spiritual power, forcing a single drop of natal essence blood from his heart. He guided the droplet until it slowly fell onto the Heavenly Stone. The inscriptions carved upon the stone instantly erupted with a pale golden radiance, and the stone dissolved into fine powder right in his palm.

The very instant the stone turned to dust, he felt his own presence merge seamlessly with the heavens and earth of the Haze Fog Mystic Realm. No surge of raw power accompanied the change; instead, a silent guidance bloomed in his heart—or rather, not merely a guidance, but a distinct summons.

Having finished this task, Mo Hao gazed up at the sky. Two pillars of light soared upward into the firmament: one belonged to the Heavenly Time Tree he and Liu Yue had activated, and the other to the one activated by the Heavenly Star alien tribe.

"Hah!"

Mo Hao let out a long breath. This was a true gamble with all his chips pushed to the center. Although Xu Jian had mentioned that the Temple of Heavenly Time consisted of five stages which had to be cleared in one continuous run—meaning that even if one surmounted the first three stages to reach half-step Foundation Establishment, failing the remainder would mean losing one's life before enjoying the realm—he still felt resolute.

That said, Mo Hao was most intrigued by the final stage: the simulated breakthrough to Foundation Establishment. Succeeding in that trial would outweigh any other benefit. Mo Hao believed its value might even surpass the three Foundation Establishment pills he had obtained from the elderly Xing Huang. That was firsthand, genuine breakthrough experience. Armed with such insight, pairing it with three Foundation Establishment pills would undoubtedly multiply his chances of a successful breakthrough.

According to Xu Jian, however, the Temple of Heavenly Time could not open until all nine trees had been activated. During this interim period, Mo Hao planned to thoroughly explore the Haze Fog Mystic Realm. Given the immense scale of the realm, he still harbored lingering thoughts regarding the Haze Fog Pills. Even if he failed to acquire the pills this time, collecting more spiritual flowers and herbs would allow him to exchange them for substantial sect contributions.

Mo Hao unfolded a map. He could hardly wander the Haze Fog Mystic Realm like a headless fly; doing so would be far less productive than quietly waiting here for the Temple of Heavenly Time to open.

If Liu Yue were awake, he could have consulted her for her opinion, but her current condition remained unknown. He quickly cast these thoughts aside as his gaze fell upon an intriguing marker on the map. A large red dot—or rather, a red lake—was vividly drawn, accompanied by three characters inscribed beneath it:

"Xuanyan Abyss!"

The marking was strikingly prominent. While he had known nothing of the Temple of Heavenly Time, he had caught wind of certain rumors regarding the Xuanyan Abyss. Meng Xin had once informed him that this location appeared to be a sea of flames. Yet, it possessed a bizarre property: whereas ordinary fiery regions grew hottest at their core, the Xuanyan Abyss was hottest along its outer perimeter. This did not mean, however, that piercing the outer ring granted easy access to the innermost depths. The flames at the absolute center were actually ice-flames; far from being hot, they were infinitely colder than solid ice. Thus, anyone wishing to penetrate the innermost depths had to endure not only extreme heat, but also extreme cold.

This region was renowned for producing a spiritual species known as Ice-Flame Flowers. These blossoms possessed no profound utility and could not even enhance the cultivation of ordinary Qi Condensation practitioners. However, they bore a fruit-like crystallization called Ice-Flame Spirit Stones—rare stones embodying both ice and fire attributes simultaneously. Such stones could be found nowhere else in the world, making them an entirely unique treasure.

The rarity of Ice-Flame Spirit Stones surpassed even that of Gale Spirit Stones and Mystic Thunder Spirit Stones. As for anything rarer, it was pointless to speak of them; Mo Hao had only ever heard Xuanfengzi mention the primordial spirit veins of Annihilation and Genesis in passing, and he had never encountered a single cultivator who knew of their existence.

His intense interest in this place stemmed from two reasons. First, such spirit stones occupied a remarkably high position on the list of materials required for submission. Second was the small tripod—the very same small tripod that had been kicked out from the cave of five-colored divine light. Mo Hao still could not fathom whether he had simply been lucky enough to kick it out, or whether he had been unfortunate enough to be ensnared by it.

The little tripod was clearly designed as a cauldron for alchemy, yet he possessed no personal flame suitable for refining pills. Going back to the sect to borrow a fire source risked exposing his wealth and drawing unwanted attention. Under the circumstances, seeking out a superior flame source within the Xuanyan Abyss was by far the wisest course of action.

With his mind made up, he acted without delay. After all, Mo Hao possessed considerable confidence in his own strength; it was only his recent unfortunate encounters with the unkillable Heavenly Star tribe members and the freakish genius Xu Jian that had dealt heavy blows to his self-esteem.

Following the map's markers, he flew directly toward the Xuanyan Abyss. Holding the Blood Star Compass along the way, he knew that unless a cultivator harbored soul-anchoring treasures or possessed profound concealment techniques, ordinary cultivators and spirit beasts could simply not escape the compass's piercing gaze.

Along the journey, Mo Hao successfully skirted the majority of spirit beasts, relying entirely on the Blood Star Compass with flawless precision. Before long, he arrived in the vicinity of Xuanyan Abyss. The moment he touched down, a dazzling pillar of light surged into the sky in the distance. He knew that the third Heavenly Time Tree had just been activated. For reasons unknown, the activation of this third tree carried an inexplicable, oppressive weight.

Suddenly, a wave of intense heat washed over him, interrupting his thoughts. Gasping for breath, he felt as though he had plunged straight into boiling water, and even the air he inhaled felt scorching and difficult to bear.

Hurriedly, he activated his defensive magical artifact, the Ice-Flame Shield, which possessed the dual ability to ward off both extreme heat and extreme cold—a truly marvelous creation. It was precisely because he possessed this treasure that Mo Hao dared venture into the Xuanyan Abyss; anyone else would likely have failed to even approach the periphery, let alone enter the abyss itself.

Enduring the searing heat wave, he pressed forward into the outermost layer of flames. To his astonishment, he spotted a few spiritual flowers and herbs managing to grow along the path, marveling at how these plants could thrive in such a scorching environment through the sheer creative providence of heaven and earth. However, these were neither Ice-Flame Flowers nor Ice-Flame Spirit Stones, meaning he had to push deeper.

Enduring the oppressive high temperature, he walked steadily forward. After half an hour of travel, he had covered a mere two miles, yet this brought him to the threshold of the outermost fire zone. Raising his head, Mo Hao gazed up at the towering wall of fire. It resembled the coiled body of a colossal fire dragon, eager to incinerate any intruder. With a resolute expression in his eyes, Mo Hao took a step forward and crossed directly into the wall of flames.