The Lost Land, the civilization of the demons.

Heavenly Venerable Gaode watched as streams of demonic energy transformed into black dragons and vanished into this place.

And the Demonic Qi Mountain grew shorter and shorter.

Fifty thousand Heavenly-grade Spirit Stones! This was an exaggerated figure, essentially emptying the entire Demonic Qi Mountain.

The Demonic Qi Mountain comprised several continuous peaks, each monumentally vast.

Now, one entire peak had been cleared out.

Due to the initial setup, the adjacent peaks were not cleared simultaneously, causing the transferred Heavenly-grade Spirit Stones to stop precisely at the fifty thousand mark.

Simultaneously, a token and a ball of flame were also drawn away due to some peculiar circumstances.

This token and this flame were saturated with incredibly dense demonic energy and were consequently treated like the demonic energy itself.

It was only because the material of this token and this flame were exceptionally rare that this was possible; under normal conditions, it would have been utterly impossible.

The token did not draw much attention from Heavenly Venerable Gaode, but the ball of flame did: "It's that ball of flame..." A shiver of shock ran through him.

This flame was no simple object; it possessed the ability to absorb numerous other flames, and its material composition was a mystery.

The Demonic Qi Mountain’s crucial resources included this very flame.

The Demonic Qi Mountain was composed of layers of mountain ranges formed by condensed demonic energy, resting atop layers of demonic fire below.

And this particular flame was known as the Origin Demonic Fire, capable of absorbing any flame and burning ceaselessly, possessing an extremely unique material structure.

To think that this flame had been absorbed! Heavenly Venerable Gaode attempted to intervene, but he was a step too late.

.....

The Sacred Land of the Central Celestial Dynasty Civilization.

The Mountain of Courage, within the Sub-Demon Extinction Primordial Array.

Fifty thousand Heavenly-grade Spirit Stones! Lu Yuan was about to explode with exhilaration.

Gaining a mountain of Heavenly-grade Spirit Stones out of thin air—what a sensation! It was a shame that the influx abruptly ceased at the fifty thousand mark; a slight regret lingered.

But still, what joy! What an immense resource! It was enough to make one wake up laughing hysterically even in their dreams.

Don't blame Lu Yuan for his excitement; fifty thousand Heavenly-grade Spirit Stones was simply too much.

Twenty thousand Spirit Stones at the Immortal Gambling Island had already proven incredibly useful, and now, suddenly, he had fifty thousand Heavenly-grade Spirit Stones from the Demon Child.

Though he hadn't met you, I find you to be a truly good person, just as benevolent as the Child of the Sword.

It would be unforgivable not to properly deal with such a good person.

He had been worried that his attempt to break through to the tenth Heaven of the World Realm might lack sufficient Spirit Stones, and now someone had delivered them—a great kindness, a supreme favor.

Lu Yuan continued to activate the character for 'Zheng' (Correct/True), and discovered that this time, what was refined was a token.

Lu Yuan snatched the token into his hand and found the words "Ancient Swordsman" inscribed on the front: the Ancient Swordsman Token! Huh, he hadn't expected to absorb an Ancient Swordsman Token this time.

Lu Yuan faintly sensed that this Ancient Swordsman Token was significantly different from the one he already possessed.

Lu Yuan held the two Ancient Swordsman Tokens side-by-side for comparison.

As they were juxtaposed, the two Ancient Swordsman Tokens suddenly snapped together, merging seamlessly.

Merged? Lu Yuan immediately channeled a thread of divine sense into the combined token.

Upon doing so, he finally uncovered the secret of the Ancient Swordsman Tokens.

It turned out there were eight in total.

If one could gather all eight Ancient Swordsman Tokens, they could enter the Tomb of the Ancient Swordsman.

Right, the Ancient Swordsman—he had heard the name long ago but had never encountered the entity.

He had also discovered a place that a specific intent could lead to: the Tomb of the Ancient Swordsman, but he had always been barred from entry.

He had always wondered about the purpose of the Ancient Swordsman Tokens.

Now, he finally had everything assembled.

So, collecting all eight Ancient Swordsman Tokens granted access to the Tomb of the Ancient Swordsman.

He currently held two.

Ah, the Child of the Sword must have one; he regretted not taking it back then—a huge pity! Child of the Sword, perhaps we shall meet again someday.

I imagine you will be more than happy to offer up your Ancient Swordsman Token then; the Child of the Sword is surely a good person without question.

Then, a ball of flame rushed in.

This ball of dark, murky flame was instantly transformed into a crimson fire after being enveloped by the righteous light emanating from the 'Zheng' character.

This flame was peculiar.

Lu Yuan placed his hand upon it and immediately discovered it was a cold flame, chilling to the extreme.

This coldness seemed impervious to any external heat applied to it; no matter how much thermal energy was introduced, the temperature refused to rise.

For a moment, Lu Yuan’s mind sparked with an unusual idea.

Let's test it.

Lu Yuan instantly pressed his hand onto the void, drawing forth some simple matter to initiate nuclear fusion.

Nuclear fusion ignited, resulting in scorching heat and an explosion of energy.

Yet, even this intense heat, reaching hundreds of thousands of degrees, plunged into the icy flame without raising its temperature by even a single fraction.

What was happening? Lu Yuan unleashed even stronger heat into the frigid cold flame, but again, not even a minuscule temperature increase occurred.

This ball of flame was truly strange.

Wait a moment.

This flame was unquestionably odd.

It could absorb all other flames without changing itself in the slightest.

Wouldn't that mean it was precisely the material needed for the Fire-Swallowing Dragon? The Fire-Swallowing Dragon, fundamentally, required material capable of consuming all flames.

While this icy flame was itself a fire, its nature was to absorb fire, making it an undeniable component.

Lu Yuan immediately circulated the Formless Fire-Swallowing Art.

As this technique activated, he drew the icy flame into the center of his brow for refinement.

Instantly, a vast, seemingly boundless wave of divine sense flooded into Lu Yuan's mind, and in a dazed state, Lu Yuan felt as if he had arrived in a strange realm.

This was an age long, long ago—perhaps a million, ten million, or a billion years past, or even from a preceding Epoch.

In a remote corner of that Epoch, there resided a Fire Nine-Headed Qilin.

This Nine-Headed Fire Qilin possessed an inherently unique constitution, capable of commanding all fires.

In that era, it established considerable renown in its territory.

The world then comprised 130,000 Great Provinces, and the Nine-Headed Fire Qilin had made a significant name for itself across one hundred of those provinces, comparable to Lu Yuan’s own status back when he was in the Grand Dao Realm.

Then, the Fire Civilization came calling.

The Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization at that time sought to take the Nine-Headed Fire Qilin as a personal disciple.

Hearing that a figure of the Civilization Realm like the Vice-Lord wished to mentor him, the Qilin was naturally overjoyed and readily accepted, becoming the disciple of the Fire Civilization’s Vice-Lord.

Under the Vice-Lord’s guidance, the Nine-Headed Fire Qilin rapidly ascended, practicing the Strange Fire Divine Ability Art created by the Vice-Lord.

The strange fires cultivated through this art were not merely any flames from the myriad fires of the world, and the Nine-Headed Fire Qilin made tremendous progress, its fame spreading wider and wider, gradually achieving the bearing of the current Seven Sons of Destiny.

However, when the Nine-Headed Fire Qilin reached the Half-Step Civilization Realm and prepared to break through to the Civilization Realm, everything suddenly changed.

His original master, the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization, suddenly betrayed him, intending to kill him.

The Nine-Headed Fire Qilin was naturally confused, unable to understand why his master wished him dead, as the Vice-Lord had always treated him exceptionally well.

It was then that the Vice-Lord revealed his true colors: he had initially discovered the Nine-Headed Fire Qilin’s innate anomaly and unique material, sparking avarice within him.

The reason he taught the Strange Fire Divine Ability Art was that he desired the Qilin to create an outrageously powerful flame—a flame even the Vice-Lord himself did not possess—to aid him in ascending to the realm of the Civilization Lord.

The Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization was inherently devoid of sentiment; the long passage of time had eroded most of his feelings.

His sole ambition was to reach the peak of the Civilization Lord; everything else could be discarded.

The Nine-Headed Fire Qilin realized then that the Vice-Lord, his supposed master, was a pretense, and the scheme was real: the Vice-Lord had long coveted the Qilin’s innate anomaly, planning to exploit it for his own ascent to the Civilization Lord.

The Nine-Headed Fire Qilin was, after all, merely at the Half-Step Civilization Realm, having no power to resist a figure like the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization.

He was quickly captured and placed within the Fire Civilization Furnace for refinement.

Just as he was about to be completely forged into the specific flame the Vice-Lord required, a sudden, massive mutation occurred.

Having roamed for years, the Nine-Headed Fire Qilin possessed an esoteric treasure.

This treasure ultimately underwent a dramatic transformation, causing the final flame to manifest to undergo an earth-shattering change.

The entirety of the Nine-Headed Fire Qilin, his innate anomaly, transformed into the current icy flame, persisting until this day.

Due to the unexpected accident at the crucial moment, the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization not only failed to reach the rank of Civilization Lord but also sustained severe injuries.

The icy flame managed to escape, and moreover, the Vice-Lord realized that this ball of cold fire would be useless for his ambition to become the Civilization Lord, so he did not pursue it further.

Then, time passed—millions, tens of millions, billions of years, entire Epochs elapsed.

Until this day.

This ball of chilling flame fell into Lu Yuan’s hands.

Lu Yuan could distinctly feel a powerful, lingering obsession emanating from the icy flame. "Rest assured." Lu Yuan's finger touched the cold fire. "I understand your intent.

Your final wish before death was to exact this revenge.

Thus, you transformed into the Ice Flame capable of absorbing all fire.

I comprehend this.

Worry not; I will take on this enemy, the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization, for you.

As long as I possess the ability, I will definitely strike him down." Lu Yuan did not make this promise merely because he benefited from the Nine-Headed Fire Qilin’s legacy.

It was because the actions of the Vice-Lord of the Fire Civilization were truly despicable.

A master plotting against his disciple from the very beginning, intending to refine him entirely for his own advancement to the Civilization Lord—such scum deserved nothing less than death.

Upon hearing Lu Yuan’s promise, the flame let out a whoosh and merged into Lu Yuan's body.

With this flame integrated, Lu Yuan secretly activated the Formless Fire-Swallowing Art.

In mere moments, the Fire-Swallowing Dragon was complete.

Now, only the final Wind-Swallowing Dragon remained.

With that, all seven Devouring Dragons would be successfully established, without a single omission.

His own cultivation technique was on the verge of grand completion.