The sky stretched vast and blue, clear and boundless. His figure flickered as he flew along the mountain range toward a volcanic crater. The moment he exited the Heavenly Nether Pearl’s inner space, his divine sense had detected a fluctuation of wood-attributed spiritual energy within the surrounding volcanoes.
Before long, he arrived at the crater and looked down. A dim red glow radiated from within, and waves of scorching heat rushed upward. His eyes flashed. Without hesitation, he leapt in, using gravitational control to descend slowly and explore.
The Burning Gold Mountain Range was a famous volcanic cluster within the Flameburn Kingdom. Its fame came from producing a rare alchemical herb known as the Burning Gold Fruit.
This fruit was the key ingredient in refining the Spirit-Melting Pill. For cultivators of the Flameburn Kingdom, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth was saturated with scorching fire attributes. Prolonged absorption would cause severe bodily harm. Thus, the Spirit-Melting Pill—capable of regulating and diluting fire energy—was highly prized.
It could be said that the Spirit-Melting Pill was among the most consumed pills in the kingdom. Though dozens of formulas existed, varying in quality, the most sought-after version was the one refined primarily from Burning Gold Fruit.
This fruit only grew deep within volcanic craters, and only in volcanic clusters. A solitary volcano could not produce it.
Whenever the fruit ripened, disciples from the Four Great Sects would come to harvest it. The fruit’s maturation was peculiar—neither early nor late could it be picked. Its ripening window lasted only three days.
On this day, the four sects had already dispatched disciples, each occupying a separate crater. Given the immense demand, the Four Great Sects had long established an agreement—no one would fight over the harvest.
Three disciples from the Nine Nether Remains Sect stood outside one crater—two men and one woman—each carrying a coffin on their backs. They were waiting for the harvesting moment.
Time passed. Soon, green fragrant vapor rose from the other three craters—a sign of ripeness. The disciples of those sects leapt in one after another.
But this crater showed no green vapor.
The young woman frowned. “Senior Brother Ma, what’s going on?”
The man surnamed Ma also frowned. “Green vapor signals ripeness and neutralizes the volcanic toxins. All four craters should mature simultaneously… Senior Brother Zhou, should we go down and check?”
The youth surnamed Zhou pondered briefly, then shook his head. “Let’s wait. Without the vapor dissolving the flame toxins, descending would be dangerous.”
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Time dragged on. Anxiety grew.
Finally, Zhou gritted his teeth. “Forget it. Let’s take a look.”
Just as he prepared to jump, a burst of icy aura suddenly surged from within the volcano.
Moments later, a cold-faced young man flew out under their stunned gazes.
Over his shoulder lay a thick purple vine—over a meter wide—densely covered in Burning Gold Fruit.
It was Yun Che.
He did not spare them a glance before turning to leave.
Below, he had sensed their presence. He had been troubled by how to harvest the fruit—the moment it was plucked, the surrounding heat would scatter it into nothingness.
So he made a ruthless decision.
He uprooted the entire vine.
Unfortunately, the vine could not be stored in his storage bag for some unknown reason, so he had to carry it. Were it not for his urgent need for this wood-attributed fruit, he would not have bothered.
Zhou swallowed, his face darkening.
For three consecutive years he had harvested here. At most, ten fruits could be taken each year—taking more would damage the root. The fruits existed to nourish the root so it could survive in the scorching depths. If over-harvested, the root would die—and that crater would never again produce Burning Gold Fruit.
Yet this man had uprooted it entirely!
Didn’t he know the root would die within two hours once moved?
Enraged, Zhou shouted, “Stop! No matter what sect you belong to, you will pay for destroying the root!”
He slapped his coffin. It rose and slammed upright. The lid creaked open, revealing a pitch-black withered hand wreathed in dark mist. A stench of decay spread instantly.
The other two disciples followed suit. Three coffins stood upright.
Yun Che turned, stroked the vine calmly, and said, “Pay what price?”
Zhou sneered. “Break your limbs. Gouge out your eyes. Then return with us for judgment by our Sect Master.”
Without waiting, he opened the coffin fully. A black corpse puppet shot out, trailing dark smoke toward Yun Che.
The other two released theirs as well.
Three corpse puppets charged in formation.
Yun Che’s eyes grew cold.
Within his sea of consciousness, a thunderous roar erupted. The red lightning of his extreme divine sense flashed from between his brows.
The three disciples shuddered. Their eyes dulled. Their divine senses shattered—they died instantly.
Yun Che calmly looked at the incoming corpse puppets.
Two decayed midair and collapsed into bones.
Only Zhou’s puppet remained intact. It halted abruptly, its lifeless eyes suddenly flashing with clarity. Panic filled its gaze as it retreated.
Yun Che said icily, “Take another step, and you die.”
The puppet ignored him and fled—only to cry out miserably. A wisp of spiritual light emerged from its forehead, forming a delicate miniature figure.
The tiny figure bowed repeatedly. “Spare me, Daoist friend! I am Xu Liguo of the Heavenly Gang Sect of a Fourth-Grade Cultivation Nation. I meant no offense! Please, do not act rashly!”
Fear consumed him.
Once a Nascent Soul cultivator, Xu Liguo had been gravely injured in battle. Though his Nascent Soul escaped, it was close to dispersing. A close friend had spent vast resources to purchase a body for him from the Nine Nether Remains Sect.
The sect was renowned across Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Cultivation Nations for selling high-quality bodies—spiritually endowed, talented, customizable in appearance, even gender if desired. With sufficient payment, full post-possession protection and guidance were guaranteed.
If you could pay, any realm body could be provided.
Xu Liguo, however, could not afford a Nascent Soul body. He settled for a Foundation Establishment body—cheap but requiring years to recover.
The Nine Nether Remains Sect was mysterious, hierarchical, and untouchable in higher cultivation nations. Rumor even claimed they could provide bodies of Infant Transformation or higher realms—even those tied to the Sixth-Grade Nether Phoenix Kingdom.
Now, Xu Liguo trembled before Yun Che.
Yun Che looked at the pleading miniature figure and smiled coldly.
- Why did Yun Che choose to uproot the Burning Gold Vine instead of harvesting the fruit normally?
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What does this scene reveal about the terrifying power of Yun Che’s Extreme Divine Sense?
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The Nine Nether Remains Sect specializes in body possession—what ethical or philosophical questions does this raise about identity and survival?
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If you were Xu Liguo, would you beg for mercy, attempt negotiation, or gamble on escape?
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What do you think Yun Che will do next—spare Xu Liguo, enslave him, or destroy him?