The jade flask containing the Heavenly Burned Frost Orchid pulsed gently in Long Feng's palm as he returned to the Crimson Flame Sect under moonlight. His robes were torn. His body bruised. But his eyes burned brighter than ever.
Disciples whispered as he walked past the outer and inner grounds—his very presence stirring the wind. Word of his survival in Ice-Demon Ridge alone had already begun to spread.
> "Didn't he leave three days ago?"
"He returned alive?"
"They say he fought a Spirit Beast King... with alchemy?!"
Long Feng ignored them.
He moved with calm certainty, straight to the Pill Pavilion's Seventh Hall, where Elder Hua Tian was already waiting—flanked by two robed guardians and a sealed bronze door carved into the mountainside.
The door was etched with nine rings of flame and a golden lotus at its center.
It radiated suppression—like even the heavens above feared what was inside.
---
"So… you actually returned," Elder Hua Tian said, examining the orchid in Long Feng's hand.
Long Feng tossed the jade flask toward him. "One orchid. One promise."
The elder caught it and nodded. "Very well."
He turned to the bronze door and whispered an ancient incantation.
The runes on the surface lit up—one ring at a time—until all nine were blazing with fiery light.
> CRACK—CRRRRK—BOOM!
The door split down the center and slowly groaned open, releasing a wave of dry heat mixed with something else…
Something old.
Something watching.
Long Feng stepped forward.
The elder raised a brow. "You truly intend to enter alone?"
"Of course," Long Feng said. "You already know the flame within is calling me."
The elder's expression darkened. "I hope you're right. Many tried before. None returned."
> "That's because none of them were me."
---
The moment Long Feng crossed the threshold, the door slammed shut behind him, silencing the outer world completely.
The chamber was massive.
It stretched wider than he expected—like an ancient underground temple. Its stone walls were covered in faded murals depicting divine beasts, celestial alchemists, and a man holding a three-pronged flame in his palm.
But it wasn't just art.
Each mural pulsed with residual divine Qi.
And at the far end stood a pillar of sealed flame—golden, unmoving, trapped inside a glass-like crystal formation surrounded by runes carved in blood-red ink.
> "This is… the True Flame?"
He stepped closer—and instantly felt resistance.
> BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—
The very air grew heavier, pressing down on his soul. It felt like he was being tested by an ancient will.
A voice echoed in his mind.
> "Only the worthy may inherit the Eternal Ember."
---
Suddenly, the runes surrounding the sealed flame erupted. The ground cracked. A phantom flame surged into Long Feng's body, bypassing his defenses and entering his sea of consciousness.
He staggered.
Flames flooded his mind—visions of gods warring in the skies, stars exploding, and a flame so ancient even Supreme Deities bowed to it.
He was no longer in the chamber.
He stood in a mental realm, facing a massive fire beast with six wings and three eyes.
It roared.
> "To wield the Eternal Ember, you must pass the trial of truth. Face your weakness."
The beast opened its mouth—and spat a reflection.
It was Long Feng, chained and broken, kneeling before the gods of the Upper Realm.
> "You begged them to spare your people. You died like a dog."
> "You call yourself a god, but you let your disciple die."
The illusions burned.
Long Feng stood silent.
Then spoke with steady defiance.
> "I was betrayed. But I have returned."
> "I failed once. I will not again."
> "Now burn."
He raised his hand and summoned the Vermilion Ember inside his spirit sea.
It clashed with the Eternal Ember—but instead of resisting it… it merged.
A spiral of gold and vermilion wrapped around his soul.
The six-winged beast bellowed—
Then knelt.
> "Flame accepted. You are its master now."
---
In the real world, the crystal pillar shattered.
The Eternal Ember—a tiny golden wisp—flew into Long Feng's chest.
He staggered forward, clutching his heart as flame inscriptions spread across his skin, forming ancient runes up his arms and across his back.
> "My flame… evolved…"
It wasn't just heat anymore.
It carried will.
It whispered to him, spoke in a tongue no one alive remembered.
A Divine Flame Spirit had recognized him.
---
Behind the broken pillar, a hidden wall split open, revealing an ancient scroll sealed in crystal. Its title glowed faintly:
> The Nine Tribulations Alchemic Sutra
– Lost scripture of the Upper Realms –
Long Feng picked it up, heart pounding.
This… this was one of the forbidden alchemist paths from his past life—one he never had time to master.
It could purify Heaven Rank pills. Refine life essence. Even resurrect fallen souls… at a price.
> "Now it begins," he whispered.
---
As he exited the chamber hours later, his steps were calm.
Elder Hua Tian looked up from his meditative pose and stared at Long Feng in stunned silence.
The air around him had changed.
No longer just fire.
But divinity.
"…You…" the elder whispered. "You carry it now."
Long Feng nodded. "I do."
The elder stood, his voice filled with awe.
> "Then the heavens truly have remembered you, Supreme One."
---