The Secret Realm of Heaven and Earth materialized around Han Jue as he stepped through the dimensional gateway.
Before him stood the Seven Flames Palace, rising majestically against the crimson sky. Han Jue paused for a moment, memories surfacing of his first visit here over ten thousand years ago. Back then, he'd been a mere Universe-level cultivator desperate to prove himself. Now, possessing strength comparable to a Universe Master, he'd finally returned to claim what he'd been preparing for all this time.
The palace-type treasure awaited him.
Technically, Han Jue could forcibly extract the Seven Flames Palace right now, his power exceeded the threshold required. However, doing so would immediately kill every human currently living within its protective boundaries. The Virtual Universe Company had anticipated this problem and constructed an entire continent within the Secret Realm specifically to house these refugees.
In truth, these Seven Flames Palace inhabitants weren't particularly valuable to the company. Without access to the Sacred Flames that had defined their cultivation for generations, their potential had already peaked. They'd likely become mediocre practitioners compared to the humans from Blood Luo World or other cultivation grounds. Still, the company wouldn't casually discard them, they deserved a chance to survive and rebuild.
Han Jue wouldn't rush the extraction. The evacuation process would take time anyway.
But nothing stopped him from testing the palace's recognition mechanism beforehand.
Han Jue's body flickered, reappearing instantly at the Seven Flames Palace's core. The Sacred Pillar Space opened before him, that vast chamber where Immortal-level cultivators meditated atop massive pillars, each one corresponding to a different Sacred Flame.
Nothing had changed since his departure. The Sacred Gods still sat in deep meditation, their forms motionless as statues. Over ten thousand years meant nothing to beings who regularly secluded themselves for similar periods. For them, this was merely another training session.
The only noticeable difference was the absence of the Mirror Lake Sacred God.
After Han Jue had claimed the Water Void Sacred Flame, Mirror Lake Sacred God had left the Seven Flames Palace. He'd applied through Virtual Universe Company channels to join the extraterritorial battlefield, humanity's eternal war zone against alien races. The company had approved his request, and the Void Emperor himself had escorted him there.
Both were Marquis-level Immortals, slightly stronger than cannon fodder but far from powerhouses. Han Jue had no information about their current status. The battlefield consumed lives constantly; for all he knew, they'd already fallen.
The other Holy Gods paid no attention to Han Jue's arrival. He walked alone toward the altar that dominated the Sacred Pillar Space's center, his footsteps echoing softly against the crystalline floor.
A spherical depression marked the altar's exact center. Han Jue couldn't determine whether this feature was part of the Seven Flames Palace's original design or something added later. Either way, it served his current purpose perfectly.
The Flame-Melting Pool materialized in his hands, a top-tier domain treasure that had once belonged to his Starflow Sea clone. After that body acquired the Ten Directions Lotus Sea, the Flame-Melting Pool had returned to his main body. Han Jue had brought it specifically for this moment, suspecting it might facilitate the recognition process.
He channeled divine power simultaneously into both the Flame-Melting Pool and the Seven Flames Palace itself.
Azure flames erupted from the pool, writhing like living serpents. Han Jue wrapped them in layers of his divine power, carefully guiding the inferno into the palace structure. He attempted to activate the Seven Flames Palace's recognition protocols, imprinting his spiritual signature onto the treasure.
The palace responded immediately.
Blue fire exploded outward from the central altar, and the Water Void Sacred Flame's full power awakened. Its tremendous aura rippled through the Sacred Pillar Space, shattering the six remaining Sacred Gods' meditative trances.
"Who dares?!" Holy God Linmu's voice cracked with surprise and alarm.
He spun toward the altar's center where an unfamiliar figure stood radiating overwhelming power. The man's aura completely suppressed all six Sacred Gods simultaneously. Linmu realized with growing horror that if this being attacked, he probably wouldn't survive a single exchange.
"A Universe Venerable? Has the Virtual Universe Company come to claim the Seven Flames Palace?" Holy God Fusheng's expression darkened with grim understanding.
Among the six Sacred Gods, Fusheng ranked as the strongest. He also maintained connections with King Flame Phoenix, which granted him access to secrets about the Seven Flames Palace that ordinary residents never learned, including the fact that the palace itself qualified as a supreme treasure.
However, Fusheng remained merely a high-level Marquis. He'd never even gained a Sacred Flame's recognition, much less attempted to claim the entire palace. The gap between his current strength and what such an endeavor required was insurmountable.
"Fusheng, contact Lord Flame Phoenix!" Holy God Enlightened Saint commanded, his voice tense but controlled.
"No need. I'm already here."
Crimson flames streaked across the sky like a meteor. Despite all six Sacred Gods possessing Marquis-level Immortal power, they still felt intense heat capable of reducing them to ash. The familiar signature made their eyes widen in recognition.
The Flame Phoenix had arrived.
A towering figure with wings sprouting from his back materialized before the six Sacred Gods. He gazed down at them solemnly, his expression grave.
"Lord Flame Phoenix..." Fusheng began, but the king interrupted him with a sharp gesture.
"The higher-ups of Virtual Universe Company are not subjects for your speculation or discussion." King Flame Phoenix fixed Fusheng with a penetrating stare before continuing. "Prepare the migration of all human residents immediately."
King Flame Phoenix knew exactly who stood at the altar.
Han Jue, the prodigy who'd caused such massive upheaval throughout humanity's territories just recently. His meteoric rise had shaken even the company's upper echelon.
Under normal circumstances, even a Universe Overlord would struggle to forcibly extract this treasure using raw power alone. Only Universe Masters or those who'd gained recognition from all eight Sacred Flames could accomplish such a feat.
Yet here stood Han Jue, attempting exactly that.
"I knew he possessed exceptional talent from the beginning," King Flame Phoenix thought, watching Han Jue's spiritual signature spreading through the palace structure like wildfire. "But I never expected him to progress this fast."
He'd failed.
Countless epochs spent laboring here, endlessly cultivating and studying the Seven Flames Palace's mysteries, yet he'd never managed to claim this treasure. Meanwhile, Han Jue had visited only twice, first as a Universe-level cultivator gathering Sacred Flames, and now to seize the entire palace.
The disparity was almost laughable.
"My lord, we..." Holy God Fusheng tried again to speak, but King Flame Phoenix's eyes silenced him immediately.
"Go." The king's tone brooked no argument. "Begin the evacuation procedures."
"Yes, my lord." Fusheng bowed deeply, then departed with the other Sacred Gods trailing behind him.
Virtual Universe Company personnel were already waiting outside to coordinate the massive population transfer. They'd prepared this operation weeks in advance.
King Flame Phoenix warned the departing Sacred Gods not to disturb Han Jue under any circumstances. In reality, such warnings were unnecessary, if any of them were foolish enough to attack during the recognition ceremony, they'd all die when Han Jue woke up. The power differential was simply too vast.
Inside his consciousness, Han Jue processed the flood of information streaming from the Seven Flames Palace.
"This palace isn't complete," he realized with growing excitement. "It's damaged."
A fully intact Seven Flames Palace would qualify as a high-level flying palace treasure, comparable to the Sky Wolf Palace wielded by the mighty Sky Wolf Master himself!
However, the loss of one critical component had degraded the palace's overall quality. Additionally, King Flame Phoenix and Han Jue himself had extracted two Sacred Flames over the years, causing those corresponding pillars to collapse. These accumulated damages had reduced the treasure to barely maintaining its current classification.
If someone continued removing Sacred Flames, the Seven Flames Palace would eventually degrade further, possibly falling to a mere top-tier treasure rather than a true palace-class artifact.
Yet even without the eight Sacred Flames, the palace structure itself remained extraordinarily powerful, among the strongest top-tier treasures in existence, comparable to genuine palace treasures.
"Unfortunately, recovering the lost component is virtually impossible," Han Jue acknowledged with mild disappointment.
The missing piece was the Seven Flames Palace's core control mechanism, which could also function independently as an ordinary domain-type treasure. Someone had removed it in the palace's early history, perhaps during some ancient catastrophe. By the time King Flame Phoenix arrived countless ages later, the core had already vanished into the vast universe.
Finding a single specific treasure among infinite galaxies? The odds were astronomically low.
Still, claiming even a damaged Seven Flames Palace represented an incredible stroke of fortune. Han Jue could feel the recognition ceremony nearing completion as his spiritual imprint suffused every corner of the massive structure.
The palace was his.