Firmament Sword

The Earth Palace was huge, incredibly vast. Through this entrance, the two of them felt as if they were looking upon a deep and immense... underground world!

And within this underground world were countless—millions, even—gleaming Iron Dolls, arranged neatly within!

Like a terrifying iron army, they had waited in this sunless subterranean place for an unknown number of cycles, now appearing so abruptly before the two of them.

”Heavens… What am I seeing? What… what are… all these things?”

Du Qingteng stared, dumbfounded, at the neat rows of Iron Dolls in the Earth Palace below, his mouth feeling dry.

”Have you ever heard of an ancient sect that specialized in making dolls like these?” Xu Luo asked quietly, narrowing his eyes as if afraid of disturbing the army of Iron Dolls below.

Du Qingteng said, ”A sect capable of creating an army of dolls on this scale was obviously no ordinary one. Even if the materials were just common iron, making millions of them… Even a Holy Land today… would probably lack that kind of power. So, this faction definitely wouldn’t have been some unknown entity back in ancient times.”

”But the problem is… I’ve never, in any ancient text, read about a sect that excelled at making mechanical dolls.”

”To this day, no relevant information has been passed down.”

Du Qingteng said, ”That’s obviously not normal. Any ancient sect that ever existed in the long river of history… should have left behind at least a few scattered clues.”

Xu Luo nodded. ”Yes. I just searched through my memories and found nothing either. Perhaps, just as you said… this entire ancient ruin was once a separate world that later collapsed.”

”That wasn’t me who said it, it was my Guardian after he came here,” Du Qingteng said. ”But I could tell from his tone at the time that it was just a guess.”

”Forget it. Let’s go in and see for ourselves.” Xu Luo took a deep breath and started walking slowly toward the Earth Palace, which was as desolate as the depths of space.

Master Mao, who was beside him, muttered softly, ”I say… it’s terrifyingly quiet in here. These iron fellows… they aren’t going to suddenly come to life, are they?”

”Shut up! You and your jinxing mouth!” Du Qingteng said, rolling his eyes. ”Can’t you say something nice for a change?”

”Hypocrite. As if the same thought didn’t cross your mind,” Master Mao sneered.

”Alright, stop bickering, you two. Look over there,” Xu Luo said, pointing into the distance.

They were currently on a very steep ramp that stretched far into the distance.

Lining both sides of the ramp were the neat rows of Iron Dolls.

Xu Luo was pointing toward the end of the ramp, still a great distance away. An altar stood there.

It was located near the center of the Earth Palace, a spot they hadn’t been able to see from their position up above.

After walking for a while, they could finally see a cluster of ethereal blue flames burning atop the altar.

Du Qingteng’s eyes immediately locked onto it. He rubbed them in disbelief and stared intently in that direction. Then, his face… bloomed into a smile of pure bliss and brilliance.

”Celestial Blue Fire… It really is… Celestial Blue Fire!”

Du Qingteng turned to Xu Luo. ”Brother Luo… no, Boss, I owe you a huge favor! This flame… this is the one I’ve been looking for!”

Seeing Du Qingteng almost delirious with excitement, Xu Luo smiled. ”Then go get it!”

”Er…” Du Qingteng looked at Xu Luo cautiously, thinking he was being sarcastic.

After staring for a moment and seeing no reaction from Xu Luo, he finally realized Xu Luo might be serious.

”So… Boss, I should really go get it?” Du Qingteng asked, rubbing his bald head, looking a bit sheepish. The sight was quite comical.

”Go on, what are you waiting for?” Xu Luo said with a slight frown. ”Don’t worry. I’ll stand guard for you. Just go get it.”

”Okay… I’m going!” Du Qingteng’s eyes suddenly grew moist. He grinned, then walked directly toward the altar in the center.

”What’s up with Xiaodu? He looks really moved,” Master Mao said, looking at Xu Luo curiously.

”Xiao…du.” Up ahead, Du Qingteng stumbled, nearly tripping over his own feet. His mouth twitched as he decided not to lower himself to the cat’s level.

Xu Luo chuckled without saying anything. Instead, he released his Divine Sense and probed one of the Iron Dolls.

Even though countless years might have passed; even though the Earth Palace was utterly silent without a single sound; even though the millions of Iron Dolls showed no signs of life…

…deep down, Xu Luo still had a feeling, just as Master Mao had said: ’Could these things… suddenly come to life?’

By now, Du Qingteng had eagerly rushed to the front of the altar. He glanced back, and Xu Luo gave him a reassuring gesture.

Du Qingteng nodded and began taking out all sorts of materials from his person, clearly well-prepared.

After a moment’s thought, Xu Luo also began to walk slowly in that direction. His Divine Sense received no response.

His Divine Sense told him… these Iron Dolls were just lifeless objects.

’Perhaps… they really are just mechanical dolls?’ Xu Luo muttered softly. Then a thought occurred to him: ’If Sui Yan were here, he would be going crazy with excitement, right?’

At this thought, Xu Luo’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’If I could take all these Iron Dolls with me, perhaps… they could be of unexpected use when I see Sui Yan in the future?’

But Xu Luo didn’t act rashly. He had a persistent feeling that the predecessors who placed millions of Iron Dolls here didn’t do it for no reason.

’Perhaps… these Iron Dolls were left for their own descendants.’

By now, Xu Luo had also reached the vicinity of the altar. He watched Du Qingteng, who wore a solemn expression as he bustled about, seemingly setting up an Array.

Glancing back at Xu Luo, Du Qingteng said, ”The Celestial Blue Fire… is not easy to subdue, so a lot of preparation is needed.”

Xu Luo nodded. ”It’s fine. You focus on what you’re doing. I’ll just look around.”

The entire Earth Palace seemed to contain only the army of a million Iron Dolls and the altar in the center. Xu Luo activated his Treasure Hunting Skill but made no new discoveries.

So, he stood near the altar, watching Du Qingteng work.

Several hours later, Du Qingteng finally seemed to be finished. He wiped the sweat from his brow and said nervously, ”It’s all or nothing now. If I’m in danger, don’t forget to save me!”

Xu Luo nodded.

For once, Master Mao didn’t make any sarcastic remarks. He crouched beside Xu Luo, his tail swishing back and forth, watching with narrowed eyes, also curious about Du Qingteng’s attempt to subdue the Celestial Blue Fire.

Du Qingteng first began to chant some strange syllables. Each one sounded abstruse and unfamiliar, as if from a language of the Ancient Era.

Then, Du Qingteng pointed a finger at the flame on the altar.

WHOOSH!

The ethereal blue flame, like an enraged beast, suddenly erupted. It shot up from its previous lukewarm, foot-high flicker to a blaze more than ten feet tall, radiating astonishing heat!

Even Xu Luo, standing far away, could feel the temperature, as if he were facing a scorching sun!

He couldn’t help but glance worriedly at Du Qingteng.

At that instant, the arrangements Du Qingteng had made reacted. With a HUM, a protective barrier formed, completely enveloping the Celestial Blue Fire… along with the altar itself.

HISS!

The enveloped Celestial Blue Fire actually let out an emotional-sounding hiss. Then… under the watchful eyes of Du Qingteng and Xu Luo, it transformed directly into a human figure!

It looked like a young woman of seventeen or eighteen. Her features were clear, her long hair of burning blue flames cascaded over her shoulders, and pale blue fire formed a long dress. With her slender waist and long legs, she was surprisingly beautiful!

The young woman formed from the Celestial Blue Fire had an extremely angry expression. She pointed a finger at Du Qingteng, as if she had suffered a great desecration.

Looking at Du Qingteng, he was completely stunned. His lips twitched uncontrollably as he stammered, ”I just wanted a little bit of Celestial Blue Fire… to break through my Cultivation Technique’s bottleneck… I… I never thought I’d get a Celestial Blue Fire Spirit… It’s over, I’m dead… I’m so dead now!”

Just then, a blue Long Sword materialized in the Celestial Blue Fire Spirit Maiden’s hand. Then… she swung the sword at the protective barrier that Du Qingteng had spent hours setting up.

POP!

The barrier, which had seemed incredibly sturdy, shattered in an instant, like an egg hitting a stone!

Then, the young woman wreathed in blue flames simply… stepped down from the altar.

Du Qingteng’s face was scrunched up, and he forced an ugly smile. ”Uh, Senior Fire Spirit, could you please listen to my explanation?”

The young woman of blue flame wore an icy expression. Without a word, she gripped her blue Long Sword and walked toward Du Qingteng, step by step.

The young woman made of blue flame didn’t emit any powerful aura, yet Du Qingteng couldn’t even muster the will to resist!

He recalled what his master had once said: ”Celestial Blue Fire… is difficult to find in this world. Obtain but a wisp, and your divine techniques will reach great completion. It is one of the world’s highest-level flames!”

”But the strongest fire of all… is a Fire Spirit! Even if its predecessor was merely a Mortal Fire, once it gains Spiritual Wisdom… that fire will instantly become the strongest fire in the world!”

”If a Celestial Blue Fire gains Spiritual Wisdom, it will become a terrifying existence. Legend has it that in a time of extreme antiquity, a certain race’s Holy Fire was a Celestial Blue Fire. Later, that Holy Fire birthed a spirit. And after that, that race… was annihilated!”