The Heart of Blazing Flames was originally located in the barren lands of southern China, and the Nine Li tribes of Southern Xinjiang were not actually that far away.
When Chu Ge wrote this part, he roughly followed the Miao region setting from the Legend of Sword and Fairy, where cultivators mainly used poisonous insects and elemental magic primarily based on fire. He further elaborated on the customs, clothing, architecture, and various traditions of many different ethnic groups known in the modern world, creating a depiction of a diverse community inhabited by different races in a Xianxia world.
The Nine Li region, with its vast mountains and difficult terrain, had very little contact with the Central Plains. It was also inhabited by many demons, resulting in a plethora of strange arts.
Using insects to create puppets was a unique art form of this region, quite different from the puppetry techniques of the Central Plains.
The strongest cultivator in Southern Xinjiang was known as the God of Insects, a powerful cultivator in the late Nascent Soul stage. The other person's roundabout use of witchcraft and insect techniques was intended to mislead Qiu Wuji into focusing suspicion on the God of Insects.
Even the Dragon Bone Land, which Yan Qianlie was guided to, was a reinforced form of misleading information. All the information given to both the righteous and demonic factions was related to the Nine Li tribes of Southern Xinjiang. No matter how the truth leaked out, Shenzhou would only focus on Southern Xinjiang.
If they all rushed to the Gu God's gates and clashed with the Nine Li tribes of Southern Xinjiang, they would fall into the trap. That would turn into a war between Shenzhou sects and alien races and demons, and some people would be laughing all the way to the bank.
As everyone's father, Chu Ge knew very well that the Gu God's cultivation hadn't reached the Tribulation Transcending stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and he wasn't the kind of cunning person with many hidden agendas.
Cultivation can develop additional techniques, but breakthroughs in raw strength are unlikely to exceed the will of Heaven, because that would be too easy for someone to realize something was wrong and correct themselves. A person's character can turn dark; for example, discovering the wicked heavens might cause a chivalrous person to become angry and dark, which is understandable. But turning from a rough person into a cunning one is extremely difficult; it's impossible even if one wanted to.
Therefore, this matter is most likely unrelated to the Gu God. Even if it is, at most, he's just been misled.
All the misleading tricks the other side used were useless against Dad.
Ultimately, everything simplified to Little Flame "escorting" the "disciple of Qiu Wuji," who had willingly come to his doom, to the Land of Dragon Bones.
Qiu Wuji remained hidden far away, lying in ambush. Little Flame transformed into a fire giant, carrying the "dejected" Chu Ge, and stood in a desolate mountain hollow.
The hollow was filled with barren land, a hundred miles of scorched earth, devoid of any vegetation, not even insects or scorpions crawling there—it certainly looked strange.
"Is there really a Crimson Flame Dragon Bone here?" Yan Qianlie tossed his father aside like trash, then looked around with his hands behind his back, muttering to himself, "I haven't sensed any fire power here. This arid and desolate appearance seems more like the work of a drought demon. Was that person deceiving me?"
There was no one around.
Yan Qianlie wasn't anxious and continued to observe calmly.
The big boss's demeanor was truly awe-inspiring.
Sure enough, after a moment, a voice drifted from afar: "The Burial Grounds are inherently similar to the land of drought demons… The dragon flame contained within the dragon bones is enveloped by millennia of earth element, melting and combining, gradually causing the land to become barren for thousands of miles. If you successfully refine it into your own body, the flame will be contained and hidden, which will definitely be a great benefit to your cultivation." Yan Qianlie said calmly, "Show yourself, don't provoke my anger."
The voice began to approach: "I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly. I wasn't waiting here all along."
Not long after, a Wu Clan cultivator flew over and landed in front of Yan Qianlie.
Yan Qianlie sized him up. He was a powerful cultivator in the Nascent Soul stage, with a withered and aged appearance, a hunched upper body, hair like flames, a string of bone beads around his neck, and a peach wood staff carved into the shape of a snake, its eyes darting about as if alive.
A strikingly typical image of an elder from the Witch Clan.
Witch Clan cultivators of this level are few and far between in the world. Yan Qianlie's heart stirred slightly, and he said calmly, "So it's Venerable Bi She. Venerable is the right-hand man of the Gu God; could this be the Gu God's intention?"
Venerable Bi She revealed a chilling smile: "Your Majesty can know this in your heart."
His emerald gaze fell on Chu Ge, who looked exhausted, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His hands were artistically bound behind his back, and he sat slumped on the ground, his body tattered and covered in wounds, clearly having been captured after a fierce battle.
The Azure Serpent Venerable's expression was rather strange: "This person... is he really Qiu Wuji's direct disciple?" Yan Qianlie thought to himself, "Your puppet has clearly seen him, why are you pretending?" His face remained impassive: "This person possesses the Cloud Realm Sect's cultivation method, yet he carries a Cloud Realm Sect VIP pass... Have you ever seen a Cloud Realm Sect guest still carrying a VIP pass after leaving the mountain?"
"That's right." A satisfied smile appeared on the Azure Serpent Venerable's withered face: "Indeed, I've heard that only that direct disciple receives this strange treatment. It's said that due to the Heavenly Dao, hair and blood cannot be easily given to others, thus preventing the creation of a personal life token."
Chu Ge thought to himself, "There are some big mouths within the Cloud Realm Sect... but this matter isn't strictly forbidden from being leaked. It's also my intention to let various rumors about 'Qiu Wuji's disciple' spread throughout the world; it's nothing good, anyway."
Yan Qianlie kicked Chu Ge twice like trash, sneering, "I don't know about the Heavenly Dao, but this young man is a naive brat. He dared to venture into demonic caves with only a Yunji Sect elder, and unfortunately, he's stumbled upon my place of seclusion, giving me a grand gift! Hahahaha..." The Azure Serpent Venerable felt this was too coincidental, but there were no flaws in his deception because his divine sense had also quietly gone to the Heart of Blazing Flames, listening to the conversation among the demonic disciples. Many were still discussing this matter with great interest.
"That Yunji Sect disciple is truly formidable. A mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he defeated a Golden Core cultivator..."
"Yeah, his guards are even more powerful, probably some reclusive elder, maybe even at the early Nascent Soul stage?"
"The Yunji Sect is truly a place where hidden talents abound..."
"What's the use? He still ran into our Lord's hands and was defeated in one move."
"Hahaha, the Yunji Sect has never found our Lord's location. How did he know our Lord was here? He probably thought it was just an ordinary demon cave to slay demons..."
"Hahaha, consider him unlucky."
Such conversations were everywhere. It was clear these disciples were genuinely enjoying their casual chat, completely unpretentious. There were even lingering traces of magical weapon clashes on the scene, everything perfectly detailed.
Although I saw Chu Ge and Qiu Wuji together before, it's perfectly normal for master and disciple to be together at their own sect; they might not necessarily follow each other when they leave the mountain. He never imagined that the guard elder who was "defeated in one move" would be Qiu Wuji himself… The long-standing feud between Qiu Wuji and Yan Qianlie was known throughout the world; how could they possibly cooperate in such a charade? Besides, even if they were to act, the two sides were so far apart that there wouldn't be enough time to coordinate.
At this moment, Chu Ge gritted his teeth angrily: "Yan Qianlie, if you dare touch me, my master will sense it. Then your hiding place will no longer be concealed! My master will avenge me!"
Yan Qianlie laughed loudly: "I have already recovered. Once I obtain the dragon bone and refine my Dharma body, even if Qiu Wuji doesn't come looking for me, I will still seek revenge on her. You're threatening me with this? Hahahaha!"
Chu Ge remained silent, seething with anger.
The Azure Serpent Venerable approached with a smile, seemingly wanting to touch Chu Ge, but Yan Qianlie suddenly stepped forward to block his way: "Venerable One, I have brought the person, but I haven't confirmed whether there are dragon bones here. I can't just hand him over to you. Don't you know any rules?"
The Azure Serpent Venerable sheepishly withdrew his hand: "Understood, understood. Then how does Your Excellency intend to extract the bones?"
Yan Qianlie asked: "I have a question, and I hope Your Excellency can enlighten me."
"Alright, alright."
"Since this person is related to the Heavenly Dao, aren't we all being aware of what the Heavenly Dao is doing in front of him? Even if we want to kill him, won't the Heavenly Dao stop us?"
The Azure Serpent Venerable said: "He is related to the Heavenly Dao, but he may not be an incarnation of the Heavenly Dao. Otherwise, you and I would have been obliterated long ago. How could we be alive now?"
"So, what does Your Excellency mean by this?" "What's the situation?"
"Most likely, he's one of the Three Corpses of the Heavenly Dao, possessing Heavenly Dao attributes, but they don't necessarily resonate with each other. He must cultivate to a certain level to awaken. Qiu Wuji discovered this person's peculiarity and took him under his wing, thus taking the lead." Yan Qianlie nodded: "That makes sense. So, you don't actually want to kill him?"
"Of course not." The Azure Serpent Venerable smiled: "As for the specifics… we haven't started cooperating yet, so please forgive me for keeping you in suspense."
Yan Qianlie said: "Then let's take this person down together to retrieve the bones. A thousand feet underground, where heaven and earth are silent, and the dragon bones act as a barrier, it's arguably the weakest point in terms of Heavenly Dao perception. He can't escape, and our secret discussion won't be overheard by a third party."
The Azure Serpent Venerable had no doubt; if everyone hid a thousand feet underground, nothing could go wrong.
Yan Qianlie's cooperation is quite sincere; it seems he's extremely earnest about breaking free from the Heavenly Dao.
He chuckled and lightly tapped his serpent staff on the ground: "Then... let's go together." As the staff touched the ground, a whirlpool suddenly rose from the solid wasteland, as if it had turned into seawater, and the three of them were swept into it and disappeared.