The vast valley of Hao Huo Mountain was currently boiling like a heated cauldron. The auras of cultivators from the top sects and clans of the Tianxia Continent clashed in the air as if invisible lightning were striking. The terrifying black stench rising from the chariots of the Blood Coffin Sect, the dazzling golden glare of the Holy Sun Clan warriors' blades, and the toxic mist of the Mystic Fog Valley had rendered the atmosphere so heavy that even breathing felt like a labor.
The small detachment from Sanmiao City looked like a tiny island in a sea of titans, one that could be swallowed by the approaching storm at any moment. Even seasoned warriors like Commander Zheng and Captain Luo had beads of sweat glistening on their foreheads. Murong Yun and Shi Mao of the Long Tian Sect held their swords ready, desperate to salvage their lives if a sudden assault broke out. The arrogant young heir of the Jiang Clan's cutting words—calling the Sanmiao City cultivators "insects"—still echoed in the air.
Amidst this tense and demeaning environment, if one person stood entirely calm, unwavering, and fearless, it was Ye Fang.
His eyes, now a normal shade of black, were meticulously observing the movements of every cultivator from every sect. Within him, the nerves of the God-Demon power—which had transmuted into Permanent Meridians after the previous night's meditation—were perfectly stable. He knew that showing rashness now would be idiocy. The portal was not yet fully open; five percent of the Boundary Array remained to be shed.
Ye Fang leaned away from the crag and stood straight. His face held a dignity and serenity found only in cultivators who had looked death in the eye. He looked at his companions, whose faces betrayed fear and an inferiority complex.
He stepped forward, his voice cutting through the heavy atmosphere with startling clarity and calm. "Companions, I believe it is futile to attempt to enter the Secret Realm of the ancient Fire Emperor at this moment. As you can see, the portal is not fully open. Its laws remain rigid, and it will take time for the defensive array to weaken."
His voice held such a unique gravity and hypnotic quality that the panicked Commander Zheng and the anxious Wang Mei immediately turned their focus toward him.
Ye Fang continued, "Therefore, in my opinion, rather than standing here enduring the pressure of these external auras and wasting our energy, it would be better if we used this time to cultivate. Sit with a calm mind, focus your spiritual energy, and wait for the Realm to fully awaken. Until we are strong from within, no strategy on the outside will suffice."
Shi Mao of the Long Tian Sect nodded, taking a deep breath. "This boy is right. Better to stabilize our consciousness than to stand here in fear."
But Ye Fang's work was not done. He shifted his gaze and locked it onto three faces—Wang Mei, Wang Ling, and Yan Kai Long.
He spoke in a grave yet intimate tone, "Lady Wang Mei, Lady Wang Ling, and Brother Yan Kai Long... come with me for a moment. I need to speak with you three in private."
Hearing this, Wang Mei and Wang Ling exchanged surprised glances. Yan Kai Long, who had been extremely cautious and curious about the 'Emperor-like' aura he had sensed in Ye Fang since the previous night, nodded without a second's hesitation. The three of them stepped away from the main group, moving behind a large rock in the valley where they were shielded from the direct gaze and ears of the external sects.
"What is it, Ye Fang? Why did you bring us here separately?" Wang Mei asked, her eyes filled more with curiosity than suspicion.
Wang Ling also stepped forward. "Yes, Ye Fang, it's already so dangerous out there, and you're acting all mysterious here."
Ye Fang did not answer. He merely flashed a mysterious smile. He slightly raised his hand toward his pocket—or rather, his secret System Inventory.
'DING!'
A faint sound echoed only within Ye Fang's mind. In the blink of an eye, a delicate ripple of blue and red energy surged above his palm, and three shimmering elixirs appeared between his fingers. These were no ordinary pills. They were God-Demon Rebirth Pills. They bore ancient golden and deep crimson thread-like patterns, and their fragrance was so ethereal that the moment they smelled it, the spiritual energy within Wang Mei and Yan Kai Long began to circulate rapidly on its own.
Without hesitation, Ye Fang reached out and placed one pill in front of each of them.
"This... what is this?" Wang Ling reached out a finger toward the glowing pill, but the touch of its divine energy sent a shiver through her hand.
Ye Fang's eyes grew serious. "Keep this safe. This is a powerful pill. I am giving one to each of you. No one knows what will happen inside this Secret Realm. There will be 'monsters' from the great sects. Listen to me carefully—whenever you feel a danger that might take your life, or when you see no way out, swallow this pill without a second thought."
He observed their changing expressions and lowered his voice further. "This is not common medicine. The moment you swallow it, regardless of your cultivation stage, it will elevate your power to such an incredible level for three hours that you will be able to handle even the greatest of enemies. It will grant you the strength of an invincible warrior for three hours, dragging you back from the jaws of death."
Upon hearing Ye Fang's description, Yan Kai Long felt the ground slip from beneath him. His blue pupils dilated with fear and immense awe. He picked up the pill with trembling fingers, examining it so closely he could hardly believe his eyes.
Suddenly, a memory flashed through Yan Kai Long's mind—the scene at the stone shop in Sanmiao City where he had seen Ye Fang with this very pill. A deep shock was clearly visible on his face.
"This... this is that same pill!" Yan Kai Long's voice stammered; he almost shouted in a hushed tone, "Ye Fang! This is the pill you were showing for pennies in front of that shopkeeper! I remember... when you took it out, the entire market shook from its energy, which is why Elder Wang Shen, the City Lord, and I arrived immediately! You... you were trying to sell this divine item at a common shop back then?"
When Wang Mei heard this, she vividly remembered how the entire crowd had gone insane upon seeing it and had rushed to attack.
"You're right, Brother Kai Long! That's the energy my grandfather and father felt, which is why they rushed to the market!" Wang Mei asked, looking directly into Ye Fang's eyes, "Fang, are you mad? How can anyone give away such a powerful elixir, one that can turn a human's cultivation into that of an Emperor for three hours, for free or for pennies? And the biggest question... why are you giving us such a powerful pill? What is our relationship with you? You only arrived in Sanmiao City a short while ago, so why make such a huge sacrifice for us?"
Ye Fang observed their nervousness and disbelief. He knew that in this selfish world of cultivation, no one gives away a single spiritual stone without an agenda, and here he was giving them one of the rarest pills in the universe. He had no direct answer to explain that he got it from a 'Universal System.'
Therefore, he put on a very innocent, straightforward, and philosophical expression. He looked up at the sky and took a long, deep breath, as if remembering some great sage.
He said with utter simplicity and humility, "Brother Kai Long, Lady Wang Mei... do not call this a sacrifice. The truth is, you have all taken very good care of me. And your father allowed me to fight powerful cultivators in the Arena at my request."
He paused slightly before continuing, "My late Master always taught me one lesson. He told me that the true purpose of cultivation is not just to make oneself powerful, but to help others when you have the capacity. Especially those who are walking the same path as you and who harbor no deceit in their hearts."
He looked at Yan Kai Long, "You gave me the chance to join you. Lady Wang Mei gave me a ride on her sword so I could reach here. My Master taught me that one should always repay a favor tenfold. These pills are a small part of the legacy my Master left me. He said that when you meet the right people, do not hesitate to protect them."
Hearing Ye Fang's emotional, profound, and 'Master-principled' speech, a wave of respect surged in Yan Kai Long's eyes so strongly that he couldn't speak. He truly believed that a supreme, ancient Master stood behind Ye Fang, one whose wisdom was far above this narrow cultivation world. Wang Mei and Wang Ling were also deeply moved. They felt they had never met a person as pure and sincere as Ye Fang.
But while these three cultivators were bowing in reverence to Ye Fang's 'Master-preaching,' the scene behind the curtain of the story was entirely different.
The sight inside Ye Fang's mind at that moment was worth seeing. As soon as Ye Fang uttered the sentence—"My Master told me that one should help others..."—the Little System's blue screen, which was floating invisibly in the air, suddenly turned red and yellow.
The System, visible only to Ye Fang's consciousness, opened her eyes wide. Her expression turned as if she had just heard the biggest lie in the universe. She scrunched her little nose tightly, made a face, and placed both hands on her hips.
She began to scream in Ye Fang's mind with an extremely sarcastic and annoyed tone:
"Oh my god, Host! Are you truly the biggest hypocrite in this universe? That same crappy 'Master' excuse again?! Which Master? Where? If there is any sole provider, fate-wielder, and guide for you in this entire Tianxia Continent—nay, this entire universe—it is I, your Universal System!"
The System stomped her foot in the air and continued, "I took the pills from my inventory, you spent points from my store, and the credit goes to some imaginary 'holy Master'? And what was that dialogue—'one should help others'? Host, how can you speak this lie with such simplicity that the listeners get tears in their eyes? Seeing your acting, even a 'Drama Cult' from a major sect should retire!"
Ye Fang completely ignored the System's screeching. He had grown accustomed to his little guide scrunching her face like this at everything. He replied internally, 'Shut up, Little System. The first rule of the cultivation world is—hide your true strength and source. If I tell them there is a girl with a blue screen in my head who vomits pills, they won't think I'm a cultivator, they'll think I'm insane. By using the "Master's" name, their respect remains intact and my secret remains safe. This is called politics, understand?'
The System rolled her eyes and muttered, turning her face away, "Hmph! Not politics, Host, this is straight-up swindling."
In the outside world, Yan Kai Long placed the pill safely in his most precious silk pouch. He placed a hand on Ye Fang's shoulder, his voice now filled with loyalty and brotherhood, "Brother Ye Fang... the favor you have done us today, I, Yan Kai Long, will not forget until my last breath. Your Master is truly a god. I give you my word: if your life is threatened inside this Hao Huo Mountain realm, it will have to pass over my corpse first."
Wang Mei also bowed her head, clutching the pill to her chest, "Thank you, Ye Fang. We will try to repay this debt of kindness through our cultivation."
Ye Fang nodded slowly, "Now let's go, as I said, let's sit and cultivate outside. We must keep our energy calm."
When the three of them emerged from behind the rock, Commander Zheng and the other cultivators saw that the fear was gone from the faces of Wang Mei and Yan Kai Long; instead, a new, diamond-hard resolve shone in their eyes. Without a word, the three of them sat cross-legged on a clean patch of the valley and closed their eyes to meditate.
Ye Fang sat a little behind them, near a dry, thorny bush. He closed his eyes and began to slowly circulate the God-Demon energy within his body.
As he entered deep meditation, the map of that massive portal emerged within his closed eyes. The five percent deficiency in the Boundary Array was now slowly decreasing toward four percent. The warriors of the other sects present in the valley—whether they were the arrogant cultivators of the Jiang Clan or the sinister elders of the Blood Coffin Sect—were all projecting their auras into the air to assert their superiority. They whispered among themselves, hurling taunts at one another, competing to see who would be the first to leap into the realm the moment the portal opened.
They were all oblivious to the fact that right behind them, sitting amidst that small detachment from Sanmiao City, a seemingly ordinary boy was preparing a flood of the universe's two most opposing and destructive forces—God and Demon—within his meridians, a surge that was about to crush the arrogance of this entire valley forever.
The sun was now reaching the zenith of the sky; its heat, combined with the primordial fire energy of Hao Huo Mountain, was perfectly poised to transform this valley into a literal Kurukshetra. The final moments of the wait were on the verge of coming to an end..