26: Chapter 26 Master Forcefully Enters the Heavenly Fire Land

The heavy stone door isolated all sounds between the inside and outside.

The intricate Formation patterns on the door flowed with a faint radiance, indicating how heavily guarded this place was.

Two gate-guarding deacons lowered their heads in silence.

Yun Qinghan turned around and happened to face Feng Chuan, who had followed up panting.

"Lead the way."

Those two cold words made Feng Chuan shiver all over.

Lead the way?

Where to?

Feng Chuan's brain spun rapidly, and cold sweat streamed down his temples.

Revered Master detested outsiders interrupting Artifact Refining; this was an ironclad rule known to everyone up and down Tianhuo Peak.

If he dared to lead people to Revered Master's exclusive Artifact Refining Room... being stripped of a layer of skin afterward would be getting off lightly.

But the person before him was Yun Qinghan.

Throughout the entire Qingxuan Sect, who dared to say the word "No" to her?

Defying Revered Master's orders was a slow death.

Offending Peak Master Yun meant dying on the spot.

This death-trap question simply left no choice.

Feng Chuan wore a weeping expression as he made a "please" gesture, his voice carrying a tremor.

"Peak Master Yun, Luo Li, this way please."

The group bypassed this Artifact Refining Room and walked toward a deeper place, which was also at a higher terrain.

The higher they walked, the higher the temperature in the air became, and the scorching heatwaves almost ignited people's eyebrows.

The paved stone road underfoot had turned dark red, emitting astonishing heat.

Feng Chuan felt that his protective Qi was being rapidly consumed, and his heart was complaining incessantly.

This was the true core Forbidden Ground of Tianhuo Peak, the peak-top area.

Only a few top-tier Artifact Refining Elders within the Sect were qualified to have their own exclusive Artifact Refining Room here.

As a Personal Disciple of Hall Master Liu Xi, his talent was considered outstanding among his peers, but until now, he was only allowed to carve out an Artifact Refining Room in the mid-mountain area.

This was also his first time stepping foot on this peak top.

He hadn't expected to come up in this manner.

Just not far ahead, a more grand Artifact Refining hall appeared in his field of vision.

In front of the hall door, a figure stood like a javelin, blocking the way.

"Stop right there."

That person wore a gray martial outfit, his aura steady, with his temples bulging high—clearly a Body Cultivator with impressive cultivation.

Feng Chuan's heart skipped a beat as he recognized the newcomer.

Guest Elder of Tianhuo Peak, Wang Qi.

This person was not an Artifact Refiner, but a powerful Protector specifically responsible for guarding the safety of the Artifact Refining Room while Hall Master Liu Xi and other Elders were in closed-door cultivation.

Wang Qi also saw the newcomers. When he recognized Yun Qinghan's identity, a flash of surprise crossed his face, but he still cupped his fists and bowed, speaking neither servilely nor overbearingly.

"Wang Qi greets Peak Master Yun."

"Hall Master Liu Xi has given an order that during closed-door cultivation, no one is allowed to approach the important Artifact Refining area. Please forgive me, Peak Master Yun."

He emphasized the three words "no one" heavily.

The implication was that even Peak Master Yun had to abide by the rules of Tianhuo Peak.

Luo Li's expression turned cold.

A mere Guest Elder dared to block Revered Master's steps?

Yun Qinghan, however, showed no expression; she simply asked.

"Is my Disciple Zhao Ruoan inside?"

Wang Qi was stunned for a moment, then truthfully replied: "Replying to Peak Master Yun, Disciple Nephew Zhao is indeed inside."

He paused and added another sentence.

"Disciple Nephew Zhao is currently in closed-door Artifact Refining together with Hall Master Liu Xi, Elder Fu, Elder Bai, and Elder Lu."

Feng Chuan was completely dumbfounded.

What?

Refining artifacts together... together with Hall Master Liu Xi, Elder Fu, Elder Bai, and Elder Lu?

How could this be possible!

Those were the four most powerful Artifact Refining bigwigs of Tianhuo Peak!

As a Personal Disciple of Revered Master, usually wanting to ask Revered Master for a word or two of guidance depended on Revered Master's mood, and being able to observe Revered Master refining a Profound Weapon would be a tremendous blessing.

That Zhao Ruoan, an outsider from Qinghan Peak, a new Disciple who had only entered the Sect for a few days...

On what grounds?

On what grounds could he make four Elders accompany him in refining artifacts?

What was this? The stars surrounding the moon?

An unspeakable bitterness and jealousy instantly crushed Feng Chuan's reason.

Luo Li was also stunned.

She had originally thought that Zhao Ruoan had simply found a place on Tianhuo Peak to mess around blindly on his own.

Now it seemed the nature of the matter was completely different.

What kind of person was Hall Master Liu Xi?

An Artifact Refining Grandmaster ranked high even in the Great Xia Dynasty, notoriously proud with eyes higher than the top and an arrogant temperament.

Let him guide a newcomer? And drag along three other Elders together?

Where there is abnormality, there is definitely something fishy.

After hearing Wang Qi's words, Yun Qinghan still maintained that unruffled appearance.

But for the first time, confusion appeared in those eyes of hers that seemed capable of piercing through all illusions in the world.

She knew the character of Hall Master Liu Xi's group better than anyone else.

Could it be... that her little Disciple who had only entered the Sect for seven days had really pulled it off?

"I am going in."

Yun Qinghan stopped wasting words and raised her foot to walk forward.

She wanted to see with her own eyes what kind of tricks her Disciple was playing inside.

"Peak Master Yun, you must not!"

Wang Qi shifted his figure horizontally, blocking the door again with a tough attitude.

"Without Hall Master Liu Xi's personal order, no one can go in! This is an ironclad rule!"

"This is my duty, please Peak Master Yun do not make things difficult for this Junior."

Although he was nervous, he did not back down.

Since he accepted someone's wealth, he must fulfill their matters.

Since he received offerings from Hall Master Liu Xi, he had to guard this door well.

The air froze at this moment.

The scorching heatwaves seemed to be frozen as well.

Yun Qinghan stopped her steps and looked at him quietly.

She said nothing and released no pressure.

But Wang Qi felt as if he had been targeted by a peerless Vicious Beast awakened from the ancient primordial era; every inch of his skin and every pore was frantically transmitting fatal danger signals to him.

Cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

His legs began to tremble uncontrollably, and the courage he had forcefully propped up was disintegrating at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Finally.

Yun Qinghan slowly spoke, her voice like the profound ice of the Nine Heavens.

"You want to stop me?"

The spiritual power in Wang Qi's body completely stagnated at this moment.

He had a feeling that as long as the other party was willing, a single thought could completely separate his Divine Soul from his Physical Body, causing him to be utterly destroyed in body and soul on the spot.

Was this the true strength of the number one combat power in the Qingxuan Sect?

That tiny bit of courage he had previously used to defend his duty was crushed into powder in front of this formless might.

"Thud."

His knees softened uncontrollably, and he knelt down.

The hard dark-red floor tiles were smashed with two clear cracks by his knees.

He lowered his head, shivering all over, and could no longer utter a complete sentence.

"Jun... Junior... dare not..."

He tremblingly pulled out an ancient jade-like key from his bosom.

"Peak Revered Master, this Junior was blind and failed to recognize Mount Tai, offending you."

"You may go in, but... but please do not make a sound, and even more so, do not interrupt the Artifact Refining!"

He was practically pleading.

"Hall Master Liu Xi and the others are refining an extremely crucial artifact, and it has reached the most critical juncture. Once disturbed, not only will all previous efforts be wasted, but the violent spiritual power backlash inside the furnace might even severely injure the several Elders and Disciple Nephew Zhao!"

Yun Qinghan had come simply to confirm her Disciple's condition, not to deliberately cause destruction.

"Fine."

She spat out a single word, which was considered assent.