209: Chapter 209 Celestial Supreme

Two years of time was but a snap of the fingers on the Fighting Qi Continent, but in the Great Thousand World, it was enough to completely transform a barren wasteland. The Burning Heaven Mountain Range remained that volcanic range stretching across the southernmost end of the Great Thousand World, but it was no longer the desolate place where only the Fire Swallowing Clan struggled to survive two years ago. Three hundred active volcanoes had been arrayed with the Ninefold Spirit-Attracting Grand Array by the Hun Clan's formation masters, channeling the erupting fire-attribute spiritual energy into the subterranean spiritual veins in a continuous cycle, turning every volcano into a natural cultivation tower. On the once-barren plains at the foot of the mountains, Shitian City had risen from the ground. Its walls, forged from volcanic obsidian mixed with Crimson Flame Crystals, stood hundreds of feet high. The streets in the city crisscrossed like a chessboard, where the elites of the three clans lived alongside the members of the Fire Swallowing Clan and Outer Perimeter Commander Lei Meng's tribe. People bustled through the streets, and the clamor never ceased from morning till night.

Over the past two years, many rogue cultivators and minor forces who could no longer survive in the Chaotic Demon Sea had come to join them, drawn by their reputation. There were only two criteria for Shitian Domain's entry assessment—strength and loyalty, regardless of background or past. Those rogue cultivators marginalized by major sects in the Chaotic Demon Sea, fugitives hunted by enemies, and a few small families unwilling to be dogs for the Three Saints Sect, gradually pledged their allegiance to Shitian Domain. Hun Feng handed all these newly joined forces over to Outer Perimeter Commander Lei Meng and the Fire Swallowing Clan's patriarch, Chief Yan Shi, for integration and management. Outer Perimeter Commander Lei Meng's bald, scarred face standing at the entrance of the recruit camp was more effective than any entry handbook.

However, Shitian Domain always kept a low profile. Over the past two years, apart from occasional skirmishes with Evil Race scouts infiltrating from the southern line, Shitian Domain had never actively expanded outward. Those in the Chaotic Demon Sea only knew that the Burning Heaven Mountain Range had been occupied by an outside force, but no one could say for sure what their background was. The Three Saints Sect had indeed sent several waves of scouts, but they were all detected in advance by Hun Feng's Emperor Realm Soul. He had Zi Yan lead people to capture them alive, and after giving them memory-confusing soup, they were politely sent back, along with a personal letter of greetings from Hun Feng, written in a tone as polite as a law-abiding citizen. When the scouts returned, they only remembered that the defenses of that mountain range were ridiculously tight; as for how many Heavenly Supremes were inside, no one could tell. Over time, the Chaotic Demon Sea stopped bothering with this new force content to stay in its corner.

In the deepest part of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range, at the bottom of an ancient volcano that had been dormant for countless millennia, Hun Feng sat cross-legged on a floating obsidian rock in the center of a lava lake. The bloody glow of the Heaven-Slaying Flame around him flickered under the reflection of the molten lava. Two completely different flames floated before him. On his left was a fist-sized spiritual flame, extremely pale green in color. Every time it flickered, it brought about a wave of ancient, heart-palpitating fire-attribute spiritual energy fluctuations. This was the Burning Heaven Spirit Fire, the second-ranked source divine fire in the Great Thousand World. It had taken him a whole year to find it in the deepest part of this volcanic range, and another few months of effort to refine it into his body. On his right were the sources of six different Heavenly Flames of various colors—the emerald green of the Green Lotus Core Flame, the invisibility of the Fallen Heart Flame, the forest white of the Bone Chilling Flame, the deep blue of the Three Thousand Burning Flame, the crimson of the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, and the deep blue of the Deep Sea Demon Flame. These were the six Heavenly Flames that Xiao Yan had used to condense his Fire Spirit back then, all of which had been taken away by Hun Feng using the Heaven-Slaying Flame during the Battle of the Two Emperors.

He inhaled the Burning Heaven Spirit Fire and the six Heavenly Flames into his dantian simultaneously. The bloody flames of the Heaven-Slaying Flame surged violently within his dantian, wrapping, swallowing, and merging the two completely different flame sources layer by layer like nine bloody dragons. The Heaven-Slaying Flame was already the ultimate flame formed from the fusion of nine fires. Now, with the addition of the Burning Heaven Spirit Fire, ranked second in the Great Thousand World, and Xiao Yan's six Heavenly Flames, the destructive power contained within it had already surpassed the comprehension of the vast majority of Heavenly Supremes on this continent. When the last trace of the green flame was completely swallowed by the Heaven-Slaying Flame, an indescribable, vast pressure violently erupted from the depths of the ancient volcano.

Immortal Grade Heavenly Supreme. The Heaven-Slaying Flame let out an extremely soft, satisfied hum in his dantian. This natal flame, which had accompanied him all the way from the Fighting Qi Continent to the Great Thousand World, had finally undergone another transformation after fusing with more than a dozen Heavenly Flames. The commotion of his breakthrough was completely sealed off by the Law of Space above the ancient volcano. Apart from the few Heavenly Supremes at the core of Shitian Domain, no one in the outside world noticed that an Immortal Grade Heavenly Supreme had emerged in the depths of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range.

When Hun Feng walked out of the ancient volcano, Hun Tiandi was sitting on a protruding rock at the mountaintop, holding a cup of tea in his hand, still wearing his eternally lazy expression. Looking at the Immortal Grade aura around Hun Feng that had not yet been fully restrained, he raised his eyebrows slightly. "You broke through? A few months faster than expected." The Void Swallowing Flame materialized from a clump of black flame, its eyes burning with black fire sweeping over Hun Feng, revealing a rare look of satisfaction.

Hun Qinger remained as cold and detached as ever, but a very faint smile flashed in her icy-blue eyes. Gu Yuan looked at his son-in-law, his heart filled with a myriad of emotions—an Immortal Grade Heavenly Supreme, a level of cultivation that would make him a top-tier powerhouse even among the Five Ancient Clans. Not to mention that Hun Feng also mastered the two great laws of time and space. The power of these two laws far surpassed any cultivation method of the same level, making it not impossible to fight opponents of higher levels. Zi Yan thrust her Dragon Bone Sword into the ground, looking up at Hun Feng, her golden eyes filled with admiration and excitement.

Medusa did not speak, but merely pulled Hun Mulan closer to her side. Her purple eyes lingered on Hun Feng's face for a moment, and the corners of her lips curved slightly. Yao Yao leaned against a rock, her peach-blossom eyes filled with undisguised pride. Gu Xun'er still held that freshly brewed cup of tea, quietly watching Hun Feng. Xiao Yi Xian stood on the periphery of the crowd, her white hair gently swaying in the hot wind of the volcano. She still wore that quiet and indifferent expression, but the smile at the corner of her mouth gave her away.

Hun Muxiao stood behind her mother with the blood abyss sword on her back, her peach-blossom eyes filled with an eager glow. Two years had passed, and she was now an eighteen-year-old girl. Her cultivation had broken through from a Lower Earth Supreme—converted from a Six-Star Dou Sheng—to an Upper Earth Sovereign, leaving her with no rivals among her peers. She had been waiting for her father to emerge from seclusion for several days, and at this moment, she finally couldn't help but speak up, "Dad! You are now an Immortal Grade Heavenly Supreme. When are we going out to exchange blows with those Five Ancient Clans? I'm almost dying of boredom!"

"No rush. Shitian Domain now has ten Heavenly Supremes—nine Spirit Grades and one Immortal Grade. In terms of high-end combat power, we are already not weaker than any of the Five Ancient Clans. But in terms of foundation, we are inferior to them. For now, let's not attract too much attention and let them keep guessing. When the time is ripe, we will naturally let them know of Shitian Domain's existence." Hun Muxiao curled her lips, but she did not press further.

Hun Feng walked to the edge of the cliff, overlooking the vibrant Shitian City below. In his soul perception, the auras of the ten Heavenly Supremes burned quietly in the Burning Heaven Mountain Range like ten flames of different colors. Nine Spirit Grades, one Immortal Grade, plus thousands of Earth Supremes and tens of thousands of Sovereigns—this strength was enough to dominate any corner of the Great Thousand World. But it was not enough. The true rulers of the Great Thousand World were those Saint-Rank Heavenly Sovereigns—the remnant soul ancestor of the Ancient Floating Pagoda Clan, Maha Tian of the Mohe Ancient Clan, the Chief of the Great Thousand Palace, and the Undying Lord of the Land of Ten Thousand Graves. Any one of these people taking action would be enough to crush the current Shitian Domain. Therefore, he needed more time. If two years were not enough, then five; if five years were not enough, then ten. One day, the name of Shitian Domain would spread throughout the entire Great Thousand World. But not now. He withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked toward the main hall of Shitian Domain. Behind him were ten Heavenly Supremes and a vibrant cluster of volcanoes, and above him was the sky of the Burning Heaven Mountain Range, forever burning with crimson clouds. The wind of the Great Thousand World had only just begun to blow.

PS: Brothers, I'm not very familiar with the original work of The Great Ruler. If there's anything incorrect, please feel free to point it out! Thanks.