Wei Yaozhi, seeing that the adversary remained invisible and refused to show their face, was very angry. She truly unleashed her Flying Sword and slashed away. Her sword light was a bright, dazzling shade of green tinged with yellow. She swept horizontally, covering several acres around her, but still, the area remained empty, with nothing to be found. She then slashed towards the ground, clearly cutting into the frozen earth and rock, as seen by the stone chips that flew up, yet still, there was no sight of either the ground or the person.

At this moment, Shi Feiyang was inside the Lianshan Treasure Vault, engaged in a duel with someone.

It turned out that, after the two elders from Song Mountain had taken Jin Xunu and left with the treasure, a strange man had come to Moon Island. He called himself Huo Wuhai and was born from the union of a human and a Primordial Exotic Beast, the Huo An, resembling a giant Ape Spirit. Later, he obtained a Daoist book near the Southern Star Plains of the East Pole Great Wilderness Mountain and transformed his fiery red fur, ultimately attaining the status of an Independent Immortal.

He had extraordinary innate abilities and had been able to control fire since he was a child. Having heard that inside the sea of fire on Moon Island was hidden the "Fire True Scripture" left behind by Master Lianshan, he came to steal the treasure and the scripture.

After descending, he found the stone guardians smashed by the two elders from Song Mountain and scattered on the ground. The treasures within the cave had been taken, but he indeed found a Fire Daoist book and was overjoyed. He then saw a stone tablet floating in the air in the Central Cave inscribed with, "Dual Heroes in perfect beauty, Nanming Separation and Union, with fire aiding fire, perfect as jade." A small annotation beside it mentioned that concealed within was a precious Treasure, the Five Clouds Separation and Union.

Believing that this Treasure was destined for him, Huo Wuhai cultivated the Fire Scripture beneath the tablet, quickly mastering the spells written above and attempted to open the tablet to take the Treasure. The volcano's mouth above closed again, trapping him inside.

Confident in his innate gifts and ability in Fire Control, he didn't take it too seriously and continued to refine the tablet with fire. However, on the forty-ninth day, a hidden Prohibition Technique within the Divine Stele was triggered, releasing the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light; his body was instantly obliterated, leaving only his Primordial Spirit barely preserved.

The colorful Divine Light beams shot from all sides, leaving only a cubic zhang of space for his existence. No matter which direction he attempted to rush out from, the Divine Light beams would scatter his Primordial Spirit. He went through the cycle of death and revival several times.

In the end, recognizing the severity of his situation, he obediently remained in place, cultivating the scripture to continuously refine his Primordial Spirit. Three jiazi had now passed, and he had cultivated his Primordial Spirit to be nearly indistinguishable from an ordinary person's.

After Shi Feiyang entered the cave, he saw him sitting in a cocoon of red flames, over a meter tall, naked, resembling the legendary Red Child.

Knowing his origins, Shi Feiyang made his intentions clear, telling Huo Wuhai that he could take him as a disciple and teach him the ways of the Mysterious Dao if he wished. If not, he was also willing to let him go, with the stipulation that when he took the Treasure, Huo Wuhai must not intervene.

Huo Wuhai, although now appearing as a child and having been suppressed here for three jiazi, still possessed an undiminished fiery nature, "This Treasure within the stele is clearly left for me by Master Lianshan! Even if you didn't come, in another twenty or thirty years, I would have escaped and taken the Treasure. What do I need your charity for?"

Shi Feiyang was not annoyed, "Do you know what Treasure is inside this stele?"

Huo Wuhai answered, "Isn't it written right here? This is called the Five Clouds Separation and Union, a rare treasure from ancient times, containing only a Yin Gui. Master Lianshan obtained it and transformed it into a mountain Treasure."

"This treasure originates from Guang Chengzi and was kept by the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan, along with a Daoist book, a bottle of elixirs, and a Nine Heavens Yuan Yang Treasure Ruler, for future generations. It's just that an Earth Immortal had once broken the first layer of the sealed Jade Box and took out the Yin Gui for Master Lianshan. I have already acquired the remaining items, and today I came specifically for the Gui."

Huo Wuhai rolled his eyes at him, "I don't care about its origins. Since Master Lianshan left it for me, it's mine."

"If it's yours, take it out now for us to see."

"I can't take it out at the moment, it's not the right time. Wait another twenty or thirty years, and I will be able to get it."

Shi Feiyang saw that the guy was quite stubborn and didn't want to waste any more words. He then took out the Zhou Tianyu Light Disc and started to manipulate the five disks, aligning the shortest needle.

The three needles inside had their own purposes; the shortest needle was called the Mixed Element Needle, containing a Chaos Core that could emit Mixed Essence Spirit Qi, specifically to break objects of the Five Elements. A grey, thin line shot out, attracting the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light beams. They gathered in front of the Mixed Essence Spirit Qi, crackling wildly, with colored fire sparks scattering in all directions.

Huo Wuhai saw the colored light needles that had trapped him for over a hundred years get absorbed, leaving the surroundings empty, and he couldn't help but feel immensely overjoyed. He leapt up, wrapped in a distant flame that made him resemble a small person standing within the Sun's orb, and, from a high position, pointed at Shi Feiyang:

"You freed me early from my predicament, I owe you for that, but the Treasure inside this Divine Stele is mine, and I can't let you take it. Go on your way, and if you ever find yourself in trouble, I'll come to save your life once, to repay today's favor."

Shi Feiyang gave a faint smile, turned the Formation Plate, adjusting the Mixed Element Needle. The Mixed Essence Spirit Qi in front of him aimed at Huo Wuhai. Before Huo Wuhai could react, the Mixed Essence Spirit Qi suddenly vanished. The Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light beams that had been drawn into the air lost their target and immediately sought the closest one, Huo Wuhai, converging on him.

A series of dense, explosive booms resonated, bursts of colorful light flashed, and flames sprayed wildly, pulverizing Huo Wuhai into dust!

Shi Feiyang then directed the Formation Plate to draw the Divine Light using the Mixed Essence Spirit Qi. Even though the Mixed Essence Spirit Qi could absorb the Five Elements, the power of the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light was immense. The Mixed Essence Spirit Qi kept being consumed alongside it, depleting rapidly. Fortunately, the tiny needle shuttle contained the energy of seven and a half Secret Demon Divine Shuttles, allowing the Mixed Essence Spirit Qi to shoot out incessantly. It could last for ages, a thousand or even ten thousand years without running dry.

Huo Wuhai didn't even have the chance to cry out before his soul scattered to the winds.

Thankfully, he had cultivated the Fire True Scripture for three Jiazi, sixty years each, solidifying his Primordial Spirit, no ordinary feat. Moreover, over these hundred years or so, his constant brinkmanship had caused his Primordial Spirit to be shattered and reformed numerous times. He had grown experienced, and in a brief moment, he managed to reunite and restore his Primordial Spirit, albeit looking markedly haggard.

Pointing a finger at Shi Feiyang, he demanded, "You, you, you, you..."

"What about me?" Shi Feiyang adjusted the pointer on the Formation Plate once more, severing the release of the Mixed Element True Qi, and the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light scattered Huo Wuhai's Primordial Spirit yet again.

After two such repetitions, Huo Wuhai had lost all his temper, "Your Magical Treasure is powerful! I won't contend with you any longer!"

"That's more like it." Shi Feiyang nodded with a smile, "Just wait quietly on the side. If you dare attack me while I'm retrieving the Treasure, I'll ensure your soul scatters completely, dead beyond dead. If you can wait in peace until I've secured the Treasure, I'll offer you the chance to become my disciple. And even if you don't wish to, I'll still take you out of here."

"Do I look like someone who would sneak attack?" Huo Wuhai, wrapped in a ring of firelight, settled cross-legged mid-air, "Go ahead and take it, but this treasure was indeed reserved for me by Master Lianshan. Even if you take it, it will be of no use to you, it will eventually come back to my hands."

Shi Feiyang began casting to retrieve the treasure, summoning forth the Cave Spirit Zither and entering the Earth Sound State. Plucking the strings, the stone tablet before him became a scene of tempestuous winds and torrential downpours, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring.

Gale-force winds howled, rain poured down, and furious thunderstorms exploded in succession.

Though the spectacle was confined to a small area around the Divine Stele, it was incredibly realistic, not an illusion, indistinguishable from the storms across the vast Primordial Land. Huo Wuhai listened, his heart pounding with each thunderclap, as if chiseling directly into his heart.

With some effort, the Prohibition around the Divine Stele eroded away, and the body of the stele also began to shatter and disintegrate, revealing a dark green Gui Talisman of about a foot in length inside.

Shi Feiyang took the Gui Talisman into his hands and, seeing that Huo Wuhai really had not taken the chance to seize it, his determination to accept a disciple strengthened.

With the breaking of the Divine Stele, its surrounding Prohibition Formation disappeared along with it, and the Great Five Elements Annihilation Divine Light streams scattered into colorful streams of light.

Shi Feiyang retrieved his Magical Treasure and addressed Huo Wuhai, "Master Lianshan is one of the three founding ancestors of the Emei Sect. This treasure was left for the Emei disciple Yu Yingnan. The phrase 'Dual Heroes' refers to two Emei disciples with 'Ying' in their names, while 'Nanming Separation and Union' alludes to the Five Clouds Separation and Union and the Nanming Leaving Fire Sword. The sword is already in the hands of my disciple. The reason I haven't seized it and wielded it myself is to show you that Master Lianshan isn't a Saint, he can also make miscalculations. And as for the slight favoritism he held for future generations of the Emei Sect, I've now shattered them completely. The treasures of Emperor Xuanyuan should remain with those who carry on the legacy of the Three Emperors Dao."

Huo Wuhai, watching him break the Prohibition and claim the treasure, and listening to these words, felt a grudging admiration within, "If that's the case, then let it be... We bear each other no grudge, nor is it necessary to fight to the death over it."

Shi Feiyang found this Fire Essence rather amusing, "You haven't fully cultivated the Fire True Scripture. As far as I know, this scripture was left by the ancient Zhu Rong clan and consists of three parts. One is the main text carved on fifty-two pages of a Jade Plate, obtained by an old Ape Spirit in the illusory forests of Shanxi, whom you cannot defeat. The original copy here is destroyed; this is a later transcription by Master Lianshan. There's also a Vice Volume, whose whereabouts I haven't bothered to deduce. If you wish to achieve the Dao, your journey is far from over."

Huo Wuhai responded, "I have practiced the Dao for a thousand years; I'm in no rush for the moment. I have faced many great disasters and tribulations. To mention only the trials within this cave, I was stripped of my physical form and cultivated only with my Primordial Spirit for three Jiazi. What more challenging than this could be ahead?"

Shi Feiyang nodded in approval, "You've been trapped here for over a hundred years, yet your temper has cooled down. Let me tell you, I also have an ape spirit among my disciples. He too lost his physical form and evolved into a Ghost Immortal with only his Primordial Spirit. He came across the Inner View Primordial Sect, left by the Green Haired True Master during the Han dynasty, which focuses specifically on how exotic beings can cultivate their way to the Dao."

"I am aware of the Green Haired Liu True Master!" Huo Wuhai became intrigued, "It is said that he was covered in green hair, living in seclusion among the mountains and was known as the Green Master. I suspect he was also an exotic being who attained the Dao. He had green hair, and I have red hair. I had once ventured to Dongting Mountain to look for his traces, but found nothing."

Shi Feiyang added, "If you're willing to become my disciple, would you like me to impart to you the methods to ascend from a Ghost Immortal to an Earth Immortal?"

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