Unfortunately, after pursuing Sun Youcai and encountering the Fire Beasts, an unexpected turn of events caused the Demon Head to escape. After Yun Che emerged from the volcano, he immediately used his divine sense to track him down.

  At this point, the Demon Head, after devouring over ten people, had fully restored his cultivation to the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage and entered the pseudo-Dan realm. He believed he could completely disregard Yun Che's control and charged toward him with a sinister grin.

  Yun Che's gaze was icy, and a red lightning bolt flashed in his eyes. The Demon Head was immediately struck as though by lightning, letting out a shrill cry as he halted in mid-air, quickly retreating. Yun Che would not let him escape so easily. Stepping forward, he extended his right hand, using the Gravity Technique to form an invisible palm and crush the Demon Head.

  The Demon Head immediately howled in distress, begging for mercy, but Yun Che remained unmoved, his divine sense continuously stabbing into the Demon Head, causing him immense pain. Yun Che controlled his divine sense with precision, pausing just before the Demon Head would have shattered, repeating the process until the Demon Head was drenched in smoke and his cries weakened, ultimately becoming completely limp.

  The Demon Head’s eyes were filled with an intense fear. This time, Yun Che had truly terrified him.

  With a cold gaze, Yun Che spoke without mercy: "One more time, and you die."

  The Demon Head, trembling with fear, stammered his agreement.

  Yun Che tapped his storage bag, and a flying sword artifact emerged. Without needing Yun Che’s command, the Demon Head quickly transformed into a red light and entered the sword. The flying sword flashed a few times before returning to the storage bag.

  Yun Che glanced at the corpses the Demon Head had consumed and fell silent for a moment. His mindset now was vastly different from before the upheaval in Zhao Kingdom. Where once his personality had been shaped by the innocence of a country boy, that innocence had been extinguished with the annihilation of his family.

  In the cultivation world, the weak are prey to the strong. If one cannot protect their own life or the lives of their loved ones, then there is no reason to indulge in such laughable compassion.

  Though Li Han had repeatedly urged Yun Che to join the Demon Path and become a demon cultivator, Yun Che had resisted in the past. But after dying once, he no longer had any resistance.

  "Become a demon? So what?" Yun Che sneered, waving his hands as all the corpses around him disintegrated into smoke. He leaped into the air.

  In an area of the Fiery Nation where volcanic mountains were rare, Yun Che circled and selected a location. After landing, he summoned his flying sword artifact and swiftly cut out a cave in the mountain.

  A moment later, the cave was formed. Yun Che walked inside, and after using fragments of stone to set up a few illusionary formation arrays outside the cave, he sealed the entrance.

  Once everything was done, he sat cross-legged and took out the storage bags of Sun Youcai and the black-clad middle-aged man. After scanning with his divine sense, he retrieved three jade slips.

  He placed the first jade slip on his forehead, studying it for a while before setting it aside. The jade slip contained a record of a demonic cultivation technique called "Great Freedom Shura Art."

  The Evil Demon Sect was a demonic sect within the Fiery Nation, and its methods were notoriously terrifying. The Great Freedom Shura Art had six layers and focused on cultivating into a ruthless Shura.

  It used killing to refine the heart, and by immersing oneself in the path of ruthlessness, the Shura soul would be formed, replacing the Nascent Soul. Only then could the Great Freedom Shura Art be perfected.

  The first stages of the technique had a strict requirement: one must kill a person every day. Yun Che thought for a moment and suspected the black-clad middle-aged man was practicing this technique, and that this jade slip had come from his storage bag.

  Yun Che was not interested in this technique, but he was intrigued by some of the spells recorded in the jade slip. While demonic spells were cruel, they were incredibly practical.

  He picked up the second jade slip, scanning it with his divine sense. A smile appeared on his face. This slip recorded only one spell—the False Earth Escape Technique.

  Earth Escape Techniques were one of the five elemental escape techniques, and they were highly renowned. In ancient times, they were regarded as a grand divine art. Even today, after the destruction of the ancient cultivation world and the rise of the cultivation alliance, Earth Escape Techniques remained extremely rare.

  However, due to their fame, numerous offshoots had appeared. These offshoots, though bearing the name "Earth Escape," were far inferior to the true technique.

  The jade slip Yun Che held was not a true Earth Escape Technique, but it was an improved version compared to those offshoots. The difference in power was vast.

  After immersing himself in the study of the Earth Escape Technique, time passed. By the following morning, Yun Che slowly opened his eyes, a look of realization on his face. He remained seated, clapping his hands on the ground. In an instant, his figure vanished from its spot and reappeared three meters away.

  A look of joy appeared on Yun Che’s face as he muttered to himself, "Ma Liang’s body has much better talent and spiritual roots than mine. Although it's not the best, it's at least above average. Cultivating this False Earth Escape Technique is not too difficult. However, it still requires a lot of practice to master."

  After drinking from a barrel of source energy liquid, Yun Che meditated for half an hour, shaking off the fatigue from his night of practicing the Earth Escape Technique.

  Not in a hurry, he picked up the third jade slip, focusing on it. This one contained various mundane details from Sun Youcai’s life. Apparently, Sun Youcai had a habit of recording his daily activities. The jade slip detailed thirty years of his cultivation life, along with complex and confusing relationships with several female cultivators.

  Yun Che skimmed through it, not interested in those details. What caught his attention were the last sections, where Sun Youcai summarized the pills he had consumed over the past ten years. The slip mentioned over a dozen different pills, with details about their effects on his body, how they increased his spiritual power, and their impact on his cultivation speed.

  There were also seven or eight pills that Sun Youcai had long desired but never encountered. After reading for a while, Yun Che put the three jade slips away and began examining the other items in the storage bags.

  In Sun Youcai’s bag, aside from a few bottles of pills, there were no other magical items. If Yun Che had been confused before, after reading through Sun Youcai’s life summary, he understood that despite Sun Youcai’s repeated killings and treasure hunting, he had spent nearly all his wealth on acquiring spiritual herbs to increase his cultivation.

  In the storage bag of the black-clad middle-aged man, Yun Che found an item of interest: a piece of yellow paper. On the paper was a black symbol, and powerful energy emanated from it.

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  Yun Che recognized the paper—it was the same kind he had once owned. This was a treasure that could only be crafted by an alchemist at the Core Formation stage. It allowed for one last, full-force strike by the creator.

  Yun Che sneered as he held the yellow paper. Had the black-clad man been more cautious and used this treasure, he likely wouldn’t have died. But clearly, this was his trump card, which he would only use in dire situations. Unfortunately, Yun Che’s divine sense had made it impossible for him to even use it in time.

  When compared to this treasure, the rest of the items in the storage bag seemed insignificant.

  After finishing his looting, Yun Che touched his brow, and the Heaven-Nether Pearl began to slowly emerge, hovering in midair.

  Looking at the pearl, Yun Che smiled bitterly. The surface of the pearl had returned to the five cloud patterns. Yun Che pondered for a moment. The Heaven-Nether Pearl could only reach its full potential once the Five Elements were perfected. Currently, the Water and Fire attributes were at great perfection, but the Wood attribute was only halfway there, and the Metal and Earth attributes remained.

  Yun Che was eager to see what powers the pearl would unleash once all five elements were gathered. For now, it seemed to have no other purpose but to contain a space. Yet, this was not a simple treasure. After all, it was capable of destroying Li Han’s physical form in the competition.

  Staring at the pearl, Yun Che’s eyes flickered. He grabbed it and pressed it to his forehead. Then, he flicked his storage bag, and a jade slip flew out. He caught it, his divine sense probing it. This jade slip had been copied from the Ming God Temple by Yang Xiong, and it recorded various methods and mantras for crafting magical items.

  Yun Che had not had time to examine it during the journey, but now, with everything settled, he could finally take the time to study it.

  At this moment, throughout the Fiery Nation, smoke was billowing from the numerous volcanoes, and the raging, hot spiritual energy filled the air.

  Moreover, many disciples of the four great sects discovered the Fire Beasts in the volcanoes. They were shocked and quickly reported this to their respective sects.

  The four great sects had long been familiar with the task of sealing the volcanoes and were even somewhat knowledgeable about the Fire Beasts. However, this matter was an ancient secret only known to Nascent Soul cultivators.

  At this moment, within the main hall of the Ming God Temple, six people—four men and two women—sat in silence, frowning.

  "Brothers and sisters, what do you think of this situation?" the white-haired elder on the left spoke in a deep voice.

  "Senior Brother Song, I’ve only seen records of the Fire Spirit Beast in ancient texts. It is a type of spiritual beast. While the records are exaggerated, I don’t believe it’s something to worry about. If it’s a spiritual beast, it can certainly be tamed. With the six of us joining forces, I can’t believe that a mere Fire Spirit Beast can resist our Nascent Soul strength!" A middle-aged scholar with a refined appearance responded.

  "Ridiculous! I encountered the Fire Spirit Beast when I was in the Core Formation stage. Its natural affinity with fire means that fire-based techniques won’t work on it. They’ll only strengthen it. The only counter is techniques of the cold attribute. However, even that cannot kill it. Taming it is out of the question," a beautiful woman who had met Yun Che once interrupted sharply.

  The middle-aged scholar didn't seem embarrassed and instead gazed at the woman with affection, chuckling lightly.

  "Simple enough. Since the Fire Beast has been living in the volcano for so long, there must be some heavenly force keeping it in check. We’ll just reinforce the seal. Instead of talking here, we should be acting to seal the volcanoes," said a tall man, standing up and walking out.

  Seeing the others remain silent, the elder, Senior Song, spoke again in a heavy tone, "Fine, we’ll reinforce the seal. Let’s proceed according to the plan. We’ll each take charge of sealing the volcanoes in our respective areas."

  The same discussion took place in the Luo River Sect, the Evil Demon Sect, and the Nine Nether Tombs, with similar outcomes. Thus, a massive sealing operation began, involving Nascent Soul experts from all over the Fiery Nation.

  As the sealing process continued, the Nascent Soul cultivators began to feel an eerie tension. Every volcano had countless Fire Beasts, and they watched the sealing efforts with cold indifference, neither obstructing nor attacking, merely observing with an air of disdain.

  The Fire Beasts' demeanor sent a chill down the spines of the Nascent Soul cultivators. Eventually, even those who had been optimistic began to doubt their chances of success.

  Yun Che, who was immersed in studying the jade slip about crafting magical items, was not unaware of this. He had long suspected that the Fire Beasts would appear, but he needed to wait for ten days for Lin Tao to bring the map. Only then could he leave. If he sought the map elsewhere, it would be too cumbersome.

  Today marked four days before the agreed-upon time with Lin Tao. Yun Che's divine sense withdrew from the jade slip, and although he looked tired, his eyes gleamed with satisfaction. The techniques in the jade slip were vast and profound, and it was impossible to master them in a short period. Yun Che now understood this deeply. When he realized this, he refocused his efforts on refining the flying sword.

  Carefully placing the jade slip back in his storage bag, Yun Che’s eyes flickered. With a wave of his hand, his flying sword emerged and circled around him. After several days of use, it had shrunk by half, its edges scorched from repeated high-speed flight.

  Yun Che pondered briefly, then clapped his hands together. Several strands of spiritual power appeared between his hands. These strands were the first step in refining magical items in the Ming God Temple.

  The refining method of the Ming God Temple was unconventional, emphasizing three stages: adjustment, fusion, and union. Furthermore, it required a special tool known as a reaction furnace.

  The reaction furnace was used to activate the innate properties of various refining materials. Only by creating the furnace could one take the first step in mastering the Temple's unique crafting method.

  Yun Che’s hands moved rapidly, weaving the spiritual threads together into a shimmering spiritual curtain. Once the curtain formed, he gently lifted it. As he focused, he recalled the method for creating the reaction furnace from the jade slip.

  The furnace required the skull of a spiritual beast to form the body. This requirement alone had stopped most refining experts in the Ming God Temple.

  Yun Che took a deep breath and summoned a snake carcass from his storage bag. This was a snake’s head taken from Xu Hao's storage bag. It likely came from a powerful cultivator’s pet. Yun Che had ignored it before, but now, in light of the requirements for the reaction furnace, he decided to give it a try.

  Carefully removing the snake’s head, Yun Che stripped away the flesh. After some effort, he had the head ready to be used as the furnace body.

  But when he attempted to use it, the head cracked, and the spiritual curtain disintegrated. The furnace creation failed.

  Yun Che chuckled bitterly. Though disappointed, he had been prepared for this. The chances of success with such a furnace were low, and the choice of furnace body was crucial. He had used a dead spiritual beast head, which made success unlikely. Only fresh spiritual beast skulls, especially those of powerful beasts, would work well.

  With the failure of the reaction furnace, Yun Che set aside the flying sword and decided to proceed with an alternative method.

  He pointed at the flying sword, causing it to spin rapidly. Eventually, the sword melted into iron water, and Yun Che began refining it.

  The Demon Head, who had long since emerged, stood quietly to the side, glancing at Yun Che. The blood-colored sword shadow floated around Yun Che.

  Yun Che took out a black flying sword, which had once belonged to Sun Youcai. He had just found it and now decided to use it for refining.

  With a flick of his finger, the sword shadow flew into the black flying sword, merging with it. This was the simplest and most primitive method of refining. It was far from ideal, but for now, it would suffice.

  The sword was now faster than before, but still much slower compared to when Yun Che had first used it in Zhao Kingdom. However, it was the best he could manage under the circumstances.

  The Demon Head immediately obediently entered the sword without waiting for Yun Che’s command. Yun Che collected the sword and calculated the time. After a brief rest, he left the cave.

  What Yun Che did not know was that during his seclusion, the Fiery Nation underwent an earth-shattering transformation.

  The origin of this upheaval was an explosion from a volcano that had just been sealed by a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Luo River Sect. Lava surged into the air, and black smoke immediately spread across the sky.

  More shockingly, countless Fire Beasts poured out from the erupting volcano, with one large beast charging toward the Nascent Soul cultivator. After a battle between man and beast, the cultivator was wounded and fled.

  Fortunately, the Fire Beasts did not pursue, but instead scattered to other volcanoes, breaking the seals. One by one, the volcanoes throughout the Fiery Nation erupted, and the sky was filled with violent fire energy.

  This sent the entire Fiery Nation into chaos. The common people, unable to resist the Fire Beasts, began to migrate in mass.

  At the same time, cultivation families turned their eyes to the four great sects, waiting for their response—fight or flee?

  The four great sects gathered their Nascent Soul cultivators at the Ming God Temple and reported the incident to the higher-ups. They quickly issued orders for a nationwide migration.

  After all, they couldn’t gamble on the potential arrival of a fourth-tier cultivation nation. If they didn’t act quickly, even if the Fire Beasts were defeated, the Fiery Nation would be severely weakened and might fall back to a second-tier nation.

  With the nation in turmoil, Yun Che had just stepped out of the cave, unaware that the massive migration had already begun.