After becoming rich overnight, I handed over the system.

Chapter 437 Year Fire Spirit

On a mountain path shrouded in morning mist, Senior Brother Liu was squatting by the roadside, carefully digging up a small, bright red grass with a jade shovel.

"Senior Brother, look! This is 'Crimson Flame Grass.' The 'Record of Strange Things' says it only grows in..." He turned around excitedly, only to find Ji Yun Shen standing ten steps away, holding his sword, showing no intention of coming over to check.

Seven days have passed since they left Qianfang Valley, and the secret realm has not yet opened, so the group continued to search for treasures within it.

"Senior Brother Zhao, Fellow Daoist Lin! Come see the Crimson Flame Grass I picked!" Never mind, if Senior Brother doesn't want to see it, he has others to look for.

"No, Senior Brother Liu, why didn't you call me to take a look!" Jiang Kuan said, dissatisfied.

"Alright, alright, come see for yourself! Do I need to call you?"

"You called them all! How could you not call me!" Jiang Kuan muttered.

Just as Senior Brother Liu was about to say something, a commotion suddenly came from the woods ahead.

Senior Brother Liu didn't care about the Crimson Flame Grass anymore, and the group instantly stood behind their senior brother.

Ji Yun Shen instantly drew his jade sword, shielding Long Ming Yue behind him.

"Who goes there?"

The leaves parted, and a group of monks dressed in crimson robes emerged, their chests embroidered with a blazing sun emblem.

The leader was a young man in his early twenties with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and a long sword with a fiery red body hung at his waist.

"Ji Yun Shen, long time no see. You're also going for the Fire Spirit?" The young man stared intently at Ji Yun Shen, completely ignoring the presence of the others.

"Who is this?" Jiang Kuan asked in a low voice.

"Shut up, don't speak. Yan Ming, the son of the Yan Yang Sect Master, is a mortal enemy of our senior brother."

Ji Yun Shen remained silent.

Yan Ming smiled, his gaze sweeping over Ji Yun Shen's jade sword: "I heard you've been selected as a candidate for the next sect leader of the Xuan Tian Sect? Congratulations. However..."

He stepped forward, lowering his voice, "But you really are lucky! I just wonder how long your luck will last?"

Ji Yunshen raised the tip of his sword three inches: "Get out of the way."

"Still so stubborn." Yan Ming said dismissively, finally turning his gaze to Long Mingyue. "And this is... your maid?"

Ji Yunshen was displeased and said coldly, "Long Mingyue, my fiancée."

"Fiancée?" Yan Ming seemed to have heard a joke. "Someone like you has a fiancée? Did you coerce her?"

Several Yan Yang Sect disciples behind him burst into laughter.

"Is the Yan Yang Sect only good at empty talk now?" Long Mingyue retorted sarcastically. "If you want to fight, then fight; if not, then get out of the way."

A flash of anger crossed Jiang Kuan's eyes, but he quickly regained his smile: "What's the rush? The secret realm isn't your Xuantian Sect's backyard."

He stepped aside and gestured "please," asking, "Together?"

Long Mingyue snorted coldly, and the group followed Ji Yunshen past the Yan Yang Sect members.

Lin Liuyi could feel the piercing gazes behind him, especially Yan Ming's thoughtful look, which was fixed on his senior brother.

After walking quite a distance, Jiang Kuan asked in a low voice, "Senior brother, why is that person our eldest brother's mortal enemy?"

"You don't even know this? Who in the cultivation world doesn't know that the Yan Yang Sect and the Xuan Tian Sect are sworn enemies? In that great battle two hundred years ago, both sides suffered heavy losses. Besides, our senior brother is superior to that Yan Ming in both appearance and strength, so it's no wonder that the other side is sticking to our senior brother and won't let go." Senior Brother Liu sighed.

"But what does Yan Ming mean by 'fire spirit'?"

“I know!” Long Mingyue suddenly spoke up, “I just sent the Treasure-Seeking Rat to gather information nearby. It is said that a thousand-year-old fire spirit has been born in the Secret Realm Flame Valley. I suppose the Flame Sun Sect is after this.”

"The little guy even managed to find out about this, that's impressive. Then it's probably it, I remember Yan Valley isn't far from here."

The group continued forward, and suddenly the terrain opened up, revealing a huge volcanic crater.

A number of cultivators had gathered around the mountain pass. In addition to the Yan Yang Sect, there were also disciples from various sects such as the Qing Xiao Sect and the Xue Sha Sect, who kept a wary distance from each other.

"That's the entrance to the Valley of Flames," Long Mingyue said, pointing to a crack in the inner wall of the crater. "It's said that the Fire Spirit resides at the deepest part of the earth, in the core altar."

Senior Brother Liu observed his surroundings and suddenly noticed peculiar patterns carved on the rocks around the crack: "Those runes..."

"An ancient cultivator's seal." Ji Yun Shen nodded. "The seal is weakest when the midday sun shines directly on it, making it safe to enter."

At noon, as the angle of the sunlight changed, the runes at the crack indeed began to flicker erratically.

Cultivators from various sects rushed towards the entrance, but Long Mingyue and her group pulled Lin Liuyi aside.

“Let them fight it out first,” she sneered. “If the Fire Spirit were so easy to subdue, it wouldn’t have taken a thousand years.”

After most people had entered, a few people cautiously stepped into the crevice.

The temperature inside the passage suddenly rose, and the rock walls glowed with an eerie red light.

As they went deeper, tiny sparks began to float in the air, but they didn't feel hot when they landed on their skin.

“Earth Core Fire Essence.” Jiang Kuan reached out and caught a spark. “It’s harmless; they are byproducts of the Fire Spirit.”

Senior Brother Liu looked at him with slight surprise: "You even know this? Aren't you a good-for-nothing?"

Jiang Kuan was speechless. "I usually enjoy reading these kinds of miscellaneous books..."

At the end of the passage, a huge underground cavern came into view.

In the center of the cave is a circular altar, surrounded by a pool of boiling lava.

The cultivators from various sects who had arrived earlier stood by the pool, not daring to make any rash moves.

A fist-sized flame floated above the altar, sometimes golden like the rising sun, sometimes crimson like blood, its appearance ever-changing.

Even from this distance, Lin Liuyi could feel the terrifying power contained within.

"A thousand-year-old fire spirit..." Senior Brother Liu's breathing quickened slightly, "...is even more powerful than described."

Yan Ming's voice suddenly came from the side: "Ji Yun Shen, why don't we join forces? After the Fire Spirit recognizes its master, it can be used by your Xuan Tian Sect for a hundred years."

Long Mingyue sneered: "When did the Yan Yang Sect become so generous?"

Just as Jiang Kuan was about to answer, the fire spirit on the altar suddenly pulsed violently, and an aged voice echoed throughout the cave:

"After a thousand years of waiting, we have finally met our destined one..."

Everyone was shocked and drew their weapons.

The fire spirit continued, "But a fire spirit chooses its master, not the other way around. To gain my approval, you must pass three trials."

As soon as he finished speaking, three stone bridges suddenly rose from the lava pool, each leading to one of the three directions of the altar.

At each bridgehead, flame-shaped characters appear: Courage, Wisdom, Benevolence.

“Each person may choose only one bridge,” the fire spirit’s voice echoed. “Those who cross it will be granted the right to acknowledge a master.”

The group looked at each other, and soon made their own choices.

Yan Ming walked towards the Bridge of Courage without hesitation, followed closely by the disciples of the Yan Yang Sect.

Ji Yun Shen glanced at Long Ming Yue: "What do you choose?"