174: Burning Heaven Valley

For three consecutive days, Chen Linsheng followed the map, weaving through the Gobi desert surrounding Chiyan Mountain.

Although Old Hu's map was detailed, its records regarding "red fire crystals" or similar anomalies only contained a vague sentence about the Chiyan Mountain area: "Many anomalies in recent years, enter with caution."

As for the "red fire crystal" that Zhou Meng claimed to have snatched from a small ruin, there were no further clues besides its faint warmth and crimson flame Aura.

Like a patient lone wolf, he used his [Tracking Perfection] perception to carefully sweep across every suspicious sand dune, rock crevice, and dried-up riverbed.

During the day, he endured the scorching sun and wind-blown sand; at night, he found a leeward spot to adjust his breathing, using the "Five Viscera Absorbing Essence Art" to draw in the thin yet violent Five Elements essence from the Gobi. The heart-fire and lung-metal Qi were exceptionally active in this dry and intense environment, nourishing and further solidifying the Qi cyclones within his five viscera.

On the evening of the third day, the sky suddenly turned gloomy.

Where the distant sky met the earth, a yellowish curtain connecting heaven and earth expanded and advanced at a speed visible to the naked eye. A low whimpering sound rose from beneath the ground, instantly filling the entire world.

Another Black Sandstorm!

Judging by its power, it was even more terrifying than the one he had heard of before.

Chen Linsheng's expression changed slightly. He immediately put away the map and reined in the slightly uneasy Date-Red Horse, his gaze scanning rapidly for a sturdy shelter.

Not far away, a cluster of relatively tall weathered rocks came into view. Without hesitation, he urged his horse into the depths of the rock cluster and found a natural cave with an inward-recessing wall and a giant overhanging boulder, barely enough to shelter both man and horse.

Just as he led the horse inside and secured it to a rock pillar with a rope, the vanguard of the Black Sandstorm arrived!

"Boom—!"

It was as if thousands of thunderclaps exploded in his ears, or billions of grinding wheels were frictioning madly.

His vision was instantly stripped away, and the world fell into a Chaos of roaring yellowish haze. Sand and stones fell like a waterfall, striking the rock walls with a dense pitter-patter like a rainstorm; the entire rock cluster was trembling.

The Date-Red Horse neighed in fear. Chen Linsheng stroked its neck and infused a trace of gentle Hunyuan Qi and Blood to help it calm down. He himself held his breath and focused, contracting his [Tracking Perfection] perception to a few yards around him, resisting this natural power with all his might.

This Black Sandstorm lasted for nearly two hours before its intensity gradually weakened and it moved away.

When the last trace of the violent wind vanished into the depths of the Gobi, Chen Linsheng slowly released his arms protecting his head and face, shaking off the sand covering him.

Emerging from the rock cave, the world before him had completely changed its appearance.

Sand dunes had shifted, and the landscape was reshaped. Many familiar rock peaks were halved or completely buried, while some objects that were originally buried deep were now exposed.

About a hundred yards southeast of the rock cluster where he had hidden, a broken stone stele half-buried under a sand dune suddenly caught his eye.

Most of the stone stele was buried in the sand. The part exposed above ground was about three feet high and two feet wide. The material was neither metal nor jade, appearing a dull reddish-brown. Its surface was covered in wind-eroded pits and cracks, yet miraculously, it hadn't completely shattered.

Chen Linsheng's heart stirred. He stepped forward quickly and brushed away the loose sand from the surface of the stone stele.

Carvings appeared.

They were extremely ancient characters and patterns with twisted strokes like birds or insects, most of which were blurred and hard to distinguish. However, a large totem at the top was relatively clear—it looked like a bird yet wasn't quite a bird, like a beast yet wasn't quite a beast. It had the wings of a Peng bird and the body of a Dragon-snake, in a flamboyant pose as if it wanted to break through the stone and fly into the sky. Although only the outline remained, an ancient, vast, and fiery Aura still rushed toward him.

Below the totem was an even more complex set of carvings. They weren't characters but seemed like some sort of incomplete array formation circuit. The lines intersected, and there were faint charred marks at the nodes, as if they had once been scorched by immense energy.

"This is..." Chen Linsheng gazed at the totem, waves rising in his heart. The feeling this totem gave him was actually somewhat similar to the crimson flame great peng feather in his bosom, but it was more ancient and primal, as if it were the source or some variant.

He extended his right hand, his fingertips gently brushing over those array formation carvings.

The touch was slightly cool, but when he subconsciously circulated his Hunyuan True Body Qi and blood, a trace of pale golden Aura seeped out from his fingertips. The moment it touched the array formation—

"Buzz..."

From inside the stone stele came an extremely faint resonance, as if it had been slumbering for eons.

Chen Linsheng's gaze narrowed. Without further hesitation, he fully activated [Statecraft (Minor Achievement)].

In an instant, his mind was highly focused, and his thoughts were like lightning. The incomplete and blurred array formation before his eyes seemed to come alive; lines began to extend, nodes began to flash, and the missing parts were automatically deduced and completed... This was the extraordinary understanding and analytical ability for complex systems like runes, array principles, and mechanisms granted to him by the [Statecraft] Skill.

Simultaneously, he mobilized the Hunyuan Qi and Blood within his body, no longer limited to his fingertips but slowly infusing it into his entire palm as he pressed it against the core area of the stone stele's array formation. The pale golden Qi and blood were steady and heavy, all-encompassing, as he carefully tried to establish a connection with the faint resonance inside the stone stele.

At first, there was no reaction.

But ten breaths later, when Chen Linsheng merged a wisp of heart-fire Origin Qi into the Hunyuan Qi and Blood and injected it again—

"Sizzle!"

On the surface of the stone stele, those charred array formation nodes suddenly lit up with a dim red glow!

Immediately after, centered on his palm, the crimson light spread rapidly along the array formation circuit like a spiderweb, lighting up the entire incomplete array map in an instant!

"Boom!"

A scorching but not violent Aura rose from within the stone stele. The ancient totem at the top seemed to come alive, its wings vibrating slightly, and it actually projected a hazy shadow that hovered three feet above the stone stele!

The shadow flickered and blurred at first, then gradually became stable and clear.

It was a dynamic "map"!

In the map, mountains rose and fell, and the landscape was strange, with many areas shrouded in flowing phantom flames. The perspective moved rapidly, sweeping across endless Gobi and crimson desolate mountains, finally settling on a majestic and continuous range of volcanoes. Among them, the tallest main peak, with a mountain body as red as a branding iron and a summit perpetually shrouded in dark red smoke and clouds, was highlighted by a shining cursor.

Beside the shadow, two large ancient seal characters "burned" as they emerged—

Chiyan Mountain.

The dynamic perspective continued to advance, going deep into the belly of the main peak of Chiyan Mountain. The illusion passed through scorching lava tunnels, swept across boiling underground fire lakes, and finally stopped before a giant stone gate.

The stone gate was ten zhang high and tightly closed. It was made entirely of some kind of dark red crystal, and its surface naturally bore countless complex and profound flame patterns. Magma seemed to flow slowly within the patterns, emitting a heart-palpitating Aura of antiquity and heat. Above the stone gate were also ancient seal characters formed by flames:

Fentian Valley.

The illusion froze and solidified here, deeply imprinting every detail of the "Fentian Valley" entrance, along with the unique geographical references surrounding it, into Chen Linsheng's mind.

At the same time the illusion froze—

"Buzz!"

In Chen Linsheng's bosom, the crimson flame great peng feather he kept close to his body suddenly became scalding hot!

It wasn't a heat that burned the skin, but a throb and resonance originating from the depths of his Bloodline, as if encountering something of the same source! Inside the feather, the originally slow-flowing red-gold luster was now several times brighter, faintly emitting light through his clothes, echoing the "Fentian Valley" stone gate in the stone stele's illusion!

A few breaths later, the light of the stone stele gradually faded, and the illusion dissipated. The array formation dimmed again, returning to its incomplete and simple appearance, as if everything just now had never happened.

Only the faint heat remaining in the air, the still-warm feather in his bosom, and the crystal-clear map of "Chiyan Mountain" and the "Fentian Valley" entrance in his mind proved the reality of that magical scene.

Chen Linsheng slowly withdrew his palm, a sharp light flashing in his eyes.

The resonance of the crimson flame great peng feather, the guidance of the ancient stone stele, and the magnificent "Fentian Valley" stone gate in the illusion... all the clues intertwined here.

"Chiyan Mountain... Fentian Valley..."

He repeated these two names in a low voice, looking toward the southwest—the direction indicated by the illusion map, a hundred miles away.

The gathering place of the Broken Sword Sect, "Ghost Crying Gorge," was also near Chiyan Mountain, but at this moment, Chen Linsheng's goal was already clear.

Compared to an unknown ruin where he might clash with a large number of Broken Sword Sect Disciples, this "Fentian Valley" Secret Realm, personally guided by an ancient stone stele and resonating with the crimson flame great peng feather, was clearly more attractive and seemed... more in line with his own Opportunity.

Without hesitation, he turned and walked toward the Date-Red Horse, untying the reins.

Mounting the horse, he took one last look at the broken stone stele that had returned to silence, then shook the reins.

The Date-Red Horse understood, let out a long neigh, raised its hooves, and carried its master away, braving the desolate wind of the Gobi dusk, firmly galloping toward that land of flowing fire a hundred miles to the southwest known as "Chiyan Mountain."