286: Chapter 474 The New Flame of the Flame Emperor Realm

On the fifth day of the Myriad Realms Reconstruction Assembly, an old man carrying a hoe came to the Yanhuang Realm.

When the Chaos Sovereign walked out of the cross-realm passageway, the hoe on his shoulder emitted a faint glow under the red sky of the Yanhuang Realm.

The few crooked peach blossoms on the hoe were still blooming, pink and exceptionally bright under the reflection of the firelight.

He did not sit in a wheelchair, nor did he let anyone push him; he walked out step by step on his own.

The Fire Clan Chief knelt at the exit of the passageway to welcome him, with all the Disciples of the clan kneeling densely behind him.

No one spoke, only the bubbling sound of the earth fire rolling in the depths and the howling wind blowing across the crater.

"Chaos Senior."

The Fire Clan Chief lowered his head.

The Chaos Sovereign carried his hoe and walked past him without even turning his head.

"Get up. Aren't you tired from kneeling?"

He walked to the crater, propped the hoe on the ground, and looked down at the rolling magma.

The earth fire was no longer grayish-black, but had turned dark red, with a hint of gold shining through the dark red, as if someone had added a handful of fresh firewood to the stove.

The Fire Clan Chief stood up and walked to his side.

"Chaos Senior, the earth fire is a bit stronger now, but compared to before, it is still far inferior."

The Chaos Sovereign squatted down and pressed his hand against the rock of the crater.

The rock was scalding hot, turning the skin of his hand red, but he did not pull back.

He only frowned, feeling the temperature deep underground, feeling that heart beating below—very slowly, very lightly, like a person who had just recovered from a serious illness and was still gasping for breath.

"It is tired."

He said.

"It has burned for over ten thousand years, it is tired. Let it rest."

The Fire Clan Chief knelt beside him.

"This Disciple dares not let it rest. Once it rests, the Yanhuang Realm will grow cold."

The Chaos Sovereign rolled his eyes.

"If it's cold, put on clothes. It's not like you have no clothes to wear."

He took a small cloth bag from his bosom and opened it. Inside was a handful of withered petals.

Pink, thin, and almost transparent.

Those were the last batch of petals that fell from the peach tree this spring; he had kept them in a wooden box all along, reluctant to throw them away.

He scattered the petals into the crater.

The petals drifted in the scorching Qi current, turning into golden specks of light, falling into the rolling magma.

The magma jumped once, then jumped again, as if tasting the flavor of those petals.

The Chaos Sovereign said toward the crater,

"Eat. After you finish eating and have strength, burn again."

From deep within the crater came a low roar, as if in response.

That noon, the Chaos Sovereign planted a tree beside the crater.

It wasn't a peach tree, but a pine tree.

A few pine needles that Shadow brought back from the Realm of Annihilation—he kept a few, stuck them into the soil, watered them, and said that once they lived, they would grow.

The Fire Clan Chief squatted aside, watching him plant the tree.

"Chaos Senior, can a pine tree survive in the Yanhuang Realm? It's too hot here."

The Chaos Sovereign didn't even raise his head.

"It can survive. The trees planted by this Disciple can survive anywhere."

He inserted the pine needles into the soil, filled in the dirt, and watered them.

The water was brought back from the Yunmeng Marsh, stored in a jade pot. It was the water Ye Wushuang used to make tea, clear and sweet.

He watered it very slowly; the water seeped into the soil little by little and was quickly evaporated by the heat, but he didn't stop, watering it over and over again, like feeding a very thirsty child.

"It has lived."

He said.

The Fire Clan Chief stared at that pine needle for a long time.

"Chaos Senior, it hasn't sprouted yet."

The Chaos Sovereign rolled his eyes.

"It is sleeping. It will sprout when it wakes up. What are you rushing for?"

The Fire Clan Chief dared not ask any further.

That afternoon, the Chaos Sovereign walked around the Yanhuang Realm.

The Fire Clan Chief followed behind him, and all the Disciples of the clan followed behind the Fire Clan Chief, forming a dense, dark mass like a long dragon.

The Chaos Sovereign walked very slowly, stopping every few steps to squat down, press his hand against the ground, and feel the temperature deep underground.

When he reached the southernmost tip of the Yanhuang Realm, he stopped.

There was a huge black rock there with a deep crack on it, from which a dark red glow leaked out—that was a branch of the earth fire, extending from the crater to this place. It had burned for over ten thousand years and had never gone out.

The Chaos Sovereign squatted in front of the crack and stretched his hand into it.

The dark red light danced on his fingertips, scalding the skin of his hand until blisters formed, but he did not pull back. He only frowned, feeling that power.

"It is still here."

He said.

"Below, waiting."

The Fire Clan Chief knelt behind him.

"Waiting for what?"

The Chaos Sovereign was silent for a long time.

"Waiting for someone to come. Waiting for the person from Jiuzhou. Waiting for Niansheng's successor. Waiting for the person who carried a sword and stood on the stone platform to guard for a hundred years. Waiting for everyone who has guarded the myriad realms."

He withdrew his hand and lowered his head to look at his fingertips.

Several blisters had formed on his fingertips, glowing red, but he paid no attention to them. He merely took out another piece of old cloth from his bosom, wrapped it around his hands, then stood up and hoisted his hoe.

"Let's go. Head back."

That night, the Chaos Sovereign slept beside the crater.

The Fire Clan Chief spread an animal skin mattress for him. He lay on it, hugging his hoe in his arms, with his eyes closed, but he was not asleep.

He was listening—listening to the heartbeat of the earth fire, the heartbeat of the myriad realms, and Guiying's heartbeat in the abyss.

The Fire Clan Chief knelt to the side, not daring to sleep.

"Chaos Senior, what are you thinking about?"

The Chaos Sovereign did not open his eyes.

"Thinking of Niansheng. Thinking of that old man who forged a bell that has rung for over ten thousand years and is still ringing now. Is he tired?"

The Fire Clan Chief was silent for a long time.

"Ancestral Master Niansheng has... already departed."

The Chaos Sovereign opened his eyes and looked at the red sky.

"Departed. But the bell is still ringing. He is listening. Listening below, listening above, listening inside the bell. He has always been listening."

Tears streamed down the Fire Clan Chief's face.

He didn't wipe them away, but simply knelt there with his head lowered for a long, long time.

Late that night, the earth fire of the Yanhuang Realm suddenly leaped.

It didn't leap slowly, but surged upward abruptly, as if someone was pushing it from below.

The Chaos Sovereign sat up from the animal skin mattress, stared at the crater, and saw that the dark red magma had turned golden—very bright and very warm, as if someone had lit a lamp below.

Guiying's voice came from his jade talisman.

That jade talisman was given to him by Shadow, who said that by carrying it, Guiying could hear him speak.

He hung it around his neck, close to his chest, and Guiying's voice came from there.

"Second Grandfather, this Disciple sees the earth fire down below. It is turning over. It says it dreamed of Niansheng. Niansheng is down below, waiting for it."

The Chaos Sovereign's hand paused on the hoe.

"Niansheng is down below?"

Guiying said.

"Yes. Niansheng is down below, in the abyss, beside the old tea tree. He is drinking tea; the tea is cold, but he hasn't poured it out. He is waiting."

The Chaos Sovereign was silent for a long time.

"Waiting for whom?"

Guiying said.

"Waiting for you. Waiting for you to finish planting the last tree and go down to drink tea with him."

The Chaos Sovereign rolled his eyes.

"This Disciple is not going. This Disciple still has many trees to plant up here. Let him wait."

Guiying laughed.

The laughter came from the jade talisman, very light and soft, as if laughing from a very distant place.

The Chaos Sovereign did not smile, but the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

That early morning, before daybreak, the Chaos Sovereign got up.

Carrying his hoe, he walked to the crater and said to the golden magma,

"This Disciple is leaving. Burn well. When this Disciple finishes planting the trees, I will come back to see you."

The magma leaped once, as if saying okay.

The Fire Clan Chief knelt behind him.

"Chaos Senior, this Disciple will see you off."

The Chaos Sovereign didn't even turn his head.

"No need. You stay and watch the fire well. If the fire goes out, this Disciple will settle accounts with you."

The Fire Clan Chief knelt there, not daring to follow any further.

The Chaos Sovereign walked into the cross-realm passageway, and the golden light swallowed him.

The Fire Clan Chief knelt at the exit of the passageway, looking at the gradually dissipating light for a long, long time.

Then he stood up, turned around and walked back to the crater, knelt down, and pressed his hand against the scalding rock.

"This Disciple is here. This Disciple will guard it for you."