The Stone Crow's Flame Cave

The terrifying clash that was about to erupt was resolved, letting everyone breathe a sigh of relief. Having just arrived in the Celestial Realm, they were not eager to come into conflict with a living fossil; even if the other party's body had major problems, the outcome would have been unpredictable.

The hazy, chaotic barrier—the banana tree that had blocked the ancient cave entrance—moved aside, and a streak of fire essence shot out, vanishing into the stone crow's body. Twin beams of flame shot from its eyes, and it was instantly revived. The cold, sinister aura dissipated.

The stone crow slowly climbed out of its stone coffin, shook its pitch-black feathers, and fixed its gaze on Sha Polang. "Kid, you said you'd pluck me and cook me for a pig?"

"No way, absolutely not! Your venerable self is wise and mighty, a true role model for us all—how could I possibly say something like that?" Sha Polang flattered without a shred of shame, though a chill still ran down his spine, and he couldn't help shrinking his neck.

"So, it wasn't you who put someone up to plucking my feathers—oh, I mean, plucking my divine plumage?" The fire crow flapped its wings, perched on the stone coffin, and squinted at Sha Polang.

"Of course not! I'm not that kind of person; I don't do that kind of thing." Sha Polang shamelessly darted a glance at the tiger demon beside him, as if hinting at something to the stone crow.

The tiger demon's face turned green on the spot, internally cursing Sha Polang a hundred times.

"Forget it. I'll be magnanimous and overlook it." The stone crow's black feathers swirled with black mist, and it gave two harsh cries at Sha Polang—not ordinary crow calls, but the portent of a primordial calamity, an omen of ill fortune. Sha Polang's heart trembled with unease.

The primordial calamity star invited Xiao Chen and the others to the Flame Cave for a visit. The old skull politely declined, not wanting to venture into the other's territory.

"Old thing, don't you trust me?"

"Fine, since you put it that way, I'll go in and talk with you."

Everyone walked forward. Sha Polang followed behind, but every three steps he stumbled, every five steps he fell, toppling a total of seven or eight times until his lips were swollen.

Such bizarre occurrences were certainly no coincidence. The others immediately understood: this old crow really held a grudge. Every insult Sha Polang had hurled at it had been remembered—this was pure revenge.

"This is a curse of misfortune," King Samsara quietly said to Xiao Chen.

They entered the Flame Cave and were led to a spacious hall, entirely hewn from divine ice jade. The raging flames stopped at the entrance, and no heat could be felt inside.

"Old duck, what exactly happened to make you so anxious that you practically crippled yourself with training?" the old skull pressed directly, seeking the root cause.

"Nothing much. I just have a premonition. A great calamity is approaching. If I can't raise my cultivation, I'm afraid I won't survive this cycle."

The old skull shot two beams of divine light from its eye sockets, staring at the stone crow. "Are you sensing something? Could it be that some ancient relic from bygone days hasn't died and is about to return against heaven to settle accounts with you?"

"A subtle intuition. I can't really call it a feeling. Maybe I'm overthinking it." A primordial calamity star of such anxiety—naturally, it was a peerless figure from the ancient past.

Then the stone crow and the old skull began muttering in secret, whispering for a long time. Xiao Chen and the others tried to ask questions but couldn't get a word in.

Keke muttered discontentedly, "I won't lend you the divine diagram then."

The two living fossils laughed despite themselves. Finally, the fire crow lightly flapped its wings, and several jade plates flew in from outside the hall, laden with bright red ginseng fruits, each one crystal clear and glistening.

"Come, try the specialty of the Flame Cave—the Heavenfire Yuan Fruit. One fruit is worth ten years of bitter cultivation." The old crow's words were full of temptation.

Keke's discontent vanished instantly. Happily, it grabbed a plate and began eating with relish.

The others also found it hard to resist, each receiving several Heavenfire Yuan Fruits. However, though these divine fruits were sweet, upon swallowing they burned like flames, searing the chest and abdomen as if with fire, a heat that was hard to withstand.

Everyone else managed by circulating their profound arts and gained much. Only Sha Polang was worst off—his long hair caught fire and crackled, turning him into a human torch.

"Why am I so unlucky? Ever since I entered this cave, misfortune has stalked me!"

"Senior, I would like to ask: at the common end of the Celestial Realm and the Death World, does there exist a mysterious region, an unimaginable unknown world?" Xiao Chen inquired of the old crow.

"Indeed, that is so," the stone crow nodded.

"What secrets lie there?" Xiao Chen pressed further.

"I do not know either. In truth, almost no one knows—unless one truly enters that world. But only a very few have ever succeeded in breaking in, and none has ever come out again." The stone crow sounded regretful. Even someone as powerful as it still yearned for that world.

"What do you need the divine diagram for?" This was a question Xiao Chen very much wanted to ask.

"Legend says the divine diagram contains heaven and earth; it is a supreme treasure of the Nine Provinces' origin, hiding a great secret. It can help those at the ultimate peak to take another step forward."

"What secret does it hold?" Xiao Chen's eyes lit up. He had been in control of the incomplete divine diagram for quite some time but had never discovered anything.

"According to tradition, the divine diagram was born from a heavenly bone, itself a manifestation of the supreme Dao. Moreover, the nine lamps contain unimaginable secrets. When the nine lamps are used to refine the heavenly bone, countless divine patterns are imprinted within the divine diagram."

The stone crow's account included things Xiao Chen already knew and some he did not, setting his thoughts racing. But the specific secret remained unknown even to the stone crow—it had only heard part of the legend.

The missing one was far more mysterious than Xiao Chen had imagined—it was the joint product of the heavenly bone and the nine lamps!

Xiao Chen asked many questions in succession, receiving answers that taught him numerous secrets he had never known before. Finally, he said, "Senior, I would like to ask about the chaotic banana palm at the cave entrance."

They talked for a long time, and Xiao Chen's group decided to go into seclusion here to raise their cultivation.

But first, there was an important matter to handle. Xiao Chen wanted to deal with the Otherworld powerhouse who had come to borrow the chaotic banana palm. At the same time, he needed to learn exactly what their specific plan was—they intended to move against those who had sailed away on the Ancestral Dragon Ship. Clearly, the Otherworld had grasped certain clues, and they had to be stopped.

In this vast, millions-of-miles primitive region, there were only a few ancient cities—trading posts founded by demon gods where cultivators exchanged spirit medicines and precious treasures.

Xiao Chen, Keke, and the three skeletons, their appearances altered, came to an ancient city near the Flame Cave. Here, Xiao Chen unexpectedly discovered the Otherworld powerhouse who had wanted to borrow the chaotic banana palm.

But what shocked him even more was this: when he tracked the man using the Pangu stone talisman to conceal his aura, he saw a familiar demonic silhouette atop a towering mountain peak.

Lu Zhan, the Otherworld Ancestral God, sat cross-legged atop the primordial demon mountain, still as a stone statue, unmoving!

"How did he come to the Celestial Realm?" Xiao Chen was deeply shaken. According to legend, the four Ancestral Gods of the Otherworld had never set foot in the Celestial Realm since primordial times. So why had Lu Zhan, now in the peak of power, broken that principle and appeared here?

Vaguely, Xiao Chen sensed that something of immense importance was about to happen!

[This chapter is a bit shorter. Watching Argentina vs. Nigeria. Also helping someone with a promotion for 'Light Armor Cyclone'—ancient martial mecha type, cultivation plus mecha. If you're interested, you can check it out.]