[Valley of Flame.]
[Just like its name, it is a secret realm entirely composed of flame energy, where you can see beasts, herbs, and areas covered with molten lava and fire.]
[It is said that this secret realm was created upon the death of an Immortal — whose strength was unknown to all. Before his death, he possessed many flames, and after his demise, those flames scattered everywhere and formed the Valley of Flame. As an opportunity, participants can search for these flames and turn them into their life-bound flames.]
[At the moment, within the Hidden Sword Peak of the Holy-Sword Sect, a figure was seen refining a floating ring, within which resided a soul that was disappearing at a speed visible to the naked eye.]
[In these years, your cultivation had broken through to the peak of the Nascent-Soul Realm, and with it, you found that your refining speed had increased dramatically compared to the previous simulation. You understood that this was the charm of possessing multiple spiritual roots — not only did it grant you strength far surpassing your peers, but it also provided a huge increase in refining speed.]
[This time, your Nine Netherworld Mysterious Flame's ability had become stronger than before, and it was all because, in the 69th year, with the emergence of the Nine Netherworld Mysterious Flame, you had already secured it and merged them together, greatly enhancing their ability to burn souls.]
[In this year, with the emergence of the Valley of Flame, you successfully refined his soul and learned that before being trapped in the ring, he was a rogue cultivator whose achievements in alchemy were renowned throughout the Upper Realm. He was a well-known figure who, through his alchemical mastery, had successfully cultivated to the Immortal King Realm. However, he was later besieged by his enemies, and though his physical body was destroyed, he managed to escape with his soul by binding it to the ring at the last moment.]
[From his memory, you also learned many alchemical techniques — such as the method of condensing a physical form, the Bore Five Elements Spiritual Root Pill recipe, and many strange and unfamiliar alchemy methods.]
[In his memory, you also found a technique called the Burning Heaven Art, which, like your Great Burning Heaven Technique, could devour flames to strengthen itself. But when you compared the two, you discovered that just the word "Great" created a world of difference between them.]
[Within the Burning Heaven Art, there was no mention of allowing the user to bear a Fire Spiritual Root upon devouring a flame, unlike your technique. It would only strengthen the user's existing spiritual root if they already possessed even a trace of it.]
[You understood that, by luck, if this heaven-defying technique were to fall into the hands of someone who lacked even a bit of talent for the Flame Dao, their regret would be unimaginable. However, if they were to obtain your technique instead, their happiness would be beyond measure.]
[From his memory, you also obtained an extremely important piece of information — the method to condense a Supreme Foundation was not rare in the Upper Realm. Most major forces there knew how to condense it, at least up to the Immortal Realm. Everyone in that realm strove for a stronger foundation, and there were even rumors that some had succeeded. But because he was a rogue cultivator, he was unqualified to explore the secrets of the major forces, and his connections were limited. He only possessed the Supreme Foundation Building Method up to the Mahayana Realm — anything above that, he didn't know.]
[Regarding this, you were greatly surprised. You didn't expect the Upper Realm to have developed to such an extent. After ascension, you would have to face people as monstrous as those you had encountered in the previous simulation.]
Outside Simulation,
"What the fuck?" Lin Chen muttered in shock as he watched the simulated content unfold before his eyes.
Inside Simulation,
[That same year, when you — who were planning to break through to the God-Transformation Realm — received news that the Valley of Flame had opened, you immediately set out for it without wasting any time.]
[Soon, you arrived at the place where it had appeared.]
[The Valley of Flame, unlike other secret realms watched over by Heaven, was under the control of the Xuantian Alliance. They often opened it for the younger generation to select their life-bound flames. Only cultivators below the Fusion Realm were allowed to enter.]
[Well… it's not that they can only choose one flame, but rather that is the limit for most. You, however, don't have to concern yourself with such restrictions.]
[Soon, you entered the Valley of Flame and were randomly teleported to its outskirts.]
[Inside the Valley of Flame.]
[After entering the secret realm, the first thing you noticed was the color of the sky — a vivid tropical violet.]
[Next, you began observing your surroundings: a massive volcano overflowing with molten lava whose sparks reached the sky, flames beneath your feet constantly trying to burn your clothes but failing, and everywhere your vision reached, everything was made of flame as its source.]
[Suddenly, just as you were taking in the scene, you felt your cultivation and comprehension speed increase threefold.]
[Noticing this, you began searching for the source of the disturbance, only to find two extremely injured sixth-level beasts covered in flames. From the surroundings, you could tell that their battle had been extremely brutal.]
[Seeing this, you were extremely pleased, for to enter the core area of the Valley of Flame, you needed to gather one hundred Flame Crystals — which could only be obtained by killing sixth-level beasts.]
[Soon, you killed both beasts and collected their Flame Crystals. However, your joy didn't last long, as you still needed ninety-eight more.]
[Killing them wasn't a problem for you — finding them was. If you could find all of them at once, you would gladly fight them all together, but that was just wishful thinking. You still had to put in the effort to search for them, though fortunately, you had plenty of time.]
[Three months later, deep within the Valley of Flame, a sword filled with eight elemental energies slashed through a tiger — its body completely covered in flames — splitting it cleanly in two.]
[In the past, while creating the Eternal Sutra of Myriad Qi, you had merged all eight laws of the Five Elements — along with Ice, Blood, and Destruction — into one, creating the Eight Elemental Law.]
[During these three months of hunting for Flame Crystals, you had also subdued several low to mid-grade flames found in the outer and inner peripheries of the Valley of Flame. Unfortunately, you didn't encounter any top-grade flames, which could only be found in the core area.]
[But that wasn't a problem for now, as you had already collected one hundred Flame Crystals and could enter the core area at any time.]
[You arrived at the gate leading to the core area and found no one else present. You assumed you were simply too fast for the others to catch up.]
[Soon, you sacrificed all the Flame Crystals you had collected to the gate leading to the core area of the Valley of Flame.]
[The Valley of Flame wasn't like other secret realms where one had to wait for a passage to the core area to appear. Here, you could directly reach the gate and enter it by offering the required crystals.]
[Within the core area of the Valley of Flame.]
[You opened your eyes to find your cultivation sealed. In front of you was a lake of lava, and across it stretched a path of magma slabs with significant gaps between each. From the sky, flaming orbs continuously fell, crashing onto the magma blocks.]
[You anticipated that if one of those orbs were to hit, most cultivators would die instantly, reduced to ashes.]
["But I'm not among those 'most people.'"]