Deep within Ember Passage Ridge, at the center of a wide cavern, a cloud of Profound Yellow Earth Qi hovered in the air, heavy and still, radiating a dense, oppressive presence.
Not far from it, three middle-aged Gu Masters stood in a tense standoff. Their expressions varied, each wary of the others. The pitted ground around them made it obvious—they had already fought once.
Cai Duolian was just about to speak when his ears twitched. His gaze snapped toward a tunnel entrance. "Hmph. I've found you. Stop hiding and come out!"
The other two immediately tensed, their eyes sweeping the surroundings. But the tunnel remained silent.
Seeing this, Cai Duolian sneered and activated Wind Blade Gu. A surge of green wind blades roared forward, sweeping into the entrance.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The moment the attack struck, the rocks at the entrance shifted. Iron sand surged outward, forming a dense wall that blocked every blade. The impact left behind only scattered, shallow cuts across its surface.
Lin Yan and Shan Shayuan stepped out from the stone passage, their expressions calm as they faced the three.
Lin Yan's gaze settled briefly on Cai Duolian. Wind Path… could it be Wind Sound Gu? Detecting movement through the air? The thought passed quickly. He had no concealment methods—if he could sense others, they could just as easily sense him.
Cai Duolian's eyes narrowed as recognition struck. "Huang Family expert… Crazy Sand?!"
Wei Renhou and Shen Hexin were both startled. "What?!"
The three exchanged glances, instantly reaching an understanding—they would join forces against the Huang Family.
Shan Shayuan, however, paid them little attention. His gaze was fixed on the center of the cavern, where the dense cloud of Profound Yellow Earth Qi hovered like a mountain. His eyes gleamed. "Lin Yan, your luck is good. That's a large patch of high-grade Gu material, Profound Yellow Earth Qi."
Profound Yellow Earth Qi was among the highest-grade materials in the Earth Path. This single mass alone was worth around two hundred thousand primeval stones.
It was a core material for refining many Gu, including the Rank 5 Profound Yellow Mother Qi Gu—an opportunity once tied to Ye Fan in the original timeline. Even the Wan Family's top resource point in the Western Desert was named after it, the Profound Yellow Earth Pool.
More importantly, a past Huang Family expert who cultivated both Earth and Flame Path had created a Rank 4 Otherworldly Flame Gu recipe. Using Profound Yellow Earth Qi as the main material, one could refine Profound Yellow Earth Fire Gu with a high success rate.
For the first time since entering Ember Passage Ridge, Lin Yan felt a genuine spark of satisfaction. After searching for so long, he had finally found something truly useful to him.
At that moment, the three Gu Masters from the other Families let out cold snorts. "How arrogant. We found this Gu material first."
Lin Yan glanced at them and spoke calmly, "Then I'll buy it from you. Two hundred thousand primeval stones—will you sell?"
Cai Duolian and the others were briefly stunned. He's negotiating? They looked at Lin Yan's youthful face and quickly drew their own conclusion—naive.
Wei Renhou quietly weighed both sides. They had three Family Elders, while the other side only had Crazy Sand as a true combatant. There might be a chance here.
Shen Hexin's eyes gleamed with greed. "Three hundred thousand primeval stones."
Before Lin Yan could respond, Cai Duolian moved first. The air around them trembled as countless transparent wind blades condensed in the void, each one flashing with a sharp, cold light. In an instant, they surrounded Lin Yan and Shan Shayuan from all directions, cutting off every path.
Seeing this, Lin Yan only shrugged, almost amused by how openly greedy they were. Without hesitation, he activated Burning Wind Gu. A violent crimson gale erupted from his body, forming a roaring vortex that swept through the surroundings, shaking the cave.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The dense wind blades were torn apart in mid-air, shattering under the force of the flames. The temperature surged instantly, and scorch marks spread across the cave walls.
At the same time, Shan Shayuan acted. Multiple Gu activated together, and the ground beneath Wei Renhou and Shen Hexin shook violently. A massive black hand of iron sand burst upward, carrying a crushing force meant to grind them into pulp.
The two reacted quickly. Wei Renhou's body expanded, turning into a towering stone figure several zhang tall. He spat out a thick stream of turbid qi, weakening part of the iron sand hand. Then, enduring the pressure, he forced his way through and broke out of the enclosure.
Shen Hexin vanished just before the attack closed in, his figure disappearing as if swallowed by light.
With just this brief clash, their paths were exposed—the Cai Family specialized in Wind Path, the Wei Family in Earth Path, and the Shen Family in Light Path.
Lin Yan stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at the three. A cold glint passed through his eyes as several Gu flew out around him—Sparks Gu, Exploding Fireball Gu, Splash Gu, Burning Wind Gu, and Fire Source Gu.
Killer move—Prairie Fire.