The Original Story Isn't Like This at All

Beneath the Holy City, the Heavenly Flame Ceremony was about to begin.

Two figures zigzagged through the crowd. Before long, they slipped out of the bustling throng and headed into a secluded alleyway.

Ye Shu groped around the ground, his eyes suddenly lighting up.

Click.

He applied a little force with his palm and pressed down.

A fissure instantly opened in the ground. A scorching aura surged out from the crack, carrying a faint cyan glow.

"This is the place," Ye Shu said, a look of joy on his face.

"This path leads directly to where the Snake-People Tribe stores the Green Lotus Heavenly Flame, saving us the trouble of tangling with the guards at the entrance."

Bingxuanzi, who was following behind him, was completely dumbfounded.

"Didn't you stay indoors all day, lounging on your chair eating watermelon and looking at beautiful women? How did you secretly figure out this route better than I have?"

Seeing Bingxuanzi's expression, as if he had just seen a ghost, Ye Shu smiled calmly.

Could a normal protagonist skip all the tedious intelligence-gathering steps without even stepping outside, and directly obtain the information leading to the ultimate treasure?

The invisible hand of the Heavenly Dao is quite magical, isn't it?

But could he say that out loud?

Definitely not.

Therefore, Ye Shu merely offered a mysterious smile. He pulled two garments from his pocket, keeping one for himself and handing the other to Bingxuanzi.

"Stop making a fuss and put this on."

"What is this?"

Bingxuanzi took the clothes and examined them. Feeling the fabric, his first thought was that it was incredibly rough, too stiff even to use as toilet paper.

"It's sackcloth, you know? The kind mortals wear."

"Pure coarse cloth. No spiritual materials or plants mixed in. Absolutely handmade and completely natural. I went through a lot of trouble to get these."

Ye Shu had already quickly changed into his. He pulled the hood up, covering most of his face, leaving only his chin exposed.

"Why do we need to wear this?"

"For disguise, of course."

"Did you expect us to swagger down there in our regular clothes?"

"Do you think this is your own backyard?"

"But the problem is, this thing is just a piece of cloth! Purely handmade with no magical properties whatsoever. If you wanted a disguise, you could have at least gotten something decent."

Bingxuanzi looked at the sackcloth in his hands with a face full of disgust.

"That's because disguises are completely useless anyway," Ye Shu said matter-of-factly. "The moment we show our faces and make a move, everyone will know who we are."

??????

Bingxuanzi was thoroughly confused. "So you're just contradicting yourself?"

"Then why are we wearing it?"

"For the disguise."

Ye Shu said with a straight face, "You don't understand. This is how it always goes in the novels. Deserts, wastelands, stealing treasures, making enemies of the whole world... you have to wear an outfit like this. It's about the sense of ritual."

What kind of reason was that?

Bingxuanzi's mouth twitched. But seeing that Ye Shu had already put his on, he felt he would stand out if he didn't, so he obediently changed into the sackcloth.

And truth be told, once he put on the outfit, a bleak and desolate aura really did emerge.

Especially when he pulled the little hood up.

The vibe instantly hit the mark.

The whole world felt different.

It gave off the feeling of being targeted by the entire world, forced to hide one's name and travel alone. Just wearing this outfit brought out a strong sense of narrative.

The way Bingxuanzi looked at Ye Shu changed.

He hadn't expected this kid to be so particular about acting cool...

No, so particular about the art of dressing.

He made up his mind that if they returned successfully and his seal was lifted, he would get himself a similar outfit specifically designed to hide his cultivation base.

"Once you put on these clothes, you cannot speak casually," Ye Shu warned.

"Why?" Bingxuanzi, who was still enjoying the novelty, asked curiously.

Ye Shu put on a look of worldly experience.

"Because true masters are always men of few words."

Hearing this, Bingxuanzi subconsciously shut his mouth and used his eyes to signal that he was ready.

The two nodded at each other, turned, and leaped into the fissure.

As soon as they entered, a scorching aura rushed at their faces, making it impossible to open their eyes. After falling for an unknown depth over the course of about fifteen minutes, a fiery light appeared ahead.

This was a massive underground cavern. Below them lay a vast magma lake, bubbling occasionally and sending sparks flying as the bubbles burst.

The surrounding rock walls were baked red-hot, radiating rolling waves of heat.

This was an ocean of fire.

Ye Shu and Bingxuanzi stood on a rocky outcrop in the magma lake. Beneath their feet was the churning magma, and the rising heat currents fluttered their sackcloth garments.

Amidst the cavern filled with crimson light, there were also a few glimmers of cyan.

"Is that the Green Lotus Heavenly Flame?"

Ye Shu pointed toward the center of the magma lake. There sat a lotus platform where a cyan fire lotus bloomed quietly. It emitted a soft radiance, appearing somewhat cool and aloof in this scorching underground world.

But if one thought it was gentle and harmless.

They would be gravely mistaken.

Even though it was only ranked fourteenth among the spiritual flames, a full-force eruption would force even a Soul Formation cultivator to retreat.

Even the magma below was flowing around it.

Just as the two were silently observing, a voice suddenly echoed through the cavern.

"Bloodstained clothes remain unarmored, white bones buried in desolate mounds.

Life hangs on a mere breath, while the lord treads the nine heavens of autumn.

The tiger tally reforges courage, the dragon banner rises once more.

How shall I repay this life? By tempering my blade with the heavenly flame."

Ye Shu and Bingxuanzi turned around at the same time, only to see that a figure had silently appeared on another rocky outcrop not far from them.

The man wore a dark red battle robe and carried a long spear on his back. A flamboyant character for martial was embroidered on his chest. He was looking at them with a smiling face.

"Fellow Daoist Bing, long time no see."

Ye Shu's brow twitched.

Tempering the blade with the heavenly flame... the other party had also come for the flame.

"Who is he?"

"Wu Tianxing, one of the enshrined experts of the Grand Wu Dynasty. It is said he used to be a lowly soldier. Once, when he was about to be killed by an enemy nation on the battlefield, the late Emperor of the Grand Wu Dynasty, who was personally leading the army, happened to save his life. Later, by a stroke of luck, he obtained the inheritance of an ancient military master, and has been fiercely loyal to the Grand Wu Dynasty ever since."

"So it's him," Ye Shu nodded.

Xiaobai had mentioned him before. To prevent Queen Medusa from devouring the heavenly flame to break through to the Soul Formation stage, which would allow her to expand her territory and squeeze the Grand Wu Dynasty's living space, the dynasty would also send someone to stop her.

Just as he was thinking about this, another voice rang out.

"Eighty years atop the Purple Cloud Peak, a sudden epiphany of the mortal realm.

Waking from the dream to realize I am but a guest, looking back, a hundred years have passed.

The green blade once reflected the cold, lonely moon, jade steps face the late falling flowers in vain.

If one asks about the path of the past, the clouds are in the blue sky, the water in the cup."

A purple figure floated down from the cave entrance, her robes fluttering. She landed on another rocky outcrop. It was none other than the Peak Master of Purple Cloud Peak, Mu Yunxi.

She was followed by four disciples.

Su Xiao was impressively among them.

Just as expected.

Ye Shu wasn't the least bit surprised by their arrival. Even though the Azure Mystery Sect hadn't participated in this part of the original plot, the system wouldn't just let him grow unchecked. After suffering multiple setbacks earlier, it was bound to intervene personally.

And that was exactly the case.

Su Xiao, trailing behind Mu Yunxi, was completely bewildered.

He was still racking his brains trying to figure out how to quietly leave the group and sneak to this place, only to find that his master and junior sisters knew the way better than he did, zigzagging right in.

This... this... this isn't right, is it?

The original plot wasn't like this at all!!!!