Just as the old patriarch forced me to my death, I achieved the unity of Dao and fruition.

Within the seal, the faint light had just pierced through the last layer of crimson jade and glazed true flames when the world before them completely changed.

All that could be seen was fire—crimson flames, golden flames, bluish-white flames, and even almost transparent colorless flames.

Fire-related rules manifested completely here, crisscrossing and expanding the entire space into an enormous fiery cavern.

What hangs overhead are no longer the stalactites of ordinary caves, but strands of solidified fire channels.

What flowed on the ground was not magma, but the purest fire-attribute spiritual energy.

Almost every rule related to "fire" can be found here.

If an ordinary fire-attribute cultivator were to enter, he would probably sit down and meditate for hundreds of years after just one glance.

At this moment, that tiny ray of light slowly lengthened, intertwining with rules, and soon condensed into a red-clad youth.

It was Gu Changjin's external immortal body, a body of rules at the limit of a true immortal.

However, unlike the outside world, this immortal being now possessed an ancient longsword.

It was the Taiyi Xuandu Sword, which had reached the level of a celestial being.

Although Gu Changjin is much bolder than before, it doesn't mean he would actually go into this ancient, uncharted place empty-handed.

It's never a bad thing to be cautious.

He drew his sword and stepped forward, and with each step he took, the fire elemental rules nearby would automatically separate.

It wasn't fear, but rather the sheer rank of this immortal being that ordinary rules couldn't truly stop it.

The deeper Gu Changjin went, the more he felt something was wrong.

"This place... it doesn't feel like it's suppressing any kind of living being?"

Contrary to expectations, there was no ancient being, sealed for countless years, frantically attacking the seal; instead, the place was excessively clean.

You could even say... it's pure.

Gu Changjin's interest immediately grew even stronger.

The figure continued deeper into the area.

I don't know how many layers of fire path rules I've crossed.

Suddenly, the light ahead illuminated the scene, and all the flames fell silent at that moment.

The once turbulent river of rules, as if having found its source, naturally began to extend in the same direction.

Gu Changjin followed the gaze and then froze.

"No...that's it?"

Deep within the seal, there were no ancient, terrifying monsters.

There was only a tiny ball of fire, really small, about the size of a baby's fist, quietly floating there.

It lacked the power to burn the heavens and boil the seas, and even its color was extremely ordinary, just a pale crimson.

But Gu Changjin only glanced at it, and the immortal outside him instinctively stopped in his tracks.

Because in the face of this small flame, all the countless fire-related rules around it seemed to become its extensions.

That was a pure form of dependence.

Gu Changjin's expression changed little by little.

He had served as the Heavenly Dao of a realm, so he understood better than most cultivators what the true underlying structure of a complete world was.

Rules are important, but they don't appear out of thin air.

Above the rules, there are the most fundamental things that constitute the world.

"The origin of fire..."

Gu Changjin stared at the small flame and finally recognized it.

The next moment, Gu Changjin's expression became somewhat strange.

"Has the Celestial Palace gone mad?"

Extract the source of fire from a great world.

Is it sealed off here?

To put it simply, this thing is one of the foundations of the world.

Water, fire, yin and yang, life and death, the five elements—these most fundamental elements are the cornerstones upon which a great world can exist normally.

Gu Changjin's first reaction was confusion.

"No! The source of fire is here."

"Then who will protect the world outside, the source of fire?"

The idea had just popped into my head.

Gu Changjin then fell silent.

A sudden flash of inspiration struck me.

The next moment, he finally understood.

"Holy crap, you can do that?"

Gu Changjin was truly impressed.

After the source of fire is removed, a gap will naturally appear in the heavens and earth.

Under normal circumstances, this would cause huge problems for the world's rules.

But what if someone voluntarily fills in the gap?

For example... what about a True Immortal who happens to cultivate the rules of fire?

True immortals are already capable of forming their own small worlds and constructing independent rules.

If another True Immortal who cultivates the Way of Fire and whose rank is high enough were to voluntarily take the place of the Source of Fire in the world.

What was the result?

He no longer merely "controls" the rules of fire, but in a sense, he has temporarily become one of the sources of the rules of fire in this world!

The rules are below him, and the world's status is enhanced by him.

"No wonder..."

Gu Changjin's lips twitched involuntarily.

No wonder those guys who cut themselves off from the True Immortal Realm all had to hide themselves after they came down.

No wonder those real old monsters in the main world, even though they are all in the lower realm, are able to hunt down true immortals in the upper realm.

Who would have thought?

On the surface, he appears to be a true immortal from the lower realm.

They secretly undermined a part of the world's foundation and put themselves on the throne!

You say you are a true immortal.

They are also "true immortals".

But if a real fight breaks out, the opposing side will be backed by a group of powerful figures.

How do you play this?

"The Celestial Palace... truly a group of talented individuals."

Gu Changjin suddenly realized that he had underestimated these old sixes before.

Moreover, this is only the Huode Immortal Palace.

Since the Fire Virtue Immortal Palace seals the origin of fire.

What about Jinde?

What about Mude?

What about the virtues of water and earth?

Further up, what does the Four Celestial Palaces suppress?

What about the main palace of the celestial palace at the very top?

Thinking of this, Gu Changjin felt a little more at ease.

Fortunately, I didn't think I could do whatever I wanted in the lower realm just because I was a true immortal at the limit of immortality.

What was buried beneath the shallow water was deeper than he had imagined.

However… Gu Changjin looked at the source of the fire again, and his expression slowly changed.

We were just studying it, but things are a little different now.

Because from the very first moment we saw the source of fire.

The Dao Fruit deep within the soul had already begun to tremble.

That longing was many times stronger than when he first saw the Innate Thunder Spirit Wood.

Gu Changjin licked the corner of his mouth.

"Others pull you out to replace you."

"My approach is simple: I just want to devour you."

Thinking about this made him laugh.

These people from the Celestial Palace are ruthless enough.

Take the bottom of the world's pot and sit on it yourself.

But Gu Changjin thought about it.

I feel like I'm even worse.

He wanted to swallow the whole pot, bottom and all.

"That's fine too."

Gu Changjin smiled and raised his hand.

"The workload of the Flame Suppressor Immortal Official will be greatly reduced in the future."

hum!

The phantom of the Dao Fruit of Returning to the Dao appeared for the first time deep within this seal.

Thousands of marks flowed.

The ball of fire that had been floating quietly suddenly trembled.

The next moment, there was no resistance whatsoever, not even the slightest disturbance was transmitted.

The source of fire was swallowed whole by the Dao Fruit.

boom!

On the surface of the Dao Fruit, a crimson flame pattern slowly emerged, echoing the previous purple-gold pattern.

Gu Changjin's eyes lit up immediately.

Last time, the Dao Fruit absorbed the projection of the Great World's origin, resulting in purple-gold Dao patterns.

Then the [Dao Fruit Enlightenment] appeared.

What about this time?

The true source of fire.

What changes will this cause in the Dao Fruit?

Meanwhile, outside the Zhenyan Hall.

The crimson jade and glazed true flames still burned fiercely.

One by one, the originally dim sealing fire patterns were relit.

Occasionally, other celestial officials from the Fire Virtue Palace would pass by in the distance and, upon seeing this scene, would shake their heads and sigh in admiration.

"This Zhenyan lineage... it's truly a tough job."

"Having just returned to his position, he already has to make up for a deficit that has lasted for millennia."

"After this trip, I'm afraid I'll need another hundred years to recover."

After a few sighs, the group left.

No one knows that the thing that should have been suppressed inside this seal... has been completely devoured by the newly arrived Flame Suppressing Immortal Official.