Yuan Qilong focused all his energy on the divine fire: "Chase it quickly! If it escapes, it will be hard to find again."
The three of them hurried to pursue it, sparing no effort in their chase, but the divine fire was extremely fast and erratic! It darted about, causing the three to get separated.
While searching for the divine fire, Yuan Qilong shouted, "Bi Long! Young friend Ming! Where are you?"
On the other side, Ming Zhitian and Yuan Bi Long were also shouting in different directions, "Ancestor! Bi Long! ...Zhitian! ..."
Meanwhile, Yuan Qilong encountered a Rainbow Beast, as massive as a mountain range, its imposing presence exuding power without any wind.
Elsewhere, Yuan Bi Long met a fair-skinned woman with no clothes on. Upon inquiry, it turned out she was a descendant of Xian You!
Here, Ming Zhitian discovered the divine fire. After several pursuits, he managed to control and capture it using the "Imperial Weapon Art."
The divine fire had its own consciousness: "Don't come near me, ... don't come near me!"
"Hand it over!"
Ming Zhitian snatched it into his storage bag and then mused, "Ancestor Yuan mentioned that wherever there is divine fire, there will be a Divine Energy Wielder. I must proceed with caution and avoid offending this Divine Energy Wielder."
As he was thinking, he took only a few steps before stepping on a stone switch on the ground, causing him to fall in.
...
After a while, Ming Zhitian landed in a tomb. Dust covered everything, but it lay solid and unmoving rather than swirling, suggesting a history of immense antiquity.
"Boom!..." The sound echoed.
"Not good!" Ming Zhitian's pupils widened, and he hurried to the entrance. He found it locked by a mechanism. If he chose to force his way out, he knew without a doubt it would collapse. A tomb this size, if it collapsed, would be disastrous even for an immortal.
The tomb contained nothing but a stone coffin. Ming Zhitian approached and examined it closely. It was indeed made of the rare solitary True Star Radiance Stone.
There were no inscriptions on the coffin, but at its corner, a few inconspicuous small characters read "Fei Ren Mo Li" (废人莫离).
Ming Zhitian was immediately intrigued: "This suits my taste. It has character."
He reasoned that this could not have been written by an enemy or someone else; it must have been written by the person inside the coffin. If someone else had written it, they wouldn't have chosen such an inconspicuous corner with such small characters.
It was clear this person wanted to remain anonymous while also confirming their identity within the coffin – a contradiction.
As Ming Zhitian slowly moved closer, suddenly, a bright light shot out from the stone coffin, striking him and sending him flying!
"Cough cough..." Ming Zhitian felt as if he had been slapped by someone at the tenth level of the Divine Luo realm, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
The "Longevity Art" within Ming Zhitian's body activated on its own, and he quickly recovered. He slowly stood up, brushing the dust off his clothes. "This place is too strange. Even a mere stone coffin possesses such immense power. It's not wise to linger here; the sooner I leave, the better."
He retreated to a distance from the stone coffin, maintaining a safe space, and then bowed. "Apologies, senior, for disturbing you. I shall depart now."
A moment later...
A good while passed...
Half a day went by...
"Eh? That's strange. How can it be completely sealed? There's no way out!"
Ming Zhitian searched for a long time but could not find an exit. The divine fire, impatient, declared, "I don't want to be trapped here to die with this kid."
It then willingly escaped from the storage bag. Just as Ming Zhitian reached out to grab it, the divine fire helped Ming Zhitian activate the stone coffin, and the lid opened!
Ming Zhitian quickly bowed apologetically to the stone coffin. "Senior, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! It wasn't me; it was that divine fire that opened it. If you want someone to blame, blame it. Please don't blame me, and forgive my intrusion..."