When I woke up, I wanted to go home.

Although Zhu Chongjiu hadn't paid special attention to the day-night cycle in the Ice and Snow Continent, after arriving on the Flaming Mountain Continent and discovering its time system, he belatedly realized that although four of the five continents lacked a complete day and night cycle, each continent used its own unique celestial phenomena to divide its daily routine.

Nothing happened that night. Early the next morning, a servant knocked on the door of Zhu Chongjiu's room, inviting the Fire Emperor to the main tent for a meeting.

Zhu Chongjiu agreed, opened his eyes from his meditation, got out of bed to stretch his body, opened the door, and followed the staff to the main tent.

During this time, Zhu Chongjiu asked the staff what the Fire Flame Emperor's important matter was. The staff member respectfully replied that he was just a minor palace eunuch and that such important matters were beyond his knowledge. After hearing what the self-proclaimed palace eunuch said, Zhu Chongjiu did not make things difficult for him. He then followed his questions to the front of the main tent.

When Zhu Chongjiu was still a hundred meters away from the main tent, he smelled a delicious aroma that instantly whetted his appetite. Even Xiao Hei, who was lying on Zhu Chongjiu's shoulder, opened its eyes and changed from a crawling position to a squatting position.

After noticing Xiao Hei's actions, Zhu Chongjiu teased it and said, "Little glutton, if you had released your six senses earlier, wouldn't you have been tempted to sneak over here?" Xiao Hei let out a small "Oh ho," indicating that it wouldn't leave its Ninth Brother behind to eat alone! (Here, the six senses refer to "hearing, sight, taste, touch, smell, and the spiritual internal energy perception that only cultivators possess").

The palace eunuch lifted the curtain of the main tent, and Zhu Chongjiu went in. He found that the two sides of the tent were already full of people. In the middle of the deepest part of the tent, there were two chairs, and the Fire Emperor sat in one of them.

The moment Zhu Chongjiu entered the tent, the previously noisy and deafening tent instantly fell silent. Upon seeing Zhu Chongjiu, the Flame Emperor immediately stood up and walked towards him, saying with great enthusiasm, "Brother Jiu, come quickly! Yesterday, I heard from the Imperial Tutor and the others that you have some cravings. So yesterday, I specially had someone deliver a 'Fire-bellied Golden Pheasant' overnight."

Although this kind of demon beast is not of high level and has no cultivation value for us high-level mages, it is extremely delicious. As the Fire Emperor spoke, he pointed to the fire in the center of the tent, where several chicken-shaped demon beasts that looked like piglets were being roasted. Someone was also sprinkling unknown seasonings on the fire-bellied pheasants.

Zhu Chongjiu looked at the roast chicken and chuckled as he replied, "Emperor Huoyan truly understands me. Now, besides my dedication to cultivation, this is my only remaining hobby!"

Amidst their laughter and chatter, they arrived at the central seat deep within the tent.

Emperor Huoyan invited Zhu Chongjiu to sit next to him. Zhu Chongjiu initially disagreed, but Emperor Huoyan pressed him down into the chair and said to him with feigned displeasure, "What's wrong, Ninth Brother? You can be sworn brothers with that kid Lai Xun, but not with me, Huoyan? Am I, Huoyan, not qualified enough?"

Upon hearing the words of the Fire Flame Emperor, Zhu Chongjiu could only shake his head helplessly. Zhu Chongjiu had been thinking about this all the way to the main tent. Seeing how enthusiastic the Fire Flame Emperor was, he could basically guess what was going on. Besides recognizing Zhu Chongjiu's strength and the grace of spreading his teachings, the most important thing was that the Emperor might mention the reward of the Saint-level natural treasure, the "Glazed Sacred Fire Tree," later.

After all, that Glazed Sacred Fire Tree, in principle, was what I obtained, even though Zhu Chongjiu had previously said he didn't want it anymore, and that he wanted some things that were completely dispensable in the eyes of Emperor-level experts.

But what if I change my terms in the next few days, make exorbitant demands, or even try to take back the Glazed Sacred Fire Tree?

If we were to use force, putting aside my combat prowess, just considering my status, I am a peer king of the Ruixue Kingdom, on par with King Laixun of the Ruixue Kingdom. Furthermore, even judging solely from combat prowess, based on our brief exchange, if I were solely focused on escaping, the Flame Empire might not be able to hold me and Xiao Hei. I suspect the Flame Emperor understands this as well!

Zhu Chongjiu looked at the Flame Emperor, who was personally cutting up the roasted meat for him with great enthusiasm, and the royal ministers below who were all respectful and smiling, frequently raising their cups to toast him. Zhu Chongjiu did not say much.

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Zhu Chongjiu felt that there was no point in dragging it out any longer, so he took the initiative to speak and said to the Fire Emperor, "I wonder what Your Majesty plans to do with that Glazed Sacred Fire Tree?"

As soon as Zhu Chongjiu finished speaking, the entire tent, which had been bustling with noise, suddenly fell silent, and everyone's eyes fell on Zhu Chongjiu and the Fire Flame Emperor.

Upon hearing Zhu Chongjiu's words, the Fire Emperor put down his wine cup and laughed heartily as he addressed the crowd below, saying, "Since you've all eaten enough today, you can all go back now and do whatever you need to do. My brother Jiu and I have a heart-to-heart talk."

Upon hearing the order from Emperor Huoyan to dismiss the guests, all the princes and ministers immediately stood up, respectfully clasped their hands in farewell to Emperor Huoyan and Zhu Chongjiu, and departed.

Once only Emperor Huoyan and Zhu Chongjiu remained in the tent, Emperor Huoyan looked at Zhu Chongjiu and said, "Ninth Brother, please don't call me Emperor. Our Huoyan Empire has always respected the strong. You are stronger than me, and you have even taught and enlightened me. You also helped our Huoyan Empire obtain such a powerful Saint-level natural treasure as the Glazed Sacred Fire Tree. If you don't mind, just call me Huoyan."

Upon hearing the words of the Fire Emperor, Zhu Chongjiu thought to himself, "This is a double-edged sword, flattering me to death!"

Zhu Chongjiu smiled and said to the Fire Flame Emperor: Since you've said so, I'll call you Fire Flame. But you won't lose out by calling you Fire Flame.

Although I obtained the Glazed Sacred Fire Tree for you, I know that even if I don't get it this time, your Flame Empire will get such an important treasure in the future, only at a greater cost—thirty? fifty? or even eighty Great Emperors.

Although a hundred or eighty emperors are of little use in times of peace and prosperity, they are a different story in times of war. Since I saw your army, I have vaguely noticed that you seem to be on high alert at all times. Could it be that the Flame Empire is about to launch a military campaign?

Upon hearing Zhu Chongjiu's words, the Fire Emperor was about to reply when Zhu Chongjiu waved his hand and continued, "Fire Emperor, don't be in a hurry. What I said won't leave you at a loss. What I just said is secondary. The main thing is that you can put your mind at ease. I said I didn't want that Glazed Sacred Fire Tree, so I don't want it. You can put your mind at ease now."

Upon hearing Zhu Chongjiu's words, the Flame Emperor's inner joy was immediately apparent. He stretched out his two fiery red hands to embrace Zhu Chongjiu, but Zhu Chongjiu took a step back and said, "I told you, I won't let you worry, I won't let you worry. Also, if your Flame Empire encounters any difficulties while I'm on the Flame Mountain Continent, I can lend a hand to help you resolve them."

At this moment, the Flaming Mountain Emperor was so excited that tears were almost flowing. He stammered to Zhu Chongjiu, "I was really petty today." Then, he turned around, picked up the wine barrel on the table, and said, "I'll drink this barrel of wine as an apology to Brother Jiu!"

After speaking, the Flame Emperor picked up the wine barrel, which was about half the size of Zhu Chongjiu, and began to gulp it down. Ten minutes later, the Flame Emperor had drunk the entire barrel of wine. Moreover, Zhu Chongjiu noticed that the Flame Emperor had not used any magic to digest the wine, which caused the Flame Emperor's already dark red face to become even redder.

Zhu Chongjiu felt the timing was about right, and with a concerned expression, he asked softly, "Now, Huoyan, can you tell me what exactly happened in the Flame Empire? The army is on high alert, which is why you're being so careful?"

After hearing Zhu Chongjiu's question, the Fire Emperor slowly walked back to his chair and sat down.

He said with reminiscence, "A hundred years ago, when the sacred flame was still at Flaming Mountain...!" Upon hearing this, Zhu Chongjiu quickly interrupted, "Alright, alright, alright, I know everything about the sacred flame being lost a hundred years ago. Don't waste time, tell me something I don't know a hundred years from now!"

Seeing Zhu Chongjiu's somewhat impatient expression, Huo Yan said "Oh," and sat up straight again before saying, "About fifty years after the Holy Mountain lost its sacred fire, the Holy Mountain suddenly trembled. This phenomenon was unprecedented in scale."

It was as if the foundation of the entire sacred mountain was connected to the entire Flaming Mountain continent. The tremor brought about an anomaly, which could even be felt in Laihuo City, which was tens of thousands of miles away from the sacred mountain.

After the strange movements on the sacred mountain lasted for a whole day, they suddenly stopped. Later, according to the hunting team that was in the forbidden area of ​​the Flaming Mountain at the time, when the sacred mountain shook, they found that all the monsters were lying on the ground, trembling!

This reminds me of the legend of the Flaming Mountain Continent.

At this moment, Zhu Chongjiu interjected: "You mean there is a super giant beast being suppressed on the Flaming Mountain Continent?"

The Flame Emperor looked at Zhu Chongjiu and replied, "That's right! Otherwise, what could cause such a great commotion? And what could make all the beasts submit?"

After pondering for a moment, Zhu Chongjiu raised another question: "The commotion fifty years ago shouldn't have kept you constantly preparing for war and on high alert for the past fifty years, right?"

As expected of Ninth Brother, he is exceptionally intelligent. After flattering him, the Fire Emperor said, "After the anomaly, I sent people to investigate, but they found nothing amiss. Moreover, no anomalies occurred in the following years."

Ten years later, the Holy Mountain experienced another massive tremor, the same one that had occurred ten years prior. However, this time, the tremor caused many demonic beasts to fly out from the mountain pass. Upon hearing this, Zhu Chongjiu interrupted the Fire Flame Emperor and asked, "Is it the Fire Lice Sacred Beast you mentioned?"

No, it's a kind of monster that has never been seen on the Flaming Mountain Continent. The supernatural power that this monster uses is also a supernatural power that has never appeared on the Flaming Mountain Continent before. This supernatural power is very effective against the fire element of our Flaming Mountain Continent.

Once these monsters burst out of the Holy Mountain's exit, they hunted and killed any living creature they saw, whether it was a monster or a human.

Later, survivors from a hunting party near the sacred mountain recalled that the moment these monsters rushed out of the sacred mountain's exit, the Fire Lice Sacred Beasts also rushed out from various cracks in the sacred mountain to kill and block them, but six of them still managed to escape.

Upon hearing the news, I immediately organized a force of one hundred emperors leading an army of one hundred thousand, divided into ten groups, each led by ten emperors and ten thousand soldiers, to venture deep into the forbidden zone of the Flaming Mountain and exterminate these monsters.

After nearly a year of searching and hunting, all six demonic beasts were finally eliminated. However, this hunt also cost me more than sixty Great Emperors and nearly 50,000 soldiers. This shows that although these demonic beasts that came out of the Holy Mountain were also at the Emperor level, they were still terrifying.

After that, every ten years, the sacred mountain would experience such a massive tremor, and each time more monsters would rush out than the last time. Last time, a total of seventeen monsters rushed out.

Calculating the time, in less than a year, it should be the time of the fifth Holy Mountain earthquake. In the past forty years, our Flame Empire has lost nearly four hundred Emperor-level powerhouses and an army of 350,000.

This is why your King Rai Xun sent people to ask for help some time ago, but I didn't reply at all. We were also preparing for this great earthquake on the sacred mountain and simply didn't have time to deal with it!

After hearing the words of the Fire Emperor, Zhu Chongjiu pondered for a while and then said, "What kind of monsters have emerged from the Holy Mountain Pass? What are their supernatural powers? They have already emerged four times. Haven't you found their weaknesses yet?"

Upon hearing Zhu Chongjiu's question, the Flame Emperor immediately replied, "Since Ninth Brother is going to help our Flame Empire, then I'd like to let Ninth Brother know more about it!"