The rapid rise of Fiery Mountain had long since become a noteworthy event throughout the entire Fire Nation.
Within the territory of the Fire Nation, "Sun-Level" powers were already few.
——A force with Nascent Soul Realm cultivators was known as a "Star-Level" power; those with Soul Divided experts were called "Moon-Level", and those with Hollow Void experts were the "Sun-Level" powers.
Those possessing Mahayana realm powerhouses were known as Transcendent Powers,
As for sects with Body Integration realm experts, they were revered as Supreme forces!
Above the Supreme forces were the terrifying Holy Land-ranked forces; it was said those forces had all once produced Immortals!
...During this time, Fiery Mountain had risen swiftly, swallowing up a bunch of Star and Moon-Level powers, and even annihilated a Sun-Level power.
This could be said to be extremely terrifying!
And now, in the southern part of the Fire Country, a sect, which previously was merely a Star-Level force, actually declared war on Fiery Mountain?
At first, most people didn't pay it any mind.
Because, in the eyes of the world, this was nothing but the Lihuo Sect being driven to a dead end and striking at a stone with an egg.
But a month later, Lihuo Sect was still there, in good condition, and no one from Fiery Mountain dared to trouble them!
This directly surprised many powers within the Fire Nation.
They all speculated that the Lihuo Sect had a hidden trump card!
Add to that the disturbances in the Cangli Mountain Range in the southern Fire Country, with reports of a great beast tide occurring, which had come out as well.
Various parties were all the more focused.
That mountain range had too many legends; for a time, all the major sects of the Fire Nation sent people there.
Even sects from other nations were rushing over!
...
A Yu Kong Flying Ship streaked across the sky.
Aboard the ship were dozens of powerful cultivators.
This group of cultivators all wore identical garments adorned with a Crimson Flame Lotus!
In the Fire Nation, the Crimson Flame Lotus was the symbol of the royal family.
This was a royal team.
At the forefront of the team a young man was looking vigilantly around, holding a long sword in his hand, carefully watching the surrounding area.
Stepping out from the cabin, a woman dressed in a pale golden gown appeared, with a graceful figure and stunning beauty; she moved with easy grace to the front and said, "We're close now, aren't we?"
The young man replied, "Reporting to the Princess, in half an hour, we will reach the Lihuo Sect!"
However, the young man paused, then added, "Princess, the Lihuo Sect is just a small Star-Level power, is it worth our visit?"
"And doing so, wouldn't it cause Fiery Mountain to be hostile towards us?"
As rulers of the Fire Country, the royal family, though powerful, also needed to balance all the powers.
Especially now, as one of the candidates for the throne of the Fire Country, the Princess was heading to the south, and it was not to the most powerful Fiery Mountain, but to an obscure Lihuo Sect...
He did not feel good about this.
But the girl simply shook her head, her beautiful eyes fixed on the road ahead as she said, "Lin Tong, remember, there's a saying, 'the way to gain help is to lend help to others'."
"Fiery Mountain is indeed very strong, but their strength is built upon the ruins of countless sects."
"A Sun-Level sect was simply wiped out because they refused to submit. Such a brutal force, whoever tries to recruit them, is making a deal with a tiger."
"On the other hand, at such a time, for a small sect like the Lihuo Sect to dare to be so bold is extremely rare."
Her lips curved slightly as she added, "Moreover, if the Lihuo Sect can declare war on Fiery Mountain and still survive for so long, this sect must not be as simple as it seems, right?"
Upon hearing this, Lin Tong also couldn't help but be startled.
...
Lihuo Sect.
Inside the grand hall.
Yu Qishui, Wei Yushan, Mu Qianning, and many elders were discussing matters.
"Elder Sect Master, are we really not going to activate the Mountain Protection Array? Fiery Mountain could attack at any time..."
An elder spoke up, his face showing a hint of trepidation.
Ever since declaring war, these elders had truly been on tenterhooks.
In their view, it was almost a death wish.
But both the former Sect Master and the current Sect Master were very confident.
Moreover, they even told everyone to cultivate in seclusion and not bother about Fiery Mountain.
At first, everyone thought that the Sect Master and the Elder Sect Master had gone mad.
Yet Fiery Mountain really never came for the Lihuo Sect.
Not even a scout had appeared.
This was completely contrary to Fiery Mountain's domineering behavior.
"Don't worry, it's been a month, they wouldn't dare to come."
Yu Qishui smiled lightly, feeling completely at ease now.
The reason why he had instructed the sect not to prepare its defenses was because if the existence behind Fiery Mountain decided to make a move, they would stand no chance at all.
And if that existence behind Fiery Mountain did make a move, perhaps, they would have done another favor for Senior Li?
Maybe, after luring out the opponent, Senior Li himself might deal with the situation. By then, what would the backing of Fiery Mountain amount to?
It can be said that they were gambling with this decision.
It was highly possible that their sect might suffer a calamitous disaster as a result.
However, he firmly believed that even if they had to sacrifice the entire sect, as long as they could do something for Senior Li, he would surely remember them!
What kind of person was Senior Li? With just a raising of his hand, a new and glorious Lihuo Sect would emerge from the ruins of the sect.
But, the game of chess he had been calculating in his heart turned out to be completely empty!
Because... Fiery Mountain actually didn't dare to come!
Damn, he had overestimated those bastards... Yu Qishui was getting quite lonely waiting.
It was too rash.
"Princess Fire Spirit of the Southern Fire Country, here to visit Lihuo Sect!"
At that moment, a clear voice rang out from beyond the mountain gate of Lihuo Sect.
Instantly, everyone in the great hall changed their expressions!
"The Princess of the Fire Country, Fire Spirit? Why has she come..."
"Fire Spirit, the Fire Emperor's third daughter."
"The Royal Family of the Fire Nation, our Lihuo Sect has never caught the royal eye, have we? Why the visit?"
Everyone started to discuss loudly.
Yu Qishui, on the other hand, had a thought.
The royal family has come too?
This can't be simple...
"Come, let's go out to welcome the Princess!"
He made a grand gesture.
Immediately, everyone went out to meet her.
"We humbly welcome Princess Fire Spirit!"
The sect gate was flung open!
Above the Yu Kong Flying Ship outside the Lihuo Sect, Fire Spirit and her entourage were waiting. Hearing this, the flying ship slowly descended.
"Princess, this Lihuo Sect is quite confident! They have offended Fiery Mountain and yet are so relaxed, not even the Mountain Protection Array is activated, and there's not a trace of defense to be seen among the sect members."
Lin Tong spoke with some surprise.
Fire Spirit, however, smiled and said, "Confident? I feel like Lihuo Sect doesn't take Fiery Mountain seriously at all?"
Her curiosity intensified about this small Lihuo Sect and the source of its confidence.
The Yu Kong Flying Ship landed.
"I am Wei Yushan, Sect Master of Lihuo Sect, and this is my teacher, Elder Yu. We welcome Princess Fire Spirit's arrival!"
Wei Yushan stepped forward and spoke.
After Fire Spirit and her people disembarked from the flying ship, she used a spell to shrink the huge vessel and tucked it into her sleeve.
She turned her gaze to Wei Yushan and was surprised, "Sect Master Wei... you've reached the Soul Divide?"
Her divine sense was extremely powerful!
The intelligence had it that Lihuo Sect was merely a force not exceeding Star-ranked, with at most two or three Nascent Soul Cultivators.
But this Wei Yushan was clearly a high-level cultivator in the Divided Spirit Realm!
This was not a Star-ranked force, but a... Moon-ranked power!
She couldn't help but glance at the other members of the sect.
When she saw Yu Qishui, she was even more taken aback, another Soul Dividing Stage cultivator, and... quite extraordinary, seemingly on the verge of entering the Hollow Void Realm?!
This was a... Quasi-Sun-Level power.
The Royal Family of the Fire Nation, as a genuine Transcendent Power with Mahayana Realm powerhouses, would pay attention to Sun-Level powers within its territory.
Yet, the Royal Family had failed to notice the emergence of a Quasi-Sun-Level power...
Her gaze then fell on Mu Qianning, and her eyes narrowed slightly in awe.
"A peerless genius!"
This young girl seemed to be about her age, but her cultivation was already at Nascent Soul Perfection, on the verge of entering the Spirit Severing Stage?
This was too monstrous!
She looked at Mu Qianning in shock, "May I ask which master this young lady follows?"