Zhou Yuan’s Spirit was seated atop the peak of a scarlet-red mountain. His Spirit power spread, stopping the golden fire lotuses that slowly fell from the sky before pulling them towards him. They hovered around his body.

There were already more than twenty golden fire lotuses around Zhou Yuan.

However, using his Spirit to grab and draw in the lotuses was far too troublesome. According to Zhou Yuan’s estimates, he would at most be able to collect a hundred lotuses. Any more would only create a frustrating situation, and he would not have any attention to spare for anything else.

Fortunately, Yi Qiushui’s Spirit flew over an incense stick of time later.

“The scarlet copper umbrellas are ready!” With a wave of her hand, a flash of scarlet light shot towards Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan’s Spirit rippled, and the scarlet light came to a stop before him. He looked over and saw a scarlet-red umbrella within the light. The surface of the umbrella was as smooth as a mirror. It was clearly made from wood but looked as if it was crafted from copper.

“So this is the scarlet copper umbrella?”

Zhou Yuan was a little curious. His Spirit curled around the umbrella and opened it. Faint scarlet light immediately sprinkled downwards, enveloping his Spirit. The surrounding heat swiftly dropped as if the scarlet light blocked it.

Zhou Yuan twirled the umbrella at the twenty golden fire lotuses around him. The fire lotuses were immediately drawn towards the umbrella, taking the shape of small flames as they slowly flowed around the umbrella’s edge, creating a dazzling and beautiful sight.

A look of joy involuntarily rose on Zhou Yuan’s face. Although manually pulling the golden lotus flames had not exhausted a substantial amount of his Spirit power, it was still quite a hassle. In comparison, the scarlet copper umbrella made it much easier to collect the fire lotuses. 

He estimated that this scarlet copper umbrella would be able to temporarily house over a hundred golden fire lotuses at once.

It was no wonder the umbrella was necessary in the Heaven Flame Ritual. It was indeed much more convenient with them around.

“How much longer before we can equip everyone with one?” asked Zhou Yuan.

Once everyone was equipped with a scarlet copper umbrella, they would be able to move freely in the Heaven Flame Cauldron. After all, there was a limited amount of Heavenly Sun Flames in one particular location, and they needed to constantly move about in order to collect more.

Yi Qiushui answered, “We’ve crafted a little over three hundred so far, so it should take about half a day to equip every member. Besides this, I’ve also come to report that the fire-gathering stage is in the process of being constructed.”

Zhou Yuan followed her gaze and found a giant scarlet stage slowly taking shape in the valley below. The stage was also made from scarlet copper wood and scarlet rock, and it looked like a giant scarlet ball from a distance.

This was the fire gathering stage.

Zhou Yuan nodded in approval. “Continue the construction. Those who have been allocated scarlet copper umbrellas can start to spread out and gather Heavenly Sun Fire.”

“What about the Fire Pavilion?” asked Yi Qiushui.

Zhou Yuan said, “Let’s calmly observe for the moment. They are a powerful force, and we have no choice but to wait for them to take action first. Only then will we be able to find an opening to defeat them.”

The Fire Pavilion was much stronger than their Wind Pavilion. They would have zero advantage if they took the initiative to attack.

Yi Qiushui nodded. With nothing else to report, she turned around and leaped downwards, returning to the other Wind Pavilion members to urge them to hasten the construction of the fire-gathering stage and the scarlet copper umbrellas.

Zhou Yuan raised his head and peered into the distance as his eyes narrowed slightly. It might seem calm, but a storm was brewing under the calmness.

For the next half a day, no battles erupted in the Heaven Flame Cauldron. More and more scarlet copper umbrellas were completed and quickly distributed to the Wind Pavilion members.

“Pavilion master, the fire gathering stage is complete!”

A sliver of joy flitted across Zhou Yuan’s eyes at this happy voice. His figure moved and appeared in the valley as he cast his gaze forward. A giant scarlet ball several dozen feet wide could be seen.

“Pour the Heavenly Sun Flames into it.” Zhou Yuan waved his hand.

At his command, numerous figures quickly appeared around the scarlet ball. The scarlet copper umbrellas in their hands slowly pointed forward before being closed. Golden flames leaped from umbrella towards its sharp tip, flowing along its body and pouring into the fire-gathering stage.

Crackle!

As more and more flames poured in, a golden flame began to burn in the fire-gathering stage. The surrounding scarlet copper turned red, but the heat did not spread due to its insulative properties.

Zhou Yuan also drifted forward and sent the few dozen Heavenly Sun Flames he had collected in his umbrella into the fire-gathering stage.

As the fire within the stage grew, looks of joy were revealed on the faces of the several thousand Wind Pavilion members. The bigger the flame, the more Heavenly Sun Fire they would receive later on.

“Oh?”

But it was at this moment that Zhou Yuan suddenly raised his head and looked towards a certain spot in the far away sky. With a wave of his hand, he said, “Be on guard!”

Several thousand Spirits immediately entered a state of alert as they moved into formation. 

About a thousand Spirits appeared in the distant sky. They were from the Fire Pavilion.

At the very front of the group was a somewhat familiar figure. It was one of the deputy fire pavilion masters, Wang Chen.

Zhou Yuan’s Spirit slowly rose into the air, a chilling expression in his eyes as he stared at Wang Chen and said, “Does the Fire Pavilion think such a small group will be able to take on the entire Wind Pavilion?”

Wang Chen looked at Zhou Yuan with disdain as he replied, “Pavilion master Zhou Yuan thinks too highly of us. I am merely here on our pavilion master’s orders. Our pavilion master wishes to give you another chance. If your Wind Pavilion offers us a hundred thousand fire lotuses, our Fire Pavilion will leave you a little face.”

Wang Chen’s arrogant words instantly caused fury to color the Wind Pavilion members’ faces. A hundred thousand fire lotuses…wasn’t the Fire Pavilion being a little too greedy? This was equivalent to making the Wind Pavilion work for free.

Zhou Yuan stared at Wang Chen, but did not display any anger. Instead, he laughed and said, “Deputy pavilion master Wang Chen, how about you come forward for us to have a better discussion?”

Wang Chen sneered, “Pavilion master Zhou Yuan, I hope that you won’t fail to appreciate our kindness. This is your final opportunity. Otherwise, it won’t be just the few of us coming next time.”

Of course he would not approach. How could a mere thousand of them possibly be the entire Wind Pavilion’s match? This distance was the safest, they could choose to retreat or advance without pressure.

Zhou Yuan shook his head, his eyes filled with contempt.

Wang Chen’s expression darkened substantially, but he ultimately managed to restrain his anger. He knew that Zhou Yuan was doing it on purpose. If he succumbed to his emotions and got too close, Zhou Yuan would surely finish them off to cut the Fire Pavilion’s overall power.

Zhou Yuan shook his head in disappointment. He could no longer be bothered with Wang Chen and instead looked towards the Wind Pavilion members. “Make use of the time to collect as much Heavenly Sun Fire as possible.”

He knew that Wang Chan’s group was sent by Lu Xiao to keep an eye on them. He had originally believed Lu Xiao would be impatient to cause trouble for them, but it seemed that Lu Xiao was still able to maintain his composure. It was likely that the Fire Pavilion would not attack before equipping all their members with scarlet copper umbrellas so as to prevent even a single Wind Pavilion member from escaping.

However, Zhou Yuan was unafraid. He was fully prepared and only needed to wait for the perfect opportunity to present itself. As for who would be last one standing, everyone would only find out after they fought.

Under Zhou Yuan’s command, the Wind Pavilion left a thousand members behind to keep an eye on Wang Chen’s group while the others swiftly scattered to gather Heavenly Sun Flames.

Although golden fire lotuses continuously drifted down from above, several thousand individuals were quickly able to empty the surrounding area. The ball of fire in the fire-gathering stage grew increasingly big and bright.

After collecting all the Heavenly Sun Fire in the nearby area, Zhou Yuan waved his hand, ignoring Wang Chen’s group as he led the Wind Pavilion members to other places to collect Heavenly Sun Fire.

Several hundred Spirits equipped with scarlet copper umbrellas flew past, and even the fire-gathering stage was lifted by the joint efforts of numerous Spirits.

Wang Chen’s expression darkened even more upon realizing that he was being ignored. In the end, he waved his hand as a strange and icy smile rose from the corners of his lips. “Follow them and make sure to constantly report their location to the pavilion master.

“They can gather all they want for now, but in the end, the fruits of their labor will end up in our hands.

“When the pavilion master’s plan is complete, Zhou Yuan will naturally cry and beg us for mercy!”