Nie Tian didn’t go anywhere after returning to the Realm of Maelstrom.

During this time, all kinds of books and scrolls that had records about Gupi were delivered from the Void Spirit Society, the Five Elements Sect, and the Heaven Span Pavilion.

Nie Tian focused on learning everything he could about Gupi.

At the same time, he learned that Zu Guangyao from his sect had finally stabilized his cultivation base and returned to the Realm of Fragmentary Star from the Domain of Jade Heaven as a God domain expert.

Chu Rui was recovering as fast as he could with the help of the sect’s rare treasures and the wondrous medicinal pills he had stocked up.

Sons of the Stars, including Dou Tianchen, Wang Meijia, and Fang Yuan, rubbed their hands together as they gathered forces to start a new round of punitive expeditions to the rebellious domains.

Due to Nie Tian’s sharp rise and the loss of the Remote Beginning Heavenly Sect, the Shadow Society, and the Jade Heaven Sect, the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace showed signs of revival.

Earlier, all of its thirteen subordinate domains had risen up in rebellion.

However, as Chu Rui recovered his strength and Zu Guangyao entered the God domain, the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace didn’t want to sit back anymore.

Wei Lai also sent Kan Zhisheng to ask Nie Tian if he could join the punitive expeditions to those rebellious domains.

However, after learning that Ji Yuanquan, Ye Wenhan, and the other experts hoped that he would deal with Gupi, he didn’t insist on him joining them anymore.

Inside a secret hall.

Dong Li handed an ancient scroll to Nie Tian and said, “This is from the Five Elements Sect.”

“I’m good,” Nie Tian said, without reaching out to grab it. “I’ve read pretty much every record they have about Gupi. All they say is that it has a close connection to Grand Monarch Nether Channeler of the Fiends. However, there isn’t a single record about its weaknesses or how it appeared in the first place in those books and scrolls.”

“So... any ideas?” Dong Li asked in a soft voice.

“I think I’ll take a short trip,” Nie Tian said. “That thing I used to seal Gupi’s toxic miasma in the Realm of Fragmentary Star was an Illusory Ancient Talisman. I learned how to conjure it from a magical land where the Flame Dragon Armor took me. It’s been a long time since I last visited it. I plan on going there again and seeing what I can find.”

Taken aback, Dong Li asked, “A place that the Flame Dragon Armor connects to? Where? Is it a human realm?”

Nie Tian shook his head gently. “No, it’s not.”

“How will you go there?” Dong Li asked.

“I think I’ll take a trip to the fire element sect of the Five Elements Sect first.”

“Alright, I’ll arrange it for you.”

“Great.”

…

A few days later, in the Realm of Fire Spirit.

The scorching hot realm was like an upgraded version of the Realm of Unbounded Desolation. Volcanoes could be seen everywhere, along with clouds so red that they seemed to be blazing.

SHEW!

Nie Tian appeared in a teleportation portal that stood atop a crimson mountain peak that was more than three thousand meters high.

Lou Hongyan, the Divine Daughter of the fire element sect, nodded slightly upon seeing him. “You’re here.”

A number of others stood beside her. Among them, he saw Huang Jinnan and Hou Chulan.

However, he found the rest completely unfamiliar.

One of them was a young man who was as burly as a mountain, but looked somewhat simple-minded. As Nie Tian examined him with his bloodline power, he was surprised to discover that he was at the middle Saint domain.

He caught Nie Tian’s attention.

“Nie Tian, allow me to introduce you.” Huang Jinnan laughed heartily and pointed at the young man. “This is our senior martial brother and the Divine Son of the earth element sect, Pu Yangbai. He doesn’t talk much, but he has a kind heart. He’s super nice to all of us. The reason why you haven’t met him until now is because he had been seeking breakthroughs in his cultivation in a remote area, and only came up recently.”

Each of the five sub-sects of the Five Elements Sect had their own home realm, which were the Realm of Gold Spirit, the Realm of Fire Spirit, the Realm of Earth Spirit, the Realm of Water Spirit, and the Realm of Wood Spirit.

They also each had a Divine Son or Divine Daughter.

Pu Yangbai was the Divine Son of the earth element sect. His cultivation base was at the middle Saint domain, which was the highest among all of the Divine Sons and Daughters, including Hou Chulan, the Divine Daughter of the wood element sect.

Pu Yangbai chuckled and said, “Hi, I spent the past few years seeking breakthroughs in my cultivation, so I rarely came back. After I did, I heard all of my junior martial sisters and brothers talk about you all the time. The other day, I learned that you were coming to the Realm of Fire Spirit, so out of curiosity, I decided to come meet you in person.”

“Me too,” a much younger girl with a ponytail exclaimed, looking rather immature.

“This is our junior martial sister, the Divine Daughter of the water element sect, Lin Yaoyao. She’s even younger than me.” Hou Chulan explained in a soft voice. “Yaoyao, this is Nie Tian, the man you’ve been wanting to see.”

“I also decided to come see you after learning that you were coming here,” Lin Yaoyao said with a serious expression.

Nie Tian took a quick look at her, and then realized that her cultivation base was at the early Void domain. However, she looked very young and naive, very much like a girl next door.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Nie Tian said. Then, he quickly turned to Lou Hongyan and said, “I want to know where the Flame Dragon Armor was forged, and why the magical land its Blood Core connects to is so full of wonder.”

A hesitant look appeared on Lou Hongyan’s face.

“What’s the problem?” Nie Tian frowned.

After a moment of hesitation, Lou Hongyan said, “My master is away. The grandpa who’s in charge of sect affairs has a bad temper and... he doesn’t seem to like you. Grandpa Peng thinks that the Flame Dragon Armor is a treasure of our sect. We were already tolerant enough for letting you carry it long-term, yet you wanted to come here to ask about its secrets. He was rather unhappy about this.”

“That secret sealing magic I used on Gupi. I got it through the Flame Dragon Armor.” Nie Tian said.

Lou Hongyan’s expression flickered with astonishment. “What?!”

“You want to learn those things so you can deal with Gupi?” Hou Chulan asked with a grim expression.

Nie Tian nodded.

Hou Chulan pondered briefly before turning to Lou Hongyan and saying, “I think you should send a message to notify Senior Peng. With your master away, he’s the only one who can tell Nie Tian about the Flame Dragon Armor’s secrets.”

Lou Hongyan smiled bitterly. “I’m not even sure if Grandpa Peng knows them. My master forged the Flame Dragon Armor for me. He didn’t even tell me much about its secrets. Earlier, he only instructed me to tell Nie Tian that he’d go find him one day and borrow the Flame Dragon Armor. I suppose that has something to do with its secrets.”

“Still, let’s inform Elder Peng,” Hou Chulan suggested.

“Alright then.” Lou Hongyan took out a Sound Stone and sent a wisp of her soul will into it.

A while later...

An old man with red hair, whose appearance alone suggested that he was hot-tempered, flew over in an imposing manner.

Before even reaching the mountaintop, he called out in an deafening voice, “Nie Tian, did you say that the secret sealing magic you used on Gupi came from the Flame Dragon Armor? If so, why don’t you give it back to our Divine Daughter and tell her what you know? Our sect will take on the responsibility to seal that Gupi.”

Nie Tian frowned slightly.

The old man landed with a loud boom. Eyes wide, he said aloud, “What is it? The Flame Dragon Armor was our sect’s treasure to begin with. The head of our sect forged it for his disciple. You already got to keep it for so many years and derive secret magics from it. Isn’t that enough? How much longer do you intend to keep it before giving it back to us?”

Everyone present felt awkward after hearing these words.

After taking a moment to think, Nie Tian said, “It’s not just a spiritual tool anymore. Why don’t we let it decide who it wants to be with?”