Chapter Thirty-One:
Flames of the Sky: Vault of the Burning Skies!
The Celestial Fleet soared higher than the clouds, sailing toward the next destination—the legendary Vault of the Burning Skies.
Unlike the Azure Abyss, where water ruled, here the sky itself burned.
Above a floating mountain range wreathed in eternal fire, flames curled like living serpents.
Lightning danced between peaks, and colossal spirits of fire howled into the void.
This was no ordinary place.
This was a battlefield left by gods during the ancient Celestial Wars.
At the center of the storm floated the Crimson Vault, sealed within a black meteor of burning jade.
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Preparing for Battle
Before launching the descent, the Main Character gathered his elite disciples aboard the Starbreaker.
> "The Vault of the Burning Skies will test your soul and your body," he said. "Fire here is not just heat—it burns memories, corrodes willpower, and melts foundations."
The disciples wore newly refined armor:
Phoenixfire Robes resistant to soul-burning flames.
Celestial Ice Pills to cool their bodies from within.
Wind-Step Talismans allowing movement through collapsing air currents.
The Main Character himself created these treasures, combining the arts they had collected from the Vault of Endless Waters.
This was the power of Improvement Art—
To not just learn but transform and evolve with every step.
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Storming the Burning Skies
As the fleet approached, Flame Spirits and Thunder Beasts attacked like tidal waves.
Formation Masters wove layers of air-barriers to block scorching winds.
Alchemists released Rainfall Brews into the air, temporarily suppressing firestorms.
Martial Cultivators fought midair, stepping across flame clouds and dueling spirit beasts.
The sky became a battlefield of explosions, roars, and shattering energy.
The Main Character led the assault, wielding a new technique:
"Sunpiercer Blade Art", learned from fragments within the Azure Abyss.
With every swing of his blade, beams of cold light sliced through living fire.
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Breaching the Vault
Upon reaching the black meteor, they faced the Flame Sovereign Spirit—an ancient guardian born from pure divine fire.
It spoke in a voice like burning mountains:
> "Who dares disturb the slumber of the Sky Vault?"
The battle was cataclysmic:
The Flame Sovereign conjured Infernal Lotus Arrays, creating fields of burning lotuses that devoured spirit and matter alike.
Disciples countered with Abyssal Water Arts, dampening and sealing the fire techniques.
Formation masters twisted space itself to trap the Sovereign inside a Spatial Lock Array.
Finally, using the Improvement Art to compress his energy into a single devastating point, the Main Character unleashed:
> "Void-Searing Lance!"
The concentrated strike shattered the meteor's outer shell.
The Vault opened with a howl that split the heavens.
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Treasures of the Vault
Inside, they found a treasure hall unlike any before:
True Flame Seeds: capable of birthing new spirit flames within a cultivator's dantian.
Sovereign Fire Cores: condensed divine fire that could be fused into weapons or spirit beasts.
Art Books on ancient flame control, including:
"Nine Suns Convergence Art"
"Emperor's Phoenix Method"
"Ashen Rebirth Scripture" (for rebirth after death through flames)
And most precious of all:
The Second Key: a crimson shard that pulsed in resonance with the First Key from the Azure Abyss.
The Vault also contained a memory imprint—a vision of a war between Celestial Beasts and ancient cultivators, hinting at a hidden truth:
> The true power of cultivation wasn't conquest, but balance between heaven and earth.
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Aftermath and New Horizons
With two Vaults secured, the sect's fame exploded across the continent.
Rumors spread of a rising force led by a hidden master.
Ancient clans stirred, some considering alliances, others plotting assassination.
Yet within the sect, spirits were high.
The disciples had grown stronger, their arts more profound, their unity deeper.
The Main Character stood atop Starbreaker, gazing into the distance where the next Vault awaited—the Vault of the Verdant Abyss.
In the burning skies behind him, a new legend had been written.
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End of Chapter
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Next: Chapter Thirty-Two – Descent into the Verdant Abyss: The Jungle of Endless Death.