Chapter 322: Chapter 307: Sea of Fire Consciousness
It is said that long, long ago, powerful inhabitants existed in the Fire God Little Thousand World, but they later vanished for unknown reasons. Many Profound Level and Divine Level Small Thousand Realms met a similar fate, as if they were struck by a Celestial Tribulation or a devastating attack from some supreme expert. Many ruins left behind by Cultivators can still be found here.
"Thousand Tempered Fire Spirit Stones usually form near a Sea of Fire. Let’s just find them and not stir up any extra trouble," Mingren said, looking at the eager Li Tianyi.
The towering, flame-wreathed plants had already noticed the outsiders. They emanated a tyrannical and aggressive scorching Elemental Power, to say nothing of other hidden dangers.
No wonder this place was known as a Divine Level Small Thousand Realm.
"Looks like the power of the big three isn’t just talk. To think they could conquer a place of this level," Li Tianyi remarked with a hint of awe.
"Heh, their ’conquest’ and the one you’re imagining are two different things," Mingren said with a smile as the three of them carefully avoided the life forms of the Fire God Little Thousand World.
The Sea of Fire was easy to find. That boiling red glow in the distance was it. There were many Seas of Fire in the Fire God Little Thousand World, and the Thousand Tempered Fire Spirit Stones formed near them.
Despite having taken Fire-Extinguishing Pills and being protected by a Fire-Resistant Shield, they could still feel the intense heat radiating from the Demon Beasts and plants.
The trio’s luck had been good so far, but a fight was inevitable.
A lizard-like Demon Beast shot out from the Flame Jungle, lunging straight for Mingren.
The crisis was instantaneous. The trio only sensed a sudden shift in the heat before a massive Fire Salamander charged out.
The attacks of Demon Beasts in the Fire God Little Thousand World were known for their ferocity; many Cultivators couldn’t even withstand a single blow.
In that critical moment, Mingren blocked the Fire Salamander’s fangs by a hair’s breadth. The scorching heat that rushed at him felt like it would cook him alive.
Wang Meng and Li Tianyi struck at the exact same moment. Both the Broken Heaven Edge and the Lihuo Sword were unleashed with full power. Here, the might of abilities belonging to the Five Elements of Fire was also amplified.
BOOM! BOOM!
The Sword Qi converged on the Fire Salamander. With a sudden sweep of its tail, the beast’s body turned fiery red as it leaped up, howling. Wang Meng had already struck again with his Broken Heaven Edge, his Sword Qi relentlessly slashing at the Fire Salamander’s back. But the Exotic Beast’s defenses were incredibly tough; it was only slightly wounded despite enduring Wang Meng’s ferocious assault. Li Tianyi blocked the Fire Salamander’s path of retreat.
SHINK...
The struggling, roaring Fire Salamander abruptly fell silent. Mingren’s sword had slid along the white line on its underbelly.
Blood sprayed violently, igniting the moment it hit the ground. The trio shot backward.
The entire exchange had taken place in a flash, but all three had given it their all. And yet, they had only barely managed to kill what was a very common Exotic Beast in the Fire God Little Thousand World.
The Fire Salamander thrashed on the ground for a moment before collapsing, blood continuing to pour out.
Suddenly, Wang Meng felt something was wrong with the ground. "Move, now!"
At his shout, they moved in near-perfect unison, gliding dozens of meters away. The ground rumbled, and a fissure cracked open. Fiery red vines shot out from the earth, their countless thorns plunging into the Fire Salamander’s body. The vines then coiled around the corpse, dragging it underground.
In an instant, the surroundings grew calm again, as if nothing had happened.
The three looked at each other, speechless. They were now certain that this was no place for ordinary people.
Fan Hong’s shock made sense. How could cultivators of their level have received such a ridiculously difficult mission?
Still, their luck was genuinely good. Aside from that one Fire Salamander, they had only taken out a few nameless plants that blocked their path.
The Sea of Fire was now right before them—a massive, spectacular pool of flames. It was extraordinarily quiet. On one side of the fiery pool, points of light flashed continuously. That must be the Thousand Tempered Fire Spirit Stones.
Li Tianyi prepared to make his move but was pulled back by Mingren.
Wang Meng also waved him off and pointed ahead. The three held their breath, and it was then they finally noticed what was wrong.
Near the Sea of Fire, what looked like rocks... were actually Fire Salamanders, along with other unknown Exotic Beasts.
They were densely packed... The sight gave the three of them goosebumps. There were at least tens of thousands.
’How the hell can anyone deal with this?’ Thousand Tempered Fire Spirit Stones weren’t considered rare in the Fire God Little Thousand World—you could just pick them up. The only catch was that you had to risk your life to do it.
"We can’t fight them head-on. The three of us will split up and try our luck. Whether we succeed or not, we regroup at the Teleportation Array in half an hour."
Wang Meng said. The Sea of Fire was vast. Even with so many Exotic Beasts, there had to be an opening somewhere.
Li Tianyi and Mingren nodded in agreement.
Wang Meng quietly observed the surrounding terrain. The Thousand Tempered Fire Spirit Stones were clearly treasures formed by absorbing the Essence of the Sea of Fire, which was why they were all located near it. ’There must be even more inside the Sea of Fire itself,’ he mused, ’but unfortunately, the extreme temperatures there are something no Cultivator could possibly withstand.’
After observing for a while, Wang Meng noticed that these ferocious Exotic Beasts were as still as if they were taking an afternoon nap. Yet he knew if an intruder were to appear, they would likely be torn to shreds in an instant.
His Heart Spirit gradually spread out, slowly reaching the clusters of sleeping Exotic Beasts. They were immersed in a very peaceful state, but it wasn’t a deep slumber. He could imagine that the slightest disturbance would trigger a cataclysmic eruption of violence.
’Don’t even think about attacking.’
’These Exotic Beasts are incredibly sensitive. Sneaking up on them is impossible.’ This was a real conundrum for Wang Meng. ’Mingren and Li Tianyi must be facing the same problem.’
Wang Meng’s Heart Spirit continued to probe. A few of the Exotic Beasts opened their eyes, a puzzled look on their faces, as if they sensed something was amiss. But when they found nothing, they simply shook their heads and went still as stone once more.
As Wang Meng’s Heart Spirit expanded further, it touched the Sea of Fire. Instantly, a peculiar sensation washed over him.
It was an immensely powerful, surging force, with the oppressive weight of a mountain range. It wasn’t enough to intimidate Wang Meng, however. While its might was impressive, it was nothing compared to his Godhood. This was simply a natural power, different from the power of cultivation realms.
The Sea of Fire was made of pure, natural Five Elements Flame. Even for someone with the Five Elements Master Flame, their Five Elements Power would be tainted with too many impurities from the human body. But Wang Meng was different. His body had been thoroughly cleansed and remolded by his Godhood, making it a perfect Five Elements Body. As such, Wang Meng’s body also contained the purest form of the Five Elements Flame.
As Wang Meng’s Heart Spirit expanded, the Sea of Fire’s own consciousness apparently grew curious about him. Because he radiated pure Five Elements Power, the Sea of Fire Consciousness showed no strong hostility, only curiosity.
Through this one Sea of Fire, Wang Meng felt as though he could see all the countless other Seas of Fire throughout the Fire God Little Thousand World.
It was as if the entire Fire God Little Thousand World possessed a single, powerful, natural consciousness.
It was a wondrous experience. Wang Meng’s perception seemed to expand, as if he could scan the entire Small Thousand Realm in a single instant.
But it was only a momentary illusion. Wang Meng’s Spiritual Power was instantly depleted. Such a drain was simply not something an ordinary Cultivator could withstand.
Heart Spirit Refinement was an incredibly advanced form of Magic. At the Cultivation Academy, only Cultivators at the Thirtieth Layer or higher would even begin to learn it. Someone like Jiang Qingqing only had a basic foundation from her time in the Red Beauty Sect. But there were several fundamental rules to cultivating the Heart Spirit. One was to never initiate contact with a powerful consciousness, because a strong consciousness could easily devour or destroy a weaker one. In the world of the Heart Spirit, strength was everything—it was absolute. This was completely different from combat with Elemental Power, which relied heavily on technique.
But Wang Meng knew nothing of these rules. In fact, he was quite interested in making contact with other Heart Spirits. Every consciousness he had touched before had been destroyed. This was his first time encountering such a wondrous, natural consciousness.
For a Cultivator, instantly depleting one’s Spiritual Power usually led to one of two outcomes: suffering a cultivation deviation, becoming Fallen into Demon and turning into an imbecile, or instant death. Neither was a good thing.
But the moment Wang Meng’s Spiritual Power was depleted, his Divine Sense emerged. The power from his Godhood began to continuously nourish his Sea of Heart, and some color returned to his pale face.
He had experienced this feeling of total depletion countless times. A sensation that an ordinary person could not endure was completely routine for him. He easily depleted his power every time he trained against the Godhood within the Heaven and Earth Spirit Locking Array, and he had gradually grown numb to it.
The moment his Divine Sense emerged, the placid Sea of Fire began to churn violently. Flames shot out in all directions, and the countless Exotic Beasts opened their eyes, letting out terrified growls.
Wang Meng could feel the sensations coming from the Sea of Fire Consciousness: surprise, confusion... and from the now-frenzied Sea of Fire, the strongest reaction of all—fear.
Wang Meng breathed a sigh of relief. ’I have to admit, Old Moo’s Godhood is pretty reliable,’ he thought. It wasn’t just useful for dealing with Cultivators; it exerted a considerable oppressive force on these strange entities as well.
’Good thing it was just a wisp of my Divine Sense,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, heaven only knows what I would have provoked the Sea of Fire into becoming.’
This was the truly terrifying aspect of the Godhood, the reason it was called a heaven-defying artifact. In a way, Old Moo got what was coming to him. An Evil Cultivator’s purpose is to defy the heavens, and by allowing a Godhood to enter the Lower Realm, he had committed the greatest possible violation of heavenly law.
It was something no one had ever accomplished before.
Wang Meng tried to send a message of goodwill. He knew his own limits; he only had a tiny bit of Divine Sense, and with his Godhood’s power trapped by the Heaven and Earth Spirit Locking Array, he couldn’t bring out its full strength. The total consciousness of the Sea of Fire was far greater than his own. He was just bluffing, using this single wisp of Divine Sense—whose qualitative tier was far above the Sea of Fire’s—to intimidate it.
If the bluff failed, Wang Meng’s only option was to flee.
The churning Sea of Fire gradually calmed, and the countless Exotic Beasts returned to their normal state. Soon after, however, the beasts began to part, or more precisely, they moved to form a perfectly clear path.
Wang Meng felt the Sea of Fire calling to him. ’Damn,’ Master Wang was truly conflicted. He had no idea what this Sea of Fire Consciousness truly was. If it decided to attack, a single wave of fire would incinerate him. But...
But Wang Meng was a born risk-taker. If he passed up this opportunity, he knew he’d never be able to live with himself.
Meanwhile, Li Tianyi and Mingren, who hadn’t gone far, also sensed the change in the Sea of Fire and immediately took cover. When they saw the densely packed horde of Exotic Beasts rise to their feet, they both couldn’t help but gasp.
’Don’t tell me these things are done with their nap and are about to start dinner?’
Suddenly, amidst the horde of countless Exotic Beasts, they spotted the figure of a person. The sight nearly made them cry out in shock. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for it with recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
