txolops Chapter 144 Cultivation
Chapter 144 Cultivation
He pondered for a moment, then connected his consciousness with the Zhiyang Bird, whose realm had been stabilized.
"You possess the supreme Yang spiritual fire and have recently awakened the Vermilion Bird bloodline, making you most sensitive to the power of this earth fire. Why not venture deeper into the earth fire and investigate to see if there's anything unusual below?"
"Chirp chirp!"
The Zhiyang Bird responded with a clear chirp, flapped its wings, and a faint golden flame ignited around its body, pushing away all the magma and subterranean fire. Then it transformed into a streak of crimson-gold light and plunged straight into the churning magma lake below, diving downwards.
Luo Ming waited quietly outside, sensing the messages transmitted by his spirit pet with his mind. Time slowly passed, and the Fat Sun Bird had gone thousands of feet deep. All it reported was a scorching, pure but unremarkable environment of earth fire, and it did not find any signs of a secret realm entrance or strange spiritual creatures.
Another incense stick's time passed, and crimson-gold light shot out from the magma, and the Fat Sun Bird landed back beside him.
Since there's no problem with the subterranean fire, then all that's left is this rock wall that keeps emitting yin energy.
A yellow light flashed across Luo Ming's body, and his figure suddenly disappeared, disappearing into the rock wall. He had used the Earth Escape Technique.
Perhaps it was because the Fat Sun Bird absorbed too much Yin energy when it advanced, that when it first entered the cave, it felt no different from ordinary rocks. However, as it went deeper, the Yin energy inside began to increase slowly.
As he descended thousands of feet underground, the immense pressure and bone-chilling yin energy suddenly assaulted him. Although he had a spiritual energy shield, the yin energy seemed to penetrate directly into his mind, forcing Luo Ming to stop and hastily return.
This investigation revealed that it was just a normal Yin meridian. As for what lay deeper inside, with his current strength, he was not yet able to clearly perceive it.
"It seems I was overthinking it. The creation of heaven and earth is mysterious. This place where Yin Fire and Earth are born may just be naturally formed and not some kind of entrance to a ruin." Luo Ming felt a little regretful, but he was not too persistent. Opportunities cannot be forced.
Without further delay, he retrieved the last few array flags, and after confirming that no obvious personal traces had been left, he mounted his escape light and quietly left the deserted island, speeding towards Red Sand Island, intending to use the teleportation array there to return to Tianxing City.
One day later.
A blue rainbow streaked across the sky and abruptly stopped above the deserted island. The light faded, revealing a short, stout cultivator with a face covered in red spots.
His nostrils flared, and his gaze swept over the clearly cleared traces of the battle below, as well as the lava lake where the spiritual energy fluctuations had not yet completely subsided. His face suddenly turned ashen.
"Who?! Who beat me to it?!"
The burly man's divine sense swept wildly across the entire island. When he discovered that the aura of the Earth Fire Poison Toad, which he had coveted for many years, had completely disappeared, a surge of evil fire shot straight to the top of his head.
"Damn scoundrel! I've spent years painstakingly searching for a way to subdue that poisonous toad... and now that I've finally reached this point, someone else has stolen my thunder!"
He trembled with rage, cursing viciously for a few moments, but ultimately had no choice but to use his escape light, carrying a bellyful of resentment and bitterness, and leave dejectedly in another direction.
The deserted island returned to silence, with only the magma still churning and the eerie air still seeping from the stone walls, as if nothing had ever happened.
Back in his cave in Tianxing City, Luo Ming did not stop after activating the numerous restrictions.
He first took out the emerald green demonic fire he obtained from the Earth Fire Poison Toad, as well as a wisp of his natal spirit fire that the Fat Sun Bird had actively separated after its advancement.
The refining process lasted seven days. Inside the quiet room, heat waves surged; if not for the protective array, the terrifying power of the flames could have melted the cave dwelling. (Note: The last sentence about "The Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Starting at Spirit Beast Mountain" and over one million free books is unrelated and appears to be an advertisement. It has been omitted from the translation.)
The Mystic Fire Mirror hung in mid-air, its surface shimmering with crimson light. At times, it emitted clear, melodious chirping, and at other times, it seemed to echo with the deep croaking of a toad. Two flames, vastly different in nature yet both of the highest caliber, were gradually refined into the mirror under Luo Ming's exquisite fire control technique and powerful divine sense, merging and strengthening with the original Azure Nether Fire.
As the last thread of fire entered the mirror, the Xuanhuo Mirror suddenly shone brightly, with crimson, gold, and azure light rotating endlessly. A heart-palpitating, scorching pressure spread out, then completely subsided, and the mirror returned to its ancient simplicity, leaving only a warm and precious inner light, occasionally flashing with a sharp glint that made people dare not look directly at it.
"It's done!"
Luo Ming's face was slightly pale, but his eyes were full of joy.
With a slight thought, the Xuanhuo Mirror transformed into a red light and fell into his palm. He immersed his divine sense into it and sensed it briefly. He knew that the power of this treasure had more than doubled! The flames in the mirror were intense and pure, with the power to burn metal and erode spirits. Even with his current divine sense and magical power, he felt a sense of heaviness and a faint sense of threat when he controlled it.
"Indeed, the Azure Flame, nourished by these two flames, has undergone a complete transformation. However..."
He frowned slightly, noticing that although the flames in the mirror were strong, the power of the two newly refined flames had greatly increased, causing the delicate balance formed by the three demonic flames to be broken. The flames were less harmonious and more domineering and untamed in their operation.
"It seems that in the future, we will need to find a third suitable high-level demonic fire to refine into it and reconstruct the balance before we can fully unleash the power of this treasure and make it operate at will."
After carefully putting away the Xuanhuo Mirror, Luo Ming spent several more days recuperating, restoring the mana and spiritual energy he had lost in refining the treasure to full strength before he began planning his next stage of cultivation.
After condensing the Golden Core, the accumulation and refinement of magical power requires even more patience and cannot be rushed. He proceeded step by step, absorbing spiritual energy and circulating his cultivation techniques daily to temper the Golden Core, gradually stabilizing his initial Golden Core stage and making his magical power increasingly solid and profound.
At the same time, he devoted more energy to the two secret arts that had previously progressed slowly—"Spirit Fire Forging Technique" and "Qianyang Fire Eye".
Both of these techniques are closely related to flames and divine sense, with extremely high barriers to entry and slow progress. In the past, although Luo Ming was patient, he often felt that his efforts were twice as much as he gained. Now, with the assistance of the Supreme Yang Spiritual Fire of the advanced Fat Sun Bird, which contains a trace of Vermilion Bird bloodline power, the situation is completely different.
He no longer relied solely on the elixir fire condensed from his own magical power for cultivation. Instead, he carefully drew upon a wisp of the Fat Sun Bird's natal spiritual fire, using it as "fuel" and "forging hammer" to temper his divine sense and cultivate the Fire Eye Divine Power.
In the quiet room, Luo Ming could often be seen sitting cross-legged, with a flickering flame between his brows. His expression was sometimes solemn, sometimes relaxed, and his body emanated a strange spiritual fluctuation and a fiery aura. The Fat Sun Bird perched quietly to one side, its body surrounded by flowing golden flames, from which thin, pure fire threads would occasionally separate and disappear into Luo Ming's sea of consciousness.
Now, his mastery of these two secret techniques has become increasingly proficient. He has even figured out the trick to cultivate them simultaneously. The natal spiritual fire he borrowed from the Fat Sun Bird not only tempers his divine sense but also allows him to cultivate his spiritual eye supernatural power.
The effects were remarkable. Under the tempering of the advanced spiritual fire, the techniques for using divine sense recorded in the "Spiritual Fire Forging Technique" were gradually mastered. The cultivation of the "Qianyang Fire Eye" progressed by leaps and bounds. Golden firelight flowed between the opening and closing of the eyes, and the ability to perceive illusions and detect spiritual opportunities increased day by day. It was even possible to initially draw a trace of fire to injure the enemy.
"At this rate, it should be no problem to cultivate these two arts to the current level of mastery within ten years."
Luo Ming estimated the results in his mind and was quite satisfied. With these two skills at his disposal, he would have many more options for reconnaissance, fighting enemies, and dealing with special environments.