Chapter 259

Wang Ping forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart and carefully surveyed this space dominated by the huge gate.

Besides this awe-inspiring stone door and the icy black ground beneath his feet, all around were seamless rock walls, extremely sturdy; the passage he had previously fled into had vanished without a trace.

He tried to circulate his cultivation method and found that there was not a trace of spiritual energy to absorb here; it was completely a spirit‑dead place. This made his heart sink even more, for medicinal pills always run out eventually.

After adjusting his breath for a moment and when his injuries had slightly stabilized, he stood up and approached the stone door again.

At a distance of about a hundred zhang from the door, he stopped, his gaze sharp as he scanned the ground.

The faint imprint he had previously glimpsed from afar now became vaguely visible in the faint light cast by the "Red Pupil" crystal on the ceiling.

It was a circular depression about a chi in diameter, etched into the black stone floor; its pattern was finer and more complex than that on the stone door, and at its center lay a fist‑sized hole filled with dust, easily overlooked if not examined closely.

Wang Ping's eyes locked onto that inconspicuous circular hole on the floor. After brushing away the dust, the extremely intricate pattern and the nine tiny holes at its center became much clearer.

He tried his own spiritual power and various divine abilities, but sensed no movement whatsoever.

"The key is wrong, or perhaps the method is wrong..." he muttered to himself, sitting cross-legged beside the indentation, forcing himself to calm down.

His divine sense swept carefully over every inch of the indentation's patterns, missing no detail. This time he no longer tried to use force to "fill" it, but to "understand" it.

The direction of the patterns, the shape of the apertures, faintly resembled some ancient formation diagram he knew.

"The apertures… need a primer, but perhaps what is more needed is a 'correct' primer, and… a correct 'resonance'."

"Fire… that's it, deep in this place lies the Blazing Flame Valley; the stone gate's aura is mixed and ancient, yet also carries a faint scorching implication. Fire, perhaps, is one of the keys."

He again took out that deep crimson Blazing Flame Stone. This time he did not place it directly, but activated the Five Elements Divine Light technique, carefully drawing a thread of the purest primal fire qi from the Source Fire Stone, like drawing silk from a cocoon, slowly guiding it toward the fire-aligned aperture in the indentation.

At the same time, he held his breath and focused, turning his understanding of fire—especially the part fused with True Solar Fire, the conception of "burning the eight wastes, evolving life"—into a pure thought, which he merged into that thread of fire qi.

The process was slow and arduous, demanding extremely high control of his divine sense. The indentation was like a discerning connoisseur, rejecting any power that was not "pure" enough or "matching".

Time passed bit by bit, Wang Ping saw sweat on his forehead, his divine sense consumption huge. Just as he felt he could barely continue—

Hum!

A faint yet clear tremor rang out from the indentation!

That aperture suddenly lit up with a steady point of deep crimson light, like the core of magma!

Immediately afterward, like a chain reaction, that point of deep crimson light spread along the specific pattern in the indentation, illuminating about one-tenth of the area.

A damaged yet steadily operating miniature formation diagram emerged, emitting faint spatial fluctuations.

At the same time, Wang Ping keenly felt that his weak connection with the indentation, and with this ancient immortal gate, became a bit clearer.

More importantly, a segment of fuzzy information, accompanying that illuminated part of the formation diagram, flowed into his consciousness:

"... absorb the source of blazing flame... initiate the gate of rules... one incense stick of time... comprehend the Dao to attain truth..."

The information was fragmentary, but the meaning was clear: a "deep crimson source" (likely referring to high-quality deep crimson Blazing Flame Stone) was needed as the core primer to open this "Gate of Rules", enter to contemplate, but the time allowed is only one incense stick!

Wang Ping's mind suddenly cleared, yet he also felt a hint of urgency. The Source Fire Stone in his hand, though also deep crimson, was clearly of insufficient quality to serve as the "core primer"; it could only assist, lighting part of the formation diagram. The true "key" is a higher-quality Blazing Flame Stone!

He recalled that upon obtaining the golden Blazing Flame Stone, perhaps the true purpose of the Blazing Flame Stone lies here.

The human high-ups certainly know this; otherwise they wouldn't offer such a high price to purchase it.

The ancient immortal gate emitted a low rumble, and the chaotic patterns on its surface began to flow faster.

The gate seam emitted a scorching light, a slit just wide enough for one person slowly opened. Beyond the gate was not a solid scene, but a rotating crimson vortex, emitting a heart-pounding fluctuation of rules.

The Gate of Rules has opened, time limit: one incense stick. A clear message directly transmitted into Wang Ping's mind.

Time was pressing. Wang Ping hesitated not, his form flashing as he plunged into the crimson vortex.

As he passed through the vortex, he seemed to enter another dimension.

Here there is no up, down, left, or right—only endless fire flowing.

But these flames are not ordinary fire; they take on various mysterious forms, like a nascent sunrise radiating warm vitality, sometimes like a dying stellar core, inwardly condensed with terrifying power.

Sometimes like dancing sprites, their trajectories elusive and agile; sometimes like ancient runes, each stroke expounding the true meaning of the Great Dao.

Scorching, warm, destructive, rebirth, violent, tranquil, purifying, evolving... countless fire-related rule fragments, like a vast starry river spread across perception.

Wang Ping hovered in this sea of rules; his inner crimson divine light operated at an unprecedented speed, the Golden Core in his dantian slightly trembled, resonating with this sea of rules. The True Solar Fire within his body leapt joyfully, as if long drought meeting sweet rain.

He immersed his entire mind therein, focusing on comprehending the rule fragments related to Golden Yang Blazing Heaven.

Here, time seemed to lose its meaning.

He saw how a weak flame, under the rule's influence, draws energy, gradually grows, and ultimately becomes a blazing great sun illuminating the myriad worlds.

He saw that True Solar Fire possesses not only the destructive power to incinerate all things, but also harbors the creative mechanism to dispel darkness and bring light.

He saw how, when a star heads toward extinction, its ultimate contraction and explosion cause all things to return to the void, awaiting rebirth.

…… countless rule truths, like sweet dew pouring down, madly surged into his sea of consciousness, being understood, absorbed, and fused by him.

His comprehension of Golden Yang Blazing Heaven surged and transformed at an unprecedented speed.

Originally, he had only preliminarily grasped the form and power of this Dao technique, able to evoke an embryonic True Solar Fire, simulating the might of a great sun scorching the void.

But here, under the irrigation of this rule's source, he swiftly understood its divinity and principle.

He understood why it can blaze the heavens—not merely relying on high temperature, but by drawing forth the power of the Great Dao between heaven and earth that corresponds to it!

The barrier of the Innate Realm, before this vast comprehension, was like snow under sunlight, silently melting and collapsing.

Golden Yang Blazing Heaven, the Dao Technique's third stage—the Innate Realm, perfected!

At this moment, he felt his mastery of this Dao technique had reached a new level. With a thought, he could draw the surrounding fire-element spiritual qi to naturally converge, evolving into Golden Yang, as if it were inherently part of heaven and earth rather than a forcibly exerted divine ability. How could its power be merely doubled!

However, this had not yet stopped.

Upon that perfected state, highly attuned to the heavenly and earthly rules, Wang Ping touched upon a hint of even more profound, ineffable charm.

He seemed to feel that the construct formed by his own will, condensed and driving the rules, was no longer merely a rigid aggregate of energy, a pure Dao-technique creation.

It seemed...... to have sprouted an extremely faint bud, arising from the union of his own Dao-thought and the rules.

This thread gave him hope of reaching the fourth stage of the Dao Technique.

Point Spirit Realm! Dao Technique Fourth Stage!

It is said that the Dao Technique's spiritual communion possesses unfathomable power, and ninety-nine percent of Nascent Soul cultivators have not comprehended the Dao Technique's fourth stage.

Wang Ping felt a huge surge of joy and longing in his heart. He was only half a step away from truly grasping, consolidating, and expanding this spark, fully stepping into the threshold of the Point Spirit Realm!

That half-step originally required a longer period of immersion, repeated contemplation and consolidation of that subtle feeling, and the accumulation of painstaking effort.

But here, it seemed he could step into it in the next moment.

He desperately absorbed the surrounding fragments of rules, his mind completely immersed in that profound insight, trying to seize that fleeting spark and solidify this half-step.

His divine sense was highly focused, wandering in the sea of rules, capturing every possible related Dao rhythm. Time passed second by second, and his grasp of that subtle feeling grew ever clearer.

But just then——

An invisible, powerful repelling force suddenly descended!

The time of one incense stick has arrived!

The surrounding flame-rule phenomena began to violently fluctuate, quickly becoming blurred and illusory. The vast sea of rules receded like a tide.

What a pity!

Wang Ping's heart rose with a strong sense of regret and unwillingness. Only a little bit more! Only that tiny bit of time!

But he could not resist the power of this spatial rule. In a blink, his body was pushed out of the rule-space by that force, returning to the black ground before the Ancient Immortal Gate.

His feet landed, and he instinctively looked back.

He saw the huge gate emit a heavy roar as it slowly closed; the red vortex behind it rapidly shrank and vanished. Finally, the gate seam completely sealed, restoring its eternal stillness.

The deep crimson flaming stone in the ground's depression had exhausted its energy, its color turned dim, with a soft crack it shattered into several ordinary stones, losing all spirituality.

Wang Ping stood in place, carefully sensing the changes within him. Innate Realm perfected, half-step into Point Spirit!

His strength increased enormously. Now his mastery of Golden Yang Burn Heaven had reached a new level; with a slight thought he could summon heavenly and earthly fire spirits, evolve Golden Yang, with power far surpassing before.

But behind this great gain lay a deeper longing and a hint of regret.

One incense stick is too short! He muttered, his tone laced with regret that could not be concealed,

If I could have more time, even another half incense stick, I would certainly be able to take that half-step and truly advance to the Point Spirit Realm!

He took a deep breath, his eyes turning sharp.

Moreover, this is only the effect of the deep crimson flaming stone opening...... If the quality were higher, what about the legendary golden flaming stone? How long could it last? What level of rules could it contact?

Thinking of this, he began to feel that the Dao Academy's purchase of flaming stones with points and merits likely offered a price far below their true value.

This must conceal a greater secret, perhaps related to some arrangements of the human upper echelons, or the control of certain key ruins and resources.

We must collect more flaming stones, especially the golden quality! This thought became extremely firm in his heart.

Just then, he suddenly sensed that the invisible barrier around the surrounding space seemed to have disappeared; a faint aura of a passage came from the previously sealed-off direction.

The restriction lifted? Wang Ping's heart stirred; without hesitation, his form instantly turned into a dim streak of light, racing along the sensed passage direction. This place is not suitable for lingering; those three false-infant cultivators might break in at any moment.

He moved at extreme speed, shuttling through the complex passage while carefully extending his divine sense forward to probe.

The passage twisted and turned; the silver patterns on the rock walls grew denser, emitting strange spatial fluctuations. He could feel that he was advancing deeper underground.

After an unknown amount of time, as he passed through a narrow fork and prepared to continue forward, a gloomy, foul, powerful aura suddenly appeared at the bend ahead!

Blood River Old Ancestor!

He looked even more disheveled than before, his blood robe covered in scorched-black marks, even a few places torn, his breath slightly chaotic compared to before—evidently passing through the Earth Core Deep Flame seal had cost him dearly.

But his pair of sinister eyes now flickered with even greater greed and viciousness, locked firmly on Wang Ping.

You brat! It really is you! Hand over the thing, and I, the old ancestor, can give you a swift death!

Blood River Old Ancestor blocked the way ahead, his body emanating a blood-slaughter aura that began to spread, clearly intending to give Wang Ping no chance to escape.

Wang Ping halted his escape light, stared at the Blood River Old Ancestor ahead with icy eyes. Having just broken through, he perfectly needed a trial sword stone!