Chapter 199

After rising to a certain height, the octagonal underground palace suddenly broke into a ball of flames.

As for the ground, the mountain body was burning.

"Chi chi chi chi chi~"

The flames were like they had a spirit, crazily drilling into the underground palace, trying to find gaps.

"Fire, come!"

Zhao Xing continued to cast spells, trying to use fire against fire. At this time, it was impossible to use water to extinguish the fire. Just looking at the drop of the Drip Rain Dharma, one knew that this thing was not used for large-scale fire extinguishing.

"Chi chi chi~" The underground palace was tottering and could no longer rise.

Because what he cast was 'Heavenly Fire,' which was only at the consummate level of mid-grade spells, it couldn't withstand this Earth Sha fire.

But because the God-Walking Protection underground palace was very strong, coupled with the resistance of the Yin Wind Sha, the Earth Fire couldn't burn in either.

Two high-grade Dharmas allowed Zhao Xing to gain a foothold in the Fire Sha trial, but not enough to allow him to continue rising.

"I don't know high-grade Dharma of the Fire element, so I can't pass this trial," Zhao Xing concluded after persisting for a while.

Wind Sha fueled Fire Sha; if it continued, he would eventually be unable to persist.

"Give up."

Zhao Xing silently recited 'give up' in his heart, and the next moment, he returned to outside the portal.

"You have passed the Earth Sha trial of the Yin-Yang Six Harmonies Array and can receive a fourth-grade top-tier treasure reward, which can be chosen between elixirs and weapons," Xiezhi's voice sounded.

"Elixirs," Zhao Xing said, lacking interest.

The fourth-grade top-tier reward was, to him, only better than nothing.

The academies of Great Li were all set up for elites; wanting to get rewards was not easy.

Of course, he wasn't discouraged either.

"According to calculations, to pass the Yin-Yang Six Harmonies Array, I only need to possess one high-grade Fire element spell."

The Volcano Dharma was actually an Earth element spell because its essence was the 'Earth-Splitting Dharma.' Even though its name was Fire-element Earth-Splitting Dharma, it didn't count as a pure Fire element spell.

The Fire Sha trial required pure high-grade Fire element spells.

"As long as I pass the Fire Sha trial, the Thunder Sha trial, on the contrary, is not a problem for me," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

Earth, Wind, Fire, Thunder—the final Thunder Sha trial, Zhao Xing was confident he could pass because he had pure high-grade Thunder Dharma.

Having passed the Earth Sha trial, Zhao Xing obtained three fourth-grade top-tier [Earth Sha Pills], the effect of which was to help Earth Sha Realm body refinement.

Without wasting time, he left the Heavenly Craft Hall and went to the Heart-Questioning Platform to challenge.

"I challenged the tenth stage of the Heart-Questioning Platform's Passion trial a long time ago. Now that it has reappeared, it proves I can continue to challenge. I wonder what the trial is."

Zhao Xing took a deep breath and stepped onto the steps of the Heart-Questioning Platform.

"Boom!"

The moment Zhao Xing stepped onto the steps, his thinking was scattered by a clap of thunder.

His whole person was knocked flying, and because he had injured his Life Soul by challenging, he directly exited the Great Dream Academy.

"How could it be so difficult? This version of the Heart-Questioning Platform is actually so strong?"

Zhao Xing pondered in his heart, feeling vaguely that something was wrong, and had a feeling of unease.

However, the Great Dream Academy version of the Heart-Questioning Platform was different from what he was familiar with, and he just assumed that the Great Li version of the Heart-Questioning Platform was too powerful.

Casting the God-Walking Protection, he floated to the ground.

Just as he reached the ground, he received a message from Chen Shijie.

"Zhao Xing, Fire Dragon Pass is in an emergency. Wen Shaoyang and Jiang Ming sent news that the Golden Feather Royal Court has sent a large army to recover Fire Dragon Pass! We must hurry back!"

"What?"

Zhao Xing was stunned, but at this time, Liao Rulong, Xia Jing, and others were all hurriedly sailing their ships, so he had no choice but to follow closely onto the ship and rush to Fire Dragon Pass.

Sitting on the warship, Zhao Xing stared blankly at the map and intelligence.

He didn't expect the Golden Feather Royal Court to have such determination to recover Fire Dragon Pass; this was too different from what he had expected.

Yue Haisheng had only just escaped, and his side, which occupied Fire Dragon Pass, only had a little over one hundred thousand people, yet the Golden Feather Royal Court had actually dispatched an army of eight hundred thousand to attack!

"Zhao Xing, you are now leading a battalion alone. I have assigned you three thousand men, all drawn from the original Fire Crossbow Battalion, Valiant Battalion, Nine-Section Battalion, Divine Machine Battalion, and Five Elements Battalion."

"You are now heading to the fortress to support Wen Shaoyang's unit."

After Liao Rulong got off the warship, he immediately assigned combat missions and then left in the top-tier warship.

Leaving only Zhao Xing and his three thousand mixed battalion.

Looking at Liao Rulong's flying warship, Zhao Xing couldn't help but frown; he always felt something was strange.

But things were moving in a continuous cycle, constantly urging him to act, and there was simply no time to think.

"Let's set off!"

Zhao Xing took three thousand men, boarded the Nether Flame warship, and flew toward the fortress.

Liao Rulong had assigned him acquaintances like Han Bing, Wang Ji, and Che Shihai to assist. The three thousand men quickly left Fire Dragon Pass to support Wen Shaoyang's unit, which was under attack.

Five hundred miles after the warship flew out, Zhao Xing saw a unit of demon soldiers.

They were marching mightily toward Fire Dragon Pass. Han Bing immediately asked: "Commander, should we intercept and kill this unit of Ape Demon Army?"

Zhao Xing shook his head and said: "Don't fight. Our mission is to support Wen Shaoyang. Leave this Ape Demon Army that bypassed us to the main army in the rear to deal with."

The Nether Flame warship flew in the Gale Layer for a day and a night and finally arrived at the border of the fortress.

At this time, below were the White Bone Golden Toe Army, and in the sky were the Flying Bear Barbarian Army, who were besieging the fortress where Wen Shaoyang was located like ants.

"How can there be so many people?" Zhao Xing looked at the battlefield, his heart pounding.

"Commander, should we fight or not?" Wang Ji asked.

Just as Zhao Xing was pondering where something was wrong, a warrior from outside the cabin suddenly came to report: "Commander, we have been surrounded by the Flying Bear Army's warships!"

"Wang Ji, immediately order the mechanism masters to prepare for battle!"

Zhao Xing had no time to think and hurriedly responded to the battle.

He quickly walked to the deck outside the warship and saw five Flying Bear warships appearing in the sky.

Besides that, there were many flying exotic beasts next to the warships that were shaped like fierce bears but had a pair of wings.

On the exotic beasts sat barbarian soldiers and generals wearing silver feather battle armor.

"The Golden Feather Royal Court's Flying Bear Army, whose combat power is enough to rank in the top thirty of the Royal Court—they don't go to fight Lu Yuanwei in the west, they don't go to fight the strong armies like the Zhaoyuan Army and Danxia Army in the north, but they run over to fight our Shenwei Army?"

Zhao Xing felt a bad omen in his heart.

He discovered that everything seemed to be out of his control, just like the three kings suddenly intervening in the trial.

But at this time, it was too late to think about so much.

The battle had already begun!

"Boom boom boom boom boom boom!"

The five warships launched an attack on the Nether Flame warship. Crossbow cannons, spells, Blood Kui, and various means were used in turn against the Nether Flame warship.

"Cloud Swallowing!"

Zhao Xing cast the Cloud Dharma, wanting to create a favorable environment for the army.

But before he could cast it, the warship's barrier announced its collapse.

"Commander, the barrier has been broken!" Wang Ji roared. "There are too many people; we've fallen into an ambush!"

"Zheng~"

Arm-thick crossbow arrows shot toward the deck. Zhao Xing had no choice but to interrupt the Cloud-Walking and order the warship to flee.

"Retreat!"

The Nether Flame warship's barrier was broken, and it turned around to flee backward.

"Five Elements Mist Concealment!"

Zhao Xing changed the Cloud Dharma to the Mist Concealment Dharma to create favorable escape conditions for the warship.

With the barrier broken, they only had to take a beating, and at this time, they could only flee.

After the Nether Flame warship flew for half an hour.

It finally shook off the pursuers.

Zhao Xing walked into the cabin, exhausted. He used high-grade Dharma to finally confuse the pursuers' line of sight.

But Wen Shaoyang's unit simply couldn't be supported. He only had three thousand men, and there were at least one hundred thousand besieging them. How could he save them?

But this was too sudden. Why would the Golden Feather Royal Court come to attack Fire Dragon Pass?

Zhao Xing just wanted to rest for a while and think carefully.

But the warship let out a mournful cry, and the entire warship shook.

"Wang Ji, what's going on?!"

"Commander, the warship has been damaged too severely; we have to make an emergency landing!"

Zhao Xing walked out to take a look and found that the warship had been turned into a hedgehog, and there was even a big hole in the right cabin.

It was already very difficult to have persisted until now.

"Keng~ Boom~"

The tail of the warship was emitting flames, falling from the sky into the mountain forest below.

Zhao Xing flew out of the cabin and ordered all Military Agricultural Officers and sorcerers to fly under the warship and cast the Wind Dharma.

Use the Wind Dharma to reduce the warship's falling speed. After all, there were still many machines on this ship; if it crashed, they would have no machines to use, and warriors couldn't fly; crashing like this would kill people.

"Boom~"

The Nether Flame warship still crashed into the mountain forest.

But fortunately, there was no explosion, and it didn't detonate the firecrackers stored on the ship.

Zhao Xing breathed a sigh of relief and immediately ordered the soldiers to leave the ship and move the firecrackers and a series of dangerous and precious items down.

"Zhang Quan, you send people to be on guard in the surrounding area."

"Han Bing, count the casualties."

"Yuan Yang, you follow Han Bing."

"..."

Zhao Xing gave the order. At this time, his brows were tightly furrowed, and he felt vaguely uneasy in his heart. Without the warship, their mobility was greatly weakened.

Now he didn't know where they had fallen, nor did he know how many enemy troops were around.

"Scout Grass Man, rise!"

Zhao Xing waved his hand, instantly turning the surrounding grass and trees into grass men, spreading out and searching in the surrounding area.

However, not long after, he actually discovered traces of the barbarian army.

The place where he fell was actually not far from the camp of that group of Ape Barbarian Army.

"Hiss! So many marching tents, how many people must there be!"

Zhao Xing knew that he couldn't stay in this place for long, otherwise, it would be very easy to be discovered.

"Wang Ji, how long will it take to repair the warship?"

"It will take fourteen hours."

"Fourteen hours? Too long!" Zhao Xing said. "We'll walk; abandon the warship."

"Han Bing, pass the order down; set off after resting for half an hour."

"Yes."

The Ape Barbarian Army discovered their traces after Zhao Xing and the others left and began to send troops to pursue them.

But in the mountain forest, it was completely Zhao Xing's home field.

Whether it was the grass men confusing the line of sight or the Five Elements Mist Concealment, this allowed Zhao Xing's three thousand men to always be able to jump out of the encirclement one step ahead.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was seven days later.

At this time, Zhao Xing had already led people to jump out of the encirclement of the Ape Barbarian Army, but this was a huge consumption for Zhao Xing. Seven consecutive days of uninterrupted, practical, large-scale range spells had left him exhausted.

Seeing that they had escaped the encirclement, Zhao Xing handed over the command to Han Bing: "Go find Liao Rulong to join forces. For the next road, you and Wang Ji have to lead the way. I must sleep for a while..."

With Zhao Xing's leadership, the most dangerous time had passed. Han Bing and Wang Ji took over the control of the team and successfully returned to Fire Dragon Pass to join forces with Liao Rulong.

After Zhao Xing woke up, they were on the way to retreat.

At this time, Liao Rulong's unit had already abandoned Fire Dragon Pass and retreated to Zhiyou City.

Fire Dragon Pass had returned to the hands of the barbarians.

They had suffered a crushing defeat.

"What's going on? Why did we lose so quickly? The Golden Feather Royal Court actually sent the little prince Yanda to recover Fire Dragon Pass?"

Zhao Xing looked at the intelligence and couldn't help but feel a panic for no reason.

But he still fought bravely with the Shenwei Army.

In the remaining two months of the seventeenth year of Jingxin, the Shenwei Army was defeated and retreated.

But Zhao Xing's war merits were constantly increasing.

Without control over the future, Zhao Xing was still a high-end player; he was still struggling toward his goal.

Eighteenth year of Jingxin, spring.

Emperor Jing did not carry out phased rewards, which again exceeded Zhao Xing's expectations.

But Zhao Xing still returned to the Ten Suns Cave Heaven station to rest and wait for the upcoming 'Cave Heaven Spiritual Elegance Revival.'

However, he waited until June of the eighteenth year of Jingxin, but still did not wait for the 'Cave Heaven Spiritual Elegance Revival.'

After he left in June, he went to the battlefield to fight again.

But in October of the eighteenth year of Jingxin, the 'Ten Suns in the Sky' occurred. Chen Shijie, Long Xiao, and Tian Shan all died in this disaster.

When Zhao Xing rushed back, the Cave Heaven had already closed. After receiving the news of Old Chen and Long Xiao's deaths, his head began to ache.

Nineteenth year of Jingxin, Wanfa Palace.

Pain, so painful. Zhao Xing's head ached as if it were splitting. He didn't know when he had started to suffer from this headache.

He found many military doctors to check, but he could never find the specific cause of the disease; they only said he was overly worried and needed more rest.

There seemed to be multiple images in his mind, which made his head ache as if it were splitting. To alleviate this headache, Zhao Xing came to Wanfa Palace and began to beg Liu Tianning to teach him how to cultivate the Wanfa Grass Man.

In the process of cultivating the Wanfa Grass Man, Zhao Xing's headache was alleviated.

He cultivated until the nineteenth year of Jingxin.

It was at this time that he finally resisted the interference from the underworld and condensed his thinking.

At the same time, the first True Self Grass Man appeared in front of Zhao Xing.

Seeing this, Liu Tianning came to Zhao Xing and looked at him: "You seem to have gained some insight."

Zhao Xing nodded: "Yes, I finally figured it out."

Liu Tianning said: "What did you figure out?"

Zhao Xing pointed to his head: "Actually, the military doctor was right; I really don't have any illness. The reason I can't concentrate is that my own power is attacking myself."

"What is it?"

"Fear."

Zhao Xing looked at the 'Wanfa Grass Man' in front of him; his expression was tense, and his eyes were full of fear.

At this time, it could be said to be a 'Fear Grass Man.'

"Fear of the unknown, fear of the future, fear of losing foresight."

Liu Tianning looked at Zhao Xing in surprise: "What are you talking about?"

Zhao Xing didn't answer, muttering to himself: "Assuming I don't have these advantages, I'm afraid of the road ahead, then I'm actually not qualified for longevity."

"You're crazy," Liu Tianning said. "Longevity, future—what on earth are you talking about?"

Zhao Xing bent his fingers into a sword and slashed toward the True Self Grass Man in front of him.

"Plop~" The fearful grass man Zhao Xing fell down.

"No matter how the future changes, I should move forward courageously; my heart to prove longevity remains unchanged!"

The voice was like thunder, resounding through the world. The voice grew louder and louder, and finally, everything in front of him was shattering.

Zhao Xing looked at the steps in front of him and found that he was still on the Heart-Questioning Platform in the Great Dream Academy.

"Sure enough." Zhao Xing sighed with emotion. He had unknowingly stood on the twentieth step.

And he had randomly encountered the 'Fear Trial' of the Heart-Questioning Platform.

"Magnify the subtle fear in my heart, and layer by layer, deduce and create a complete illusion."

"Let people struggle constantly in the illusion of fear; if they cannot break through the fear in their hearts, they will forever sink in the illusion."

In the illusion, he lost his panel and lost his foresight of the future.

But in the end, Zhao Xing broke through the shackles of fear in his heart, firmed his belief, and successfully got rid of the illusion.

[Student Zhao Xing, firm will, passed the 'Fear Trial', rewarded with one 'Life Soul Pill'.]

Two thousand meters underground, inside the cave covered by the octagonal cage underground palace.

Zhao Xing opened his eyes.

In his arms lay four elixirs.

Three were merely fourth-grade top-tier Earth Sha Pills, which he put away casually.

The other one emitted a faint golden light.

When Zhao Xing looked over, a kind of longing emerged from the depths of his soul, completely unable to be suppressed.

"Life Soul Pill? The reward of this Heart-Questioning Platform is really generous," Zhao Xing couldn't help but exclaim.

The Dao Embryo Pill and the Life Soul Pill were both 'curiosities' without marked grades because the finished products refined were very few, the effects were not immediate, and they varied from person to person.

If Zhao Xing had to estimate it himself, the Dao Embryo Pill and the Life Soul Pill should be considered sixth-grade top-tier.

Because in his past life, the price they sold for was benchmarked against sixth-grade top-tier or seventh-grade low-tier elixirs.

"The Life Soul resides in the womb, and its soul is limited by the flesh; often the realm of the Life Soul lags behind the realm of the flesh."

"But the Life Soul Pill can nourish a person's Life Soul, and even exceed the realm of the flesh," Zhao Xing thought to himself.

He was currently at the seventh-grade consummate realm, but his Life Soul was at the seventh-grade initial stage.

"According to the Great Dream Spring and Autumn, the Earth Sha Realm in the ancient Dharma, besides refining Sha into the body, should actually have this step of refining Sha into the soul."

"The Heaven Gang Realm is the same: refining Gang into the body, refining Gang into the soul."

"The Life Soul realm is the same as the flesh realm; only then can it be considered truly consummate."

"In every gesture, one possesses the aura of a true powerhouse; one shout can scare away ghosts and monsters."

"The improvement of the Life Soul has too many benefits." Zhao Xing was overjoyed and immediately swallowed this elixir.

After swallowing it, there was no sensation, as if he had eaten air.

But a wisp of golden light spread throughout his body, wrapping every inch of his skin.

Zhao Xing felt that his whole person had become spirited, and his whole body was warm.

Many insights into the Dao surged into his heart.

The moment he swallowed it, his high-grade Dharma [Yin Wind Sha] broke through and reached the high-grade fifth turn.

Immediately after, he had a spell break through to high-grade.

It was the [Sleepy Bug] spell in the Great Dream Spring and Autumn.

The function of the Sleepy Bug spell was to capture parasites in the Life Soul.

The Life Soul was powerful, and its enlightenment was naturally faster, and its understanding of soul-type spells was deeper.

After reaching high-grade Dharma, the capture range of the [Sleepy Bug] spell was greatly enhanced. Originally, it required close-range casting, but now it could capture and release from thousands of meters away!

Zhao Xing's Life Soul realm quickly changed.

From seventh-grade initial stage, it climbed to seventh-grade middle stage, seventh-grade late stage, and seventh-grade consummate stage.

Two hours later, the moment the golden light converged.

In Zhao Xing's eyes, a soul-stirring light shot out.

He looked at the panel.

At this time, the panel showed the Life Soul realm as: sixth-grade initial stage!

"The realm of the Life Soul exceeds the realm of the flesh, actually reaching the sixth grade!"

"And after reaching the sixth grade, I have another spell breakthrough."

The sixth-grade Life Soul was already the second realm of stepping into cultivation, no longer the three low realms of seven, eight, and nine.

The Life Soul was the divine thought of a person. Stepping into the sixth grade, Zhao Xing's Bright Eye Dharma broke through.

The [Clear Insight] spell originally displayed on the panel disappeared.

It was replaced by the high-grade [Heavenly Eye Dharma].