Chapter 370: Fire Cliff

Yu Fu and the other three took the Xuanhuang Fruit directly and consumed it in the bamboo hut. At the same time, Hua Changxi also brewed a medicinal bath for them to stimulate bloodline atavism.

Soaking in the medicinal bath, all four smoothly broke through one layer of physical shackles, and furthermore, the degree of bloodline atavism was further strengthened.

At midnight, when the moonlight was at its strongest, a blood-red mist gradually began to emanate from around the four of them.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi immediately activated the isolation formation to prevent the blood mist from leaking out.

Soon, the blood mist around Yu Fu and the others began to spread widely, twisting and churning. Before long, totemic images formed and condensed in the air.

Watching this scene, Hua Changxi was somewhat surprised.

This activates... bloodline divine abilities?

The first to activate a bloodline divine ability was Jia Lu. His atavistic bloodline was related to rabbits, and in the churning blood mist around him, an image of a rabbit pounding medicine appeared.

Next was Zhao Xi. His atavistic bloodline was related to rats, and in the blood mist appeared the image of a huge rat tearing through space and burrowing into the earth.

Then came Zhou Shou. His atavistic bloodline was related to tigers, and it was even more remarkable—his physical body directly transformed into a black hole-like vortex, forcibly pulling and devouring the spiritual power of anything that touched it to strengthen his own defense, worthy of being called a "mobile fortress."

The last to activate a bloodline divine ability was Yu Fu. His atavistic bloodline was related to oxen. In the blood mist, an ox roared up at the sky, directly summoning lightning bolts to strike down, and the sound itself struck straight into the sea of consciousness.

Seeing that all four had obtained excellent bloodline atavism divine abilities, Hua Changxi was very pleased.

At this moment, she truly recognized the powerful effects of the Xuanhuang Fruit as the foremost spiritual fruit for body cultivation.

The degree of bloodline atavism in Yu Fu and the others was actually not high. Even though she often soaked them in atavism medicinal baths, their bloodline atavism level had only improved by a limited amount. She never expected that consuming a single Xuanhuang Fruit would actually activate their bloodline atavism divine abilities.

With the divine abilities activated, the blood mist around the four soon began to thin, then slowly receded back into their physical bodies.

As the blood mist withdrew into their bodies, the four opened their eyes one after another.

Having gained bloodline divine abilities and greatly increased their strength, all four were extremely delighted.

Jia Lu said excitedly, "Master, I have obtained the divine ability of the Jade Rabbit Pounding Medicine; I was born to be a member of Danyuan Peak."

Zhao Xi said, "Master, the divine ability I obtained is Tearing Space and Burrowing into Earth." He could bite through space and burrow into the ground.

Zhou Shou said, "Master, my divine ability is the Taotie Demon Body." It could devour surrounding spiritual power to strengthen his own defense.

Yu Fu said, "Master, my divine ability is the Kui Ox Thunder Sound." It could summon lightning and attack the sea of consciousness with sound.

Hua Changxi looked at the four, whose joy was written all over their faces, and said with a smile, "The strength of the divine abilities' eruption is directly proportional to the toughness of your physical bodies. When I am not here, you four are the highest authorities on Danyuan Peak, so you must never slack off in body refinement."

Yu Fu and the others smiled and agreed.

Hua Changxi thought for a moment and added, "Previously, you have been serving as stewards. Now that there are tens of thousands of apprentices on Danyuan Peak, I plan to promote you to hall masters."

"From now on, your task is to train more reserve personnel for steward positions. This way, you can fill vacancies in various departments and also have more time for your own cultivation."

Seeing how much Hua Changxi considered their well-being, Yu Fu and the others felt even more moved.

Noticing that dawn was approaching, Hua Changxi gave them some fire ganoderma to assist in body refinement and then let them leave.

Not long after the four left, Ye Lingzhi and the others arrived.

At this time, the lingering fragrance of medicine and a faint, almost imperceptible trace of Xuanhuang Fruit still hung in the air above the bamboo hut.

Ye Lingxuan and Jiang Henian noticed it and immediately exchanged glances. Recalling how much stronger the auras of Yu Fu and the others had been when they encountered them on the mountain path earlier, their eyes flickered with disbelief.

A day ago, Yu Fu and the others were still weaker than them; overnight, the auras emanating from the four had already become a cause for their caution.

The only possibility for such a great improvement in such a short time was that Yu Fu and the others had broken through their physical shackles and unlocked their physical potential.

There are not many rare treasures capable of breaking physical shackles, and the peak master happened to have one—the Xuanhuang Fruit!

The peak master had actually given such a precious and rare Xuanhuang Fruit to Yu Fu and the others!

Jiang Henian transmitted his voice with a tone of admiration: "The peak master... is truly generous!"

Ye Lingxuan was also very envious: "In the Five Directions Continent of the Four Spirit Realm, each continent has only one Xuanhuang Tree, located in the central city."

"The Xuanhuang Tree bears fruit once every thousand years in a cycle, and the number of fruits on each branch is fixed, at most ninety-nine."

"After the Xuanjun Army stationed itself in Xuanjun Mansion, the Xuanhuang Fruits on the tree became effectively off-limits to outsiders. To obtain a Xuanhuang Fruit bestowed by Xuanjun Mansion, one must make great contributions to the Central Continent."

"If not for that, the imperial clan wouldn't have been so shameless as to openly send the Lingtai-stage Duke of Liang to attack the peak master. Even if there were other considerations, seizing the Xuanhuang Fruit from the peak master was certainly one of their goals."

"Yu Fu and the others—just by following the peak master, they each got a Xuanhuang Fruit. What incredible fortune they have."

Jiang Henian's tone was also somewhat sour: "If I had known earlier, we should have pledged allegiance to the Peak Master sooner." He paused, "Elder Wen told us to assist the Peak Master well. Do you think if we become her trusted confidants, she will reward us with Xuanhuang Fruits?"

Ye Lingxuan didn't dare to hope for that. She glanced at the bamboo house with its door tightly shut: "Let's not think about that too much for now. Let's first make the bamboo slips."

As Ye Lingxuan and the others started making bamboo slips, Hua Changxi teleported to Lingguang Hall.

Nowadays, the Vermilion Army sends out a thousand people every day, in groups of ten, to patrol all parts of Nanxiang County.

With the Vermilion Army's patrols, the chaotic battles among cultivators in Nanxiang County have been brought under some control.

For reasons unknown, neither the imperial family nor the other forces lurking in Nanxiang County have engaged in open conflict with the Vermilion Army.

Although Hua Changxi had doubts about this, she still breathed a sigh of relief. As long as others didn't provoke the Vermilion Army, the Vermilion Army wouldn't actively cause trouble, which saved her a lot of trouble.

After accompanying the Vermilion Army on patrols for half a month and finding no disciplinary violations, she shortened the time spent supervising the Vermilion Army and turned her attention back to searching for the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands.

There was no help for it—the Vermilion Army was too poor. They had no armor, no weapons, and not even identity tokens.

Since the twelve Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands were the supply points for the Vermilion Army, if she found them sooner, she could provide the Vermilion Army with the corresponding equipment sooner.

Having experience in occupying the Karma Fire Platform and the Nine Heavens Fire Spring, Hua Changxi knew that opening and occupying a Cave Heaven or Blessed Land required undergoing certain trials. This time, she didn't search for them through spatial fluctuations but through sensory perception.

Earlier, when she had released the recruitment advertisement using spirit tools in Nanxiang County, she had sensed a powerful force surging from deep underground.

This force caused her entire body's blood to boil.

However, in different areas of Nanxiang County, the degree of blood boiling varied.

The reason she found the Karma Fire Platform first was not by sheer luck—rather, when she passed through the area of the Karma Fire Platform, her blood boiled the most intensely.

Later, finding the Nine Heavens Fire Spring was a similar experience.

Clearly, finding the Karma Fire Platform and the Nine Heavens Fire Spring through physical sensations indicated, to some extent, that she possessed a certain degree of control.

Therefore, she now wanted to use similar physical sensations to find the other Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands, as this would increase the likelihood of claiming them for herself once found.

That evening, guided by the boiling of her blood, Hua Changxi found a fissure valley in a mountain forest.

The fissure valley was not large, and at first glance, there was nothing special about it. One could traverse it back and forth quickly.

Hua Changxi shuttled back and forth through the fissure valley several times but found nothing.

Remembering that the Cave Heavens and Blessed Lands in Nanxiang City were all related to flames, Hua Changxi directly enveloped her entire body in flames. As soon as the flames rose, she soon felt a certain pull.

Following the pulling force, Hua Changxi quickly discovered spatial ripples rippling in the depths of the fissure valley.

Seeing the ripples, Hua Changxi, covered in flames, showed a delighted expression. After quickly scanning with her divine sense and finding no danger, she stepped inside.

After a brief period of darkness, she found herself standing on a cliff.

One end of the cliff was a deep and massive stone cave, and the other end was a bottomless abyss.

Hua Changxi glanced at the stone cave, whose depth was impossible to discern. She cautiously walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down—her eyes were filled with red light; it was a boundless ocean of flames.

"This is... Lihuo Cliff!"