Chapter 407: Tug-of-War

Knowing the royal family wanted to verify her identity, Hua Changxi still sent a message back to Yu Fu saying "ignore it."

Before this, whether it was Qihuang Pavilion or Lingjing Pavilion, when they held meetings she was called to attend, but she never showed up.

This time, if she obediently appeared, the royal family might think she had a guilty conscience.

She had already figured it out: whether she admitted to being the master of Lingguang Hall or not, the outside world would waver between belief and disbelief.

Since whether she responded or not, there would always be doubters, she might as well let outsiders guess.

Hua Changxi didn't want to expend too much mental energy on these insignificant external matters, and refocused her attention on cultivation.

After reciting the Heart-Cleansing Mantra over and over, the black flame finally settled, and the various emotions surging in her heart were also calmed.

Hua Changxi let out a breath, stood up, and continued deeper into the parasol tree forest.

The outer area of the parasol tree forest: purifying bloodline.

The middle area of the parasol tree forest: stimulating potential.

The help the parasol tree forest provided to cultivators truly exceeded Hua Changxi's imagination.

The scorching heat in the air continued to rise. Hua Changxi looked at the towering ancient trees in the heart of the parasol tree forest and the ancient qin floating above them. She, who had always charged ahead without hesitation, now hesitated.

Hesitating whether to continue deeper!

She knew that to obtain the ancient qin and become the master of the parasol tree forest, she would inevitably have to undergo a trial.

After experiencing that sudden tribulation of lightning earlier, she became timid.

She was afraid that during the trial, she would again be influenced by the black flame.

Give up and leave the parasol tree forest now?

Absolutely not.

The Vermilion Bird Army needed the parasol tree forest; the parasol trees and the fire spirit ore in the forest were resources urgently needed by the Vermilion Bird Army.

Hua Changxi sighed, leaned back wearily against a parasol tree, feeling the warm pulse it returned, while gazing at the several Nirvana Dao Parasol trees deep in the forest.

There were nine Nirvana Dao Parasol trees in total, arranged in a perfect circle according to some profound and mysterious pattern.

The nine trees were equally spaced, their roots connected to underground veins, as if forming a natural Celestial Star Array, with every leaf flowing with glazed treasure light.

The Nine Heavens Phoenix Cry Ancient Qin was suspended above the enclosure formed by the nine Nirvana Dao Parasol trees.

The surface of the qin strings emitted a faint halo, as if flames were dancing inside.

The body of the qin was simple and grand in shape, yet exuded a kind of sacred inviolable majesty, as if condensed from the most primordial power of heaven and earth.

The Nirvana Dao Parasol trees might hold a deadly attraction for the Phoenix clan and humans with atavistic phoenix bloodlines for purifying bloodlines, but for Hua Changxi, what she perceived was the "Dao resonance" emanating from them.

The "light chain" inside Hua Changxi, which had been dim and lustrous due to the chakra seal, suddenly trembled like withered grass meeting rain after a long drought upon sensing the "Dao resonance."

On the originally gray and withered chain, faint glimmers first seeped out, then these points of light gathered like fireflies into hair-thin streams, slowly flowing along the trajectory of the light chain.

Summoned by the "Dao resonance," the hesitation in Hua Changxi's heart vanished, and suppressing all concerns, she stepped toward the Nirvana Dao Parasol trees.

"Zheng~"

Just as Hua Changxi stepped into the circular domain formed by the nine Nirvana Dao Parasol trees, the Nine Heavens Phoenix Cry Ancient Qin suspended in the air seemed to be infused with life.

The seven qin strings moved on their own without wind, plucking at a speed indistinguishable to the naked eye, emitting a clear sound that pierced metal and cracked stone.

The qin wave spread, and a nine-colored Nirvana true fire ripple containing the artistic conception of creation and destruction directly struck at Hua Changxi.

"Boom~"

The fire wave suddenly surged, and Hua Changxi was instantly pulled into a boundless, blazing sea of flames.

Being in a sea of fire was something Hua Changxi had experienced countless times, so she showed no panic.

However, after just a few breaths, she was horrified to discover that this sea of fire was completely different from those she had experienced before.

Her body, which had been tempered to great strength, now began to show signs of dissipating in wisps, like snow thrown into boiling water.

Not burned away, not carbonized, but decomposed from the very essence of existence.

Hua Changxi's pupils sharply contracted.

What place is the Wutong Forest?

The resting place of the Phoenix.

Phoenix...

Nirvana...

"This is… the Sea of Nirvana Fire!"

Hua Changxi instantly understood the ancient zither's intention.

This was not an ordinary trial, but the most direct Nirvana ceremony!

Nirvana: to live through death. Die first, and then there is life.

The ancient zither wanted her to experience the full process of the Phoenix bathing in fire and being reborn through countless calamities.

This meant she had to actively release all defenses, completely immerse herself in this destructive fire, allow her physical body to be dismembered and scattered in the flames, and then, from the ashes, use her Nascent Soul as a seed to reshape her physical body.

If Nirvana succeeded, she would be able to completely control this Wutong Forest and become the true "Lord of the Wutong Forest."

Hua Changxi's heart churned with tumultuous waves. When she cultivated the 'Law of Heaven and Earth,' she held back due to her fear of losing herself and did not dare to completely merge with heaven and earth.

And now, the ancient zither's trial actually required her to voluntarily give up her life and personally destroy the physical body she used.

Hua Changxi naturally could not do it, nor was she willing.

Feeling the Nirvana True Fire's erosion of her body grow increasingly severe—her right arm had become translucent, and her consciousness was beginning to blur under the oppressive force of the flames—Hua Changxi's heart once again uncontrollably panicked.

As soon as panic set in, fear multiplied like a gangrene clinging to the bone.

The black flame on the Nascent Soul immediately shot out like a venomous snake, wildly growing and rapidly magnifying her fear.

Having experienced the terror of being completely swallowed by fear before, Hua Changxi this time did not hesitate at all. She poured all her power into her legs, turned into a blur, and desperately rushed in the direction she had come from!

"Hoo hoo hoo~"

Hua Changxi leaned against a wutong tree, gasping heavily. Although her heart still retained the palpitations and lingering fear of being immersed in the Sea of Nirvana Fire, when she looked at the ancient zither above the Nirvana Dao Wutong, there was no sign of giving up.

She would not allow herself to be truly controlled by the black flame, nor would she allow herself to be defeated by it, but at this moment she indeed had no way to deal with the black flame.

If she didn't confront the black flame head-on—that is, if she couldn't directly face the Nirvana trial—then she would have to think of another way to seize the ancient zither.

Accepting the trial was the proper path.

Now that she had to bypass the trial, the only option was… to take it by force.

Once her mind calmed, Hua Changxi directly used the 'Law of Heaven and Earth' divine ability.

Her body instantly rose and expanded!

In the blink of an eye, a giant that was even taller than the Nirvana Dao Wutong and radiated boundless oppressive force appeared!

Hua Changxi stood outside the Nirvana Dao Wutong, like a deity or demon that towered between heaven and earth. She directly reached out a massive hand that blotted out the sky and sun, and fiercely grasped at the floating ancient zither!

"Zheng~"

Hua Changxi sensed that the ancient zither would counterattack, but ignoring the zither's wave attacks, she quickly grabbed it.

Because she was not standing inside the Nirvana Dao Wutong, she was not pulled into the Sea of Nirvana Fire, but the fire waves emitted by the ancient zither slashed heavily against her physical body like countless blades.

At the same time, the sound of the ancient zither could also shake the spirit.

Relying on her formidable physical body, Hua Changxi withstood the ancient zither's heavy blows.

"Boom~"

The ancient zither was instantly enveloped in flames. The flames not only fiercely burned Hua Changxi's hand, but also spread along her arm to other parts of her body, in a posture determined to reduce her to ashes.

"Myriad Flames Return to the Source~"

Once the divine ability was activated, the flames emanating from the ancient zither no longer had much burning power against Hua Changxi.

But she still could not move the ancient zither or relocate it from above the Nirvana Dao Wutong.

At the same time, outside the Wutong Forest, the various cultivators who had been watching witnessed an unprecedented tug-of-war—a struggling giant and an unmoving ancient zither.

Above the Central Sacred Land, Wei Zhenjie helplessly lowered his head and covered his face with his hand.

What is a qin used for?

To play.

What's the point of competing with a qin?

This Lingguang Hall master's brain is really not sharp.