Chapter 174: Four Spirits Divine Abilities

"Before ancient times, if the human race did not revere a great demon as a god and obtain the protection of the demon race, it would have been very difficult to survive in the then perilous and harsh environment; therefore, nearly all humans who have survived to this day have blood curses embedded in their bloodlines."

"From ancient times until now, the years have grown very distant, and the blood curses in many people's bloodlines have actually almost completely vanished; however, with the resurgence of spiritual energy and the emergence of some atavistic spiritual plants and fruits, the bloodlines of many people have begun to revert to their ancestors."

"Bloodline atavism will activate the blood curse; once too much demon qi is inhaled and its erosion cannot be suppressed, one easily becomes demonized."

"Of course, bloodline atavism is not entirely a bad thing; that tail just now should have been a fox tail, employing the fox race's spatial compression divine ability to perform instantaneous travel. Other atavistic divine abilities each possess their own strengths, undoubtedly enhancing a cultivator's power."

Hua Changxi listened carefully as Baili Chengfeng explained the origins of bloodline atavism, and after he stopped, she voiced the doubt in her heart: "If bloodline atavism activates the blood curse, wouldn't those who gain atavistic divine abilities be easily controlled by the demon race?"

Baili Changfeng nodded: "The demon race certainly has methods to control those who have activated the blood curse; those seven people just now were exactly in that situation. As far as this old man knows, the higher the degree of bloodline atavism, the easier it is to be manipulated by the demon race, and the stronger one's sense of belonging to them becomes."

Hua Changxi's brows knitted together; the Hua family members all had activated lotus totems, and she herself, besides lotus atavism, also possessed Zhu Que atavism. She had previously thought bloodline atavism was a good thing, but now she felt it seemed like a huge trap.

"Is there no method to break it?"

Baili Changfeng said: "This old man does not know about that; however, in ancient times, the human race was able to defeat the demon race and become the masters of this realm, so they must have found a way to break the blood curse."

Hua Changxi greatly agreed with this answer, and her heart relaxed somewhat; she did not want to strive hard in cultivation only to end up controlled by the demon race, becoming their attendant and enforcer.

Baili Changfeng's disciple Xia Yang spoke up: "Master, are all divine abilities known to the human race derived from the demon race?"

Baili Changfeng replied: "Of course not; there are also humans with outstanding talents who have created their own divine abilities."

Xia Yang asked: "Then are human divine abilities stronger, or are those of the demon race stronger?"

Baili Changfeng shook his head: "This cannot be compared; the power of a divine ability is directly correlated with one's cultivation level. Generally speaking, the demon race excels in physical bodies, while humans excel in primordial spirits; before the Spirit Platform realm, humans are constrained by their weak physical bodies and are no match for the demon race, but once one reaches a realm above Spirit Platform, humans will gradually surpass the demon race."

"If one must ask which divine ability is the strongest, it is naturally the Four Spirits Divine Abilities."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi's expression shifted: "Four Spirits Divine Abilities?"

Baili Changfeng explained: "This realm of ours is named the Four Spirits Realm; Zhu Que, Xuan Wu, Qing Long, and Bai Hu are the highest deities, and the four continental lands of East, South, West, and North are manifestations of their wills. Whether human or demon, anyone with Four Spirits bloodline atavism who comprehends the Four Spirits Divine Abilities will definitely possess power far exceeding others."

Xia Yang asked again: "Master, didn't you say the Four Spirits Realm has five continental lands? If the four continental lands of East, South, West, and North are manifestations of the Four Spirits' wills, then what about the central continental land?"

Baili Chengfeng replied: "The central continental land is where the hundred schools of thought contend; if one must choose the strongest deity, the deity representing the central continental land should be the Qilin."

"Neither the Four Spirits Divine Abilities nor the Qilin Divine Abilities are easy to comprehend."

"Among the demon race, demons with pure Four Spirits bloodlines have nearly become extinct, while among the human populations of the four continental lands that once received the protection of the Four Spirits, there must still be many; if these humans can increase the degree of their bloodline atavism, their probability of comprehending the Four Spirits Divine Abilities will be even greater than that of the demon race."

Xia Xue, standing beside Xia Yang, spoke up: "Master, the Lingguang Hall is the dojo established by the deity Zhu Que on the central continental land; now that Lingguang Hall has opened and is extensively recruiting cultivators with fire spiritual roots, it is said that anyone who withstands the trials can obtain it—can cultivating this technique grant one the Zhu Que divine ability?"

Upon hearing these words, Hua Changxi's ears immediately perked up.

Baili Changfeng shook his head: "Your master does not know for certain, but it should be helpful for comprehending the Zhu Que divine ability."

Hua Changxi thought to herself that it was definitely helpful; otherwise, after soaking in the atavistic medicinal soup, her Fire Lotus divine ability would not have gained the little Zhu Que bird capable of incinerating primordial spirits.

After taking over Lingguang Hall, her understanding of the Zhu Que Divine Art deepened further; cultivating the Zhu Que Divine Art would generate an image of Zhu Que within one's body, which could not only assist in cultivation but also fly out to save one's life in times of crisis.

However, at each realm, the Zhu Que image could act at most three times; after three times, the image would dim and would not act again unless one's realm advanced.

"Ah~"

Behind them came another piercing scream of agony; Hua Changxi turned to look and saw that another Eunuch from the Eastern Depot had become demonized.

Baili Changfeng also glanced over but paid no heed: "We must speed up; those six people must have already entered the center of the formation eye, and we must go there to stop them from destroying the formation eye."

Then, he cupped his fists toward the empty air: "Fellow Daoist, flight is prohibited above the military formation; later, when we cross through the military formation, if we encounter danger, I hope you can lend us your aid."

Even if Baili Changfeng had not said so, Hua Changxi would have helped them, so she simply uttered an "Mm."

Receiving this response, Baili Changfeng felt relieved in his heart and once again increased their pace of advance.

The further inward they went, not only did the demon qi become increasingly dense, but the air also grew increasingly scorching.

Fortunately, Hua Changxi and the three Baili master-and-disciples all possessed fire spiritual roots, so this degree of heat could not overcome them.

The stone-carved soldier figurines continued all the way to the foot of the volcanic pile known as Giant Mountain; like a moat, they firmly protected the giant platform. Even with their accelerated speed, it took Hua Changxi and her group more than an hour to completely exit the military formation.

After leaving the military formation, Hua Changxi lifted her head to gaze at the towering giant platform before her; one could even call it a massive mountain. Moreover, standing at the foot of Giant Mountain, she clearly felt the temperature had risen dozens of times, and her exposed skin actually felt a burning pain.

This place possessed the densest and most powerful fire spiritual energy she had encountered since beginning her cultivation.

"Master, can we really enter the center of the formation eye?"

Hua Changxi was a Nascent Soul realm cultivator and was still refining her body; she had already cultivated the *Nine Turns Mysterious Art* to the third chapter, the Bone Refining Chapter, yet even she felt some burning pain, so the situation for Baili Changfeng and his two disciples would only be worse.

Baili Chengfeng was a late-stage Golden Core cultivator, so he was somewhat better off, merely sweating; but Xia Yang and Xia Xue, both early-stage Golden Core cultivators, had faces flushed red, resembling shrimp about to be steamed, clearly showing that both were suffering greatly.

Seeing this, Baili Changfeng quickly gave each of them a defensive talisman, while he himself endured it through sheer force.

After applying the spiritual talismans, Xia Yang and Xia Xue felt much better.

Xia Yang asked: "Master, why is the temperature here so high?"

Baili Chengfeng replied: "The center of the formation eye is the place where the Fusang Divine Tree grows; the land of the Divine Tree can nurture strange fires, whose power is dozens of times that of ordinary flames. When we climb up shortly, be extremely careful and must stay away from strange fires; with our current cultivation, we cannot control strange fires, and if a strange fire attaches to us, we will only become fuel for it."

In the center of the giant platform, there was a stone staircase leading straight to the top; Baili Changfeng walked at the very front, stepping onto the stone staircase first.

Hua Changxi walked at the rear; the moment her feet stepped onto the stone staircase, the scene in her vision instantly changed—no, it did not change, but rather expanded. At this moment, the giant platform appeared dozens of times larger in her eyes, while she herself, before the giant platform, resembled an ant too small to be any smaller.

At the same time, she also sensed the Floating Light Sword within her Sumeru Mustard Seed trembling.