Chapter 177: Great Sun Divine Flame

"Senior, are you alright?"

Seeing Hua Changxi's brows knitted tightly, fine beads of sweat forming on her forehead, and an expression of pain on her face, Baili Changfeng hurried forward with concern to ask.

Hua Changxi shook her head; her Qi Sea had already stabilized, and she was merely feeling some lingering fear.

Absorbing seven types of Strange Fire at once was indeed too rash of her.

Hua Changxi turned her gaze inward to inspect her dantian and Qi Sea.

Seven strands of Strange Fire hovered within the Qi Sea, like wicks, stirring up seven massive whirlpools within it.

It was precisely because of these seven whirlpools that the Qi Sea had become unstable.

Fortunately, above the Qi Sea, the mountain seal of Mount Wuzhi hung high in the void, emitting the power of mountain ranges that steadily suppressed the Qi Sea.

'The mountain seal actually possesses the power to suppress the Qi Sea!'

An unstable Qi Sea would cause spiritual energy to run wild; at best, it would damage one's spiritual roots, and at worst, it would injure the dantian.

Damaged spiritual roots would affect cultivation aptitude and speed; a damaged dantian might mean one could no longer be a cultivator at all.

From this, it was clear that maintaining the stability of the Qi Sea was extremely important, and anything capable of suppressing the Qi Sea was undoubtedly a supreme treasure.

No wonder that old Daoist Jiang had fought so desperately to seize Mount Wuzhi; apart from wanting the resources within the mountain, he surely also desired the mountain seal of Mount Wuzhi.

Since the mountain seal could suppress the Qi Sea, if opportunities arose in the future, she should secure a few more sacred grounds for herself.

Hua Changxi reined in her thoughts, calmed her emotions, and holding the Floating Light Sword, continued forward.

Baili Changfeng led his two disciples to catch up quickly; seeing that Hua Changxi was perfectly fine and still had the strength to wield her long sword to continue capturing the Purple Flame, the shock in his heart was considerable.

This person's strength was far deeper than he had imagined!

Although the Fusang Divine Tree was currently hidden within a rift in the interface space, and the leaking power of the Fire Source Law was still very scarce, meaning the power of the seven types of Strange Fire was not particularly great, subduing all the Strange Fires at once was not something just anyone could achieve.

Most importantly, the Purple Flame possessed the power to burn and injure the divine soul.

Just moments ago, seeing the change in Hua Changxi's expression, he had been extremely worried, thinking she had been injured by the Purple Flame, but watching her swing her long sword again to absorb another strand of Purple Flame, he realized he had been mistaken.

The fact that her divine soul had not been injured by the Purple Flame indicated that her soul body was extremely powerful.

Baili Changfeng's eyes flickered constantly; this person had cultivated divine sense before even advancing to the Spirit Platform Realm!

Matters concerning divine sense were too private to inquire about directly, so Baili Changfeng asked about something else instead: "Senior, do you practice both cultivation of the Dharma and cultivation of the body?"

If she were only a Dharma cultivator, even a cultivator in the late stage of the Infant Transformation Realm would have a physical body too weak to withstand the simultaneous burning of seven types of Strange Fire.

Hua Changxi glanced at him but did not respond; they had met only by chance, and although they had traveled together for a while, strictly speaking, they were still strangers, and regarding strangers, she naturally would not discuss much about her own affairs.

Receiving no response, Baili Changfeng was not discouraged and continued speaking: "Senior, I do not mean to pry into your privacy; to be honest with you, most artifact refiners like us also practice both cultivation of the Dharma and cultivation of the body. If one's body is not sturdy enough, one cannot withstand the vibrations caused during the hammering of artifact refining."

"Body cultivators need to spar frequently; after we leave this place and return to the human world, if you do not mind, we can serve as sparring partners for you, which could also be considered an exchange of cultivation insights."

Recalling that she had always fought alone before, and since she had originally intended to expand her circle of cultivator acquaintances, Hua Changxi did not refuse Baili Changfeng's proposal: "Very well, if I have time, I will seek you out for sparring."

Seeing that she had actually agreed, Baili Changfeng's expression brightened with joy, and even Xia Yang and Xia Xue, walking behind, found their eyes lighting up.

It had been less than two years since spiritual energy had fully recovered, making the Infant Transformation Realm arguably the strongest tier of power; being able to spar with an Infant Transformation cultivator was absolutely a good thing for them.

As the Floating Light Sword absorbed more and more of the Purple Flame, its amplitude of vibration increased accordingly, and after absorbing the ninth strand of Purple Flame, the sword suddenly erupted with brilliant spiritual light.

At first, red flames emerged, winding around the sword body as if tempering the Floating Light Sword.

"Thump, thump, thump~"

The Floating Light Sword emitted a rhythmic sword hum resembling a beating heart.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi's expression changed; coincidentally, they had just reached the bottom of the valley, so she quickly said to the three Baili disciples: "I need to rest here for a while; if you are in a hurry, you may proceed ahead."

Having spoken, she found a spot leaning against the mountain wall and shielded by rocks, then quickly set up an Isolation Array and a Defense Array.

Once the Isolation Array was activated, the three Baili disciples could no longer see Hua Changxi or the Floating Light Sword.

Xia Yang asked: "Master, what grade of spiritual sword is that?"

Xia Xue replied: "Having absorbed so much Strange Fire, its grade must be extremely high."

As a direct disciple of the Artifact Saint Palace, Baili Changfeng knew many secrets regarding the core of the formation eye; at this moment, looking at the location where Hua Changxi was, his expression was complex: "Do you know why the Fusang Divine Tree gave birth to Strange Fires of seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple?"

Xia Yang and Xia Xue shook their heads simultaneously.

Baili Changfeng sighed: "The Fusang Divine Tree is the resting place of the sun, so the flames it nurtures are naturally related to the sun; after the seven types of Strange Fire—red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, and purple—fuse together, they will generate the Great Sun Divine Flame. That sword has absorbed so much Strange Fire..."

Although he did not finish his sentence, both Xia Yang and Xia Xue understood.

As disciples of the Artifact Saint Palace, they knew what the Great Sun Divine Flame represented.

Divine Flame, carrying the character 'Divine,' was naturally something possessed only by deities.

The Great Sun Divine Flame was a divine flame nurtured by the Fusang Divine Tree and also the town-treasure of the Artifact Saint Palace; in ancient times, apart from a few deities on the Southern Zhu Que Continent, only high-grade artifact refiners of the Artifact Saint Palace could possibly possess the Great Sun Divine Flame.

They did not know Hua Changxi's background, but seeing this outsider potentially obtaining the Artifact Saint Palace's divine flame, all three master and disciples felt extremely uncomfortable.

Xia Yang said with little confidence: "Perhaps that sword is only absorbing the Strange Fire to temper its body."

Xia Xue, however, stated: "If that sword can truly fuse the seven types of Strange Fire to generate the Great Sun Divine Flame, then it is a divine sword." She then looked toward Baili Changfeng, adding, "To be able to produce such a supreme treasure, Senior Hua's origin must be extremely noble."

Hearing this, Baili Changfeng let out a long sigh: "Those families that detected the recovery of spiritual energy early seized every opportunity; how can those who came later compete?"

He did not agree with Lu Yan's method of stealing the divine hammer, yet Lu Yan's concern that the Artifact Saint Palace would fall into the hands of the royal family or the nobility was not without reason.

As far as he knew, the Pill Saint Hall was now controlled by the royal family, and with its internal forces being so mixed, it was truly uncertain whether the Pill Saint Hall could ultimately remain an independent and autonomous sacred land.

Seeing both his master and junior sister looking dejected, Xia Yang could not help but say: "Even if that sword truly generates the Great Sun Divine Flame, Senior Hua may not be able to subdue it; perhaps the sword itself will even leave her."

Upon hearing this, Baili Changfeng's eyes suddenly lit up.

It was not that he coveted that sword; he truly did not wish to see the Great Sun Divine Flame fall into the hands of an outsider.

However, very quickly, the light in his eyes dimmed again.

Naturally, the Great Sun Divine Flame was not something an Infant Transformation cultivator could control, but the problem was that the Fusang Divine Tree was still within the spatial rift, having only leaked a small amount of Fire Source power to nurture these seven types of Strange Fire.

Since the Strange Fires were weakened versions, the power of the resulting Great Sun Divine Flame would naturally be greatly reduced.

Practicing both cultivation of the Dharma and cultivation of the body, and having even cultivated divine sense, it was quite possible that Senior Hua could indeed subdue the Great Sun Divine Flame.

The three master and disciples felt troubled in their hearts, yet none of them left; instead, they rested right there, waiting for Hua Changxi.

There was no other choice; they knew nothing of the true conditions within Tang Gu, and having a Nascent Soul cultivator present would at least ensure their safety.