Chapter 395: The Realm of Selflessness

Failing to directly slay Zhu Yan and Chu Junshan, Hua Changxi felt somewhat disappointed, especially regarding Zhu Yan; the black-and-white lotus lamp in his hand had truly made her feel an immense threat.

However, after the battle just fought, both Chu Junshan and Zhu Yan had suffered heavy injuries and had now fled deep into the chaotic space of the Egg; in the short term, neither could counterattack, which at least gave Hua Changxi time to cultivate.

Without delaying, once her breathing had stabilized, Hua Changxi threw herself into cultivating the 'Law of Heaven and Earth'.

"The Law of Heaven and Earth is not an art of illusion, but uses the physical body as a vessel to draw resonance from heaven and earth, bearing the might of heaven and earth and its laws..."

Hua Changxi repeatedly read through the cultivation method of the 'Law of Heaven and Earth'; it contained many obscure and difficult terms, and every time she encountered them, she felt a sense of relief in her heart.

She was relieved that the body-refining technique she cultivated was the 'Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art'; since both techniques operated on underlying logic built upon the physical body, understanding these contents was not too difficult for her.

Only after confirming she understood every sentence within the cultivation method of the 'Law of Heaven and Earth' did she begin to attempt cultivation.

The first step: resonate with heaven and earth.

Energy within the Egg space rushed into Hua Changxi's body like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.

Her skin glowed with a magma-like fiery red luster, her bones emitted a low rumble, as if mountains were growing.

At this moment, she felt her self was no longer a body of flesh and blood, but a part of this chaotic Egg space; her 'sense of presence' was expanding rapidly.

Her physical body was swelling, her divine sense spreading; she could clearly perceive the boundary walls pulsating and various energies within the space churning and boiling.

Energy from the Egg space continuously poured into her body, while simultaneously, her breathing began to resonate with this Egg space at a mysterious frequency.

"Exhale~"

"Inhale~"

"Exhale~"

"Inhale~"

When the frequency of her breathing aligned with the pulsation frequency of the boundary walls, Hua Changxi perceived an enlightening force erupting within her body; the energy inside her and the energy of the Egg space intertwined and fused, indistinguishable from one another.

At this moment, Hua Changxi felt she was this very Egg space.

The second step: spirit merges with heaven and earth.

When Hua Changxi felt she had transformed into the Egg space, the chaotic qi within the space was stirred by her, turning into visible fiery red currents that coiled around her body.

Her hair danced wildly without wind, each strand seeming to become a tentacle connecting heaven and earth.

Her divine sense spread out like the wind, covering a thousand meters, ten thousand meters...

She 'saw' Chu Junshan and Zhu Yan who had fled to the other side of the Egg space, and 'heard' the clangor of the fierce winds deep within the chaos.

Her will became as unrestrained as the wind, filling the Egg space. (The coverage area is directly proportional to the strength of her divine sense.)

The third step: manifestation of the Dharma Aspect.

This was the most critical step, requiring complete fusion with the absorbed power of heaven and earth and the laws of heaven and earth.

Cultivating to this point, Hua Changxi stalled!

The reason she stalled was that this step required her to open herself up completely without any reservation.

This, Hua Changxi could not do.

It was at this moment that she clearly realized the caution and distrust buried deep in her heart; she dared not surrender herself entirely to the 'outside world' without holding anything back.

Even though this Egg space posed no threat to her, she still needed to hold something back in the depths of her heart; she had to grip onto something to ensure her absolute safety.

She could not achieve absolute 'selflessness'!

For Hua Changxi, the Realm of Selflessness was tantamount to suicide.

This discovery sent a violent shock through Hua Changxi's heart; she seemed to understand the reason why her state of mind had never been able to improve.

Her sense of self was simply too strong!

Although Hua Changxi had stalled at the final step, this did not mean her cultivation of the 'Law of Heaven and Earth' divine ability had failed; she could still partially fuse with the power and laws of heaven and earth.

It could only be said that her cultivation of this divine ability was not perfectly complete and still lacked something.

When Hua Changxi attempted to fuse with the Egg space while 'holding something back', 'Boom~', an indescribably majestic aura erupted explosively with her as the center.

Her body did not swell falsely like an illusion, but on the true level of 'power of laws', it was reshaped and filled by the mighty force of heaven and earth.

In the blink of an eye, a giant phantom towering a thousand zhang appeared in the Egg space, standing between heaven and earth.

Because the divine ability was not fully executed, the giant's features were blurred, only faintly discernible as a woman.

The breath she exhaled turned into cloud waves sweeping a thousand li; the slight movement of her feet caused the entire Egg space to tremble subtly. Every gesture carried a portion of the weight and power of heaven and earth.

This was Hua Changxi's aspect of the 'Law of Heaven and Earth'!

Since the Egg space contained only the law of fire, Hua Changxi's Dharma Aspect was entirely fiery red.

However, maintaining the Dharma Aspect consumed an extremely terrifying amount of energy.

Hua Changxi's body refinement had only just reached the seventh chapter of the 'Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art', which was insufficient to sustain the Dharma Aspect for too long.

She dared not become attached to this supreme power of controlling heaven and earth; guarding her mind, she decisively withdrew the divine ability.

In an instant, the thousand-zhang Dharma Aspect receded like a tide, and the vast power returned to heaven and earth.

The space returned to chaos, heaven and earth became desolate once more, as if nothing had ever happened.

Yet Chu Junshan and Zhu Yan, on the other side of the space, watched with trembling hearts; Hua Changxi's strength had improved too quickly!

Looking at his broken leg, killing intent bursting from his eyes, Chu Junshan glanced at the pale-faced Zhu Yan nearby: "Hua Changxi will not let us leave here alive; now, it is either she dies, or we die."

Although Zhu Yan had narrowly survived thanks to his Yang Flame and Fire Transformation divine abilities, that single axe strike from Hua Changxi had shattered his dantian, effectively cutting off his path of cultivation.

He naturally wished to slay Hua Changxi, but the problem was, they were simply no match for her.

With a gloomy expression, Chu Junshan gritted his teeth and said: "Let us join forces one more time; even if we die, we must drag Hua Changxi down to hell with us."

To seize Nanxiangcheng, the Imperial Court had plotted for many years; if he could help the Imperial Court eliminate the Hall Master of the Lingguang Hall, he could buy more time for the Imperial Court's strategic arrangements, and thus his years of grooming by the Imperial Court would not have been in vain.

Although the 'Law of Heaven and Earth' divine ability was not cultivated to perfection, the sensation of manifesting the Dharma Aspect still left Hua Changxi quite exhilarated.

After recovering from the physical consumption, Hua Changxi began to invoke the 'Law of Heaven and Earth' again.

She could feel that if she could fully execute the divine ability, her Dharma Aspect could grow infinitely taller and larger.

But deep in her heart, she understood clearly that in the short term, she would be unable to reach the realm of 'selflessness'.

Unable to fully unleash her divine ability, she could only practice repeatedly, striving to execute it faster and with greater ease.

During this period, whenever she unleashed 'Law of Heaven and Earth,' Hua Changxi would, once her Dharma image stabilized, wield her fire axe to strike the boundary walls of the Egg Space.

The Egg Space tested a cultivator's mastery over force and laws; bolstered by her divine ability, Hua Changxi's control over power and her manipulation of the Fire Law were rapidly improving.

By now, every swing of Hua Changxi's axe caused the boundary walls to tremble.

Feeling her power grow, Hua Changxi's understanding of 'Proving the Dao through Strength' deepened; this was a path where one, relying on physical might and supreme command over the laws of heaven and earth, could forge a Great Dao that towered over all beings.

"Hum~"

Just as Hua Changxi was swinging her fire axe with great effort, a vibration occurred deep within her sea of consciousness.

Upon perceiving it, Hua Changxi frowned slightly, then shifted her will, and the still-vibrating 'Zhu Que Army Register' appeared in her hand.

Looking at the trembling 'Zhu Que Army Register,' Hua Changxi felt somewhat puzzled, but as she flipped through its pages, her expression suddenly changed.

On the 'Zhu Que Army Register,' the names of nearly ten thousand Zhu Que soldiers were quietly dimming; worse still, the names of nearly a thousand Zhu Que soldiers had already vanished completely.

A vanished name meant the person was dead.

A fading name meant the person had suffered severe injuries; the graver the wound, the fainter the name.

"How could the Zhu Que Army have suffered such massive casualties?!"