Chapter 399: Rumors

The Zhurong Tomb was formed from a fragment of the heart of the Ancestral Witch Zhurong, which the first Zhu Que Emperor of the Four Spirits Realm obtained during their travels through the primordial universe.

The Zhurong Tomb is divided into three domains.

The outermost layer, the Path of Zhurong—the foundational path of "Fire is me, and I am fire."

Amidst the omnipresent origin of fire, the physical body and will are tempered to the extreme, passing through three stages: "Drawing fire into the body," "Merging with fire," and "Manifesting as fire." Each stage is an ultimate test of one's will.

At the same time, one gains an initial understanding of the Laws of Fire.

The second layer, the Spine of Zhurong—the physical body as the foundation, carving out the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

The Blood Jade Bone Mountain uses the physical body as a root and blood-Qi to pave the way, opening up a Great Dao capable of bearing the Laws of Heaven and Earth, lighting up meridian nodes, and ensuring the meridians are unobstructed, allowing one to freely receive the power and Laws of Heaven and Earth.

During this period, the cultivator gains a deeper understanding of the Laws of Fire and begins to achieve enlightenment.

The innermost layer, the Heart of Zhurong—proving the Dao through strength, eternal radiance.

The chaotic space of the egg, the ultimate fusion of the Laws of Fire and strength. Those who master this can manifest the Laws of Fire, invoke the fire-might of Heaven and Earth, and create worlds.

This stage focuses on controlling the Laws of Fire for one's own use.

Hua Hua Changxi carefully read the information about the Zhurong Tomb that had appeared in her mind, her gaze falling upon the shimmering fire axe hovering above her palm.

This fire axe was not condensed from the Laws of Fire; it had flown out from the depths of chaos when she broke open the chaotic space of the egg.

The fire axe flickered, and the flames swirling around it shifted constantly—red flames one moment, purple the next, then changing to other colors.

After Hua Hua Changxi refined the fire axe, all the information regarding the Zhurong Tomb flooded into her mind.

The Zhurong Tomb is not only a place to strengthen the physical body but also the ultimate trial ground for proving the Dao through strength. Through the practice of "bearing Heaven and Earth with the physical body and illuminating the true heart with the nature of fire," the body is tempered into a furnace capable of bearing the fire-type Laws of Heaven and Earth.

Using fire as fuel and strength as a measure, through the progressive trials of the three fire domains, the cultivator tempers their bones, widens their meridians, and bears the Laws amidst the collision of body and flame, continuously strengthening the physical form.

Hua Hua Changxi was very satisfied with her gains in the Zhurong Tomb.

Not only had she practiced the seventh volume of the "Nine Revolutions Profound Art" to perfection, but she had also cultivated the "Law of Heaven and Earth" divine ability, which had significantly boosted her strength.

Although it had taken ten years, she felt it was worth it.

The only thing she was dissatisfied with was that the black flames on the Nascent Soul's heart had grown larger.

Hua Hua Changxi put away the fire axe. After it vanished into her brow, she flipped her right wrist, and a lotus lamp composed of four white jade petals and four black jade petals appeared in her palm.

This had fallen into the egg space after Chu Junshan died.

After she became the master of the Zhurong Tomb, she quickly sensed the lamp's existence.

Unlike when Zhu Yan held it, this lotus lamp was currently extinguished.

Hua Hua Changxi tried to mobilize the black flame on her Nascent Soul to ignite the lamp, but unfortunately, she could not move the black flame at all.

She discovered that, for her, the black flame seemed to only passively endure external influences (growing larger); trying to actively control it was extremely difficult.

When she poured all her consciousness into the black flame, she could at most make it flicker. As for controlling its size or splitting off a wisp of it, she was virtually helpless.

Thinking of the current state of the Zhu Que Army, Hua Hua Changxi was anxious to deal with it. After putting away the eight-petaled black and white lotus lamp, she flashed to the entrance of the Zhurong Tomb and began setting up a teleportation array.

The Zhurong Tomb is an excellent place for body refining; it is a field for "tempering the body with fire and breaking obstacles with strength." The test on the physical body is greater than that of the Nine Heavens Fire Spring, making it suitable for mid-stage body-refining cultivators.

The Nine Heavens Fire Spring is relatively milder, suitable for early-stage body-refining cultivators.

Because her strength had increased, Hua Hua Changxi's speed in setting up the teleportation array had also increased. A task that previously took over half a month now took only five days.

Once the teleportation array was set up, Hua Hua Changxi left the Zhurong Tomb.

Her battle with Chu Junshan had caused the Zhurong Tomb's barrier to manifest, but after becoming its master, she had hidden it again.

Although the location of the Zhurong Tomb was exposed, outsiders could not enter or leave once the barrier was closed, so Hua Hua Changxi returned to the Lingguang Palace with peace of mind.

Compared to the anxiety and unease of the previous period, the Lingguang Palace now possessed the fighting spirit and confidence it had at its inception.

On the sect plaza, countless Zhu Que Army soldiers were joyfully processing the mountain of corpses of the Phoenix Clan's demon beasts.

Hua Hua Changxi saw this but did not disturb them. After returning to the main hall, she summoned the "Zhu Que Army Roster" and quickly flipped through it.

Ten years had passed, and the number of Zhu Que Army soldiers had not increased; instead, it had decreased.

The names of over three thousand people had disappeared, and the names of nearly ten thousand were fading.

From this, it could be seen that during the ten years she spent in the Zhu Que Tomb, the Zhu Que Army had a very difficult time, to the point that when cultivators from all sides gathered in Nanxiang County, no one was willing to join the Zhu Que Army anymore.

After looking through the "Zhu Que Army Roster," Hua Hua Changxi fell silent.

The most urgent task now was to treat the over ten thousand injured Zhu Que Army soldiers.

This required a large amount of spiritual herbs, pills, and physicians.

Although she had the Pill Origin Secret Realm in her possession, Pill Origin Peak was Pill Origin Peak, and Lingguang Palace was Lingguang Palace; she could not directly divert resources from Pill Origin Peak to help Lingguang Palace.

After pondering for a while, Hua Hua Changxi took out a communication jade and sent a message to the logistics manager, Yun You: "Go seek help from the Heaven Department head. Tell him the Zhu Que Army needs healing pills and physicians, and ask him to help contact the Medical Department."

Upon receiving Hua Hua Changxi's message, Yun You's expression brightened. She hurriedly reported the situation of the Zhu Que Army, noting that the logistics department was in dire need of various supplies, primarily the life-saving Zhu Que Tokens.

Seeing Yun You's message, Hua Hua Changxi teleported directly to the Li Huo Cliff.

Ten years had passed, and the one hundred thousand Zhu Que Tokens had long since been refined.

Furthermore, because Li Huo Cliff only had Nanming Stone and no other refining materials, the idle refiners had forged several tens of thousands more.

"Palace Master!"

Hua Hua Changxi had not set foot on Li Huo Cliff for ten years, leaving everyone there in a state of anxiety, fearing she had forgotten them. Seeing her appear again, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was delayed by some matters. Rest assured, even if I don't come in the future, I will arrange for others to bring you cultivation resources."

After pacifying the people at Li Huo Cliff, Hua Hua Changxi took the one hundred thousand Zhu Que Tokens and flew down the cliff, deep into the sea of fire, to begin imprinting the Zhu Que seals onto the tokens.

Even with her increased strength, it took Hua Hua Changxi a full month to imprint all one hundred thousand Zhu Que Tokens.

Hua Hua Changxi placed the one hundred thousand Zhu Que Tokens in the logistics department and, without a moment's rest, went to set up the teleportation array leading to the Zhurong Tomb.

Her time was truly insufficient; the matter of the Nirvana Wutong Forest was not yet resolved, and the Ghost Fire Well also required further investigation...

"Buzz~"

The communication jade vibrated.

Hua Hua Changxi picked it up and saw it was a message from Yun You.

Yun You: "Palace Master, the Heaven Department head is willing to help, but he wants to see you."

Hua Hua Changxi: "Tell the Heaven Department head I am in seclusion."

Yun You: "Palace Master, purchasing pills requires spiritual stones."

Hua Hua Changxi saw this, and her vision went black.

The Zhu Que Army really was lacking everything!

Seeing that Hua Hua Changxi did not reply for a long time, Yun You thought for a moment and sent a message: "Palace Master, there is a fire-spirit mine in the Nirvana Wutong Forest."

Upon seeing the message, Hua Hua Changxi regained her spirit: "First, buy the pills on credit from the Medical Department. Saving lives is the priority; the spiritual stones will be paid later."

After reading this, Yun You was silent for a long while. Hesitating, she sent another message: "Palace Master, everyone outside is currently inquiring about your identity."

Hua Hua Changxi: "Let them inquire; ignore it."

Yun You: "But a rumor has suddenly spread recently, saying that you, Palace Master, are a female cultivator named Hua Hua Changxi."

Hua Hua Changxi: "..." ===== CHAPTER 400 =====