Chapter 407: Tug of War

Knowing that the imperial family wanted to verify her identity, Hua Changxi still replied to Yu Fu with a message of "no need to pay attention."

Before this, whether it was the Qihuang Pavilion or the Spirit Realm Pavilion, they had named her to attend when holding meetings, but she had never appeared.

This time, if she obediently appeared, maybe the imperial family would think she had a guilty conscience.

She had already figured it out. No matter whether she admitted whether she was the Lingguang Hall Master or not, the outside world would sway between "believe and don't believe."

Since there would be people questioning whether she responded or not, let outsiders guess.

Hua Changxi didn't want to spend too much energy on these irrelevant trivial matters outside, so her attention returned to cultivation.

In the repeated silent recitation of the Cleansing Heart Mantra, the black flame finally stabilized, and the various emotions surging in her heart were calmed down.

Hua Changxi exhaled, stood up, and continued to walk into the depths of the Wutong Forest.

Periphery of Wutong Forest, purifying bloodline.

Middle zone of Wutong Forest, igniting potential.

The help of the Wutong Forest to cultivators really exceeded Hua Changxi's imagination.

The heat in the air was constantly rising. Hua Changxi looked at the towering ancient trees in the hinterland of the Wutong Forest and the ancient zither floating above the ancient trees. She, who had always been moving forward, hesitated at this moment.

Hesitating whether to continue going deeper!

She knew that if she wanted to get the ancient zither and become the master of the Wutong Forest, she would inevitably have to undergo trials.

After experiencing the sudden thunder tribulation just now, she was timid.

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

Exit the Wutong Forest now?

Definitely not.

The Zhu Que Army needs the Wutong Forest. The Wutong trees in the Wutong Forest, as well as the fire spirit mines, are resources that the Zhu Que Army urgently needs.

Hua Changxi sighed, leaned back tiredly against a Wutong tree, feeling the warm pulsation returned by the Wutong tree while looking at the few Nirvana Dao Wutong trees in the depths of the Wutong Forest.

There are nine Nirvana Dao Wutong trees in total, arranged in a perfect circle according to some mysterious trajectory.

The nine trees are equally spaced, and their roots are connected to the underground veins, as if forming a natural Zhou Tian Star Array, and every leaf flows with glazed treasure light.

The Nine Heavens Phoenix Singing ancient zither floats above the encirclement formed by the nine Nirvana Dao Wutong trees.

The surface of the zither strings shimmered with a faint halo, as if flames were dancing inside.

The zither body is simple and atmospheric, yet it reveals a sacred and inviolable majesty, as if it were condensed from the most original power between Heaven and Earth.

Nirvana Dao Wutong may have a fatal attraction to the Phoenix clan and humans with ancestral Phoenix bloodline, but here in Hua Changxi, what she sensed was the "Dao rhyme" dissipated by the Nirvana Dao Wutong.

The "light chain" in Hua Changxi's body, which was originally dim due to the pulse wheel seal, suddenly trembled like withered grass meeting sweet rain after feeling the "Dao rhyme."

On the originally gray chain body, stars of light first seeped out, and then these light spots flowed slowly along the trajectory of the light chain like fireflies gathering into hair-like fine streams.

Summoned by the "Dao rhyme," the hesitation in Hua Changxi's heart vanished, suppressing all concerns, and she stepped towards the Nirvana Dao Wutong.

"Zheng~"

Just as Hua Changxi stepped into the circular domain formed by the nine Nirvana Dao Wutong trees, the Nine Heavens Phoenix Singing ancient zither floating in the air seemed to be injected with life.

The seven zither strings moved without wind, plucking at a speed invisible to the naked eye, emitting a clear sound that pierced gold and cracked stone.

The zither wave spread, and a Nine-Colored Nirvana True Fire ripple containing the artistic conception of creation and destruction struck Hua Changxi directly.

"Boom~"

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

Being in the sea of fire, Hua Changxi had experienced it countless times, so she had no panic.

However, after only a few breaths, she was horrified to find that the sea of fire here was completely different from those she had experienced before.

Her body, which had been tempered to be very powerful, was now like snow falling into boiling water, and began to show signs of dissipation bit by bit.

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

Hua Changxi's pupils shrank.

What kind of place is the Wutong Forest?

The place where the Phoenix resides.

Phoenix...

Nirvana...

"This is... Nirvana Sea of Fire!"

Hua Changxi instantly understood the intention of the ancient zither.

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

Nirvana, life from death. Only after death can there be life.

What the ancient zither wants her to experience is the whole process of the Phoenix bathing in fire and being reborn from the ashes.

This means that she must actively let go of all defenses, completely integrate herself into this destructive fire, let the physical body be dismembered and dissipated in the flames, and then, with the Nascent Soul as the seed, reshape the physical body in the ashes.

If Nirvana succeeds, she will be able to completely control this Wutong Forest and become a true "master of the Wutong Forest."

Hua Changxi's heart was surging with stormy waves. When she practiced "Law of Heaven and Earth," she had reservations because of the fear of losing herself, and she dared not integrate completely with Heaven and Earth.

And now, the trial of the ancient zither is to ask her to actively give up her life and destroy the physical body she uses with her own hands.

Hua Changxi, of course, couldn't do it, and she didn't want to.

Feeling the erosion of the Nirvana True Fire on her body becoming more and more serious, her right arm had become semi-transparent, and her consciousness began to be a bit blurred by the majesty of the flames. Hua Changxi's heart panicked again uncontrollably.

Once the heart panics, fear breeds like bone-attached gangrene.

The black flame on the Nascent Soul immediately darted out like a poisonous snake, frantically growing, and quickly magnifying her fear.

Having had the terrifying experience of being completely swallowed by fear before, Hua Changxi didn't have the slightest hesitation this time. She poured all her power into her legs, turned into an afterimage, and ran for her life towards the direction she came from!

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"

Hua Changxi leaned against the Wutong tree and gasped for breath. Although the palpitations and lingering fear of being in the Nirvana sea of fire still remained in her heart, she had no intention of giving up when looking at the ancient zither above the Nirvana Dao Wutong.

She didn't allow herself to be truly controlled by the black flame, nor did she allow herself to be defeated by the black flame, but she really had no way to deal with the black flame at this moment.

If she doesn't face the black flame head-on, that is, she cannot directly face the Nirvana trial, then she has to think of other ways to seize the ancient zither.

Accepting the trial is the regular way.

Now she wants to bypass the trial, then she can only... seize it by force.

After her mood calmed down, Hua Changxi directly performed the "Law of Heaven and Earth" divine ability.

Her body instantly rose and expanded!

In the blink of an eye, a giant that was taller than the Nirvana Dao Wutong and radiated infinite majesty appeared!

Hua Changxi stood outside the Nirvana Dao Wutong, like a god and demon standing on the ground, and directly stretched out a giant hand that covered the sky, grabbing fiercely at the floating ancient zither!

"Zheng~"

Hua Changxi had foreseen that the ancient zither would counterattack. Ignoring the zither wave attack, she quickly grabbed the ancient zither.

Because she didn't stand in the middle of the Nirvana Dao Wutong and wasn't pulled into the Nirvana sea of fire, the fire wave emitted by the ancient zither was like sharp blades slashing heavily on her physical body.

At the same time, the sound of the ancient zither could also shock the soul.

Hua Changxi relied on her tough physical body to survive the heavy blow of the ancient zither.

"Boom~"

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

"Ten Thousand Fires Worship the Ancestor~"

Once the divine ability was activated, the flames dissipated by the ancient zither didn't cause much burn damage to Hua Changxi.

But she still couldn't shake the ancient zither and move it away from above the Nirvana Dao Wutong.

At the same time, outside the Wutong Forest, the cultivators from all sides who had been paying attention to this place watched an unprecedented tug-of-war—the struggling giant and the immovable ancient zither.

Above the Central Holy Land, Wei Zhenjie lowered his head helplessly and covered his head with his hands.

What is a zither used for?

Playing.

What's the point of wrestling with a zither?

This Lingguang Hall Master's brain is really not smart. ===== CHAPTER 408 =====