Chapter 188: Karma Fire Burning
Seeing Baili Changfeng turn into a human-shaped stone sculpture in the blink of an eye, Hua Changxi was greatly shocked. Before she could react, the woman in white attacked again.
Eight fox tails emerged from behind her, then grew and enlarged in the wind, simultaneously striking at the other eight human-shaped stone sculptures.
Upon witnessing this, the young cultivator, blocked by the other three demon race followers, had his eyes split open with rage and roared, “Bai Li, the Artifact Saint Palace and your Nine-tailed Celestial Fox clan are irreconcilable enemies, destined for a fight to the death.”
Bai Li sneered contemptuously. Just as the fox tails were about to strike the human-shaped stone sculptures, a scorching heat that seemed capable of refining heaven and earth enveloped the Boundary Stone.
The next moment, a white sword light descended from the sky, slashing like lightning towards the back of the woman in white.
Bai Li felt a fatal danger, her face filled with horror. Forgetting about destroying the Formation Eye, she turned to flee. However, the sword light was already upon her. Unable to resist, she could only hastily dodge.
“Ah~”
A piercing scream echoed through Tang Valley once more. This time, four fox tails were cleanly severed. The pain was so intense that Bai Li could no longer maintain her human form and directly reverted to her original body.
A sleek, lustrous white fox, without a single stray hair.
Bai Li looked at the cyan figure suspended outside the Boundary Stone with terror. The burning pain from her tailbone made her instantly realize that the person before her was the powerful being awakened by her hot spring bath.
Without even facing him directly, she had already lost five tails. If they were to fight head-on, she likely wouldn’t survive.
Knowing she was no match, Bai Li gritted her teeth, bit off one of her fox tails, and flung it into the air. While controlling the fox tail to enlarge and strike at the Formation Eye, drawing the attention of the cyan-clothed expert, she transformed into a white light and rapidly flew towards the Tang Valley volcano crater.
“Not good, she’s trying to escape!”
The young cultivator, entangled by the three demon race followers, noticed Bai Li’s unusual actions and quickly called out a warning.
Hua Changxi had noticed when the white fox bit off its own tail. She unleashed spiritual energy to send the severed tail flying away, then watched as the white fox leaped several times to reach the volcano crater.
“Spatial Teleportation?”
Recalling how one of the demon race followers had used the Space Compression Divine Ability to directly transfer other demon race followers from the stone sculpture military formation to the volcano crater, Hua Changxi’s right hand glowed with spiritual light. The next moment, a fire palm soared into the sky, growing at a visible speed and swiftly reaching out to grab the white fox.
Outside Qianmen Fort, everyone once again heard the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox’s piercing screams. Just as they were wondering what was happening inside Tang Valley, the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox reappeared at the volcano crater.
Last time, the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox had eight tails. This time, good heavens, only three tails remained.
As everyone speculated about which powerful expert had severed six of the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox’s tails, a massive fire palm surged out of Tang Valley.
Seeing the fire palm pursuing her, Bai Li’s face was filled with horror. She waved her remaining three fox tails, desperately slapping the void, causing space to vibrate and distort. Soon, a spatial rift appeared in the void.
As soon as the spatial rift appeared, Bai Li swiftly rushed into it. At this moment, the fire palm also reached for her.
Bai Li could only dodge hastily, struggling to escape through the gaps between the fire palm’s fingers, while desperately using her fox tails to slap space, hoping to create more spatial rifts and shatter the fire palm with the tearing and cutting force of the spatial rifts.
Under Bai Li’s full force strikes, several spatial rifts did appear above the volcano crater.
The tearing and cutting force around the spatial rifts made the fire palm less stable. Its index and middle fingers were even severed by the spatial rifts.
With the fire palm unstable, its attack on Bai Li naturally weakened.
Bai Li seized this opportunity and swiftly rushed towards the nearest spatial rift.
The fire palm was indeed unable to grasp Bai Li at this moment, but as she fled, it ignited one of her fox tails.
Seeing her burning tail, Bai Li tried to extinguish it with her demonic energy, but it was useless. As the flames rapidly spread towards her body, Bai Li resolutely bit off the ignited tail.
After severing her tail, Bai Li quickly darted into the spatial rift.
Witnessing this, the cultivators gathered outside Qianmen Fort all showed regret.
“That Nine-tailed Celestial Fox couldn’t be caught!”
However, the next moment, a scene that baffled everyone appeared.
The Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, with more than half of its body already inside the spatial rift, had flames reignite at the severed tail!
“What’s going on?”
“Didn’t the tail get bitten off? Why didn’t the flames extinguish?”
Not only were the cultivators confused, but Bai Li herself was utterly bewildered. At this moment, busy entering the spatial rift, she paid no mind to anything else, planning to extinguish the flames once she was completely free from the fire palm’s attack inside the spatial rift.
Seeing Bai Li completely enter the spatial rift, everyone thought she had escaped.
However, not long after, an even more piercing scream echoed through the void.
“Ah~”
The space above the volcano crater, battered by the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, was broken and unstable. Through some spatial rifts, everyone vaguely saw the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox, engulfed in red flames, rolling frantically within.
“What kind of fire is that on the fire palm? It wouldn’t extinguish even after severing its tail?”
The cultivators chattered amongst themselves. In the crowd, Gu Jin Fan’s eyes flickered incessantly. The flames on the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox were bright red, and the flames resembled lotuses.
Could it be Red Lotus Karmic Fire?
Gu Jin Fan’s heart trembled, and he swallowed.
Karmic Fire uses karmic power as fuel. As long as one carries karmic power, once ignited by Red Lotus Karmic Fire, it’s impossible to extinguish. Even if the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox severed its tail, it couldn’t extinguish the Red Lotus Karmic Fire.
Just like the Two Elements Divine Lamp, which uses the Seven Emotions and Six Desires as fuel, as long as there are emotions and desires, it’s impossible to extinguish the ignited Yang Flame and Yin Flame.
In his previous life, people from the Qian Yuan Realm controlled countless cultivators in the Four Spirit Realm by manipulating the Two Elements Divine Lamp, and the Four Spirit Realm had no power to resist.
Now that someone in the Four Spirit Realm has cultivated Red Lotus Karmic Fire, there is finally a means to counterbalance the Two Elements Divine Lamp.
In the void, the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox’s screams continued. The onlookers listened with their scalps tingling, and then saw the giant fire palm silently retreat back into Tang Valley.
“Jing Le, I have a feeling that fire palm is somewhat similar to my Buddhist Sect’s Buddha’s Palm Divine Ability.”
In a corner west of Qianmen Fort, several monks gathered, watching the retreating fire palm and discussing in hushed tones.
Jing Le remained silent, staring intently at the volcano crater. His mind recalled the female cultivator who had rescued them when they faced a crisis at Kunmen Pass.
When that female cultivator led them across the Underworld River, she used a fire palm to deal with the Nether Dragons that blocked their path.
Could it be her?
Was it that female cultivator who attacked the Nine-tailed Celestial Fox in Tang Valley?
In the center of Tang Valley, Hua Changxi retracted her Buddha’s Palm Divine Ability. In her right palm, she held two jade lotus petals, one black and one white.
These two jade lotus petals had fallen from the spatial rift and likely belonged to the white fox.
The flames she had condensed were incredibly powerful, capable of incinerating even Nascent Soul Cultivators to ashes, yet these two jade lotus petals showed no signs of being burned.
“Divine Lamp Fragment.”
Hua Changxi examined the two jade lotus petals. She had encountered the black jade lotus petal before, but this was her first time seeing the white jade lotus petal.
“How can the white jade lotus petal ignite the Yang Flame?”
On the Boundary Stone platform below, the battle was still ongoing. Hua Changxi couldn’t investigate the white jade lotus petal at this moment. She put away the two jade lotus petals and then flew to the Boundary Stone platform.
The young cultivator fighting the three demon race followers was very strong, his cultivation realm already at the early Nascent Soul stage, and his physique was robust. It was clear he was a Body Cultivator, and not at a low level.
The young cultivator had likely been fighting for too long, his spiritual energy nearly depleted. He was now fighting purely with his formidable body.
Upon arriving at the Boundary Stone platform, Hua Changxi unleashed three fire lotuses. The three demon race followers had no way to evade them. After being struck by the fire lotuses, they were quickly reduced to ashes.
“Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for your assistance. I am Tong Yao, an eighty-first-generation disciple of the Artifact Saint Palace. If you ever need anything in the future, please do not hesitate to ask.”
The young cultivator stepped forward and cupped his fists in thanks.
Hua Changxi nodded, “My surname is Hua.” After speaking, she quickly walked towards Xia Yang and Xia Xue, who lay on the platform, on the verge of death.
Both were severely injured, had fallen unconscious, and their spiritual energy was depleted.
Hua Changxi administered healing pills and pills to replenish spiritual energy to them. After confirming they were temporarily out of danger, her gaze fell upon Baili Changfeng, who had transformed into a human-shaped stone sculpture.
“Fellow Daoist Tong, is Fellow Daoist Baili your…?”
Looking at Baili Changfeng’s stone sculpture, Tong Yao’s face showed pain and self-reproach. “He is my Senior Disciple Brother, the chief disciple of the eighty-first generation of the Artifact Saint Palace.”
Upon hearing this, Hua Changxi’s expression was somewhat surprised. She hadn’t expected Baili Changfeng to hold such a high position in the Artifact Saint Palace. Honestly, when she saw Baili Changfeng resolutely use his own body to block the rift, she had been deeply moved.
“Fellow Daoist Baili… why go to such lengths.”
“Even if demonic energy leaked out, there might have been other solutions.”
Hearing Hua Changxi’s sigh, Tong Yao showed a wry smile. “Senior Disciple Brother has always taken it as his duty to guard the Artifact Saint Palace and the stability of the Formation Eye. If demonic energy were to spread to the Human World and cause a catastrophe, Senior Disciple Brother would not forgive himself.”
“Moreover, the reason the demon race was able to infiltrate Tang Valley this time is ultimately due to internal problems within the Artifact Saint Palace. As the person in charge of the Artifact Saint Palace, Senior Disciple Brother must surely feel immense self-blame.”
Hearing this, Hua Changxi thought of Lu Yan. It was indeed Lu Yan who had brought the demon race in.
“Are the other human-shaped stone sculptures also people petrified?”
Hua Changxi’s gaze fell upon the other seventeen human-shaped stone sculptures.
Tong Yao’s expression turned somber as he nodded. “These are all Artifact Saint Palace disciples who have suppressed the prison with their bodies throughout the generations.”
Hua Changxi: “Throughout the generations? Has this Formation Eye always been unstable? Has your Artifact Saint Palace’s cultivation never been interrupted?”
Tong Yao explained, “After the Great Nirvana, the Demon Prison was also dormant. It was only after the spiritual energy began to recover that the seal of the Demon Prison loosened, and the Four Great Formation Eyes became unstable.”
“When the Sacred Lands that suppress the Four Great Formation Eyes are in a dormant state, other forces are needed to suppress the Formation Eyes.”
Hearing this explanation, Hua Changxi thought of the Dan Sheng Hall.
Did the center of the Dan Sheng Hall’s Formation Eye also have such human-shaped stone sculptures?
Looking at the eighteen human-shaped stone sculptures before her, Hua Changxi’s feelings were complex. She felt some admiration, but more so, resistance.
Before, she had harbored thoughts of taking over the Dan Sheng Hall and becoming its master. Now that she knew the Four Great Sacred Lands all bore such heavy responsibilities, that thought was directly suppressed in her heart.
