Cultivating the Flame Mantra, Devouring the Undying Fire!

One month later,

After a long journey across dozens of continents, Lu Chen and Nine Nether arrived at a small continent to rest.

A full moon hung high above a mountain peak.

Lu Chen sat quietly atop the mountain, surrounded by unusually scorching spiritual energy.

This was a small continent known as the Blazing Flame Continent. Most of the land was covered in desert, so the spiritual energy here was far more searing than that of other continents.

Nine Nether had carefully chosen it as a place for Lu Chen to cultivate.

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

Nine Nether frowned at the youth before her and asked in confusion.

Lu Chen nodded firmly and said without hesitation, "Sister Nine Nether, give it to me. I have to cultivate the Flame Mantra!"

"But this cultivation method is far too dangerous. Devouring Heavenly Flames to evolve, using your Divine Soul to devour Heavenly Flames in place of a Beast Soul, and it has to be done before reaching the Supreme Realm... It's too dangerous. One wrong move, and even I won't be able to save you in time."

Nine Nether's delicate brows knitted together as an inexplicable irritation rose within her.

She truly could not understand why anyone would create such a reckless cultivation method.

And why would anyone actually dare cultivate something so dangerous?

Were they all unafraid of death?

"Sister Nine Nether, I'm not afraid!"

"In this life, I seek nothing but the Dao. If I cannot witness the scenery from the summit at the end of the Great Dao, then what meaning is there in cultivating safely and merely surviving for hundreds or thousands of years?"

Lu Chen's expression did not change as he spoke resolutely.

It was not that he absolutely had to cultivate the Flame Mantra. Rather, in this world, aside from the Flame Mantra, there was no other cultivation method capable of creating artificial spiritual meridians.

With the memories of his previous life, Lu Chen clearly knew that before the Supreme Realm, spiritual meridians might only serve to accelerate cultivation.

But upon reaching the Heavenly Supreme Realm and forging the Celestial Supreme Spiritual Body, the spiritual meridians hidden within one's body would be awakened, becoming one of the fundamental means by which Heavenly Supremes shook the Great Thousand World—Spiritual Meridian Divine Abilities!

Spiritual meridians were divided into nine grades from low to high: First and Second Grade Human Meridians, Third and Fourth Grade Earth Meridians, Fifth and Sixth Grade Heavenly Meridians, and Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Grade Divine Meridians.

Among them, the Spiritual Meridian Divine Abilities derived from Ninth Grade Divine Meridians were no weaker than the thirty-six most powerful Peerless Divine Powers in the Great Thousand World!

"Fine. I'll give you the Undying Fire."

"But let me be clear—if you die, don't blame me."

As she spoke, a cluster of purple flames rose from Nine Nether's fingertip!

It was the Undying Fire she had gained after evolving into a Nine Netherworld Sparrow!

The Nine Netherbird Clan were descendants of the Ancient Undying Bird, with a trace of the Ancient Undying Bird's bloodline within them. Nine Nether was also the most gifted genius of the Nine Netherbird Clan in nearly ten thousand years, possessing the purest bloodline.

Therefore, even though she had only evolved into a Nine Netherworld Sparrow and had yet to become an Undying Bird, she had already awakened the Undying Fire.

Lu Chen took a deep breath. He had simulated this once several days ago and exchanged for the Flame Mantra. Judging from the simulation results, he should succeed.

"You'd better be careful. Although I've weakened this Undying Fire as much as possible, its power is still not something a mere Divine Soul Realm Completion cultivator like you can endure. I'll say it again: give up this cultivation method while you still can. Perhaps you'll find another way to restore your spiritual meridians in the future."

"After all, the Great Thousand World is boundless. How can you be certain there are no other rare treasures that can help you restore your spiritual meridians?"

Even at this point, Nine Nether still tried earnestly to persuade him.

Lu Chen showed no impatience. After all, Nine Nether had given him the Undying Fire, and his Divine Soul Realm Completion cultivation had also been built up by the various heavenly treasures she had found for him over these past days.

Though his foundation had initially been somewhat unstable, after Nine Nether burned away the impurities in his spiritual energy with her Undying Fire, it had long since become incomparably solid.

As for heavenly treasures capable of forging spiritual meridians?

If such things existed, the entire Great Thousand World would have gone mad over them long ago. Even if they truly existed, they could never have remained in the world; they would have been used up by someone already.

Lu Chen's resolute gaze gave his answer through action.

Forming seals with both hands, an invisible suction force arose from his dantian and instantly drew the cluster of Undying Fire from Nine Nether's fingertip into his qi sea.

The qi sea was the foundation of a cultivator, the place where spiritual energy was stored.

Unlike the Divine Soul located between the brows, a damaged Divine Soul could be restored with pills that nourished it.

If the qi sea shattered, there were generally only two outcomes.

Either one broke through to the Supreme Realm and reforged a Supreme Sea more durable than the qi sea.

Or one became a complete cripple, forever unable to contain spiritual energy again.

Seeing that Lu Chen had already made his choice, Nine Nether knew there was no use trying to persuade him further. She could only stand silently to one side and guard him.

Within the qi sea,

Lu Chen's Divine Soul Little Person descended from between his brows into the qi sea, raising its head to stare at the Undying Fire above. Its eyes were filled with gravity.

Above the qi sea, an endless purple sea of fire swept down in continuous waves with a terrifying momentum that seemed capable of destroying everything.

Terrifying heat spread throughout the qi sea.

At that moment, Lu Chen's body shuddered violently. He clenched his teeth and remained silent.

Although Lu Chen had already endured such agony when Nine Nether helped him burn away the impurities in his qi sea, the bone-deep pain still tormented him unbearably.

Within the qi sea,

Enormous waves formed from vast spiritual energy roared forth, continuously crashing toward the Undying Fire in an attempt to weaken the terrifying flames.

Yet the effect remained minimal. Like heavenly fire descending from above, the purple flames surged with savage ferocity, gradually causing the entire qi sea to boil.

An indescribable feeling of scorching heat surged within Lu Chen's heart.

Outside the qi sea,

Nine Nether had been quietly watching Lu Chen devour the Undying Fire.

Then she suddenly saw Lu Chen, whose eyes had been closed all this time, abruptly open them. They brimmed with purple light, making her frown.

"Lu Chen, are you all right?"

"Roar!"

Lu Chen suddenly rose to his feet. His purple eyes swept around before fixing on the tall beauty in a cheongsam, and his throat bobbed unconsciously.

"Has he gone into qi deviation?"

Nine Nether's expression changed drastically. In an instant, she appeared before Lu Chen, grabbed his wrist, and examined his condition.

"The spiritual energy in your qi sea is about to be burned away completely, and your Divine Soul is also listless. If this continues, you'll die..."

Nine Nether looked at Lu Chen with a complicated expression. His eyes burned as he stared at her, and he could not stop himself from wanting to lay his hands on her.

Yet her invisible pressure held him so firmly that he could not move, making her sigh.

"His mind is gone. There's no time to waste. At this point, there's only one way..."

Hesitation appeared on Nine Nether's face, and for a moment, she could not make up her mind.

"Roar!"

Lu Chen's eyes were bloodshot, and struggle filled his gaze. Yet at that moment, a rare trace of clarity appeared deep within his eyes as he opened his mouth and said, "Nine... Nether, don't... worry about me!"

"What nonsense are you talking about, idiot? I promised I'd protect you!"

Nine Nether gritted her silver teeth and stomped her foot. For once, she revealed the manner of a young girl, but she finally made up her mind.

Purple flames ignited across her body as her hands formed a complex series of seals.

Purple Flame swiftly separated from her body, finally transforming into a purple pattern between the two of them.

The pattern burned with Purple Flame and gave off an exceedingly profound feeling, as though it could communicate with the deepest mysteries within the human body.