Kindling Inheritor

Zhong Yue froze. That voice had not been a hallucination, but apart from him, there was only the corpse of that strange humanoid...

"Could it be..."

Even Zhong Yue, who had never feared heaven or earth, could not help turning pale and shivering several times.

"Where are you looking? I'm right here!"

The voice came again, sounding displeased. "Young man, I asked you a question. Which Fuxi is currently on the throne?"

Zhong Yue stared blankly at the lamp in his hands, stammering incoherently. That voice had actually come from inside the lamp!

A golden bird with four wings was strange enough, and the man-eating black mist even stranger, but the strangest of all was this lamp—a bizarre lamp that could speak!

"Your bloodline has become so feeble that I can barely sense it. Could the Fuxi Divine Clan have declined to such a state?" the voice inside the lamp sighed.

"The Fuxi Divine Clan? Are you talking about me?"

Perplexed, Zhong Yue leaned toward the lamp and looked inside. There was nothing unusual beneath the lampshade. The flame was dim and only a knuckle high, making it impossible to tell where the voice had come from.

Suddenly, Zhong Yue stared straight at the flame. It was not a flame at all, but a big-headed child no larger than a finger!

The child had fair skin, wore tiny golden-yellow clothes, and had a head full of fiery red hair. Without a close look, he truly resembled a flame!

"Is there really such a strange creature in this world?"

Zhong Yue blinked and stared curiously at the flame child. The child glared at him indignantly and snapped, "Young man of the Fuxi Divine Clan, I asked which Fuxi is currently on the throne. You still haven't answered me!"

"Fuxi?"

Zhong Yue came back to himself and laughed. "Do you mean the legendary Xi Huang? Xi Huang was unique—the legendary Earth Emperor and Heavenly Emperor—so naturally there was only one. Where would another one come from? Besides, I'm not of the Fuxi Divine Clan. I'm Human race."

"No, no!"

The child in the lamp leaped up, flickering like a dancing flame. "Completely wrong! Fuxi is an honorific title, not a name. It represents the position of Earth Emperor, the Tai Hao Heavenly Emperor! Before I fell silent, there had already been nine generations of Fuxi! The first Fuxi ascended to the throne of Heavenly Emperor and ruled for eighteen thousand years. He passed the throne to the second Fuxi, Yi Yi, who ruled for over fifteen thousand years before passing it to Shi Yi. Shi Yi passed it to Tai Hao, Tai Hao passed it to Hao Yi, Hao Yi passed it to Shao Hao, Shao Hao passed it to Ji Jie, and Ji Jie passed it to Xi Hao. There were nine eras of Fuxi in all!"

Zhong Yue was dumbstruck. He had heard the elders of Sword Gate say that Fuxi was the Earth Emperor and Heavenly Emperor of ancient times, and that there had only been one. Yet this strange child in the lamp claimed there had been nine!

The child in the lamp paced back and forth on the wick, muttering, "How long did I sleep this time? Why don't the little fellows of today even know Fuxi? He is clearly of the Fuxi Divine Clan. His bloodline may be thin, but he insists on calling himself Human race. What kind of race is Human race among the myriad races? Why have I never heard of it?"

The flame child jumped out of the lamp and onto Zhong Yue's arm. He paced back and forth across it, giving Zhong Yue a scorching sensation, while muttering, "Something must have happened—something I don't know about. What year is this? What era did I sleep into this time..."

Zhong Yue reminded him, "I've heard that Xi Huang was a sacred emperor from the ancient era many tens of thousands of years ago. This is the Human Emperor Era... Right, what exactly are you?"

He scratched his head, finding it difficult to address this tiny little fellow. The flame child drooped listlessly. "My name is Kindling. Back then, Suihuang... Forget it. You barely understand Fuxi, so explaining it would be pointless. Take me out of here. I need to find a Kindling inheritor and pass the flame on. In exchange, I'll give you a little benefit first!"

The child suddenly vanished. Zhong Yue was puzzled when Kindling Child's voice came from inside his own head. "Is this the Soul Visualization method you cultivate? The dignified Fuxi Divine Clan actually cultivates such a lowly, rustic art. It shames all the Fuxi of the past eras! Stop looking around. I'm in your sea of consciousness. You only need to turn your spirit inward and visualize an ocean and starry sky hidden between your brows, and you'll be able to see me. I'll teach you. Follow along..."

"Visualizing the sea of consciousness? That requires a profound realm. Few Outer Disciples can do it! The art you taught me can really let me visualize my sea of consciousness?"

Half believing and half doubting, Zhong Yue tried the method Kindling Child had taught him. Suddenly, his "eyes" swayed, and he found that "he" had arrived in a strange place, floating above a lake!

The lake was jade-green and more than ten zhang wide. A sword gate floated above it.

This sword gate was shaped like a sword split in two.

Zhong Yue's heart shook violently. He had actually "seen" his own sea of consciousness!

He had cultivated for several years and meditated on his sea of consciousness, yet he had never "seen" it with his own eyes. That was mainly because his realm had been insufficient. He had never expected to accomplish it instantly under Kindling Child's guidance!

If word of this cultivation speed got out, no one would believe it!

Before Zhong Yue, Kindling Child drifted about like a small flame. He floated through this sea of consciousness and said, "This sword gate is the art you use to visualize and cultivate your soul, right? How pitiful. The dignified descendant of Fuxi doesn't even have a decent cultivation art and actually cultivates such a low-grade method. And you've cultivated for quite some time, yet your sea of consciousness is still this small. Clearly, your cultivation art is truly inferior!"

Zhong Yue flushed red and argued, "This is the Sword Gate Soul Egress Meditation Art. It may not be the finest Soul Refining art, but it is certainly not crude. It is the best Soul Refining art I can learn!"

To become a qi refiner, one first had to refine the soul.

Sword Gate treated all Outer Disciples equally, but the art it taught them was the Sword Gate Soul Egress Visualization.

Cultivating this Soul Refining art formed a sword gate in the sea of consciousness. As long as the soul rushed through the sword gate, it could leave the body and fly free.

"The best Soul Refining art?"

Kindling Child sneered. "When you cultivate this Soul Refining art, you remain muddleheaded and know nothing about the soul. A gust of wind scatters it, sunlight dissolves it, and a bolt of lightning reduces it to ashes. Such a soul is incredibly weak. Touch water and it melts, encounter fire and it burns, touch earth and it petrifies. It is extremely dangerous. A true Soul Refining art requires visualizing the divine and sacred, strengthening the soul until it can soar to heaven and descend to earth. Wind cannot scatter it, light cannot dissolve it, thunder cannot shake it, water cannot melt it, fire cannot burn it, and earth cannot transform it. That is the orthodox way!"

Zhong Yue was stunned. Kindling Child was right. Several qi refiners in the Outer Disciple Azure Sky Hall had said the same thing: reaching the stage of Soul Egress was extremely dangerous. One had to cultivate inside Azure Sky Hall, neither touching heaven above nor earth below, and avoid contact with the objects of the Five Elements. Otherwise, if the soul encountered one of them after leaving the body, it would face extreme danger—even the risk of its soul scattering completely!

"How does one cultivate the orthodox method?" Zhong Yue asked unwillingly.

"I'll teach you!"

Kindling Child landed on his shoulder, looking smug. "Since you found me, fate has brought us together. In principle, you should be the next Kindling inheritor, but your bloodline is too thin. Taking you as my inheritor would shame me. Help me find a pure-blooded member of the Fuxi Divine Clan, and I'll teach you how to cultivate. Your soul isn't weak. You can barely cultivate the Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization."

"Kindling, I'm really not of the Divine Clan. Everyone around me is the same as I am. They can't all be members of the Divine Clan, can they?"

Zhong Yue scratched his head. "Can Human race cultivate the Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization too?"

Kindling Child laughed. "Although I don't know why the Fuxi Divine Clan declined to this extent, you truly are of the Divine Clan, and you can cultivate my visualization."

Before long, Zhong Yue had to admit that the Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization surpassed the Sword Gate Soul Egress Visualization by an unknown number of times.

The Sword Gate Soul Egress Visualization borrowed sword qi to sever the soul's connection with the body, allowing the soul to leap out. This placed an enormous burden on both the soul and the body.

The Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization, however, tempered essence, qi, and spirit while nourishing the soul. Once the soul grew strong, it could leap from the body and achieve Soul Egress with far less strain. Moreover, a powerful soul was not afraid of external forces, making it much less dangerous.

"The sea of consciousness is where the spirit gathers. The stronger the spirit, the broader the sea of consciousness, and the easier it is to visualize."

Kindling Child stood on Zhong Yue's shoulder. Two rays of light shot from his eyes and intertwined several zhang ahead of Zhong Yue, forming a magnificent image. "This is the first Suihuang of the Fire Epoch Palace, revered as the Heaven Emperor and Heavenly Sovereign. He founded the Fire Epoch, and there were thirty-two dynasties of Suihuang in all! To visualize the divine and sacred, you must visualize an emperor who ruled the myriad races and opened an entire era! Now, meditate as if you are Suihuang, dwelling in the Fire Epoch Palace and ruling over all the gods and myriad races!"

Zhong Yue examined it closely. The image had three layers. The first was Suihuang, with a dragon's head, a serpent's tail, and a human body. Dragon horns grew from his head, dragon scales covered his body, and the patterns of his skin resembled the script of heaven, seemingly containing profound principles.

Even this first layer alone was exceedingly difficult. Visualization meant visualizing his essence, qi, and spirit, and capturing the divine bearing of Suihuang—the being who had opened the Fire Epoch and was revered as the Heaven Emperor and Heavenly Sovereign. It was unimaginably difficult!

The second layer was the Fire Epoch Palace, the palace of the Heavenly Emperor. The image of the Fire Epoch Palace projected by Kindling Child's eyes was already extremely simplified, yet it remained immensely complex to Zhong Yue. The palace's majestic grandeur, dominating the ages, was difficult to visualize.

The third layer was the Fire Tree before the Fire Epoch Palace. Its canopy stretched for ten thousand qing, its height was impossible to reach, and clouds and mist coiled among its branches. Great birds perched within it.

Every leaf of this Fire Tree was different. To visualize the entire tree completely was even more difficult.

The visualization difficulty of the complete Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang image was tens of thousands of times greater than that of the Sword Gate image!

Its subtlety was likely tens of thousands of times greater as well!

Zhong Yue studied it carefully for a moment and thought, If I want to visualize this image completely and construct every detail, it is utterly impossible. I can only visualize Suihuang's divine bearing, the might of the Fire Epoch Palace, and the grandeur of the Fire Tree, grasping the essence, qi, and spirit of all three before slowly perfecting it. That is the proper path.

With that thought, he closed his eyes and meditated, imagining himself as Suihuang, dwelling within the Fire Epoch Palace.

At that moment, waves suddenly surged through his sea of consciousness. Zhong Yue's soul grew larger and larger. His feet vanished and became a serpent's tail, while his head transformed into a dragon's head. He actually began to resemble the Suihuang in the image!

That was not all. The roiling waves in his sea of consciousness began constructing the shape of the Fire Epoch Palace around him. At the same time, a Fire Tree slowly took shape before the palace!

Kindling Child, perched on Zhong Yue's shoulder, was startled. "He can visualize the Fire Epoch Palace, Suihuang, and the Fire Tree so quickly? This member of the Divine Clan may have a somewhat thin bloodline, but his comprehension is not bad at all. It is no worse than that of the pure-blooded members of the Divine Clan I've met before..."