Xin Huo's Legacy

Zhong Yue froze. That voice wasn't a hallucination, but besides himself, there was only the skeleton of that strange person here...

"Could it be..."

Even though Zhong Yue had always been fearless, his face turned pale at this moment, and he shivered several times.

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

The voice spoke again, sounding displeased. "Young man, I'm asking you a question. Which dynasty's Fuxi is on the throne now?"

Zhong Yue stared blankly at the lamp in his hand, unable to speak. That voice had actually come from inside the lamp!

A golden bird with four wings was strange enough, and the man-eating black mist was even stranger, but the strangest thing of all was this lamp, this talking, strange lamp!

"Your bloodline has become so weak that I can barely detect it. Has the Fuxi Divine Clan really fallen to such a degree?" the voice from the lamp said with some emotion.

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

Zhong Yue was puzzled. He leaned closer to the lamp, but saw nothing unusual under the lampshade. The light was dim, and the flame was only as high as a finger joint. He really couldn't tell where the voice was coming from.

Suddenly, Zhong Yue's eyes fixed on the lamp flame. He realized it wasn't a flame at all, but a little doll with a big head, no bigger than his fingertip!

The little doll had fair skin, wore tiny golden clothes, and had a head full of fiery red hair that, if not looked at closely, resembled flames!

"Are there such peculiar beings in the world?"

Zhong Yue blinked, staring curiously at the little doll in the flame. The little doll looked at him indignantly and said angrily, "Young man of the Fuxi Divine Clan, I asked you which dynasty's Fuxi is on the throne. You haven't answered me yet!"

"Fuxi?"

Zhong Yue snapped back to reality and chuckled, "Are you referring to the legendary Xi Huang? Xi Huang is unique, the legendary Earth Emperor and Heavenly Emperor. Naturally, there was only one reign. Which 'which one' are you talking about? Besides, I'm not from the Fuxi Divine Clan; I'm from the Human race."

"No, no!"

The little doll in the lamp jumped up, flickering like the flame. "Absolutely not! Fuxi is a title, not a name. It represents the Earth Emperor and the position of the Heavenly Emperor Tai Hao! Before I fell into slumber, there had already been nine generations of Fuxi! The first Fuxi ascended to the throne of Heavenly Emperor and reigned for eighteen thousand years, passing the throne to the second Fuxi, Yi Yi. Yi Yi reigned for over fifteen thousand years, passing the throne to Shi Yi, who passed it to Tai Hao, who passed it to Hao Yi, who passed it to Shao Hao, who passed it to Ji Jie, who passed it to Xi Hao. There have been nine dynasties of Fuxi!"

Zhong Yue listened, dumbfounded. He had heard from the elders of Sword Gate that Fuxi was the Earth Emperor and Heavenly Emperor of ancient times, and there was only one. Yet, this strange little doll in the lamp claimed there were as many as nine!

The little doll walked back and forth on the lamp wick, muttering, "How long have I been asleep this time? How can the young ones today not even know about Fuxi? He is clearly from the Fuxi Divine Clan, although his bloodline is a bit thin. Yet, he insists he's from the Human race. What kind of race is the Human race among the myriad races? I've never heard of it."

The little doll jumped out of the lamp and landed on Zhong Yue's arm, walking back and forth on his bicep, giving him a burning sensation. The little doll muttered, "Something must have happened here that I don't know about? What year is it? What era have I slept into..."

Zhong Yue reminded him, "I've heard that Xi Huang was a sage emperor from ancient times, many tens of thousands of years ago. Now it's the Human Emperor era... Right, what exactly are you?"

He scratched his head, finding it difficult to address the little fellow. The little doll said listlessly, "My name is Xin Huo. Back then, Suihuang... Never mind. You're so clueless about Fuxi, it's pointless to explain. Take me away from here. I need to find a successor of Xin Huo to pass on the lamp. In exchange, I'll give you some benefits first!"

The little doll suddenly vanished. Zhong Yue was still wondering when he heard Xin Huo's voice in his mind: "Is this the soul visualization technique you're cultivating? A dignified Fuxi Divine Clan member cultivating such a lowly, rustic technique? It's a disgrace to all the Fuxi dynasties! Stop looking around. I'm in your Sea of Consciousness. Just calm your mind and visualize a vast ocean and starry sky hidden within your glabella, and you'll be able to see me. I'll teach you; just follow along..."

"Visualize the Sea of Consciousness? This requires a profound realm. Not many Outer Disciples can achieve this! Can the technique you're teaching me truly allow me to visualize the Sea of Consciousness?"

Zhong Yue was skeptical. Following Xin Huo's instructions, he tried it once and suddenly his "vision" flickered. He found himself in a strange place, floating on a lake!

The lake was as clear and jade-like as water, spanning over ten zhang in area, with a Sword Gate floating on its surface.

This Sword Gate was shaped like a sword, split in two.

Zhong Yue's heart trembled. He could actually "see" his own Sea of Consciousness!

He had practiced meditation and visualization of his Sea of Consciousness for several years, but had never "seen" it with his own eyes, mainly because his realm was insufficient. To his surprise, under Xin Huo's guidance, he achieved it instantly!

Such cultivation speed would likely be unbelievable if told to anyone!

Before Zhong Yue, Xin Huo flitted around like a small flame, flying in this Sea of Consciousness. "This Sword Gate, is it the technique you use for soul visualization and cultivation? Pitiful, truly pitiful. A dignified descendant of Fuxi doesn't even have a decent cultivation technique, cultivating such a low-level method. And you've been cultivating for quite some time, yet your Sea of Consciousness is still so small. It's evident that your cultivation technique is indeed very inferior!"

Zhong Yue's face flushed red as he argued, "This is the Sword Gate Soul Egress Meditation Art. Although it's not a top-tier soul refining technique, it's by no means crude. It's the best soul refining technique I could learn!"

To become a Qi Refiner, one must first refine the soul.

Sword Gate treated all Outer Disciples equally, but the technique they taught was the Sword Gate Soul Egress Meditation Art.

Cultivating this soul refining technique would form a Sword Gate within the Sea of Consciousness. As long as the divine soul rushed out of the Sword Gate, it could then egress the body and fly out.

"The best soul refining technique?"

Xin Huo sneered, "Cultivating this soul refining technique makes one muddled and ignorant of what the soul is. A gust of wind can scatter it, sunlight can dissolve it, and lightning can ash it. Such souls are the weakest, dissolving in water, burning in fire, and petrifying in earth. It's extremely dangerous. True soul refining techniques involve visualizing divine beings, strengthening the soul, allowing it to traverse heaven and earth, remaining intact in wind, unfading in light, unmoved by lightning, insoluble in water, unburnable in fire, and unchangeable in earth. That is the orthodox method!"

Zhong Yue was stunned. What Xin Huo said was true. Several Qi Refiners from the Azure Sky Hall had also mentioned that cultivating to the stage of soul egress was extremely dangerous. One had to cultivate within the Azure Sky Hall, neither on heaven nor on earth, and avoid contact with the Five Elements. Otherwise, if the egressed soul encountered the Five Elements, it would be extremely perilous, even risking the dissipation of the soul.

"How is the orthodox method cultivated?" Zhong Yue asked, unwilling to accept it.

"I'll teach you!"

Xin Huo landed on his shoulder, looking smug. "You found me, so we are destined. By rights, you should be the next Xin Huo successor. However, your bloodline is too thin; it would be a disgrace to me if word got out. Help me find a pure-blooded Fuxi Divine Clan member, and I'll teach you how to cultivate. Your soul isn't weak; you can barely cultivate the Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization."

"Xin Huo, I'm really not from the Divine Clan. Everyone around me is like me. They can't all be from the Divine Clan, can they?"

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

Xin Huo chuckled, "Although I don't know why the Fuxi Divine Clan of that year fell to such a state, you are indeed from the Divine Clan, and you can cultivate my visualization technique."

Not long after, Zhong Yue had to admit that the Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization was infinitely superior to the Sword Gate Soul Egress Meditation Art.

The Sword Gate Soul Egress Meditation Art used sword qi to sever the soul's connection with the physical body, allowing the soul to leap out. This placed a great burden on both the soul and the body.

The Fire Epoch Palace Suihuang Visualization, on the other hand, refined essence, qi, and spirit, nourishing the soul. With a strong soul, it could then egress the body, and the burden would not be as great. Furthermore, a strong soul could withstand external forces, greatly reducing the danger.

"The Sea of Consciousness is where the spirit converges. The stronger the spirit, the wider the Sea of Consciousness, and the easier it is to visualize."

Xin Huo stood on Zhong Yue's shoulder, two beams of light shooting from his eyes, forming a magnificent diagram a few zhang in front of Zhong Yue. "This is the first Suihuang of the Fire Epoch Palace, revered as the Heavenly Sovereign and Emperor, who created the Fire Epoch era. There were a total of thirty-two generations of Suihuang! To visualize a divine being, one must visualize such a Heavenly Emperor who ruled all races and opened an era! You should now meditate on yourself as Suihuang, residing in the Fire Epoch Palace and commanding all gods and myriad races!"

Zhong Yue examined it closely. The diagram had three layers. The first layer was Suihuang, depicted with a dragon's head, a serpent's tail, and a human torso. He had dragon horns on his head and dragon scales on his body, his skin textured like celestial script, seemingly containing the deepest principles.

This first layer alone was already extremely difficult. The visualization required one to meditate on Suihuang's essence, spirit, and energy, to manifest his divine aura. The power that opened the Fire Epoch, revered as the Heavenly Sovereign and Heavenly Emperor, was incredibly challenging to visualize!

The second layer was the Fire Epoch Palace, the Heavenly Emperor's divine temple. The diagram of the Fire Epoch Palace projected by the Xin Huo child was already greatly simplified, but it was still overwhelmingly complex for Zhong Yue. Furthermore, it was difficult to visualize the palace, which stood majestically and grandly throughout the ages.

The third layer was the fire tree before the Fire Epoch Palace. Its crown spanned ten thousand qing, reaching impossibly high, with clouds and mist swirling among its branches, where large birds nested.

Every leaf on the fire tree was unique. To fully visualize the entire tree was even more difficult.

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

Its exquisiteness was likely also tens of thousands of times greater than that of the Sword Gate diagram!

Zhong Yue observed it carefully for a moment and thought, If I try to visualize this entire diagram completely and construct all its details, I won't be able to do it. The only way is to visualize Suihuang's divine aura, the imposing presence of the Fire Epoch Palace, and the grandeur of the fire tree. By grasping the essence, spirit, and energy of the three, and then gradually perfecting it, that is the correct path.

With this thought, he closed his eyes and meditated, imagining himself as Suihuang, residing in the Fire Epoch Palace.

Just then, his Sea of Consciousness suddenly surged like waves. Zhong Yue's soul grew larger and larger, his feet vanishing and turning into a serpent's tail, his head also transforming into a dragon's head. He was becoming somewhat similar to the Suihuang in the diagram!

Not only that, the surging waves in his Sea of Consciousness were constructing the shape of the Fire Epoch Palace around him. Simultaneously, a fire tree began to slowly form before the Fire Epoch Palace!

The Xin Huo child on Zhong Yue's shoulder was startled. "He can already visualize the Fire Epoch Palace, Suihuang, and the fire tree so quickly? Although this Divine Clan's bloodline is a bit diluted, his comprehension is not bad. It's no worse than the pure-blooded Divine Clans I've encountered before..."