Following the advice of several fellow Daoists, Chen Changsheng traveled to the Fallen Immortal Desert. The place was exactly as they had described—unbearably hot, completely barren of plant life, and blanketed by swirling yellow sand.
"It is like a mountain of fire..."
Chen Changsheng murmured. The place was unbearably hot. He looked around, searching for the source of it all.
The heat here was not natural.
"According to Fellow Daoist Nangong, Supreme Immortal Chilian cultivated the path of fire. The fire of his inner core never extinguished after his death, which created this anomaly."
Filled with curiosity, Chen Changsheng ventured inside.
He followed the direction of the radiating heat, pressing continuously forward.
The further he went, the more scorching it became.
It reached the point where Chen Changsheng felt as though he were walking straight through a roaring inferno.
This was far more formidable than a "mountain of fire."
Chen Changsheng had once asked Fellow Daoist Nangong whether, since the inner core's fire never extinguished, no Daoist cultivator had ever come to claim it.
At the time, Fellow Daoist Nangong had told him: "A cultivator takes in spiritual energy for Cultivation, and all things in this world possess a spiritual nature. An inner core is actually no different. It is just like a Sword Cultivator's Immortal Sword—a Natal Sword. If the owner perishes, the sword cannot be activated no matter whose hands it falls into. If one wipes out its spirit, the Immortal Sword is ruined."
Chen Changsheng largely understood after hearing this. In short, no matter how powerful the inner core was, others would find it difficult to claim as their own. It was tasteless to consume, yet a pity to discard.
Still, he was determined to see it for himself.
Chen Changsheng walked through this scorching desert for nearly a hundred li before finally reaching its center.
Gazing from afar, all the intense heat was radiating from there.
Chen Changsheng took a deep breath. His lips were already parched and cracked; if not for the Yin-Yang Qi protecting his body, he never would have made it this far.
"Is that where Exalted Chilian fell?"
Recovering from his daze, Chen Changsheng murmured, "The fall of an immortal has turned a hundred-li radius into a barren desert. Truly extraordinary."
Chen Changsheng stepped inside, arriving at the source of the heat.
The sand and gravel beneath his feet seemed to have melted into bubbling magma, continuously churning. In the distance, everything around appeared crystal clear, radiating a brilliant glow.
It was glass forged by the extreme heat. Though uneven, it lay scattered across this barren desert like precious gems.
Chen Changsheng first offered a bow from afar. Cupping his hands, he said, "This Chen heard of the anomaly here and came to take a look. I hope the Supreme Immortal will forgive the intrusion."
Chen Changsheng then looked over.
An inner core was hovering within this patch of magma, continuously radiating fire and smelting everything in its vicinity.
"As the saying goes, the fall of a whale gives life to all things; yet the fall of a fire brings ruin to all things. Truly wondrous..."
"Such brilliant fire arts are exceptionally rare in this world."
Chen Changsheng looked closely.
His gaze seemed to pierce through the inner core, catching sight of the flickering flame within.
It was a living fire, as if it possessed boundless life.
"Wondrous, truly wondrous..."
"Fire is the hope of life, yet also the stillness of death. Cycling in endless Reincarnation, it multiplies without cease."
Chen Changsheng paused. Struck by a sudden flash of insight, he immediately sat down cross-legged.
He sought to comprehend it.
Amidst the intense heat, Chen Changsheng suddenly felt a profound coolness wash over his entire body. In that moment, the scorching temperatures vanished entirely.
An unknown amount of time passed.
From this, a tiny wisp of flame was born within Chen Changsheng's Dantian.
The internal and external fires roasted Chen Changsheng's meridians, continuously tempering his physical body alongside them.
They say the road is paved with serendipity, and this was exactly the case.
Chen Changsheng sat cross-legged here for half a month. He gained an immense amount, successfully comprehending Exalted Chilian's supreme fire art.
For this, he took sand and gravel and forged them with heat into a tablet.
Far from the inner core, he placed the Stone Tablet down, leaving behind a tombstone for Exalted Chilian.
"Thank you, Senior."
Chen Changsheng offered a bow and immediately departed the area.
The long road ahead lay entirely beneath his feet.
...
Everything within the Underworld was perfectly orderly.
Departed souls fell into this realm, drank the Meng Po Soup, and walked onto the Bridge of Naihe, eventually escaping into the Between Reincarnation to await their next lives.
All of this had become a law of the world.
The laws of heaven and earth had also been perfected a fraction more because of it.
As the one who controlled all of this, Manyue was inseparable from the Heavenly Dao, yet they remained two distinct entities.
She was someone who had come later.
That book had been read so many times it could no longer be flipped through.
Manyue gradually came to feel just how boring this place was. Everything she saw and heard was the sorrow and suffering of mortals after death.
It was as if she had suddenly reacted from a daze.
"Why do I feel bored?"
Manyue froze, struggling to recover her senses for a long time. This was not something the Heavenly Dao was supposed to consider.
She went to find Meng Po.
And when Meng Po heard what she had to say, she also felt somewhat taken aback.
"You?"
"Yes."
Yu Xuan shook her head and said, "As the saying goes, if Heaven possessed emotions, Heaven too would grow old. Perhaps you truly are growing old."
Manyue fell into a state of confusion.
Yu Xuan did not explain further, simply bringing out a bowl of soup.
Manyue looked at that bowl of soup and shook her head, saying, "I am the Heavenly Dao. What use is this soup?"
"Were you not also born because of a person?"
"I was..."
In a daze, Manyue accepted the bowl of soup and drank it down.
But the result was obvious. It had no effect whatsoever.
Manyue left, feeling disappointed by this.
Yu Xuan watched calmly, yet she could not help but fall into thought.
She did not seem to realize where things had gone wrong, either.
Why had Manyue begun to develop emotions?
It was very strange.
...
Within the Dream Method of Reincarnation.
The Demon Sovereign stood beneath the tree, his gaze fixed permanently upon the Immortal Peach.
As time passed, the Immortal Peach grew larger and larger, hanging connected to the tree just like a child in the womb. Over these years, the other fruits on the tree rapidly withered away. Not only that, but the surrounding peach trees were also drained of their nutrients and withered.
As the child grew day by day.
The Demon Sovereign grew increasingly worried.
He set about placing one Restrictive Seal after another upon the child, laying down Formations one after another, attempting to seal him to the tree so that he could never be born.
However, the Demon Sovereign had underestimated his capability.
Even the Formations and Restrictive Seals were devoured as nutrients and absorbed into his body.
Seeing this, the Demon Sovereign understood.
"External methods are useless; it must be done from the inside out."
With this, he began studying ancient arrays, using them to plant Restrictive Seals and Formations directly within the unborn child's body.
Fortunately, he was successful.
At the very least, these Formations had been carved into his Pre-Heaven state.
Even if he were to be born, it would be impossible for him to stir up much trouble in the future.
The Demon Sovereign sat down and let out a sigh, murmuring, "To think this sovereign has to clean up this mess. Truly laughable."
The Demon Sovereign sighed softly. With nothing better to do, he began to play a game of chess against himself.
Within this Reincarnation, things were inherently this boring.
Getting used to it was enough.
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