Ascension Day

Xu Ying saw a blush gradually spread across her face, turning her snow-white neck crimson. He couldn't help but be surprised. 'What kind of Magic Skill is she practicing? Still, this girl is truly beautiful, just as lovely as Xiaodie.'

He repeated himself, finally snapping Hua Xianchen out of her daze. "Miss Hua, what brings you to me? Xu Fu said I should help you all by explaining the Recovery Technique. If that's what this is about, feel free to ask me anything."

Only then did Hua Xianchen realize she had misunderstood. She quickly took out a scroll of silk scriptures and said with a smile, "I sought you out, Old Ancestor, for this very matter. I obtained a technique called the Taiyi True Flame Technique, which contains a method for cultivating the Sanmei True Fire. I am slow-witted and can never seem to grasp it."

Xu Ying took it and asked, "Why not ask Xu Fu? Little Fengxian is another option. They have both cultivated True Fire before."

Hua Xianchen said, "I've already asked. Ancestor Xu Fu said he didn't fully grasp the cultivation of his True Fire either. He only managed to increase its power to the extreme, but it isn't a pure Sanmei True Fire. He said that the true Sanmei True Fire has been lost to time."

Little Fengxian said, "My True Fire is innate, so I can't teach it to her. The truth is, the Sanmei True Fire had already been lost even back in my era."

Xu Ying opened the Taiyi True Flame Technique and skimmed through it. "It's clearly not lost," he said in surprise. "Everything written in here is very easy to understand!"

Yuan Qi leaned over to take a look and instantly felt his head spin. The text in the book was so archaic and convoluted that even a well-read Great Demon like him almost fainted from reading it.

Hua Xianchen stammered, "The book says, 'For Li Palace Samadhi, draw from Kan to fill. For the cauldron's completion, the gathering of Qi at the Xun gate is essential.' What does this sentence mean?"

Xu Ying laughed. "That sentence is about gathering Sanmei True Fire to refine a Golden Core, not about cultivating the Sanmei True Fire itself."

Hua Xianchen's eyes grew so wide they almost popped out of their sockets.

Seeing her reaction, Xu Ying asked in confusion, "You've been using this Magic Skill to cultivate your True Fire?"

Hua Xianchen nodded guiltily.

Xu Ying shook his head. "Wouldn't that just make you weaker the more you practice? You've been burning away all your Qi and Blood as if it were a Golden Core, completely drying up your Cultivation! Have you been feeling dizzy lately, hearing strange things and seeing illusions?"

Hua Xianchen nodded hurriedly.

Xu Ying said, "You've started to burn your own soul. Once your soul is weakened by the fire, you can see Ghost Gods. These Ghost Gods are planning to wait until you burn your soul to death, then they'll move into your Flesh Body and have a grand time wearing your skin. You've been targeted by them. I'll help you open your Celestial Eye. Take a look."

He extended a finger and tapped the spot between Hua Xianchen's eyebrows, helping her focus her Divine Sense. As her Divine Sense focused, Hua Xianchen suddenly saw blood-drenched men and women standing behind her. They weren't living people!

Horrified, her face pale, Hua Xianchen hurriedly asked, "Old Ancestor, can I still be saved?"

Xu Ying said, displeased, "Don't call me Old Ancestor. I'm only fourteen. You can call me Ying, or Brother Ying."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "I'll explain it once. After you successfully cultivate the True Fire, your soul will strengthen itself, and you won't have to worry about Ghost Gods coming after you."

He started explaining from the beginning of the Taiyi True Flame Technique. "This method focuses on the three Yang Fires of the soul. The Taiyi True Flame Technique explains them very thoroughly. Cultivate it along with me."

He cultivated as he explained. By the time he finished explaining the entire scroll of scriptures, Xu Ying had already combined the three Yang Fires of his soul into one, refining them into the Sanmei True Fire. With a casual point of his finger, the Sanmei True Fire flew from his fingertip and ignited the surface of the pond in Tingsong Garden. The True Fire quickly burned the pond dry!

Hua Xianchen was dumbfounded. "Y-you've already cultivated it, just like that?" she stammered.

Xu Ying retracted the True Fire. "After mastering the Sanmei True Fire, refining the Golden Core becomes much easier. The book mentions 'Water and Fire Inter-refining.' The 'fire' in that is the Sanmei True Fire, and the 'water' is the Samadhi Divine Water. You must cultivate both of them first before refining your Golden Core. Only then can you make your Golden Core pure."

Hua Xianchen's eyes went wide and her mouth fell open. She was speechless for a long moment.

Seeing her expression, Xu Ying asked, puzzled, "What's wrong?"

Hua Xianchen composed herself and said guiltily, "I... I've already formed my Golden Core..."

Xu Ying frowned slightly. "Summon it and let me have a look."

Hua Xianchen hurriedly summoned her Golden Core. Xu Ying activated his Celestial Eye to inspect it and saw that it was filled with hidden Blood Evil and other baleful auras that hadn't been properly refined away, causing numerous dark patterns to appear on its surface.

"Your Golden Core is just like that of Young Master Xiang, the one I cleaved to death. It's full of impurities and couldn't withstand a single blow."

Xu Ying took the Stone Axe from his waist and casually handed it to her. "Here, try to activate this."

The moment Hua Xianchen gripped the Stone Axe, a monstrous power surged into her from it. She felt as if she were standing in a sea of blood where mountains of corpses floated, towering between heaven and earth, wielding a Giant Axe, ready to dispense swift and satisfying vengeance.

Her eyes turned crimson as she began to laugh boisterously. "With this Divine Axe in hand, I am invincible! I'll kill any god that stands in my way and slay any immortal that blocks my path! I'll sleep with any man I want!"

Suddenly, the resounding chime of a bell shocked her back to her senses.

Pale-faced, Hua Xianchen hastily dropped the Stone Axe and cried out in alarm, "That axe was controlling me!"

The Da Zhong's voice echoed, "Miss, the axe didn't control you. It only amplified your own thoughts. What you just said is what you truly feel in your heart."

Clutching her chest, Hua Xianchen retorted, "It was the axe controlling me! How could I possibly have such strange thoughts? Pah! Pah!"

——I didn't realize I'd written such a long chapter. Zhai Zhu is working hard on the second one!