Hua Chenglu let out a soft moan. She was unwilling to endure the pain, but at the same time, it was accompanied by indescribable joy. Extremely pure wood spiritual qi surged into her body, immediately replacing all the true qi she had cultivated arduously for over a decade. Afterwards, it merged into her body strand by strand, circulating automatically according to the Method of Springtime Bloom.
The first layer, second layer … In the blink of an eye, she had pushed her cultivation to the eighth layer once more. Afterwards, she continued onwards, reaching the ninth layer, then the tenth layer! All the meridians in her body were connected by spiritual qi, which was countless times purer and more abundant than the spiritual qi she had originally cultivated arduously. It filled her dantian and sea of qi.
The great banyan tree was nothing more than a drop in the ocean to the Banyan Tree King, and the spiritual qi that had entered Hua Chenglu's body was nothing more than a drop in the ocean. However, to a puny Qi Practitioner, it was a gift so great that she could not endure it.
Originally, this was already her limit. The Banyan Tree King might have been able to cleanse her body and break through minor realms of Qi Practitioner, but he could not force her to break through to major realms. She still needed to cultivate and comprehend on her own, but who knew how long this would take.
"Girly, wake up. Guard your mind. Don't forget who you are!"
Suddenly, the Banyan Tree King's voice rang out in her head. It was the complete opposite of her request to relax her body and mind Just Now. Hua Chenglu did her best to recover a sliver of clarity from the great joy of breaking through. She thought to herself, I am Hua Chenglu!
The vast and complicated information exploded violently. In the past, she seemed to be in a dark maze, constantly searching for a way out for her own path of life and cultivation.
In that moment, the walls of the maze suddenly collapsed. Scorching white light shone in, and the layers of maze and darkness that plagued her completely vanished. Even her body seemed to vanish, only leaving behind her soul that rapidly expanded in the light.
She was like someone who had been blind, deaf, and stupid for their entire lives suddenly being able to see, hear, and think. It seemed like thousands of years, yet it also seemed like only an instant. She was completely submerged in great joy. For some reason, she thought to herself, This must be the Land of Ultimate Bliss that buddhists speak of!
"Don't forget who you are!" The Banyan Tree King's aged voice rang out again. Hua Chenglu thought of the Jade Passage Chan Master's story and was slightly surprised. Afterwards, she actually asked herself in some confusion, "Who am I?"
She was called Hua Chenglu, but that was just a name. Some things had vanished, some things had changed, and some things had appeared out of nowhere, completely fusing with her and becoming inseparable.
However, there was no doubt that she had become stronger, both physically and mentally. However, it was as if she had missed out on many things. If a child became as mature as an adult overnight, he would miss out on the naivety of childhood and the frivolity of youth. The child might never know what kind of price he had paid, and there would only be a blank space in his memories.
The aerial roots retracted into the tree, and Hua Chenglu drifted down from the air like a graceful petal.
Boom!
Thunder and lightning streaked across the void, baptizing all life forms that wanted to be reborn.
Hua Chenglu did not panic at all. She spread her arms and welcomed the descent of the lightning.
… …
Ru Xin was rather vexed. As soon as she entered the Dragon Arena, she immediately went to rendezvous with Liu Changqing's group. However, she ran into an uninvited guest along the way, a man who wielded a fiery-red trident and burned with explosive flames — Zhu Lie.
Ru Xin did not want to fight with anyone, and Zhu Lie also followed Si Qing's orders, going to rendezvous with the others in the stone forest. They planned on surrounding and killing Li Qingshan together. He was rather reluctant to carry out this order, preferring to find another opportunity to fight to the death with Li Qingshan. However, as a captive, he did not have much of a choice.
On the mirror-smooth surface of the lake, the two of them brushed past each other just like that as they ran towards different targets.
Ru Xin exhaled. Fire devourers had always been skilled in battle, and the power of the flames they used was even more startling. This guy was much more difficult to deal with than regular late Foundation Establishment cultivators.
A streak of firelight suddenly shot over, blocking his path. Zhu Lie's eyebrows furrowed into a crease as the flames in his eyes leapt about. He stared into Ru Xin's eyes.
Her appearance was extraordinarily beautiful, which convinced him that a face like hers did not exist in his memories, nor did he have any thoughts of lust. Instead, he experienced a strange feeling. This woman disgusted him very much. This disgust was almost instinctive. He was tempted to kill her and be done with it.
However, when he considered his current situation, he probably felt the same when he saw any human cultivator. If it were just this feeling of disgust, he would not have purposefully turned around. Within the disgust was an indescribable sense of closeness, as if he had run into an old friend in a foreign land.
This feeling was so distinct and special that it was unforgettable for anyone who had experienced it. He had only experienced something like this once in his memories, so he asked,
"Have we met somewhere before?"
"I've never been to a savage place like the Mist province. You've probably mistaken me for someone else."
Ru Xin smiled and looked at Zhu Lie. She also did her best to search through her memories, but it was to no avail. She had seen far too many fire devourers in the past. After so many years, all that remained in her memories were balls of furious flames and twisted, furious faces.
Zhu Lie said nothing more. He suddenly struck out with the trident, shooting towards Ru Xin like a comet with scorching flames. Since she refused to admit it, then he'd just kill her and see what happens! This was how fire devourers operated.
People would always reveal many secrets before they died. If she still refused to admit it, then they could take this secret with them to the netherworld! Killing a measly early Foundation Establishment cultivator like her would not take up too much time anyway.
Ru Xin was already prepared. The moment Zhu Lie raised the trident in his hand, she had already dove straight into the lake. "These damned fire devourers!"
The trident missed. The flames illuminated the surface of the lake as white mist rose into the air. Ru Xin's voice rang out from the bottom of the lake. "I heard that a fire devourer became Si Qing's dog, biting people everywhere under orders. Don't tell me that's you!"
"Shut up!" Zhu Lie swung the trident viciously in the direction of the voice. With a great rumble, the surface of the lake was split open. The flames descended, and a white figure flashed by, but the moment the flames reached him, he slid to one side gently.
"I heard that among the many otherfolk, fire devourers have the worst tempers. They're all hot-tempered men who would rather die than submit. Looks like the legends really aren't true. As it turns out, they swagger around when they face those weaker than them, but they wag their tails and beg for mercy when they face those stronger than them. I heard that Si Qing likes men, tsk tsk! "
Zhu Lie's heart ached from being stabbed. The flames on him immediately surged to a height of ten meters.
"Very good. You've angered me. Do you know that the angrier fire devourers are, the more powerful their flames become?"
"Hiss!" Ru Xin dove into the bottom of the lake.
Zhu Lie originally thought he could finish off Ru Xin in a few moves, but he discovered that she was even more slippery than Li Qingshan. She refused to face him head-on, swimming around like a fish in the water. No matter how violent his flames were, she would always be able to grasp an opening ingeniously and nullify a wave of his attacks. It was as if she knew his methods, moves, and even battle style like the back of her hand.
He clearly possessed an overwhelming advantage, but he was actually unable to emerge victorious right away, which made him even more doubtful. Apart from the battle, Ru Xin's mockery and mockery constantly rang out from the bottom of the lake, provoking him into crying out. How could he still care about Si Qing's orders? His attacks became more and more vicious. He swore he would not stop until he killed her.
Ru Xin encountered danger again and again. If it were not for the many talismans she had on hand, she would have almost lost her life several times. She pursed her lips firmly, and her expression did not change at all like a jade statue.
The constantly invading flames, the endless fleeing, the endless jungle … These memories that she had originally forgotten suddenly became clear once again. Her blood was still dripping, without the slightest hint of fading. The pain was still as vivid as before, like it was yesterday. In the depths of her eyes, a flame reignited.
After fighting for more than an hour, Zhu Lie seized the opportunity and pounced down, the trident in his hand stabbing towards Ru Xin's back. Ru Xin abruptly turned around, a bright smile on her face. It was completely different from her usual gentle expression; it was as flamboyant as fire, full of aggression.
Suddenly, a hideous and strange shadow appeared behind her. It was a strange humanoid figure wrapped in bandages. The white bandages were soaked in blood and pus, completely losing their original whiteness. The body exposed through the gaps was also half-rotten and half-rotten, covered with disgusting poisonous sores. Some parts were bony, as if even the flesh had been cut off, while some parts were swollen like balls, filthy and ugly to the extreme.
The moment it appeared, it pounced towards Zhu Lie. Zhu Lie frowned slightly. His body was burning with flames, and he was wearing a sturdy armor that even swords couldn't harm. He was confident that he could block any attack. How could he give up the chance to kill her just because of a mere shadow?
The hideous shadow was shockingly fast. Without a sound, it passed through the flames, passed through the armor, and pounced into Zhu Lie's body.
Zhu Lie had a bad feeling. His whole body stiffened, and the trident slowed down, allowing Ru Xin to take the opportunity to dodge.
Zhu Lie touched his chest, and found that other than the initial stiffness, he didn't feel anything else. It seemed that the shadow could only do so much. It turned out that she was deliberately mystifying, and he was almost fooled by her.
However, as time passed, he began to feel uncomfortable all over his body. At first, it was just a little discomfort. His body was sometimes cold and sometimes hot, and he felt a slight itch. His control over the flames became less smooth, and then his head began to feel dizzy, until it felt like it was going to explode. Red rashes appeared all over his body, so itchy that he couldn't help but scratch them with his hands.
He desperately operated the flames, trying to get rid of these uncomfortable feelings, but it was useless. Although his attacks were still fierce, and he had the upper hand, he could no longer pose a fatal threat to Ru Xin.
"What did you do to me?" Zhu Lie shouted angrily. He no longer had the prestige from before, and his neck was swollen.
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