Chapter 760: Heart Flame Spirit-Tempering (II)
After going through the mission in the demon cave, Ji Haozhong saw Xiao Yu as a brother. After Xiao Yu had imparted the Circulating Heavenly Radiant Light Guiding Art technique, he felt even closer and more indebted to him. His present concern came entirely from the heart.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Senior Xiao gave me a reddish-brown medicinal pill at the end to eliminate the Heart Flame within me," Lin Zheyu said with a smile.
He did not take out the medicinal pill. Otherwise, Ji Haozhong would probably have anxiously urged him to swallow it immediately. Lin Zheyu had no intention of extinguishing the Heart Flame burning within his soul so soon. It was his key to glimpsing the mysteries of Xiao Yiqing's secret art. Since his future safety depended on it, he had to find a way to counter it.
Although Xiao Yiqing's final actions seemed to convey some goodwill, the sense of danger in Lin Zheyu's heart had only diminished slightly rather than disappearing altogether. An inescapable shadow continued to hang over his heart.
"Phew..." Ji Haozhong let out a long breath.
"That's good. It seems that senior merely wanted to test your strength. Otherwise, she would have had no reason to give you a medicinal pill to help you recover," Ji Haozhong speculated after thinking it over.
Suddenly, he looked up and asked curiously, "I almost forgot. Why did that senior summon you?"
"Senior wants me to defend the life-and-death arena for two days. I don't have to hold it at all costs, though. If the situation turns against me, I can concede," Lin Zheyu said.
Hearing this, Ji Haozhong finally relaxed completely and could not help muttering a few words under his breath, "That's all? After all this, I thought..."
All that worry had been for nothing. Relations between the younger generation of Black Tortoise City and the foreign races were indeed rather tense. Ji Haozhong had refrained from going to watch the excitement because of Lin Zheyu, but he had continued to hear plenty of news from other cultivators.
According to what he had heard, the fighting had grown increasingly fierce, and the number of casualties was steadily rising. Fortunately, no genius cultivators had fallen thus far.
"I'm going back to my room to rest. You don't need to keep waiting here either. Thank you for these past few days," Lin Zheyu said as he rose, smiling gratefully.
"You brat, there's no need for such courtesy between the two of us," Ji Haozhong replied with a smile.
He waved a hand and walked out of the inn. At the present Ascension Assembly, the arena challenge grounds were the liveliest place apart from the various satellite venues. No, even those venues could not compare. After waiting in the inn for so many days, Ji Haozhong planned to head over and see how the situation had developed. At the same time, he could help Lin Zheyu identify any formidable experts he needed to watch out for and gather some intelligence in advance.
***
The door opened. Lin Zheyu entered the room and closed it behind him. Light flowed across his right hand, and a formation disc appeared in his palm. With a thought, more than a dozen formation flags flew out of the disk and planted themselves around him, instantly forming a powerful defensive formation.
Lin Zheyu did not stop there. Formation disks appeared in his hand one after another, and only after setting up five different types of formations did he finally stop.
He had no choice. Xiao Yiqing had shown no regard for martial decorum. After what had happened at her residence, Lin Zheyu was worried that another similarly unscrupulous person might brazenly barge into his room. Once the formations were in place, he took out the Primordial Chaos Pool. His figure flickered slightly as he entered it.
"You shouldn't be able to sense me now..." Lin Zheyu murmured within the empty space.
Concerned that the Heart Flame might share a close connection with Xiao Yiqing, he had kept the Heaven-Deceiving Art operating at full strength the entire time. He had not even dared to suppress the Heart Flame within his soul too aggressively, nor had he been able to study it freely. Within the Primordial Chaos Pool, however, its power would conceal him from heavenly divination, allowing him to conduct his research without restraint.
"Time is short. I only have one day. If the Heart Flame continues burning for too long, it will arouse Xiao Yiqing's suspicion and curiosity. There is no chance that woman is truly so kindhearted. Her attitude changed dramatically for the better at the end, so she most likely discovered something..." Lin Zheyu murmured.
No matter what, he had to find a way to counter the Heart Flame this time. Otherwise, if he faced Xiao Yiqing in the future, he would be utterly helpless. Xiao Yiqing had certainly not unleashed the Heart Flame's full power when she attacked him.
Moreover, there was a strong possibility that the Heart Flame was not even her most powerful technique. If he could not withstand even a weakened version of it, then his best choice upon encountering Xiao Yiqing in the future would be to turn and flee at once, putting as much distance between them as possible. Lin Zheyu had no desire to resort to that.
The Heavenly Eye abruptly opened. The golden energy within his sea of consciousness began surging violently as Lin Zheyu cast aside all restraint and commenced his study of the Heart Flame.
***
Time slowly passed.
Suddenly, a crisp clang rang through his sea of consciousness as a thick golden shackle solidified into existence. There had originally been two shackles within his sea of consciousness. He had since broken free of one, leaving only this one behind. It was the last of the seven shackles and also the most powerful.
Lin Zheyu had tried numerous methods, gathered a wealth of experience, and accumulated many insights, but it was still not enough.
He brought it out after a sudden flash of inspiration reminded him of the shackles' power unique to martial artists. Shackles did not merely bind and imprison. The sound of the Great Dao they produced also exerted a unique cleansing effect upon the physical body and soul. He wanted to see whether it would affect the Heart Flame.
Under the relentless impact of the golden energy, the golden shackle repeatedly rang out with crisp clangs. The sound reverberated throughout his sea of consciousness, lingering without end. An unknown amount of time passed. Lin Zheyu's frenzied research had left him mentally exhausted, yet his bloodshot eyes gleamed with unprecedented brilliance.
Suddenly, Lin Zheyu exhaled deeply. The churning aura around him gradually subsided, and the manifested shackle disappeared.
"I've collected enough data and accumulated sufficient insights. Now I can use Origin Force to accelerate the process," Lin Zheyu murmured.
The Heart Flame within his soul continued to burn. Roughly half a day had passed since his return, but Lin Zheyu was in no hurry. It would not matter if he arrived at the arena challenge grounds a day or two late.
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]
[Name: Lin Zheyu]
[Origin Force: 443]
𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
[Skills: Heart Flame Spirit-Tempering Art (Dormancy), Seven Absolute Sabers (Seventh Stage: 100%), Martial Dao True Scripture (Fourth Stage: 100%), Heaven-Deceiving Art (Second Stage: 100%), Ten-Thousand-Miles Divine Travel Art (Third Stage: 100%), Martial Divine Pattern Secret Manual (Second Stage: 100%)]
Lin Zheyu examined the data within his consciousness. A new technique named Heart Flame Spirit-Tempering Art had appeared.
As Lin Zheyu examined the data within his consciousness, the corners of his lips lifted into a faint smile. "Heart Flame does indeed have the power to temper the soul, but it is not something an ordinary person could withstand."
He had found a way to deal with the Heart Flame. Better yet, he had turned it into a means of increasing his own strength.
Lin Zheyu's figure flickered and vanished into the void. When he reappeared, he was within the space where the demonic lake energy was stored. His figure shifted slightly before plunging into the demonic lake energy with a splash, and he sent out a thought...