Star Martial Soaring Cloud

Wang Xiao gasped, his heart filled with shock and unease. "Just how many cultivators did the Hua family kill this time?"

The ashes on the ground were clearly layered, with distinct old and new traces, and several bodies that were not yet fully decomposed were also mixed in.

"This place was originally a dumping ground for corpses in Lishan? It's impossible that all of them were cultivators whose sea of ​​vital energy was dug out, right?" Wang Xiao frowned. It was impossible to tell whether the sea of ​​vital energy existed in the skeletons and ashes, so he could only guess.

Gazing at the eerie and terrifying scene before him, he fell into deep thought. "What exactly does the Hua family intend to do by collecting so much Yuan Qi Sea?"

Wang Xiao let out a long breath, temporarily putting aside his distracting thoughts—he had sustained some minor injuries while entangled with Xi Qu and urgently needed to adjust his condition.

But just then, that unusual sense of unease returned. This time, he clearly saw everything around him turn crimson in the blink of an eye, and then the red color quickly faded away in an instant.

Although the red color had faded, its effects remained. The surrounding air suddenly heated up, and the heat surged in like a tide, making it increasingly difficult to breathe.

"Why is it so hot?" Wang Xiao wondered to himself. Sweat instantly seeped out of his body, pooling and streaming down his cheeks, soaking his clothes in no time.

"Damn, it's so hot!" The down feathers on Kung Pao Chicken were also soaked through by the high temperature, sticking to his body and making him extremely uncomfortable.

The next moment, a sudden earthquake struck, the entire ground trembled violently, and Wang Xiao barely managed to steady himself with all his might—this was not just a simple ground tremor, but the entire space was violently shaking.

The Kung Pao Chicken was blasted away and rolled around at the bottom of the sinkhole, looking like a broom. In an instant, its whole body was covered with grayish-white ashes.

"Kid, save me! Oh my god! It's going to collapse! Ah—" Kung Pao Chicken's wails rose and fell, "My beautiful face! Damn it, my handsome face is completely ruined by these ashes! Achoo..."

"Crack—" The sound of shattering was like a thunderclap. The bottom of the pit was instantly covered with crisscrossing cracks, each crack being a foot wide and all converging at a single point.

Immediately afterwards, a beam of red light pierced the sky and appeared before Wang Xiao's eyes. Then, a second beam, a third beam... hundreds of beams of red light burst forth from the ground one after another, as if a blazing sun was sleeping deep underground.

The cracks that were originally open gradually closed as the red light appeared. Only the center point where the cracks converged continued to expand, and a red lotus the size of a palm slowly rose from it.

The moment the Crimson Lotus appeared, the entire sinkhole was shrouded in blood red. Crimson light shot straight into the sky, and red clouds surged and rolled. An unimaginable, terrifying energy swept in, and crimson became the only color in the world.

Once the red lotus had fully emerged from the soil, all the strange phenomena suddenly vanished, leaving only a delicate lotus quietly suspended in mid-air, seemingly without any abnormality.

However, the scorching heatwave enveloped Wang Xiao and Kung Pao Chicken like a raging fire. Their vision was blocked by the hazy heatwave, and their mouths were dry. Wave after wave of scorching heatwaves hit them, and the temperature of the gas was so high that it seemed to burn their lungs instantly.

A surging heatwave swept through every corner of the sinkhole, instantly turning the ashes on the ground into a charred mess. A world-destroying power swept out, its destructive force covering everything.

"What a beautiful lotus! I want to keep it and make it my own treasure!" Kung Pao Chicken completely forgot that the previous strange phenomena were all caused by this lotus and had a wild idea.

The words had barely left his mouth when the red lotus circled once in mid-air before hurtling towards Wang Xiao at incredible speed. "Damn it, bro, stop joking around, okay?" Wang Xiao was terrified. Even with his strong will, he couldn't help but panic. Knowing the seriousness of the situation, he turned and ran.

"Hey kid, why are you running so fast? This is a delicious meal delivered right to my door! Hurry up and catch it for me! Hey, if you're going to run, why are you dragging me along?" Kung Pao Chicken shouted urgently from behind.

"If I'm not mistaken, this red lotus is karmic fire!" Wang Xiao shouted without turning his head.

"What?!" Kung Pao Chicken's voice trailed off, and the two men's positions instantly reversed. It now grabbed Wang Xiao tightly, yelling, "Damn you! Why didn't you say so sooner?!"

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Kung Pao Chicken abruptly flung Wang Xiao away with its wings, turned around, and shouted, "Kid, stay away from me! Since I got with you, haven't I been on the run every single day? Heavens! Save me! Take this kid away!"

"Damn it, Kung Pao Chicken, you're so shameless!" Wang Xiao was stunned when he heard this. Recalling that since they came to Lishan, the two of them had indeed been on the run, with little to show for it, but their experience and skills in escaping had increased day by day.

With a sharp "whoosh," the karmic fire suddenly erupted and appeared in Wang Xiao's sea of ​​primordial energy in the next moment. Its brilliance instantly subsided, leaving no trace.

The intense heat vanished instantly, and everything returned to normal. Wang Xiao looked back and saw that the red lotus had disappeared. He turned around and asked, "Kung Pao Chicken, where's the karmic fire?"

Kung Pao Chicken pointed at Wang Xiao, too shocked to speak: "They...they're in?"

"That's good, you scared me to death! I thought I was going to die this time!" Wang Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, then, as if realizing something, pointed to herself with her right thumb and slowly said, "You said... you went in?"

Kung Pao Chicken nodded blankly.

A red halo flashed, and with two "thumps," the two of them collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Buddhism says that the most intense fire in the world is the fire of karma. This fire is formed from the worldly desires of all beings, capable of burning Buddhas and destroying gods; nothing can stop it. All the sins of the world accumulate, and countless worldly desires converge to form the fire of karma.

The Buddha attained enlightenment only after enduring the fires of karma, driven by great compassion.

Karmic fire is terrifying beyond compare, blending countless temptations and emotions, and can stir up the inner demons of cultivators.

Inner demons are the most mysterious thing in cultivation. No matter how high one's cultivation level is, everyone has inner demons—inner demons are oneself, and oneself is inner demons. Once a cultivator begins to doubt their own path and loses their Dao heart, inner demons will arise.

The karmic fire appears here because this deep pit, which buries countless lonely souls and wandering ghosts, contains the nourishment it needs most.

However, Wang Xiao was not burned to ashes. In the instant he fainted, the jade coffin inside the Seven Star Sword rose up again, its jade light pouring out, warm and gentle, and directly entered his sea of ​​vital energy.

The jade coffin and the karmic fire clashed fiercely in the sea of ​​primordial energy. Facing the terrifying karmic fire, the jade coffin showed no fear and slammed down as if swatting a fly, shattering the karmic fire, which had transformed into a lotus flower, into pieces.

Every time the karmic fire attempted to reform into a lotus, the jade coffin would swiftly strike down, shattering it once more. After this repeated seven or eight times, the karmic fire gradually began to show signs of fear.

The constantly pulsating jade coffin seemed to be conveying some kind of command, and the previously arrogant karmic fire instantly became timid and submissive.

Finally, the jade coffin fell silent and slowly sank into the Seven Star Sword, while the karmic fire transformed into a blood lotus, enveloping Wang Xiao within it.

The blood lotus supported Wang Xiao, who sat cross-legged in the void, his five hearts facing the sky, drawn by the karmic fire.

A sudden change occurred: As the karmic fire flickered, it enveloped his entire body, and strands of fire were injected from Wang Xiao's palm, flowing through his blood, meridians, and bones—the karmic fire was actually helping him temper his body!

The sea of ​​primordial energy within Wang Xiao's body also became active. The sea of ​​primordial energy, which was originally like a small lake, now radiated boundless light, and elemental energy began to slowly circulate within his body.

His mind cleared instantly, and he acted on his impulses and thoughts, everything appearing natural and effortless. Although he didn't know why he was doing this, he clearly understood that it was necessary.

The next moment, a heart-wrenching scream echoed from the bottom of the sinkhole—"Ah..."

Fire devours the heart and the sea of ​​vital energy; pain engulfs the entire body, seeps into the bone marrow, and penetrates the soul.

The physical trials of karmic fire were a necessary tribulation for the Buddha during his enlightenment, requiring great perseverance to endure the burning of karmic fire in order to achieve enlightenment.

Wang Xiao is currently only a cultivator at the Fish Leap Realm, and such pain is far beyond what he can easily endure. If it weren't for the jade coffin secretly protecting him, he would have turned to ashes in an instant.

The power of the karmic fire has now been greatly suppressed.

Even so, Wang Xiao's life was not entirely safe.

Although the power of the karmic fire was suppressed by the jade coffin, its original intention of "inciting inner demons" remained.

Whether he can get through this ordeal depends entirely on his own fate, on whether he can stay true to himself and not go against his principles.

More importantly, once the karmic fire has entered the body, an unstable factor has already lurked.

If Wang Xiao ever doubts the path he has chosen, he will immediately suffer the backlash of karmic fire.

Although this flame is not as fierce as the Samadhi Fire, it encompasses all emotions and desires, joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, penetrating everywhere and reaching deep into the blood, bone marrow, and even the human heart.

It forges not only the physical body, but also the intuition and soul, and can temper all things in the world.

Human life tests the body, and worldly affairs test the heart. If one cannot withstand the burning of karma in the end, one will turn to ashes and all previous efforts will be in vain.

Amidst the flames of karma, Wang Xiao seemed to witness the mortal experiences of countless people: a myriad of entangled emotions, temptations, evil, and also love and care. He was like a passerby, witnessing the life and death of others; yet also like a participant, experiencing the full spectrum of human emotions.

Memories flooded back, like the changing seasons, and countless temptations beckoned before him—beauty, pleasure, power… A myriad of wicked thoughts gathered, and his body and mind were tormented.

One moment he was adored by thousands, enjoying immense wealth and glory; the next, he was reviled by thousands, suffering humiliation. Anger, joy, sorrow, ecstasy... a variety of emotions played out in his mind.

Wang Xiao's eyes were tightly closed, but his breathing became increasingly rapid, and his life force gradually weakened. He was fighting against the myriad worldly troubles, endless resentment, and raging rage all by himself, enduring a deadly threat from the inside out.

Heaven and earth are the furnace, all living beings are the fuel, and all things are forged and tempered within the universe.

How can one person contend against the power of thousands? In the end, turning into ashes seems to be an inescapable fate.

"Ah..." Wang Xiao's anger and hatred erupted completely, his eyes instantly turning into terrifying crimson blood pupils, as if only by slaughtering everyone in the world could he vent the violence in his heart.

As he lost control of his emotions, his life force grew weaker and weaker, and his body gradually became transparent, held together by only a thin layer of light, as if it would dissipate at any moment.

On his deathbed, his last remaining thoughts seemed to return to Seven Star Mountain, to the solitary pine tree that his master had instructed him to observe daily—atop the solitary peak, the green pine stood proudly, the only sign of life on the entire mountain. Straight as a spear, rooted in the cracks of the rocks, it seemed poised to support the blue sky.

Ten years of trials and tribulations, lightning and thunder, wind and snow, the lone pine stood firm... Finally, the image of the lone pine in my mind transformed into fourteen seal characters—"The spirit of the ancient pine pierces the blue sky, letting the winds blow from east, west, north, and south!"

"The spirit of the ancient pine!"

"As steady as a rock, as immovable as a mountain!"

Wang Xiao silently recited the mantra again and again, and in a moment of enlightenment, he realized: all the phenomena of the mortal world are ultimately just fleeting illusions, like the moon in a mirror or a flower in water, illusory and ephemeral.

"Immovable as a mountain, steady as a rock" refers not only to physical appearance but also to one's inner self. What do the mundane affairs of others have to do with me? My path is under my own feet; my destiny is in my own hands.

Everything that exists in the mortal world is an illusion.

Faced with worldly temptations, one must remain steadfast in one's own path, and never waver even if condemned by thousands.

Having grasped this point, Wang Xiao's mind and body suddenly became stable. He was no longer swayed by external things and worldly affairs, and no matter how noisy or tempting the outside world was, he always adhered to his original intention.

He seemed to have truly transformed into a rock, his soul and consciousness both as stable as Mount Tai, unmoved by any winds from east, west, north, or south, he would walk his own path.

At this moment, his flesh, organs, and bones became crystal clear, spotless and immaculate, like a fine work of art. His skin shimmered with a lustrous glow, and his vitality flowed endlessly. His physical strength far exceeded that of before.

He forged his heart, tempered his body, and refined his soul in the mortal world, breaking through the boundary between life and death in one step.

As the myriad phenomena of the mortal world in the sea of ​​fire gradually dissipated, all the experiences and figures of the mortal world eventually transformed into his own image—he only took his own mortal world, condensing all illusions into his true self.

The karmic fire ultimately could not subdue him, transforming into wisps of tempering power, which he absorbed completely. The sea of ​​primordial energy within his body, which had transformed from a lake into a vast expanse, grew ever wider, with a mysterious seed slowly rising and falling within it.

When Jianmu (建木) is born, the eight elements of heaven and earth have already merged into its body.