Chapter 184: A Rapid Breakthrough
“Then did it mention anything to you about its origin? Ye Wuchen asked .
“Origin? No.” Ning Xue answered, puzzled, “But, Xiang Xiang told me something strange that day, Mmm… I can’t remember.”
She could not completely understand those words, so she simply did not mind them. These past few days, she had been attending to Ye Wuchen everyday, hoping for him to quickly wake up, how could she ever be able to remember them? Ye Wuchen did not ask any further, he smiled and said, “It doesn’t matter, don’t think about it if you can’t remember. Wait until tiny-Xiang Xiang can speak one day and she will tell us herself.”
“Squeak?” Xiang Xiang’s head bent at an angle, expressing a question. Although Ye Wuchen could not understand what she was asking, she was able to understand their words. She seemed to be asking what he wanted her to tell him.
“The Lost Shrine… Obtain its recognition…” The Heavenly Fire Dragon’s words echoed in Ye Wuchen’s mind. He looked at Xiang Xiang and thought, ‘Did the Heavenly Fire Dragon bring us here because of it? But how do we go back? This was the Kui Shui Nation so did that mean that we can only go through this strange forest to return to Tian Long Nation? And if this place was the Lost Shrine, how did it exist here and why would this dragon fox be here?’
One by one, even the tiniest of hints reverberated in his mind. Ye Wuchen felt that what happened here already exceeded the where normal human beings could reach. This tiny fox had already considered him as its master, implying that he had been involved in a world from a different dimension. Perhaps that was the destiny that the Heavenly Fire Dragon had mentioned. In that case, what kind of path was he being guided through?
“Brother, where are we going now? I don’t want to stay here, can we just go home?” Ning Xue pulled at his hands and asked with a pitiful face.
With one hand pulling Ning Xue and Tong Xin with the other hand, Ye Wuchen stood up, looked at the already dusky sky and said, “We have been away from home for a whole month. It’s time to go home.”
One month, and the full moon had already passed. He had safely passed through the crisis few days ago, was it because he had been unconscious or was it due to other reasons?
He closed his eyes, trying to think deeply. Since the Heavenly Fire Dragon had brought them here, then there must certainly be a way back and it must have been in its body. Having the ability to bring them here, it should also be able to take them back, but it stayed behind so that must mean…
In no time, he had found a scarlet area that should not have existed deep within his own consciousness, and immediately detected that it was actually a fragment of Heavenly Fire Dragon’s spirit. It was left behind when the Heavenly Fire Dragon had bestowed the “spiritual eyes” on him.
“Xiang Xiang, come back.” Ye Wuchen suddenly said.
On his shoulder, Xiang Xiang was bewildered for a moment, but eventually she understood. Her body floated up, tightly stuck onto his body, and just like smoke it merged with him. At the same time, a shadow of a small and exquisite girl laid dormant deep inside the area deep within Ye Wuchen’s heart.
Sure enough, he grabbed Ning Xue and Tong Xin tightly, then said, “Tong Xin, protect Xue-er with a wall that prevents her from being harmed by high temperatures.”
Tong Xin nodded, and complying with his instructions, she produced a semi-transparent shield that surrounded Ning Xue’s body. Ye Wuchen focused in his consciousness, then yelled at the fragment of the Heavenly Fire Dragon’s spirit, “Send us back!”
Far away in the Heavenly Fire Volcano, the Heavenly Fire Dragon opened its eyes. Back with Ye Wuchen, the three of their bodies sparkled with a scarlet light just like before and they disappeared from that mysterious lost territory at the same time.
This was the first time Ye Wuchen had set his foot on this lost territory, but all the fear that he had experienced was just the tip of the iceberg of this forbidden area of Kui Shui.
Before their eyes now was surprisingly that frightening purple sea. The purple lava violently churned, like a malevolent wild beast that could engulf every living thing in its path. When they appeared, the tremendous head of the Heavenly Fire Dragon was already in the middle of the purple sea, followed by a burst of laughter that could shock one’s mind.
“Hahahaha… That was it, that was it! I’ve already seen it. Although the god of fortune cared for you, you really have obtained its recognition. You are that person, sure enough…”
“Your prophecy was extraordinarily accurate. Can you say that you will be able to predict what will happen to me next?” Ye Wuchen asked with an expressionless face. No matter the reason or intention, this kind of feeling made him uncomfortable.
“No! Prophecies were originally for defying the natural order of the heavens. By defying heaven’s order, one would be punished by the heavens. My life had been shortened by about fifty thousand years already, and what I was capable of seeing was only this much. What you will encounter in the future, or path that you will take, I’m not able to know; nobody knows. Now, one thing that I can be certain of is that you are undoubtedly that person. Since you wanted to absorb the power of this place, then I will give you power!”
Even though Ye Wuchen was just standing here without moving, the extremely intense spiritual power of the heaven and earth rapidly rushed inside his body. However, this was not the natural spiritual power from the heaven and earth, but was the breath of the Heavenly Fire Dragon. Because the Heavenly Fire Dragon itself was nurtured by the fire element from the heaven and earth, naturally it released the spirit of the heaven and earth. The Heavenly Fire Volcano was also not formed naturally, but because of the Heavenly Fire Dragon which had been dormant there for so many years, the volcano gradually formed by means of its tremendous power. If it departed, the heat of the Heavenly Fire Volcano would begin to die out.
The Heavenly Fire Dragon did not give him the opportunity to inquire and said, “Let them go, or else they might get hurt.”
Ye Wuchen did not hesitate. He turned around and said, “Tong Xin, quickly take Xue-er and return to Yan Long City, wait there patiently for me. I will return soon.”
“Brother, you must be careful and return as soon as possible.” Ning Xue did not attempt to stay. She had obediently nodded her head and was carried by Tong Xin as they quickly flew out.
Just like an impending storm, the sea of lava started to churn wildly, exploding a few meters to more than ten meters wide in fancy patterns.
“You know where I came from?” Ye Wuchen faced the Heavenly Fire Dragon and calmly asked.
“I don’t know. Where you came from was not important.”
“Then do you know about her?” Ye Wuchen asked again. The “her” that he was referring to was the dragon fox, Xiang Xiang.
“Its powerful strength caused me to tremble with fear. I already knew about its existence quite a long time ago. It existed before me. The entire Heavenly Star Continent wouldn’t be able to know its origins. Perhaps, even it doesn’t even know anything itself.” The Heavenly Fire Dragon used a deep and imposing voice to answer, the lava beside it even grew more violent.
“Then based on your predictions, what is it? What is its significance?” Ye Wuchen said with knitted brows.
“Hahahaha, you’ve asked good questions. Everything has been because of its significance… I don’t know. I only know that what I did must be right, because it was my destiny. The Heavenly Star Continent isn’t as tranquil as what you have expected. The wars between human beings are ridiculous and insignificant. When the true god of war descends, Heavenly Star Continent will be just like a weak mirror, broken into pieces at just a touch. I can ignore the lives of human and beasts, yet I cannot ignore the safety of Heavenly Star Continent. This place, after all, was where I was born.
“......”
“You don’t need to know that much because what I’ve said might happen right away or it might never happen at all. Now, let’s bestow you with the power you wanted… I was nurtured by heaven and earth. Your powers are similarly from the heaven and earth, but the contents of your power is more highly perfected and purer compared to mine, much more powerful. Heaven and earth will naturally bestow the power upon you, and I will certainly be able to. Prepare to receive my power!”
The lava had violently flared up to the extreme, as if it would explode at any time. The entire Heavenly Fire Volcano was starting to shake, starting a landsliding and splitting the earth. As the Heavenly Fire Dragon’s voice stopped, a wave of earth-shattering flame wrapped around Ye Wuchen’s body, blocking his sight. Before his eyes, aside from fierce and pure purple, there was nothing else.
That power which had surged up violently rushed inside his body at a crazy speed, so fast that it almost made his body feel like it was exploding. Ye Wuchen gritted his teeth and stayed motionless. The spiritual power of heaven and earth that belonged to the Heavenly Fire Dragon was actually not pure, so most of it was filtered out of his body, but the small remaining portion was quickly increasing his powers.
Tong Xin and Ning Xue who were flying around suddenly felt a heat wave from behind, suddenly increasing the temperature of the already torrid air. They turned their heads simultaneously, only to find the originally red Heavenly Fire Volcano now turned purple. At the mountaintop, the burning purple flame was greatly dazzling.
Not just them, even Yan Long City, which was more than ten miles away, felt the rise in temperature. One by one, the people were whining incessantly. Very quickly, almost all the people rushed out from their homes to look at the Heavenly Fire Volcano which had turned purple, and one by one, they were shocked.
In the Nangong Family, a huge and tragic fire occurred.
Five minutes… Ten minutes… Twenty minutes…
Bang!
A light sound echoed in his mind, Ye Wuchen’s power had finally reached a breakthrough from the second level and reaching the realm of third level. The power became more perfect, pure, and deeper, while the speed of its circulation went faster. The relaxing pleasure in his body made him lifted his head up high and open both arms to receive the influx of the power from the Heavenly Fire Dragon continuously.
Originally, if he was to absorb the power all by himself to reach the third level, he would need at least three days to complete it. Now, it only took him twenty minutes. The speed was indeed multiple times greater.
Thirty minutes… Forty minutes… One hour…
The indescribable torrid heat was like some disaster, burning up the body and heart of all the people in the Yan Long City. The heat quickly turned into something that they could not bear, making them uninclined to work as they were doing their utmost to weaken the deadly torment. This sudden disaster seemed to have no intention of leaving as it continuously persisted. The people started to complain, lament, and curse…
Finally, after exactly one hour, the color of the Heavenly Fire Volcano slowly begin to change. Purple gradually turned into light purple, until the familiar red color… Yet it still did not stop, and continued to lighten until it was a dark red color, darker than its usual gloomy color. The temperature began to drop, descended continuously until finally it had stopped at a temperature that caused some unease.