As the temperature around Li Fan rose, the image of the red flame in his sea of consciousness became clear once more. However, even when Li Fan pushed the Xuanhuang Heart Refining Mantra to its limits, ignoring the faint scent of burning emanating from his body, he inexplicably withdrew from the visualization state just before the red flame phantom spirit was about to form.
"Could it be that it's too scorching, exceeding my body's tolerance limit?" Li Fan pondered, searching in the Profound Mirror for medicines that could resist heat. Spending 10 contribution points, he bought an Ice Heart Pill. After consuming it, Li Fan attempted again. This time, as soon as the heat from visualizing the red flame appeared, a cool sensation surged from his dantian, circulating through his body and suppressing the heat. Without needing to divert attention to suppress his body's discomfort, Li Fan focused all his energy on condensing the red flame phantom spirit.
But it was futile! The phantom spirit shattered at the last moment before it could form. It seemed as if something was deliberately obstructing it, making it impossible for the phantom spirit to take shape. After trying a dozen times, the effect of the Ice Heart Pill began to wane. Li Fan stopped.
"The spirit of heaven and earth is indeed extraordinary; even using it as a prototype to condense a phantom spirit is impossible..." Li Fan thought, "There must be some rule I'm unaware of restricting this." He searched the Profound Mirror for information related to the spirit of heaven and earth. As expected, the Profound Mirror indicated that his permissions were insufficient to view it.
For a while, Li Fan's idea of condensing the red flame phantom spirit was at an impasse. However, he didn't plan to give up. The greater the restriction, the greater the reward upon success. The power of the spirit of heaven and earth was evident; even a fraction of it would be extraordinary. Nevertheless, he needed to consider carefully how to proceed.
Thus, Li Fan maintained his auxiliary cultivation state, quietly contemplating with his eyes closed. One day, two days, three days... Time passed day by day, and his contribution points gradually burned away. Finally, seven days later, Li Fan opened his eyes.
The spirit of heaven and earth is the manifestation of a certain law of heaven and earth. If the red flame represents the laws related to flame, then what special significance does the red of the red flame hold? Besides the red flame, are there other flames?
Li Fan immediately began experimenting. Still visualizing the spirit of heaven and earth, the image and aura were identical to the red flame in his memory. However, the image's color changed from red to green. This time, the phantom spirit formed successfully but was extremely weak, like an empty shell without any power to harm enemies.
Dissipating the nascent phantom spirit in his sea of consciousness, Li Fan tried again. This time, the color changed from green to black. Like the red flame, the black flame's phantom spirit couldn't form. But unlike the red flame, visualizing the black flame didn't bring the searing heat.
He tried another color... Li Fan experimented with every color he could think of. He discovered four situations. The first was like the red flame, unable to form and causing a scorching sensation during visualization. The second was like the green flame, which could form but was powerless, like an empty shell. The third was like the black flame, unable to form without any unusual phenomena occurring during visualization. The fourth was the most peculiar.
In Li Fan's sea of consciousness, a phantom almost identical to the red flame slowly condensed, but its color was blue. As the blue flame phantom spirit gradually appeared, the temperature around Li Fan began to drop significantly. Layers of ice flowers spread outward from where Li Fan stood. His hair and eyebrows were frosted white, and his body gradually became as rigid as ice.
Even the Xuanhuang Heart Refining Mantra, which had been running silently, slowed under its influence, as if it might stop at any moment. Li Fan's heartbeat slowed, and his breath quickly declined. Yet, Li Fan's consciousness entered a wondrous state, as if his soul had left his body, observing the changes in his body as an outsider, devoid of any emotional fluctuations.
In this state, Li Fan had a premonition that even if his body were destroyed and he faced death the next moment, he wouldn't feel any fear. It was an absolute calm and rational state. In this state, Li Fan silently watched as his body became completely encased in ice, as if plunged into absolute zero, entering a state of complete stillness.
Simultaneously, the blue flame phantom spirit in Li Fan's sea of consciousness fully formed. The temperature didn't rise, but vitality quickly reappeared in Li Fan's body, as if the absolute cold could no longer affect him. With a thought, the blue flame in his sea of consciousness flickered slightly, and the extreme cold on his body rapidly dissipated. In the blink of an eye, Li Fan returned to his original state, withdrawing from that absolute rational state. The extreme cold seemed like an illusion, leaving no trace.
"So this is the power of the blue flame?" In his sea of consciousness, the young blue flame phantom spirit fell into slumber. But Li Fan knew he could awaken it at any time, recreating that state. "The four situations encountered when visualizing different colors of flame should correspond to the conditions of the spirit of heaven and earth," Li Fan speculated after some thought.
The spirit of heaven and earth is the embodiment of the heavenly laws, and cultivators can refine it to achieve the union with the Dao. In the previous visualization, those that could form but had no power likely represented a lack of that type of spirit of heaven and earth. Those that couldn't form, like the red flame, belonged to the heavenly law system, where he could invoke its power but not possess it; like the black flame, it had likely been refined by a cultivator and was no longer part of this realm's laws.
So, what does the blue flame represent? "A law yet to be born?" "Does this mean that soon, somewhere in the Immortal Cultivation World, the true spirit of heaven and earth: the blue flame, will descend?" Li Fan pondered deeply.
After a long time, Li Fan exhaled deeply, burying his speculations about the spirit of heaven and earth deep in his mind. Regardless, although he didn't condense the red flame phantom spirit, he inadvertently visualized the blue flame phantom spirit. The two have completely opposite attributes, but the power of the blue flame seems no less than that of the red flame.
Elated, Li Fan seized the moment and began cultivating the Underworld Phantom Art, attempting to nurture and strengthen the blue flame phantom spirit to attack others with his divine sense. Time passed slowly in cultivation. Before long, Li Fan abruptly exited the auxiliary cultivation mode. It turned out that after prolonged cultivation, his contribution points had dwindled to just over a hundred.
Thanks to the rewards from the readers Gu Buren, 33021211245267, and Milizi Shuang.
(The chapter ends here)