Flying down into the Heavenly Pit, she felt a slight scalding heat under her feet. When her shoes struck the ground, they made the sound of metal. Zhao Chun looked around and saw that the four walls of the pit were carved with intricate patterns.
Upon closer inspection, she realized they were a series of narrative carvings that told a story. A sea of clouds drifted ethereally, and Immortals rose up, riding the wind. In a place where stars arched over mountains, rivers, and lakes, an immortal gate opened.
The myriad people played music, and a host of Immortals feasted and made merry. Afterward, they departed through the heavenly gate, and the hundred clans bowed their heads in their wake. The carvings were exquisitely beautiful, the scenes vast and grand, and an overwhelming sense of joy rushed forth from them.
It was precisely an Immortal Ascension Tribute Mural! But why was it carved here, in this desolate land? Zhao Chun was utterly baffled.
Suddenly, she heard the faint, decadent sound of music, which she initially thought was an echo in her ears from viewing the mural. But accompanying the immortal music were the noisy sounds of conversation.
“The auspicious time has arrived!”
“This departure is for the world of ultimate bliss! We will no longer be troubled by the Mortal World! How joyous! How joyous!”
“Cultivate a body of boundless merit, create three thousand Great Worlds!”
An unknown number of imposing figures appeared, laughing freely and raising their arms in cheers! Zhao Chun found herself amidst these overlapping figures, hearing and seeing a scene of great joy. Yet, she suddenly sensed a thread of resentment intertwined within it, making this state of ecstasy seem all the more absurd and bizarre...
The sky darkened. Zhao Chun looked up to see the barren earth above rapidly growing and closing, about to seal her inside. Zhao Chun wanted to summon her Smoke Boat to leave, but the barren earth moved faster and faster, swallowing even the last sliver of sky!
A sensation of heat instantly rose from all four sides. Faint, colorful light appeared in the recessed parts of the murals, and all the scenes came to life. The sea of clouds rolled, the stars shifted, and the Immortals drank from cups floating on a winding stream, their sleeves drifting with their movements.
“In… the past… for… piling… come, now return… to the heavens…”
A vast and ancient voice spoke intermittently. Zhao Chun could only catch a few scattered words. Her front and back were soaked with sweat, and the Spiritual Roots in her Dantian were growing agitated.
She truly had no energy to spare for anything else. She took a Moistwood Fruit from her Storage Pouch and gently bit through the skin. The cool juice flowed from her mouth down her throat, and she instantly felt a bit more comfortable.
However, this was only a temporary fix. As the rolling heatwaves grew more intense, this little bit of Wood Qi could hardly suppress the Metal and Fire Qi. Zhao Chun took out several more in succession.
At first, they had some effect, but later, even consuming a century-old Moistwood Fruit could only allow her to hold on for half an incense stick's time. Moreover, a slight pain had begun to spread through her meridians, and her Dantian was already saturated; she truly could not consume any more.
In her moment of desperation, Zhao Chun suddenly remembered the "Fire Refining Furnace Technique." This spell could draw Fire Qi out of the Dantian and into the skin, flesh, muscles, and bones. She wondered if it could resolve her current situation.
Zhao Chun had long since memorized the Heart Incantation. She had originally planned to obtain an artifact forging method and then return to the sect to cultivate in an Earth Fire furnace. But now, the situation was critical, leaving her no choice but to try!
She sat cross-legged at the bottom of the Heavenly Pit, receiving even more of the searing heat. The Fire Spiritual Root was like a fish in water, displaying a wanton and flaunting posture. The Metal Spiritual Root, beside it, happily joined in.
But it was a bitter torment for Zhao Chun. Externally, there was extreme heat; internally, the murderous and rampant intent of slaughter shook her Dao Heart. The entry level of the "Fire Refining Furnace Technique" was to first refine the skin and flesh.
Zhao Chun focused her mind with all her might, guiding the Fire-attributed Spiritual Qi towards her entire body. The first thing that assaulted her was a searing pain, like a Fire Tongue rolling across her skin, licking away her flesh.
After enduring the burning sensation, a piercing pain like needles followed, stabbing in from the surface of her skin as if to penetrate straight into her bone marrow!
If not for the fact that she could feel her skin and flesh knitting together and becoming tougher after the pain, Zhao Chun would have almost thought this technique was meant to destroy her physical body!
Fortunately, after a portion of the Fire Qi was drawn out of her Dantian, the Metal and Fire Qi gradually calmed down, continuing to lie dormant within her Dantian, making Zhao Chun not dare to underestimate them. She had never studied artifact forging and could not fully comprehend the methods of fire refining.
She could only explore and advance with difficulty, using her own body as an experiment, trying things out slowly. Inside the Heavenly Pit, the heat accumulated to a certain point and then rose no further. It would occasionally drop, only to slowly climb back to its original level a moment later.
A thought flickered in Zhao Chun’s mind. This Heavenly Pit, shaped like a great ding cauldron, seemed not to be as sturdy as she had imagined. As if to refute her thought, the heatwave inside suddenly surged violently.
A sharp pain welled up in Zhao Chun’s Dantian, and she hurriedly focused on refining her body, guiding the newly generated Fire Qi into her skin and flesh. Because she lacked the proper method, her body was already covered in wounds.
Zhao Chun had no choice but to consume Healing Pills and forcefully take Wood Qi spiritual medicines to neutralize the rampant Fire Qi. All the meridians and acupoints in her body felt on the verge of being overwhelmed. Her Qi and blood surged, and even her mind began to show signs of scattering.
This world was originally devoid of Spiritual Qi, yet the heatwave in the pit had inexplicably become a source of Fire Qi, causing her Fire Spiritual Root to bare its fangs and brandish its claws! That Fire Qi passed through her skin and flesh, but it couldn't be tempered to perfection.
In places where it was excessive, her skin cracked, and blood flowed out. Zhao Chun dared not stop guiding it. Her Dantian was restless and turbulent.
If she allowed the Fire Qi to flare up again, she feared there would be signs of it shattering! It seemed… she was going to die here… Even as she desperately held onto her consciousness, the boundless pain made it difficult for her to steady her mind.
After an unknown amount of time, she heard a loud bang! The entire Heavenly Pit shook for an instant! The heatwave gradually subsided.
Having lost this aid, the Fire Spiritual Root became much weaker than before. The Metal and Fire Qi finally settled down. However, Zhao Chun in the pit was already in the state of a blood-soaked person, barely holding on and not falling unconscious.
Her eyelids were heavy, as if glued shut with blood. Zhao Chun’s head hung low as she struggled to open her eyes. The splendor of the murals on the four walls was gone, returning to their previous dimness.
Moreover, silk-like fine cracks had appeared on them.
“Boom!”
Another loud bang, though not as violent as the previous one. The Heavenly Pit only trembled slightly, but on the murals, the fine cracks gradually widened!
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
As if sensing it was effective, the sounds continued without stopping, striking until the cracks on the four walls of the Heavenly Pit widened greatly. From the sea of clouds, to the mountains and rivers, and then to the place where all the Immortals gathered, everything split open horizontally and vertically! Someone was attacking the Heavenly Pit from the outside!
Zhao Chun struggled to raise her head. In the darkness, the rock cover above her revealed a faint glimmer of light, stirring her heart! The person outside struck and then paused, likely because in this world, Spiritual Qi could not regenerate on its own, so they had to find another way to recover, hence the pauses.
The light grew larger, changing from a sliver to a pillar of light. The spiderweb-like cracks expanded, and with another loud bang, they shattered into chunks of rock that fell down! Zhao Chun rolled to evade them, her injuries worsening.
She gritted her teeth and endured, rolling into a ball on the ground. A heavy ruler descended from the sky, piercing into the bottom of the pit! A tall woman floated down and landed on the handle of the ruler.
Seeing the wretched state of Zhao Chun in the dust, she showed a hint of surprise but asked no questions. She leaped off the handle, pulled out the heavy ruler, and continued to swing it, striking the bottom of the pit!
Her hair was tied back at the nape of her neck, and a yellow jade ring hung at her waist.
Qi Yunrong!
Even a late Foundation Establishment stage cultivator had been sucked into this world! Zhao Chun was completely out of strength. The rolling just now had used up all her stamina.
She could only lie on the ground and watch as Qi Yunrong ceaselessly swung the heavy ruler, her lips moving as if she were cursing.
“Save…”
Qi Yunrong looked back at her, her expression cold. She shouldered the heavy ruler and snorted, “I can barely protect myself right now. You expect me to save you?”
“I… am a disciple… of the True Spirit Sect. Senior… if you could lend a hand…”
“True Spirit?”
She took these two words in. After a long moment, she swung the heavy ruler to strike the ground and replied, “That sect of Senior Qiu’s?” Her tone carried a great deal of respect.
“Consider yourself lucky to be in the same sect as Senior Qiu. If we can get out today, I’ll give you a hand. Whether you can hold on or not, that’s up to you!”
As for whether they could leave this world, it seemed Qi Yunrong herself was not very certain. But Zhao Chun’s eyelids grew heavier and heavier. The sound of the hammering grew more distant in her ears.
A long time later, she felt a breeze stir, brushing over her body covered in blood and dust.
(End of this chapter)