Chapter 269: Wave of Strange Reversals

Danger and flames swept over him.

Shi Chun, instinctively crossing his arms to shield his head, never in his wildest dreams imagined that he, the Chief of Dongjiuyuan, would suffer such a humiliating defeat. To him, this was nothing short of a humiliating pit. It was clearly not a dangerous situation, yet he had managed to turn it into a dead end. It was truly a nightmare.

He inwardly cursed An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin's ancestors eighteen generations back. With his discerning eye, he hadn't detected even a shred of fear in those two scoundrels. It would have been one thing if only one of them wasn't afraid, but the other also showed not the slightest hesitation. Are they really so reckless with their lives? It's one thing if you want to die, but the problem is you dragged me down with you. He had misjudged them; he had gravely misjudged them.

By now, how could he not realize that those two had absolutely no confidence in subduing that white flame? They purely wanted to obtain the divine fire so badly that they not only deceived others but also themselves, even wagering their own lives. He had truly witnessed such ruthlessness today. It was only at this moment that he truly understood the intense longing for divine fire among those who practiced fire-attribute cultivation methods. Before, he had only understood it conceptually, but this time, he experienced it profoundly. What a painful realization—an experience gained at the cost of his life, right before death.

I treated you as brothers, yet you led me to my death. I'm so unwilling to die like this...

Huh? In his despair, he suddenly noticed something strange: Had he already died, or what was happening? How could he still be thinking so much? He could still feel some of the high temperature, the buzzing roar of the raging flames was clearly audible, and so was the distinct dripping sound of molten metal. He tried to move his crossed arms from in front of his eyes. Immediately, he saw a dazzling white firelight; the intense flames were licking at his body's surface. He felt a subtle sensation from the protection on his skin. At that very moment, he realized that his act of channeling his energy to resist had actually blocked the terrifying flames.

He himself almost couldn't comprehend it at first, but then he quickly realized that what blocked these terrifying flames was none other than his own Demon Bathing Art. Simply put, this was the manifestation of the Demon Bathing Art's advancement after his cultivation broke through to the High Martial Upper Attainment realm.

In the Initial Martial realm, the Demon Bathing Art's outward release ability was limited to his hands, suitable for sudden defense with the Demonic Hand Release. In the High Martial Minor Attainment realm, the Demon Bathing Art's outward release ability extended to his weapons, which was why his Demonic Vanquishing Blade was successfully cultivated, giving his weapons explosive power upon impact. After his cultivation reached the High Martial Upper Attainment realm this time, the Demon Bathing Art's outward release ability could now cover his entire body. This meant his entire body now possessed that explosive power. This also meant he had stronger physical defense. When facing attacks, his defense could counter a considerable amount of attack power, not much inferior to Wu Jinliang's treasure armor, and it could protect his entire body.

But he truly hadn't expected that the outward release power cultivated by the Demon Bathing Art could actually resist divine fire. No one had ever told him this. The protective qi he had just released was burned through. It was a subconscious emergency reaction in a desperate 'my life is over' situation, an instinctive deployment of the Demon Bathing Art's defensive capabilities. Although it was a subconscious reaction, it was also an inevitable one, as he had cultivated it for so many years and it was the very foundation of his practice.

Seeing that the fire on his body's surface consistently failed to reach his flesh, he extended his hand into the flames and tried moving it around. Waving it slowly, then quickly, and after repeated tests, he confirmed that the Demon Bathing Art's body protection he was activating was indeed effective. He felt the joy of surviving a catastrophe and let out a deep sigh of relief. He had truly been terrified just now, never in his life had he been so desperate; he almost peed his pants from fright. He almost thought he would die by turning to ash and then mixing into the molten iron, leaving not even his ashes to be found.

He activated the special ability of his right eye and saw a layer of hazy green mist covering his body. It was this mist that steadily blocked the dazzling white firelight from invading his body and also prevented the terrifying power of the white flame from penetrating. He then looked down at the green lotus wreathed in mist within his Dantian. As his realm improved, it had unexpectedly gained a touch of ancient, weathered charm. He truly couldn't quite grasp the full extent of the cultivation method he was practicing now; it could actually block divine fire. Based on this alone, he was even less willing to abandon it. Back when his cultivation made no progress for several years, he had truly considered whether to switch to another cultivation method.

Suddenly, he dodged, evading the molten iron dripping down from above. He also snapped out of his 'survived a catastrophe' state, remembering An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin. Unsure if they were dead or alive, he swiftly moved forward through the flames. He didn't know if he could still reach them in time to rescue them. Having been tricked by the two, he was furious, even wishing that they, having harmed others and themselves, would just burn to death. But he was, after all, the Chief of Dongjiuyuan, and he had developed the ability to not judge people based on temporary right or wrong. In his eyes, some good and bad deeds were not his criteria for judging good or bad people. Most of the time, his criterion for judging a person was simply whether they were useful. If they were useful, he would rescue them.

Even if he couldn't rescue them, since he was no longer afraid of the divine fire, he would seize the opportunity to capture it. He had finally found it after such difficulty; he absolutely couldn't let it escape. Before, he had scurried into every hole like a headless fly. Under normal circumstances, he would truly have trouble finding his way back for a while. Fortunately, this was not a normal situation. The white fire filled the underground passage, and in contrast with its color, his right eye's special ability could actually find the path back to the underground space. Also due to the influence of the white fire, he couldn't see if there were still two hazy white figures in the underground space. He didn't know if those two guys were still alive; he could only rush over first and see...

Chu Jingtang, Hao Ji, and Chen Wuji unexpectedly emerged one after another from a single cave entrance, rushing out into the iron forest outside. They had scattered earlier, but later, they successively found scattered white ash on various routes. They forced their way back to the main path from the various branch routes and safely escaped from the cave entrance they had previously entered. Looking back again, they were still trembling with lingering fear; that white fire was simply too terrifying.

Chen Wuji suddenly let out a puzzled sound, "Did you notice? The high temperature didn't leak out. What's the reason?"

Chu Jingtang looked around and said, "You're still worrying about that now? Where's the Chief? Where did he go? Why didn't we see him come out?"

At that, the other two quickly looked around as well.

Chen Wuji replied, "I don't know. The last time I saw him, he had run into a dead end. When we turned back to run, we scattered."

Hao Ji said, "It's over. He wasn't swallowed by that fire, was he?"

Chen Wuji asked, "Should we call upon those from the Four Cauldron Sect who practice fire-attribute cultivation methods to help look for him?"

Chu Jingtang retorted, "If he was really swallowed by the fire, not even his ashes would be found. What's the point of looking then?"

Hao Ji also said, "That's right. The divine fire the Chief was looking for this time was clearly meant to avoid the people from the Four Cauldron Sect. If the Chief is fine and we expose the divine fire, he might blame us."

Chen Wuji sighed, "Given Zhu Xiangxin and An Wuzhi's character, do you think they are capable of subduing that divine fire? Those two bastards almost got us killed. I think in the end, we'll most likely still have to ask the Four Cauldron Sect for help. Look how swiftly they dealt with that fire crocodile; their cultivation is higher than ours, and their strength is greater."

Chu Jingtang said, "Stop talking nonsense. Whether or not to ask the Four Cauldron Sect for help depends on the Chief's wishes. It looks like the fire, being contained underground, won't burst out. Let's hurry back and look for the Chief. If he's truly gone, it won't be too late for us to then decide to let the Four Cauldron Sect take action."

That made sense. So, the three who had just fled in panic crawled back into the cave and searched their way back...

Shi Chun, who had rushed to the entrance of the underground space, saw molten iron flowing down the four walls. He also saw two figures in the fire: An Wuzhi and Zhu Xiangxin were still in their original spots, seemingly holding on desperately, evident from their complete stillness. The two were indeed in an extremely awkward situation now. Seemingly motionless, they were actually in a death struggle, unable to advance, yet afraid to retreat, daring not to relax even slightly. The indifferent vertical eye in the fire was staring at them, also with a curious, scrutinizing gaze.

Suddenly, the vertical eye moved, looking elsewhere, its pupil shifting upwards. It was Shi Chun who had rushed into the underground space, but he didn't charge directly. He saw the powerful might emanating from the divine fire—not magic power, nor any direct physical force—but that fluctuating power could block An and Zhu from approaching. Its repulsive power was unimaginable. The two who were holding on desperately both had higher cultivation than him, and even they found it difficult to get close. He didn't think his own cultivation would allow him to get close either. If he were to push straight across, he probably wouldn't even have the qualification to step onto that melting pillar platform. So, he chose to ascend along the wall and then descend from above, plunging straight down towards the vertical eye on the pillar platform.

The eye in the fire looked upwards and again erupted with a fluctuating power surging upwards. The divine fire's reaction made An and Zhu instinctively raise their heads slightly, struggling to roll their eyes upwards to look. They didn't know until they looked, and when they did, they were startled, even thinking they were mistaken. Only then did they see the Chief plunging down like a deity from the surging flames. This shock almost broke their defenses, nearly causing them to be overwhelmed by the divine fire. They quickly fought to regain their stability. The surprise and doubt in their hearts remained. "Hadn't the Chief and Chu Jingtang's group said earlier that they couldn't withstand the divine fire? Could this really be someone afraid of divine fire?"

Shi Chun, descending from above, suddenly collided with the surging power. Blocked by the power, he couldn't descend further and was almost knocked away. Just as he was about to be knocked away, the moment he felt he couldn't plunge down any further, he raised his hand and drew his blade from behind his shoulder. Amidst the buzzing flames, the *shua* sound of drawing his blade was remarkably distinct. With his Demonic Vanquishing Blade, Shi Chun, mid-air, fiercely chopped downwards.

Boom! An explosion.

The surging power exploded from the blast, and Shi Chun's figure swiftly descended again. The blast caused the vertical eye in the fire to fluctuate slightly and blink. The blast also gave An and Zhu a chance to breathe, as if they were instantly relieved from their predicament. The power of the Demonic Vanquishing Blade, now that his cultivation had reached the High Martial Upper Attainment realm, was indeed different—far beyond what it was before.

An and Zhu were overjoyed; they hadn't expected the Chief to possess such ability even amidst the divine fire's attack. Seeing that the blocking power had been disrupted, the two who were struggling for their lives didn't think of escaping quickly. Instead, they unexpectedly and simultaneously swung their arms and lunged, attacking the vertical eye. Their desire to obtain the divine fire was evident; even with the slightest chance, they didn't want to miss it.

However, the slightly closed vertical eye suddenly opened again. This time, its gaze was even more brilliant and clearly conveyed obvious anger. A vast power surged out again, even more formidable this time. It actually forced An and Zhu to slip, sliding along the molten iron towards the abyss beyond the pillar platform.

Above, Shi Chun, who had descended to only about three meters from the vertical eye, was about to be pushed upwards again when he suddenly slammed a palm downwards with the momentum—Demonic Hand Release! It was his first time using Demonic Hand Release remotely, but this time, he used the powerful resisting force as a conductive medium.

Clang! The sound was not very loud.

An and Zhu, who were sliding backward, glanced over upon hearing the sound. They saw strange, intricate wave patterns interwoven downwards within the powerful upward-surging energy. They resembled two great fish, intertwined as yin and yang, weaving downwards against the current, seemingly capable of dissolving all resistance, undeterred by the divine fire's power. And within each great fish, there seemed to be many smaller fish, doing the same, and within each small fish, even smaller fish—one begetting two, two begetting three, and three begetting countless, a cycle that continued until it was too intricate to discern. Those strange, counter-current patterns descended from Shi Chun's palm and instantly injected into the vertical eye.