Chapter 760: Cursed Fire

Li Ximing cultivated for a while within the earth vein, temporarily eroding nearly half of the black flames in Juque Courtyard. The bright Mingyang Purple Flame once again gained the upper hand, but he had no choice but to stop.

The reason was simple: as he slowly pushed the flames out of Juque, the invisible flames and deep black flames around him grew increasingly intense. They had already melted layer after layer of the surrounding rock walls, spreading into the earth vein. If he didn't stop, this earth vein would transform into a fire vein, and the island would gain a lava volcano.

‘No matter how stable this place is, I can't let Zifu-level flames burn freely… Otherwise, it won't just attract cultivators to observe, but probably boil all ten thousand-plus people on the island.’

Li Ximing stopped. Fortunately, his cultivation level was now incomparable to what it once was. And having just experienced a brush with death, his understanding of Mingyang and Taixu seemed to have deepened.

He immediately took out the Mountain-Shifting Sea-Crossing Tiger and activated his divine ability. The entire earth vein rumbled and shifted, moving several inches to the left. Then he flicked a finger, and the wall immediately chimed, gushing forth a stream of cold water.

"Hiss!"

He connected this earth vein with a water vein. Instantly, surging underground water poured in. The surrounding water vein immediately evaporated into countless water vapors, and the malevolent energy within the earth vein also instantly subsided. Dense flames still filled the area, instantly evaporating this underground water.

‘This underground water is naturally nothing against Zifu-level divine abilities and spells, but its advantage lies in its endless flow, which can prevent the accumulation of fire-sha, preventing it from affecting the surface and causing abnormalities on the island, thus drawing unwanted attention.’

Indeed, the water vapor from the water vein immediately rushed to the surface through the openings of the earth-sha. The remaining underground water flowed in but couldn't get close at all, leaving behind only an area of dark red flames and continuously surging water vapor rising to the surface.

‘Now, what rises to the surface isn't fire-sha. The qi condenses into water, forming merely a large spiritual spring. Such earth vein changes are common, leave almost no trace, and won't harm the islanders.’

An operation nearly impossible during the Foundation Establishment stage, Li Ximing could now accomplish with a flip of his hand. He used the Mountain-Shifting Sea-Crossing Tiger to slightly reinforce the earth vein, then sat down cross-legged again. Counting the time with his fingers, several months had already passed.

"My family hasn't crushed the jade pendant, so presumably, nothing too critical has happened."

"Moreover, I'm overseas... I haven't reached the point of incurable severe injury, and I still retain a lot of strength, so my family should be safe. Even if Changxiao is constantly against me, he probably won't trouble my family..."

"Secondly... this matter was handled by Ziyan after all. If something happened to me, so be it. If I were instantly killed by Changxiao, Tinglan and Sumian could pretend nothing happened and stay out of it. But since I'm not dead, Tinglan and Sumian would lose face, so they would have to protect my family to some extent."

"Only Zhou Wei... is now in danger. Fortunately, he's already in seclusion, cultivating in the lake. I wonder how he's doing now."

"Sang Yu's Nine Profound Method... is becoming increasingly difficult to deal with."

Li Ximing had been afflicted by the spell for a long time. Although he had forced out a good amount of the flames from Juque Courtyard, his body surface was flowing with a glassy luster from the increasingly fierce flames, becoming more and more fragile.

‘Valley Wind Fire-Guiding isn't so miraculous as to seize others' flames for my own use. It can only control my own flames... or unowned flames. Otherwise, I wouldn't have to suffer this much...’

Li Ximing was still somewhat distressed, but the relief of escaping from Changxiao's grasp still gave him a sense of finding joy in hardship:

"If I, Li Ximing, could seize others' flames for my own use, people might even believe I'm the reincarnation of some Fire Virtue True Monarch..."

It wasn't just the bottleneck encountered in flame expulsion; the negative effects of Sang Yu's Nine Profound Method on the Dharma body itself were also becoming increasingly significant. At present, he felt a stinging pain in his forehead. Two layers of flames burned on his body surface, and both his divine abilities and magical power felt cold, difficult to resolve. The only way was to suppress the flames. However, the stinging pain in his forehead and the increasing coldness of his magical power were not easily resolved.

"At least Yatianmen has driven most of the fire out of Juque Courtyard first, which is a good thing."

Stabilizing Juque Courtyard meant his Dharma body wouldn't collapse, at least. Although the burning flames on his body surface were troublesome, Li Ximing could still move and cast spells while enduring Sang Yu's Nine Profound Method.

‘But in this state... I'm not suitable for moving around... And I'm afraid of running into Changxiao if I go back.’

Having narrowly escaped in that heavy rain, Li Ximing guessed that perhaps the Dragon Clan had intervened, due to some accident or some "chess piece" that blocked Changxiao for him:

"Xiao Chuting is in the North Sea every day, so it shouldn't be him. The others have even less interest. Senior Tu Long is in the South Sea... so it can only be a dragon. Unfortunately... I still used Zhou Wei's favor with the Dragon Clan. I'm sorry to him."

Li Ximing, of course, understood how significant this favor would be for Li Zhouwei's cultivation after achieving the Zifu realm. Only after reaching Zifu did he truly comprehend the power of the Dragon Clan. He could only sigh in silent guilt.

He tried to distract himself for a long time. He sat in place for several days, repairing Juque Courtyard, but the flames on his body surface burned increasingly fiercely. His Dharma body cracked in places, and his heart finally grew anxious.

"What a malevolent spell! The Earth-Gazing Bloodstone is in my family's treasure vault... But even if I had it, it would probably be a drop in the bucket against Zifu-level injuries."

If he wanted to preserve his Dharma body, he would have to suppress the flames on his surface. This would mean ceding the position of Juque, and the months of suppression would be wasted. But if he didn't suppress the flames, his Dharma body would grow weaker and weaker from the burning, also showing signs of collapse.

Li Ximing could also use spiritual treasures to mend himself, but Sang Yu's Nine Profound Method was not the true fire of Ye Hui from before. These Foundation Establishment-level items only treated the symptoms, not the root cause. At best, they would prolong his life by a few years, pointlessly wasting his accumulated resources.

‘If I don't want to sit around waiting for death... the only option is to risk going out to search... But in my current state, carrying a large expanse of flames, I'd be like a beacon in both the Taixu realm and the mundane world. Who wouldn't see me?’

He pondered for a long time, then silently raised his head.

Li Ximing's gaze quickly pierced through layers of reefs and saw the ten thousand-plus wildlings on the island, a group of barbarians even wilder than the Shanyue.

Since his promotion to Zifu, Li Ximing had become proficient in numerous divine abilities and mysteries. Like every Zifu cultivator before him, he deeply understood how to consume vitality, just as he understood how to construct a body and how to occupy a Dharma body with ascending Yang — as naturally as eating and drinking.

Not to mention, Li Ximing was an alchemist.

As long as he had a thought, with his alchemy skills, he could easily refine the appropriate elixir. The immediate problem would be readily solved. With one elixir to suppress it, combined with his divine abilities, he could expel the flames, without needing to take any risks or expend any cost.

Li Ximing gazed intently for a moment, his ears twitched slightly. He finally closed his eyes, took out a stone box from his sleeve, and flicked it open to reveal clear, bright spiritual water inside.

He drank two sips, then went into seclusion to suppress the affliction.