Little by little, the earth vein flames gradually "flew" out from the earth's core. These flames had only one direction of travel: towards the earth spirit placed before them.
The Earth Spirit's enormous body slowly moved towards the outside of the Earth's core, constantly devouring the small amount of earth vein fire in front of it. Unbeknownst to it, it had already come within reach.
Suddenly, the Earth Spirit froze, as if it sensed some strange and malevolent danger.
Driven by its innate instincts, it finally restrained its greed when faced with the situation.
"Whoosh..." The earth spirit's massive body retreated like lightning until it was far away from the very center of the fire source.
It shook its head and spun around for a long time, and finally, as if it had made up its mind, it sped upwards like the wind.
In just a few breaths, the Earth Spirit had broken through the sea of fire and left this red world.
Rarely, after the local spirit departed, in the very center of the fire, in that spot where the crimson color had vanished, a figure suddenly stirred, and slowly rose from within.
If the old Taoist priest Xianyun and others were to look into it again, they would definitely doubt whether their eyes were seeing things.
Deep within the earth, at the source of fire, under the intense heat that permeates all things in the world, there are still people who manage to ascend from the bottom up.
A faint, fiery red tinge gradually appeared from the man's face and bones, revealing a face etched with hardship yet brimming with surprise.
A dark red aura rose around him, an energy belonging to the fire element, but not the spiritual power of a cultivator.
He flicked his finger, and a dark red light leaped onto the distant stone wall.
The solid wall, which had been baked in the sea of fire for countless millennia, actually emitted a wisp of white smoke, and after the smoke dissipated, several tiny pores appeared.
Within this dark red light, there was such a strong corrosive energy.
"The spirit of the earth? It's actually the spirit of the earth?"
His voice was soft, yet filled with boundless ecstasy; he could hardly believe his own intuition at what he had just witnessed.
His gaze followed the departing spirit of the earth, a hint of tears glistening in his eyes. His voice was soft yet powerful, as if he were trying his best to suppress his emotions, or perhaps he was shouting with all his might: "We're saved! We're saved! The Demon Realm... is saved!"
"Yaqi, take off your clothes," Xiao Wenbing suddenly shouted.
"What?" Zhang Yaqi turned around in surprise, her face full of disbelief.
"White Robe, you too." Xiao Wenbing didn't explain, and shouted at Feng Baiyi again.
A rare smile appeared on Feng Baiyi's face. She angrily asked Xiao Wenbing, "What do you want to do?"
Xiao Wenbing didn't even glance at the two women's expressions, because he knew that it would be strange if they looked good.
He turned and gazed at the crimson sea of fire beneath his feet, and said in a deep voice, "I want to go down."
"What?" Almost simultaneously, the two women's voices rang out.
"The bodysuit is made from the same materials and using the same military service methods. If these three magical artifacts can be combined into one, their power will increase tenfold. Even if we go deep into the earth's fiery veins, we can withstand it for a short while," Xiao Wenbing said calmly.
The two women blushed simultaneously, then were shocked to realize that what he wanted was the bodysuit-style magical artifact.
"You want to enter the sea of earth's fiery veins?" Zhang Yaqi realized what was happening and immediately objected, "Absolutely not!"
"It's alright." Xiao Wenbing smiled and said, "Yaqi, don't worry. Since I said so, I will naturally have a way to deal with it. At least, there won't be any danger to your life." Seeing that she was still anxious, he couldn't help but shake his head and say, "Yaqi, you're just worried. Have you forgotten that I have a life-saving talisman on me?"
“But…” Zhang Yaqi was still hesitant.
“Sigh, Yaqi, don’t say so much. Your Qiankun Ring is a Taoist treasure, and inside the ring is another one… Anyway, you use the Qiankun Ring to break through the earth and go up with the two in white first. I’ll go check on the Earth Spirit and be right back.” Xiao Wenbing finally withdrew his gaze, glancing at the two women’s faces, and said, “The Earth Spirit is a treasure of heaven and earth, coveted by countless people. If something goes wrong and the news leaks, the entire cultivation world will be without Ning Jing. That sin… I can’t bear it.”
"It's not that you can't bear it, it's that we can't bear it." Behind him, Feng Zheyi, whose expression had returned to normal at some point, was now looking at Xiao Wenbing and said coldly.
Zhang Yaqi was taken aback. She was also extremely intelligent. After a moment's thought, she immediately understood. She suddenly realized and said, "Wenbing, you want to go down alone and atone for the sins of the three of us, right?"
Xiao Wenbing shook his head repeatedly, gave a wry smile, and said, "No, I was the one who proposed Zero Heaven Cauldron Star, and I was the one who sent the Earth Spirit down, so of course I should take responsibility for it personally."
Feng Baiyi's gaze suddenly swept lightly across Zhang Yaqi's face, passing by in a fleeting moment.
“That won’t do, the three of us…” Zhang Yaqi stopped speaking, as if she suddenly remembered something, her gaze shifting between Xiao Wenbing and Feng Baiyi.
"Ya Kaichun, stop thinking nonsense and give me the bodysuit right now," Xiao Wenbing shouted immediately.
“No.” Zhang Yaqi raised her head and said firmly, “Wenbing, I should be the one to go.”
"Nonsense." Xiao Wenbing's expression hardened, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as he shouted at Zhang Yaqi.
However, Zhang Yaqi looked up and, unusually, stared at Xiao Wenbing in a fierce and unyielding gaze.
"Three."
Xiao Wenbing and Zhang Yaqi were both startled and turned to look at Feng Baiyi at the same time.
“The three of us will go together,” Feng Baiyi repeated quietly.
Xiao Wenbing's gaze swept over the two women one by one, and finally he gave a bitter smile and said, "Alright, what is meant to be will be. Whatever the sin, the three of us will bear it together."
The cycle of cause and effect, and the justice that prevails, is something that most cultivators agree on.
The ultimate goal of cultivators is to transcend the earth's turmoil, attain enlightenment and ascend to immortality, and at the moment of facing the final heavenly tribulation, which is also the final judgment of the cultivator's life's actions by Heaven.
According to the principles of Heaven, those who do good deeds throughout their lives may only face the final tribulation of seven heavenly lightning strikes.
For ordinary cultivators, if they can cultivate to the Tribulation Transcending stage, then with their considerable cultivation level and the magic treasures they have painstakingly collected, it is not difficult to withstand the seven layers of heavenly lightning.
Conversely, those who have committed many evil deeds in their lives will face a significantly increased difficulty in overcoming tribulations if they incur the wrath of heaven and the resentment of people. If they do encounter the Nine Heavens Thunder and Flame Tribulation, then there is no point in wasting energy resisting; they might as well simply lie down and wait for death.
For tens of thousands of years, no one has ever been known to have survived the double tribulation of 2918 lightning and fire.
The Earth Spirit was brought from Earth by Xiao Wenbing and the other two. If any unexpected changes occur, plunging the entire cultivation world into chaos and bloodshed, then the three of them will inevitably have to bear the consequences of this heinous crime.
However, both Xiao Wenbing and Feng Baiyi possess spiritual bodies that are extremely rare, occurring only once every ten thousand years. Their spiritual bodies can only transcend the fifth level of the Heavenly Tribulation.
In other words, no matter what heinous crimes they committed, as long as they don't encounter a series of calamities, there's no reason why they wouldn't be able to overcome them.
Moreover, even if they encounter a series of calamities, as long as they are quick to escape, they may not necessarily be able to avoid them.
Therefore, if chaos truly breaks out in the world, in the end, only Zhang Ya will truly suffer divine retribution.
Once they understood this principle, the three of them reacted differently.
Xiao Wenbing was the first to understand, so he wanted to rush into the sea of fire to summon the spirit of the earth. Feng Baiyi was the next to realize this, but she kept it a secret and insisted on entering the sea of earth veins together.
As for Zhang Yaqi, although she was the last to realize the truth, she immediately insisted on going alone.
However, at this point, neither Xiao Wenbing nor Feng Baiyi would allow her to take the risk alone.
"Yaqi, release the Qiankun Ring. With this treasure and our bodysuits, we should be able to survive in the sea of fire for a while," Xiao Wenbing instructed.
"Yes." Zhang Yaqi responded, and the multicolored light on her wrist spread out, enveloping the three of them.
A terrifying sight unfolded: the five elements power on Xiao Wenbing and the other two's magical artifacts and tight-fitting suits seemed to have been drawn into the Qiankun Ring, forming an indestructible protective net.
"White Robe, your true skills and adaptability are undoubtedly the best among us, so please take charge."
Feng Baiyi nodded slightly, but did not reply.
Xiao Wenbing turned around, rummaged through his Heavenly Void Ring for a while, and finally pulled out a small bronze mirror with an antique style.
No matter what dangers lurk within this fiery sea of veins, nothing in this realm can harm the Mirror God. Therefore, why not make good use of it?
"Let's go..."
After saying this, Xiao Wenbing took the lead and rushed down into the earth vein fire beneath his feet.
Volume 4, The Divine Artifacts, Chapter 148: Headbanging
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Just as he was about to plunge into the raging inferno, suddenly, his vision blurred, and a massive, thick stone slab burst forth from beneath him.
Both sides reached an extremely high speed simultaneously, leaving absolutely no room or possibility for buffering between them.
Of course, if Xiao Wenbing's cultivation level had reached the same level as that of the old Daoist Xianyun, or if the Earth Spirit wasn't so oblivious but rather as perceptive as Zhang Yaqi, then there would still be a possibility for them to avoid each other.
Unfortunately, Xiao Wenbing only had the cultivation level of the Golden Core stage at this time.
Zhang Yaqi, who hoped the Earth Spirit would transform into a gentle and tender person...
This seems to be quite difficult!
so……
"Thump..."
A loud crash resounded. Although Xiao Wenbing had the advantage of being thrown downwards, the difference in strength between them was still too great. He was immediately thrown out of the protective range of the Qiankun Ring by that incredible force and fell backwards.
Following closely behind, Zhang Yaqi flicked her wrist, and the Qiankun Ring shone brightly as she rushed forward. With a "whoosh," the thick stone slab was directly swallowed by the multicolored light and remained motionless.
Zhang Yaqi was taken aback. What was going on?
However, in a short while, she suddenly realized that this group of people was the very earth spirit they wanted to search for.
However, unlike a moment ago, a great change has occurred in the spirit of the earth.
Its body was more than twice the size it had been when it went down. With such a bloated shape, it was no wonder that they couldn't tell it apart at first glance.
If the Earth Spirit hadn't automatically rushed in after seeing the five-colored light above the Universe Ring, they really wouldn't have dared to recognize each other so readily.
Zhang Yaqi felt relieved. Now that the Earth Spirit had come up, there was no need for them to risk going down.
But what about Xiao Wenbing...? Her gaze drifted to the side.
Feng Baiyi's aloof, snow-white figure appeared out of thin air and caught Xiao Wenbing, who was about to fall into the sea of fire, in her arms.
A strange light flashed in Zhang Yaqi's eyes, then disappeared in an instant. She moved swiftly and appeared beside them. The light of the Qiankun Circle enveloped the three of them once more.
"What's wrong with Wenbing?" Zhang Yaqi asked casually.
"Oh no, she's fainted."
"Ah...dizzy?" Zhang Yaqi looked at the extremely unlucky man with concern.
The resilience of the Earth Spirit is already evident on the Tian Shan Mountains of Earth. The thought that Xiao Wenbing would actually collide with it head-on fills one with deep worry.
"It's alright, you won't die from the accident," Feng Baiyi said, noticing her worry.
Zhang Yaqi nodded gently and subtly took Xiao Wenbing from Feng Baiyi's hands. Xiao Wenbing's brows were furrowed and his eyes were closed; he had clearly been badly injured in the impact.
She sighed and said helplessly, "Sister Feng, what do we do now?"