Qin Yun, who was sitting cross-legged on a mat, was only watching out of curiosity.
However, he lost his calm when he saw the shimmering Torch Flame Kindling. He stood up immediately, his eyes burning.
“Torch Flame Kindling?” Qin Yun did not hesitate to approach Fire Cloud Palace’s exterior by taking a step forward and traversing the void.
The nearer he was, the clearer he could see.
When Qin Yun arrived outside Fire Cloud Palace, he saw ‘Meng Fu’ clenching the Torch Flame Kindling tightly with a nasty and unresigned expression. He tried to move it but failed.
“You are not Meng Fu!” Fuxishi stood in midair and sensed the energy that erupted from ‘Meng Fu,’ only to bellow angrily, “You are Fiend King Boxun!”
Fuxishi was very familiar with the strength that ‘Meng Fu’ was releasing. He had even fought him before. It was the power of Boxun’s Six Desires avatars.
Fuxishi was alarmed and furious.
It was too easy for the mighty Boxun to scheme against an ordinary mighty figure.
“Hahaha, it’s me. Don’t you incorrectly blame your disciple. Your disciple is really a man who wears his heart on his sleeve.” ‘Meng Fu’ cackled sinisterly as he looked at Fuxishi. “But he’s too infatuated with his wife. Just a little scheming from me and he succumbed all too easily.”
“Boxun, aren’t you being too shameless by scheming against a junior?” Fuxishi was enraged. At that moment, two figures tore through space and arrived on the scene. They were Suirenshi with his disheveled hair, making him appear to have experienced the vicissitudes of life, and wooden staff-wielding Shennongshi. The Three Sovereigns looked at ‘Meng Fu’ angrily. Boxun actually dare to scheme against a mighty figure of their Fire Cloud Palace?
“Boxun, you were known as the King of Myriad Fiends back then. Yet, you actually used underhanded means to deal with an ordinary mighty figure junior.” Suirenshi shook his head gently.
“Boxun, if you have the guts, come in your true body and fight us. If all you can do is scheme, you’ll be a joke to the entire Three Realms.
While the Three Sovereigns were talking, they were discussing with voice transmissions.
“What should we do?” Fuxishi was somewhat anxious.
“Boxun’s Six Desires avatar has controlled Meng Fu. If we were to attack, we would only end up killing an avatar, but also kill Meng Fu. A loss of an avatar is nothing to Boxun, but Meng Fu would really be dead,” said Suirenshi via voice transmission.
“I know about my disciple’s obsession, but I never expected this to happen.” Fuxishi was momentarily at a loss.
“Fuxishi, Meng Fu isn’t to be blamed. Which cultivator doesn’t have an obsession? Who doesn’t have desires? All of Buddhism was once afraid of Boxun and suffered terribly under his machinations. With his status, he will succeed regardless of what he does against a junior,” said Shennongshi.
Fuxishi understood as well.
Boxun was indeed terrifying.
He was very powerful in direct combat and his underhanded techniques were extremely insidious.
“Come in my true body? Haha, you are the humans’ Three Sovereigns. Suirenshi is strongest at frontal assaults, Fuxishi is best at array formations among perfected Great Dao existences, while Shennongshi is good in the art of medicine and poisons. If the three of you attack together, how many in the Three Realms would be foolish enough to clash with you head on?” ‘Meng Fu’ laughed. It was also the truth. When fighting one on one, there were ancient existences who were slightly better than any one of the Three Sovereigns. However, if the three joined forces, they were invincible. They were even able to match Heavenly Dao realm existences.
As he spoke, ‘Meng Fu’ attempted different methods, but the Torch Flame Kindling remained floating in midair, preventing him from moving it.
“What’s happening?” His eyes blinked and emitted a red glow.
He saw it.
The Torch Flame Kindling was invisibly connected to the distant Fire Cloud Palace. The two were like one. Trying to take the Torch Flame Kindling away was akin to taking away the entire Fire Cloud Palace.
“You three sure are crafty.” ‘Meng Fu’ blinked his eyes as the red glow receded. He lowered his right hand and sneered at the Three Sovereigns. “The Torch Flame Kindling is actually a part of the entire Fire Cloud Palace’s array formation! It’s no wonder I can’t take it away.”
Fuxishi said indifferently, “The Torch Flame Kindling is an important treasure of my Fire Cloud Palace. Suirenshi refined it with great difficulty, so we naturally have to prevent it from being stolen. It’s just a tiny trick of arrays. It was set in place without much thought back then, but who knew that after so many years, you would actually attempt to steal it.”
…
Mighty figures from all over the Three Realms were paying attention.
“Stealing the Torch Flame Kindling?”
“Strange. Why would Fiend King Boxun steal the Torch Flame Kindling? It only has the Three Sovereigns’ heritage embedded in it. His strength isn’t inferior to the Three Sovereigns and he has learned many rare arts from his peers. He has even studied the Fiend Ancestor’s Heavenly Dao heritage. Why would he steal a mere Torch Flame Kindling?”
“It is very strange indeed. Among the Three Sovereigns, they are respectively good at fire, array formations, and medicine and poisons. It’s very different from Boxun’s Six Desires Great Dao.”
“Furthermore, many ancient existences would exchange their rare arts. Even if he wishes to learn the heritage of the Three Sovereigns, there are other means. Why would he steal the Torch Flame Kindling?”
The various entities were puzzled.
The ancient existences who were stuck in the perfected Great Dao yearned to break through after seeing the Three Pure Ones, Buddhist Ancestor Gautama, Goddess Nüwa, and the Fiend Ancestor reach the Heavenly Dao realm.
It was very difficult to gain access to Heavenly Dao realm heritage.
Therefore, they would exchange their rare arts and draw lessons from one another in a bid to break through. For instance, Green Touring Palace had the rare arts of many mighty figures of other factions. The fiends had also gathered many rare arts… There were always mighty figures in the Three Realms who were willing to trade with the fiends for their goals and desires.
To actually steal the Torch Flame Kindling for a rare art that was on his same level?
It left many baffled.
…
God King Zhurong was watching this scene from a distance. When he saw the Torch Flame Kindling, his eyes even seemed to burn.
“I never expected that over the years of my imprisonment… someone of the future generation was able to reach the perfected Great Dao of fire. Furthermore, his Fire Dao is clearly different from mine.” Zhurong was filled with anticipation. It was not difficult for him to learn Suirenshi’s rare arts, but the Torch Flame Kindling was the essence of the Inextinguishable Torch Flame. Suirenshi had paid a tremendous price to refine it.
It was what Zhurong wanted the most.
“To think the mighty Fiend Ancestor has failed to obtain the Torch Flame Kindling. Fiend King Boxun has still failed.” Zhurong shook his head gently. “I have given the Ancestral Fiend a chance, a chance lasting three thousand years. Now that the three thousand years are almost up, I will no longer owe him. When that happens, I can trade for the Torch Flame Kindling directly.
“I guess that I can exchange for the Torch Flame Kindling without needing to use that lotus seed.” Zhurong was filled with confidence.
Regardless of what happened, the Torch Flame Kindling would be his.
******
In midair.
Not far from Fire Cloud Palace, Qin Yun stood in midair, staring at the Torch Flame Kindling.
The closer he was, the clearer the feeling it gave him.
The Torch Flame Kindling’s light was very unique. It was not as glaring as the sun, so it didn’t prevent one from looking straight at it. The Torch Flame Kindling’s light… was gentler, like a bonfire that rose up in the dead of winter, warming travelers that passed by. It was like the only fire in the night, giving people the warmth of life. It felt like a torch that someone had lit, illuminating the path ahead.
“Torch Flame.” Qin Yun looked with his heart palpitating.
It was a palpitation of excitement!
All these years, he had been stuck at the Great Dao of Man’s bottleneck. He failed to find the inspiration needed for the breakthrough and could only continue accumulating his insights.
And now, while looking at the Torch Flame Kindling, it made the puzzled Qin Yun feel as though he was seeing fire ahead while lost in fog. The light of the fire illuminated a path for him.
It was the path he should take for the Great Dao of Man.
“Torch Flame heritage…
“The Human Spirit.”
Qin Yun muttered.
“I got it. What’s lacking the most in my Great Dao of Man?” Qin Yun came to a realization.
In terms of accumulation, he had more than enough. There were many in the world who had reached the ninth firmament Skyimmortal realm. They would accumulate their insights to a bottleneck, but lack the final means to break through, to make their Great Dao perfect. Qin Yun knew that he had to truly understand the Human Spirit to make his previous accumulations fuse completely as one.
“To figure out the true Human Spirit?” Qin Yun knew it was not simple.
Just like his own Great Dao of Earth, he had found the inspiration and meditated in Mt. Three Blades for the eventual breakthrough.
Now, he had found the inspiration.
However, it was on the Human Spirit. It was a realization at the spiritual surface level of things. Qin Yun had made accumulations in this previously, so he was immediately enlightened when he saw the Torch Flame Kindling. The enlightenment even made him feel like he could command all the insights available to the Great Dao of Man and create a wholesome system.
“Although I understand a little of the Human Spirit, my knowledge is insufficient for my breakthrough,” thought Qin Yun. “I need to gain more insights and experience more.
“I don’t know much about the Inextinguishable Torch Flame, but I can confirm now that the Great Dao of Man… is only a portion of the Inextinguishable Torch Flame.” Qin Yun understood this point. “Regarding the Great Dao of Man and the Human Spirit, perhaps I can seek the advice of Human Sovereign Suirenshi.”