Chapter 299 Love is Letting Go
Blazing flames roared, and the scorching heat distorted the atmosphere.
The lava boiled, and from within, a Nascent Soul-level Red Flame Beast, as large as a hill, suddenly charged out—it was a Flame-Stepping Lizard!
It launched a sudden assault from the south, fiercely crashing into the Lava Immortal Palace.
Simultaneously, on the northern side, a Nascent Soul-level Fire-Walking Snake, its entire body wrapped in intense flames, opened its mouth and spat out a torrent of fire.
The scorching flames baked the spherical light barrier of the Lava Immortal Palace. The light barrier was already damaged, and under the combined attack of the two Nascent Soul-level beasts, cracks spread across its surface, making the situation extremely dire.
"Vile beasts."
Meng Kui let out a cold shout.
Spell—Mystery in the Palm!
Four large handprints condensed and charged toward the two Nascent Soul-level beasts on the south and north sides, two for each.
The Fire-Walking Snake let out a hiss, twisting its massive serpentine body to evade.
However, the Flame-Stepping Lizard neither dodged nor retreated, enduring the slaps from the giant handprints while continuing its frenzied assault on the spherical light barrier.
The Immortal Palace trembled!
Under the powerful attack of the Flame-Stepping Lizard, the nearest mechanical buildings collapsed one after another. The ground cracked open, and soon, another corner of the palace completely detached from the main structure, collapsing and falling into the magma below.
The falling palace corner triggered a huge wave in the magma, which surged toward the broken walls surrounding the palace.
Before the spherical light barrier could close, a large amount of magma spread inside the Lava Immortal Palace, destroying more buildings and creating widespread devastation.
In the depths of the mist, Meng Kui’s eyes gleamed with a cold light, his face expressionless.
Boom, boom, boom!
Suddenly, a battle erupted in the inner circle of the Lava Immortal Palace.
The shadow demon cultivators reappeared, chasing after Yang Chanyu!
The impact of the Nascent Soul-level beasts had already alarmed almost all the cultivators within the palace.
The battle between the shadow demon cultivators and Yang Chanyu immediately attracted the attention of many cultivators.
A golden light, like a long rainbow, streaked through the sky, swiftly approaching the battlefield between Yang Chanyu and the shadow demon cultivators.
Seeing this familiar light, the crowd immediately recognized it as Zhu Xuanji!
The Red Flame Beasts at the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment levels once again formed surging waves, charging toward the inner circle of the Lava Immortal Palace.
"The opportunity has come," Zhu Xuanji secretly gave the order.
Thus, the members of the three reformation teams, who were in charge of the Pointing Platform and the Five Elements Tower, worked together to carry out the command.
Under their influence, only a few mechanical creations stood in front, blocking the beasts from approaching the Gourd Furnace Forest.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit became anxious and quickly contacted Ning Zhuo.
Ning Zhuo’s second-rank position still held authority, and his orders overrode those of the three reformation teams.
As a result, a large number of mechanical creations converged toward the Furnace Forest, and the Five Elements cannons fired continuously like rain, covering the beast tide.
However, under Ning Zhuo’s deliberate leniency, some Red Flame Beasts still rushed into the Golden Furnace Ruins.
The real Zhu Xuanji suddenly appeared and, amidst the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit’s startled cries, followed them into the Golden Furnace Ruins!
The previous Zhu Xuanji was not the real one but an imposter—Zhu Zhen in disguise.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit couldn’t keep an eye on Zhu Xuanji at all times, as it had to focus on defending the massive palace against the endless onslaught of beasts.
Therefore, it had not noticed earlier that Zhu Zhen and Zhu Xuanji had secretly switched places.
"Young Master! Young Master!"
"Hurry up, quickly!"
"We mustn’t let Zhu Xuanji discover any clues!"
At this moment, the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit felt as though its heart was in its throat, even though it had no heart.
Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth and made a decision, "Zhu Xuanji, you’ve forced my hand!"
With the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit’s cooperation, he fully activated the attack power of the Five Elements Tower. The Five Elements cannons rained down like a storm, launching a terrifying offensive that completely engulfed the Golden Furnace Ruins.
Boom, boom, boom...
Amidst the intense bombardment, Zhu Xuanji relied on himself to hold on, albeit barely.
He knew that, at this moment, every second was crucial. Time was extremely limited, and he could only choose one furnace to investigate.
The second, third, and fourth Golden Furnaces—each of these furnaces contained valuable clues!
Zhu Xuanji hesitated for a moment before ultimately choosing the second furnace.
The reason was the riddle poem that Ning Zhuo had given him.
Zhu Xuanji had only glanced at it once and immediately understood that the answer was "two."
Zhu Xuanji was certain that Ning Zhuo was referring to the second Golden Furnace!
He rushed to the ruins of the second Golden Furnace, placed his palm on it, and, with great difficulty, used the Trace Back Art.
Under the Celestial Golden Eyes, he saw the following scene.
The door of the second Golden Furnace was open, and the teleportation circle was pouring out countless materials.
These materials were of excellent quality, with the lowest being at the Golden Core level, and the highest reaching the Nascent Soul level.
Among them, the most eye-catching was the body of a Flood Dragon. It was incredibly resplendent, like a crystal sculpture, with red and orange flames shimmering within, silently burning, both dangerous and incomparably beautiful.
Seeing this, Zhu Xuanji's pupils contracted sharply.
Then, he saw all the materials being thrown into the furnace.
The door of the furnace closed, the fire ignited, and the dragon’s mournful cries echoed from within.
The forging process wasn’t long.
Cracks rapidly appeared on the surface of the furnace, and as soon as the refining was complete, the flames extinguished, and the furnace collapsed into a pile of fragments.
From the ruins of the furnace, a small mechanical creation slowly rose into the air.
The creation resembled a dragon, about the length of an adult’s forearm.
Its dragon head was majestic, with forked horns, naturally flowing whiskers, and dragon eyes resembling red crystals, with a golden glow within.
Its entire body was covered in silver-white scales, shrouded in a faint golden halo.
The dragon’s claws were sharp, capable of transforming and retracting completely into its body.
Its tail swayed gracefully, and the floating tail whiskers contained flames, often leaving a fiery trail in the air as they moved.
A mechanical creation—the Ten Thousand-Mile Traveling Dragon!
Zhu Xuanji quickly recognized it.
This was a classic mechanical creation.
Starting from the one-inch Earthworm at the mortal level, to the ten-inch Thunder Snake at the Qi Refining level, the hundred-foot Coiling Python at the Foundation Establishment level, the thousand-foot Flood Dragon at the Golden Core level, and finally, the Nascent Soul-level Ten Thousand-Mile Traveling Dragon.
The Ten Thousand-Mile Traveling Dragon could expand or contract, move at high speed, and maintain strength over long durations, making it an excellent transportation-type mechanical treasure.
The vision ended abruptly.
Zhu Xuanji suddenly understood!
"Ning Zhuo’s hint was incredibly valuable."
"I understand now!"
"The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit is the problem!!"
Zhu Xuanji regretfully glanced at the ruins of the third and fourth furnaces, which had been thoroughly devastated by the bombardment.
Unable to hold out any longer, Zhu Xuanji had no choice but to withdraw for the time being.
"Did he discover anything?" The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was extremely anxious.
The bombardment had been so dense that it couldn’t see what was happening inside at all.
It had no idea what Zhu Xuanji was doing in there!
The bombardment continued for a while longer before it finally ceased.
The former ruins of the furnace had become a deep pit, with debris scattered inside and out.
As Zhu Xuanji expected, Zhu Zhen returned empty-handed.
In private, the two exchanged thoughts, and Zhu Xuanji used a voice transmission to tell Zhu Zhen the results of his investigation and his deductions about the palace spirit.
Zhu Zhen, feeling puzzled, directly asked Zhu Xuanji how he had arrived at this conclusion.
Zhu Xuanji sighed, "That’s because you don’t know the history of the Lava Immortal Palace, nor do you know the story of the first furnace."
He explained to Zhu Zhen, recounting what he had once seen in the royal court, witnessing the royal family’s hidden secrets...
Several hundred years ago.
Mount Huoshi had just erupted, covering the land with lava, poisoning the sky with toxic smoke, and leaving living beings in utter misery and devastation.
The Three Sect Lords, clad in a white monk robe as pure as snow, descended slowly from the sky, their robes fluttering gently in the wind.
Their appearance was
like an ancient pine, steady and serene, their brows full of compassion and sorrow, their demeanor transcendent.
Another magnificent golden rainbow broke through the sky, landing nearby and transforming into a graceful and elegant woman.
She wore a luxurious robe embroidered with golden phoenixes, shimmering in resplendence, with the edges adorned in pearls and gems, exuding a dignified and regal air.
The woman's phoenix eyes brimmed with grievance and reproach as she glared at the Three Sect Lords, her voice filled with resentment, "You heartless man, you’ve finally returned! Since you’ve come to my country, why haven’t you come to the capital to see me? Do you know how much I’ve longed for you?"
The Three Sect Lords didn’t turn around, only gazing at the scorched earth beneath them, their tone calm to the extreme, "Southern Empress, many years ago, I already told you: our fated bond has ended. It’s better to forget each other in the vastness of the world."
The woman, who was none other than the founding empress of the Southern Dou Kingdom, shouted angrily, "You say it’s over, and it’s over? I don’t agree!"
"Do you know how I’ve longed for you all these years? I even renamed my country to Southern Dou because of you."
"In the South, red beans grow,
In spring they sprout in clusters.
I wish you to gather them,
For they are tokens of love..."
"San Lang, I don’t believe that in all these years, you haven’t thought of me!"
As the Southern Dou Empress said this, her voice trembled, and her eyes turned red.
The Three Sect Lords shook their heads, letting out a deep sigh, and took out a mechanical model from their robes.
With a gentle toss, the model flew into the air, quickly transforming into a massive Immortal Palace that blocked out the sun, casting a huge shadow over the earth.
The palace, with its red bricks and golden pillars, its majestic and splendid buildings, was none other than the Lava Immortal Palace!
Seeing this, the Southern Dou Empress's face lit up with joy, her voice growing softer, "San Lang, you still remember our past."
"Back then, we were in perfect harmony, spending every moment together, and built this mechanical palace."
"You designed the layout and laid the foundation, while I sculpted the statues with meticulous care."
"We spent such a beautiful time together in this palace."
"We can continue, you know."
"San Lang, I’ve already established my kingdom, and my wish has been fulfilled. Come back, let’s live together, just like before!"
The Three Sect Lords still faced away from the Southern Dou Empress, not responding, their divine eyes surveying the fiery Mount Huoshi below.
The Southern Dou Empress slowly floated toward him, trying to get closer, but an invisible wall of air stopped her.
"San Lang." The empress called out, her voice filled with emotion.
The Three Sect Lords ignored her, their gaze suddenly sharpening as their heart stirred.
At that moment, the Lava Immortal Palace shot out a beam of divine light, piercing the mountain and plunging deep into the lava.
A Flood Dragon’s furious roar echoed, and a Nascent Soul-level Fire-Walking Flood Dragon, in a fit of rage, charged out of Mount Huoshi.
Under the compassionate gaze of the Southern Dou Empress, the Fire-Walking Flood Dragon fearlessly charged toward the Lava Immortal Palace.
It intended to bring the palace down!
The Three Sect Lords gently raised their hands.
The flying body of the Fire-Walking Flood Dragon in mid-air rapidly shrank, and by the time it landed in the hands of the Three Sect Lords, it had become a tiny snake, less than three inches long.
The Fire-Walking Flood Dragon struggled desperately, but it couldn’t escape the hands of the Three Sect Lords.
The Lava Immortal Palace slowly descended, like a mountain toppling over, pressing down on the atmosphere, accompanied by rumbling sounds.
The Three Sect Lords sat cross-legged in mid-air, gazing down at the Lava Immortal Palace.
With a gentle pinch of their fingers on the dragon's neck, they extracted the soul of the Fire-Walking Flood Dragon.
"Go," the Three Sect Lords said softly, with a flick of their finger.
The Nascent Soul-level soul of the Fire-Walking Flood Dragon shot forth like a meteor chasing the moon, directly entering the first Golden Furnace.
Fire Burial Prajna Spirit-Resolving Sutra!
Blazing flames quickly ignited, and within a few breaths, the Golden Furnace collapsed, refining a ball of Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit.
The Southern Dou Empress, who had been watching all along, was slightly taken aback when she saw the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit. "It was clearly a Flood Dragon, so why does it possess the nature of a dragon turtle?"
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit was initially confused, but once it realized what had happened, it roared in anger at the Three Sect Lords.
The Three Sect Lords reached out once more, grabbing the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit into the palm of their hand.
The Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit, now compressed into a tiny form, looked up at the Three Sect Lords, like a mere ant gazing at a towering deity.
The Three Sect Lords spoke slowly, "In eight hundred years, a great calamity will sweep through the heavens and earth, blood will flow like rivers, and corpses will litter the land."
"Dragons and serpents will rise, and kings will emerge. Sages will descend, purging the world."
"You, Fire-Walking Flood Dragon, were born from the countless souls buried in the volcano, fused with the endless fire toxins and geothermal heat of the mountain."
"You were born bearing a heavy burden of sin."
"If left to develop naturally, you would be slain by a newly risen king, and your entire being would be used to further his ambitions."
"Today, I will give you a chance."
"From now on, you will serve as the palace spirit, controlling the Immortal Palace, guarding Mount Huoshi."
"As long as you ensure that Mount Huoshi enjoys peace and prosperity, with no more senseless killings, in seven hundred and twenty years, you will have atoned for your innate sins, shedding your turtle shell and gaining the true spirit of a Flood Dragon."
"Look."
The Three Sect Lords slightly raised their hand, signaling for the Dragon Spirit to pay attention to its former serpentine body.
Though it was a Fire-Walking Serpent, it possessed immortal potential!
When its life reached the Nascent Soul level, its immortal potential naturally transformed into a divine ability—the ability to gather and condense spirit crystals.
This divine ability allowed it to gather spiritual energy and continuously compress it, transforming it into solid crystals—spirit crystals.
The Fire-Walking Serpent lineage was made of ethereal flames, but its extraordinary birth enabled it to continuously compress the fire element's spiritual energy, transforming it into a solid Flood Dragon body.
The Three Sect Lords continued, "Your body is reserved for you alone."
"When the seven hundred and twenty years are up, you can use the Lava Immortal Palace to forge a mechanical body and roam the heavens and earth freely."
With that, the Three Sect Lords gently tossed the Dragon Turtle Fire Spirit into the main hall of the palace and stored the Fire Crystal Flood Dragon body in the palace treasury.
The Three Sect Lords extended their index finger, pointing toward Mount Huoshi.
The Lava Immortal Palace accelerated its descent.
Watching the symbol of her past love with the Three Sect Lords sinking into the mountain to suppress the volcano, the Southern Dou Empress couldn’t help but cry out, "San Lang, are you really going to do this? How heartless you are!"
"What about your love?"
"You once said that even if you entered Buddhism, you would still have love!!"
The Three Sect Lords clasped their hands together and chanted aloud, "Thus I have heard: The Tathagata is compassionate, spreading great love without boundaries. Great love is the essence of the Buddha’s heart, the blessing of all beings... If a Bodhisattva holds great love in their heart, all under heaven will be as kin. Without distinction of rank, all are living beings, equal in care, offering selfless devotion... Therefore, the Bodhisattva sees the suffering of all beings as their own, with a heart as vast as the ocean, endless in its compassion..."
The Southern Dou Empress, her face filled with rage, interrupted, "San Lang, stop chanting!!"
The Three Sect Lords sighed, "This is the great love of Buddhism, not the love of desire."
The Southern Dou Empress, extremely angry, shouted, "I don’t understand!"
The Three Sect Lords remained silent for a moment before saying, "Love is compassion."
After a pause, he added, "Love is letting go."
As he spoke, the Lava Immortal Palace sank to the top of Mount Huoshi.
"San Lang!" The Southern Dou Empress stared sadly at the Three Sect Lords, her voice filled with bitterness as she cried out, "I can’t let go!"
The Three Sect Lords clasped their hands together, and beneath his lowered eyelids, his gaze seemed to pierce through the millennia.
He softly recited:
"Red furnace, scarlet fire refines the soul,
The Immortal Palace buries the mountain, saving all life."
"I urge the Southern Empress to let go of obsession,
Old love is like smoke, scattering to the past."
"All beings suffer, heavy with desire,
Believing they control their puppet lives."
"The Buddha’s compassion is great love,
Let go of the heart's hindrance, and the Way will come naturally."
The Southern Dou Empress, filled with sorrow, shed tears in despair. Yet, as the proud empress, she refused to turn and flee.
Gritting her teeth, she unleashed her magic power, forcefully drawing a treasure from the Immortal Palace.
The treasure fell into her hands, revealing its true form—a mirror.
The entire mirror was encircled by a vividly lifelike golden phoenix, exquisitely beautiful to the extreme. It was none other than the Golden Phoenix Mirror!
The Three Sect Lords were moved for the first time, slightly turning their body to glance at the Southern Dou Empress.
The Southern Dou Empress gritted her teeth, "This is mine. I refuse to assist you in your compassionate endeavors."
The Three Sect Lords gently shook their head, "Southern Empress, you were never meant to rule, but you managed to establish a nation because of my Life Hanging by a Thread divine ability."
"If you leave behind the Golden Phoenix Mirror, you will be repaying your karmic debt. It will be a good thing for you."
The Southern Dou Empress hesitated for a moment, her expression softening, "So, San Lang, you still care about me!"
The Three Sect Lords seemed moved, their eyes shining, "I see, I see."
As they spoke, they took out a precious seal from their robes.
This treasure, the Buddha Heart Demon Seal, appeared both gold and jade, with two faces—one of the Buddha, compassionate, and the other of a demon, ferocious—truly a strange artifact.
The Three Sect Lords threw the treasure directly into the palace.
The Southern Dou Empress was shocked, "San Lang, how can you discard such a precious treasure? How will you protect yourself in the future?"
"I shouldn’t have been so stubborn. I’ll return the Golden Phoenix Mirror now; quickly, take back your treasure."
The Three Sect Lords, now standing, having changed from their seated posture, slightly turned their head before leaving, "Karma has been settled. Since you’ve taken the Golden Phoenix Mirror, you should guard the legacy of the Immortal Palace for me."
With those words, they drifted away like a feather, their figure light as air, yet swift as lightning, vanishing in an instant like a wisp of smoke disappearing into the clouds.
The Southern Dou Empress, restrained by an invisible force, couldn’t move, and could only watch in despair as the Three Sect Lords’ figure disappeared into the sky.
Her heart was filled with desolation as she cried out in anguish, "San Lang——!"
Her mournful voice, like a cuckoo’s cry of blood, echoed across the heavens and earth, breaking the hearts of all who heard it.
(End of Chapter)