Chapter Twenty: A Glimpse of the Supreme Principle of the Great Dao

One of the arsonists ran straight to the giant spider’s corpse, searching for something. Before long, he fished out a round, emerald object from the foul-smelling body.

“What is that…” Xu Cheng had never seen such a rare thing before.

“It’s the inner core of the Spider Demon!” In his palm, the Southern Ember Truefire flickered to life, and the green orb split into five thumb-nail-sized green pills.

“Looks like Senior Brother is destined to become a master alchemist one day!” Liao Zhen clapped him on the shoulder as he spoke.

“Of course! If any of you ever need pills for your cultivation, just come find me! Friends get a twenty percent discount!” The Southern Ember Truefire purified the impurities from the demon’s core, leaving only the purest energy. With no concern for filth, he popped one directly into his mouth.

His expression alternated between agony—drenched in sweat—and a gentle smile, the sweat on his brow turning to white steam. After half a stick of incense’s time, his eyes snapped open. He suddenly burst out laughing, “Hahaha! So this is another way to use the Southern Ember Truefire Technique!”

His sudden laughter left Xu Cheng and Liao Zhen bewildered, both of them staring at him, waiting for an explanation.

“Judging by your faces, you still haven’t grasped the true essence of spells. Cultivating a technique isn’t just about forming the symbols; every symbol contains the laws of heaven and earth. If you know only the use but not the meaning, you’re only skimming the surface.

“The Southern Ember Truefire is pure yang. Just now, refining the demon’s core created a pill of extreme yin. When I swallowed it, half my body felt like ice, the other half scorched as if immersed in molten rock! In my torment, every spell-symbol flashed through my mind, and I saw the sparks within them. That insight let me comprehend the true principle of the fire, dissolving the yin-cold energy in the pill. So this is what spells truly are!”

As he finished, sparks flickered in his eyes. He pressed his hand to the earth.

The ground around them slowly began to glow red, the temperature rising rapidly. Had Xu Cheng and Liao Zhen been ordinary men, they would have been cooked alive.

“Senior Brother, stop! We’re here to investigate the cavern, not destroy it!” Xu Cheng grew angry—if any further trouble arose, the three of them might not be able to bear the consequences.

But it was as if he were possessed; he refused to stop.

The ground was about to turn to magma. Only then did Xu Cheng and Liao Zhen realize that he seemed fused with the earth itself—they couldn’t move him at all.

Left with no choice, they retreated from the cavern’s seal.

Within a hundred yards, the temperature kept climbing. What was he trying to do? The ground began to bulge, like a volcano forming. Xu Cheng and Liao Zhen kept backing away. Soon a small volcano stood where the cavern had been, spewing lava in all directions.

It was a sight seldom seen—a manmade volcano.

Half an hour later, a massive volcanic rock came hurtling toward Xu Cheng and Liao Zhen. They dodged just in time, and the stone crashed down, leaving a vast crater.

Once the heat subsided, they peered over the edge—and who else but their companion was lying in the pit?

His hair was gone, replaced by a crown of flame, and his eyes glowed molten orange-red.

“You… have you gone mad from fire deviation?” Xu Cheng pointed at him, stunned—he looked every bit the part.

“Who told you that? This is the Rebirth by Fire of the Southern Ember Truefire Technique!” Gradually, the flames covering him died down. The one who had always been dark-skinned and roguish was now pale and refined, more like a scholar than a Daoist.

Yet that scholarly air lasted only an instant before he reverted to his old, unruly self.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!” Suddenly, from the little volcano he had made, a chorus of dog barks rang out.

All three looked over. From the mouth of the volcano emerged enormous wolves, each taller than a man, their bodies wreathed in fire.

Liao Zhen shot him a glare, as if to say, “Look at what you’ve done now!”

With the situation growing dire, the three had no choice but to charge forward. Each flame hound exuded the aura of a newly-initiated cultivator, but their numbers were overwhelming.

“Kill!” The three didn’t hesitate. At first, to conserve their true energy, they intended to use only martial arts. But as they closed in, they saw the flame hounds’ protruding fangs and blood-red eyes, their bodies shrouded in murderous intent. Even their dripping saliva was molten rock.

Bare fists would not suffice—they would be wounded. Liao Zhen, a sword cultivator, unleashed her power to the fullest—any flame hound that neared her was shredded by sword energy.

Xu Cheng activated the Supreme Golden Body. The claws and fangs of the flame hounds scratched at him, producing only a harsh sizzling sound, unable to breach his defense. So he could focus on pummeling them without the need to dodge.

The one in the greatest peril, ironically, was the very man who claimed to have comprehended the principle of flame. These hounds were unfazed by his Southern Ember Truefire; they even devoured his flames, growing larger with each mouthful, forcing him into close combat with these ferocious beasts.

Holding back the tide of monsters was only a temporary measure—more and more hounds kept pouring out.

Growing anxious, Xu Cheng unleashed the Netherworld Vortex technique, carefully controlling its direction so as not to draw in his companions. The flame hounds, as soon as they approached the vortex, shrank rapidly and were sucked into the black hole in his palm.

The effect was astonishing. Concentrating fully, Xu Cheng maintained the Netherworld Vortex, even withdrawing his Supreme Golden Body.

The giant hounds charged fearlessly into the black hole, like moths to a flame, and were all consumed by the vortex. No matter how many came, the threat to the three lessened.

But Xu Cheng’s true energy was depleting rapidly. If more hounds appeared, he would be exhausted.

Desperate, Xu Cheng suddenly remembered the countless palm techniques etched in runes on the hand of the richly dressed man in Fulai Town, and what his companion had said about the sparks within the spell-symbols.

A thread of heaven’s law.

He recalled the flickering points of light within the Netherworld Vortex spell-symbol.

The Netherworld Vortex did not merely send people and objects to the underworld—it also held a meaning of sacrifice.

“Sacrifice…” Xu Cheng whispered. All the flame hounds caught in the vortex ignited with a pale white flame. Even those capable of devouring the Southern Ember Truefire could not resist; in an instant, they vanished.

At the same time, a cool energy surged through Xu Cheng’s body, restoring his depleted strength. The power of the Netherworld Vortex seemed to grow as well.

With the technique replenishing him, the last thread of danger vanished.

An hour later, no more flame hounds emerged.

The sacrifice of those hounds left him with surplus true energy. Xu Cheng gathered it in his palm, forming a black orb the size of an egg, pure nether energy swirling with clouds of darkness—a beautiful ornament, it seemed.

But Xu Cheng knew: if he unleashed the storm within, it would explode, wiping out all life for ten miles around.