402: Chapter 402 The Trial of Inheritance, The Power of Immortal Fire!

The palaces stretched on in continuous waves, with carved beams and painted rafters, exuding an ancient and weathered primordial aura that made one want to prostrate themselves in worship.

However, strangely enough, around this Immortal Palace—regarded as the greatest Opportunity within the Secret Realm—there were no powerful guardian Yao Beasts, nor were there the sword arrays or lightning punishment Restrictions commonly found in ordinary Secret Realms.

Instead, an endless sea of crimson fire completely surrounded the entire Immortal Palace.

This sea of fire was no ordinary mortal flame, nor was it even the common Pill Fire of a Cultivator.

The center of those flames actually displayed an eerie and bewitching jade color.

As the flames burned, they made no crackling sounds; there was only a suffocating silence.

The temperature was outrageously high; even from a distance of dozens of miles, that terrifying heatwave still left one's mouth and tongue parched.

Under the silent roasting of these jade-colored flames, the Void Realm around the Immortal Palace presented a terrifying scene of massive distortions, even appearing on the verge of collapse.

This was why no Yao Beast dared to approach; any living creature, once tainted by this flame, would instantly have even their Soul incinerated into nothingness!

“Is this... the one ranked in the top ten of the Ancient Divine Fire List—the Jade Tripod True Fire?”

Fairy Linglong looked up at the sea of fire that seemed ready to burn through the firmament. Her elegant brows furrowed tightly, and her originally confident expression instantly became incredibly solemn.

As the Holy Maiden of Taixuan, she was well-versed in the Sect's ancient texts and naturally possessed vast knowledge; she recognized this notoriously fierce ancient Immortal Fire at a glance.

This Jade Tripod True Fire was overbearing. Not only was its temperature extremely high, capable of melting most Immortal Gold and divine iron in the world, but more terrifyingly, it contained a trace of a complete ancient Law of Alchemy.

This Law specifically targeted Cultivators! It would ignore ordinary defensive Magic Treasures, directly scorching a Cultivator's Physical Body and blood Qi, and could even ignite the protective immortal power and Divine Soul within their bodies!

To pass through this sea of fire and enter the Immortal Palace, there were no clever shortcuts to take.

Either the Cultivator's own comprehension of the Law of Fire had reached a high enough Realm to contend with this Law of Alchemy, or they could only rely on an unreasonably powerful Physical Body to stubbornly endure the pain of the fire consuming them and force their way through!

“This... this fire... this fire is so scary!”

Just as Fairy Linglong was secretly alarmed and rapidly thinking of a countermeasure, Lu Li suddenly let out a terrified scream beside her.

Standing dozens of yards from the edge of the sea of fire, he deliberately pretended to be forced back several steps by the spreading terrifying heat, finally falling onto his backside on the ground.

His small face was pale, devoid of any color, and his forehead was covered in bean-sized beads of sweat. His entire body was shaking uncontrollably, looking exactly like a piece of trash with extremely weak fire resistance whose mental state had been completely shattered and who could be roasted through at any moment.

“Sister Linglong, I... I can't do it... I don't think I can get across...”

He looked up at Fairy Linglong piteously, his voice carrying a distinct sob. “My daddy said that although my Chaos Body is powerful, because it hasn't reached Major Achievement yet, the Yin and Yang within me aren't balanced. I'm most afraid of this kind of Immortal Fire that contains the Law of Extreme Yang... If I get even a little bit on me, my Origin will be ignited... Sister, how about we go back? We don't want the things inside this Immortal Palace anymore...”

Looking at Lu Li shivering on the ground with tears and snot flowing, a surge of nameless anger suddenly rose in Fairy Linglong's heart. She couldn't help but curse inwardly, “What a useless piece of trash!”

Her original plan had been excellent. According to the Sect's intelligence, the Chaos Body was one of the strongest Physiques in the world, capable of achieving physical sanctity.

She had hoped that once they reached this peril-filled core region, she could trick this foolish brat into using his abnormal Physical Body to take the brunt of the danger in front, while she could preserve her strength in the back and reap the rewards.

But looking at it now, although this unperfected Chaos Body possessed immense strength, when faced with this Jade Tripod True Fire that specifically countered its Origin, it was like a mouse seeing a cat—a completely fragile burden!

“Go back? How could I possibly go back! The grand ambitions of the Taixuan Immortal Sect and my own supreme Opportunity are all inside this Immortal Palace! Moreover...”

Fairy Linglong shot a subtle glance at Lu Li. In order to maintain the perfect persona of a 'lifesaver' and 'gentle big sister' she had worked so hard to build, she absolutely could not turn hostile now, let alone leave Lu Li behind.

Even if she didn't want the treasures in the Immortal Palace, if this kid died in the sea of fire, how would she answer to that madman Ancestor Qingyun? And how would she threaten Ancestor Qingyun into handing over the Chaos Origin? This boy was the most important bargaining chip in her hands; she had to bring him out of the Secret Realm alive and well!

“Damn it! It seems I'll have to pay a heavy price!”

Fairy Linglong secretly gritted her teeth, but on the surface, she forced a gentle, even slightly holy and radiant smile of reassurance.

“Xiao Li, don't be afraid. With Sister here, I will never let you suffer the slightest harm.”

She took a deep breath to calm the surging blood Qi within her, and then, with a solemn expression, she summoned an orb from the deepest part of her storage ring that radiated a pure, ice-blue light.

The moment that bead appeared, the surrounding distorted heat was instantly dispersed by a wave of extreme cold.

Tiny ice crystals even condensed out of thin air.

This was precisely one of the guardian treasures of her Taixuan Immortal Sect, and also her life-bound defensive Immortal Artifact—the 'sea heart bead'! This pearl was forged from ten-thousand-year-old Ice Marrow collected from beneath a ten-thousand-fathom abyss in the North Sea. It contained a vast Law of Water and was the ultimate counter to all fires in the world.

“Buzz—!”

As Fairy Linglong spat a mouthful of Essence Blood onto the sea heart bead, the bead emitted a crisp hum and instantly hovered above their heads.

Then, the bead spun rapidly, trailing down a blue water curtain that seemed almost solid and flowed with profound runes, firmly protecting Fairy Linglong and Lu Li within.

“The water curtain can isolate most of the True Fire's power. Let's go! Remember, no matter what happens, do not step outside the water curtain!”

Fairy Linglong pulled Lu Li up from the ground, tightly gripping his wrist. Taking a deep breath with a resolve to face death, she plunged headlong into that terrifying ocean of Jade Tripod True Fire.

“Boom!”

The moment they stepped into the range of the sea of fire, the originally silent and terrifying Jade Tripod True Fire was like a sleeping peerless Vicious Beast suddenly awakened, or a hungry shark smelling thick blood, instantly turning violent!

The overwhelming jade-colored flames tumbled and roared, transforming into fire dragons with bared fangs and claws, frantically lunging at the blue water curtain that dared to provoke their majesty.

“Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!”

As water and fire met, a sharp, scalp-numbing sound of violent evaporation instantly erupted.