310: Ice and Fire

If the appearance of the Southern Heaven Gate were merely some devil being petty and trying to harm the righteous immortals, these True Immortals and Golden Immortals would still have the strength to put up a fight.

That is, provided the legends were all just smoke and mirrors.

However, ascending to the Divine Realm had long become the highest aspiration for cultivators. Although it had been a long time since anyone had opened the gates to the Divine Realm, since ancient times, countless great figures had taken that step, rising straight into the blue clouds like meteors streaking across the sky.

There were even records of thousands of immortals stepping onto the cloud peaks, meditating on the heavens, and ascending on the same day, as if feeling the call of the Divine.

One can only imagine what a magnificent sight that must have been.

Yet, Venerable Baimei dismissed it lightly, saying only that a villain was causing mischief. His prestige was simply not enough to dispel the obsession with ascension held by the group of Great Immortals.

This was something Chen Tianming had anticipated long ago.

He had deliberately added a touch of spiritual power to the murals. Under the influence of the rumors about ascension, the great cultivators were all too willing to believe the contents depicted on the walls.

Thus, Chen Tianming's spiritual power easily invaded their sea of consciousness, subtly altering the thoughts of almost all the Great Immortals.

This subtle change was something even Golden Immortals could not easily detect.

Only a Great Immortal like Baimei, who was at the Daluo realm and already had a chance at ascension, could barely sense a vague hostility within the murals.

Therefore, at this moment, even if a Daluo Golden Immortal were to speak up to warn them, it would be difficult to convince the crowd.

However, Baimei's strength was evident, so the Great Immortals dared not speak their minds.

Venerable Baimei continued to lead the way forward.

Ahead, there was a flash of light.

Everyone thought they had reached the exit, but when they probed with their divine sense, they discovered that the path ahead was filled with fiery red magma!

A scorching high temperature rushed towards them, and the magma seemed to be on the verge of erupting.

Now, everyone feared for their own safety and halted their steps.

Although the golden bodies of the Great Immortals did not fear the Samadhi True Fire, the murals had already led their sea of consciousness to believe that the Southern Heaven Gate was a trial sent down by the Divine Realm.

Was this expanse of boiling magma perhaps one of the trials set by the gods?

Thus, under this pressure, they retreated one after another, leaving Baimei and his son at the very front.

But then they saw Venerable Baimei flick his hand, and everyone thought a silver thorn had flown out.

Suddenly, a cone of magic power enveloped the entire magma cavern.

Only then did they see clearly that the object Baimei had thrown was actually a miniature flying sword, no longer than a little finger.

And the spiritual power that held back the magma was the sword qi emitted by Venerable Baimei!

A single sword was enough to hold back the magma.

This level of mastery over sword qi could be described as nothing short of divine.

At this moment, Baimei also said to the crowd:

"Everyone, look! This is just ordinary magma; it poses no threat at all!"

He was high and mighty, feeling as though he controlled everything.

Little did he know that Chen Tianming had already arranged a perfect opportunity for him to be slapped in the face.

Baimei directed the crowd to step into the magma.

He himself used his vast and terrifying spiritual power to instantly flatten the magma.

The magma was viscous but liquid; with a casual push, it flew out of the cave, enveloping the group and surging out of the volcano with menacing momentum.

Matters having reached this point, and with Baimei's protection, the crowd had no choice but to proceed.

Following Baimei forward, the magma slowly ceased.

Then, it suddenly solidified.

Baimei immediately shouted:

"Everyone, be careful! The frost and cold air are coming!"

Sure enough, the next moment, blue frost surged out fiercely.

It swept through the cavern like a blue flame storm.

However, while flames leave scorch marks, this storm could freeze everything; even the magma was encased in ice and covered in frost.

The group hurriedly reinforced their shields to resist the cold.

The True Immortals were formidable and were able to block the cold air completely.

This gave Baimei another chance to show off.

"Look! You have all seen it for yourselves! This so-called relic is man-made. His strength might indeed be great, but with just this level of power, it will be very easy for us to capture him!"

Now, everyone felt reassured.

Everyone thought that as long as they persisted, they would obtain the true teachings of a Daluo Golden Immortal.

One by one, they rushed forward as if injected with adrenaline.

According to experience, the frost and cold air lasted longer.

The magma, however, erupted once and would pass quickly, which would then reveal the Ice Crystal Palace.

Baimei's actions led everyone to believe:

Since both the magma and the cold air were ordinary and posed no threat, why not press on in one go, rush in, and find that villain?

When that time came, they would obtain Baimei's life's work, leap directly to the Golden Immortal realm, and perhaps if they were lucky, they could truly ascend to the heavens in one step!

But they did not see Chen Tianming in the back, the corners of his mouth curling up into a silent smile.

Amidst the cold, the group covered a significant distance.

When the cold air vanished and the temperature gradually returned to normal, everyone raced against each other, fearing they might be a split second behind.

Following the previous pattern, the temperature began to rise, reaching its peak, and the scorching magma appeared once more.

This time, there was no need for Venerable Baimei to act.

A group of Great Immortals, eager to show their sincerity, charged forward.

Their spells and techniques emerged one after another.

Even the Great Immortals who had mastered the Great Dao of Fire Yang were unwilling to pass up this opportunity, releasing the last bit of pure spiritual power within them.

At the front of the cavern, a blaze of light swirled.

The terrifying spiritual power seemed to form an unbreakable wall.

Never mind a little magma; it would be more than enough to handle an entire volcano.

They were in high spirits, their mouths curling up in smug satisfaction.

But they did not expect that the next moment:

In an instant, their sea of spells shattered!

Their spiritual power collapsed, and the special effects that had been blooming gorgeously just a moment ago turned to dust.

A sea of fire rushed towards them, waves of heat rolling in, turning the very air into a temperature too high to breathe.

Although Great Immortals did not need to breathe, this temperature was far beyond what they could withstand.

Before the fire even touched them, their spirit armor and battle robes began to melt and burn.

Even with hundreds of miniature defensive arrays on their bodies, it was of no use.

Tongues of fire spat out, claiming a dozen lives, and the immortals perished.

Almost all the Great Immortals at the very front of the group were annihilated.

Those who were lucky enough to survive had flames on their bodies that could not be extinguished; they turned into human torches, running back while screaming hideously.

"Quick! Run! It's the Samadhi True Fire!"

Upon hearing this terrifying name, all the Great Immortals turned and fled!

Although everyone present had the strength of Great Immortals, and some among them had mastered the Great Dao of Speed and could retreat quickly.

But the speed of most Great Immortals was not even half as fast as the magma.

Just as the entire group was about to be wiped out, Qisheng stepped forward.

"Don't panic! Lend me your spiritual power!"

The group saw Qisheng dancing about as if performing Tai Chi, with sixteen continuously shifting arrays appearing in the center of his palms.

As the arrays intertwined, a brand new, obscure, and complex array unfolded before him.

In the terrified eyes of the crowd, the terrifying tongues of fire instantly rushed toward the array.

With a deafening roar, everyone closed their eyes, but when they opened them, they discovered that their bodies were completely unharmed.