Chapter 3

The flames roared, burning fiercely!

Endless flames filled the world.

As Yang Qifeng stepped onto the half-meter-high platform, he immediately noticed something different. Thin strands of light yellow flames began to flow into his ethereal body.

This light yellow flame began to nourish his illusory body, like a long-droughted land finally receiving sweet rain. As the light yellow flames continuously condensed within his body, his previously hazy and insubstantial form became much more solid.

Carefully observing the changes in his body, Yang Qifeng was overjoyed.

Ingesting the flames to strengthen himself, this path was clearly viable.

Yang Qifeng calmed his mind, focused his spirit, and began to actively attract the surrounding flames. The thin strands of light yellow flames, following Yang Qifeng's movements, had transformed into streams of light yellow flames.

From thin strands, they had become as thick as ropes.

A gentle glow emanated from Yang Qifeng's body, and the effects of absorbing the flames were immediate. His ethereal body gradually became more solid.

Time passed bit by bit, and Yang Qifeng had forgotten the passage of time, immersed in boundless pleasure, continuously ingesting the surrounding flames.

Yes, it was pleasure. Ingesting the flames produced a comfortable sensation, which made Yang Qifeng deeply engrossed.

Time flowed slowly. When Yang Qifeng opened his eyes again, it was already five days later. Reopening his eyes, Yang Qifeng observed the changes in his body. His form had completely solidified, and not only that, his size had recovered to the size of a basketball. The injuries he had sustained from the wave of flames had fully healed.

Closing his eyes again, Yang Qifeng re-entered his cultivation.

The light yellow flames that had stopped surging with Yang Qifeng's awakening once again rolled in.

The violent, rolling flames, upon touching the flame platform, instantly became gentle, transforming from fierce wolves into docile sheep in an instant.

Time continued to pass. In cultivation, years seemed like moments. When Yang Qifeng awoke from his cultivation again, three months had already passed.

After checking his body, Yang Qifeng did not immediately resume cultivation but fell into deep thought.

Ingesting flames for cultivation was a broad and smooth path, one that could not be abandoned. However, how to walk this path required Yang Qifeng to think carefully.

During cultivation, Yang Qifeng was unaware of the passage of time, but upon waking, he could keenly sense that the three months of cultivation had yielded little progress. His body had only doubled in size, from the size of a basketball to the size of a washbasin. This rate of cultivation was far from satisfactory for Yang Qifeng.

Three months, for a cultivator, was a negligible amount of time. It was embarrassing to say one had only meditated for a year or two. However, for Yang Qifeng, who was just an ordinary person in his previous life, three months was a quarter of a year. How many years does one have in life, and how many quarters?

The human perspective from his previous life firmly occupied Yang Qifeng's mind. Without conflict, these notions could not be changed.

Looking around the flame platform, even without actively absorbing the flames, the platform would still draw some flames into Yang Qifeng's body. This was a good thing, and Yang Qifeng knew that his ability to actively absorb the flames, making the light yellow flames obediently ingestible, was not his own skill but the effect of the flame platform.

The flame platform was a treasure for cultivation. Given his situation, Yang Qifeng knew that once he left the flame platform, the flames would not obediently be ingested by him.

Fire is a symbol of restlessness and violence.

Therefore, he could not leave the flame platform. What he needed to change was how to absorb the flames.

It is well known that the cultivation of demons is extremely arduous. Most demons start as mindless beasts. They occasionally consume heavenly treasures or frequently absorb the essence of the moon at night, gradually awakening some consciousness. From a state of confusion, they gain simple awareness and begin to actively seek the essence of the sun and moon. However, this "active" behavior is merely instinctual absorption, and compared to cultivators with cultivation methods, the speed of their cultivation is vastly different. This is the tragedy of demons, often spending a thousand years in cultivation, yet not matching a few decades of cultivation by others.

Disciples of famous sects, after cultivating for twenty years and possessing a decent magical weapon, can easily slay demons that have cultivated for hundreds of years. Such occurrences are common in the world.

After three months of cultivation, Yang Qifeng immediately became alert, realizing that his active cultivation was no different from those tragic demons. Without a cultivation method, it was unknown when he would truly achieve success.

However, unlike newly awakened demons, Yang Qifeng had read various Daoist scriptures in his previous life. In the modern environment, with the explosion of information, various Daoist texts were no longer hidden away as they were in ancient times. As long as one could access the internet, there were abundant annotated Daoist texts from various schools.

This was his advantage, and Yang Qifeng was aware of it.

In the environment of his previous life, Daoist scriptures were useless, but in a world where Daoist magic was manifest, whether the knowledge in his mind was useful could be tested.

Glancing around, Yang Qifeng focused his mind and began to silently recite the *Tao Te Ching*.

Yang Qifeng chose to test the *Tao Te Ching* first, not because he was from the Laojun Temple, but because the *Tao Te Ching* was of utmost importance in Daoism. In his previous life, the *Tao Te Ching* was revered by the Hundred Schools of Thought and was a significant source of Daoist philosophical thought. As the founder of Daoism, Laozi held a unique status.

As a professional Daoist with lofty aspirations, the *Tao Te Ching* was the scripture that Yang Qifeng had studied most deeply.

He had internalized it to the point where reciting it backward was not difficult.

"The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the origin of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of all things. Therefore, always be without desire to observe its subtlety. Always be with desire to observe its manifestations. These two emerge together but have different names. They are both called profound. Profound and again profound, the gateway to all subtleties......"

The entire text of over five thousand characters was repeatedly recited by Yang Qifeng.

Suddenly, countless flames surged, forming a massive pillar of fire that enveloped Yang Qifeng's body.

Yang Qifeng's mind sank into a state of emptiness, entering a meditative state.