Chapter 2

Zhong Yue was taken aback. The voice he just heard was not his imagination, but there was only the skeleton of the strange man here besides himself...

"Could it be..."

Even though Zhong Yue was usually fearless, he couldn't help but turn pale and shiver.

"Where are you looking? I'm here!"

The voice came again, clearly displeased: "Young man, I'm asking you a question. Which Fuxi reign is it now?"

Zhong Yue stared blankly at the lamp in his hand, stammering, unable to speak. The voice had actually come from inside the lamp!

A four-winged golden bird was strange enough, and the black mist that ate people was even stranger, but the strangest thing was this lamp, this talking, strange lamp!

"Your bloodline has become so low that I can hardly detect it. Has the Fuxi divine clan really fallen to such a state?"

The voice inside the lamp sounded somewhat melancholic.

"Fuxi divine clan? Are you talking about me?"

Zhong Yue was puzzled and leaned in to look at the lamp. There was nothing unusual under the lampshade. The flame was dim, only as tall as a finger joint, and it was impossible to tell where the voice was coming from.

Suddenly, Zhong Yue's eyes fixed on the flame. It wasn't a flame at all, but a tiny doll with a big head, no bigger than a finger!

The little doll had fair skin, wore a small golden robe, and had a head full of fiery red hair. If you didn't look closely, it really looked like a flame!

"Is there such a peculiar creature in the world?"

Zhong Yue blinked, staring curiously at the little doll in the flame. The little doll glared at him angrily: "Young man of the Fuxi divine clan, I asked you which Fuxi reign it is now, and you haven't answered me yet!"

"Fuxi?"

Zhong Yue came to his senses and laughed: "You mean the legendary Xi Emperor? There is only one Xi Emperor, the legendary Earth Emperor and Heavenly Emperor. How can there be more than one? Besides, I'm not of the Fuxi divine clan; I'm of the human race."

"That's not right, not right at all!"

The little doll in the lamp jumped up, as if the flame was flickering: "Totally wrong! Fuxi is a title, not a name. It represents the Earth Emperor, the Supreme Heavenly Emperor! Before I went into hibernation, there were already nine generations of Fuxi! The first Fuxi ascended to the Heavenly Emperor position and reigned for 18,000 years, passing the throne to the second Fuxi, Yi Yi, who reigned for over 15,000 years, then to Shi Yi, who passed it to Tai Hao, who passed it to Hao Yi, who passed it to Shao Hao, who passed it to Ji Jie, who passed it to Xi Hao, making a total of nine generations of Fuxi!"

Zhong Yue was speechless. He had heard the elders of the Sword Gate say that Fuxi was the Earth Emperor of ancient times, and there was only one. But this strange little doll in the lamp claimed there were nine!

The little doll walked back and forth on the wick, muttering: "How long have I been in hibernation this time? How can the kids today not even know Fuxi? He is clearly of the Fuxi divine clan, though his bloodline is a bit diluted. But he insists he's of the human race. What kind of race is the human race among all the races? I've never heard of it."

The little doll jumped out of the lamp and onto Zhong Yue's arm, walking back and forth, giving him a burning sensation. The little doll muttered: "Something must have happened that I don't know about. What year is it now? What era have I slept through this time..."

Zhong Yue reminded him: "I've heard that the Xi Emperor is a holy emperor from ancient times, many tens of thousands of years ago. Now it's the era of the human emperors... By the way, what are you?"

He scratched his head, unsure how to address the little thing. The little doll in the flame said listlessly: "I'm called Xin Huo. The Su Emperor... never mind, you don't even know much about Fuxi, so it's pointless to explain. Take me away from here. I need to find a successor to pass on the Xin Huo legacy. In exchange, I'll give you some benefits!"

The little doll suddenly disappeared. Zhong Yue was puzzled, but then he heard Xin Huo's voice in his head: "Is this the soul visualization technique you practice? A noble Fuxi divine clan practicing such a lowly and crude method, disgracing all the Fuxi emperors! Don't look around; I'm in your mind. Just focus your spirit and visualize a sea of stars in your third eye, and you'll see me. I'll teach you, just follow me..."

"Visualize the mind? That requires a high level of cultivation. Not many outer disciples can do it! Can the method you teach me really allow me to visualize the mind?"

Zhong Yue was skeptical but tried the method Xin Huo taught. Suddenly, his "vision" flickered, and he found himself in a strange place, floating above a lake!

The lake was as clear as jade, about ten zhang in diameter, with a floating Sword Gate above it.

This Sword Gate was shaped like a sword, split into two halves.

Zhong Yue was greatly shocked. He had actually "seen" his mind!

He had practiced for years, trying to visualize his mind, but had never "seen" it before, mainly because his cultivation level was not high enough. He never expected to achieve this so quickly with Xin Huo's guidance!

This cultivation speed was unbelievable!

In front of Zhong Yue, Xin Huo floated like a small flame, flying around in his mind, saying: "This Sword Gate is the method you use to cultivate your soul, right? Pitiful, truly pitiful. A noble descendant of Fuxi has no proper cultivation method and practices such a low-level technique. And you've been practicing for a long time, yet your mind is still so small, showing how low-level your method is!"

Zhong Yue's face turned red as he argued: "This is the Sword Gate's Out-of-Body Visualization Technique. Although it's not the best soul cultivation method, it's not crude. It's the best I can learn!"

To become a cultivator, one must first cultivate the soul.

The Sword Gate treats all outer disciples equally, teaching them the Out-of-Body Visualization Technique.

Practicing this soul cultivation method forms a Sword Gate in the mind. Once the spirit soul breaks through the Sword Gate, it can leave the body and fly.

"The best soul cultivation method?"

Xin Huo sneered: "Practicing this method leaves the soul in a daze, not knowing what the soul is. A breeze can scatter it, sunlight can dissolve it, and a lightning strike can destroy it. This kind of soul is the weakest, dissolving in water, burning in fire, and petrifying in earth. It's very dangerous. The true soul cultivation method involves visualizing the divine, strengthening the soul, and making it invulnerable to wind, light, lightning, water, and fire. That's the authentic method."

Zhong Yue was stunned. Xin Huo was right. The cultivators in the outer hall of the Sword Gate had also said that reaching the stage of the soul leaving the body was extremely dangerous and required cultivation in the outer hall, away from the elements, to avoid the soul being scattered by contact with the elements.

"How do you practice the authentic method?" Zhong Yue asked, unwilling to give up.

"I'll teach you!"

Xin Huo landed on his shoulder, smugly saying: "Finding me means we have a connection. In theory, you should be the next Xin Huo successor, but your bloodline is too diluted, which would disgrace me. Help me find a pure-blooded Fuxi divine clan member, and I'll teach you how to cultivate. Your soul is not weak, so you can practice the Fire Age Palace Su Emperor Visualization Technique."

"Xin Huo, I'm really not a divine clan member. The people around me are just like me. They can't all be divine clan members, can they?"

Zhong Yue scratched his head: "Can the human race practice the Fire Age Palace Su Emperor Visualization Technique?"

Xin Huo smiled: "Although I don't know why the Fuxi divine clan has fallen to such a state, you are indeed a divine clan member and can practice my visualization technique."

Soon, Zhong Yue had to admit that the Fire Age Palace Su Emperor Visualization Technique was far superior to the Sword Gate's Out-of-Body Visualization Technique.

The Sword Gate's method uses sword qi to sever the connection between the soul and the body, allowing the soul to leave the body. This is extremely burdensome for both the soul and the body.

In contrast, the Fire Age Palace Su Emperor Visualization Technique hones the essence, energy, and spirit, nurturing the soul. A strong soul can leave the body more easily, with less burden. A strong soul is also less vulnerable to external forces, making it safer.

"The mind is the gathering of the spirit. The stronger the spirit, the wider the mind, and the easier it is to visualize."

Xin Huo stood on Zhong Yue's shoulder, two beams of light shooting from his eyes, forming a magnificent pattern a few zhang in front of Zhong Yue. "This is the first Su Emperor of the Fire Age Palace, revered as the Heavenly Emperor, who initiated the Fire Age, with a total of thirty-two Su Emperors! To visualize the divine, you must visualize a Heavenly Emperor who rules all races and opens a new era. Now, imagine yourself as the Su Emperor, residing in the Fire Age Palace, ruling over all gods and races!"

Zhong Yue examined the pattern closely. It had three layers. The first layer was the Su Emperor, with a dragon's head, a snake's tail, and a human body, dragon horns on his head, and dragon scales on his body. The texture of his skin resembled ancient script, seemingly containing profound truths.

Just this layer was extremely difficult to visualize, focusing on the essence, energy, and spirit of the Su Emperor, capturing his divine aura, the strength of a ruler who opened a new era, which was incredibly challenging!

The second layer was the Fire Age Palace, the divine temple of the Heavenly Emperor. The pattern projected by Xin Huo's eyes was already quite simplified, but it was still extremely complex for Zhong Yue. The grand and majestic palace, towering over all ages, was very difficult to visualize.

The third layer was the Fire Tree in front of the Fire Age Palace, with a vast canopy, towering high, clouds swirling around the branches, and large birds perched on them.

Each leaf of the Fire Tree was unique, making it even more difficult to visualize the entire tree.

The difficulty of visualizing the entire Fire Age Palace Su Emperor pattern was countless times greater than the Sword Gate pattern!

The intricacy was also countless times greater!

Zhong Yue studied it for a moment, thinking: "If I want to visualize this pattern completely, with all its details, it's impossible. I must capture the essence, energy, and spirit of the Su Emperor, the grandeur of the Fire Age Palace, and the majesty of the Fire Tree, and then gradually refine them. That's the right path."

With this in mind, he closed his eyes and focused, imagining himself as the Su Emperor, residing in the Fire Age Palace.

Suddenly, waves surged in his mind. Zhong Yue's soul grew larger, his feet disappeared, turning into a snake's tail, and his head transformed into a dragon's head, resembling the Su Emperor in the pattern!

Not only that, but the surging waves in his mind began to form the shape of the Fire Age Palace around him, and a Fire Tree slowly grew in front of the palace!

The little doll on Zhong Yue's shoulder was startled: "To visualize the Fire Age Palace, the Su Emperor, and the Fire Tree so quickly? This divine clan member, though his bloodline is a bit diluted, has excellent comprehension, not inferior to the pure-blooded divine clan members I've met before..."