A sky full of flaming stones rained down like a meteor shower, the dazzling scarlet rocks colliding with one another, spitting out brilliant, dazzling, deadly radiance. The light wove into a net, blotting out the heavens and descending from above.

Within the dense hurricane of heatwaves, strange spots shimmered quietly, suddenly erupting with earth-shattering energy. The terrifying power seemed intent on annihilating heaven and earth.

……

Ji Changkong and Meng Gang, struggling to evade the rain of falling flaming stones, were suddenly confronted by a fierce gust of hurricane ahead. Both were struck with great alarm, gathering all their spiritual power and fleeing with maximum speed, narrowly escaping the approaching tempest.

Two flares erupted unexpectedly within the hurricane, their violent, shuddering waves echoing from afar, instilling fear in all who perceived them.

……

Flames boiled, and the intense fire, driven by some mysterious force, instantly engulfed the two men.

Meng Gang, completely submerged by the flames, was forced to concentrate all his spiritual power to barely cope with the surging sea of fire. After the flames subsided, Meng Gang’s spiritual power was heavily depleted.

Ji Changkong, also caught within the blaze, found his Divine Soul completely unharmed, without even expending any spiritual power. Existing purely as a Divine Soul within the flames, he actually utilized the power of the fire sea to temper his soul. By the time Meng Gang struggled through the fire's assault, Ji Changkong’s soul had subtly advanced.

……

In a remote corner of a mountain cave, while evading the sweeping hurricane, Ji Changkong and Meng Gang suddenly sensed a violent assault on their Divine Souls emanating from the shadows. The power contained within was extremely overbearing, instantly closing in on Ji Changkong.

At the cost of several times his usual spiritual power, Ji Changkong instantly condensed a single Heavenly Fire. After unleashing that Heavenly Fire, it collided with the incoming soul attack.

The hastily condensed Heavenly Fire failed to slay the attacker, only managing to disperse the soul strike. Afterward, the assailant lurking in the darkness silently vanished among the scarlet stones, instantly leaving no trace.

……

On their journey toward the Heart of the Sun, the pair encountered countless perils. Some dangers arose from the natural crises within the Sun itself, while others stemmed from the Eight Trigrams Heavenly Scholars cultivating along the route.

Some Eight Trigrams Heavenly Scholars who lacked the confidence to enter the Heart of the Sun for cultivation, or those who were merely masters paused mid-journey like themselves, lurked in the shadows, launching surprise attacks on passing Heavenly Scholars they believed they could handle. Their hope was to siphon off the victims' spiritual power to replenish their own, thus gaining greater certainty in remaining to cultivate or entering the Heart of the Sun.

These Eight Trigrams Heavenly Scholars hidden in every corner of the path were far stronger than those cultivating on the Sun's surface. Many among them surpassed the deceased Li Yan'er in strength, and their deliberate ambushes were incredibly subtle, often impossible for ordinary people to detect.

Fortunately, Ji Changkong’s soul sense was transcendentally superior. He invariably detected the source of the attack at the most critical moments, allowing him to take timely countermeasures, which is why he repeatedly escaped from those ambushers.

The two endured immense hardship, repeatedly dodging crises and surviving the assaults of numerous hidden predators. Unconsciously, they had already covered more than half the distance.

“Damn it, this journey has been brutally arduous. We’ve faced over a dozen celestial disasters and been ambushed dozens of times by those lurking nearby. We truly have nine lives to still be alive now!” Meng Gang sighed in a secluded area entirely surrounded by Flame Mountains.

Having completed only half the journey, Meng Gang’s spiritual power was already depleted by nearly eighty percent. Continuing inward, it wouldn't take long before he lost it all.

Meng Gang was considered a figure of profound spiritual power even on the Sun’s surface, but upon entering this realm, under the constant dangers, he needed to expend massive spiritual power every time. Having narrowly escaped death repeatedly, his reserves were severely drained, leaving him nearly empty without realizing it.

Moving forward meant even greater peril; Meng Gang could run out of spiritual power at any moment. Retreating meant facing the same dangers they had just overcome, which was equally perilous.

Meng Gang was caught in a dilemma, smiling wryly, “Little brother, I overestimated my own ability and underestimated the dangers here. I never expected I’d actually become a burden to you.”

Ji Changkong laughed lightly, “Nonsense. Without you, I fear I would have died long ago inside. Many of the dangers we overcame required us to work together. If you weren't here, I doubt I could even reach the Heart of the Sun.”

This was not false modesty or an attempt to placate Meng Gang; it was the truth!

Throughout their journey, they faced too many perilous situations, many of which they only navigated through combined effort. Without Meng Gang’s assistance, he honestly wasn't confident he would have made it this far.

“Little brother, I can’t go on. It seems I won’t witness the Heavenly Fire. I apologize; I cannot fulfill my promise to accompany you to that final step,” Meng Gang sighed, his expression grim.

He knew his spiritual power was insufficient; advancing meant greater danger, but retreating was a dead end. Trapped in this abyss, he felt death drawing ever nearer.

“Rest assured, you will be fine,” Ji Changkong said, his face serious, humming softly. “Along this path, many people lurked in the shadows to ambush us, their goal being the spiritual power of both of us. Many of these people, like you, have insufficient spiritual power—advancing means certain death, and retreating means they might not survive either, so they remain hidden, waiting for an opportunity. Of course, there are also powerful individuals whose spiritual strength remains, lurking merely to cultivate their Divine Souls. In short, these passages are not devoid of people.”

Meng Gang blinked in surprise, then chuckled, “Little brother, you’re not... thinking of targeting those people, are you?”

Having survived these ordeals, Meng Gang lacked much confidence. The individuals who ambushed him from the shadows possessed realms deeper than his and superior soul cultivation. Faced with them, Meng Gang knew he wouldn't fare well even at full strength, let alone in his current state.

Throughout their travels, he had shared experiences with Ji Changkong. In his view, Ji Changkong’s spiritual power must also be immensely depleted; he surely lacked the necessary strength to fight those hidden masters.

It wasn't surprising he thought this way. Because Ji Changkong’s Divine Soul was peculiar, Meng Gang couldn't accurately gauge his spiritual reserves. Under such circumstances, he naturally assumed that Ji Changkong, having endured the same journey, must also be down to about eighty percent exhaustion.

Ji Changkong's spiritual depth might be slightly greater than his, but he felt the difference couldn't be substantial. In this situation, simply protecting oneself was a struggle, let alone harboring malicious intent.

“Yes, only by seizing the spiritual power within their Divine Souls can you preserve your life,” Ji Changkong nodded.

“Little brother, don't take risks! In our current condition, even if we combine forces, I doubt we could achieve much. Why don’t we wait in the shadows and see if some unlucky person stumbles upon us who has already expended too much spiritual power? That might be a viable strategy,” Meng Gang urged.

“I can wait; you cannot,” Ji Changkong shook his head. As long as they remained here, Meng Gang needed to continuously exert spiritual power to guard his soul. In his present condition, with only twenty percent of his usual spiritual power remaining, he couldn't last much longer.

“Little brother, don’t be reckless!” Meng Gang insisted.

Ji Changkong smiled, revealing a crucial piece of information to Meng Gang, “Don’t worry. Since entering this place, I have retained about seventy percent of my spiritual power! With seventy percent, if I truly intended to target someone, I assure you, I won't be the one suffering!”

“What? Are you joking?” Meng Gang was astonished. “How could you have only used thirty percent? We encountered so many troubles on the way! I used up eighty percent, how can you still have a full seventy left?”

Anticipating Meng Gang’s reaction, Ji Changkong looked at him deeply and explained, “For the natural crises along this path, aside from the flares within the hurricane that gave me pause… nothing else could harm me. Furthermore, in those seas of fire, I could borrow their power to cultivate. I never needed to expend spiritual power to ward off the fire sea’s intrusion on my Divine Soul!”

“This… how is that possible?” Meng Gang still couldn't believe it.

“You’ll understand shortly,” Ji Changkong gave a mysterious smile and stopped talking, actively walking toward the distance, neither hurried nor slow, as if strolling through his own backyard.

Meng Gang watched Ji Changkong with confusion, pondering the reason behind it.

……

Suddenly, a fiercely distinct soul fluctuation abruptly emanated from a massive flaming stone ahead. That stone shot forward with a Teng, its target aimed directly at Ji Changkong.

To Meng Gang’s observation, Ji Changkong seemed completely unguarded. His Divine Soul was instantly pierced by the flaming stone. His core soul remained intact, but the phantom body manifested by his soul was scorched a bizarre scarlet under the stone’s heat.

“Boy, you are far too careless! Here, you still dare to let your soul consciousness wander freely? Isn’t that an open invitation for others to target you?” A sharp soul-thought suddenly emerged from the flaming stone that had pierced Ji Changkong’s phantom body. In an instant, a faint, reddish soul silhouette manifested upon the stone.

It was an aged crone, her face etched with vicious amusement, her eyes gleaming with excitement as she stared at Ji Changkong’s core: “I have waited so long, and finally, I have caught the two of you as prey. Wonderful! After taking your spiritual power, I can travel another hundred li toward the Heart of the Sun! Heh heh, and I must thank the fools who kept sacrificing themselves along the way, otherwise, I fear I wouldn't have held out this long!”

Saying this, the old woman cackled darkly, stealthily approaching Ji Changkong. She split off a wisp of soul, manifesting a ghostly claw spanning several mu in size, grasping chunks of flaming stones and flinging them toward Ji Changkong’s phantom body.

She had clearly cultivated here for some time; she had learned to utilize the power within the flaming stones to deal with enemies. This woman was certainly not a novice in these passages; perhaps she had been trapped here for years, even a century!

The crone was extremely cautious. Having already injured Ji Changkong once while hidden within the stone, she still dared not approach closer. Instead, she used the massive ghostly claw conjured by her soul to launch the scattered flaming stones at Ji Changkong.

The flaming stones contained energy capable of burning spiritual power. If just a dozen stones hit Ji Changkong’s soul, his spiritual reserves could be depleted.

The crone was overcautious. She threw the stones one by one, partly to gauge Ji Changkong’s true realm and partly to preserve his spiritual power as much as possible. Once she felt she had the strength to kill him, she would immediately cease the bombardment and charge toward Ji Changkong, unleashing her soul power to destroy him and claim his residual spiritual energy.

“Heh heh, it’s good that you’ve come out. Now that you’re revealed, things are simpler,” Ji Changkong smiled lightly, slightly sidestepping, his figure vanishing like shattered light.

The next moment, a torrential downpour of flaming stones rained from the sky, burying the spot where Ji Changkong had disappeared.

The old woman sensed something amiss and immediately stopped holding back, launching all the flaming stones clutched in her ghostly claw at once.

Simultaneously, the crone began to retreat. The direction of her withdrawal was toward Meng Gang’s position.

It seemed she had judged Meng Gang easier prey, preparing to satisfy her hunger on him first. Judging by the cold malice in her eyes, one could tell what fate awaited Meng Gang if she managed to reach him.

She was like a starved beast, her eyes locked onto Meng Gang, as if wishing to devour him whole.

Meng Gang was a resolute man, but under these circumstances, he couldn't suppress the chill in his heart. He was about to unleash his remaining spiritual power to teach the crone a bloody lesson before death.

“Can you run?” Ji Changkong sneered. Without any visible action from him, a sea of fire bizarrely erupted in front of the old woman, instantly engulfing her within it.

“Boy, you think a mere sea of fire can harm me? Heh heh, this sea of fire is my usual cultivation ground! It turns out your ability amounts to this little? I overestimated you!” the crone cackled within the flames, clearly showing disdain for the fire engulfing her.

“Ah! What… what is that? Ah, my soul, my soul!”

However, before she could reach Meng Gang, she suddenly shrieked. Within the sea of fire, a small flame she had disregarded suddenly struck, instantly consuming her.

Meng Gang’s eyes lit up, and he burst into laughter, “Little brother, thank you for the great gift!”

[Ti: Dear reader, the current chapter has reached the final page of this book]