The Celestial Fire, a single blossom, did not behave like the other surges of soul power, attempting to rush into the Heavenly Aperture where she resided with the utmost speed. Instead, it halted at the entrance of the fiery passage, choosing neither to attack nor retreat.

Rather, that single Celestial Fire hung suspended silently within the mouth of the fiery passage, effectively blocking the subsequent soul powers of the other six individuals from entering. It dammed the passage, releasing an intensely powerful sucking force that tightly ensnared the flames within the channel.

Whether it was the raging flames within the fiery passage itself, or the deadly auras infused with the scent of demise that drifted in from the Sea of Celestial Fire, all were drawn inexorably towards the single Celestial Fire under its captivating pull.

In an instant, that not-so-large Celestial Fire rapidly magnified itself amidst the chaotic influx of energies.

Even some of the death-tinged auras that had already entered Shang Bingjie’s Heavenly Aperture, along with the flame-infused Soul Skills originating from the six individuals outside, were gradually absorbed and gathered by the Celestial Fire’s influence.

When the power of that single Celestial Fire grew increasingly intense, reaching a critical threshold, Shang Bingjie immediately sensed the profound change occurring within the fire within the passage.

A stone dropped in Shang Bingjie’s heart. From the chaotic energy radiating off that Celestial Fire, she realized the terrifying power it would unleash if it managed to fall into her Heavenly Aperture. Fear gripped Shang Bingjie; she recognized the imminent danger and frantically sought a solution.

However, her Heavenly Aperture remained filled with unruly, chaotic soul power. This power originated from the experts in the other six Heavenly Apertures. Lacking any discernible pattern, these soul forces rampaged through her Aperture, hunting for her—the sole living being—attempting to utterly annihilate her within that space.

Outside, the barrier of the Heavenly Aperture was saturated with strange, potent energy. Shang Bingjie had already tested it: a tenfold increase in defensive strength was far beyond anything she could breach at her current level!

What now?

Panic flared in Shang Bingjie’s chest as she searched desperately for an escape route, yet racking her brain yielded no viable path.

True despair began to set in.

At that very moment, Shang Bingjie froze, staring blankly at the chaotic, disordered Celestial Fire within the fiery passage.

The Celestial Fire, which had been about to surge into the passage, actually retreated!

It had absorbed the flames from the passage, the dense death-intent from the Sea of Celestial Fire, and had also incorporated the various chaotic soul energies that had breached into her Heavenly Aperture. This jumble of disparate elements had made it increasingly uncontrollable. Should it have fallen into her Aperture, the resulting explosion would have instantly overwhelmed the space.

If its power ignited the forces from the six adversaries already filling her Heavenly Aperture, Shang Bingjie would have faced certain death!

Yet, at this most critical juncture—when Shang Bingjie believed her demise was certain—that Celestial Fire inexplicably reversed its course!

The surging power of the six individuals who had forced their way into the fiery passage was violently struck by the retreating Celestial Fire. Already immensely fierce, the fire, having absorbed such a mixture of chaotic energies, had become terrifyingly potent. The soul attacks unleashed by the peak masters of the six Heavenly Apertures were instantly shattered!

Ji Changkong, who was struggling intensely to control the increasingly unruly Celestial Fire, perceived the frenzied killing intent and confusion emanating from the experts in the six rival Heavenly Apertures. He knew those six were on the verge of madness.

Finally, the colossal Celestial Fire, having suctioned up too much disorderly power, exploded within Shang Bingjie’s fiery passage. The blast, terrifying like a solar flare, instantly annihilated Shang Bingjie’s fiery channel. Simultaneously, the aftershock of the explosion surged into the Sea of Celestial Fire, sweeping toward the other six Heavenly Apertures.

The six Bagua Celestial Masters, whose hearts were filled with killing intent toward Ji Changkong, instantly realized a massive surge of power had pierced into their own fiery passages. This explosive residual force was so violent that the six were compelled to divert all their focus, attempting to block the influx of energy entering their respective passages.

At that moment, the center of the Sea of Celestial Fire fell silent of the six individuals’ soul assaults. Shang Bingjie’s fiery passage was utterly destroyed, leaving her no means to retaliate against the others.

This was the exact moment Ji Changkong had been waiting for. Focusing all his mental power, Ji Changkong instantly traversed his own fiery passage. His soul shot into the Sea of Celestial Fire like lightning, moving even faster as he crossed the sea!

His soul passed through one corner of the Sea of Celestial Fire before a violent tremor was finally felt in the Heavenly Apertures of the six masters. Meanwhile, Shang Bingjie’s passage was completely lost.

Inside her own Heavenly Aperture, Shang Bingjie watched as the vast expanse of fire slowly faded, and the fiery passage above her head gradually healed. Suspended proudly within the internal world of her Aperture, her exquisitely beautiful face was etched with bewildered confusion.

She understood: that sudden Celestial Fire had helped her at the most crucial time by destroying her Aperture passage, preventing the peak Bagua Celestial Masters from the other six Apertures from continuing their assault. In essence, it had saved her life.

Yet, she had no idea why it had saved her, or even who the entity controlling it was.

Within her Heavenly Aperture rested a life essence derived from the Heart of the Sun—a force everyone coveted, enough to drive men mad. Any expert capable of entering a Heavenly Aperture would surely recognize the peculiar nature of this power. However, the entity had not only refrained from seizing it but had actively assisted her by blocking the forces of the other six.

Shang Bingjie was profoundly mystified.

“I must ask clearly!” Shang Bingjie swore silently, resolving that as soon as she absorbed the energy within her Heavenly Aperture, she would leave and uncover the truth of the situation.

With this thought, Shang Bingjie refocused her attention on her own Heavenly Aperture world. With the influence of the six gone, she could safely begin absorbing the power that had flooded into her Aperture.

Upon first entering the Sea of Celestial Fire, Ji Changkong found it difficult to adapt.

Even though he had once managed to stimulate a drop of Vermilion Bird essence blood in the magma pool beneath Fire Flame Mountain, thereby acquiring the Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird’s secret technique for fire manipulation, his soul still found the enclosure of the Sea of Celestial Fire incredibly harsh.

The flames that constituted the Sea of Celestial Fire originated from the Heart of the Sun and formed naturally. These Celestial Fires differed from the fires he had refined; they possessed a softer quality.

However, they were utterly pervasive, as fluid as water, yet seemingly possessing water’s very nature.

The Sea of Celestial Fire, an ocean composed of these flames, truly mimicked water’s form, seeping into every crevice. As soon as his soul descended into the Sea, the power of the Celestial Fires rushed into it. He had virtually no means of defense; mental power was useless in stopping the searing effect of the Celestial Fire here.

As his soul was completely submerged by the power of the Celestial Fire, he initially felt agonizing pain throughout his Divine Soul, which nearly collapsed.

Had his Divine Soul not been tempered by the essence of the flames in the magma pool a thousand feet beneath Fire Flame Mountain, it would have been instantly incinerated into smoke by the power of the Celestial Fire—just as he had used his own refined flames to burn the souls of others!

He spent a considerable amount of time adjusting before gradually becoming accustomed to the relentless invasion of the pervasive Celestial Fire energy. He did not waste effort trying to repel the intrusive flames with mental power, knowing it was futile.

After crossing a corner of the Sea of Celestial Fire, he paused temporarily, not rushing toward the center. Instead, he remained still within the Sea, opening his mind to slowly comprehend the Celestial Fire energy flowing into his soul.

The Sacred Beast Vermilion Bird was a sacred beast of flame, innately capable of controlling the flame energy between heaven and earth. Although the Celestial Fire birthed from the Heart of the Sun differed from his refined flames, it was still the power of fire. Wherever there is the power of fire, there are commonalities. Fire is like the fiercest beast; if you can tame it, it will settle down, becoming not your enemy, but your ally.

Holding this thought, Ji Changkong settled into the Sea of Celestial Fire, ceasing to dwell on the Nine Luminaries Life Tree or the impending crisis facing his soul. Opening his heart and soul, following the profundities of the Tai Xu Secret Record, he allowed his Divine Soul to enter a state of selflessness, gradually forgetting his objective.

He even began to forget who he was.

The violent flames within the Sea of Celestial Fire seemed to suddenly stabilize. The ferocious energy generated by the explosion from the sea’s center also appeared to become docile, releasing no savage shockwaves in his direction.

However, the life-giving energy contained within the Sea of Celestial Fire slowly drifted toward him from a great distance.

The streams of energy that should have been scattering chaotically seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, traveling for thousands of miles as if summoned by some marvelous power.

One by one, a dozen or so streams of that peculiar, vital energy from the Heart of the Sun—the very energy that had flooded into Shang Bingjie’s Heavenly Aperture—flew from all directions in the Sea of Celestial Fire. They approached Ji Changkong like slender serpents, coiling around his soul form.

These serpent-like, miraculous energies wrapped around Ji Changkong’s soul phantom, emitting strange halos of light, integrating into his soul phantom like water.

One serpentine stream of this peculiar energy vanished upon his soul phantom, while the remaining streams coiled around the empty spaces of his soul phantom, merging into it like liquid.

Gradually, the dozen or so streams of this coveted, rare energy disappeared one after another into Ji Changkong’s soul phantom.

At this point, Ji Changkong’s soul phantom assumed the form of three flames. At the core of each flame, tiny points of dazzling light shimmered, like the most beautiful diamonds, like individual stars in the vast cosmos, dazzling and brilliant!