Chapter 514 - 521: Red Lotus Karmic Fire

Her Divine Sense was also restricted, preventing her from sending it out. She could only raise a hand to shield her eyes and slowly adjust.

The deeper she went, the stronger the light became. Song Wanning slowly felt her way forward, her pace incredibly slow.

It wasn’t until about ten minutes later that the intense white light finally vanished.

She opened her eyes. It took a while for them to adjust, but she was finally able to see her surroundings clearly.

It was an underwater castle!

However, the castle wasn’t magnificent; it was built merely of stacked stones.

Song Wanning found herself in what looked like a main hall, surrounded by numerous stone tables and chairs. On the tables sat many bowls made from seashells.

After surveying her surroundings and finding nothing out of the ordinary, she headed around the nearest corner.

It led to another empty room, containing nothing but tables and chairs.

She searched several more rooms, but there was still no sign of Mu Zixu.

’Could it be that Mu Zixu never came in?’

A dark glint flashed in Song Wanning’s eyes. ’Or is there a secret passage here?’

"Little one, help me out. See if you can find anything unusual around here."

She summoned the Dragon Spirit again.

"Okay!"

The Dragon Spirit was eager to help. It focused its senses for a moment and, sure enough, found something peculiar.

"Sister, there’s something wrong with this wall!"

It suddenly pointed in one direction, a sharp glint in its eyes.

"There must be a hidden mechanism behind it!"

"Alright, I’ll take a look."

Concealing the dark glint in her eyes, Song Wanning began to figure out how to open the mechanism.

Meanwhile, Mu Zixu had already entered the inner stone chamber. As he gazed at the underwater volcano before him, an astonishing light burst from his eyes.

"Haha, I’ve finally found it!!!"

Over a decade ago, in the ruins of an elder’s estate, he had learned of a volcano at the bottom of the Wuyang Sea that led to the Netherworld.

And within this volcano lay the renowned Abnormal Fire: the Red Lotus Karmic Fire.

As an Alchemy Cultivator, fire was of the utmost importance to him.

If his Immortal Fire could devour the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, it would surely be upgraded again!

Then, the Elixir Pills he refined would be a cut above Daoqing’s!!!

By now, Mu Zixu’s passion for Alchemy had soured. It was more about proving his own power, proving that he was far superior to Daoqing.

Yet, he himself seemed unaware of this, his eyes filled with ambition.

Gazing at the long-extinct volcano, he took out a Magical Treasure to shield himself, then leaped up to the edge of the crater.

The crater was pitch-black; nothing could be seen clearly.

He casually flicked out a ball of fire, providing a small amount of light.

And so, he jumped straight down.

He was determined to have the Red Lotus Karmic Fire!

Meanwhile, after some trial and error, Song Wanning finally opened the mechanism and entered a narrow, winding path.

Moments later, she came upon a volcano.

’This volcano is buried under the sea. It must have fallen in from somewhere... or perhaps it’s the result of a great terrestrial upheaval...’

’How could a volcano at the bottom of the sea even erupt?’

’It’s very likely this volcano came from somewhere else.’

Song Wanning thought of the Great War of antiquity. The world had collapsed then, space itself had shifted; perhaps that was how this volcano ended up in the Wuyang Sea.

But none of that mattered. What was important was that Mu Zixu seemed to know about the volcano and had made a beeline for it.

She narrowed her eyes. ’The most likely things to find inside a volcano are a Fire Spirit or a sentient Abnormal Fire.’

’While not on the level of an Immortal Fire, such things are incredibly rare finds in the Spirit Realm—treasures one can only stumble upon by chance.’

’Could that be why Mu Zixu is here?’

A thoughtful look crossed her face. ’If that’s really the case, I have to find a way to snatch that Abnormal Fire for myself.’

With a flicker of intent, a rune materialized in mid-air. It was a Super-grade Concealing Breath Talisman.

Instantly, both her aura and her figure vanished. Only someone with an exceptionally powerful Divine Soul would be able to detect her.

’This talisman can protect me from an Abnormal Fire, but not from Mu Zixu. If I run into him, I’ll be in grave danger.’

But with such an opportunity before her, Song Wanning had no intention of backing down.

She also prepared a Space Transfer Talisman. If she ran into danger, she could instantly leave the volcano and be teleported away.

That would give her a chance to escape.

With all her preparations in place, Song Wanning finally leaped onto the long-dormant volcano.

Peering down, she saw nothing but pitch-black darkness, so deep that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

She conjured a wisp of flame and carefully leaped down.

Leaping and flitting between the jagged rocks, she descended deeper and deeper into the volcano.

But she saw no sign of the Fire Spirit or Mu Zixu she expected, only endless darkness stretching into the depths.

Song Wanning paused. After a moment of thought, she continued her descent.

Suddenly, she seemed to pass through some kind of barrier. A familiar energy washed over her—it was Yin Qi.

She froze, surprise flashing in her eyes.

As her vision cleared, she looked around and discovered a familiar scene: the Forget River, a place she had been to before.

But this version of the Forget River was not yet desolate. It was covered in lush trees and flowers, teeming with vibrant life.

Countless small boats drifted on the Forget River, but perhaps the timing was off, as there was not a single soul to be ferried, nor a single Ghost Messenger in sight.

Song Wanning stood before the Forget River, finding the entire situation surreal.

’I’ve somehow come to the Forget River of the past.’

It was clearly the same place, yet it felt completely different. The Yin Qi was also much, much denser.

After a moment of reflection, she boarded one of the boats.

Since she had crossed the Forget River before, the journey was perfectly smooth. She reached the opposite bank with almost no resistance.

She released the Yin Qi within her body, disguising herself as a Ghost Cultivator before proceeding onward.

Before long, however, she came across two Ghost Messengers, who were in the middle of a heated discussion.

"Someone from the outside world actually broke in! How despicable!"

"I know! He injured several of our Ghost Messengers as soon as he arrived, and now he wants to snatch the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. He has no respect for us at all!"

"Come on, let’s go help! We have to take that guy down!"

"Right! Let’s show him we’re not afraid of him!"

The angrier the pair got, the faster they walked.

When they spotted Song Wanning, they immediately waved her over.

"Fellow Daoist, are you also on your way to catch the intruder?"

"Come on, let’s go together!"

The pair waited for Song Wanning to join them, and then the three of them hurried off in the same direction.

From their grumbling, Song Wanning learned that Mu Zixu was, in fact, after the Red Lotus Karmic Fire!

The Red Lotus Karmic Fire—a legendary flame said to burn away karmic debt, which grew primarily in the Netherworld.

To a Cultivator, this flame was incredibly powerful. After all, what Cultivator didn’t have a few lives on their hands?

The sin of killing meant one carried karmic debt.

Once touched by the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, one would have to endure the agony of their Divine Soul being incinerated.