Published: August 28, 2025
Chapter 458: Path of Life and Death
When Bu Xu entered the Void Heaven Hall and saw so many old nascent soul stage cultivators arriving one after another, it was like a bucket of cold water dumped on him, chilling him to the bone.
Nascent soul stage cultivators coming here were obviously after the treasures in the Inner Hall, with the Void Heaven Cauldron undoubtedly being the most coveted.
Although the Void Heaven Hall had previously seen a few nascent soul stage cultivators—only three or four—the sudden arrival of eight such cultivators this time naturally made him feel his hope was slim.
However, having come this far, he wasn’t willing to leave empty-handed.
Clinging to a shred of hope, he successfully passed through the Ghost Mist and entered the Lava Path.
To be honest, while he still felt some fear towards the Ghost Mist and the next challenge—the Supreme Illusory Realm—he never doubted his ability to get through the Path of Ice and Fire.
After all, the cultivation method he practiced was the well-known Taiyang Spell Formation from the Chaotic Star Sea.
This technique was ranked among the top ten fire-element cultivation methods in the Chaotic Star Sea. Using the Taiyang True Fire from this method, he had turned countless enemies to ashes, sending them into the endless abyss. Naturally, he was very confident in his ability to resist fire, considering it a piece of cake.
Of course, after many years of cultivation, he wouldn’t have tried to pass through the Lava Path empty-handed. He had prepared two fire-resistant magical artifacts. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to prepare more, but buying the fire dragon worm had almost left him bankrupt.
With the aid of the Taiyang Spell Formation and these two artifacts, he was confident he could easily handle the Lava Path.
But now, Bu Xu regretted deeply.
Soon after entering this place, he realized that although the Taiyang Spell Formation was indeed effective against fire, if he didn’t maintain it at full power, he would be roasted into a human dry husk in no time.
This was very different from his initial assumption that only a slight consumption of magical power would allow him to ignore such a harsh environment.
Outside, running the Taiyang Spell Formation at just ten percent capacity was enough to completely avoid being directly burned by ordinary flames.
Obviously, the extreme heat of the Lava Path was unlike any ordinary fire outside. Probably due to the restrictions in place, there was some form of suppression against fire-element cultivation methods here.
And those two fire-resistant magical artifacts had only very limited effect in this strange environment.
Having walked for several hours already, Bu Xu began to panic.
Judging by the rate of magical power consumption, even though he constantly replenished spiritual energy by clutching spirit stones in each hand, he could only sustain this for about half a day before his magical power would be exhausted and he would turn to ashes.
Naturally, Bu Xu did not want to die here.
He ran anxiously, constantly looking around.
But it was completely quiet—no other figures in sight.
This dashed his hope of killing other cultivators and stealing their fire-resistant treasures.
The more he ran forward, the stronger his despair grew.
After a frantic sprint lasting fifteen minutes, Bu Xu finally stopped, his eyes filled with anxiety.
Although aided by lightness techniques and other magical power enhancements, at this speed there was no hope of reaching the end of the canyon.
Moreover, if he continued running, even if he encountered other cultivators, his magical power would be severely depleted.
At that time, forget about killing others—others might even strike him first upon seeing his weakness.
Like an ant on a hot pan, Bu Xu paced anxiously back and forth in place.
As time passed, various thoughts flooded his mind, all trying to find a way out.
Suddenly, he looked up at the deep red sky, his expression flickering.
With a resolute look flashing across his face, a yellow light shimmered from his body and he slowly floated upward.