Before the morning mist on Penglai Immortal Island had fully dispersed, Tang Xiaoqi had already followed Phoenix Clan emissary Feng Qingyin to a hidden spacetime rift at the end of the Eastern Sea. Beyond the rift, instead of the blazing sea of fire one might imagine, lay a boundless space of glazed colors. There was no distinction between sky and earth here, only countless flames of varying hues swimming and flowing like living beings—crimson-red as blood's Southern Void True Fire, ice-blue Nine Abyss Netherfire, brilliant-gold Grand Sun True Fire... This was the Phoenix Clan's sacred ground, the "Nirvana Fire Sea." It was not a place where ordinary fires gathered, but rather the Dao rhyme manifestation of the source of all fires in heaven and earth.
Feng Qingyin's feathered robes lightly fluttered as her voice rang out like jade chimes: "The Nirvana Fire Sea burns the body but more so the heart. Within three hours, if your Dao heart is burned to ashes, both body and Dao will perish. If you can comprehend the true meaning within the fire, you shall obtain the Divine Gold." She gave Xiaoqi a profound look. "Remember, force cannot sustain you—only the heart can ferry you across."
Xiaoqi took a deep breath and stepped into the Fire Sea. The moment his foot touched the surface, all the countless flames around him seemed to sense a living presence and suddenly raged! Crimson Departing Fire transformed into thousands of blades, cutting into his flesh;ice-blue Netherfire froze his soul, slowing his thoughts;brilliant-gold True Fire burned his dantian, boiling his spiritual power... The various pains far exceeded imagination. Even more terrifying was that the flames directly provoked the deepest fears and obsessions within his heart.
Illusions proliferated. He saw the Xu Lan Manor wailing in flames, his father Xu Zhan's figure twisting and dissipating in the fire; he saw Qingxu Temple's mountain gate collapse, Senior Brother Mu Qingfeng bathed in blood yet still fighting with all his might; he saw Third Senior Sister Liu Yun being devoured by demonic flames and perishing to protect him; he even saw Mu Xue's clear, cold eyes gradually losing their light in the flames... Every scene was utterly real, tearing at his soul. The Nirvana flames were not only burning his fleshly body but were testing his Dao heart—If protection will ultimately be lost, what is the meaning of protection? If all dear ones suffer because of him, was his Dao a mistake from the beginning?
"Ah—!" Xiaoqi let out a painful cry, blood seeped from his seven apertures, the protective spiritual light around his body flickered unstably, on the verge of scattering. Instinctively, he wanted to urge the Green Lotus source to forcibly purify these flames and suppress the violent fire element with Chaos power, but Feng Qingyin's warning suddenly flashed in his mind—"Force cannot sustain you, only the heart can ferry you across."
He suddenly awakened. The Nirvana Fire Sea never tested the height of cultivation but rather the ultimate question of one's understanding of "Destruction and Rebirth" and the ultimate inquiry into his own Dao heart. If he resisted with force, he would be making an enemy of the entire Fire Sea and the heavenly laws it contained, ultimately dying from exhaustion.
With this thought, Xiaoqi forcibly dispersed the spiritual power around his body, completely releasing his defense, allowing countless flames to surge into his body. The agony instantly multiplied, his soul feeling as if it were thrown into a furnace, yet he held fast to the last point of clarity in his spiritual platform. Instead of resisting, he used his mind to carefully sense and embrace the emotions and Dao rhyme contained within each strand of flame.
He "saw" the resolution and destruction within the Departing Fire, but also perceived the sprout of rebirth at the end of destruction. He "heard" the deathly stillness of the Netherfire freezing all things, but also experienced the vitality bred within extreme stillness. He "touched" the violence of the True Fire burning everything, but also comprehended the warmth beneath the violence that nourished all things... He understood that fire was not only about destruction; destruction itself exists to make way for rebirth, and is an indispensable part of heaven and earth's cycle. Just as his father Xu Zhan's sacrifice gave him hope for life and space to grow; just as Qingxu Temple Master's death inspired the junior disciples to press forward courageously; just as Third Senior Sister's severe injuries allowed her to break and rebuild, her sword heart becoming more resolute...
His path of protection should not be fragile shelter, keeping loved ones firmly under his wing, avoiding all storms. True protection grants them the courage and strength to face storms, experience trials, and even seek rebirth amid destruction. It is understanding and accepting the world's imperfections and impermanence, yet still cultivating with hope, waiting, and witnessing that new life blooming from the ruins of destruction.
Unconsciously, Xiaoqi sat cross-legged with both hands forming seals on his knees. He no longer felt burning pain; instead, he felt warmth all around, like returning to his mother's womb. The countless flames flowing into his body were no longer violent, becoming docile and friendly, flowing along specific trajectories through his meridians like streams, eventually gathering in his dantian to blend perfectly with the Green Lotus source and Chaos Dao rhyme. The hazy Green Lotus shadow in his dantian slowly rotated, and at the center of the lotus, a crimson-gold spark quietly ignited, pure and full of vitality.
The charred outer shell on his body peeled away in fragments, revealing the newborn skin beneath—lustrous as jade with faint precious light flowing. At his brow, a crimson-gold phoenix mark flickered and vanished. A vast yet gentle aura spread from within him, no longer simple pressure, but a grand Dao rhyme that embraced all things and witnessed birth and death.
As the three hours drew to a close, at the center of the Nirvana Fire Sea, the crimson-gold lotus flowercondensed from Xiaoqi's thoughts on "Protection and Rebirth" slowly bloomed. At its heart, instead of a lotus seed, a divine gold the size of a pigeon's egg, radiant with flowing light, flew out on its own and landed in Xiaoqi's outstretched palm. The Divine Gold felt warm and smooth to the touch, and liquid fire seemed to flow within, emanating imperishable divine fluctuations.
Feng Qingyin's figure quietly appeared at the edge of the Fire Sea. She looked at the transformed Xiaoqi, her final trace of scrutiny transforming into pure appreciation and recognition. She slightly bowed, performing an ancient Phoenix Clan ritual: "The Heart of Nirvana, the True Meaning of Protection. Tang True Lord, you have passed the trial. The Phoenix Divine Gold is yours."
Xiaoqi grasped the warm yet weighty Divine Gold in his hand, feeling the power within it resonating faintly with his own newborn Dao conviction. He knew this was not merely an alchemical treasure but the Phoenix Clan's recognition and gift for his path. He raised his head toward the depths of the glazed space, his gaze seemingly piercing through the endless void to see the path ahead—one sure to be filled with challenges but one he must walk. Nirvana and rebirth, the road is long, yet his heart has never been more determined and clear than at this moment.