’Even the Soul Pearl can’t see through this...’
When Lin Xuan tried to use the Soul Pearl to see which flame was the real Heart of the Fire Phoenix, he found that he couldn’t tell at all!
This shocked him deeply. The Soul Pearl had always been able to break through any illusion, but now it couldn’t see through this place.
’These flames obviously aren’t illusions, but real flames.’ Lin Xuan immediately understood what was going on. Since none of the flames were Illusions, he naturally couldn’t see through them, nor could he find the real Heart of the Fire Phoenix.
"What’s wrong?" Bingxin asked, seeing Lin Xuan in a daze, not even listening to her.
"It’s nothing. I was just wondering how we’re supposed to search with so many flames here," Lin Xuan said with a faint smile after snapping out of it. There was no need to mention his problem.
"We can only rely on our instincts for this. No matter how many of these flames you absorb, they’ll just reappear, so don’t expect to find it by absorbing them all. Besides, the Heart of the Fire Phoenix can just as easily appear in a spot where a flame has been absorbed," Bingxin said grimly. "Ultimately, the Heart of the Fire Phoenix is constantly shifting. Without that special intuition, it’s impossible to find."
As she spoke, she felt a sense of helplessness; the difficulty was simply too high. If it didn’t move, they might find it by slowly absorbing the flames, but the Heart of the Fire Phoenix was constantly shifting among so many of them.
This raised the difficulty exponentially, making it almost insanely hard!
"So, you’re saying if we can’t find it, we’ll just lose our chance at the Heart of the Fire Phoenix?" Lin Xuan frowned. The difficulty was indeed immense.
"Not exactly. The Heart of the Fire Phoenix will suddenly reveal itself for a moment. It all comes down to how fast your reactions are, or how good your luck is. If it happens to appear right next to you, you can absorb it," Bingxin said, again with a sense of helplessness. This meant it was largely a matter of luck, not just strength.
It would be more accurate to say it was half luck and half strength, because finding the Heart of the Fire Phoenix didn’t guarantee you could successfully absorb it into your body. The difficulty remained. Good luck just made finding it easier.
"I see. The difficulty really is quite high then. I’ll search with you. It’ll be safer that way." Lin Xuan decided not to stay and practice his Cultivation, choosing instead to follow Bingxin. If the Fire Phoenix King suddenly went crazy and launched a sneak attack on him, it wouldn’t be fun.
Even if he couldn’t obtain the Heart of the Fire Phoenix himself, there was no problem with him helping out.
Bingxin nodded and said, "Alright then, come with me. The basic search method is to use the power of your Phoenix Essence Blood to create a resonance. That’s how you can find it. Of course, that’s easier said than done. The area is so vast; even if you cause a resonance, you have to be quite close to it."
Lin Xuan nodded and began circulating the Phoenix Essence Blood in his body to probe the area. After a moment, he found that it didn’t cause a damn bit of resonance. He felt nothing, no different from usual. Everything was completely ordinary.
Apparently, he couldn’t be of much help here. In fact, he was completely unable to help, feeling utterly powerless.
As time went on, more and more people appeared on the fifth level, and they immediately joined the search. If one of them found it, they could quickly stabilize the Heart of the Fire Phoenix and have Bingxin come over to absorb it.
As for absorbing it themselves, they likely couldn’t. Not just anyone could absorb the Heart of the Fire Phoenix. Not every Phoenix could do it; only a Phoenix with a certain level of talent was capable of absorbing it.
Based on their Level, they weren’t qualified to absorb it, so their mission was simply to find the Heart of the Fire Phoenix. The only two truly in the duel were Bingxin and the Fire Phoenix King!
Day after day passed. In this vast sea of flames, they couldn’t find the slightest sign of the Heart of the Fire Phoenix. It felt like they were looking for a needle in a haystack, finding absolutely nothing.
’Are we just going to keep searching bit by bit like this?’
Lin Xuan saw someone absorb a flame. Just as they finished, a new flame flared up in its place. It really did reappear as soon as one was absorbed.
After absorbing a flame, the absorber would be in extreme pain and had to completely refine it. Although there were some benefits after refining it, the pain generally outweighed them. This was practically a trial by fire for them.
Bingxin had absorbed them as well. After absorbing one, she would regulate her energy for a moment before moving on to the next flame. She was incredibly resilient!
She had to find the Heart of the Fire Phoenix. Otherwise, she would have no chance of turning the tables. If the Fire Phoenix King obtained it, she would have no chance left at all.
Haaa...
After absorbing another flame, Bingxin’s face grew a little pale, and a look of pain showed in her beautiful eyes. She didn’t rest for long, only regulating her energy for a moment before continuing to inspect the next flame. As soon as she got the slightest feeling from one, she would immediately absorb it.
"Bingxin, you look terrible. Do you want to rest for a bit?" Lin Xuan asked with concern.
He could see that Bingxin’s complexion was truly awful and hoped she would rest for a while, or else she wouldn’t be able to hold on. She was just absorbing the flames into her body and refining them on the go; one could only imagine how difficult that was.
"No. Look at the Fire Phoenix King. She’s doing the same thing. If I slow down even a little, I might lose this contest... And this is a contest I cannot lose." A strained smile appeared on Bingxin’s pale face.
In Lin Xuan’s eyes, her expression was filled not just with resilience, but with something more heartbreaking. The whole situation was just heartbreaking.
This was a contest neither of them could afford to lose. The same was true for her opponent. So, they had to keep going, absolutely refusing to slow down!
’If only there was something I could do...’
Lin Xuan felt so helpless. He couldn’t find a single clue. Then, looking at one of the flames, an idea suddenly sparked in his mind. He quickly asked, "Bingxin, is it impossible to extinguish the Heart of the Fire Phoenix?"
"Of course. No matter what, the Heart of the Fire Phoenix cannot be extinguished. It’s impossible unless its host dies," Bingxin explained patiently, showing no impatience despite her inability to find it.
"In that case, this should be simple. Watch me try out an idea!"
With a light wave of his hand, the Soul Slayer Rod appeared. In the next moment, he filled the "Soul" character on the rod with Yulan Sacred Fire, and an intensely cold aura emanated from it. The temperature of the surrounding environment plummeted with him at the center.
"Go!"
Lin Xuan thrust the rod into one of the flames. The Yulan Sacred Fire immediately reacted with the flame. As Lin Xuan poured a massive amount of power into it, the flame was completely frozen solid by the Yulan Sacred Fire!
BANG! The flame shattered into icy shards and was then replaced by a new flame.
Seeing Lin Xuan’s method, Bingxin was stunned. ’This is his idea?’ On second thought, only Lin Xuan could do something like this!