Chapter 2016: Chapter 2014: Huo Xun’s Sinister Intentions
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Huo Litian’s control over Fire Power was extremely strong!
Huo Xianer’s control over Fire Power was not weak either!
It was just that the Fire Power Huo Xianer unleashed tended toward a blood-red hue; this was perhaps because she came from the Fire God Lineage, but this kind of Fire God Bloodline had not awakened for an unimaginably long time, and it was not certain that Huo Xianer could awaken the Fire God Bloodline’s power!
For the sake of Ye Tianchen, Huo Xianer was willing to fight her senior brother Huo Litian, willing to defy the words of the Fire God Sacred Land’s Supreme Elder Huo Xun; this kind of sentiment, even a fool could see it, was deep and heavy!
Rumble!
With a thunderous boom, when the Fire Dragon shaken out from Huo Litian’s longsword collided with the Fire Phoenix that Huo Xianer manifested with the Leaving Fire Phoenix Skill, a violent shock erupted between the two; the entire sky turned into a sea of fire, startling Ye Tianchen into a frown. The power of all things in the world, so long as one could push any single power to its extreme, that alone would be enough to shake the world!
"Xianer, do you really intend to protect this man to the end?" Huo Litian looked coldly at Huo Xianer and asked.
"Senior Brother, I don’t want to fight you, but I can’t just watch my friend be killed. I’ve already decided to fight you to the very end!" Huo Xianer said with iron resolve.
"Fine, since that’s the case, Xianer, then don’t blame me!" Huo Litian looked coldly at Huo Xianer and said.
Whoosh!
All of a sudden, just as Huo Litian’s words fell, a streak of fire shot out from between his brows. Within that streak of fire were actually contained three kinds of powerful forces, startling Huo Xianer into a daze!
"Senior Brother, I didn’t expect you to have actually cultivated a strand of Samadhi True Fire!" Huo Xianer exclaimed in surprise.
"The ultimate form of Fire Power is Immortal Fire; I’ve only cultivated up to Samadhi True Fire, I’m still far from that. But, Little Junior Sister, you can’t withstand it, so you’d best not continue this fight with me!" Huo Litian looked coldly at Huo Xianer and said.
"But will you spare my friend?" Huo Xianer asked with a frown.
"No. I must kill him. If he doesn’t hand over the Fire God Gourd, I’ll make him wish he were dead; if he does hand over the Fire God Gourd, I’ll give him a quick death!" Huo Litian’s killing intent toward Ye Tianchen was absolute as he spoke.
"In that case, I can only fight you to the end!" Huo Xianer furrowed her delicate brows and said solemnly.
Ye Tianchen was astonished; he hadn’t expected that Huo Litian had already cultivated a strand of Samadhi True Fire. He had once tempered his body in Flame Valley and had heard the Qilin Prince speak of this Samadhi True Fire: it was comparable to the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, yet it was not a flame that burned all things under heaven, but a kind of existence close to Immortal Fire. Only when one’s control over Fire Power had reached a certain extreme could one cultivate it. Yet Fire Power was extremely difficult to control; the slightest carelessness would end with one being burned to ashes by one’s own fire. Huo Litian’s talent was truly extraordinary and could not be underestimated!
Samadhi True Fire!
The heart is the monarch fire, also called Divine Fire; its name is Upper Obscuration (Shangmei, pronounced "mei," lower falling tone). The kidneys are the minister fire, also called Essence Fire; its name is Middle Obscuration. The bladder—that is, the Qi Sea below the navel—is the Min Fire; its name is Lower Obscuration.
This is the refinement of essence, qi, and spirit into Sanmei!
Samadhi True Fire originally came from the Buddhist Sect tradition. Sanmei is also translated as "samadhi," "right reception," "concentration," all generally referring to a tranquil Mental Realm that is free from distraction and torpor.
Volume Five of the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra explains: "When the mind abides focused on one place without moving, this is called Sanmei." Volume Twenty of the same work says: "All meditative concentrations are also called ’concentration’ and also called ’Sanmei.’" Samadhi is rendered as "concentration," "equipoise," "right concentration," "well-balanced concentration," "stilling-thought-and-condensing-mind," etc., meaning the mind continuously and steadily focuses on a single object without scattering or moving. It includes all the states of concentration spoken of in Buddhism, from the most Basic "Desire Realm Concentration" up to the highest "Neither Perception Nor Non-Perception Concentration" among the three realms. One view holds that it includes all "mindful concentrations," that is, concentrated states that still contain conceptual activity, but does not include "Unthinking Concentration" and the "Cessation of Feeling and Perception Concentration" that Buddhism says only the Saints of the third fruit can attain—these two being "mindless concentrations," states in which there is no sensation or ideation activity within concentration.
True Fire originates from inner core cultivation in Taoism: the upper level path is "to take heaven and earth as the tripod and furnace, the sun and moon as water and fire, yin and yang as the engine of transformation, lead, mercury, silver, sand and earth as the Five Elements, temperament as dragon and tiger, thought as the true seed, to refine thought with heart as the timing of the fire, to rest thought as nourishing the fire, to conceal radiance as solidifying the elixir, to subdue inner demons as field battle, body, mind and intent as the three essentials, heaven’s mind as the mysterious pass, emotions returning to nature as the pill’s completion." This is called the upper level life-extending path, which can yield Immortal Fruit.
The supreme upper level path is "to take the Great Void as the tripod, Taiji as the furnace, purity as the elixir base, non-action as the Dantian, nature and life as lead and mercury, concentration and wisdom as water and fire, suppressing desire and curbing anger as the union of water and fire, nature and emotion united as metal and wood combined, washing the heart and cleansing thoughts as bathing, preserving sincerity and settling intent as solidifying the elixir, precepts, concentration and wisdom as the three essentials, the center as the mysterious pass, illuminating the mind as verification, seeing one’s nature as coagulation, the Three Elements mixed into one as the Holy Embryo, nature and life forged into one piece as the pill’s completion, a body outside the body as transcendence, breaking through the Void as attaining the present." This is called the path of the Top Grade immortal Heavenly Immortal; if one cultivates it to success, one can "have both form and spirit marvelously perfected, and be truly united with Taoism."
Samadhi True Fire is the shared inheritance of Buddhism and Taoism; it is a realm that only appears when Buddhist-Taoist cultivation reaches a certain level. Samadhi True Fire is the fire within wood + the fire within stone + the fire in the air. If you’ve read Investiture of the Gods you’ll know—there is an explanation in it. To extinguish Samadhi True Fire one can only use True Water; Qiankun Jade Dew can extinguish it, or drowning it with Four Seas Sea Water also works.
Samadhi True Fire is the fire within wood + the fire within stone + the fire in the air, or in other words: above is ruler fire, the middle is minister fire, below is Min Fire.
Boom!
Huo Litian drove this surge of Samadhi True Fire and sent it sweeping toward Huo Xianer in an instant. Immediately, the Fire Phoenix that Huo Xianer had summoned with her Fire Power was turned to ashes by this Samadhi True Fire. Startled, Huo Xianer froze for a moment and kept retreating. The fire palms she struck out with her Fire Taoist power were very strong, yet still could not block the Divine Power of this Samadhi True Fire!
"Xianer, you still have time to regret now. As long as you stop protecting this guy, I’ll immediately recall the power of the Samadhi True Fire!" Seeing Huo Xianer continuously retreating and barely able to hold on, Huo Litian also didn’t want the two of them as senior and junior fellow disciples to truly draw blades against each other, so he advised her on the spot!
"Senior Brother, forgive me, I cannot do that. I must protect him completely!" Huo Xianer said through clenched teeth.
"You... Little Junior Sister, do you really love him that much?" Huo Litian shouted, feeling on the verge of collapse.
"I don’t know, I only know that I won’t let him get hurt!" Huo Xianer was stunned for a moment, then said.
Whoosh!
The Samadhi True Fire unleashed by Huo Litian was extremely powerful. Once unleashed, Huo Xianer seemed unable to withstand it, constantly retreating. The Fire Taoist power she kept striking out was all unable to resist the devouring of this Samadhi True Fire. Most importantly, within mere moments this Samadhi True Fire arrived right before Huo Xianer. If she were struck head-on, she would likely be annihilated body and spirit on the spot, turned into ashes!
"Little Junior Sister, are you really willing to die for this outsider?" Huo Litian truly hadn’t expected this; the Samadhi True Fire was already about to burn Huo Xianer, yet Huo Xianer still did not retreat even half a step!
Huo Xianer did not speak. Her gaze, incomparably resolute, locked onto Huo Litian as she said, "Senior Brother, we have lived together in the Fire God Sacred Land for dozens of years. Everyone understands each other’s temperaments. I really don’t want to see us fellow disciples meeting with blades like this!"
"Xianer, I... my feelings for you..." Huo Litian was stunned, and at the same time he controlled this surge of Samadhi True Fire, freezing it right in front of Huo Xianer. After all, they were fellow disciples of the same sect; after all, she was the one he loved. How could Huo Litian so casually and heartlessly strike a vicious blow?
"Senior Brother, I know your feelings for me. But matters of the heart truly cannot be forced. I’ve always regarded you as my elder brother, as my family!" Huo Xianer looked at Huo Litian seriously and said.
"Xianer..." Huo Litian was stunned at once. He seemed to understand a little. All these years, Little Junior Sister Huo Xianer had never said she liked him. Even when the Supreme Elder Huo Xun arranged their marriage, Huo Xianer had never agreed. Perhaps Huo Xianer truly did not like him and only regarded him as her Senior Brother, as family!
Buzz!
All of a sudden, Huo Litian felt his Samadhi True Fire slipping out of his control, which shocked him. Huo Xianer was also startled, only to see the Supreme Elder Huo Xun, who had been sitting cross-legged on the high platform all along, using the powerful force of his right hand to seize control of Huo Litian’s Samadhi True Fire. He looked at Huo Xianer coldly and said in a commanding tone, "Xianer, this time you have committed a grave mistake. It’s one thing that you don’t obey my orders, but you also fail to contribute your strength to the Fire God Sacred Land. Not only did you refuse to retrieve the Fire God Gourd, you even want to rescue this outsider. On these points alone, I have every reason to clean up the sect!"
"Clean up the sect? Master, you this... Little Junior Sister was just momentarily confused, why must you..." Huo Litian exclaimed in shock, dazed as he spoke.
"Litian, have you forgotten? I told you that you are to become the next Holy Master of the Fire God Sacred Land, to become the next Fire God. And Huo Xianer is the only one who still possesses the Ancient Fire God Bloodline inheritance. For you to reach that step, she must die!" The Supreme Elder Huo Xun of the Fire God Sacred Land said coldly.
"Huo Xun... I didn’t expect it to really be like this. I should have guessed long ago. All these years, you’ve wanted to kill all of us of the Fire God Lineage to realize your ambition!" Huo Xianer glared viciously at Huo Xun and said.
"That’s right, the inheritance of the Fire God Sacred Land does indeed come from the Fire God Lineage. But just because the inheritance of your Fire God Lineage exists doesn’t mean you are the absolute masters of the Fire God Sacred Land. What about us branch-line inheritances? Xianer, this is a mistake of your own making, something you brought upon yourself. Back then I wanted you to marry Litian just to give you a chance, yet you refused. Now you even protect an outsider. If I kill you now, no one will be able to say a single word against it!" Huo Xun nodded, utterly unafraid, and spoke.