The young girl in the white dress looked at Ning Fa and smiled faintly, "I am the Artifact Spirit of this Haolei Tower. You can call me Liuying."
Upon hearing this, Ning Fa's expression suddenly changed. This Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure actually had an Artifact Spirit!
He then asked, "Did you bring me here? What is this place?"
Liuying replied leisurely, "Yes, I did. This is the fourth level of the Haolei Tower, and also the core of the entire tower."
Ning Fa was confused upon hearing this. From what he had seen before, Yan Jingchen had already obtained the origin of this Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure, so shouldn't he be the one coming here?
As if sensing Ning Fa's confusion, Liuying's expression turned serious. "Fellow Daoist Ning, do you know Yan Jingchen's true origin?"
Ning Fa furrowed his brows and slowly said, "From your words, it seems Yan Jingchen's identity is very unusual."
Liuying nodded, "Precisely. Because he is the reincarnation of my master, Yan Yuan Daoist."
"What!?" Ning Fa was truly shocked.
His first reaction was that it was unbelievable, but thinking about Yan Jingchen's many deeds and the strange occurrences since entering this tower, he felt that this Artifact Spirit was not talking nonsense.
At this moment, a hint of complexity flashed in Liuying's eyes, and she continued, "In fact, for the past ten thousand years, I have been waiting for my master's reincarnation. When my master was nearing his death, he cultivated a very special Divine Soul Cultivation Method, which gave him a certain chance of successful reincarnation. Although this cultivation method was extremely dangerous and the chance of success was extremely low, I believed that with my master's unparalleled talent, he would definitely succeed. As expected, after ten thousand years, outsiders like you arrived. I guessed that one of you should be my master's reincarnation. After observing, I felt that both you, Fellow Daoist Ning, and Yan Jingchen could be him. However, just now, Yan Jingchen broke through to the late Nascent Soul stage during the battle, and he clearly awakened some of his past memories. I sensed my master's special divine soul aura from him, which is why I can confirm he is my master's reincarnation."
Ning Fa's expression changed as he listened, his heart churning with emotion. No wonder Yan Jingchen could directly control this tower after his breakthrough. He took a deep breath and asked, "You said this is the core of the tower, and you knew Yan Jingchen was your master's reincarnation, so why did you bring me here instead of him?"
Liuying's eyes showed a hint of complexity as she slowly said, "Because I need to protect myself."
These words made Ning Fa frown deeply, and Liuying continued on her own, "Do you know why my master went to such great lengths to seal the Haolei Tower in the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh? You might think he wanted to repair this Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure, but that's not it. His true goal was that little thing."
Before Liuying could finish speaking, she raised her hand and pointed. Ning Fa frowned and followed her gaze. The special fire rabbit from the valley earlier poked its head out from the flowers and cautiously looked at them, its expression mischievous.
At this moment, Liuying let out a sigh of relief. "Fellow Daoist, you should have noticed that this rabbit is actually a Fire Spirit Transformation Entity. Its origin is extraordinary. It is the legendary... Solar Essence Fire!"
"What!?" Ning Fa was instantly shocked, his expression incredibly varied. This was because Solar Essence Fire was the renowned Pure Yang Fire, and along with Tai Yin True Fire, they were known as the two Origin Fires. Although there were many Spirit Fires in the world, these two were considered the original sources. Ning Fa's cultivation method, the Fifth-Rank True Flame Art, introduced various Spirit Flames in its general principles. It specifically mentioned Solar Essence Fire and Tai Yin True Fire, stating that if one could obtain these two Origin Fires, the power of their True Flame would reach an unimaginable level. However, the general principles also mentioned that these two Origin Fires were practically impossible to exist in a lower-tier realm like their Human Realm, and could only appear in higher-tier realms – the Spirit Realm. Therefore, how could Ning Fa not be utterly shocked when the Artifact Spirit told him that the fire rabbit was Solar Essence Fire?
However, after the shock, Ning Fa felt that it was not impossible. This fire spirit that had transformed into a fire rabbit was indeed very high-level and special. When he had probed it with his spiritual sense earlier, he could feel that the Supreme Fire Divine Thunder and Zi Wei Heavenly Fire within his body were trembling intensely, as if extremely eager. Moreover, considering the mysterious and unfathomable power of that Yan Yuan Daoist, it was indeed only a Spirit Material of Solar Essence Fire's caliber that would warrant such great effort.
At this moment, Liuying said mournfully, "My master was fighting a powerful enemy when the Haolei Tower was heavily damaged, and he himself was severely injured. It was then that my master began these arrangements. In order to cultivate this Solar Essence Fire, my master not only extracted the most refined Fire Spiritual Power from the Sky Furnace Fire Marsh but also directly integrated the origin of the Haolei Tower into it."
Ning Fa's eyebrows twitched. He immediately recalled the distinct sense of decay he had felt when he first entered this tower, and he began to believe her. He was also deeply shaken. What kind of powerful enemy could have inflicted such severe injuries on the mysterious Yan Yuan Daoist, who even possessed a Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure?
At this moment, Liuying continued, "The origin of the Haolei Tower is essentially my life. Although my master told me back then that he would not consume the entire origin of the Haolei Tower, and that ten thousand years would be enough to cultivate the Solar Essence Fire. In this way, I could continue to exist, and when my master reincarnated and came here, he would not only obtain the Solar Essence Fire but also find a way to strengthen the origin of the Haolei Tower again. However, I later discovered that my master had lied to me. Because as early as a thousand years ago, the origin of the Haolei Tower had already been depleted to a dangerous limit, but the barrier my master had set up was still draining the Haolei Tower's origin. If it weren't for the fact that my intelligence had grown somewhat over the past nearly ten thousand years, and I had also conducted some research on the special barrier left by my master, and thus made slight modifications to significantly reduce the depletion of the Haolei Tower's origin, I might have already dissipated by now. And now, this Solar Essence Fire has not been fully cultivated yet."
Although very close, there was still a distance to go.
And to cover that distance might take thousands of years.
Once my master's reincarnated Yan Jingchen regains control of this thunder tower, he might not bear to let me dissipate like this.
But he would more likely use the full origin of Haolei Tower to nurture the Solar Essence Fire, to shorten its formation time.
After all, this Solar Essence Fire is extremely important to him, and by then, I would certainly no longer exist.
So I dare not gamble. This is why I said I need to protect myself, and why I cannot let my master's reincarnated Yan Jingchen come here."
Ning Fa's expression changed several times upon hearing this.
After listening to Liuying's explanation, he had even more doubts.
Why was Yan Yuan Daoist so fixated on this Solar Essence Fire?
Although this fire was extremely precious, for a lightning cultivator like him, it was certainly not as valuable as a Heaven-Piercing Spirit Treasure with the lightning attribute.
"Then what does bringing me here have to do with your self-preservation?" Ning Fa asked immediately after.
A smile flickered across Liuying's lips. "Fellow Daoist Ning, if I'm not mistaken, you possess the Five Elements Thunder Body, don't you?"
Ning Fa's eyebrows rose at this, but he wasn't overly shaken.
He was no longer that afraid of exposing the secret of his Five Elements Thunder Body.
He calmly replied, "I do indeed possess the Five Elements Thunder Body, but what does that have to do with this?"
Upon hearing Ning Fa's confirmation, Liuying's eyes lit up. "It has a great deal to do with it.
Since Fellow Daoist Ning possesses such a top-tier Spiritual Body as the Five Elements Thunder Body, then I can make a deal with you.
I need Fellow Daoist Ning's Divine Thunder of the Five Elements to help me escape this place and recover.
After all, for over ten thousand years, my origin has been depleted too much to nurture the Solar Essence Fire, and Fellow Daoist Ning's Divine Thunder of the Five Elements is enough to restore me.
If Fellow Daoist Ning is willing to help me, I can also offer you generous rewards.
For example, helping you obtain this nearly formed Solar Essence Fire, and repairing your damaged fire-attribute Spiritual Treasure.
Besides that, I can also tell you about a great treasure left behind by my master."
Ning Fa's expression stirred greatly. The three rewards Liuying mentioned sounded extremely tempting.
However, he didn't agree rashly. Instead, he first asked, "Can you first tell me why Yan Yuan Daoist is so fixated on this Solar Essence Fire?"
Liuying said slowly, "This actually relates to the third reward I mentioned.
My master's purpose in nurturing this Solar Essence Fire was for another important treasure of his.
So before I tell you, Fellow Daoist Ning must first agree to my deal and make a Heart Demon Oath.
If you refuse, I can guarantee that you will absolutely not obtain the Solar Essence Fire."
Ning Fa's expression changed. His curiosity was intensely piqued.
He hadn't expected that Yan Yuan Daoist's painstaking efforts to nurture the Solar Essence Fire were actually for other treasures.
For someone as powerful and influential as him to be so concerned, and to require a top-tier Spiritual Material like the Solar Essence Fire to assist, he truly couldn't imagine what level of treasure it could be.
Therefore, hearing Liuying say this naturally made him very eager. And upon consideration, the price he had to pay wasn't high.
Given the current rank of his Divine Thunder of the Five Elements, it shouldn't consume his divine thunder origin. It would just take a bit more time to help Liuying recover.
With this thought, Ning Fa no longer hesitated. He immediately spoke and initiated the Heart Demon Oath, of course, phrasing it very carefully to avoid leaving any loopholes for himself.
Liuying smiled sweetly after hearing this and then said, "If that's the case, Fellow Daoist Ning, can you take out your crystal tablet?"
Ning Fa's heart stirred, but he quickly reacted. With a flip of his right hand, the crimson crystal stele appeared.
Liuying looked at the crimson crystal stele with a look of emotion. "I must say, Fellow Daoist Ning being able to come here is truly fated.
Without this crystal tablet, even with my help, you definitely wouldn't be able to obtain the Solar Essence Fire, nor the great treasure left by my master.
This is because this valley was originally set with powerful barriers by my master. Without this crystal tablet, it would be impossible to enter, even for me."