Ding Hao tried to wrap his head around this problem.
When his gaze fell on the bottom of the small fairy-figure tower, he found a dent the size of a delicate bowl. He suddenly remembered something.
“Right. We need an altar to light the divine fire!”
Back when Ning Huxiao and the other disciples of the Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship Sect had caught Ximen Qianxue and the gang, to sacrifice them as offerings, Ning Huxiao had mentioned that burning the divine fire required a lot of flesh and blood, especially from humans and demons. It was indispensable.
Although, looking back at Ning Huxiao’s idea, Ding Hao realized it was a little naive, as there was no way that he could safely bring the imprisoned human warriors to that place. Even so, the sacrifice Ning mentioned was not groundless. He probably had some clues…
Ding Hao immediately took out a small jade bottle from the storage ring. A trace of dark red blood dripped out.
This was the blood that Ding Hao had collected after killing the mythical Zhuhuai beasts in the first section of the ancient westbound road. It contained a considerable amount of life essence and infinite energy; it should work as an alternative to the blood of humans and demons.
The blood dripped into the small bowl.
After the bowl was filled, the small fairy-figure tower, which was gradually darkening, was immediately revived. The blood seeped into the small bowl and was spread around the small tower. The change was visible even to the naked eye.
The blood in the bowl also began to drain into the small tower resembling a glamorous fairy.
A surprising change took place—
The small tower came back to life after the Zhuhuai blood was completely absorbed.
The glamorous fairy flew up and danced gracefully in the air. She let out a pleasant laugh like a silver bell. Her clothes fluttered in the air, showing an exquisite body. The fairy seemed to have perfect features. This enchanting scene dazzled them.
They were dumbfounded by what they saw.
In the end, this small and beautiful fairy turned into a golden light that entered Ren Xiaoyao’s body.
The small tower had completely disappeared. A ball of blazing golden flame appeared at the spot where the small tower was located. It was filled with waves of vitality.
The fatty finally stopped wailing.
The golden light around him disappeared. He landed on the steps. The power in his body had been completely unleashed, no longer under the suppression of this world. He looked the same, but in the depths of his eyes, there were traces of flickering golden light.
“Have you lit the divine fire?” Ding Hao looked at Ren Xiaoyao carefully. A subtle change took place in the fat man’s body, which was difficult to describe with words.
“Little fatty, how do you feel? Tell me…” Evil Moon, the Fat Cat, tilted his head, eager to try.
Burning the legendary divine fire was so easy that the Fat Cat wanted to give it a try. However, Ren Xiaoyao’s howling made him a little hesitant, given his fear of pain.
Sensing the changes in his body, Ren Xiaoyao danced with delight. “I feel great. I’ve never felt so good before. Haha… This is amazing. I think I am an immortal. I can live as long as this eternal world, like a god!”
He slowly floated up and turned into a ray of light. He spiraled in the sky until he reached the outside of the square and landed among the tall buildings.
This awakened many formidable stone puppets. The characters of the Fake God on their bodies were shining. However, they didn’t seem to notice anything when they looked at Ren Xiaoyao with their single eyes. Even if the little fat man fell on their shoulders, they would not react at all.
“They have accepted me… and won’t attack me anymore.” Ren Xiaoyao laughed. “I can even feel the spiritual fluctuations from their bodies as if we were old friends!”
An idea flashed across Ding Hao’s mind and he seemed to have realized something.
Was it possible to obtain a portion of the divine power by igniting the Divine Fire?
“Can it be recognized by the ancient Sage Battlefield?”
Something seemed to be missing. It couldn’t be as simple as the rumors told.
Ding Hao looked up at the golden tower, and the small towers, like the fairy-figure, on this step. They seemed to be more than just architectures. There was a vitality imbued in them, possibly with some hidden power.
“Meow, I will also give it a try…” Evil Moon, the Fat Cat, looked at the joyous Ren Xiaoyao and felt a little envious. He stretched out his claws towards the golden light of the small tower next to him.
“Wait,” Ji Yingqi suddenly stopped it.
“Meow? What’s wrong, smart girl?” The Fat Cat turned his head and asked curiously.
The Fat Cat had grown quite close to Ji Yingqi, the whiz kid. Those days, Ji Yingqi often held the little fat cat in her arms, so they became friends. When it was in good mood, the Fat Cat would even let Ji Yingqi rub its soft belly.
“This is only the first step. If I’m not mistaken, the higher the step, the bigger the pagoda will be, which means the higher quality and the more profound divine meaning it contains,” Ji Yingqi said, “Now that we all have a chance to ignite the divine fire, why not climb higher and ignite those higher-quality divine fire towers? We should be able to get more.”
She seemed to be explaining to the Fat Cat, but in fact, the words were aimed at Ding Hao.
Ding Hao nodded.
“Sister, why didn’t you say earlier? Now I only ignited the lowest small tower. What a big loss.” Ren Xiaoyao, who had just flown back, heard the words. His smile suddenly froze.
“Meow. Without you, how could we figure out the way to ignite the divine fire?” The fat cat gloated. “Thank you, Little Fatty, you are truly our talisman.”
Ren Xiaoyao pulled a long face.
He felt that he had suffered a big loss.
Ding Hao thought for a moment and said, “According to the legend, everyone has only one chance to ignite the Divine Fire. Junior Brother Ren, you have already received a divine fire tower, so don’t be greedy. Yingqi and I will continue to climb the golden tower. Junior Brother Ren, after getting the acceptance of this world, you will no longer be suppressed, nor will you be attacked by the stone puppets. You can explore the city and see if there are more things to discover in those buildings…”
Ding Hao told Ren Xiaoyao the names of several divine materials that the Saber Master and the Sword Master needed.
Ren Xiaoyao was so startled that his face turned green. “Senior Brother Ding, you overestimate me. Those are divine refining materials exclusive to supreme masters. They’re not easy to find.”
Ding Hao laughed and said, “It’s all right. You have been incredibly lucky. I believe in you.”
“Meow. I believe in you too, little fatty.” The fat cat continued to gloat.
The plan had been made. Ren Xiaoyao and Ding Hao took action separately.
Time flew by.
Ding Hao carried Ji Yingqi on his back and climbed at the fastest speed.
On about the 230th step, Evil Moon, the Fat Cat, found a Divine Fire Tower that looked like a Plutus Cat and couldn’t move his eyes away. He said excitedly, “Meow, that’s it. Destiny brought this Divine Fire Tower to me. I will ignite it.”
“Maybe there are better ones,” Ding Hao teased it.
“I couldn’t care less if there’s a better one. This is the one. It is perfect for me.” The Fat Cat was very determined. It did not hesitate to put its furry claws on the cat’s head to touch the golden light.
The same unusual scene that took place when Ren Xiaoyao lit up the small Divine Fire Tower appeared.
Ding Hao poured some of the Zhuhuai blood into the sunken stone bowl at the bottom of the small Plutus Cat tower.
It took six bowls of blood to transform the Plutus Cat tower into a fat golden cat. It jumped in the void feistily and made all kinds of attacks, biting motions, and killing postures before finally integrating into Evil Moon’s body.
“Meow…” The fat cat flapped its wings, leaving streaks of silver light in the void, like a pair of scissors.
“Meow. Meow. I’m also going to this Fake God city to try my luck. Excuse me…” The fat cat moved its big rear and turned into a stream of light that disappeared into the distance.
Suppressed by the force of this world, the Fat Cat and the dolphin Adorable had lost their power to fly and could only walk like ordinary animals. This almost drove this energetic cat crazy. After regaining the ability to fly, the Fat Cat went completely wild, like dogs and horses that were suddenly unleashed.
Ding Hao left it alone and continued to climb.
On the way up, the dolphin Adorable also ignited its own divine fire.
The Divine Fire Tower it chose was in the shape of a giant whale. It was on the 301st floor of the Golden Tower and its ignition took Ding Hao ten bowls of Zhuhai blood. The dolphin didn’t leave after regaining its power and followed Ding Hao obediently.
After about half a day, Ding Hao and Ji Yingqi finally reached the peak of the Golden Tower.
Ding Hao looked at it carefully.
At the top of this giant tower was a platform of about half an acre, which was carved from a huge gold mysterious rock. The surface was flawless and smooth as a mirror. it emitted a soft light, which could block the sight of the outsiders. Walking on it was like walking on top of an elixir. Just one breath was enough to make a person a hundred times more energetic.
In the middle of this platform, there was another small altar.
This altar was also golden. It was round, about three meters high, with four stairs on all sides. The carved railings were exquisite beyond compare. On the sides of the altar seventy-two Divine Beast of Earth Evil and thirty-six Heavenly Spirits were carved. There were also scenes that depicted the fairies who ascended to the sky, and the ancient battlefield where gods and devils fought against each other, where blood was shed, corpses were piled up, bones were shattered, and broken weapons were deserted.