Looking around, Cao Ya, the "Peerless One," was encouraged.
Among all the Cao Yas, two have already reached the three-star level: [Immortal Gourd] Cao Ya and [Primordial Era] Cao Ya. There are also some who have cultivated to the peak of the two-star level and are about to break into the three-star level, such as himself, as well as [Perfect World] Cao Ya, [Global Martial Arts] Cao Ya, [One Piece] Cao Ya, and [Naruto] Cao Ya.
Characters like Cao Ya from "Nine Cauldrons Chronicle" and Cao Ya from "Lord of Mysteries" are also two-star characters who are constantly improving and can provide some power.
Otherwise, how could Cao Ya of [Perfect World] possess combat power comparable to a true god in the [Perfect World] universe?
Once I attain the Dharma Body… Han Guang, just you wait, I'll beat you to a pulp…
[The Supreme Being] Cao Ya secretly harbored a ruthless anger. Han Guang had been usurping the Shaolin Temple's position for many years, which was a great disgrace to the temple.
After chatting for a while, Cao Ya and his group left.
******
******
【Perfect World】, Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, Lower Realm, Wilderness, Great Wilderness, Stone Village.
After Cao Ya left the system space, he diligently cultivated and finally gained enlightenment, which brought him sudden clarity.
"As Liu Shen said, even if an ancient fire from outside can destroy a realm, it is still not as powerful as the fire in one's heart."
Cao Ya murmured:
"【Immortal Gourd】Universe, to attain the Dao and become a primordial spirit, one must understand one's mind and see one's true nature, and temper one's Dao heart. I must also do the same."
"As long as my heart remains undying, the divine fire will burn forever!"
"What divine fire could compare to the cultivator's own mind?"
The heart is infinitely vast, encompassing infinite possibilities!
As he murmured to himself, Cao Ya realized that what he sought was simply to become stronger.
It is neither about protecting, nor about seeking revenge, nor about oppressing the masses or being aloof.
Becoming stronger, constantly becoming stronger—that's his pursuit.
Beneath the willow tree, he sat cross-legged, his body glowing. It was not an ordinary flame, nor the Dao fire of heaven and earth, nor the golden divine fire originating from another realm within Cao Ya's body...
It was a special flame that came from the very core of my being!
Cluster after cluster, swirling around the body, intensely fiery.
At this moment, Cao Ya seemed like a god of fire, high above the heavens, his flames radiating across the boundless starry sky.
Everyone woke up with a start, and when they looked up, they saw Cao Ya sitting cross-legged under the willow tree.
The Willow God stretched out its branches, emitting a special fluctuation that intercepted the power released by Cao Yayi, preventing it from flowing out and alarming the Great Wilderness.
"That is..." Shi Yunfeng and the others were surprised and observed carefully.
Soon, Shi Hao's eyes widened, because he discovered that the wandering cultivator was actually igniting divine fire to become a god!
The wandering immortal hasn't become a god yet?!
The furball and the God-Slaying Stone were also awakened, their hearts trembling.
Cao Ya, the Wilderness Hermit who slaughtered more than a hundred Venerables, was considered by everyone to have become a god, including Shi Hao, Mao Qiu, and Da Shen Shi.
But now he was witnessing Cao Ya igniting the divine fire...
They felt as if they were in a dream, hazy and confused, everything seemed so unreal.
When the words "become a god" came from Shi Hao's mouth, the entire Stone Village was in an uproar.
"Haha~~~ The hermit has become a god? This is great news! I knew it! How could someone as powerful and kind-hearted as the hermit not become a god?" The villagers of Shi Village laughed heartily, all happy for Cao Ya.
Shi Hao and the others observed carefully.
Let's set aside the fact that he's a wanderer or a venerable one.
A venerable being ignites a divine fire, breaks through realms, and attains the divine realm—this is a rare and extraordinary event throughout history, and to witness it firsthand is truly a great blessing.
As a cultivator aspiring to become a god, Shi Hao would certainly not miss this opportunity.
Although he is still far from the Venerable Realm and the Divine Fire Realm, and is only at the Spirit Transformation Realm, this does not prevent him from accumulating experience and broadening his knowledge in advance.
Willow God, Heavenly Wasteland, and even Little Pagoda were all observing Cao Ya's transformation into a god.
Originally, a Divine Fire Realm expert was not worth their attention.
Cao Ya's formidable fighting prowess undoubtedly caught their attention.
Moreover, the divine fire that Cao Ya ignited seemed to be different from the old understanding; it was not a fire of heaven and earth, but a fire of the human heart.
The Willow Goddess taught Cao Ya, but she was an ancestral spirit who had rebuilt her cultivation at an incredibly fast pace, crushing all kinds of difficulties as if they were nothing, and they posed no obstacle whatsoever.
She had thought that it would take Cao Ya years, or even decades, to understand his true nature and see through his ego. Little did she expect that only a few days had passed before Cao Ya had gained some insights and ignited the fire in his heart.
“Take a good look at Cao Ya’s path to godhood. It is different from others and is the first of its kind in the world. It may be inspiring to you.” Willow God’s voice caused the people of Stone Village to be surprised. The first of its kind in the world? Even though they had not been to many places, they knew how high the value of this assessment was.
Shi Hao, Mao Qiu, and Da Shen Shi were even more astonished.
Then he stared intently, without blinking.
Cao Ya sat cross-legged, his body trembling slightly, as if he were suffering great pain. Clusters of flames rose from his body, but none of them burned any part of his flesh.
"Mind! Will!" The little tower also revived, hanging in Shi Hao's hair, gazing at Cao Ya, staring at this human who had broken through to godhood, his words filled with solemnity.
"What?" Shi Hao asked, puzzled.
Willow Goddess replied:
"Cao Ya broke through the realm without relying on any external objects; what he ignited was his heart, and what he burned was his will."
"That flame was neither the spiritual fire of heaven and earth, nor the true fire of stars, nor the pure fire of gods; it was purely the fire of the soul and the fire of will."
Shi Hao was shocked. He couldn't imagine how the mind and will could be ignited.
Everyone was bewildered and didn't understand what it meant, but they all knew the implications and tried their best to remember it.
Just as Xiaota and Liushen said, Cao Ya's heart suffered a huge shock, his will was scattered, and illusory flames drifted, burning everything, like a world-destroying fire, trying to burn his will to ashes.
Outwardly, they appear perfectly fine, but in reality, their hearts are broken and their will has collapsed.
At this moment, Cao Ya was in his greatest crisis.
Generally speaking, igniting the divine fire will bring about a perfect transformation, a leap to the extreme, an evolution, and will make one stronger.
But--
His condition clearly indicated that he had seriously injured himself, his mind was beginning to collapse, and his will was burning.
If this continues, the mind will be shattered and the will will be emptied. Even if the physical body remains intact, one will essentially be a living dead.
*Sizzle*
The illusory flames grew even stronger.
Cao Ya's face was contorted, and beads of sweat rolled down his face. This was extreme pain, originating from the depths of his mind and will, even more terrifying than damage inflicted directly on the body.
There's no way to avoid it!
Cao Ya realized the great crisis and gritted his teeth to endure this ordeal.
If you want to cultivate yourself according to your own ideas, how can you succeed without experiencing hardships and facing life-or-death crises?
The only saving grace is that he has too many memories in his mind, originating from various worlds and shared with the power of the system space. Even if he ignites the fire of his soul, he cannot burn them away.
This kept him somewhat clear-headed.
Otherwise, Cao Ya felt that he must have already collapsed and died, becoming a living dead person burning with an inextinguishable flame!
That illusory flame probably won't go out.
"Liu Shen, what if..." Shi Yunfeng and the others were horrified, fearing that Cao Ya would fail in his breakthrough and perish halfway through.
Shi Hao was also nervous, scratching his head, but he dared not disturb Cao Ya, lest he cause the failure of the hermit's ascension to godhood...
The willow tree danced with its green branches, sighing.
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