Heavenly Flame Ranking

A month passed in the blink of an eye. Xiao Yan had reached the peak of the ninth stage and was on the verge of breaking through to become a Dou Zhe. If he relied on himself, it would probably take another half a year, so Old Yao planned to refine a Qi Gathering Powder for him.

That day, Old Yao acted as Xiao Yan's teacher and guaranteed him a loan from Xia Mo. After all, with a little money-maker by their side now, there was no need for Old Yao to refine pills in exchange for money.

Xia Mo stipulated that the price of one set of Qi Gathering Powder ingredients would have to be repaid with one Qi Gathering Powder in the future. A true capitalist—one Qi Gathering Powder was far more valuable than the ingredients. Yet Xiao Yan could only sign this unequal agreement while "holding back tears."

"To refine Qi Gathering Powder, you'll need four fifty-year-old Ink Leaf Lotuses, two mature Snake Saliva Fruits, one twenty-year-old Spirit Gathering Grass, and a second-tier water-element Monster Core. Have them ready by tomorrow," Old Yao told Xiao Yan.

Hearing Old Yao's words, Xiao Yan thought to himself, Good thing Xia Mo lent me the money. Otherwise, I'd have had to rely on Teacher for all this money, and who knows how long it would have taken.

Early the next morning, Xia Mo did not see Xiao Yan. He was presumably at the auction house...

Xia Mo did not go to the back mountain to cultivate. Instead, he spent the entire day with Xiao Yi Xian. She did not go to the medical hall either, and the two sat in the courtyard talking...

"Xia Mo, how much longer can we stay with the Xiao Clan?" Xiao Yi Xian asked.

"What? Are you unhappy here?" Xia Mo looked at Xiao Yi Xian and asked.

"No. It's very nice here. With you here, I can do what I like, and I've made new friends too. It's just that you said we would leave someday, so I feel a little sad. But wherever you go, I'll go too," Xiao Yi Xian said.

"It's alright. They'll be going to Jia Nan Academy too. There are lots of people our age at the academy, and you can make new friends there. Besides, we're too weak right now—we can't withstand even the slightest storm. Going to Jia Nan will quickly improve my strength," Xia Mo said.

And without strength, it would be no different from giving up your life, Xia Mo thought.

The two sat in the courtyard, talking softly...

As the sun gradually climbed higher into the sky, its blue was no longer so deep and slowly began to fade.

Before they knew it, clouds and breezes chased and played with one another in the sky. The bright sunlight draped the heavens in a soft, warm glow. Everything felt peaceful and leisurely.

"Xia Mo! Xia Mo! Are you home? I'm back!" Xiao Yan shouted.

"I'm here," Xia Mo replied, then walked outside.

"Teacher will be refining medicine tonight. Remember to come to my room," Xiao Yan said quietly to Xia Mo.

"Got it. I'll be there in a little while." After hearing Xia Mo's answer, Xiao Yan left.

When deep night fell and all things had gone to sleep, Xia Mo headed toward Xiao Yan's room. A short while later, he arrived. The two shut the doors and windows, locked the door, took out the medicinal herbs hidden in the cabinet, and placed them on the table. Then Xiao Yan asked, "Teacher, can we begin?"

Old Yao floated out of the ring, hovering like a ghost a foot above the ground. "Not bad. Refining medicine requires a quiet environment. If you're disturbed, getting injured would be the least of your worries. If it's serious, you could suffer backlash and die, or perish when the cauldron explodes."

Old Yao's illusory palm lightly brushed over the medicinal herbs. He nodded, extended his hand, and white flames slowly rose.

Xia Mo and Xiao Yan watched the white flame curiously. Xia Mo naturally knew that it was the eleventh-ranked Bone Spirit Cold Flame, but he was still deeply interested in Heavenly Flames. They were spiritual treasures of heaven and earth born from the special laws of the Dou Qi Continent; regardless of their attribute, they could manifest in the form of Heavenly Flames.

But Xiao Yan did not know. "Teacher, why is your flame white?"

Old Yao looked at the two and said softly, "Alchemists can judge the grade of a flame by its color. Usually, an Alchemist's flame is pale yellow. The darker the color, the greater its power and the higher its grade."

"However, besides Dou Qi flames, Alchemists can also borrow flames—Heavenly Flames born from heaven and earth. In this vast world, there are some extraordinary flames. For example, molten earth flames forged deep within volcanoes over hundreds or thousands of years; flames carried within the cores of meteorites falling from the sky; or peculiar flames found in the eye of fiery tornadoes in ancient deserts."

"These extraordinary flames are called 'Heavenly Flames.' They are stronger than Dou Qi flames, allowing medicinal herbs to be refined more effectively and improving the quality of pills. However, Heavenly Flames are violent, unruly, extremely rare, and difficult to encounter. Even if you find one, obtaining it is far from easy."

"An Alchemist may spend his entire life without finding one. Even after finding one, to control such a Heavenly Flame, one must draw it into the body and refine its origin into one's own flame seed. But Heavenly Flames are incomparably violent and possess world-destroying power. Without sufficient strength and preparation, trying to absorb one is nothing more than playing with fire."

"Then Teacher, yours is a Heavenly Flame too, right?" Xia Mo interjected. Xiao Yan nodded as well, clearly very curious.

Seeing his students' curiosity about his flame, Old Yao proudly lifted his head, his eyes burning as he said, "The alchemy world has compiled a list of known Heavenly Flames—the Heavenly Flame Ranking. It records twenty-three kinds of Heavenly Flames. Mine is the eleventh-ranked Bone Spirit Cold Flame. It can only be encountered once every hundred years, in places of extreme cold and extreme yin, at the moment the sun and moon alternate."

"Bone Spirit Cold Flame..." Xia Mo and Xiao Yan said in unison as they stared at the white flame.

"Back then, I spent eight years in that dark, sunless hellhole for it. Even with every preparation in place, I nearly got burned to ashes."

"What about the other flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking?" Xia Mo asked.

"No one knows who created the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Ranked twenty-third is the Mysterious Yellow Flame; twenty-second, the Myriad Beasts Spirit Flame; twenty-first, the Yin-Yang Twin Flames; twentieth, the Nether Poison Flame; nineteenth, the Green Lotus Core Flame; eighteenth, the Wind Fury Dragon Flame; seventeenth, the Volcanic Rock Flame; sixteenth, the Huoyun Water Flame; fifteenth, the Sea Heart Flame; fourteenth, the Falling Heart Flame; thirteenth, the Turtle Spirit Earth Flame; twelfth, the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Flame; eleventh is my Bone Spirit Cold Flame; tenth, the Nine Nether Wind Flame; ninth, the Three Thousand Burning Flame; eighth, the Red Lotus Karmic Fire; seventh, the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Flame; sixth, the Eight Desolations Destruction Flame; fifth, the Spirit Flame; fourth, the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame; third, the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame; second, the Nihility Devouring Flame. As for the first-ranked Heavenly Flame, for some unknown reason, it was never recorded."

Listening to Old Yao, Xia Mo and Xiao Yan stared at the Bone Spirit Cold Flame with envy written all over their faces. Although Xia Mo did not cultivate the Flame Mantra, obtaining a Heavenly Flame would still be wonderful. He wondered whether he might one day have the chance to obtain a highly ranked Heavenly Flame.

"These matters are still too distant for you. But there is one thing you can start asking around about: Flame Receptacles. Only high-grade Spirit Stones contain even a little of it. I only have a small amount left now. You need to find another portion, so that when you travel alone in the future, you won't be left unprepared—staring helplessly when you encounter a Heavenly Flame."

"Yes, Teacher," Xia Mo and Xiao Yan said together.

"Alright, next..."

P.S. Wow, I'm a newbie using a computer. Just as I was nearly done typing today, the webpage froze, and half of it wasn't saved. I'm devastated d(д)