He'd Be Second, Who'd Dare Be First

A Fire Attribute Blood Lotus Pill!

With the vision of a god, Hun Han knew that more than a decade later, Yao Chen would refine a Blood Lotus Pill for Xiao Yan. The Blood Lotus Pill required three types of medicinal ingredients: Blood Lotus Essence, Ice Spirit Flame Grass, and a fourth-tier Ice Attribute Magic Core.

Familiar with the storyline of Battle Through the Heavens, Hun Han knew that the Blood Lotus Pill was an important pill needed to devour Exotic Flames. Now, if he wanted to devour Exotic Water, possessing a Fire Attribute Blood Lotus Pill would allow one to get close to the Exotic Water!

Currently, Hun Han could only get within a hundred meters of the Nine Nether Wind Ice.

"Ding dong!"

"Sign-in time has arrived, do you wish to sign in?"

"Sign in!"

"Ding dong!"

"Congratulations, through Time Sign-in, you have obtained: Spirit Nurturing Stone!"

In front of Hun Han, a gray stone the size of a thumb appeared. The stone was smooth and lustrous all over, without the slightest flaw. Within its heart, a faint blue glow slowly writhed, like a small, living worm.

"Holy crap, System, I'm reporting you for playing favorites. I encounter Exotic Water, the Nine Nether Wind Ice, and you send me a Spirit Nurturing Stone!" Hun Han's face was ecstatic as he gazed at the Spirit Nurturing Stone before him.

To devour Exotic Water, just like with Exotic Flames, one needed an indispensable item. That item was the Spirit Nurturing Stone before him.

The human body was extremely fragile and needed a space to store Exotic Water and Exotic Flames. This space was the Spirit Nurturing Stone.

On the Time Sign-in panel, Hun Han learned that there were still half a month until the next Time Sign-in.

"What is this thing?" the Exploding Heaven Gang leader asked doubtfully, looking at Hun Han.

"Spirit Nurturing Stone!" Hun Han replied joyfully.

"Spirit Nurturing Stone?" The Exploding Heaven Gang leader's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

"Yes, to devour Exotic Flames and Exotic Water, one must have a Spirit Nurturing Stone. Master, you don't even know this?" Hun Han questioned the Exploding Heaven Gang leader.

"Cough cough!"

The Exploding Heaven Gang leader took a drink of wine, perhaps to cover his embarrassment. He stepped forward and urged, "Let's go, it's time to rest. We have to set off for Maple City early tomorrow morning. It takes seven days to get to Maple City from here!"

"Master, actually, we don't need to go to Maple City to seek pills!" Hun Han followed, saying softly.

"Without the Blood Lotus Pill, you can't even get close to the Exotic Water. How can you devour it?" The Exploding Heaven Gang leader glanced at Hun Han and continued drinking his wine. Ever since they entered this place, the Exploding Heaven Gang leader had been drinking more and more frequently.

"Master, who says you need the Blood Lotus Pill to get close to Exotic Water?" Hun Han's lips curved into a slight arc.

"What do you mean?"

The Exploding Heaven Gang leader stopped in his tracks, turned to look at Hun Han, his lips curling up, a hint of mockery in his eyes, and said with a smile, "Don't tell me you're actually a fourth-grade Alchemist who can refine pills with the same effect?"

Hun Han shook his head, "Although I have Fire and Wood attributes, I am not an Alchemist yet."

The Exploding Heaven Gang leader gave Hun Han a look and chuckled, "Then what nonsense are you talking about."

Hun Han continued with a smile, "Master, although I am not an Alchemist, I am a Talisman Master!"

The Exploding Heaven Gang leader frowned, staring at Hun Han, and murmured, "Talisman Master?"

The Exploding Heaven Gang leader had not forgotten that this place was the ruins of the ancient Talisman Sect.

Hun Han nodded, "Yes, Master. Although I cannot refine pills yet, I can draw talismans."

"Talismans?"

The Exploding Heaven Gang leader pondered, then said joyfully, "You mean, you can draw talismans with the same effect as the Blood Lotus Pill?"

Hun Han nodded heavily, "Yes."

The Exploding Heaven Gang leader's expression became overjoyed, and he asked again, "Then... what do we need to prepare?"

The Exploding Heaven Gang leader had flipped through ancient books in the Black Corner Region and knew that Talisman Masters were a profession that could rival Alchemists. He had spent most of his life researching this mysterious profession. Hearing that Hun Han could draw talismans now, he couldn't help but feel excited.

"We need a fourth-tier Fire Attribute Magic Core, Blood Lotus Essence, Flame Grass, and the hide and fur of at least a fourth-tier Demonic Beast," Hun Han replied.

If he hadn't just signed in and obtained the Spirit Nurturing Stone, Hun Han wouldn't have been confident in his ability to devour the Exotic Water, the Nine Nether Wind Ice, on his own.

"A fourth-tier Fire Attribute Magic Core, Blood Lotus Essence, Flame Grass, and the hide and fur of at least a fourth-tier Demonic Beast," the Exploding Heaven Gang leader murmured, repeating the words and shaking his head, "No, I don't have any of these things."

"If not, then we can only settle for the next best thing. Hmm, we'll need many first-tier Fire Attribute Magic Cores, Blood Spirit Ganoderma, Flame Grass, and the Magic Cores and fur of at least first-tier Demonic Beasts!" Hun Han pondered for a moment, recalling information from the Talisman Secret Codex in his mind and stating it all.

"Blood Spirit Ganoderma, Flame Grass, these are first-tier medicinal ingredients. Will they work?" the Exploding Heaven Gang leader asked doubtfully. Could they really subdue the Exotic Water with just these first-tier ingredients!

"There's no other way. Even if we went to Maple City, the Blood Lotus Pill might not be that easy to obtain, right?" Hun Han retorted helplessly.

"Hmm, that guy is extremely arrogant. When you talk to him, he acts like his eyes are stuck on top of his head. If it's absolutely necessary, I don't want to talk to him! In the entire Black Corner Region, if you talk about arrogance, he's second to none!" the Exploding Heaven Gang leader said with disdain.

Stepping onto the teleportation array, Hun Han arrived at the ancient palace on the ground. He then noticed that a thin layer of ice crystals had formed on his clothes.

"For the first-tier Fire Attribute Magic Cores, I have over six hundred. Do you think that's enough?" the Exploding Heaven Gang leader inquired.

"Over six hundred? Master, how do you have so many?" Hun Han asked in surprise.

"Heh heh, the forest has everything. When Master wants to eat meat, I just go into the forest and kill a few," the Exploding Heaven Gang leader chuckled lightly, though a hint of bitter complexity was mixed in the smile at the corner of his mouth.

"Over six hundred is not enough. My budget is a thousand. Of course, the more the better!" Hun Han said.

"Alright, tomorrow we'll go to Twilight City. There's an auction house established by the Blood Sect there. We can buy them then. Okay, it's getting late, let's get some sleep?" the Exploding Heaven Gang leader instructed.

"Master, I still have a question. You didn't choose so many names, why did you specifically choose Exploding Heaven Gang?" Hun Han asked curiously.

"Exploding Heaven Gang, daring to explode even the heavens, isn't that a magnificent name? Alright, stop messing around and go to sleep!"

However, late at night, the voice of the Exploding Heaven Gang leader drifted in from outside the window.

"Ten years of life and death, vast and hazy, no need to ponder, yet unforgettable. A thousand miles of lonely grave, nowhere to speak of desolation. Even if we meet, you probably wouldn't recognize me, face full of dust, temples like frost."