Third on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking

"Clang!"

Once the pill had fully taken shape, it carried the energy of heaven and earth as it slammed into the inner wall of the Purple Abyss Cauldron, ringing out with a clear chime.

Ling Xi's whole body trembled slightly. Then he swept out a hand.

The lid of the Purple Abyss Cauldron flew open, and a golden-red flame instantly shot out of the cauldron, carrying a blood-red pill with it.

"Not bad. It really worked!"

Only when he saw the Blood Lotus Pill did Ling Xi finally let out the breath he had been holding.

This was his first time refining a fifth-grade pill, and it was indeed a bit beyond his current abilities.

Fortunately, with the help of the Purple Abyss Cauldron, ranked third on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking, he had still managed to refine the Blood Lotus Pill.

He beckoned with a slight movement of his hand, and the Blood Lotus Pill hovering above the cauldron seemed to answer a summons, dropping into his palm.

A faint medicinal fragrance wafted from the Blood Lotus Pill, accompanied by the peculiar, bloodlike scent unique to Blood Lotus Essence.

"Not bad. To refine a Blood Lotus Pill of this quality on my first attempt at a fifth-grade pill—the cauldron on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking really is extraordinary."

Feeling the lingering warmth of the Blood Lotus Pill in his hand, Ling Xi wore a faintly smug expression.

He wasn't just bragging.

At least by his standards, the Blood Lotus Pill he had just refined was the best of the best.

Even some high-ranking Alchemists might not be able to refine one so perfectly.

After carefully storing the Blood Lotus Pill in a jade bottle, Ling Xi let out a breath of stale air and sat down to meditate.

Refining a fifth-grade pill had taken a lot out of him. It took an entire night of meditation before he finally recovered to his peak condition.

"Better to act before anything changes. I might as well press on and refine the Heavenly Flame!"

After pondering for a moment, Ling Xi took the Naling and the Ice Spirit Cold Spring out of his Nakai Ring.

"Heavenly Demon Puppet, guard me!"

"Anyone who comes near me without permission—kill them without mercy!"

Ling Xi's voice was cold and utterly devoid of emotion, carrying a murderous intent.

A flash of golden light, and the Heavenly Demon Puppet appeared beside him, like a loyal guard.

There was nothing else Ling Xi could do. Refining a Heavenly Flame would cause quite a commotion.

He didn't have some old master living inside him to use soul power to conceal the disturbance caused by refining a Heavenly Flame.

Without the Heavenly Demon Puppet to protect him, he would never have chosen to refine a Heavenly Flame in this space.

[System, claim the reward!]

After making all the preparations, Ling Xi gave the system the order.

[Congratulations, Host. You have claimed your reward: Myriad Beast Spirit Fire!]

A cluster of dark red flames appeared without warning in the cave.

Unlike ordinary flames, which flickered and shifted without form, these flames continually transformed in the air into the shapes of various Magical Beasts.

As they changed, the temperature throughout the cave quietly began to rise. Even Ling Xi felt a wave of scorching heat.

Fixing his gaze on the flames, Ling Xi opened his mouth and swallowed the Blood Lotus Pill he had refined earlier.

Ling Xi's strength was still too weak. If he had reached the level of Dou Zong or higher, he could have forcibly suppressed a Heavenly Flame through sheer strength.

Then refining a Heavenly Flame wouldn't have required so many preparations.

The moment the Blood Lotus Pill entered his mouth, it turned into a slightly chilly energy that swiftly coursed through the meridians throughout Ling Xi's body.

At last, it seeped into his flesh and bones, slowly forming a protective layer.

As the pill's medicinal effects took hold, Ling Xi's body suddenly shuddered.

A trace of scarlet liquid energy seeped from his pores, and in just a few breaths, it had covered his entire body.

A moment later, the scarlet liquid energy rapidly solidified, finally forming a strange layer of keratin that protected Ling Xi from head to toe.

"So this is the Blood Lotus Pill's effect?"

Looking at himself, as if dressed in a suit of crimson armor, Ling Xi couldn't help shaking his head.

Meanwhile, once it was no longer suppressed, the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire began to swell wildly.

The Myriad Beast Spirit Fire, which had originally been no more than a small flame, had grown to nearly Ling Xi's size. It looked just like a ferocious beast slowly awakening.

Terrifying heat surged from the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire, and parts of the cave even began to melt.

Unlike ordinary flames, the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire released a terrifying heat while also carrying the ferocious might of Magical Beasts.

If Ling Xi's soul power hadn't been formidable, that pressure would have left him quaking with fear long ago.

"Come!"

Ling Xi curled his hand into a claw and sucked fiercely at the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire, which was already becoming difficult to control.

Though the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire was a Heavenly Flame, it ranked second from the bottom on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

It was still far inferior to the Devouring Ancestral Symbol.

Under the terrifying pull of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, the entire mass of Myriad Beast Spirit Fire immediately surged toward Ling Xi.

"Now I just need to find its source flame."

Ling Xi's eyes were sharp as lightning as he stared at the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire drawing closer.

The entire cave was now enveloped in an utterly terrifying heat. Even the waterfall outside the cave was billowing clouds of white steam.

Under this terrifying heat, the energy layer formed by the Blood Lotus Pill on Ling Xi's body began to liquefy. Sweat streamed down his face and dripped onto the ground.

But Ling Xi paid none of it any mind. Instead, he suddenly thrust his hand into the swelling Myriad Beast Spirit Fire.

The energy layer formed by the Blood Lotus Pill on his arm rapidly melted away, only to regenerate endlessly.

Even so, a searing pain continued to shoot through the arm Ling Xi had plunged into the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire.

If the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire completely melted away the Blood Lotus Pill's medicinal power and caused it to dissipate, then Ling Xi's attempt to refine the Heavenly Flame would fail.

With nothing to suppress it, the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire could cause who knew what kind of chaos in this space.

"Found it!"

The arm Ling Xi had plunged into the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire suddenly went rigid, and a flash of delight appeared on his face.

Clutching the almost-solid object tightly in his hand, Ling Xi yanked his arm out of the dark red flames.

The instant his arm emerged from the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire, a dark red flame appeared in his palm as well.

Calling it a flame was almost inaccurate. The source flame of the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire in Ling Xi's hand looked more like a drop of beast blood that had been tempered a thousand times over.

Aside from its terrifying heat, it also carried the pressure found only in high-ranking Magical Beasts.

"It's said that the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire was formed over ten thousand years, as the souls and bloodlines of countless beasts were repeatedly tempered and compressed by the earth's core flames. Looks like that really is the case."

Watching the source flame in his palm shift among the shapes of various Magical Beasts, Ling Xi blinked and murmured softly.