Refining the Exotic Flame (Part 1)

Cultivation knows no years, and before he knew it, two and a half years had passed.

During this time, no news of Ling Xi reached the outside world.

After the younger generation had gradually left the space opened by the Pill Tower, only Ling Xi remained behind to continue his training.

As time wore on, even the people within the Pill Tower had mostly forgotten about Ling Xi.

After all, no one would keep thinking about a kid whose strength was only at the Dou Shi level.

Before the spatial passage opened by the Pill Tower, an old man with a full head of white beard and hair, his face showing signs of age, stood waiting eagerly.

The guards around the spatial passage occasionally stole glances at the old man, but none dared to make a sound to disturb him.

"Pfft!"

A soft sound accompanied ripples spreading across the spatial passage.

The next moment, a figure suddenly shot out from it.

"Teacher, why did you come in person?"

As a voice tinged with surprise rang out, the onlookers finally got a clear look at the figure who had emerged from the spatial passage.

The tall and straight young man wore a rough leather coat made from the hide of some unknown Magical Beast.

His exposed skin was no longer as fair and delicate as before, instead showing a healthy wheat color.

Yet even this wild attire couldn't hide the young man's strikingly handsome features.

Two and a half years of hardship had chiseled away the youth's softness, revealing a face carved like a knife's edge.

"Not bad, truly not bad!"

Ling You looked Ling Xi up and down, his satisfaction plain to see.

He reached out and ruffled Ling Xi's messy black hair that hung to his shoulders, nodding slightly.

"It seems you didn't waste these two years of training. I didn't expect you to reach the level of a five-star Da Dou Shi in such a short time."

With Ling You's strength, he could tell Ling Xi's Dou Qi level at a glance.

After all, before entering the space opened by the Pill Tower for training, Ling Xi had only just broken through to Dou Shi not long ago.

Yet in just two and a half years, he had crossed one and a half major levels, reaching the strength of a five-star Da Dou Shi.

A thread of Dou Qi slipped from Ling You's fingertip into Ling Xi's body. After sensing for just a moment, the joy on Ling You's face grew even stronger.

"Your foundation is so solid, your Dou Qi so condensed—far surpassing other Da Dou Shi of the same rank... Hmm?"

Ling You's expression suddenly changed, and he immediately fell silent.

With a wave of his hand, he vanished with Ling Xi from the spot.

Ling Xi only felt a blur before his eyes, and by the time he reacted, he was back in his room within the Pill Tower.

He glanced around the somewhat unfamiliar surroundings, and before he could say anything, Ling You spoke up from the side.

"When I probed your foundation just now, I sensed an intense heat in your Dantian, as if it's constantly tempering the Dou Qi within you."

Ling You's expression was complicated.

"Could it be... you've refined a Heavenly Flame?"

Ling Xi pressed his lips together without speaking, then extended his right hand toward Ling You.

A clump of dark-red flame suddenly appeared in Ling Xi's palm, its scorching heat causing the space around his hand to warp slightly.

The most miraculous thing was that this dark-red flame kept shifting into various forms of Magical Beasts in his palm.

"Heavenly Flame Ranking twenty-second, Myriad Beast Spirit Fire..."

As an Eighth-grade Alchemist, Ling You recognized the flame in Ling Xi's hand at a glance.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

"Teacher, I stumbled upon the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire in the space opened by the Pill Tower. Later, with the help of the Blood Lotus Pill and Ice Spirit Cold Spring, I managed to fully refine it."

Seeing Ling You's slightly furrowed brow, Ling Xi couldn't help asking.

"Teacher, I've successfully refined a Heavenly Flame, so why do you seem unhappy?"

"You're still too impatient!"

Ling You tapped Ling Xi's forehead a few times, his tone carrying an indescribable emotion.

"In terms of both cultivation and alchemy talent, you're the strongest among the younger generation I've ever seen."

"Your future achievements will far surpass mine, and reaching the Saint realm won't be difficult for you."

He paused and let out a heavy sigh.

"Although the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire is a Heavenly Flame, it only ranks twenty-second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. For you, it's still too low."

"To be honest, I had my eye on the ninth-ranked Heavenly Flame sealed in the starry sky by the Pill Tower—the Three Thousand Burning Flame."

"Even though the Three Thousand Burning Flame is incredibly violent, and even Xuan Kongzi and the others couldn't subdue it, I believed that you, in the future, would have no problem."

"But now that you've already refined the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire... what a pity."

Although all flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking are born from heaven and earth, the twenty-second-ranked Myriad Beast Spirit Fire is far from comparable to the ninth-ranked Three Thousand Burning Flame.

"Teacher, does that mean once you refine one Heavenly Flame, you can never refine a second one?"

Ling Xi's face showed no hint of regret upon hearing this.

"After spending two and a half years in the space opened by Pill Tower, have you gone and scrambled your own brains?"

Hearing this, Ling You couldn't help but tap Ling Xi on the head twice.

"Heavenly Flames are among the most violent things in this world. When two Heavenly Flames meet, it's like pouring boiling oil onto a fire."

"Even if you're lucky enough to keep your life, the lightest outcome is severe injuries on the verge of death."

Let alone Heavenly Flames—even Beast Flames can't merge with each other. This has become common knowledge among Alchemists.

Of course, there have been some Alchemists who didn't believe this common knowledge, and their fates were all playing with fire and getting burned.

"Teacher, is there really no way at all?"

Ling Xi blinked at Ling You, asking again for confirmation.

"Hmm..."

This time, Ling You didn't answer directly but furrowed his brow in thought.

After pondering for a moment, Ling You slowly spoke.

"There... there are exceptions after all."

"If one's control over Heavenly Flames and their strength reach an extremely high level, it might be possible to merge two Heavenly Flames."

"The clan leader of the Yan Clan, one of the Eight Ancient Clans alongside the Ling Clan, seems to have relied on his own strength and control over flames to merge his two Heavenly Flames."

"But this method is extremely difficult and extremely dangerous."

Pausing here, Ling You hesitated, a trace of reminiscence flashing in his eyes.

"There's also another way—a technique. Back then, that old bastard Yao Chen found a nameless technique fragment in an ancient ruin."

"According to that old bastard, this technique possessed the power to devour and merge Heavenly Flames."

Pausing again, a hint of anger appeared on Ling You's face.

"Back then, I wanted to borrow it for a look, but that old bastard just wouldn't agree."

"Now look—he's dead, and he's taken that technique into the grave with him."

"That old bastard... what a waste!"