"Senior, go ahead and ask whatever you like."
Ling Xi sighed, his voice tinged with the helplessness of someone living under another's roof.
"As long as it's something I can tell you, I won't hide it."
"Very well."
Xuan Kongzi nodded with a genial smile, then asked with a trace of curiosity:
"What exactly were you doing in your room just now? You actually caused a celestial phenomenon."
"Don't tell me you really created a Heavenly Rank Cultivation Method or Dou Technique."
Even Dou Saints might not be able to create a Heavenly Rank Cultivation Method or Dou Technique, despite devoting their entire lives to the task.
Xuan Kongzi didn't believe that someone like Ling Xi, a Da Dou Shi, could create one either. But the celestial phenomenon couldn't have been faked.
"I wouldn't say I created it."
Ling Xi sighed at his words.
"My teacher passed down a Soul Technique inherited by the Ling Clan. While I was practicing it, the technique underwent a change inside me."
"That's what caused this so-called celestial phenomenon."
A lie would invite suspicion, while Ling Xi couldn't tell him the whole truth.
Only a mixture of truth and falsehood could fool a powerful Dou Venerate like Xuan Kongzi.
The Eye of the Netherworld was a High Earth Tier Soul Technique of the Ling Clan. It compressed soul power along a special circulation route, then fired it from the eyes.
While Ling Xi was practicing the technique, the Devouring Ancestral Symbol had unexpectedly reacted with the Eye of the Netherworld.
The Eye of the Netherworld could no longer be considered merely a Soul Technique. It was more like a fusion of a Soul Technique and a cultivation method.
Under the influence of the Devouring Ancestral Symbol, the Eye of the Netherworld now operated continuously on its own, constantly absorbing Spiritual Qi from the world to strengthen Ling Xi's soul power.
And when Ling Xi deliberately activated it, he could still fire the compressed soul power from his eyes.
Perhaps this mutation was what had caused the celestial phenomenon.
In any case, the technique's current power and practicality were far beyond what a High Earth Tier technique should be capable of.
"A Soul Technique can undergo a mutation while being practiced?"
Xuan Kongzi couldn't help clicking his tongue in amazement.
"The world is truly full of wonders."
Although he knew Ling Xi hadn't told him the whole truth, the explanation had answered his question well enough.
"You're from the Ling Clan, and your soul power is extraordinary to begin with. It's not hard to believe that a Ling Clan inheritance technique would mutate while you practiced it."
Ling Xi was the first person Xuan Kongzi had ever met to reach the Spirit Realm in soul power at such a young age.
"I heard from Ying'er that you once asked her to refine a Blood Lotus Pill for you in the new space opened by the Pill Tower."
Xuan Kongzi changed the subject and asked with a genial smile:
"Did you find some powerful flame? Why else would you need a fifth-grade Blood Lotus Pill to help refine it?"
"Senior Xuan Kongzi, does asking for a Blood Lotus Pill necessarily mean I've found a powerful flame?"
Ling Xi couldn't help replying.
"Couldn't I simply want to be more cautious while refining a flame?"
Xuan Kongzi gave a soft snort and shot Ling Xi a sidelong glance.
"Your teacher told me that he found you the companion flame of a Seventh-tier Magical Beast, the Crimson Sun Luan Bird, as a gift when he took you as his student."
"That Seventh-tier Beast Flame would be enough to last you until you became a Seventh-grade Alchemist."
After a pause, Xuan Kongzi gave a cold laugh.
"If you hadn't found a flame stronger than a Seventh-tier Beast Flame, why would you go to the trouble of refining a Blood Lotus Pill and changing flames? You must have nothing better to do?"
The old fox really did know his stuff. That excuse of Ling Xi's couldn't fool someone like Xuan Kongzi.
"Senior, you're right. I did refine a flame in the space your Pill Tower opened."
Pressing his lips together, Ling Xi had no choice but to admit it.
"A flame that needs a Blood Lotus Pill to help refine it... Don't tell me you found a Heavenly Flame?"
There was no need to explain how precious Heavenly Flames were. Nearly every known one was controlled by a major faction or a renowned powerhouse.
Even none of the Pill Tower's three giants possessed a Heavenly Flame, so Xuan Kongzi had mostly been joking.
He didn't believe Ling Xi could refine a Heavenly Flame on his own with only the strength of a Dou Master.
"How did Senior Xuan Kongzi know that I refined a Heavenly Flame?"
Ling Xi furrowed his brow and asked.
"You really refined a Heavenly Flame?"
Xuan Kongzi's eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth twitched.
"Mm."
Ling Xi nodded and held out his right hand before Xuan Kongzi.
A ball of dark-red flame suddenly rose from his palm. Its terrifying heat made the space around his hand warp slightly.
"The flame is dark red, and when it burns, it can take the forms of various Magical Beasts... This is the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire, ranked twenty-second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!"
As an Eighth-grade Alchemist, Xuan Kongzi was an expert when it came to flames. He recognized the one in Ling Xi's hand at a glance.
"Did you find the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire in that space, too?"
Xuan Kongzi raised an eyebrow slightly.
Although the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire ranked second from last on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, it was still a Heavenly Flame born of heaven and earth.
Its uses far surpassed those of Beast Flames.
"Now that I've refined the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire, why ask about it?"
Ling Xi dispelled the flame in his hand and winked at Xuan Kongzi.
"With your talent, the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire is a little beneath you."
Xuan Kongzi didn't press him any further.
Everyone had secrets of their own, and he wasn't one to dig endlessly. Still, there was a hint of wistfulness in his voice.
"What, Senior, are you planning to give me the Three Thousand Burning Flame Fire sealed in the Pill Tower Starry Sky?"
Ling Xi said irritably.
"Actually, it's not out of the question."
To Ling Xi's surprise, Xuan Kongzi nodded.
"But the Three Thousand Burning Flame Fire ranks ninth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Born in the starry sky, it's incredibly wild. Even your teacher and I can't subdue it."
After a pause, Xuan Kongzi continued:
"Your teacher has asked me several times before. He said that if you reached the Dou Venerate level one day, we should help you refine the Three Thousand Burning Flame Fire."
"But you've already refined the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire. It'll be nearly impossible for you to refine a second Heavenly Flame in the future."
Ling Xi fell silent for a while. Then, after a moment, he asked, still puzzled:
"The Three Thousand Burning Flame Fire belongs to the Pill Tower. Would you really agree to help my teacher let me refine such a Heavenly Flame?"
"Heh. The Three Thousand Burning Flame Fire is wild and untamable. It'll inevitably become a great threat in the future."
Xuan Kongzi explained, "If we can help you refine the Three Thousand Burning Flame Fire, that wouldn't be a bad thing for our Pill Tower."
"Besides, there's no one among the younger generation in my Pill Tower who can compare to you. Your future achievements are practically limitless."
After a pause, Xuan Kongzi gazed intently at Ling Xi.
"Of course, I have one condition: you have to join our Pill Tower!"
Before you continue