The Three Fires of Heaven, Earth, and Man

Three dazzling, strange crystals suddenly appeared from the backpack, illuminating the stone cave until it shimmered.

One crystal was diamond-shaped, and the other two were oval. All three were crystal clear, like flawless gemstones, and strange waves of energy rippled from them.

Clearly, these three crystals contained extraordinary energy.

"Demon Crystals!"

Di Ya Lan cried out, her face lighting up with joy.

"Ah!"

Mu Yu Die also exclaimed softly, then said happily, "It seems our luck really is excellent. We actually managed to find Demon Crystals. Hehe, if we can get out of the Gloomy Forest alive, these three Demon Crystals alone will keep us comfortable for the rest of our lives."

Di Ya Lan crouched down and examined the three Demon Crystals closely. After a long while, she said, "They should be Demon Crystals from a Level Six demon beast, but I can't tell what kind of demon beast they came from."

"Sister Lan, I heard that demon beasts can absorb the energy in Demon Crystals directly. Since these three belong to the Thunder Wing Silver Wolf, why didn't it absorb them to increase its strength?"

"I heard the Thunder Wing Silver Wolf gave birth to a cub not long ago. The best way for a young Thunder Wing Silver Wolf to grow quickly is to absorb the power of Demon Crystals. If the rumors are true, then I think these three Demon Crystals from a Level Six demon beast were prepared by the Thunder Wing Silver Wolf for its cub."

"So that's how it is."

"The energy contained in Demon Crystals makes them excellent cultivation materials for alchemists and artifact refiners. Those people can tell what kind of demon beast a crystal came from just by looking at it. Well, there are three crystals, so we can each have one. What do you say?"

"I didn't do anything, so I'll pass."

Mu Yu Die shook her head and glanced at Shi Yan, who was cultivating with his eyes closed. "I think the two of you should split them. I don't need one. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have been in so much danger..."

"Let's wait until that boy wakes up before we decide how to divide them." Di Ya Lan furrowed her brow, then lowered her head and began rummaging through the backpack again.

"Eh!"

Di Ya Lan exclaimed softly once more. She picked up a transparent jade bottle from the backpack on the ground and stared blankly at the fiery red liquid inside.

The liquid in the jade bottle looked like wisps of flame. As Di Ya Lan shook it, it rippled like little flickering flames, a truly wondrous sight.

Di Ya Lan seemed to remember something. She stared blankly at the liquid in the jade bottle.

A long while later, her delicate body shuddered, and she suddenly cried out, "Earth Core Fire Liquid!"

"Congratulations, Sister Lan!"

Mu Yu Die froze for a moment, then suddenly realized what it was. Delighted, she said, "Sister Lan, this is just what you need! I never expected you to gain so much from this trip. Not only did your Martial Soul awaken, you also found Earth Core Fire Liquid."

Di Ya Lan was beside herself with joy. She nodded repeatedly, shaking the jade bottle in her hand as she stammered, "I—I never expected something this wonderful to happen. Ha, Earth Core Fire Liquid!"

Shi Yan, quietly adjusting his body, had just finished cultivating three Greater Celestial Circuits. At the words, he was intrigued. He opened his eyes and asked, "Earth Core Fire Liquid? What does that have to do with you?"

"Huh? You actually don't know about Earth Core Fire Liquid?" Di Ya Lan cried in surprise. "How can you not know such basic things? Are you even a Martial Artist?"

Shi Yan remained impassive. "Tell me about it."

"Do you know about the three fires of heaven, earth, and man?"

"Not really."

"Ah, you don't even know that?"

"Mm."

Di Ya Lan shook her head with a wry smile, looking as if she didn't know what to do with Shi Yan.

After a pause, she explained slowly, "The three fires of heaven, earth, and man refer to Human Fire, Earth Fire, and Heavenly Fire. Human Fire is a strange flame within a human Martial Artist's body, like my Blue Demon Flame. Human Fire is the foundation of cultivation for alchemists and artifact refiners. Every alchemist and artifact refiner who reaches a profound level has a Human Fire in their body. Only then can they master the arts of alchemy and artifact refining."

Shi Yan nodded without replying and kept watching her.

Di Ya Lan pondered for a moment, then continued, "Earth Fire and Heavenly Fire are flames that exist between heaven and earth. For example, the 'Earth Core Fire' deep within the earth, or the 'Ten Thousand Year Volcano Heart Flame' inside a volcano that has existed for ten thousand years. Earth Fire and Heavenly Fire form naturally. The difference between them is that one has consciousness and the other does not."

"What do you mean?" Shi Yan became interested.

"Natural flames without consciousness are called Earth Fire. You can think of them as treasures, like some kind of precious ore. Heavenly Fire is different. Like us, it has a living consciousness. It can think, it has intelligence, and it possesses strange powers. It's the most wondrous kind of special life in the world, and it almost never perishes... Some Heavenly Fires have existed since the Divine Grace Continent first formed."

Shi Yan's expression remained impassive, but a storm surged in his heart.

He wasn't from this world. The knowledge he had acquired was completely different from that of this world.

Before this, he had never imagined that flames could be alive, capable of thought, and possessed of such great intelligence.

Di Ya Lan's explanation gave him an even deeper understanding of how wondrous this world was.

There were all kinds of mysterious phenomena here that he would never have dreamed of, such as Martial Souls and demon beasts...

"Is this Earth Core Fire Liquid Earth Fire?" After remaining dazed for a while, Shi Yan spoke again.

"It's the liquid left behind when Earth Core Fire transforms into Heavenly Fire. It's neither Earth Fire nor Heavenly Fire, but something in between."

"Earth Fire can transform into Heavenly Fire?" Shi Yan was astonished again.

"Of course. If an Earth Fire has existed for millions of years and happens upon the right opportunity, it really can develop consciousness and transform into Heavenly Fire. But the chance is tiny. It's very rare, and not every Earth Fire has the opportunity to transform into Heavenly Fire."

Di Ya Lan smiled happily as she said, "But this Earth Core Fire Liquid really is the liquid flame left behind before Earth Core Fire transformed into Heavenly Fire... This liquid is incredibly precious to people like us who have Human Fire in our bodies!"

"What makes it so precious?"

"It can change Human Fire, giving it the fierce power of Earth Fire. In other words, it can evolve a Martial Soul!" Di Ya Lan was so excited she nearly danced with joy. "Human Fire comes from the human body, so its temperature can hardly surpass that of the flames found between heaven and earth. Only Martial Artists who reach the Divine Realm can make their Human Fire as hot as natural flames after strengthening it several times."

"I understand." Shi Yan nodded. "This Earth Core Fire Liquid can change your Blue Demon Flame, evolving it into a flame with the scorching heat of Earth Fire?"

"Exactly!" Di Ya Lan nodded emphatically, her bright eyes gleaming as she looked at him. She hesitated, then said awkwardly, "Um..."

"You don't need to say anything. The Earth Core Fire Liquid is yours."

"I..." Di Ya Lan was overjoyed, but she felt she was getting far too good a deal and wanted to say something.

Shi Yan said indifferently, "The Earth Core Fire Liquid is useless to me. I don't have a flame Martial Soul, so why should I keep it? Take it."

"It may be useless to you, but with this Earth Core Fire Liquid, you could trade with Medicine King Valley for any of the precious pills held by its three Medicine Kings."

"Enough. Just keep it." Shi Yan frowned and said casually, "Besides, there's a Spirit Grade Martial Skill, isn't there?"

At his words, Di Ya Lan remembered and hurriedly rummaged through the backpack again.

"This must be it." Di Ya Lan held an ancient, dark yellow scripture in her hands. She glanced at it, then shook her head. "These are ancient characters. I can't read them. I guess we'll need to find a specialist to figure out what's written here."

"Let me see." Shi Yan reached out to take it, as naturally as could be.

The owner of the body Shi Yan had possessed had been especially fond of exploring ancient ruins. Though he had achieved little in the Martial Dao, his knowledge of ancient writing and ruins far surpassed that of most so-called sages in the world.

Once he had the ancient, dark red scripture in hand, Shi Yan glanced at the ancient characters on its cover, which resembled oracle-bone script, and murmured, "Magnetic Shock Domain Field..."