Li Bufan sped several miles through the gray-white Hidden Dragon Qi. Only after confirming that the people from Burning Flame Valley had not followed him did he stop in a relatively secluded hollow among the rocks.
He sat cross-legged and sank his divine sense into the jade slip containing the Myriad Flames Return-to-Origin Scripture, carefully studying its contents.
The characters within the jade slip were bold and archaic, their distinctive strokes seeming to have been seared by flames. The opening principles alone made his gaze pause.
"All fires under heaven contain spiritual essence. Like spiritual herbs, metals, and stones, they may all serve as materials for refinement. Take one fire as the principal cauldron, and flames of other kinds as supplementary medicines. Rely not upon brute force to burn and plunder, but follow the path of assimilation and purification."
"First, select an origin fire as the principal flame to establish your foundation. Gather secondary fires from throughout the world to assist it. Extend the principal fire's domain to envelop the supplementary flames, slowly drawing out their pure fire essence and spiritual resonance. Discard the tainted dregs and return every measure of refined essence to the origin."
"Smelt and refine layer by layer, proceeding in proper order, and the principal fire's grade will steadily advance. Mortal fire, demon fire, solar fire, and samadhi true fire may all be used as medicines to nourish it."
"In cultivation, beware of impatient haste. Do not force a weak flame to swallow a fierce blaze, nor absorb excessive amounts of foul and corrupt fire essence. Through ceaseless refinement, the origin fire may ultimately attain the eighth grade. Though myriad flames follow different paths, all return to a single origin. Nourish one supreme root of flame within a single furnace with the fires of the multitude—this