Fire Affinity

"Earth fire is an intangible fire; it can be felt but not seen. One must use spirit power as a guide to draw it into the giant cauldron..."

Sanbao circled the bronze cauldron twice while reading the Earth Fire Technique.

Beneath the bronze cauldron was a deep, dark opening emitting wisps of scorching heat. This was a channel for earth fire excavated from the depths of Fire Cloud Peak, positioned directly against a small door at the base of the cauldron. By opening this door and continuously channeling spirit power, one could draw the earth fire energy into the cauldron.

Since he had chosen the Fire Cloud Hall, he had to take on the role of the Fire Boy.

Closing the Earth Fire Technique in his hands, Sanbao sat cross-legged beside the giant cauldron. Following the instructions of the Earth Fire Technique, he began to slowly absorb spirit power. A massive amount of fire-attribute spirit energy flowed through his nose and mouth directly into his heart meridian, coursing through the meridians of his entire body before finally returning to his Dantian, where it merged with the metal-attribute spirit power already present.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

The smoothness of his fire-attribute spirit power cultivation exceeded Sanbao's expectations. He had not anticipated that, in addition to his talent for metal-attribute cultivation, his fire-attribute talent was also quite exceptional.

The vast majority of Spirit Cultivators were single-element practitioners. While it was not impossible to cultivate other spirit techniques, doing so would consume a massive amount of time with very little to show for it—essentially a waste of time. Therefore, most people would not choose to simultaneously master two elements.

For example, if Sanbao cultivated metal-attribute spirit power, he could fill his entire Dantian in about ten cycles. However, if he switched to water-attribute spirit power, it would be a struggle to fill even one-tenth of his Dantian after a hundred cycles.

Thus, no one would choose to cultivate an element they were not naturally gifted in.

Of course, there were some gifted Spirit Cultivators who could master two or even multiple spirit techniques, but they were the absolute exception. Sanbao had not expected to possess such talent himself.

Sanbao's original plan had been simple: spend a little extra time to cultivate the Earth Fire Technique just enough to meet the requirements for collecting earth fire. However, after practicing it, he discovered that his fire-attribute talent seemed to be on par with his metal-attribute talent. This actually left Sanbao feeling somewhat conflicted.

After all, while cultivating an additional element would clearly increase his overall strength, he feared it might delay his progress in metal-attribute cultivation.

Soon, Sanbao let go of his worries. He was, after all, a descendant of the Luo Clan, and the high-level spirit techniques he possessed were all metal-based. In particular, his inherited innate divine ability required metal-attribute spirit power to function. The priority was clear.

"I will focus on metal-attribute spirit power and cultivate fire-attribute spirit power only when I have spare time." After some deliberation, Sanbao had made up his mind.

"Sanbao, how is your progress with the Earth Fire Technique? Today, I will teach you the method for collecting earth fire. Starting tomorrow, you must collect one canister of earth fire every week without fail. Of course, I won't treat you unfairly; I will give you double the compensation of an entry-level disciple of the Cloud Saint Sect. Watch closely..."

While Sanbao was lost in thought, Jing Yifei appeared silently in the Earth Fire Hall. He sat cross-legged beneath the bronze cauldron, forming hand seals to collect the earth fire while explaining the process to Sanbao.

After a few demonstrations, Sanbao had grasped eight or nine parts of the technique. As long as one could skillfully manipulate fire-attribute spirit power, the rest of the control was relatively simple.

"Alright, you give it a try."

Jing Yifei demonstrated once more before speaking to Sanbao.

"Understood."

Under Sanbao's constant control, the earth fire energy from the underground opening surged continuously into the bronze cauldron. The entire process required precise control of spirit power, which was extremely draining. The more robust one's spirit power, the faster the collection.

Take Jing Yifei, for example: he could fill the entire cauldron in just half an incense stick of time. Sanbao was far behind; after an hour of full-effort control, his spirit power was completely exhausted, forcing him to meditate to recover before continuing. Repeating this process for an entire day, he had only managed to fill the cauldron with half the required amount of earth fire energy.

Even so, this was enough to leave Jing Yifei, who was watching from the side, dumbfounded. He thought to himself: This person has such strong talent. In just a few days, he has managed to cultivate the Earth Fire Technique to this level, and his primary focus is still a metal-attribute technique. He is simply a natural...

Thinking of this, Jing Yifei suddenly felt a sense of anticipation. If he also met the requirements in that other aspect, then he would truly be...

"Alright, let me take over. Watch carefully." Seeing that Sanbao was exhausted, Jing Yifei immediately took his place. After a few quick hand seals, the earth fire energy entering the cauldron increased rapidly, soon overflowing.

Once the earth fire was collected and the small door closed, Jing Yifei circled the giant cauldron, striking it with a series of hand seals. The cauldron seemed to be activated, emitting a faint hissing sound.

"Alright, you can go back now. Remember to come and add fire on time next week; each canister of earth fire only lasts for one week." After completing the entire procedure, Jing Yifei was already drenched in sweat. He let out a long breath before rising to leave.

It was evident that performing those hand seals had been a massive drain on Jing Yifei.

"Master, are you refining medicine?" Sanbao could not suppress his curiosity and asked Jing Yifei, who was preparing to leave.

All signs point to Jing Yifei refining medicine, Sanbao thought.

"You could say that."

Jing Yifei's answer left Sanbao even more confused. Did "you could say that" mean yes or no?

"Never mind all that. I should eat and then get back to cultivation," Sanbao shook his head and walked out of the Earth Fire Hall.

These past few days of practicing the Earth Fire Technique and collecting fire had left him dizzy and exhausted. Most importantly, it had delayed his scheduled cultivation time.

"Sanbao, someone from the Cloud Saint Hall came by earlier. They want you to go over there; I reckon it's to collect your pay!" As soon as he stepped out of the hall, he ran into A-Tie, who called out with a grin.

Every entry-level disciple of the Cloud Saint Sect received a significant amount of money each year. This ensured that they and their families could live without worry, allowing them to dedicate more time to cultivation. Additionally, new disciples received a mid-grade technique and a spirit skill suited to them. As their rank increased and their contributions to the sect grew, these rewards would become more frequent and of higher quality.

For ordinary disciples from humble backgrounds, this was like a ladder to the heavens, with endless benefits. This was precisely the charm of a major power.

An hour later, Sanbao returned to the Fire Cloud Hall. In addition to some money, he now carried a mid-grade technique and a spirit skill.

However, for Sanbao, who possessed the Purple Gold Art, these were no better than chicken ribs. The only consolation was that this money and these techniques were the first things he had earned through his own strength.

Sanbao currently focused on the Luo Clan's inherited technique—the Purple Gold Art. Based on his current strength, its grade was somewhere between mid-grade and high-grade. The same applied to his spirit skills. The family-inherited Nine-Layered Claw and Nine-Turn Golden Body were actually Earth-grade spirit skills, but with Sanbao's current strength and proficiency, he could at most unleash the power of a mid-grade spirit skill.

Aside from the Nine-Layered Claw and the Nine-Turn Golden Body, Sanbao had only practiced one additional mid-grade spirit skill, the Golden Sand Palm. It was an obvious truth that spirit skills should be mastered in quality rather than quantity.

At least until he reached the Spirit Commander realm, Sanbao did not intend to practice any other spirit skills.

After all, whether it was the Nine-Layered Claw or the Nine-Turn Golden Body, reaching perfection required a massive amount of time and energy. With Sanbao's current cultivation level, it was nearly impossible to bring these two skills to perfection.

In other words, before reaching the Spirit Commander realm, these two spirit skills could be continuously improved. Since that was the case, practicing other spirit skills would only be a waste of time. This was an easy calculation to make.

Of course, besides practicing these spirit skills, Sanbao had never neglected the soul cultivation method taught by the Saint Ancestor of the Luo Clan—the Stone Carving Painting.

As the days of cultivation increased, Sanbao gradually discovered the various benefits of having a powerful soul force.

Take the most basic meditation, for example: the higher one's soul force, the more spirit power would return to the Dantian after each cycle.

Fortunately, Fire Cloud Peak was located on the mountainside, so rocks of all sizes were naturally scattered everywhere, meaning he didn't have to spend much effort finding a place to carve.

Flowers bloomed and withered, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

Under the strange gaze of Jing Yifei, Sanbao had actually managed to stay at Fire Cloud Hall.

No matter how cold Jing Yifei was, Sanbao didn't take it to heart at all; aside from collecting the earth fire every week, he spent all his remaining time silently cultivating alone.

On this day, in front of a massive cliff behind Fire Cloud Hall, Sanbao was concentrating on his carving, his entire mind seemingly absorbed into the work.

"Oriole..."

While observing the demeanor of an oriole in the mountains not far away, Sanbao slowly carved into the stone wall with a five-jin iron chisel, simultaneously exerting all his effort to control his intent according to the Saint Ancestor Secret Manual.

On the stone wall, the oriole emerged from nothing, evolving from simple to complex, gradually becoming vivid. After a light touch at the oriole's eye, the work was complete. Sanbao let out a long, stale breath and closed his eyes to slowly recover. As his level of Stone Carving Painting gradually improved, the consumption of his mental and soul power became increasingly greater; after finishing just one oriole, Sanbao already felt slightly fatigued.

Chirp, chirp...