This Alchemy Technique Seems Familiar

The one-month period was meant for Gu He to prepare, but it was also a window for Xiao Lei to ready himself.

He had acquired a vast amount of resources within the Magical Beast Mountain Range that he hadn't yet had the chance to consolidate; this was the perfect opportunity to bolster his overall strength, for raw cultivation level alone was useless without the power to back it up.

"Young Master, these are the magical beasts Xiao Xuan hunted according to your instructions!"

Seeing the mountain of beast carcasses, Xiao Lei couldn't help but nod. Having someone by his side was a benefit; at the very least, he didn't have to handle every trivial matter himself.

"Well done. Go outside and stand guard; don't let anyone get close."

Hearing Xiao Lei's praise once more, Qing Lin immediately beamed, a sweet smile spreading across her face as a faint blush rose to her cheeks.

Once Qing Lin had departed, Xiao Lei retrieved the corpse of the Amethyst Winged Lion King he had slain earlier, which would serve as the primary material for refining the Blood Flame.

After arranging all the carcasses around the central Amethyst Winged Lion King according to their cultivation levels, Xiao Lei waved his hand, summoning the Purple Fire he had obtained previously.

Whoosh!

As the Purple Fire landed on the various carcasses, a towering blaze instantly erupted.

Xiao Lei channeled his Dou Qi with all his might. Under the amplification of his four-star Dou Emperor cultivation, the Purple Fire was incredibly potent, rapidly extracting drops of essence blood from the numerous magical beast corpses.

Only the Amethyst Winged Lion King's corpse at the center could slightly resist the Purple Fire, though even its amethyst armor began to melt rapidly under the heat.

The Purple Fire in Xiao Lei's possession was no longer the feeble flame he had first acquired; nourished by the Born Amethyst Source, its power had surged, even surpassing the flames the Amethyst Winged Lion King had wielded while alive.

Once the work was complete, Xiao Lei shifted the hand seals he was holding, and the Purple Fire transformed into a line of flame, tracing a strange pattern upon the ground.

Without a moment's hesitation, Xiao Lei forcefully pulled the source seed of the Purple Fire from within his body and cast it directly onto the essence blood of the Amethyst Winged Lion King.

Whoosh!

The moment the previously calm Purple Fire touched the essence blood, a storm erupted, and the entire strange pattern burst into flames.

Then, a bizarre scene unfolded.

The essence blood scattered across the area seemed to gain consciousness, slowly flowing along the nearby lines of fire toward the central flame.

As it did, the pure purple hue of the fire began to slowly shift toward a blood-red color.

This process was agonizingly slow, continuing for over ten days.

During this time, Xiao Lei kept a close watch on the changes in the fire while mentally digesting the knowledge he had obtained from Gu He, and his alchemy skills quickly reached the mid-level of the sixth tier.

Alchemy is influenced by many factors: flame control techniques, soul power, and cultivation level.

In terms of both soul power and cultivation, the current Xiao Lei was far superior to Gu He.

Xiao Lei even found time to pass the Mystic Ice Python to Qing Lin, continuing to assist her in her cultivation.

At this moment, the beast fire before Xiao Lei finally reached its final stage.

The original Purple Fire was gone, having completely transformed into a blood-red color.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

The previously quiet environment was suddenly filled with the roars of numerous magical beasts; faint phantoms of the beasts appeared above the essence blood that had not yet been fully consumed.

The scene before him was truly extraordinary. Xiao Lei did not interfere; according to Otto's records, this process was meant to happen naturally.

Just as the beasts roared, a ferocious giant beast suddenly rose from the pool of the Amethyst Winged Lion King's essence blood at the center—it was none other than the Amethyst Winged Lion King itself.

Roar!

With a fierce, resounding roar, it instantly silenced the unwilling cries of the other magical beasts.

Whoosh!

All the remaining essence blood exploded in an instant, turning into a blood mist; even the essence blood of the Amethyst Winged Lion King was no exception.

The blood mist settled onto the scattered flames, which immediately contracted, and within a mere ten seconds, they coalesced into a blood-red exotic flame.

"It's done!"

After more than ten days of waiting, the Blood Flame had finally been refined, and even Xiao Lei couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

He snatched up the Blood Flame and found that the imprint he had left on the original Purple Fire was still there, saving him the trouble of re-establishing it.

The Blood Flame burned calmly in Xiao Lei's hand. A faint scent of blood wafted from the rising flames, and the phantom of the Amethyst Winged Lion King flickered intermittently in the center, leaving Xiao Lei marveling at the sight.

He knew that among the flames he was familiar with, only the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame would manifest beast phantoms, but those were random. The Blood Flame, however, featured a fixed phantom of the primary material beast.

Opening his mouth, he swallowed the Blood Flame in one gulp and immediately channeled his Dou Qi, guiding the flame to circulate through his body along the path of the Burning Mantra.

"It's time to upgrade the rank of the Burning Mantra!"

In the original story, Xiao Yan had used the beast fire of the Amethyst Winged Lion King to upgrade the Burning Mantra, though it had only reached the mid-level of the Yellow Tier.

The Blood Flame Xiao Lei possessed now was significantly more powerful.

Another half-day passed, and everything went smoothly.

"Yellow Tier, High Grade!"

Although the result had exceeded his expectations, Xiao Lei couldn't help but smile bitterly. He was a Dou Emperor still using a Yellow Tier cultivation technique, but at least he would soon possess a Heavenly Flame!

With that thought, Xiao Lei left the spot and headed in the direction of Gu He.

"Old He, this is all the Ice Spirit Cold Spring. I got it all from your brother, Gu Te, though he gave me quite a hard time over it."

Yan Shi spoke as he handed over a dozen jade bottles into Gu He's hands.

Gu He nodded gently; his younger brother Gu Te had a penchant for collecting rare treasures, which was why Gu He had thought of him immediately.

As for the quantity of over ten bottles, it could only be said that Gu Te's claim to Xiao Yan in the original story that there was only one bottle was complete nonsense, just as Xiao Yan's claim that there was only one Born Amethyst Source was equally untrue.

Gu He felt little guilt about taking things from his own brother; after all, if he failed to absorb the Heavenly Flame and died, it would be nothing but a pipe dream for Gu Te, a mere second-tier alchemist, to hold onto these items.

Perhaps it was for this reason that although Gu Te had made a scene with Yan Shi, he still handed over all of the Ice Spirit Cold Spring.

"How are the preparations coming along?"

Just then, a figure flashed into the main hall.

Seeing that it was Xiao Lei who had appeared, Gu He hurriedly cupped his hands, "I have brought all the auxiliary rare treasures I could collect, but I have only just gathered the ingredients for the Blood Lotus Pill and have not yet begun refining it."

Hearing this, Xiao Lei nodded, feeling quite satisfied with the other's efficiency; after all, he had originally given him a month, and only a dozen days had passed, yet everything was nearly ready.

"Sit down and regulate your breathing. I will refine the Blood Lotus Pill, and once it is successfully refined, we shall begin the attempt!"

When facing a Heavenly Flame, there was only so much preparation one could do; the rest relied entirely on luck.

Gu He did not refuse, as refining medicinal pills would consume his energy, which might affect his state for absorbing the Heavenly Flame.

Xiao Lei, on the other hand, wanted to test his current alchemy skills while also allowing Gu He to absorb the Heavenly Flame sooner.

Gu He quickly took out three sets of medicinal ingredients and handed them to Xiao Lei.

Taking the ingredients, Xiao Lei immediately produced a medicine cauldron and began the refining process, not avoiding Gu He at all.

This casual demeanor actually made Gu He feel a bit ashamed; after all, to prevent others from stealing their techniques, they usually would not refine pills in public, yet Xiao Lei had no such concerns.

Xiao Lei's attitude was essentially: those are your own alchemy techniques, feel free to learn if you want!

However, upon seeing the medicine cauldron Xiao Lei produced, Gu He's face immediately darkened—wasn't that his own Volcano Flame Cauldron?

A blood-red flame ignited slowly on Xiao Lei's palm, then transformed into wisps of fire threads that rapidly pierced through the medicinal ingredients.

Such a bold operation stunned Gu He. It was not that Gu He could not turn flames into threads, but such a method of refining was an extreme test of soul power and flame control.

And this was something Gu He could never hope to achieve!

Yet, this method could also minimize the refining time, as the most time-consuming process of extraction was significantly accelerated.

However, the more Gu He observed Xiao Lei refining, the more puzzled he became:

Why did Xiao Lei's alchemy techniques look so similar to his own!

In just half a day, Xiao Lei successfully refined the Blood Lotus Pill, leaving Gu He dumbfounded; if it were him, it would have taken at least several days.

"Here!"

Tossing the Blood Lotus Pill in his hand to Gu He, Xiao Lei could not help but praise the boost the Blood Flame provided to Dou Qi.

"Bring out the Heavenly Flame; we can begin!"

Hearing this, Gu He's expression tightened, his demeanor turning solemn.

The true test had only just begun!