Refining Beast Flame

The tide of joy receded, and cold reality emerged once more.

Su Chen sat before the table, his gaze shifting back and forth between the newly kindled flame on the oil lamp and its copy inside his consciousness.

He could copy things.

This truly was a miracle.

But... what use was copying a candle flame?

As soon as the thought surfaced, the ecstasy that had nearly overwhelmed his reason quickly cooled, giving way to a much clearer assessment.

In this world, where the strong ruled, the value of an ordinary flame was infinitely close to zero.

It could not be used in battle or to refine medicine. Even as a source of light, it was so insignificant.

He needed to test the limits of this ability.

He had to test it with a more advanced flame!

Su Chen's breathing hitched slightly as a word sprang clearly from the depths of those memories that did not belong to him.

Beast Flame.

The innate flame of a magical beast.

Though it was nowhere near as world-shattering as the legendary Heavenly Flames, it was the flame most often used by alchemists when starting out, as well as the most basic and widely available flame resource on the Dou Qi Continent.

A decent-quality Beast Flame could fetch several gold coins at the market, enough for an ordinary person to live comfortably for months.

If...

If he could even copy Beast Flame...

Su Chen's heart began pounding uncontrollably once more.

Then this would no longer be a simple matter of survival.

It would be a road to the heavens, one he could see and touch!

He forced himself to calm down and frantically searched his mind for everything he knew about Beast Flame.

According to his memories, a low-level, first-tier magical beast lived in the mountains and forests on the outskirts of Wutan City.

The Flame Rat.

This magical beast was small and not very aggressive. Its only means of attack was to spit out a small puff of its innate Beast Flame.

For cultivators at the Seventh Stage of Dou Qi or higher, it posed virtually no threat.

But for Su Chen as he was now, it was still deadly.

He did not have a trace of Dou Qi, and his body was frail. If he encountered one head-on, death was his only fate.

"I can't fight it head-on. I can only outsmart it."

A clear thought took shape in his mind.

He got to his feet and stretched his limbs, stiff from sitting for so long. His joints crackled again and again.

The sky outside was already growing pale. Gray-white dawn light filtered through the broken window, driving away the last traces of darkness in the room.

Su Chen pushed open the creaking wooden door and breathed in the cool morning air.

The air was mingled with the earthy tang of soil and the fresh scent of grass and trees.

His eyes were brighter than ever before.

To survive, and to test this one and only hope, he had to take the risk!

On the outskirts of Wutan City, jagged rocks jutted from the ground.

This was where the city's residents dumped their garbage and scrap. Few people ever came here; only a few carrion-eating vultures circled overhead.

Su Chen hunched behind a boulder half his height, cautiously watching a mound of earth in the distance.

At the foot of the mound were several inconspicuous holes. The soil around them was charred black, as if it had been scorched.

This was the Flame Rat's nest.

He had spent the entire morning finding it, relying on the original owner's memories.

Along the way, he had deliberately avoided everyone, threading through the outskirts of the city like a ghost.

He knew all too well that, looking as weak as he did now, he would not even be able to hold on to a sack of rice if someone targeted him.

At that moment, the midday sun beat down fiercely, and heat shimmered above the ground.

Sweat beaded across Su Chen's forehead, and the back of his clothes was already soaked through. But he remained motionless, waiting patiently.

He was waiting for an opportunity.

One hour, then two...

Just as Su Chen's patience was about to run out, one of the holes finally stirred.

After a rustling sound, a fiery-red rat about the size of a palm poked its head out.

It twitched its nose warily, its beady black eyes darting around in every direction.

Only after confirming there was no danger did it crawl all the way out of the hole. Two smaller pups followed behind it.

Su Chen held his breath at once.

Now!

He did not rush out. Instead, he slowly pulled a bundle wrapped in oiled cloth from inside his shirt.

He opened the cloth. Inside was a piece of roasted beast meat, fragrant and crisp.

It was a scrap he had bought from a butcher in the southern part of the city with the few copper coins he had to his name. It was also all the wealth he possessed.

He placed the meat on a flat rock, then silently retreated behind the boulder.

The rich aroma of meat spread through the air.

The adult Flame Rat immediately twitched its nose, its black eyes locking onto the fragrant piece of meat.

It seemed uncertain, pacing restlessly in place.

A magical beast's instincts urged it toward the tempting food.

But its inborn wariness made it suspicious of the food's unknown origins.

Su Chen's heart leapt into his throat.

The hand hidden behind the boulder clenched a thick hemp rope. The other end was attached to a huge stone slab he had propped up with a wooden stick.

It was the simplest, most primitive trap.

Everything depended on this one move.

After struggling with itself for a moment, the Flame Rat ultimately failed to resist the temptation of the food.

It squeaked twice at the two pups behind it, apparently warning them not to move, then inched carefully toward the meat, one step at a time.

Closer.

Closer still.

Su Chen could even make out the rat's fiery-red fur and the dust clinging to its whiskers.

His palms were slick with sweat. His heart pounded wildly in his chest, as if it were about to leap out of his throat.

At last, the Flame Rat reached the meat.

It lowered its head and sniffed. Once satisfied, it opened its mouth and bit down.

Now!

A fierce glint flashed in Su Chen's eyes as he yanked the hemp rope!

The wooden stick propping up the stone slab was pulled free at once.

With a whistling rush of wind, the heavy slab crashed down on the Flame Rat as it fed!

Sensing danger, the Flame Rat's red fur bristled all over!

It let out a shrill screech, opened its mouth, and spat a fist-sized ball of dark-red flame toward where Su Chen was hiding!

This was its dying counterattack!

Su Chen's pupils contracted. A chill of death shot from the soles of his feet straight to his crown!

He had no time to dodge. All he could do was watch helplessly as the deadly flame rapidly grew larger in his vision.

"Am I going to die..."

At the critical moment!

Boom!

The huge stone slab crashed down hard, landing squarely on the Flame Rat's hindquarters.

"Squeee!"

A scream of utter agony rang out.

The Beast Flame, already flying toward Su Chen, lost its master's control. Its energy instantly fell apart, scattering into sparks that went out with a soft puff.

A few scalding sparks spattered across Su Chen's face, raising a string of tiny blisters. The pain burned fiercely.

But he could not spare a thought for them.

He gasped for air, soaked in cold sweat. His legs went weak, and he could barely stay on his feet.

For that single moment, he had felt death was only a hair's breadth away.

It took Su Chen a long while to recover from the fear that gripped him.

He staggered over to the stone slab. The Flame Rat's lower body had been crushed into a mass of flesh, while its upper body still twitched faintly. It was clearly beyond saving.

Su Chen felt no pity.

That was the law of the Dou Qi Continent.

It was either you or me.

Suppressing his unease, he reached out and pressed his hand against the Flame Rat's head, which still held a little warmth.

His mind sank into that mysterious Void Space.

The ancient Stone Platform still floated quietly in place.

"Come in!"

Su Chen gave a low growl with his will!

A force dozens of times stronger than the one that had pulled at the candle flame before burst forth from the depths of his mind!

The dying Flame Rat shuddered violently. A wisp of dark-red flame, far brighter and more solid than a candle flame, was forcibly drawn from between its brows. It turned into a streak of light and instantly entered Su Chen's consciousness.

Hum!

Within his consciousness, the dark-red Beast Flame appeared atop the Stone Platform.

Without its innate Beast Flame, the Flame Rat's body went completely rigid, not a trace of life remaining.

Su Chen did not dare linger. He did not even have time to deal with the Flame Rat's corpse before dragging his exhausted body back to the dilapidated courtyard in the city as fast as he could.

Back in the broken-down house, Su Chen immediately bolted the door and leaned against it, utterly spent, breathing in great gasps.

Only after confirming he was safe did he once again pour all his attention into the Void Space.

At the center of the space, the dark-red Beast Flame flickered restlessly, radiating an aura of violence and chaos.

The lines on the Stone Platform lit up once more.

Soft white light flowed out and enveloped the Beast Flame.

A fresh stream of information flooded into Su Chen's mind.

"Item: Flame Rat Beast Flame"

"Category: Beast Flame (inferior)"

"Composition: Mixed fire elements, trace amounts of magical beast blood essence, remnants of demonic energy"

"Analysis: Disordered structure, unstable energy, impurities present. Can be absorbed by low-tier techniques. Low value."

"Functions: Can be refined, copied, purified"

Su Chen's gaze locked onto those final three words.

It could be purified!

Compared with the analysis of the candle flame, there was one entirely new function!

His heart pounded wildly. Without the slightest hesitation, he focused his will and fiercely "tapped" the Purify option.

Boom!

The Stone Platform shook violently, bursting with brilliant light unlike anything it had emitted before.

Countless profound runes appeared across its surface. Turning slowly like a giant millstone, they drew the dark-red Beast Flame into the center.

"Hiss, hiss..."

Strands of black mist, visible to the naked eye, were forcibly stripped from the flame. The light of the Stone Platform completely purified them, annihilating them.

They were the impurities and remnants of the violent demonic energy within the flame!

As the black mist steadily dwindled, the Beast Flame's color began to change astonishingly.

It shifted from dark red to bright red.

Then, from bright red, it turned toward a purer, more luminous orange-red!

The flame's size continued to shrink throughout the process, but the energy fluctuations within it climbed at a terrifying pace!

The entire process lasted about the time it took an incense stick to burn.

Only after the last wisp of black mist had been purified did the Stone Platform's light slowly fade.

A new flame hovered quietly atop the Stone Platform.

It was only as large as an infant's fist, and its entire body was a warm orange-red. It burned quietly, without the slightest trace of violence. Instead, it radiated purity and stability.

Compared with the previous, impurity-laden Beast Flame, they were as different as heaven and earth!

Su Chen stared blankly at the flame, his mind completely empty.

Turning stone into gold!

This was the mysterious space's true, heaven-defying power!

Trembling, he focused his will on the Copy option.

A wave of exhaustion much stronger than the one he had felt when copying the candle flame washed over him, but it was still bearable.

Hum!

The Stone Platform trembled again.

A perfect copy of the orange-red flame appeared out of thin air, hovering silently beside it.

Success!

Purify! Copy!

Su Chen's chest heaved violently, and an uncontrollable gleam burst from his eyes.

It was as if he could already see a golden road stretching endlessly beneath his feet.

Ordinary Beast Flame was impure and mixed, so its value was limited. Only the lowest-ranking alchemist apprentices used it.

But purified Beast Flame was pure in quality and stable in energy. For apprentices striving to advance in alchemist rank, it was an unparalleled treasure they could only dream of!

How much would a flame like this be worth?

Ten times more? A hundred?

A business plan bold enough to shake all of Wutan City took shape in his mind.

He wasn't going to be some simple flame peddler.

He was going to become the sole supplier of high-quality flames!

He would monopolize the high-end flame market throughout Wutan City—and, in the future, across an even wider world!

The corner of Su Chen's mouth lifted uncontrollably.

He raised his head. His gaze seemed to pierce through the dilapidated roof and settle on the towering Alchemist Guild in the center of Wutan City.

"Alchemist apprentices of Wutan City..."

"Your opportunity has arrived."