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Fire Refining
In Linyuan Hall, Qin Fang sat cross-legged.
Three feet before him, a stick of Ninefold Soul-Bewitching Incense stood quietly in a bronze censer.
The incense was as thin as a bamboo chopstick and deep blue throughout. Faint dark-gold patterns flowed across its surface, like ancient runes.
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Qin Fang closed his eyes and sank his mind into his Sea of Consciousness.
The vast Sea of Consciousness remained still. Its dark surface reflected the great tree and the Great Sun resting at its crown.
The tree towered a hundred zhang high, its trunk like an Ancient Bronze Spear. Seven black leaves veined with gold swayed gently in the void.
The Great Sun shone with golden light, yet it did not dazzle. Instead, it felt warm and peaceful.
Once he was certain nothing was amiss, Qin Fang opened his eyes and set a Summoning Spirit Hourglass beside him.
"Let's begin."
With a thought, Qin Fang flicked his finger.
A wisp of Inferno Fire astral essence quietly landed on the incense tip.
It was just enough to light it.
By now, his control over the conversion and strength of his astral essence had grown fluid. He could make it strong or weak at will.
Deep-blue smoke curled upward, so faint at first that it was almost transparent.
But as it spread, Qin Fang soon noticed something strange. Rather than drifting upward, the smoke gathered slowly around him as though it were alive.
The instant it touched his skin, an uncanny sensation seeped in through the space between his brows.
It was as though something was gently, tentatively touching his soul—
Qin Fang breathed out softly and did not resist.
He closed his eyes and, following the Nine Tribulations Soul Refining Chapter, slowly lowered the defenses around his Sea