Nameless Firebird

Two days later, the Xu Family's leadership issued a strict order.

Maintain a state of emergency and tighten defenses!

Both measures were to be carried out in tandem, and family members were forbidden from leaving the clan unless absolutely necessary.

As for the resource sites outside the clan, the grand formation was to remain active day and night, with strict vigilance and precautions. If anything happened, they were to send word back to the clan for help at once.

As soon as the news came out, everyone knew something major had happened.

There must be enemies lurking outside, and the family feared an attack.

So no one was foolish enough to go against the order.

Lin Changheng had expected this.

The Purple Maple Bay Chen Family had suffered such a heavy loss; they would certainly retaliate.

Though the Chen Family had struck first, there was no stopping the wheels now. That was the power of hatred: unreasonable and overwhelming, sweeping everything forward in a relentless torrent until one side was dead.

As the saying went, a blood feud could not be washed clean without rivers of blood. That was exactly what it meant.

But this had little effect on Lin Changheng, since he had no intention of going out in the first place.

In the blink of an eye, another year passed.

Lin Changheng returned from the General Affairs Hall once more.

His expression was as calm as ever, but inside, he was brimming with anticipation.

The high demand for the Miasma-Clearing Pill had nearly halved the rate at which he accumulated the Fire Crow Treasure Seed and the Green Wood Snake Treasure Seed.

But at last, the day had come.

"After all these years, the Fire Crow Treasure Seed has been through layer after layer of Spirit Snatch... It's finally about to reach the fifth layer!"

What realm did the fifth layer of a treasure seed represent?

Lin Changheng didn't know, but he had a vague feeling that the Fire Crow had its limits.

After all, it was a low-grade demon beast, a bred beast.

Its bloodline was far too diluted, and its ancestors might not have been all that impressive either.

It wasn't realistic to hope that one bloodline upgrade would take it to the peak, but he didn't know how far it could go.

Still, Lin Changheng didn't dwell on it. As long as there was more to gain, he would keep using Spirit Snatch, all the way to the highest point, to the very end!

Besides, he had been using Spirit Snatch all this time. When would Life Transformation be triggered?

Lin Changheng didn't understand, and he had been trying to figure it out.

The Origin Cauldron had appeared only after the Origin Treasure Seed had finished undergoing Spirit Snatch. Perhaps Life Transformation would come once Spirit Snatch reached its endpoint.

Deep down, he had a feeling that it might really be close...

He had a premonition!

Inside his room, Lin Changheng looked at the inferior Crimson Flame Pills and Wood Origin Pills laid out in neat rows before him and rubbed his hands together excitedly.

He reached out toward the latter first.

The Origin Cauldron in his sea of consciousness trembled faintly, and the essence blood in the inferior Wood Origin Pills was sucked dry.

[Green Wood Snake Treasure Seed: Fourth Layer]

[Spirit Snatch: 12/100]

A new, solid treasure seed took shape once more and was plucked into his soul. In its place, the phantom of another treasure seed appeared.

Lin Changheng knew, of course, that this had formed from the extra Green Wood Snake essence blood.

The next moment—

[Refined: Poison Neutralization Art: Ascension to Truth]

[Effect: The body gains a keen sense for detecting poison and can preliminarily force out mid-grade toxins]

"Not bad."

Seeing the effect, Lin Changheng couldn't help giving a slight nod, quite pleased.

His body's resistance to poison hadn't increased again, but had instead shifted toward "keen detection." Sometimes, avoiding poison was more important than resisting it. If he could avoid it early, why suffer through the trouble of taking it in the first place?

And the ability to force mid-grade toxins out of his body offered an added measure of safety.

If the first was a "passive" ability, this counted as an "active" skill.

After all, the Green Wood Snake had a low-grade bloodline and was an early-stage first-tier demon beast. Getting this effect was already pretty good.

But compared with the effect of the Fire Crow Treasure Seed, it still fell far short.

Even demon beasts had their differences.

"Your turn."

Lin Changheng collected himself and immediately focused his thoughts on communicating with the Origin Cauldron, passing his hand over the crimson pills.

As the Fire Crow essence blood was extracted, the Spirit Snatch progress surged forward.

[Spirit Snatch: 100/100]

The crimson treasure seed shuddered and took shape. When Lin Changheng touched it, information came back to him.

[Fire Crow Treasure Seed: Fifth Layer]

[Can continue refining in a demon race's innate talent: Fire Control]

With a thought, the treasure seed flew out of the cauldron's mouth and entered his body. Lin Changheng shivered as an unprecedented wave of warmth swept through him.

It was a sensation that made even his soul tremble, and he found himself somewhat entranced.

It seemed the flame in the lamp on the table before him would sway and move at his whim.

Suddenly struck by inspiration, he blew toward the flame in the lamp.

With a bang, the flame burst apart, becoming a miniature sun in the sky, a full two feet across. Hot wind rushed at him, and waves of fire rolled outward.

If the courtyard walls hadn't blocked it, anyone outside who saw it would have been shaken to the core, too stunned to speak.

Then Lin Changheng saw the wooden table within the blaze catch fire and turn to ash in an instant.

It scattered to the floor.

"Even a Fire Bullet Art cultivated to perfection wouldn't be any better than this, would it? No—it might not even match its power."

"And this is even more elusive, more mysterious!"

Only after a long while did Lin Changheng's mind settle and return to him. Then he saw—

[Refined: Fire Control Art: Mastery]

[Effect: Extreme control over ordinary flames; maximum enhancement of fire-type techniques]

Lin Changheng's gaze flickered. What had he just seen?

Two characters meaning "extreme"!

"Extreme" and "maximum"!

"They represent the 'highest point,' but also the 'very end.' Perhaps this fifth-layer treasure seed... really has reached the limit of the Fire Crow's bloodline power."

Lin Changheng's heart stirred. What would happen if he absorbed more essence blood now?

Once the thought arose, he could hardly suppress it. But the inferior pills were gone, so he could only take out two genuine Crimson Flame Pills and extract their essence blood.

"Buzzz—"

Just then, an unexpected change erupted.

The Origin Cauldron in his sea of consciousness, its whole body gleaming with a deep blue-green light and its Daoist rhyme flowing, suddenly blazed with azure light. The sound of a bell and the clang of a cauldron rang out.

Crimson light seeped into the cauldron, while clouds and mist at its mouth took on shades of blue and red.

Then, as if some profound sound had risen to a high pitch, the strange, ancient beast-shaped patterns engraved on the cauldron began to writhe as though they had come to life.

The beasts' eyes were sharp, and their roars shook the heavens.

"Hiss..."

The strange occurrence made Lin Changheng draw in a sharp breath.

Then the Origin Cauldron trembled, and everything fell silent.

After that, the scene before his eyes changed abruptly—everything vanished, and the void shattered. Looking all around, he saw nothing but a vast, all-consuming crimson, like blood, like flame. It kept growing and spreading until it filled his entire field of vision.

At last, he saw it clearly—

A nameless giant firebird, dwelling in a kingdom made entirely of flame.

Its wings were woven from flowing magma, each feather burning with undying true fire. When it spread its wings, they were like clouds hanging from the sky, blotting out the firmament.

The giant bird lowered its head. Its golden pupils were like two great suns, reflecting his tiny figure.

Before Lin Changheng could react, the giant bird suddenly let out a long cry that shook the highest heavens!

—The sea of fire across the sky abruptly drew together, turning into billions of streams of flame that poured down like the heavenly river, all rushing straight toward him!

Lin Changheng couldn't dodge in time. In truth, he couldn't dodge at all. He couldn't even scream before the terrifying streams of flame covered him.

"What is this..."

Inside the room of the small courtyard, Lin Changheng's face was stricken with terror. He stumbled backward two steps, then opened his eyes again and came back to himself, drenched in a cold sweat, his back completely soaked.