Obtaining Spirit Fire

"I've settled the cause and effect here. Zhang Liang is dead, and Wang Yun is the only one who knows about it."

"Let's see what my Destiny says."

Name: Ye Lin

Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 7

Fate Rank: Black (Calamitous)

Fate Traits: [Cursed with Bad Luck] [Divine Comprehension]

Destiny: Zhang Xiao is dead. The only person who knows the truth, Wang Yun, realizes he isn't your match and swallows the matter, never mentioning it again for fear you'll kill him. Three months later, when the Secret Realm opens for treasure hunting, you watch other people's opportunities and discover where the Mysterious Grade High Tier spirit herb, Duobao, is located. You head into the Secret Realm to search for it. Just as you find it, the Inner Sect disciple Lin Ziyou discovers you and forces you to hand over Duobao. You refuse to yield, even at the cost of your life, and fight him. In the end, you're no match for him, and Lin Ziyou kills you.

Recent Opportunity: None

[Cursed with Bad Luck]: Your luck is poor. For instance, you're bound to trip while walking, and your spouse is bound to cheat on you after you marry.

[Divine Comprehension]: Your comprehension is extraordinary, allowing you to grasp all kinds of cultivation techniques at incredible speed. When others need three months to learn the same technique, you only need a few days.

"Since you're so sensible, I'll spare your life. After all, you won't escape death three months from now."

Ye Lin muttered to himself. Three months later, before Wang Yun died, the Evil Demon would drain the blood essence from his body.

When that happened, Ye Lin wouldn't need to lift a finger.

"Duobao? Lin Ziyou?"

Looking at the panel, Ye Lin muttered to himself. Duobao was a medicinal herb resembling ganoderma, the main ingredient in Foundation Establishment Pills and worth a fortune.

"I'll have to keep a close eye on Lin Ziyou. Since I'll be able to fight him, he must be at Qi Refining Level 9, not in the Foundation Establishment Realm."

Ye Lin thought that if Lin Ziyou were in the Foundation Establishment Realm, he wouldn't even have a chance to fight back.

"For the next three months, I have to break through to Qi Refining Level 8. I also need to seize a few more opportunities. It'd be even better if I could get a trump card like a talisman."

After making his way back to his residence, Ye Lin began cultivating in seclusion, devoting himself to breaking through to Qi Refining Level 8.

He swallowed the Demon Core. Thanks to his previous experience, suppressing it was much easier this time.

Half a month passed, and Ye Lin finished refining the Demon Core.

"Phew. I'm at Qi Refining Level 7, not far from Level 8. Once I seize Wang Yun's opportunity, I'll cultivate in seclusion for two months and break through to Level 8 in one go."

"Then I'll challenge an Inner Sect disciple. The timing will be perfect, and I'll make it just in time for the Inner Sect Secret Realm to open."

Ye Lin suspected that others in the Outer Sect shared his plans. No Outer Sect disciple had challenged an Inner Sect disciple in the Azure Cloud Sect for ten years.

That was because the rewards hadn't been tempting enough. But this time, the Inner Sect Secret Realm was opening, and the benefits were enough to drive people mad.

Those who had been cultivating in seclusion in the Outer Sect would surely start challenging Inner Sect disciples one after another.

Zhang Xiao was only the beginning.

"It's time to seize Wang Yun's opportunity."

Putting away the Mid-grade Spirit Stone in his hand, Ye Lin hurried out and headed deep into the mountains.

Before setting out, Ye Lin had made a special trip to the Scripture Depository to look up the precise steps for refining Spirit Fire.

The Azure Cloud Sect stood on the outskirts of the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Its purpose was to keep the Demon Beasts within a hundred thousand li from invading Human Race territory.

The Hundred Thousand Mountains teemed with Demon Beasts and all kinds of treasures, making it a frequent haunt of countless Rogue Cultivators.

The Rogue Cultivators who came here were both brave and resourceful. Those who had courage but no wits were already dead.

She Mountain lay near the center of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, a perilous place where, according to rumors, a Demon King held court.

A Demon King was a Golden Core Realm Demon Beast. Once it came out, it could shake the heavens and destroy the earth.

"Phew. I have to be careful. If a Demon King spots me, I'm dead for sure."

Ye Lin bounded through the trees at top speed. Along the way, he didn't attract the attention of a single Demon Beast.

The surrounding Demon Beasts were all at the Qi Refining level and couldn't track him at all.

"I'm here."

Ye Lin suddenly stopped after racing forward. At the foot of the mountain before him was a vertical fissure. As he approached, a wave of scorching heat rushed out.

"The Spirit Fire must be inside."

Ye Lin's eyes burned with excitement. He stepped forward, struggled to squeeze through the fissure, and slowly made his way inside.

Once he fused with the Spirit Fire, even Zhang Xiao wouldn't stand a chance against him.

Beyond the fissure lay a deep cave. The farther in he went, the hotter it became. By the time he reached the halfway point, Ye Lin's mouth was already parched.

Grinding his teeth, he pressed on to the end. The space opened up before him, revealing a vast, empty cavern. A mass of green flame floated in the air, beautiful to behold.

But beneath that beauty lay heat reaching tens of thousands of degrees. Of course, that was only the temperature at the Spirit Fire's core; its outer surface was cool. Otherwise, the entire mountain would have vanished long ago.

"Phew. It's unbelievably hot."

Ye Lin clutched a Mid-grade Spirit Stone. A layer of green shield covered his body, the manifestation of his spiritual energy. Only with the Spirit Stone replenishing his reserves could he stand there safely.

"To refine Spirit Fire, I have to swallow it whole? Are they sure this thing won't turn me to vapor in an instant?"

Looking at the Spirit Fire in the distance, Ye Lin was starting to question his sanity. The books in the Scripture Depository had clearly stated that after swallowing it, he had to circulate his cultivation technique and forcibly suppress the Spirit Fire to make it his own.

"Forget it. Who'd pass up an opportunity like this? Only a lunatic."

In the next instant, Ye Lin grabbed the Spirit Fire and shoved it into his mouth. He immediately sat down and focused on absorbing the spiritual energy in his hand as he circulated his cultivation technique.

The next instant, Ye Lin's expression changed. The pain was excruciating. It felt as if his internal organs were melting, and a piercing agony shot straight through his mind.

The spiritual energy he'd tried to use to suppress the Spirit Fire was absorbed by the flames in an instant, proving completely useless.

From a distance, Ye Lin's abdomen glowed red, as if it were about to explode at any moment.

"I can't— I can't hold on."

The unbearable pain slowly robbed Ye Lin of consciousness. The next instant, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Three days later, Ye Lin slowly awoke.

"S-so powerful."

Ye Lin clenched his fist and found that his strength had doubled. A feeling of indescribable ease coursed through his body.

Not only had his strength increased, but a mass of green flame had appeared in his dantian, quietly floating there.

"Is this the Spirit Fire? It's fused with me? That means I can use its power now?"

Ye Lin's face lit up with joy. He stood and circulated the Seven Kill Fist. Green flames appeared on his right arm, swirling around it.

He punched the wall beside him. In an instant, his fist blasted a gaping hole through the incredibly sturdy stone.

The whole mountain trembled slightly.

Green flames licked the stone inside the hole, burning it. The heat was so intense that the flames burned the rock like firewood.

Ye Lin reached out to touch them. The flames, which had been so scorching, turned playful as a child when they met his fingers, floating around them. Ye Lin couldn't feel any heat at all; instead, he felt something he couldn't describe.

In the next instant, as if it had tired of playing, the green flame entered Ye Lin's skin and vanished.