Obtaining the Spiritual Fire

"The karma here is settled. Zhang Liang is dead, and the only one who knows about it is Wang Yun."

"Let me first see what my fate holds."

Name: Ye Lin

Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 7

Fate: Black (Cursed with Bad Luck)

Destiny: [Cursed with Bad Luck][Divine Comprehension]

Fate: Zhang Xiao dies, and the only other person in the know, Wang Yun, realizing he is no match for you, swallows the secret and never utters another word for fear of being slain by your hand. Three months later, while treasure-hunting in the secret realm, you observe another person's opportunity and discover the location of the Mysterious Grade High Tier spiritual herb, Duobao. You head into the secret realm to search for it, but upon finding it, you are promptly discovered by the Inner Sect disciple Lin Ziyou. He forces you to hand over Duobao, but you refuse to submit even unto death. You engage him in a fierce battle, but ultimately prove no match for him and are slain by Lin Ziyou.

Recent Opportunity: None

[Cursed with Bad Luck]: Your luck is poor; for instance, you are bound to trip while walking and bound to be cuckolded if you marry.

[Divine Comprehension]: Your comprehension is transcendent. You grasp various cultivation techniques with extreme speed. For the same technique, while others need three months, you only need a few days.

"Since you are so sensible, I shall spare your life. Besides, in three months, you won't be able to escape death anyway."

Ye Lin muttered to himself. In three months, Wang Yun would be drained of his essence and blood by a demon and die.

By then, there would be no need for him to lift a finger.

"Duobao? Lin Ziyou, is it?"

Looking at the panel, Ye Lin muttered to himself. Duobao was a medicinal herb similar to a lingzhi, the primary ingredient for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill, and it was worth a fortune.

"It seems I must pay close attention to this Lin Ziyou. Since I am capable of fighting him, it means he must be at Qi Refining Level 9, not the Foundation Establishment Realm."

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

"It seems that in these three months, I must break through to Qi Refining Level 8. Furthermore, I need to plunder a few more opportunities. If I could get a trump card like a talisman, that would be even better."

After arriving at his residence, Ye Lin began his seclusion, putting all his effort into breaking through to Qi Refining Level 8.

Swallowing the demon core, he found that with the experience from last time, suppressing it was significantly easier.

A full half-month passed, and Ye Lin finished refining the entire demon core.

"Whew, Qi Refining Level 7. I'm not far from Level 8. Once I seize Wang Yun's opportunity, I will go into seclusion for two months to break through to Qi Refining Level 8 in one go."

"By then, I will challenge an inner sect disciple. The timing will be perfect, just in time for the opening of the Inner Sect Secret Realm."

Ye Lin estimated that this time, there must be others in the outer sect with the same idea. The Azure Cloud Sect had not seen an outer sect disciple challenge an inner sect disciple in ten years.

That was simply because the stakes weren't high enough, but this time, the opening of the Inner Sect Secret Realm was a prize sufficient to drive anyone mad.

Those in the outer sect who had been in long-term seclusion would surely begin challenging inner sect disciples one after another.

Zhang Xiao was merely the beginning.

"It is time to go and seize Wang Yun's opportunity."

Putting away the mid-grade spirit stone in his hand, Ye Lin quickly left his room and headed toward the depths of the great mountains.

Before leaving, Ye Lin specifically made a trip to the Scripture Depository to check the specific methods and steps for refining spiritual fire.

The Azure Cloud Sect was located on the periphery of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, its purpose being to suppress the demonic beasts within those hundred thousand miles so they would not dare to emerge and invade human territory.

Within the Hundred Thousand Mountains, demonic beasts were everywhere, and all manner of treasures emerged in endless succession, making it a place where countless rogue cultivators frequently operated.

The rogue cultivators who came here were all brave and resourceful; those who were brave but lacked strategy were already dead.

She Mountain was located in the middle of the Hundred Thousand Mountains, and this place was undoubtedly perilous, rumored to be guarded by a Demon King.

A Demon King was a Golden Core stage beast; once it moved, it could destroy the heavens and the earth.

"Whew, I must be careful. If I am discovered by the Demon King, I will surely die."

Ye Lin leaped through the thickets, moving at high speed. Along the way, he did not attract the attention of any demonic beasts.

The surrounding beasts were only at the Qi Refining stage and could not track Ye Lin's movements at all.

"I've arrived."

Ye Lin, moving at top speed, suddenly paused. He saw a vertical crack appearing at the base of the mountain before him. As he approached the fissure, a wave of scorching heat rushed toward his face.

"I suppose the spiritual fire is inside."

Ye Lin's gaze was fiery. He stepped forward, squeezed with difficulty into the crack, and began to walk slowly toward the interior.

Once he fused with the spiritual fire, even the previous Zhang Xiao would not be his match.

Walking into the crack, he found himself in a deep cave. The further he went, the higher the temperature rose. Halfway through, Ye Lin was already parched and dry.

Gritting his teeth to reach the deepest part, the scene before him suddenly opened up. In a vast, empty space, a cluster of green flames floated, looking exceptionally beautiful.

Yet, beneath this beautiful exterior lay a temperature reaching tens of thousands of degrees. Of course, this was only the core temperature of the spiritual fire; the surface temperature was extremely low, otherwise, the entire mountain would have vanished long ago.

"Whew, such intense heat."

Ye Lin held a mid-grade spirit stone, a layer of green barrier manifesting on the surface of his body. This was a manifestation of externalized spiritual energy; only with the replenishment from the spirit stone could he stand here steadily.

"To refine the spiritual fire, I must swallow it in one gulp. Are you sure this thing won't vaporize me instantly?"

Looking at the spiritual fire in the distance, Ye Lin was already doubting his existence. The books in the Scripture Depository clearly stated that after swallowing it, one must circulate their cultivation technique to forcibly suppress the spiritual fire and make it their own.

"Forget it, if there's an opportunity and I don't take it, I'd be a lunatic."

The next moment, Ye Lin grabbed the spirit fire and shoved it directly into his mouth. He immediately sat on the ground, channeling his cultivation technique with all his might to absorb the spiritual energy.

An instant later, Ye Lin's expression shifted. Pain—it was agonizing. His internal organs felt as if they were being melted, and a piercing, bone-deep pain surged straight into his mind.

The spiritual energy he had intended to use to suppress the spirit fire was instead devoured by it, proving completely useless.

If one were to look from a distance, Ye Lin's abdomen was glowing a deep, intense red, as if it were about to explode at any second.

"No, I can't hold on."

The immense pain caused Ye Lin's consciousness to gradually fade, and the next moment, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Three days later, Ye Lin slowly drifted awake.

"Such... such powerful strength."

Ye Lin clenched his fist and discovered that his strength had increased by a full fold, and a sense of indescribable comfort washed over his entire body.

Not only had his strength increased, but within his dantian, a cluster of green flames was now quietly floating.

"Is this the spirit fire? Has the spirit fire merged with me? Does that mean I can now borrow the power of the spirit fire?"

Ye Lin's face lit up with joy. He stood up and channeled the Seven Kill Fist, and instantly, a green flame appeared on his right arm, swirling along his limb.

He threw a punch at the nearby wall, and in an instant, the wall, which had been incredibly sturdy, was punched through, leaving a massive hole in its wake.

The entire mountain trembled slightly.

Within the hole he had blasted open, tendrils of green flame were scorching the stone walls; the temperature was so high that it was burning the rock as if it were firewood.

Ye Lin reached out to touch it. The flames, which had been scorching hot, acted like a playful child upon touching his fingers, hovering along his skin. Ye Lin felt no heat at all; instead, he felt an indescribable sensation.

The next moment, as if the green flame had finished playing, it sank into Ye Lin's skin and vanished.