Seven Emotions Enter the Flame Little Thoughts

You people have truly made this poor Daoist suffer!

From the moment Manager Hou had fiercely flung his sleeve and begun sternly "rebuking" Liu Dongqing, Liu Dongqing had worn that same aggrieved expression of helplessness, as though he had no way to refuse.

Heaven bear witness.

Liu had not insisted on taking these demon beast remains—it was Senior Sister Zhang who had insisted on giving them to him!

Yet in truth, the rhythm and course of the entire conversation had unfolded exactly as Liu Dongqing had anticipated.

Moreover, this round of retreating in order to advance was crucial to his calculations.

First.

The emergence of Demon Blood Baleful Qi was an objective fact. If he did not bring it up himself now, it would instead make him seem guilty, the flaw far too obvious.

Second.

If he had gone along with it from the very beginning, then this major matter would truly have become one where whatever Liu Dongqing said, everyone simply agreed to.

The distinction between taking the initiative and being passive might not seem apparent at the time, but afterward, people like Senior Sister Zhang and Manager Hou would surely savor the implications.

And given the Holy Cult's ways.

Once such people noticed that Liu Dongqing had been overly proactive in this matter, they would inevitably suspect that the boy had mixed in some schemes of his own.

Once that thought arose, it meant all sorts of trouble would follow. Even if he tried to patch things up afterward, it would likely be as difficult as restoring a shattered mirror.

Liu Dongqing had to push this "troublesome matter" away on the spot, then have them push it back onto him because he was the best choice. Only then would the matter be complete.

That made Manager Hou and Zhang Qiwei consciously place themselves in the "proactive" position—

This was not work Liu Dongqing had scrambled to take on; they had forcibly piled it onto him.

And people rarely suspected matters they had "actively decided" for themselves.

As for whether Zhang Qiwei might add more rewards and pile on a few more "weights" in order to force this matter upon him.

Liu Dongqing had considered that.

But the core purpose of retreating in order to advance was ultimately to make the matter secure. Such gains could only be counted as unexpected delights—good if they came, no matter if they did not.

Thus.

That single pot of Azure Fire Heavenly Dew Elixir had already left Liu Dongqing thoroughly satisfied.

As a cultivator of the Little Azure Light Incantation, Liu Dongqing had naturally heard of Azure Fire Heavenly Dew Elixir. It was top-tier cultivation sustenance that he had never even been able to touch in the past.

Unlike Azure Light Spirit Beads, which were still condensed by other cultivators using their own natal Candle Flame, with their quality entirely dependent on another person's cultivation and foundation.

Azure Fire Heavenly Dew Elixir was genuinely brewed from spiritual materials containing heavenly fire qi, compounded according to the Pill Dao's sovereign, minister, assistant, and envoy principles, then harmonized and fermented through secret methods.

In terms of spiritual qi's purity, density, richness, and every other aspect, it surpassed Azure Light Spirit Beads by far.

It was standard equipment for inner disciples of Rising Mist Dao Academy.

To obtain such a precious medicine to aid his cultivation was already a true "unexpected delight."

But Liu Dongqing had not expected that this was not the end of Zhang Qiwei's increased offer.

In the end, there was even the surprise of being allowed to make a request himself!

That step was what truly exceeded Liu Dongqing's original expectations.

And at that very instant, amid his surprise, Liu Dongqing keenly realized a fact—

He had thought too highly of Zhang Qiwei!

Because of her standing on Departure Peak, because of her background, because of the great matter of competing for position within the inner sect that she was involved in.

Liu Dongqing had instinctively treated Zhang Qiwei as another "old monster" like Manager Hou.

But in truth, it was not until now, when Zhang Qiwei had placed excessive stakes on the table, that Liu Dongqing realized the essential side of her temperament beneath all that lofty prestige—"immaturity."

Compared with Manager Hou, Zhang Qiwei, though born to an aristocratic family, was still far too young!

And this immediately caused the desires Liu Dongqing had just suppressed to surge forth once more.

Perhaps he could use this to gamble on something bigger!

Even though Zhang Qiwei had already prefaced things with, "as long as it is not excessive."

But if she said not excessive, did that mean he absolutely had to avoid being excessive?

Of course not!

Not to mention the old truth that if one asks for the highest, one may obtain the middle; if one asks for the middle, one may obtain the lowest.

At this moment, if Liu Dongqing opened his mouth like a lion, then even if Zhang Qiwei truly refused, she would at least understand the core demand in Liu Dongqing's heart.

What they were doing was not a one-hammer deal.

Following the Holy Cult's way of using useful people until they dropped dead, they would have plenty of dealings in the future.

That way, Zhang Qiwei would at least know what kind of empty promises she ought to paint for him later.

Thus, it could also be considered planning for the long term.

Therefore, although it had completely exceeded his expectations, after Liu Dongqing's thoughts spun like lightning and flint, he spoke without hesitation.

"Senior Sister, your discernment is clear. This junior bears Candle Flame, yet has been drenched by heavenly water vapor for more than three years. My foundation is shattered like a precarious tower!

"For an ordinary person, one pot of Azure Fire Heavenly Dew Elixir might purge a little more Demon Blood Baleful Qi and hold them up for ten days to half a month. For this junior, being able to last seven or eight days would already be cause to burn incense in gratitude to the Patriarch.

"I can endure more hardship without complaint, but if I delay Senior Sister's great undertaking, then I deserve ten thousand deaths.

"Therefore, since Senior Sister has asked, this junior shamelessly requests a cultivation art—one Baleful Intent-transforming, Baleful Intent-refining cultivation art capable of completely resolving this junior's predicament!"

Silence.

After Liu Dongqing's words fell, the hall remained silent, breath after breath.

Amid the deathly stillness, Liu Dongqing could even hear Zhang Qiwei's breathing become noticeably uneven for several breaths.

Clearly.

Zhang Qiwei already wished to refuse, but with the conversation having reached this point, she seemed to still be considering how to decline tactfully without losing face.

More than ten breaths later, Zhang Qiwei's voice finally sounded again.

"Junior Brother, perhaps you do not understand the importance of Baleful Intent-transforming and Baleful Intent-refining cultivation arts. Even I would have to pay an enormous price to exchange for such a cultivation method from my master's line.

"To speak frankly, even all these Jade Cloud Fruits combined would not be worth a single page of one.

"Furthermore, just as the Mirror-Illuminating Cloud-Birthing Purple Rain Art delayed your cultivation of the Little Azure Light Incantation, all cultivation arts are techniques when used externally and methods when refined internally. Unless a Baleful Intent-refining cultivation art can also directly point to Bing Fire.

"Otherwise, even if you desperately obtain one, you may dissolve the Demon Blood Baleful Qi on one side while defiling the foundation of your own dharma power on the other. It would be nothing more than drinking poison to quench thirst.

"Thus, at the Qi Refining realm, the fewer cultivation arts one becomes tainted by, the better. If you endure the hardship this way, you may yet have a chance to glimpse a higher realm. Otherwise, with a mixed and impure foundation, you would be no different from severing your own road ahead.

"But I also know your predicament is too dire.

"So, take this Little Thought Primordial Furnace Fire-Nurturing Art. Though I created this technique myself in my early years, it is an auxiliary method that cuts away stray thoughts and nurtures heavenly fire with the mind.

"If you use it, you can cut away the mental contamination caused by Demon Blood Baleful Qi, and instead strengthen the Candle Flame you bear.

"Though it is not a Baleful Intent-transforming cultivation art, it can still help you coordinate with the Azure Fire Heavenly Dew Elixir and hold out for a while longer.

"And Seven Emotions Enter the Flame is itself one of the great paths of Departure Peak's Bing Fire lineage. This is a broad and upright road of cultivation. Know that I have not deceived you."

Standing where he was, Liu Dongqing no longer knew what to say.

Perhaps because he had dealt too often with old monsters like Manager Hou, he now felt an extraordinarily strong sense of discomfort.

No.

I asked for it, and you actually gave it...