Gaining an Old Grandpa

Chapter 33: Gaining an Old Grandpa

In the unbearably scorching Earthfire Hall, Xiao Liang immediately recalled the Three Laws of Robotics from Blue Star in his previous life.

After making some demonic modifications to them, he threw them at the Hundred Tribulations Daoist.

Those few conditions plunged the Hundred Tribulations Daoist into silence. The green flames in Qin Long's eyes expanded and contracted. The old devil was clearly terrified out of his wits, yet he hesitated now.

However, Xiao Liang's current mental state did not allow him to keep wasting time with the old ghost. He could feel that something was wrong with him.

Naturally. He had used the world-traveling ability in his mind to briefly open a passage to some apocalyptic world.

He had deliberately courted death and drawn the attention of a terrifying existence, then, as if that was not enough, rashly summoned Its power.

According to some legends from Blue Star in his previous life, the fact that he had not immediately gone insane or mutated into a pile of rotten flesh, an octopus monster, or something similar already made him an extraordinarily fortunate recipient of divine favor.

Still, his sanity had fallen below a certain threshold, and the side effects left Xiao Liang with an exceptionally weak will to survive.

Seeing the hesitant Hundred Tribulations Daoist, he spoke slowly and considerately,

"Have you decided? If you think it's too troublesome, then let's not bother. Living is too tiring."

The Hundred Tribulations Daoist shuddered and waved his hands repeatedly, declaring that he had not lived long enough yet.

He had originally wanted to haggle with Xiao Liang further, but when he saw the latter casually weighing the Sun True Fire in his hand, his eyelids twitched twice on their own.

In the end, gritting his teeth, the Hundred Tribulations Daoist painfully swore a Heavenly Oath.

Along the way, the old ghost tried to blur some crucial words, but Qin Long, who shared a body with him, immediately tattled on him and made him swear again.

After much back-and-forth, the Hundred Tribulations Daoist completely gave up. With lifeless eyes, he made the great oath. Everyone present vaguely seemed to sense the attention of Heaven's Will.

Though it was their first time experiencing it, no explanation was needed. That peculiar sensation meant the Heavenly Oath had been made.

"Now, old ghost, get out of Qin Long's sea of consciousness!"

Holding the Sun True Fire in one hand, Xiao Liang spoke in an unquestionable tone.

The Hundred Tribulations Daoist instantly felt the constraints of the oath descending upon him from somewhere beyond perception. Unwillingly, he turned into a ball of green fire and emerged from Qin Long's seven orifices.

After shifting and changing for a moment, the green fire finally condensed into an aged face.

It looked just like the face of that discarded body. Judging by appearance alone, he had flowing long brows and the bearing of an immortal, but his eyes held an eerie wickedness.

His true body was that Golden Core on the verge of shattering. After flying out, it drifted up and down before suddenly shooting out a ray of spiritual light that struck the enormous furnace at the center of the Earthfire Hall.

Strangely, everything else in the hall kept growing hotter beneath the scorching Sun True Fire, but this enormous, ancient-looking furnace, covered in dust, had remained neither warm nor cold.

Under that ray of spiritual light, it now emitted a clear chime like a struck bell.

Watching the furnace slowly lift its lid, the Hundred Tribulations Daoist said slowly,

"Little devil brat, the most valuable thing in this hall is this Five-Element Violet-Gold Furnace. Even if it had been scorched for a thousand years by Earthfire erupting from the depths of magma, its surface would still be cool to the touch. It is perfect for venting that ball of Sun True Fire of yours!"

Xiao Liang nodded. Just as he was about to step forward and toss the true fire in his hand into it, the pained-looking Hundred Tribulations Daoist stopped him again.

The Hundred Tribulations Daoist looked speechlessly at the heavens. Just then, he had once again felt the binding force of that strange oath, forcing him to safeguard the other man's interests to the greatest extent possible.

Seeing Xiao Liang's confusion, the old devil acted as if he had worried himself sick. He sent a stream of spiritual energy containing information into Xiao Liang's mind and said,

"Wait before you act. Sun True Fire is not easily condensed. It would be far too wasteful to let it vanish like this. I have a secret fire-refining art that can help you obtain a wisp of Sun True Fire. It will be greatly useful whether you face enemies or refine artifacts in the future!"

Xiao Liang curled his lip. The expression on his face that said this was troublesome nearly made the Hundred Tribulations Daoist lose his mind. Heaven knew that he had never considered things so thoroughly even for his own son.

Fortunately, Xiao Liang had considerable talent for comprehending spells. He quickly drew a thread of fire essence from the sphere of Sun True Fire in his hand and used the fire-refining art passed down by the old ghost to store it within his dantian's sea of qi.

That thread of Sun True Fire essence was like a melted golden filament, brilliant and scorching. It drifted through his dantian's sea of qi, intensely spiritual as it claimed the very center of his dantian.

Before long, a supremely rigid and blazing warmth spread from his dantian, slightly invigorating Xiao Liang's spirit and restoring more liveliness to his eyes.

This fire can help me recover my mental will!

Without time to think further, Xiao Liang threw the remaining Sun True Fire in his hand into the Five-Element Violet-Gold Furnace. The Hundred Tribulations Daoist hurriedly sent out a stream of magical power and forced the lid shut.

The repeated use of magical power made the Hundred Tribulations Daoist's Golden Core dim by another measure.

BOOM!!!

Inside the Five-Element Violet-Gold Furnace, the uncontrolled Sun True Fire bloomed like a lotus, carrying devastating power.

First came a wave of heat that made even the Hundred Tribulations Daoist's Golden Core sway up and down several times.

Qin Long's spiritual power was severely weakened after having just suffered an attempted possession. She was sprawled on the ground, unable to summon even a trace of magical power, and was nearly blown away.

Just as she gritted her teeth and prepared to endure it head-on, Xiao Liang casually stepped in front of her, raising an arm to shield his head and face and blocking most of the force.

"Little devil brat, you do know how to cherish women. Hmph!"

The Hundred Tribulations Daoist's Golden Core watched the scene unhappily, but with the life-or-death crisis resolved, he also felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted.

Within the Five-Element Violet-Gold Furnace, the Sun True Fire exploded several times in succession before finally exhausting its power.

Blinding light shot out through several narrow gaps in the furnace, only subsiding after a long while.

"Thank you, Ghost Shadow. I never thought we would survive."

Qin Long's phoenix eyes stared at Xiao Liang as though she wanted to carve his appearance into her heart. Her weak voice was filled with the joy of surviving a calamity, along with some unusual emotions.

"Surviving is good and all, but as for me, I really suffered a huge loss this time."

Nourished by the refined Sun True Fire, Xiao Liang's mind had recovered somewhat, and his emotions had become more apparent. Hearing her words, he gave a bitter laugh.

For Qin Long, she had obtained the inheritance of a Nascent Soul great cultivator, possessed a special constitution, and had an exceptional Spirit Root. This time, she had even escaped the calamity of possession. Unless something unexpected happened, her path of cultivation ahead would be smooth sailing.

However, when Xiao Liang touched the strange black mark behind his ear, he immediately felt as though needles were piercing his back. A great terror arose in his heart, and he hurriedly pulled his hand away as though burned.

He truly had suffered a huge loss. He had rashly borrowed such terrifying power, but what had the price been?

Xiao Liang's heart was heavy. He did not know whether it was fortune or disaster.

Earlier, after realizing that he could not sustain the Sun True Fire's consumption, Xiao Liang had instinctively activated his unique ability to travel to apocalyptic worlds.

Previously, he had used it to travel physically, but physical travel required a long period of preparation. In that crisis just now, it was obvious that Xiao Liang would not have been given that time.

Yet under the pressure of danger, Xiao Liang had developed a new use for his world-traveling ability. He could temporarily open a passage to an apocalyptic world with his consciousness and draw upon power from another world.

It was also his first time doing this.

Following a vague instinct, he had chosen a world so dreadful that it was terrifying beyond measure.

(End of this chapter)