Swallowing Fire to Forge Immortality

After leaving Zhiwei Hall, Mo Chen tucked his hands into his sleeves and strolled leisurely onward, still thinking about what the fortune-teller had just said.

"Sir, of the Five Elements in your fate, fire holds the greatest sway. Only... this fire is buried deep, seldom revealing itself. If you wish to cultivate, a fire-attribute cultivation method should be your first choice..."

A fire-attribute cultivation method?

Mo Chen had worked in the Scripture Pavilion for some time now. He had handled more low-tier cultivation methods than he could count.

The Outer Sect Scripture Pavilion had plenty of fire-attribute methods, but most were run-of-the-mill fare.

Things like the "Blazing Fire Palm," "Flame Sun Art," and "Crimson Flame Formula" had little power to begin with, and most reached their limit at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Mo Chen had already browsed plenty of such trashy methods, yet always felt something was missing.

He crossed three main streets before finally stopping outside the Spirit Mechanism Pavilion in the western part of the city.

The Spirit Mechanism Pavilion's signboard, with gold lettering on a black background, looked quite impressive. A stone pixiu stood on either side of the shop, each faintly emanating fluctuations of Spiritual Power.

Much more respectable than the last shop, Mo Chen thought.

Last time, once he had revealed his circumstances, he had been thrown straight out—exactly like those big shots in Wenyuan Pavilion who served each guest according to their standing.

But that was only natural.

The cultivation world had never preached equality for all living beings. It was even more pragmatic than the mortal world, and far more naked about it.

The moment Mo Chen stepped across the threshold, he caught the faint scent of sandalwood. Ebony shelves along the walls reached all the way to the ceiling, displaying all manner of Jade Slips and books. Each was sealed beneath a thin layer of spiritual light to keep out dust and insects.

Behind the counter sat a young man in a blue-green robe. He looked to be in his early twenties, and his cultivation was the same as Mo Chen's.

As Mo Chen entered, the young man set down his ledger and put on a practiced smile.

"Fellow Daoist, how may I help you?"

"I'm looking for a fire-attribute cultivation method, preferably one that can take me into the Foundation Establishment Realm. Do you have any recommendations, shopkeeper?"

The young man looked him over, then smiled. "You've come at just the right time, Fellow Daoist. We've just received several batches of new stock. The fire-attribute methods are all on the third shelf on the east side. Please browse at your leisure. If anything catches your eye, simply bring it over for me to take a look."

No throwing him out, no disdainful looks. The man was even reasonably courteous.

Mo Chen nodded inwardly. This shop was indeed more reliable than the last one.

There were roughly twenty or thirty fire-attribute cultivation methods on the third shelf to the east. Most were complete methods covering the Qi Refining Realm through its great perfection stage, ranging from low to middle grade.

Mo Chen picked them up one by one, read their introductions, then put them back.

These were not what he was looking for.

Having served as the Scripture Pavilion's steward for so many years, he knew the Outer Sect Scripture Pavilion had this sort of commonplace trash by the cartload. There was no need to spend Spirit Stones on it.

After careful searching, however, Mo Chen did turn up a few good finds on the shelf, such as this "Flame-Drinking Art."

To drink was to swallow.

To drink flames, then, was to swallow fire.

Mo Chen opened the introduction and read it word by word.

"Flame-Drinking Art: a surviving fragment from an ancient fire cultivator, containing cultivation Incantations from Qi Refining through the early stage of Foundation Establishment. The subsequent portions have been lost. This method involves swallowing fierce flames into the body and circulating them through the meridians, using their heat to forge the bones and cleanse the marrow. It both advances cultivation and tempers the physique through Body Tempering. The pain during cultivation is unbearable; only those possessed of immense perseverance should attempt it. Exercise caution. Exercise caution."

Cultivating by swallowing flames whole?

Mo Chen sank into thought.

This cultivation method required wrapping searing flames in Spiritual Power and swallowing them into the belly, then circulating that energy through the internal organs. The heat would scorch and tear the meridians inch by inch, after which they would heal under the nourishment of Spiritual Power.

“Using fierce flames to forge the bones and cleanse the marrow, both advancing cultivation and achieving Body Tempering.”

It could improve cultivation and temper the flesh? Could it even achieve Body Tempering?

Years earlier, while browsing miscellaneous writings in the Scripture Pavilion, Mo Chen had learned that Body Tempering was a path of cultivation that involved continuously tempering the flesh until it could withstand most attacks from opponents of the same realm. There were even rumors that the body could be refined until it was as strong as a magical treasure.

This method explicitly mentioned Body Tempering and tempering the meridians. Presumably, with the right approach, even sluggish meridians could be expanded anew.

The price was pain.

But what did pain matter?

Mo Chen had spent eighty years warming a cold bench in Wenyuan Pavilion. He had been spat on and struck in the head with a Jade Slip.

What did physical pain amount to?

Compared to that day-after-day repression and bitter restraint, it was hardly worth mentioning.

If there's one thing I'm not afraid of, it's suffering, Mo Chen thought, setting the "Flame-Drinking Art" aside.

The second volume that caught his eye was the "True Sun Prairie-Fire Art"!

According to its introduction, this method specialized in spellcraft rather than Body Tempering. It transformed Spiritual Power into true sun fire, unleashing it with the momentum of a prairie blaze over an extremely wide area. It was a proper area-attack spell cultivation method, ranked slightly higher than the "Flame-Drinking Art." However, it was also incomplete; once the practitioner reached Foundation Establishment, there were no further formulas.

Its advantages were great power, wide range, and fast cultivation.

The third volume.

"Nine Li Sun-Illumining Method."

The name was striking, but Mo Chen frowned after reading just a few lines.

"Nine Li Sun-Illumining Method: an extraordinary method created by an ancient cultivator. Its circulation of Spiritual Power defies conventional principles, reversing its flow through the meridians according to the number of nine li to produce sun-illuminating radiance of unparalleled power. However, practitioners must devote themselves exclusively to this method and must never cultivate another alongside it. Otherwise, opposing flows of Spiritual Power will collide within the meridians. At best, every meridian will be severed; at worst, cultivation deviation will bring death and the end of one's Dao."

Unparalleled power, but it had to be cultivated alone.

How could I possibly cultivate only one method?

Mo Chen closed the hide manuscript, having already made his decision.

The "Nine Li Sun-Illumining Method" was the first to be eliminated. Its demand for exclusive cultivation was utterly at odds with his fate of longevity.

Mo Chen understood his own path perfectly. His strength was built through the accumulation of time, and he would inevitably encounter all kinds of cultivation methods and techniques in the future. Cultivating this one would be tantamount to cutting off his own road ahead.

The "True Sun Prairie-Fire Art" was good, but lacked any Body Tempering effects.

For a young cultivator with healthy meridians, the "True Sun Prairie-Fire Art" would naturally be a fine choice.

But not for Mo Chen.

Objectively speaking, Mo Chen was an old bag of bones who had only begun cultivating at eighty.

That female cultivator back then had been right. Mo Chen's meridians really were far more sluggish than those of ordinary people.

Yet right before him was a method capable of reforging his meridians. Even incomplete, it was worth buying and cultivating.

Swallowing fire to cultivate, forging the body with flames, expanding the meridians through repeated scorching and healing.

It was practically tailor-made for him.

Starting cultivation at eighty or ninety, my meridians are far worse than those of teenage youngsters. But if I can stretch them open again and temper them once more, sooner or later, I'll close that gap.

They started cultivating in their teens, with fine talent and excellent root bone.

He had only started at eighty, with atrophied meridians. In that regard, he naturally could not compare.

But they could not outlive him!

That was enough.

Mo Chen returned the other two volumes to their places and walked back to the counter with only the "Flame-Drinking Art."

The young man looked mildly surprised. "This is the one you've chosen, Fellow Daoist? The 'Flame-Drinking Art' is incomplete and only takes you to the early stage of Foundation Establishment. And its cultivation method... to be honest, I've worked here for three years and sold more than a dozen fire-attribute methods, but no one has ever asked about this one."

"My aptitude is ordinary. I'm not chasing the great Dao or immortality. I'll be satisfied if I can reach Foundation Establishment and live another two hundred years or so!"

The young man relaxed at that. Quite a few rogue cultivators held that attitude. With poor aptitude and insufficient resources, scraping their way into Foundation Establishment already meant blue smoke was rising from their ancestral graves.

"By the way, how much does this method cost?"

"Six hundred Spirit Stones. If you're serious about buying it, Fellow Daoist, I can authorize a discount—five hundred and eighty. It's only a fragment, after all, and we haven't sold a copy in decades."

"Fellow Daoist, there's something else I'd like to ask."

"Please, go ahead."

"Do you have any handy Spirit Artifacts? Nothing too fancy. Cheap and practical will do."

The shop assistant's eyes lit up.

"You've come at just the right time, Fellow Daoist. We happen to have a few practical pieces tucked away. Please wait a moment while I fetch them."

Before long, the assistant brought several objects shimmering with spiritual light out from the back room and placed them on the counter one by one.

Mo Chen slowly swept his gaze over them: a Flying Sword, a short saber, a bronze bell, a Jade Pendant...

None of these spiritual artifacts was particularly high-grade, and most ranged from low to middle grade. For Mo Chen, who was at the fifth level of Qi Refining, they were more than sufficient.

After briefly trying them, Mo Chen found the Flying Sword and Jade Pendant relatively comfortable to use, and asked the shopkeeper to introduce them.

"This Red-Tailed Sword is a low-grade Spirit Artifact refined from red copper. It possesses a trace of fire-attribute Spiritual Power, and injecting true qi will produce a three-inch sword aura. Its advantage is ease of use—you don't need high cultivation to wield it. Three hundred Spirit Stones."

"This Azure Mystic Protective Talisman is a middle-grade Spirit Artifact. It can be activated manually or automatically, and can block a full-power strike from a cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm. However, after each use, it must be replenished with Spiritual Power and takes half a month to recover. Five hundred and twenty Spirit Stones."

After listening, Mo Chen considered briefly.

A Flying Sword was essential. Flying on a sword was a standard means of travel, and even if he could not fly fast or high, it still beat walking on two legs.

For offense, while the Red-Tailed Sword was not high-grade, it had the advantage of being easy to use. Practicality was precisely what he needed most right now.

The protective talisman was even more important as a lifesaving tool. The cultivation world was not Wenyuan Pavilion; running into an unreasonable rogue cultivator outside could easily cost him his life.

Three hundred for the Red-Tailed Sword, five hundred and twenty for the Azure Mystic Protective Talisman, plus five hundred and eighty for the cultivation method...

He had just enough, with thirty left over.

"All right, I'll take both of these too."

Mo Chen readily paid the Spirit Stones and put away the Red-Tailed Sword and protective talisman. Before leaving, he asked one more question. "Fellow Daoist, cultivating this 'Flame-Drinking Art' requires swallowing fire... where do I get the fire?"

The young man's mouth twitched.

"Fellow Daoist, well... flames from an alchemy or artifact-refining furnace will do, as will fire you summon with your own spells. But let me remind you to prepare a few bottles of Iceheart Pills before cultivating. If you blister your throat, don't blame me for not warning you."

Mo Chen laughed, cupped his hands in thanks, and turned to leave the Spirit Mechanism Pavilion.

Outside, the sky had dimmed slightly. Lanterns were being hung along the street one after another, casting alternating pools of light and shadow over the bluestone road.

Drinking fire to cultivate?

"I spent half my life swallowing humiliation. Now that I'm swallowing something else, at least it'll be a change of flavor."

Wasn't it just pain?

Endure it for eight or ten years, and it would pass.

Time was the one thing I had in abundance.