Xu Taiping's heart stirred, and he thought:
If Golden Flame burned continuously for a month, surely there would be nothing forged from metal or stone that it couldn't burn through?
And this method seems capable of making up for my lack of true essence when uniting the three origins of metal, fire, and wind to refine genuine Origin-Returning True Flame.
Aside from the difficulty and risks, another reason Xu Taiping had yet to attempt refining Origin-Returning True Flame by fusing Golden Flame, 𩙥 Flame, and Thunderflame was the enormous amount of true essence the process consumed.
Even if he broke through to the Heaven Shocking Realm, his own true essence probably still wouldn't suffice.
But now, the method Abbot Jiaye had just mentioned seemed to have solved this problem.
So he thanked Venerable Jiaye with great solemnity:
"Thank you for clearing up my doubts, Venerable Jiaye."
Though they had merely been casual words, they had solved a difficult problem for Xu Taiping.
Crack, crack, crack...
Just then, under the fierce heat of the Origin-Returning Golden Flame, cracks began appearing incessantly across the surface of the Gold Essence Stone, which weighed over a hundred jin.
Bang!
At last, under the curious, expectant gazes of everyone inside the Dragon-Trapping Tower, the Gold Essence Stone abruptly shattered.
Fortunately, the instant it shattered, Xu Taiping clenched his hand, extinguishing the Golden Flame that had been burning ever more fiercely.
Boom!
Almost the very instant the Gold Essence Stone burst apart, a terrifying pulse of aura steeped in primordial antiquity suddenly spread from a pitch-black lump of iron in Xu Taiping's palm.
Had they not been able to see and sense that what lay in Xu Taiping's palm was merely a black lump of iron,
they would almost have suspected that a Fierce Beast from