Chapter 115: The Art of Refining Fire

Soon, two more Purple Flame Pearls were collected by Du Long and stored within the Fire Cloud Cauldron’s space. Although each still contained about seventy percent of their energy, they excited Du Long for quite some time!

However, luck did not hold out much longer. After circling the entire great volcano, no more Purple Flame Pearls were found. Still, Du Long was content. Mounted on the great lion, he hurried swiftly toward the hot springs.

Spending so long in an environment where volcanic ash blotted out the sky made breathing difficult. Even with cloth covering his mouth and nose, it was impossible to avoid inhaling a heavy amount of ash—a truly unpleasant sensation.

The great lion, Little Flame, fared far better. As the king of fire elemental beasts, it was unafraid even if plunged into molten lava; such an environment was trivial to it.

Finally, bursting free of the volcanic ash cloud, Du Long could not help but pull down the cloth from his face, breathing in deeply with relief. The air still carried the acrid scent of sulfur, but it was vastly more bearable than before.

Quickly returning to the hot springs, he called out to the two women anxiously waiting in the cave. Without delay, Du Long and the great lion leapt into the water, washing away the thick layer of volcanic ash that clung to them.

Princess Fire Phoenix and Xia Qinglian sat by the edge of the spring, asking Du Long carefully about his journey. He could only offer a casual lie to brush off their questions. After all, they were unaware that his body had cultivated the fierce flame energy. If they learned that even those at the Cyclone Realm could produce such fire, he wouldn’t be able to explain it away.

After retrieving dinner from the spatial ring, the three of them and the spirit beast ate together. As night gradually fell, they decided to rest in the cave for safety. The long night ahead would be spent in meditation and cultivation.

Seizing the opportunity while everyone was absorbed in their training, Du Long eagerly immersed his mind into the Fire Cloud Cauldron’s spatial realm. Inside, four Purple Flame Pearls lay quietly side by side, their surfaces flickering with purple flames.

Though these purple flames were not his own cultivated fierce fire, merely approaching them with his intent sent waves of heat rushing toward him, forcing him to keep a cautious distance.

“Ling’er! How do I absorb and refine these?” Du Long asked anxiously.

“One at a time! First, bring out the Pearl with the least energy loss!” the voice of the Spirit Ring Beauty came at the right moment.

Following her advice, Du Long summoned the Pearl that emitted the least energy and held it suspended nearby. Within the Fire Cloud space, he could move anything at will.

“Now, transfer all your fierce fire energy here! Wrap that Pearl entirely with your fire, then use the fire refinement technique I taught you to accelerate absorbing and refining the Pearl’s energy,” she instructed.

Immediately, Du Long drew in his fierce fire, enveloping the Pearl completely. Then, a section of the fire refining technique appeared in his mind, directly transmitted by the Spirit Ring Beauty.

After a quick review, Du Long understood the essence of fire refining.

Ordinary mortal fires cannot be directly absorbed and refined by humans to strengthen their fierce fire. These mundane flames are essentially just violent chemical reactions producing energy bursts. Aside from their high temperature, they are on a completely different level from the fierce fire cultivated by humans.

The world is vast and full of wonders.

Within heaven and earth, a rare type of fire can naturally arise—this wondrous flame is composed essentially of primordial fire energy of the profound yang element. The Purple Flame Pearl is one such fire, born from subterranean molten lava.

Because the Pearl’s internal energy aligns closely with the primordial fire of profound yang, similar to human-cultivated fierce fire, it can be directly absorbed and refined by humans.

Ordinary fire refining techniques are slow and inefficient at absorbing such wondrous fires. The technique imparted to Du Long by the Spirit Ring Beauty was naturally superior, its efficiency beyond doubt.

Chanting the fire refining technique silently, Du Long controlled the fierce fire to rotate along a subtle trajectory. As the rotation became more precise, the suction grew stronger. Within the fierce fire, the purple flames began to release bursts of primordial fire energy, which merged into his own fierce fire.

He could clearly feel his fierce fire growing stronger as more and more primordial fire energy was absorbed.

Time passed slowly. The Pearl’s energy was gradually drained, its purple flames dimming until, at last, when the flames fully extinguished, the Pearl shattered like glass, scattering gray fragments everywhere.

With a thought, the fragments drifted out of the Fire Cloud Cauldron space and fell at Du Long’s feet. Only then did he carefully examine the fierce fire within the cauldron space.

“It’s grown by about sixty percent! Just as I expected!” Du Long thought excitedly. “It took roughly three hours. I should be able to absorb and refine another Pearl tonight!”

Without hesitation, he summoned another Purple Flame Pearl and began the new cycle of absorption and refinement.

With the prior experience, the process went smoothly and quickly. By the time the second Pearl was fully refined, dawn was breaking outside the cave.

Exhaling deeply, Du Long beamed at the fierce fire, now more than twice as large as when he began. With this power, he could now consecutively concoct two batches of second-grade spirit elixir in a single breath!

Glancing at the last two Pearls still hovering quietly together, Du Long did not rush to absorb them. Even with the fire refining technique’s aid, absorbing more than two Pearls in one night was the limit.

With a thought, he withdrew his mind from the Fire Cloud Cauldron space back into his dantian. The fierce fire followed, emerging from the cauldron space to float centered within his energy eye, enveloping the divine-grade Fire Cloud Cauldron itself, continuing to nurture this precious artifact.

A faint vibration rippled through the dantian space, spreading a comfortable sensation throughout Du Long’s body. Though the dantian’s surface seemed unchanged, Du Long knew something significant had altered within.

“Ling’er! What was that feeling just now?” Du Long asked eagerly.

“Hehe! You noticed it, didn’t you?” the Spirit Ring Beauty replied with a smile. “Exactly! After enhancing your fierce fire through external means, your dantian space has undergone a change. I won’t mention all its benefits yet, but one major advantage I can tell you now: where you could only consume second-grade spirit elixir three times a year before, you can now take it four times without affecting your cultivation growth!”

“So that means... I can take second-grade elixir four times this year?!” Du Long asked joyfully.

“That’s right! Your fierce fire increased by about threefold. Essentially, for each doubling of your fire’s strength, you gain one more chance to consume second-grade elixir. So the more Purple Flame Pearls you absorb and refine, the more elixirs you can take!”

Du Long was momentarily stunned, then asked with some confusion, “How exactly does this work?!”

“The Cyclone, Qi Sea, and Fierce Core stages are all about continuously absorbing and refining spiritual energy—a quantitative process. If this increase happens too rapidly, your dantian space might not adapt in time, harming your foundation. But each time your fierce fire doubles, it triggers a qualitative transformation in your dantian space, allowing it to accommodate more energy without foundation damage,” she patiently explained.

“I see now,” Du Long murmured.

“Actually, your innate profound yang constitution isn’t as strong as the congenital profound yin like Qinglian’s. You can only absorb and refine spirit elixir three times a year, while she can do so five or six times without harm,” the Spirit Ring Beauty continued.

“Oh heavens! You didn’t say that last time. Looks like I’ll have to work hard on refining second-grade elixirs!” Du Long sighed softly.

“Also! Your fiancée, the little princess, has a constitution leaning toward yang. I can help her enhance it to a postnatal profound yang constitution, just like yours!” the Spirit Ring Beauty added, bringing fresh excitement to Du Long.

“Really? Ling’er, you’re amazing!” Du Long exclaimed, filled with joy.

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The first chapter is presented today...