Seeing Qi Mobai so agitated, Li Guanqi's heart gave a jolt.
Lin Chuanqing's expression earlier had definitely not been a joke. If Qi Mobai couldn't become an alchemist, Li Guanqi would probably have to work here for the rest of his life. After all, whatever price Lin Chuanqing had paid Zhao Chengyong was entirely down to Lin Chuanqing's word.
"You really can't?"
Qi Mobai gulped down mouthful after mouthful of wine, the shyness in his temperament gradually melting away. Flushed and hazy-eyed with drink, he slurred, "Can my ass! If I fucking could become an alchemist, would I still be holed up in a tiny place like Yuxu City? Which major sect across the entire Fuyu Land wouldn't welcome me? Even the Eight Desolations—I'd dare head up there and make a name for myself!"
Watching him wave his hands about with such bold swagger, Li Guanqi couldn't help but chuckle inwardly. The way he looked right now was truly reminiscent of the lads back in Beiliang City.
Before drinking, I belong to Fuyu Land; after drinking, Fuyu Land belongs to me.
Qi Mobai practically radiated that exact energy right now. Before taking a drink, he had plainly been an extraordinarily introverted fellow, likely needing to draft and rehearse every sentence in his head multiple times before daring to utter it to someone. Yet after some wine, he was so unrestrained and carefree...
Li Guanqi turned a solemn gaze upon Qi Mobai; he held a great deal of goodwill toward this young man. Never mind that there had barely been any connection between them—even if there were, others might not have been able to endure the brutal torture of that bunch from the Tianshu Ascension Hall. Yet this introverted fellow, who looked like a frail scholar, possessed an innate stubborn grit in his bones and hadn't uttered a single word.
"If... you could possess the power of flame, could you refine pills?"
Qi Mobai's alcohol-hazed eyes brightened slightly, but immediately dimmed once more. Lowering his head, the young man said with a crestfallen expression, "It's not as simple as you make it sound... If it were really that easy, alchemists in the Immortal Realm wouldn't hold such revered status. Ordinary flames in this world can't reach the temperatures required to refine immortal-grade spiritual herbs at all. Even the beast flames of ranked great demons won't work—the flames are too impure and impossible to control. It must be an immortal-grade flame born naturally of heaven and earth. Yet most flames are rootless; they disperse before long and can't be maintained. Even if one finds them, there's no way to absorb them."
Qi Mobai understood all of this in great detail; it was clear he had studied and researched it constantly.
"Besides..."
The young man paused, looking up at Li Guanqi with deep desolation on his face, then tilted his head back to take another gulp of wine. "Besides, I have a wood spiritual root. Trying to forcibly refine a flame is pure fantasy..."
Qi Mobai slowly lifted his head. His bloodstained robe combined with that lonely, dejected expression made for an utterly sorrowful sight.
"I once spent my entire fortune to buy a wisp of flame, but I still failed... I know the pill formula for the Xuanyuan Pill backward and forward."
As he spoke, a faint smile surfaced on Qi Mobai's face as he closed his eyes, his hands tracing gestures through the empty air. "I've envisioned the refining process tens of thousands of times—the precise temperature for each spirit herb, the tempering procedure..."
Suddenly, Qi Mobai opened his eyes, and his arms dropped limply to his sides. "Yet in the end, all of it is nothing more than my own fantasy."
Li Guanqi could see the desolation and sorrow in his eyes—that deep yearning to become an alchemist, paired with sheer helplessness. Relying on his own talent, he had developed medicinal pellets no less effective than real pills, yet he was still unable to become a true alchemist...
Li Guanqi took a deep breath, walked over to his side, and gently patted his shoulder. "Brother Qi. We met purely by chance. Why were you unwilling to betray me, even while suffering such horrific torture?"
Qi Mobai froze slightly, looking up at Li Guanqi as if he had never really pondered the question. "You sold me wine."
"Just that?" Li Guanqi was taken aback.
Yet Qi Mobai's next words struck a deep chord in Li Guanqi's heart.
Lowering his head, Qi Mobai looked down at the wine jar in his arms and gave a silly chuckle. "And... I wasn't willing... to get you killed just so I could selfishly cling to life. It's as simple as that."
The corners of Li Guanqi's mouth curved upward. It turned out Qi Mobai was truly an upright soul with a good heart!
Boom!
Blazing flames abruptly surged behind Li Guanqi!
Immediately after, the flame spirit manifested in humanoid form, standing behind Li Guanqi.
Li Guanqi spoke softly, "Shiwu, are you satisfied with this choice?"
Clad in purplish-black armor, Shiwu's eyes curved in a smile beneath the flickering firelight. "Master, I am willing to grant him this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Qi Mobai was shocked beyond measure; all the drunkenness drained out of him in an instant. He stared blankly at the flame spirit beside Li Guanqi, his fingers instinctively reaching out as if to touch the surrounding flames.
Sizzle!
His fingertips were scorched. Qi Mobai stared in a daze at the tiny arcs of lightning still dancing over his burned skin, utterly mesmerized. "What kind of flame... is this?!"
Shiwu looked at Qi Mobai and spoke softly, "My name is Shiwu."
Li Guanqi looked at Qi Mobai and said solemnly, "This is my flame from the Spirit Realm, named Shiwu. It is the strongest heavenly flame in that realm! Its true form was nurtured within the primal chaotic thunder during the dawning of the Spirit Realm. It has also been my companion through countless life-and-death battles."
Hearing those words, Shiwu's eyes clearly flickered with emotion.
Li Guanqi continued, "Shiwu... has a unique ability, usable only once, to split off a seed of its flame. A sub-flame."
Realizing what he meant, Qi Mobai hastily raised his hands in refusal. "No, no, no... I... I'm not worthy."
Li Guanqi smiled and said gently, "You passed Shiwu's test. He believes you are!"
Though overwhelmed with excitement, Qi Mobai understood his own limitations. "In the end, I have a wood spiritual root, and its power is far too immense. I won't be able to refine it at all..."
Saying this, Qi Mobai clearly felt disheartened; he had never seen such a formidable immortal-grade flame before. And Li Guanqi had not even told him yet that Shiwu's power could grow continuously alongside its host!
Li Guanqi retrieved a jade slip from his storage ring, crouched down, and handed it to Qi Mobai. "This method is called the Flame Devouring Art, a secret technique designed to forcibly consume flames."
Hearing this, Qi Mobai's eyes filled with disbelief. He had never heard of such a wondrous manual.
Li Guanqi immediately added, "This is a technique from the Spirit Realm, so it certainly won't suffice against Shiwu as he is now. However, that doesn't mean there is no way. I want you to forge a symbiotic contract with the spirit of Shiwu's flame seed! Are you willing?"
Qi Mobai had been listening quietly all along. When he heard Li Guanqi speak of a symbiotic contract, his eyes showed neither hesitation nor fear. After merely a single breath of silence, he nodded solemnly and said in a deep voice, "I am!"
Shiwu and Li Guanqi exchanged a glance and nodded slightly.
"Good! Then let us begin now. I will guard you."
Immortal essence surged within Qi Mobai as bands of emerald-green light swirled around him, dispelling every trace of alcohol. Rising to his feet, Qi Mobai tied up his hair, bowed deeply and solemnly to the flame spirit Shiwu, and remained bowed for a long time.
"Thank you."
Chapter 1588