One day later.
Inside the silent, extinct low volcano.
The red-robed Daoist sat cross-legged with eyes lightly closed, his breath long and steady.
Vast amounts of world spiritual energy swirled around him, ceaselessly surging into his body.
The influx of rich spiritual energy formed swirling vortexes of wind, whipping the sleeves of his red robes with soft rustling sounds.
"The density of fire-attribute spiritual energy here is truly beyond imagination!"
As his cultivation cycle drew to a close, Luo Chen's mind cleared. He felt more and more that the marvelous cultivation environment here was the finest he had ever encountered in his life!
Even though this small volcano he had chosen had a spiritual energy concentration of merely around low-grade Tier 3, his absorption and refinement efficiency rivaled that of the Starry Great Hall painstakingly erected with formations at Eight-Hundred-Li Penghu!
The reason for such a miraculous feat was clearly the enormous disparity in the density of ambient spiritual energy drifting through the world.
If the world's spiritual energy in the outside world was evenly balanced—with the five elements as its core, accompanied by wind and thunder, and spiritual energies of various attributes mingled together—and cultivators relied on excellent cultivation arts and their distinct spiritual root attributes to capture and refine suitable spiritual energy from the vast world, purifying it into their own magic power; then within the Blazing Purgatory, that state of balanced distribution was utterly shattered!
It was no longer uniform; fire-attribute spiritual energy accounted for over ninety percent!
Under such circumstances, cultivators practicing fire arts saw their efficiency in capturing and refining spiritual energy skyrocket.
In fact, there was no need to deliberately seek it out—one could simply gulp it down in great mouthfuls and refine it with wild abandon.
The slight trace of other impure spiritual energies had virtually no impact on the purity of the refined qi.
Because of this, in just a single day, supplemented by supreme-grade True Flame Pills, Luo Chen had fully replenished the magic power of his second primal core.
Although the newly replenished magic power was still slightly restless, it would not hinder normal combat in the slightest.
"A mere low-grade Tier 3 spirit ground in the Blazing Purgatory rivals a high-grade Tier 3 location in the outside world. If I find a mid-grade or high-grade one, could it match that supreme cave dwelling on Mount Cangwu?"
"If I could cultivate here indefinitely, could the peak Golden Core stage, which I originally estimated would take over a hundred years to reach, be achieved in a single breath, reaching the heavens in one bound?"
Having completed his cultivation cycle with spirit, essence, and qi at their peak, Luo Chen felt completely at home in this scorching cave dwelling, like a fish taking to water.
In his exhilaration, his thoughts naturally surged, spinning out into a thousand possibilities.
Cave Master Moyun had surely realized the wonders of this place as well!
Unfortunately, they had entered to hunt for treasure rather than cultivate, so this lush environment was somewhat wasted.
Luo Chen sighed deeply, his face filled with regret.
Just as he sighed—
Suddenly!
"Huh?"
Luo Chen uttered a soft gasp of surprise as a wisp of azure flame surfaced on his fingertip.
Just now, he had felt the Wither-Bloom True Fire stirring restlessly.
Truth be told, ever since stepping into the Blazing Purgatory, he had felt a slight inkling, and Cave Master Moyun had been the same.
At that time, he had assumed it was merely the natural reaction of a source true fire in such an extreme environment.
Yet now, he distinctly felt that restlessness growing ever more pronounced from the Wither-Bloom True Fire in his sea of qi—there was even a faint signal of hunger and thirst transmitting from it.
It was as if its stomach were rumbling, an itch nagging at the back of its mind.
The azure flame on his fingertip flickered uncertainly, rising one moment and stretching thin the next, appearing somewhat bewildered.
The next moment—
*Sizzle...*
A wisp of smoke rose from the cave's rocky wall.
"Inside?"
Luo Chen gazed at the stone wall of the cave, hesitating slightly.
He instinctively glanced outside. Cave Master Moyun and Taisui were still waiting for him.
"Then let them wait!"
Now, he had the status and strength to make others wait.
Luo Chen pursed his lips and withdrew the Wither-Bloom True Fire. Reaching out with a beckoning gesture, a Seven Fiends Sword flew out from the sword casket behind his back.
With a slight nudge of his will, the Seven Fiends Sword began spinning rapidly and drove into the rock wall.
*Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!*
Like a drill bit, the sharp sword tip burrowed deeper and deeper into the rock.
Large sheets of stone chips and earth cascaded down in rustling heaps.
Luo Chen followed closely behind, stepping steadily into the breach.
The rudimentary cave dwelling he had excavated earlier was already situated within the heart of the mountain, so burrowing deeper was not particularly difficult.
After an unknown length of time—
*Thud!*
With a muffled crash, a large opening was punched through the rock wall.
Holding the longsword, Luo Chen stepped slowly out of the hole, his gaze falling below.
*Gurgle... gurgle... gurgle...*
The rich firelight reflected off Luo Chen's fair complexion, turning it bright crimson, as if he had reverted to that red-faced Daoist whose fame had swept the Myriad Immortals Association before his breakthrough to Desolate Ancient Tier 4.
Yet Luo Chen's eyes suddenly widened.
Before him, a small pool of magma flowed sluggishly deep within the subterranean hollow, bubbles rising and bursting within it one after another.
And right in the middle of that small pool, a crystalline red lotus quietly unfurled three petals.
"The Five Elements Lotus Platform?"
"No!"
With just a second glance, Luo Chen recognized what it truly was.
Red Lotus Earth Fire!
The finest among earth fires!
The world held many wondrous and mystical things, such as rootless water, sourceless fire, Untainted Wind, or soundless thunder.
Luo Chen knew the most about sourceless fire.
The term "sourceless" did not mean it lacked an origin, but rather that as its grade grew higher, it broke free from environmental constraints and could seek out its own dwelling place.
Corresponding to it was the most common variety under the heavens: "earth fire."
Such flames could not survive on their own once separated from a fire vein; they required a place of origin to sustain themselves.
Refining sourceless fire into a source true fire was an exceptionally hazardous undertaking. Even if artifact refiners, alchemists, and cultivators who practiced fire-attribute methods understood the wondrous marvels of a source true fire, they dared not attempt to refine one.
Most of them merely relied on earth fire to refine pills and forge artifacts.
Though controlling it was more cumbersome, it still served the purpose.
Yet not all earth fires in the world were weaker than sourceless fires.
There was an existence that, while still reliant on subterranean fire veins to survive, possessed might that fell not a whit short of sourceless fires.
That was the Red Lotus Earth Fire!
The very essence of earth fire, the pinnacle of mortal flames!
Should one obtain it, it could bring prosperity to an entire clan or sect!
And right now, the lotus unfurling three tranquil petals beneath Luo Chen's feet was precisely that legendary Red Lotus Earth Fire.
Furthermore, it had reached Tier 3!
Just as Luo Chen's breathing grew heavy, the Wither-Bloom True Fire within his sea of qi grew increasingly restless, virtually bursting with impatience!
"You want to... eat it?"
In the subtle depths of his awareness, Luo Chen seemed to grasp the Wither-Bloom True Fire's intention.
As Luo Chen asked, the Wither-Bloom True Fire flared up several inches higher, expressing clear affirmation.
Luo Chen frowned slightly. "How do you eat it?"
Hesitating a moment, he opened his mouth and exhaled. A wisp of pure azure flame drifted out, flying toward the Red Lotus Earth Fire.
Seeming to sense danger, the three quietly unfurled petals of the Red Lotus Earth Fire began to tremble.
The small pool, roughly thirty feet across, began to boil at that very moment.
Surges of fiery waves shot skyward.
Facing this, the Wither-Bloom True Fire neither dodged nor flinched. Plunging straight in, it enveloped the Red Lotus Earth Fire in a single breath.
The fire pool shook with increasing violence!
Luo Chen's eyes shone brightly. Linked in mind and spirit with the flame, he could clearly feel the Wither-Bloom True Fire's ravenous gluttony in the face of a grand feast.
It was just... a bit slow.
If the Wither-Bloom True Fire were to devour this Red Lotus Earth Fire entirely, it would take at least ten to fifteen days.
"I can't wait that long!"
Luo Chen muttered under his breath.
Just then, a thought struck him, and he recalled a past incident.
Back then, when he had first arrived at the Myriad Immortals Association, he participated in the Demon Hunter assessment mission.
Along with Duan Li and two others, he had besieged the white-robed cultivator who was a remnant of the Yuan Demon Sect.
That person had possessed numerous tricks. What left the deepest impression on Luo Chen was the ghost domain activated with the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, which had inspired him to create the Senluo Fire Prison, a killer move that dominated his battles in the Golden Core realm.
Besides that, the white-robed cultivator had actually possessed another technique back then, relying on it as a trump card to instantly eliminate Luo Chen.
The Azure Fire Bead!
A one-time offensive magic treasure condensed from a vast quantity of top-tier Qingyang Demonic Fire.
Against the attack of that Azure Fire Bead, an ordinary Golden Core cultivator would certainly have been killed or crippled.
Luo Chen was different; not only had he emerged unscathed, but he had even seized the Azure Fire Bead.
After returning, he had studied the Qingyang Demonic Fire inside the Azure Fire Bead a bit, but gained little from it.
Operating on the premise of making use of waste, he used the Wither-Bloom True Fire to test the strength of the Qingyang Demonic Fire, only to discover that the Wither-Bloom True Fire devoured a portion of it.
At that time, he had assumed it was due to the innate properties of the Wither-Bloom True Fire.
Yet clearly, there was no notion in the cultivation world that sourceless fires could devour one another.
With different origins, how could they merge?
Why, then, had the Wither-Bloom True Fire been able to devour the Qingyang Demonic Fire?
As if struck by sudden inspiration, Luo Chen sat cross-legged in midair and smoothly circulated the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture once more.
The moment his cultivation method circulated, more and more Wither-Bloom True Fire surged out from his sea of qi in reverse flow, flooding toward the Red Lotus Earth Fire.
As the two came into contact, sounds resembling wailing cries and ravenous gorging seemed to ring out simultaneously.
"So that's how it is!"
Luo Chen's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his heart surged with immense excitement.
This Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture, hailed as the world's greatest fire-attribute cultivation art and capable of leading directly to the Mahayana stage, was even more extraordinary than he had imagined.
Not only could it transform spiritual root attributes, replacing all five elements with a single one to cultivate with the pseudo-aptitude of a Heavenly Spiritual Root, but it could even direct true fire to devour other fires!
If he continued cultivating along this path, he might truly become the sovereign of all flames!
"Of course! Doesn't the phoenix have the legend of rebirth through fire, revered as the supreme ruler of all flames?!"
"How could I have understood this truth only now? I was truly foolish beyond measure!"
Though chiding himself, he could not conceal his ecstatic joy.
Once Luo Chen began circulating the Heavenly Phoenix Nirvana Scripture, the rate at which the Wither-Bloom True Fire devoured the Red Lotus Earth Fire increased drastically, more than tenfold faster than before.
At this pace, Luo Chen was in no rush at all.
Inside the mountain hollow, above the fiery pool.
Magma churned as the Daoist sat suspended in the void, pinching incantation hand seals to fully direct the azure flame to swallow the red flame.
Time slowly drifted by.
Two days later.
Outside the small mountain.
Taisui exhaled scorching breath, looking at Tianxuan with displeasure.
"Your master has delayed for too long!"
Tianxuan, who had already reverted to human form, showed neither obsequiousness nor arrogance in the face of two Golden Core experts, Taisui and Cave Master Moyun.
"When Master exits seclusion is for him to decide. But you two must never barge in by force."
"You!"
Taisui was thoroughly exasperated.
Within the Five Elements Heavens, the places he disliked most were Thousand-Blade Mountain and the Blazing Purgatory.
One held metallic energy that was excessively sharp, while the other possessed fiery intent that was overwhelmingly intense. Both made his divine soul deeply uncomfortable, even hindering the circulation of his magic power.
Back at Thousand-Blade Mountain, the reason he had performed so poorly against Luo Chen and the Nine Suns Golden Eagle was partly due to this disadvantage.
In contrast, if he were in Yue Canglan, he would fare much better.
Especially the Wood Sky Plains—that was his home ground!
There, even as a mere incarnation of residual will, he would have the confidence to face anyone.
"Taisui, just wait a bit longer!" Cave Master Moyun shook his head. With his spirit full and vigor replenished, he understood Luo Chen better than anyone. "This place is simply too well-suited for cultivators of our path. Demonic Lord Qingyang is likely delighted by what he found and became somewhat lost in cultivation."
"I'm afraid he will lose himself in it!"
Taisui turned around and spoke loudly.
His voice was so loud that it echoed across the surroundings, as though trying to penetrate the formation and reach straight into Luo Chen's ears.
*Swish!*
A plantain fan materialized in Tianxuan's hand. The woman said coldly, "Please conduct yourself with dignity!"
Just as Taisui was about to speak, his eyes caught the reflection of sky-soaring flames in Cave Master Moyun's pupils.
He whipped around.
A pillar of fire erupted into the sky.
*Boom!*
The volcano had erupted.
Vast sheets of magma fell like rain.
Dense black smoke billowed in all directions.
"Master!"
Tianxuan cried out in panic. The erupting volcano was the very mountain where her master was cultivating!
Holding the plantain fan, she rushed straight into the sky, intending to fan out the erupting volcano.
"Wait, this is an extinct volcano—how could it suddenly erupt?"
Cave Master Moyun was awed by the wrath of heaven and earth while simultaneously baffled.
Taisui's divine sense swept out, and he suddenly gasped.
"He's over there!"
Tianxuan's steps came to an abrupt halt.
Reflected in her eyes, seated cross-legged within the pillar of fire, was the red-robed Daoist.
His black hair billowed, and his eyes remained shut.
Over his red robes, a layer of qi armor faintly shimmered, warding off the onslaught of the scorching molten lava.
Behind his back, azure and crimson intertwined continuously, gradually appearing to take the shape of a... tree?
Right then, Luo Chen slowly opened his eyes.
Those two beams of azure and crimson light instantly surged back into his body.
Luo Chen glanced down at the three of them, then cast his gaze upon the erupting volcano.
"An earth vein capable of nurturing Red Lotus Earth Fire is a fine place. It would be a pity to destroy it."
With a shift of his thought, the Senluo Fire Prison unfurled completely, blanketing dozens of li.
Then, pinching incantations with his fingers, he cast restriction after restriction across the small mountain.
Through this two-pronged suppression, the small volcano that had been on the verge of a full-scale eruption gradually quieted down and ceased its fury.
With an evasive streak, Luo Chen landed before the three.
"Let's go!"
Seeing him calm a volcanic eruption and untangle the chaotic earth qi with such effortless poise, Tianxuan's eyes brimmed with adoration.
Cave Master Moyun, however, turned pale, acutely realizing the gulf between himself and Luo Chen.
Taisui gave Luo Chen a profound look. He faintly sensed that some change had occurred here; a wisp of "vitality" was missing.
Yet he could not fathom what Luo Chen had actually done.
Taking a deep breath, Taisui pointed in a direction.
"Head that way. The Five Elements Lotus Platform is bound to be there!"
Luo Chen and the others followed his finger and looked. In the central region of the Blazing Purgatory, a mountain peak that looked as though it were about to spread its wings and take flight loomed indistinctly.
What kind of mountain would look poised to take flight?
"Where is that?"
"Vermilion Bird Mountain. Inside it dwells Tier 5 Vermilion Bird Holy Fire. If the Five Elements Lotus Platform wishes to advance to Tier 5, it must gather the true essences of each of the five elements. The other four attributes have already been absorbed, so the place where it is now can only be there!"
Gazing upon that remarkably vivid and lifelike mountain, Luo Chen narrowed his eyes slightly.
A Tier 5 Vermilion Bird Holy Fire, was it?
Chapter 667