Chapter 100: Spirit-Devouring Poison Flame

Wu Jiang landed inside from outside, his face beaming with joy.

"Oh? Fellow Daoist Wu, is what you say true!"

Hearing this good news, Qin Ming's whole person instantly trembled in spirit and mind.

"Absolutely certain!" Wu Jiang stated with great conviction.

"As for the method to refine that spiritual fire, it is in the hands of a Qi Condensation family on Yellow Maple Island."

"I tested the waters; such a secret technique will likely command a high price, so Fellow Daoist Qin must mentally prepare, though they are indeed willing to sell."

"After all, Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fires are far harder to find than this secret technique; guarding this manual is like a skilled housewife unable to cook without rice."

"Better to sell it."

"Those two spiritual materials are in the hands of a down-and-out rogue cultivator."

After listening, Qin Ming couldn't help but pat Wu Jiang on the shoulder, "Fellow Daoist Wu truly lives up to being a local expert, gathering intelligence so quickly; many thanks!"

This kid is truly a talent! Achieving merit again and again! Thereupon, Qin Ming generously pulled out a small bag of spirit stones and stuffed it into the other's hand; feeling the heavy weight, Wu Jiang's eyes instantly lit up, and he happily accepted it.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, I will take you there right now."

Three days later.

When Qin Ming returned to his cave dwelling once more, he had successfully obtained the secret technique for refining Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fires, just as he had hoped.

In addition, there were two auxiliary ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills, though they were all merely seedlings.

But for Qin Ming, these were not problems.

Initially, that Qi Condensation family, relying on the scarcity of the secret technique, had intended to demand an exorbitant price.

Putting on an arrogant and tsundere posture of having a market but no fixed price.

Yet when Qin Ming produced second-grade Five-Color Spirit Rice as an exchange item, they obediently handed over the secret technique.

Returning to the cave dwelling.

Qin Ming could not wait to take out the jade slip recording the secret technique.

"Mystic Yin Fire Refining Art"! Inside, it contained not only the secret method for refining and taming spiritual fires, but also recorded numerous special spiritual flames existing between heaven and earth since ancient times.

Qin Ming immersed his spirit and mind, continuously examining and flipping through it.

When he saw the introduction to one of the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fires, his entire person froze.

What was introduced above was precisely the blue spiritual flame he had obtained from the ancient ruins' medicine garden.

Second-grade lower-tier spiritual fire, Spirit-Devouring Poison Flame.

Born in the extreme Yang region of the earth's core molten rock, where extreme Yang gives birth to Yin, thus birthing a Yin-poisonous spiritual flame.

Besides possessing extremely high temperatures, this poison flame has one greatest characteristic: it can directly scorch and erode a cultivator's magic power.

As long as one sticks to even a little of it, it is like a maggot clinging to the bone, extremely difficult to remove.

Qin Ming couldn't help but break out in goosebumps.

"Burn Blue!"

If something went wrong during the refining process, wouldn't that be disastrous? Because refining a Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fire requires drawing the spiritual flame into one's body.

Qin Ming then took out that jade bottle containing the blue spiritual flame, opened it, and gazed at it for a while.

He confirmed without doubt that this fire was the Spirit-Devouring Poison Flame.

Subsequently.

He seriously read this secret technique repeatedly over a dozen times, ensuring there were absolutely no errors or omissions.

After all, this concerned his life and fortune; he could not be careless in the slightest.

At the same time, while studying the secret technique, he discovered.

This secret technique for refining Heaven and Earth Spiritual Fires was not something just anyone could practice.

It had certain hard requirements.

First, besides requiring an extremely high standard for the physical body, secondly, the strength of the meridians must also be extraordinary compared to ordinary people.

Otherwise, encountering a backlash from the spiritual fire during the refining process would be no joke.

However, setting other things aside, Qin Ming was quite confident regarding these two requirements.

He presumed no problems would arise.

He immediately took out that jade bottle containing the Spirit-Devouring Poison Flame.

Then, curling his finger, he tapped it, opening the seal at the bottle's mouth.

Coo! Only hearing a crisp chirp.

An ice-blue flame shot out from within, then transformed into a blue firebird, and in the blink of an eye flew out toward the outside of the cave dwelling; all of this happened in the space between lightning and flint.

It gave him not even a moment to react.

Qin Ming also hadn't expected this spiritual fire to fly away on its own; the jade slip contained no relevant records regarding this, truly catching him off guard.

Whoosh! Qin Ming quickly flew after it in pursuit.

If the spiritual fire really flew away, there would be nowhere to seek justice.

But just as he arrived outside.

He witnessed a startling scene.

He saw his own destiny spiritual plant, the Longevity Vine, fling countless black vines from the air, brandishing claws and teeth, weaving into a fine net that firmly trapped the firebird transformed from the Spirit-Devouring Poison Flame.

No matter how the firebird struggled and flapped inside, it was to no avail; the streams of poison flame spewed from its mouth caused absolutely no damage to the black vines.

Instead, it was whipped by the black vines until it dared not move a muscle inside.

In a short while, it was tamed completely obedient and exceedingly well-behaved.

Seeing this, Qin Ming instantly breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's not right? That secret technique never mentioned that this poisonous flame could give birth to spiritual consciousness?"

If it weren't for the Black Vine being impervious to fire and water this time, it might well have truly escaped.

It was truly too dangerous.

Qin Ming felt deeply ashamed and broke out in a cold sweat.

Without further hesitation, he immediately prepared to refine and assimilate the spiritual flame.

This was precisely the moment when the poisonous flame had been tamed into obedience by the Black Vine.

He had to strike while the iron was hot.

With a thought, Qin Ming commanded the Longevity Vine to spread its fine net; he circulated the secret technique of the "Mysterious Yin Fire Summoning Art" in his hand and made a grasping motion toward the Mysterious Blue Poisonous Flame in mid-air.

The spiritual flame instantly fell into his palm.

Then Qin Ming performed a shocking act: he picked up the Spirit-Devouring Poisonous Flame, opened his mouth, and swallowed it whole in one gulp.

Immediately after.

He sat cross-legged and began circulating the secret technique to offer sacrifices to, refine, and tame the spiritual fire.

During the cultivation process, Qin Ming's entire body alternated between freezing cold and scorching heat.

The aura emanating from his body presented a state of extreme polarization.

Painful expressions flashed across Qin Ming's face, for he could feel that the difficulty of taming this poisonous flame had somewhat exceeded his expectations.

At this moment.

His innate spiritual plant beside him moved again; the Black Vine danced, and several strands of mysterious black light flashed and vanished, merging into Qin Ming's body.

The poisonous flame, which had been restless and agitated, instantly became docile.

Qin Ming focused his mind and stilled his breath, continuing to circulate the secret technique to accelerate the refinement of the spiritual fire.

A full two double-hours passed.

A blue flame, brilliant like ice soul and colorful in its splendor, lay quietly above the dantian sea of Qi within Qin Ming.

This Spirit-Devouring Poisonous Flame had now been completely refined and assimilated.

Next came the need to spend time constantly nurturing it, with the possibility of future advancement.

Just now, Qin Ming had been filled with lingering fear, his body covered entirely in cold sweat.

With this poisonous flame, only because he possessed such a miraculous innate spiritual plant as the Longevity Vine to save the situation could he survive; for any other cultivator.

Even if they possessed the method for offering sacrifices and refining it, they would likely have met their end in the backlash of the spiritual fire.

Qin Ming wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

Immediately, he felt immensely excited in his heart; now, while still in the late stage of Qi Condensation, he had mastered a second-rank heavenly and earthly spiritual fire.

Advancing to become a second-rank Grandmaster Alchemist was now just around the corner! And what delighted him even more was that this Spirit-Devouring Poisonous Flame had now become a powerful trump card.

In the midst of a magical battle, if used unexpectedly, the opponent would surely suffer a heavy loss.

With such a spiritual flame, Qin Ming.

Could set up a furnace and refine pills anywhere without needing an alchemy room, which was extremely convenient.

Qin Ming took out his purple alchemy furnace.

Then, with a thought, the ice-blue Spirit-Devouring Poisonous Flame appeared in his palm.

It resembled a lively blue firebird, dancing gracefully.

Qin Ming formed a hand seal and pointed a finger; the blue firebird drilled beneath the alchemy furnace and began obediently heating the vessel.

Not only that, he could casually drive the spiritual flame to control the temperature; this sensation was more than several times superior to using earth vein fire.

It was even more at his whim, and the process of grasping the fire intensity was incomparably smooth.

Now, Qin Ming's powerful divine sense was sufficient to support his multitasking; he quickly refined the medicinal embryos and prepared the medicinal liquid.

He did not even need vessels anymore.

Under the control of his divine sense, clumps of spiritual liquid emitting a medicinal fragrance floated quietly in mid-air.

When the timing of the fire intensity was just right.

Qin Ming threw all the medicinal liquid into the alchemy furnace.

A moment later.

At the moment of pill formation, he circulated the "Yin-Yang Separation and Union Spirit-Control True Art" to perform pill fusion once again.

"Jiu!" A clear chiming sound emanated from the alchemy furnace.

A nose-tickling exotic fragrance rushed into his nostrils.

Qin Ming's expression brightened with joy as he recalled the Spirit-Devouring Poisonous Flame to his dantian for nurturing.

Simultaneously, he raised his hand and beckoned; over ten spiritual pills emitting a green pill aura fell from inside the alchemy furnace into his hand.

"Top-grade Spirit-Nurturing Pills."

(End of Chapter)