Chapter 1137: True Fire Evolves; One Year From Now

Fu Qinglan's doubts had nothing to do with looking down on rogue cultivators. Anyone who could make a name for themselves without the support of a sect or cultivation family clearly possessed abilities of their own. The problem was that the Mirage Dragon Pocket World imposed a strict requirement: Only those who had formed their Nascent Soul within the past hundred years qualified to be Dao Protectors. For most newly minted Sages, a century was barely enough time to stabilize their cultivation and begin finding their way forward.

Those with a proper inheritance naturally had it much easier, as everything from techniques and enchanted treasures to cultivation resources had long since been planned out for them. Hence, they could devote far more time to strengthening themselves. Yu Xu's Dao Protector was a perfect example—whatever circumstances had forced Heavengazer to leave the Southern Frontier and join the Dao Sect, he had once been the leader of the Heavenly Mountain Sect. Years at the head of an upper sect had given him both a solid inheritance and extensive combat experience.

But a rogue cultivator? They faced an entirely different struggle. For many of them, simply forming a Nascent Soul was already an incredible stroke of fortune, let alone making further progress afterward. Out of a hundred years, most of their time would probably be spent stabilizing their cultivation, while the rest would go toward searching for suitable cultivation grounds, resources, and perhaps even new cultivation techniques. With all that, where would they find the time to nurture powerful enchanted treasures and hone their combat ability?

That was precisely what worried Fu Qinglan. Inside the pocket world, the Dao Protectors would shoulder most of the fighting. Several other candidates had already secured Sages at the second or even third stage. Yet according to her grandfather's letter, the rogue cultivator he had chosen for her was still only at the first stage. Could such a person truly compete with them?

Compared with that uncertainty, Qi Xiongcheng seemed far more dependable. He might have been born a servant of the Shi family, but the Shi family was one of the Twelve Great Houses. He had benefited from a Great House inheritance from the start and, after forming his Nascent Soul, had devoted himself to improving his combat abilities. His cultivation was also only at the first stage, but everything about his background made him seem like the safer choice. The problem was the Shi family...

Fu Qinglan quietly dismissed the idea. Any favor from a Great House would come with obligations of its own, and she intended to restore the Fu family's standing, not bind its future to someone else's terms.

While she was still thinking about it, the man who had followed silently behind them finally spoke. "Senior Sisters, I'll take my leave first."

Fu Qinglan gave a soft sound of acknowledgment.

Yu Xu watched him go, then frowned when she saw where he was heading. "Why is he heading back to Heaven-Earth Peak? If I remember correctly, Little Lin's Dao Protector is a distant relative his family trained specially for him. He has nothing to do with the Star Gate guest elders, does he?"

Fu Qinglan was also puzzled and instinctively looked up at the majestic peak. "Maybe he wants to visit the Saint Alchemist's old residence."

Understanding immediately dawned on Yu Xu's face. "That must be it. Little Lin has loved alchemy since he was a child. The Saint Alchemist is about to leave, and before they leave, people like to hang around the places they used to live in. So who knows? Maybe he'll even stumble upon an opportunity!"

"Oh, right. I heard the Seven Masters of Yearning Plains are challenging Master Daoyin at the Go Master Hall today. Qinglan, let's go watch!"

Fu Qinglan immediately perked up. "It's today?"

"Yes. Senior Brother Daoyin will probably take on all seven of them at once. A match like that doesn't happen often. You love Go, there's no way you can miss it."

"Let's go!"

***

Inside the cave residence on Kinghouse Peak, Luo Chen sat motionless with his eyes closed and an unnatural purple flush covering his face. Each time he breathed, waves of hot air poured out, raising the temperature until the once-cool room felt unbearably hot. Only after the heat had vented from his body did the purple color fade from his complexion.

When he finally opened his eyes, he immediately felt the change within himself. His Nascent Soul had grown more solid, and the mana coursing through his body was noticeably stronger than before. On the system panel, his cultivation had risen to First Stage Nascent Soul (25/100).

The top-grade Great Harmony Pill lived up to its reputation. A single pill contained roughly three times the medicinal power of the low-grade Grand Origin Pills he normally used and was even slightly stronger than a middle-grade one. Unfortunately, that power came with significant drawbacks. Its pill toxins eroded the barrier of the Purple Mansion, while impurities from the medicinal power accumulated within the Nascent Soul and had to be refined away afterward. Even at the top grade, the pill was only somewhat better than a middle-grade Grand Origin Pill overall. Compared with a top-grade one, it would probably fall far short.

"Still, it is a good pill."

Pills capable of producing such a noticeable effect on a Sage were exceedingly rare. The fact that the Great Harmony Pill had once been widely used by the Dao Sect showed just how exceptional it was. That only made Luo Chen admire Saint Alchemist Chu Yan more. Given the formula, Luo Chen was confident he could eventually refine it himself, but improving it was another matter entirely.

Even so, he had no intention of relying on it for long-term cultivation. The Grand Origin Pill was safer, more versatile, and carried none of the same potential issues. Once he finished the bottle Fu Chaosheng had given him, he saw no reason to seek out more.

Having settled that matter, he turned his attention to the bottle of Firestream Essence. He extended his divine consciousness inside and found a thick crimson liquid moving slowly within, almost like molten marrow. As bubbles rose and burst with soft pops, sparks of flame seemed to appear and vanish across its surface.

Luo Chen recalled the description from the Monarch's alchemical records. Withering Origin Fire Essence forms from the withered source left behind after a Sourceless Flame departs. Though born from what remains after a flame exhausts its birthplace, it possesses the remarkable ability to nurture new fire. If absorbed by a cultivator's primordial true fire, it can greatly strengthen the flame and may even cause it to advance.

Almost as soon as his divine consciousness touched the essence, the Withering-Flourishing True Fire within his Purple Mansion reacted. The branches of the fiery tree stretched toward it almost instinctively as if wanting to devour what lay inside the bottle.

Judging from its reaction, the alchemical text had not deceived him, nor had Fu Chaosheng tried to fob him off with a fake version. This bottle of Firestream Essence was indeed the Withering Origin Fire Essence described in the records.

Luo Chen looked at the bottle with a hint of regret. The text mentioned a few special uses for such fire essence. One of them was to refine it with a certain spirit solution from the devil realm. If it succeeded, there was a chance of creating a Yin-Yang Extremity Flame that carried both water and fire attributes. Unfortunately, he did not have that spirit solution, nor any way of obtaining it.

"Oh well, it is what it is. I suppose you're the one who gets to benefit from it."

Luo Chen opened his mouth and spat out the Withering-Flourishing True Fire. The flame gathered in midair and transformed into an azure-golden tree three chi tall, with green branches spreading above golden roots. The moment Luo Chen uncorked the crimson bottle, the fire tree reacted on its own. Its branches reached inside and began drawing out strands of the thick fire essence, which flowed along the branches and disappeared into the trunk.

He watched with growing anticipation.

The Withering-Flourishing True Fire had started as nothing more than a flame for creating artifacts, cultivated by a major sect. The Flame Alliance had later transformed the whole Incense Burning Valley for the sole purpose of nurturing it to the fourth tier. By all rights, that should have been the limit of this fire.

But after Luo Chen refined it, the flame continued to evolve. It had absorbed large amounts of life force from demonic beasts, then devoured seven low-tier Sourceless Flames in Blazing Purgatory along with a fourth-tier fire sprite, the Sky Burning Fire Sprite. Those gains allowed it to begin taking tangible form, but its spirituality remained underdeveloped until it absorbed a trace of the Nirvana Sacred Fire within the Alchemy Palace.

Now that Luo Chen had advanced to being a Sage and loosened the restraints he had placed upon it, that awakened spirituality had grown increasingly pronounced. Whether devouring Netherfire's true fire or suppressing Liu Jun's blue flame, the true fire had handled both with ease.

And now, it was absorbing an entire bottle of essence specifically capable of nurturing primordial true fire. Luo Chen could not help wondering just how far this transformation would take it.

***

A month later, Luo Chen finally emerged from seclusion.

Fu Chaosheng's eyes lit up when he saw him. "Fellow Daoist, you seem different. Your cultivation must have improved a lot this past month."

Luo Chen smiled. "I have you to thank for that. The Great Harmony Pill really is impressive. It helped me more than I expected."

Fu Chaosheng stroked his beard with a chuckle. "Of course. Even something my sect stopped using would still be considered top-tier elsewhere. If you want more after the competition, I can't promise top-grade ones, but I should be able to get my hands on some ordinary ones."

Luo Chen blinked and merely smiled without saying anything. So that was the hook! Fu Chaosheng had first given him the bottle of top-grade pills for free, both as an additional favor and as a taste of what he could provide. If everything went well, he could continue supplying him with more afterward, though certainly not for free. After all, a businessman really was a businessman; even when offering gifts, Fu Chaosheng never failed to think several steps ahead.

Unfortunately for him, Luo Chen was not particularly tempted. He already had the Grand Origin Pill. Once his proficiency rose enough for him to refine top-grade ones consistently, there would be no reason to rely on an outdated pill with lingering drawbacks.

Seeing that Luo Chen did not take the bait, Fu Chaosheng found it somewhat strange, but he did not press him. Instead, he asked about something else. "What about the Firestream Essence? Have you tried it yet?"

At the mention of this, Luo Chen's expression became a little strange. "I have."

"And the result?"

"Umm... How should I explain it.... To put it simply... my primordial true fire almost went out."

Fu Chaosheng stared at him. "What?!"

Luo Chen waved a hand. "It's fine. I managed to restore it."

Only then did Fu Chaosheng relax, though confusion remained on his face. Firestream Essence was extremely rare. Even if it failed to strengthen a cultivator's primordial true fire, it should never have nearly extinguished it. For a moment, he even wondered if the bottle he had obtained had expired.

Fu Chaosheng sighed. "Then I misjudged the situation. I hope you won't hold it against me."

Luo Chen smiled. "Don't worry about it."

Outwardly, he appeared completely unconcerned. Inside his Purple Mansion, however, the Withering-Flourishing Fire Tree looked nothing like it had before. Its once-flourishing branches had curled inward, and the entire tree appeared weak and listless.

Had this happened in the past, he would have been deeply worried. Now, however, he could sense what the fire tree was conveying through their connection. It was not dying! Instead, it was on the verge of another advancement! He could not yet tell whether it would truly cross into the fifth tier, but even if it failed, it would still become much more powerful than before.

After they exchanged a few more words about recent matters, Fu Chaosheng explained the reason for his visit. "We should get ready to leave for Woodrot Mountain."

Luo Chen frowned. "Didn't we agree that I would cultivate here for a full year before going there?"

He had grown quite satisfied with Kinghouse Mountain. The Fu family had nurtured it for generations, and the land surpassed every cultivation ground Luo Chen had used since reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, including the abyss on Dragon Abyss Island and Little Jade Mountain in Divine Origin City. There should have been no reason to leave so soon unless something had changed.

His first thought was the pocket world. "Has the grand competition been moved forward?"

Fu Chaosheng shook his head. "No, but that person is about to ascend."

Luo Chen's pupils contracted at once.

***

A month later, two figures emerged from a grand hall within a majestic city. As they walked away, Fu Chaosheng turned and cupped his hands toward the distant hall with a somewhat deferential smile. Only after they had traveled well beyond its grounds did he finally relax and let out a long breath. "Sorry you had to see that."

Luo Chen was kind of surprised. Over the past month, they had traveled almost without rest, alternating between flying boats and the teleportation formations of major cities as they made their way toward Woodrot Mountain. Yet not once had Fu Chaosheng behaved with such humility and deference.

Fu Chaosheng noticed his reaction and explained, "This is Sole Rule City, the Gu family's territory. They're one of the Twelve Great Houses, so their strength is far beyond anything families like ours can compare with. They have five Sages in the clan, and even the Zha and Qu Families of the Thirty-Six Noble Houses serve at their command. But the one you should really remember is Gu Daoyin. He's not even 500 years old, yet he's already a middle-stage Sage. Among his generation, he's considered one of the three people most likely to reach Divine Transformation. I simply can't afford to offend them."

Understanding immediately dawned on Luo Chen. This was his first time personally entering the territory of one of the Twelve Great Houses, and after traveling through the Central Continent for the past month, he had gained a much clearer picture of how such families maintained their power.

There were virtually no independent forces in the Central Continent and almost no room for rogue cultivators. The land had long since been divided among cultivation families, and even spirit lands without an obvious owner still fell within someone's sphere of influence. If a lone cultivator wished to cultivate in those lands, they had to attach themselves to one of the major families, whether as a servant, retainer, or through marriage. If they later became strong enough, they could petition to establish a household of their own. After passing the Dao Sect's assessment, that new lineage could rise into the ranks of the Lesser Houses or even the Noble Houses.

The Zha and Qu Families were examples of exactly that path. Both had risen from branches connected to the Gu family before eventually establishing themselves among the Thirty-Six Noble Houses.

What interested Luo Chen more, however, was Gu Daoyin himself. His reputation as a Divine Transformation potential was tied not merely to cultivation talent but to his mastery of Go. In the Central Continent, he was counted alongside Heaven Origin Linxian and Go Saint Ke Lianshan as one of the greatest Go players of the age.

That distinction carried unusual weight here. Among the Hundred Ways to Immortal Ascension, Go stood above the rest in the Central Continent. Other crafts rarely commanded comparable prestige unless someone pushed them to an extraordinary level, as Saint Alchemist Chu Yan had done with alchemy. But how many people in the world could ever reach the Saint Alchemist's level? There was only one person, and soon, even this one person would be gone.

Luo Chen looked beyond the bustling city toward the mountain visible even from hundreds of li away. Faint streaks of light crossed the distant clouds as cultivators flew toward it from every direction.

"Is that where the Saint Alchemist will ascend to the upper realm?"

Fu Chaosheng followed his gaze, and unmistakable envy could be seen in his eyes. "Yes. One year from now."

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