Chapter 11: Fusion of the Exotic Fire

"Ding! Congratulations to the Host for intercepting the Fire Crystal Stone. Ten-thousand-fold return: Azure Flame Earth Core Fire. Will you claim it?"

"It's actually an Exotic Fire!"

Zhou Chen's heart shook violently.

Exotic Fire is a mysterious flame formed in Heaven and Earth. No one knows how Exotic Fire is formed, but the might of an Exotic Fire is known to everyone in the Cultivation world.

Legend has it that there was once a powerful expert, the ancient emperor, who fused with an Exotic Fire. With terrifying power, he burned mountains and boiled seas, suppressing an entire era.

"Claim."

The moment the Exotic Fire appeared, a terrifying temperature rose, creating a vacuum zone in the surroundings. Even the space seemed to be burning and twisting.

"What a tyrannical temperature."

Zhou Chen secretly rejoiced that he hadn't touched the Exotic Fire with his hands; otherwise, his hands would definitely have been burned to charcoal instantly.

Ancient records of the Wenxian Sect state that to absorb an Exotic Fire, one must wrap it in Spiritual Qi and guide it into the body to refine it. Any other method would fail to absorb the Exotic Fire.

Zhou Chen was lost. Such a terrifying Exotic Fire—could this thing even be absorbed?

However, the arrow was on the string and had to be fired. Since it was a product of the System, there shouldn't be any major problems. If the Exotic Fire were left exposed here for long, it might attract terrifying experts.

Without further hesitation, Zhou Chen immediately operated the The Primordial Chaos Scripture at full strength, wrapped the Exotic Fire, and swallowed it whole.

The next second, blue veins bulged on Zhou Chen's face, and large beads of sweat rolled down.

At this moment, his internal organs felt as if they were in the eighteenth level of Hell, constantly enduring the burning of flames. His entire being felt as if it were about to vaporize.

The Spiritual Qi from the The Primordial Chaos Scripture that Zhou Chen cultivated was already far beyond that of Cultivators at the same Realm, and the quality of his Spiritual Qi was comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator. Logically, his Spiritual Qi should be hard to exhaust.

However, at this moment, his consumption rate of Spiritual Qi was extremely exaggerated. Before long, he had already used up twenty percent of his spiritual power.

Terrifying!

If anyone saw Zhou Chen's appearance at this moment, they would find his whole body extremely red, with blood constantly oozing out, only to be instantly evaporated into blood scabs.

"No, I can't go on like this, or I might really die."

The heart-piercing pain rushed into Zhou Chen's mind, making him feel as if he were about to lose consciousness the next second.

Zhou Chen endured the excruciating pain and took out all the remaining earth mother essence and Spiritual Liquid from his Storage Pouch.

Gulp! Gulp!

Not caring what it was, Zhou Chen drank it all down.

Boom!

A massive amount of Spiritual Qi exploded within Zhou Chen's body. His body, as if experiencing rain after a long drought, greedily absorbed the Spiritual Qi, offsetting the continuously consumed Spiritual Qi.

In an instant, a strange balance was formed.

The Exotic Fire was constantly consuming Zhou Chen's spiritual power, while simultaneously burning his internal organs.

The The Primordial Chaos Scripture continuously absorbed Spiritual Qi into Zhou Chen's body, while the earth mother essence continuously repaired his internal organs.

Two and a half hours later, Zhou Chen slowly woke up.

"I almost died."

Zhou Chen had lingering fears.

Little did he know that Zhou Chen was also lucky. Absorbing an Exotic Fire usually requires special Cultivation Techniques.

When Zhou Chen persisted for an hour, the replenished Spiritual Qi was exhausted again.

The moment before he lost consciousness, he instinctively jumped into the Qingyun Heavenly Pool, his body subconsciously operating the The Primordial Chaos Scripture, absorbing enough Spiritual Qi.

Thanks to the timely replenishment of spiritual power and the fact that the The Primordial Chaos Scripture was strong enough, Zhou Chen suppressed the Exotic Fire by a stroke of luck.

Otherwise, Zhou Chen would have been burned to death by the terrifying temperature of the Exotic Fire long ago.

However, Zhou Chen was still taking things for granted; the effect of the Qingyun Heavenly Pool was also limited.

The Spiritual Qi of the Heavenly Pool was already extremely thin.

What Zhou Chen didn't know was that the Primordial runes condensed earlier had erupted with powerful Spiritual Qi fluctuations at the critical moment, wrapping the Exotic Fire layer by layer, thus suppressing it forcefully.

Otherwise, Zhou Chen wouldn't have refined the Exotic Fire so easily.

Zhou Chen didn't notice that the black and white rune seal in his body was already very dim, and the two characters "Primordial" were already hard to distinguish.

Then again, the Sect records and such really couldn't be trusted; how could it be so simple?

Little did he know that Zhou Chen was too naive.

Exotic Fires are rare, and even if the Sect had records, they were just rumors. Unless one is a first-hand participant, who would know how to subdue an Exotic Fire?

Only large Sects in the Central Continent, or Hermit Families, Holy Lands, and the like would have detailed records.

"I can't be so reckless next time. Although System products are high-quality, they don't come with after-sales service!"

Zhou Chen was speechless again.

A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit. Zhou Chen secretly vowed.

Coming back to his senses, Zhou Chen clenched his fist at the stone slab beside him.

As soon as he exerted force, he heard a "crack."

The stone slab was actually shattered by Zhou Chen.

"So strong. I feel like I have endless strength in my body."

Zhou Chen discovered that his Physical Body quality was at least two or three times what it was before.

The biggest improvement was his internal organs, the strength of which could probably rival a Yellow Rank Top-Grade Profound Weapon.

One must know that for ordinary Cultivators, the Physical Body is still very fragile. Even for a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator, the body strength is no more than that of an Earth Rank Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact.

Zhou Chen clenched his fist and punched his personal sword. With a "bang," the Yellow Rank Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact snapped in response.

Sensing that his strength had increased several times, Zhou Chen was overjoyed.

Above Zhou Chen's Dantian, a cyan flame was floating quietly.

If not for personally experiencing the pain this thing brought, Zhou Chen wouldn't believe that this thing was the violent Exotic Fire that had almost cost him his life.

The next moment, Zhou Chen extended his palm.

A wisp of cyan flame appeared in his hand. The air began to twist, but Zhou Chen didn't seem to feel any burning sensation; there was even a hint of coolness.

Zhou Chen felt playful and played with the flame for a while, constantly rotating and rolling the cyan flame up, down, left, and right.

He controlled the cyan flame and placed it on the broken half of the Yellow Rank Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact.

Sizzle!

A wisp of blue smoke rose, and only a pool of molten iron remained on the ground.

"Too terrifying!"

Zhou Chen was shocked. This was a Yellow Rank Medium Grade Spiritual Artifact, yet it was instantly evaporated!

As expected of a wonder of Heaven and Earth!

As expected of a System product!

"Although I almost died, it was all worth it. Awesome!"

Zhou Chen grinned, revealing a satisfied smile.

With a thought, the cyan flame dove into Zhou Chen's Dantian.

Qi Refining Tenth Layer, The Primordial Chaos Scripture, Heavenly Gang Swordplay at Perfection, and an Exotic Fire.

Zhou Chen was confident. In Qi Refining, he was invincible. Even if he faced a Child of Destiny like Ye Chen.

Even if Ye Chen was at Foundation Establishment, he wouldn't be afraid.

"Three feet above the head, there are gods; three inches in the palm, is the human world. If Heaven did not give birth to me, Zhou Chen, the long night of Qi Refining would be eternal."

Zhou Chen muttered the essential lines for an overpowered protagonist from his previous life, shook his head, and left, not even bothering to greet the City Lord.

Heaven knows if City Lord Li would regret so much that his intestines turned green when he saw that the Spiritual Qi of the Qingyun Heavenly Pool had been absorbed to the last drop.

He couldn't ask Zhou Chen for compensation either; after all, he couldn't afford to offend Zhou Chen.

Recently, Ye Chen's Opportunities had all been harvested; it was time to go back and participate in the Sect Grand Competition.

Not long after Zhou Chen left, a terrifying aura appeared above the Qingyun Heavenly Pool.

The figure was gaunt and looked extremely thin, but the moment it appeared, it seemed as if the Spiritual Qi between Heaven and Earth had to bow down to it.

If anyone saw this scene, they would definitely be shocked speechless. This was actually a Holy Realm expert who had not appeared in the world!

"Tsk tsk, interesting. It's actually an Exotic Fire. I don't know how many years it hasn't appeared. I really miss it. The aura of the Cultivation Technique is also very tyrannical. Very good. It seems this is a young man favored by the Heavenly Dao."

The gaunt figure transmitted a chilling voice.

"What a 'the long night of Qi Refining would be eternal.' This old man is also looking forward to it. Great terror, great Opportunity. It seems that the great changes of Heaven and Earth are not far away, tsk tsk."

Immediately after, the old man's figure gradually disappeared, as if he had never appeared.

"The Foundation is too solid. The Bottleneck of the Foundation Establishment Stage won't budge."

Zhou Chen said helplessly.

Three days later.

Zhou Chen returned to the Outer Sect Disciple quarters of the Sect to continue consolidating his cultivation.

On the other hand, Ye Chen also returned to the Sect.

"Master, this time going out, I gained almost nothing. Someone was always one step ahead of me. This feeling is too uncomfortable."

Ye Chen was depressed.

"Disciple, this is common human nature. After all, the Heavenly Dao is ruthless and will not always help you. However, you have me. I will help you Cultivate. This is an ancient and powerful Cultivation Technique, the Flame Mantra."

The old voice carried a hint of nostalgia as it came from the ring.

"Thank you, Master. Is this Cultivation Technique very strong? Why didn't you teach it to me before!"

Ye Chen immediately sensed the unusual nature of this Cultivation Technique.

"Yes, disciple. This is a Cultivation Technique once practiced by an ancient emperor. Using the body as a vessel, taking the Exotic Fire of Heaven and Earth into the body, seizing the creation of Heaven and Earth, and forcibly walking out an Imperial Road!"

After a pause, the old voice continued.

"I didn't teach it to you before because I saw that your luck was good, and I didn't want to help the seedlings grow by pulling them. Moreover, this Cultivation Technique has extremely harsh conditions for practice. It requires constantly collecting Exotic Fires of Heaven and Earth, and the pain of the cultivation process is far beyond the imagination of ordinary Cultivators. I was worried you couldn't bear it."

"Master, don't worry. No matter what kind of pain, I can bear it. I just want to become stronger now."

Ye Chen's expression was determined.

"Good. I will pass the Cultivation Technique to you. First, collect the Materials for these Medicinal Pills. I will assist you in absorbing the Earth Core Fire in the Alchemy room. Although it is a mortal fire, its might is also extraordinary, laying a Foundation for you to absorb Exotic Fire in the future."

"Thank you, Master!"

Ye Chen was spirited. He traveled back and forth between the Sect and the market, constantly collecting herbs.

Three days later, in the Alchemy room, Ye Chen was sitting cross-legged and Cultivating.

Ye Chen's face was twisted and his expression was ferocious; he was clearly absorbing the Earth Core Fire.

"Disciple, calm your mind, take the Ice Spirit Pill, and coordinate with the Spirit Divine Pill to maintain consciousness. As long as you endure it, it will be fine."

The old man in the ring was protecting Ye Chen at all times.

"Master, I will not let you down!"

Ye Chen continued to endure the pain and Cultivate.

If Zhou Chen saw this scene, he would definitely curse loudly.

He had worked himself to the bone, absorbing an Exotic Fire alone, almost dying, and without any guidance. It was truly infuriating to compare people.

Moreover, he had clearly intercepted Ye Chen's Opportunity, yet Ye Chen still became stronger in another form. Sure enough, the Heavenly Dao is ruthless, but it didn't say the Heavenly Dao wasn't biased.

After a while, Ye Chen opened his eyes. The cultivation fluctuation on his body was already at the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

"Master, I have broken through in Qi Refining! For this Inner Sect Grand Competition, I am confident in taking the top spot!"

Ye Chen was full of confidence.

"Disciple, I am optimistic about you, but also remember to be humble and prudent so that you can go further."

"Yes! Master!"

Ye Chen then left the Alchemy room.