As ti passed, the temperature in the cave gradually dropped. At this point, it could no longer be called a cave—the imnse power of the Heavenly Fire had lted it beyond recognition.
Above, there was a massive hole. Through it, one could see the dark clouds in the sky, accompanied by rolling thunder.
“Is it finally going to succeed?”
Long Xuan, observing from a distance, murmured softly. His clenched fists finally loosened as he let out a long sigh of relief.
Only now did his tense mood begin to ease. The danger involved in devouring the Heavenly Fire had far exceeded his expectations.
The scene earlier had been perilous. Even if the Heavenly Fire's power had been slightly stronger, his five clones would have been reduced to ashes, resulting in an imdiate loss of all five.
Fortunately, luck was on his side. The clones managed to withstand the danger, and the Heavenly Fire was finally being refined bit by bit by the five major clones.
The intense heat in the cave had dissipated, seemingly signaling the successful refinent of the Heavenly Fire.
When he saw the five clones simultaneously open their weary eyes, Long Xuan took a deep breath and extended his right hand. A red fla imdiately ignited in his palm, casting a reddish glow on his excited face.
The clones would return all cultivation gains to the main body. Their success in devouring the Heavenly Fire ant that he, too, had succeeded. From now on, he could wield the power of the Heavenly Fire at will.
All dangers were borne by the clones, while his main body simply enjoyed the rewards. Such a technique was undeniably rogue-like.
“This is the power of Heavenly Fire? Terrifying indeed.”
“There are only thirty-six types of Heavenly Fire in the entire world, and finding one is extrely difficult. Devouring a Heavenly Fire is the lifelong dream of any alchemist. I never imagined I’d have the chance to obtain such a treasure.”
The fla in Long Xuan’s hand disappeared, and a broad smile spread across his face.
“Are you all okay?”
Long Xuan finally approached the clones in the cave, expressing his concern.
Using his spiritual power, he examined the Fire Clone’s body, finding it charred black with burns everywhere. Internally, it was riddled with scars, with no intact areas left.
Such injuries would be fatal for ordinary people. The fact that the clone was alive was nothing short of a miracle in others’ eyes.
“No major issues,” the Fire Clone said weakly. “For others, these injuries would an certain death. But thanks to the evolution of third-level immortal power of the Water Bear Gu, I’ll recover to full strength in no ti.”
Hearing this, Long Xuan finally relaxed.
He was grateful for the Water Bear Gu’s evolution during their trip to the Emperor Fla City. Without it, the outco of devouring the Heavenly Fire would have been unpredictable.
With the Heavenly Fire acquired, Long Xuan could now cultivate the third stage of the Purgatory True Demon Technique: Heavenly Fire Body Refinent.
As he pondered this, the Fire Clone rose from the Cold Jade Bed and sat on the ground. Red flas imdiately engulfed its body, turning it into a fiery figure.
The Fire Clone was now testing the effects of refining its body with Heavenly Fire.
Even without moving, Long Xuan felt his physical strength increasing at a visible rate. Refining one’s body with Heavenly Fire yielded extraordinary results.
Excitent glead in Long Xuan’s eyes as he clenched his fists, marveling at his growing power. Such a cultivation technique was truly shaless. Who could have devised sothing so extre?
The other clones also sat cross-legged, shrouded in red flas, and began refining their bodies with Heavenly Fire.
Long Xuan imdiately noticed his physical strength growing even faster—five tis faster than before. The speed of cultivation was like riding a rocket, and he couldn’t help but grin.
The ordeal had been worth it. Despite their severe injuries, the clones were now nearing the bottleneck of the mid-stage Spiritual Sea Realm.
Their breakthroughs were imminent, and when they did, Long Xuan would also ascend to the Spiritual Sea mid-stage effortlessly. Such an advantage was unparalleled.
Considering how little ti had passed since he first entered the Spiritual Sea Stage as a Gu cultivator, his cultivation speed was astounding compared to others. His innate talent likely played a role as well.
Without disturbing the clones, Long Xuan quietly left the cave.
Taking out a map, he began planning his next steps.
The Disaster Poison Gu and Dragon Gu had successfully evolved, leaving only a few unevolved Gu Insects.
After so thought, he decided to prioritize upgrading the Blade Gu.
According to the map, he was currently in the Sinful Lands, bordered by the Glorious Moon Empire to the west, the Dragon Soaring Empire to the south, and the Flaming Court Empire to the north.
The Sinful Lands, being at the junction of these three great empires, was a lawless region.
To the north of the Flaming Court Empire lay the Phoenix Heaven Empire, a vast territory with borders connecting nurous nations. The Phoenix Heaven Empire’s royal city was the venue for the alchemy competition that had shaken the entire Western Region.
Reaching the royal city required crossing the Flaming Court Empire.
The Flaming Court Empire reminded Long Xuan of the Sword Cleansing Pavilion, a powerful sect of sword cultivators.
While rare, sword cultivators did exist in the Gu Realm, and the Sword Cleansing Pavilion was one of the strongest sects dedicated to this path.
Many individuals with poor Gu cultivation talent would turn to sword cultivation at the Sword Cleansing Pavilion.
In the Flaming Court Empire, the Sword Cleansing Pavilion was considered a sacred ground for sword cultivation, ranking among the top five sects in the empire.
With such a prestigious sect nearby, Long Xuan decided to upgrade his Blade Gu there.
Since he had to pass through the Flaming Court Empire on his way to the Phoenix Heaven Empire, he might as well visit the Sword Cleansing Pavilion to further his plans.
He resolved to head to the pavilion as soon as the clones recovered from their injuries and broke through to the mid-stage Spiritual Sea.
...
Flaming Court Empire, a remote mountain.
It was late at night.
A little dicine boy dragged his exhausted body through the wilderness. Dark circles under his eyes betrayed his long lack of rest.
“That mysterious voice ca from here,” he muttered, staring at an abandoned temple ahead, frowning deeply.
There is an old saying: “Better to spend the night in a graveyard than in a temple.”
Many assu temples are sanctuaries where evil spirits fear to tread. But the truth is often the opposite—abandoned temples in the wild are usually ominous places.
This temple, situated in such a desolate and isolated location, was suspicious by its very existence.
Perhaps an evil spirit was imprisoned beneath it, or a malevolent ghost haunted its halls. Either way, no good could co of it.
As the wind howled through the night, eerie noises emanated from the temple, heightening the chilling atmosphere.
As he noticed dark clouds gathering in the sky, obscuring the moonlight, and threatening a heavy downpour at any mont, he decided to take refuge in the temple to avoid the rain.
He knew that the temple might hold unknown dangers, but his curiosity about the persistent voice he had been hearing drove him forward.
Ever since he had arrived in the Western Lands, he had been hearing a voice intermittently, too faint to make out the words. However, the voice seed to be summoning him to a particular place.
The noise had been disrupting his sleep, and he feared that if he didn’t resolve it soon, he might lose his sanity.
Ignoring the warnings of Li Ladao, he insisted on coming here.
Now, he sensed that the voice originated from this temple. Even though he knew the temple might conceal great dangers, he resolved to enter and uncover the truth.
"At worst, I’ll die," he thought, "but that’s better than being tortured to death by this incessant voice."
Clenching his teeth, the young dicine boy summoned his courage and stepped into the temple.
Pushing open the door, he found the interior dim and pitch-dark. Retrieving a wall lamp from his storage bag—a relic he had excavated from an ancient Western cave—he cautiously ventured deeper into the temple under its faint light.
Coincidentally, as soon as he stepped inside, a torrential rain began outside. The wind slamd the door shut behind him, as if trapping him in the temple, leaving him no choice but to spend the night there.
The little dicine boy took a deep breath, looked around, and observed that the temple had been abandoned for a long ti. Dust coated the ground and the incense table, and cobwebs clung to the corners and beams.
There were no signs of human activity for ages, and the air was thick with a musty sll.
Frowning, he couldn’t understand why the voice that had lured him here had suddenly fallen silent.
“Who are you? Why did you call here?”
“Say sothing!”
He shouted into the darkness, his voice echoing in the empty hall. Yet, no response ca, and the maddening voice remained absent.
“If you don’t speak, I’m leaving!” he yelled again. Seeing no reply, he made a show of heading for the door.
But as soon as he opened it, a gust of wind blew rain inside, and a flash of lightning illuminated his pale face. Hastily, he shut the door.
“Fine, I’ll spend the night here,” he muttered to himself.
In truth, he had no intention of leaving. He knew that as soon as he stepped outside, the voice would tornt him again.
Having traveled countless mountains and rivers over several years to reach this place, he wasn’t about to give up without solving the mystery of the voice.
Securing the door, he began to clear away the dust. True to his opportunistic nature, he decided not to leave empty-handed. Anything that could be taken—no matter how broken—was stored in his bag: incense burners, wooden fish, the large Buddha statue, wall paintings, even dilapidated tables and prayer mats.
After looting everything visible, he began digging into the ground, searching for hidden treasures. He knocked on walls and floors, hunting for secret chambers or compartnts.
Finally, his efforts paid off. In one spot, he heard a hollow sound and lit up with excitent. Drawing a small hamr from his bag, he smashed through the floor tiles and unearthed a golden Buddha statue.
The statue was exquisitely crafted, radiating a dazzling golden light that was almost blinding—a treasure of unmistakable value.
Delighted, he stashed the statue and continued searching with renewed vigor. Before long, he found another hollow spot and retrieved a second identical statue.
Ti ticked by as he worked tirelessly. After scouring every inch of the temple, he had unearthed a total of eighteen golden Buddha statues.
Each statue had been deeply hidden, yet he had found them all. Exhausted but satisfied, he sat on the floor to rest.
Smiling faintly, he prepared to examine the statues more closely when the maddening voice suddenly returned.
“So it was you! I knew you wouldn’t resist touching these Buddha statues. No matter how well-hidden they were, you would still dig them all out.”
Startled, the little dicine boy leaped to his feet. “Who’s there? Who’s speaking?”
A chill ran down his spine. The voice seed to know him intimately—even predicting his actions.
Wait. Was the silence earlier just a ploy to lure him into touching the statues?
“Did you stay silent just to make take these statues?” he asked, his expression shifting.
The voice replied, “Exactly. I know you well because I am you, and you are . How could I not understand myself?”
“I am your most virtuous side. These eighteen golden Buddhas are a seal that only the purest of heart can touch. Only those without a trace of malice qualify as truly virtuous. Very few in this world can move the eighteen golden Buddhas.”
“If I had directly asked you to unseal them, I know you would have strengthened the seal instead. But by saying nothing, I knew you would loot everything here—even the Buddhas hidden deep beneath the ground.”
The little dicine boy’s heart sank. Unwittingly, he had released an extraordinarily dangerous entity.
Anything sealed away is bound to be perilous, likely once wreaking havoc. Now that this demon was free, disaster seed inevitable.
Pale-faced, he realized the gravity of his mistake. This temple had indeed been a prison for a demon, and his actions had unleashed it.
The consequences would be unimaginable.
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