C10 – Sun Devouring Demonic Fire
“Brother Min Zhenkang, I owe you big ti for saving my skin today. From here on out, you’re my brother, Guo Tao. If anyone sses with you, they’re picking a fight with .” Guo Tao quickly made his stance clear as Min Zhenkang approached.
“Hand over what you’ve just picked.” Min Zhenkang ignored Guo Tao’s thanks and went straight to the point, demanding the fire dragon flower.
“Brother Min Zhenkang, what are you talking about? I’m not following you.” Guo Tao tried to feign ignorance.
“Playing dumb, huh? Would the Flaming Tiger have co after you if you hadn’t taken that herb? You’re not being very honest, are you?” Min Zhenkang pressed.
Realizing he couldn’t keep up the act, Guo Tao reluctantly pulled out the items. “Look, Brother Min Zhenkang, everything’s in my Bag of Heaven and Earth, but as you can see, the Flaming Tiger bit off my hands. Just give
a mont to…” Before he could finish, Min Zhenkang snatched the bag from his waist.
“Wow, you’ve got quite the collection of treasures here.” Min Zhenkang remarked as he retrieved the fire dragon flower and then casually pulled out several odd-looking bottles and jars.
“Love potions, huh? Carrying around these, you certainly live up to your reputation.” Min Zhenkang comnted, finding that the bottles and jars were all such items.
“Heh, you know how it is for us guys – these things co in handy. Why not take so for a spin?” Guo Tao wasn’t the least bit embarrassed; instead, he nudged Min Zhenkang to try them.
“No thanks, I’ll pass. You keep your treasures to yourself.” Min Zhenkang said, crouching down.
Guo Tao mistakenly thought Min Zhenkang was offering a hand to help him up and flashed a grateful smile.
But then, “Ah ~ Wuu ~” to Guo Tao’s shock, Min Zhenkang grabbed his mouth and began pouring the contents of the bottles inside. In no ti, they were all emptied.
“You…” Guo Tao tried to protest, but his consciousness was already fading.
Weakened by the significant blood loss from his severed arms, Guo Tao was in a bad way. After Min Zhenkang force-fed him all that dicine, he breathed his last.
“Sigh, I had hoped to collect a bit of interest from you, but you’re so eager to settle the score. Well, it’s for the best—saves
the trouble later on.” Watching Guo Tao’s breaths grow fainter, Min Zhenkang felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him before he made a beeline for Whalespell.
……
“Brother Shifei, is it really okay to just abandon our boss like this?” Little Six and Zhang Shifei had already left Antigough Rise and were on their way to Whalespell.
“What’s the problem? Guo Tao has always been awful to us. Without his status as the Guo family’s young master, he’d be nothing. Plus, you saw what happened to Little Four and Little Five. He never saw us as brothers.” Zhang Shifei’s resentnt grew with each thought.
“But he is the young master of the Guo family. It’s expected he wouldn’t see us as brothers. Maybe we should go back and check on him. If he’s dead, fine, but if he’s alive, we’re the ones who’ll suffer later.” Little Six’s worry deepened the more he considered it.
“Go back if you want, but I’m not going back.” Zhang Shifei’s heart quivered at Little Six’s words, yet he refused to back down.
“Brother Shifei, just wait here for . I’ll go back and see how the boss is doing,” he said, turning to head back.
“Hey, are you seriously going back? Wait up, I’ll co with you.” Eventually, Zhang Shifei’s resolve faltered, and he joined Little Six in returning to find Guo Tao.
……
Min Zhenkang had already arrived back in Whalespell, his spirits high as he planned to seek out Chu Keke. As he passed the auction house, a delightful sight caught his eye.
A flag with a fla pattern was billowing at the auction house entrance, looking like a dancing fla in the wind from a distance.
Elated, Min Zhenkang recognized the sign he had been searching for. He quickly ducked into a hidden spot to don his disguise and made his way back to the auction house.
Approaching the entrance, Min Zhenkang was nearly intercepted by the gatekeeper, but he promptly presented the VIP card Elder Di had given him. Recognizing the card, the gatekeeper realized the significance of the visitor; in all of Whalespell, only one person held such a card. Eager to show respect, the gatekeeper quickly escorted Min Zhenkang to Elder Di’s quarters.
“Sir, we’ve located the fla you were seeking, though I’m not certain it ets your standards,” Elder Di stated plainly upon greeting his guest.
“Oh? What fla are you referring to, Elder Di?” Min Zhenkang’s curiosity was piqued.
“The Sun Devouring Demonic Fire.”
Min Zhenkang drew in a sharp breath. He had hoped to find any fla, but the auction house had surpassed his expectations with such a formidable one.
……
On the Suanikos Continent, flas are categorized into four distinct types.
The most basic is the beast fire, a natural fla that fire-attribute Demonic Beasts carry from birth. Lacking intelligence, these beasts act on instinct alone, and not all possess such flas, making theirs the most rudintary.
Next is the spirit fire. Although also inherent to spirit beasts, it is considerably more potent than beast fire. With their awakened intelligence, spirit beasts can refine their flas, enhancing their power. So exceptional spirit beasts are said to have cultivated their flas to extraordinary levels through innate talent.
Then cos the Heavenly Fla, which arises under complex conditions, requiring the perfect alignnt of elents. Its power varies greatly.
While the Heavenly Fla ranks above spirit fire, its might does not always surpass it. So spirit beasts are believed to have evolved beyond their kind, becoming Divine Beasts like the Divine Dragon, Phoenix, and Vermillion Bird.
The flas of the Phoenix and Vermillion Bird are more powerful than the Heavenly Fla, second only to the supre Heavenly Fla itself. Thus, an informal consensus exists within the Cultivation World: there are five types of flas—beast fire, spirit fire, Heavenly Fla, Divine Fla, and Heavenly Fla.
The remaining Heavenly Flas were born with the continent of Suanikos itself. There are only five such flas, and even the weakest among them is far stronger than any Divine Fla.
Since the dawn of cultivation on Suanikos, it’s been rumored that only the latter three Heavenly Flas have ever been claid, and always by the most formidable cultivators of the land. The first and second flas, however, remain unclaid, their nas unknown to all.
……
The Sun Devouring Demonic Fire is the inherent fla of the Sun Devouring Tiger, classified as a Spiritual Fla and ranking quite high within that category.
“Sir, does this et your expectations?” Elder Di, seeing no response from Min Zhenkang, felt uncertain and inquired once more, “If it’s not to your satisfaction, we can keep searching for you.”
“There’s no need, Elder Di. This one will suffice. I’m just not sure about the price of the Sun Devouring Demonic Fire…” Min Zhenkang knew he couldn’t ta such an intense fla in his current state, and he didn’t have the luxury of ti to seek out others.
“Sir, the Sun Devouring Demonic Fire was acquired by another branch. I arranged for its imdiate transport here upon receiving the news. While I have a decent rapport with the president of that branch, the final price is ultimately their call. Rest assured, I will advocate for the best possible deal on your behalf.”
“Thank you, Elder Di. I appreciate your efforts.”
After Elder Di left, Min Zhenkang remained seated in the room, sipping tea.
Before long, Elder Di returned.
“What’s the word, Elder Di?”
“The other side’s lowest asking price is 15,000 Mysterious Stones. The Heaven and Earth Auction House recently auctioned a fla of similar quality, which sold for 17,000 Mysterious Stones. Of course, we’re quite open to a barter arrangent, should you prefer that,” Elder Di explained, hoping to secure so high-level, top-grade pills from Min Zhenkang.
“Elder Di, could you assess the value of this item for ? How much more would I need to acquire the Sun Devouring Demonic Fire?” Min Zhenkang nonchalantly produced a secret to from his Bag of Heaven and Earth.
“God’s Roar Technique, a high-level Yellow Rank cultivation thod. If I’m not mistaken, this is a technique from the Guo family, isn’t it? Could it be that you are…?” Elder Di asked, his expression one of astonishnt as he regarded Min Zhenkang.
Before leaving Antigough Rise, Min Zhenkang had already transferred everything from Guo Tao’s Bag of Heaven and Earth into his own. He then discarded the useless items along with Guo Tao’s bag back on the mountain.
“Elder Di, could you please evaluate this to for ?” Min Zhenkang neither confird nor denied Elder Di’s speculation, instead prompting him to assess the to’s value.
“Just a mont, sir. I’ll find soone to appraise this for you,” Elder Di replied, before stepping out.
anwhile, Min Zhenkang remained seated, leisurely enjoying the tea provided by the Heaven and Earth Auction House.
“Sir, after our Secret Book Appraiser’s evaluation, this to is valued at 8,000 Mysterious Stones,” Elder Di announced upon his return.
“Would you mind appraising this one as well?” Min Zhenkang said, producing another to from his Bag of Heaven and Earth.
“The Giant Dragon’s Five Spirits Sword Formation, a high-level Yellow Rank sword formation. Please wait a mont, sir,” Elder Di said and left once more.
“Sir, this sword formation has been appraised at 12,000 Mysterious Stones. Despite both being high-level Yellow Rank techniques, the sword formation is indeed more sought after than the to.”
“Great, let’s proceed with the exchange for these two. I’d appreciate it if you could make the arrangents now, Elder Di,” Min Zhenkang said, eager to conclude the transaction.
“Just a mont, sir. I will have soone take care of it imdiately,” Elder Di assured him, then called out, “Soone, please!”
“Elder Di,” a maidservant entered at his summons.
“Fetch the Sun Devouring Demonic Fire and 5,000 Mysterious Stones,” he instructed, handing over the to and sword manual to the maidservant.
“Yes, Elder Di.”
“I’m curious about the origins of these two Secret Books, sir. Do they have any connection to the Guo family?” Elder Di already had his suspicions. The man before him was likely a core mber of the Guo family or soone with a vendetta against them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t so casually produce two of the Guo family’s Secret Books.
But what puzzled Elder Di was, if this individual belonged to the Guo family, who could he be? And if he bore a grudge against them, surely he wasn’t a local of Whalespell. So who could he be?
“Elder Di, is the Heaven and Earth Auction House now in the business of verifying the legitimacy of item origins? If I acquired these secret manuals through other ans, would the Auction House refuse them?” Min Zhenkang inquired.
“Sir, you’ve misunderstood. The Heaven and Earth Auction House is solely responsible for the appraisal and auctioning of items. We never inquire about their provenance. And there’s no question of us being too timid to accept any item,” Elder Di responded, puffing out his chest with pride.
Indeed, since its establishnt in Whalespell, the Heaven and Earth Auction House had faced its share of disruptors. Yet, without fail, all those who caused trouble eventually vanished, regardless of their cultivation level or the depth of their connections.
“In that case, may I opt not to answer your question, Elder Di?”
“Haha, certainly. Please, enjoy your tea.” Elder Di, feeling a touch awkward from Min Zhenkang’s pointed words, took a slow, deliberate sip of his tea.
Elder Di then deftly steered the conversation onto lighter topics, engaging Min Zhenkang in casual chatter.
“Elder Di, the Sun Devouring Demonic Fire and 5,000 Mysterious Stones have arrived.” In the midst of their conversation, a maidservant entered, carrying a tray. Atop the tray rested a jade stone with a fla pulsing within it, and next to it lay a Bag of Heaven and Earth.
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