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“To use Lihuo as the array, and the earth as the cauldron… Amazing…” The white-haired medical cultivator shook his head lightly, his eyes glowed with yearning, “No wonder Xiao Yan chose her as a successor. But her talent in arrays clearly surpasses her medical skill. If the Ji clan saw such exceptional potential, they would stop at nothing to take her as their disciple.”
“Wasn’t she just using the Hundred Ghosts and Hundred Phantoms Array?” the black-robed sword cultivator muttered irritably. “Isn’t that supposed to be a secret array of the Ji clan?”
“The Ji clan couldn’t possibly possess the Lihuo,” the white-haired medical cultivator shook his head.
“Then where did she learn this array from?” The black-robed sword cultivator was also curious. “Lihuo… Isn’t that something only a few top-ranking leaders among the celestial demons can summon?”
“Correct.” The white-haired medical cultivator nodded without hesitation. “Years ago, Xiao Yan and I once sought out a high-ranking royal demon capable of summoning Lihuo fire. We paid a hefty price to persuade the person to bestow upon us a single strand of Lihuo. Unfortunately, even when stored in a box made from the parasol tree wood where the phoenix clan leader resided for over three years, the Lihuo would dissipate after only three months.
“Moreover, once separated from its original caster, each use of the Lihuo would diminish its power. Xiao Yan used it only three times before it completely dissipated. However, Lihuo can refine anything in the world, whether it’s heaven-grade treasures, legendary spiritual herbs… or even the bones and blood of the top monarch-level beasts that no other flame can touch.”
“That’s why it’s called the strongest flame in all realms.” The white-haired medical cultivator continued. He seemed to be speaking to the black-robed sword cultivator but also to himself: “If profound-grade spirit stones can be used to sustain it, countless medical cultivators over history would give everything they have just to keep the Lihuo burning.”
“Tsk…” Clicking his tongue, the black-robed sword cultivator said again, “So, the fire she summoned now is really Lihuo?”
“Its color is white, its light gentle, and its flame flows like water,” the white-haired medical cultivator said slowly. “As for whether the fire Meng Qi summoned is truly Lihuo, I cannot be sure. Logically speaking, however, the Netherworld Thorn is an earth-grade spiritual plant, categorized as a rare natural treasure. Her Five Spirit Cauldron isn’t fully complete—without Lihuo fire, even if she manages to harvest the Netherworld Thorns, she won’t be able to refine them.” When discussing his expertise, the normally serene man appeared more spirited.
The black-robed sword cultivator cast a meaningful glance: “Hey! You don’t plan on taking her as a disciple too, do you?”
“Her talent in medical cultivation isn’t as strong as her skill in arrays,” the white-haired medical cultivator sighed softly. “But the fact that she can use arrays to assist her medical technique is certainly not usual. I wouldn’t be able to teach her anything; taking her as a disciple would only waste her potential. Did you see the Beiming Pill she just took? The speed at which it restored aura far exceeded its grade. I just checked—she likely used an array to imbue the effects of the Beiming Spell on the pill during the refining process. That’s why this Beiming Pill restores aura nearly twice as fast as a normal one. And this is just a low-grade pill. If she can do the same with high-grade pills…”
“Using an array… to preserve the effects of the Beiming spell, you said?” the black-robed sword cultivator murmured, repeating his friend’s words in disbelief. He understood each word, but somehow, it all felt foreign to him.
“Can that even be done?” He was stunned for a moment. Even though his beloved was the most outstanding array master of their generation, the black-robed sword cultivator couldn’t imagine that arrays could be used in such a way.
This time, the white-haired medical cultivator remained silent. If high-grade pills could also be refined in this manner, the field of medical cultivation would certainly face a profound upheaval.
Even the black-robed sword cultivator fell silent as the trio turned their gaze back toward Meng Qi.
The white flames on the ground had grown even dimmer. The brilliant glow of the profound-grade spirit stones flashed briefly before being absorbed by the array, but Li Che had since become numb to the sight. He had lost count of how many profound-grade spirit stones Meng Qi had thrown into the array, but why did it seem that the flames were becoming less like fire? By this point, it seemed as though it had transformed into a half-solid mass of liquid white light, swirling lazily around the Netherworld Thorns.
Meng Qi exhaled slowly. She raised her hand, and the jade box containing the Cold Spring Dew and Stardust Stones flew towards her Five Spirit Cauldron. With a soft clang, the cauldron floated and hovered above the Lihuo Array.
Meng Qi threw out another handful of profound-grade spirit stones, but this time, instead of landing in the array, they embedded themselves in the belly of the Five Spirit Cauldron. White flames began to rise around the cauldron as well. The lid of the jade box opened, and everything inside immediately poured into the cauldron.
“Is it… Lihuo again?” The black-robed sword cultivator turned to look at the white-haired medical cultivator, emphasizing each word.
The white-haired medical cultivator let out a wry chuckle. The Lihuo Fire, something that so many ancient medical cultivators sought but could never obtain, seemed to be in endless supply at the hands of this young medical cultivator who was only beginning to grasp the Dao of medicine. “Yes, it’s Lihuo again,” he nodded.
“Didn’t you and Xiao Yan go to plead with a royal demon, paid a hefty price, and acquired only a single strand of it?” The black-robed sword cultivator asked again.
“Indeed,” the white-haired medical cultivator said with a bitter smile. “Just for that one strand, Xiao Yan and I had to practice medicine in that person’s domain for an entire year.”
The demon realm stretched far and wide, and the person they had struck a deal was a high-ranking member of the royal clan. His domain was nearly equivalent to one-fourth of Three Thousand Worlds.
“……” The black-robed sword cultivator was left speechless.
No matter how incredulous they were, Meng Qi and Li Che had no idea. Their focus right now was the Netherworld Thorns at the center of the white flames. The plants’ previously elegant branches and leaves slowly began to transform into a dark green mist, starting from the topmost leaf that resembled a thorn, and soon enough, the entire plant had turned into a dense, dark green mist.
With a soft ‘clang,’ the Five Spirit Cauldron trembled midair, tilting slightly, and eventually released a single, transparent water droplet. Although the water was crystal clear and as pure as a gem, tiny star-like sparkling fragments seemed to flicker within it as it cascaded into the dark green mist that had been the Netherworld Thorn. Just like a sharp blade, the drop of water cut through the mist and instantly merged into it.
The dark green mist that had been quietly resting in the center of the Lihuo Array suddenly began to churn violently, as if something within it was struggling to break free. As the mist churned, it began to diminish in size. Gradually, the drop of water reappeared, now roughly the size of an egg.
The once-clear drop of water, with stardust sparkling inside, was now surrounded by thin wisps of dark green mist, looking both beautiful and eerie.
Meng Qi quickly reached into her storage space, retrieving three bright red fruits that promptly flew toward the drop of water. Before they could even reach the water, the crimson fruits turned into fine wisps of mist, merging into the drop.
“Nirvana Fruits?!” Li Che exclaimed in a low voice.
“Yes,” Meng Qi nodded—they were indeed Nirvana Fruits.
Suddenly, something seemed to flash through her mind.
She paused, her willowy eyebrows furrowing slightly.
“Meng Qiqi?” Li Che turned, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Meng Qi shook her head vigorously, pushing aside the strange, fleeting sense of unfamiliarity that had just passed through her mind and focused her attention back on the drop of water. The transparent drop, surrounded by threads of dark green mist, was now intertwined with strands of red.
The dark green mist and the thin red threads were swirling rapidly within the drop, twisting and writhing like dancing serpents. Tiny specks of stardust flickered intermittently, making the transparent drop appear both beautiful and somewhat unsettling.
By this time, beads of sweat had already started to form on Meng Qi’s forehead. With a wave of her hand, the drop of water shot straight toward Yan Xuan, who was lying on the ground nearby, and entered his abdomen without a pause.
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