49: Absorbing the strange fire—success!

Gu He was very obedient; upon hearing Xiao Lei's words, he immediately took out the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire and handed it to Xiao Lei.

Xiao Lei took the Heavenly Flame, suspended it in front of him, and then, with a similar technique, pulled the Blood Fire in his hand into threads, quickly cutting through the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire.

Seeing this, Gu He hastily exclaimed, "Great Master Xiao Lei, this..."

Having witnessed Xiao Lei's Alchemy, Gu He knew he was inferior to Xiao Lei, so calling him a Great Master didn't feel inappropriate.

After all, it was the Heavenly Flame he had bought with all his savings, and seeing Xiao Lei's rough actions, Gu He's heart leaped into his throat.

"Don't worry, Heavenly Flames are much tougher than you imagine!"

Explaining this, Xiao Lei's movements didn't stop in the slightest, and the Heavenly Flame's power rapidly weakened.

Heavenly Flames are rare treasures of heaven and earth, and many of their birthplaces are in extremely harsh environments; how could Heavenly Flames born from such places be hothouse flowers!

Just take the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire as an example; it was eroded by Xiang Liu's Origin poison for decades, and besides not growing, it was perfectly fine.

"Xiang Liu, help!"

Xiao Lei's own consumption wasn't over yet; he directly called Xiang Liu, who had already recovered slightly, even growing three heads.

Receiving Xiao Lei's command, Xiang Liu opened its mouth, and three viscous columns of water spewed out, heading straight for the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire.

Sizzle!

The water columns, mixed with potent poison, poured onto the Heavenly Flame, instantly resembling water being poured into a red-hot iron pot... Gu He, standing by, could only watch Xiao Lei and the other person with anxious, wide eyes.

This operation continued until deep into the night before Xiao Lei slowly put down his hand; at this point, even he, a Dou Huang, felt overly exhausted and unable to sustain it.

Seeing this, Gu He quickly asked in a low voice, "Great Master Xiao Lei, is it over?"

Xiao Lei wiped the sweat from his forehead, exhaled deeply, "My ability can only consume it to this extent; the rest is up to you!"

Xiao Lei had done his best. If Gu He still couldn't successfully absorb it like this, it could only mean he didn't have the fate for it. After all, when Xiao Yan absorbed the Green Lotus Core Flame back then, he didn't have such treatment.

"Take the Blood Lotus Pill, and after the blood scab forms, pull out the Origin Fire Seed!"

Hearing Xiao Lei's words, Gu He quickly complied. A hand covered in blood scabs reached directly into the floating Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire. At this moment, the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire was extremely weak, its flames contracted. Gu He only had to grope a little before successfully grasping the Origin Fire Seed.

"I got it!"

Gu He exclaimed excitedly, his heart pounding as if it had returned to his youth.

At the same time, the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire, sensing that it had been caught, erupted without regard for consumption. The scorching high temperature made even Xiao Lei, who was nearby, feel uncomfortable, and the blood scabs all over Gu He's body rapidly disappeared.

"Take the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, then directly swallow the Heavenly Flame into your body! Quick!"

If he waited for the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire to completely melt the blood scabs before swallowing it, the injuries his body would suffer would undoubtedly be much greater.

Gu He, of course, knew he had to swallow the Heavenly Flame, but at this very moment, feeling the scorching heat in his hand, Gu He couldn't help but hesitate.

"Gu He, what are you waiting for? Act quickly! This is an opportunity gained from half a lifetime's accumulation; are you going to waste it for nothing!"

Thoughts clashed in his mind. The next moment, Gu He let out a loud cry, opened his mouth, and directly slapped the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire into his mouth!

Ah! Ah! Ah!

The scorching heat of the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire erupted without reservation in Gu He's mouth. Gu He's face instantly became distorted, and his tragic screams echoed in the ears of Yan Shi and Feng Li.

The usually refined and gentle Gu He seemed like a different person at this moment, his twisted face conveying the pain he was enduring.

Both of them were stunned by the scene before them, silent as cicadas in winter.

And Xiao Lei was even more glad about his decision not to personally absorb the Heavenly Flame!

Whoever wants to suffer this can suffer it!

Without needing Xiao Lei to remind him again, Gu He quickly poured two bottles of Ice Spirit Cold Spring into his mouth. Only then did he feel a little better, and then he quickly circulated his Dou Qi to push the Heavenly Flame to circulate through the Meridians around his body.

This step is also called Heavenly Flame Body Tempering and is the most painful part of the entire absorption process!

Gu He's muffled groans never stopped, and the bottles of Ice Spirit Cold Spring beside him decreased one by one... The Heavenly Flame circulated extremely slowly; it took several hours to barely complete the third cycle. Gu He, who hadn't experienced such intense pain in many years, even had his consciousness somewhat blurred by it.

Vaguely, his thoughts returned to his childhood. At that time, he was just a Loose Cultivator without any powerful background, who obtained the Legacy of an Alchemist and traveled and Cultivated throughout the Empire.

At that time, he fought with Demonic Beasts, and sometimes, even when large chunks of flesh were torn off, he could grit his teeth and persevere. When his body was torn by potent poison, he could also overcome it with his will... "When did my will become so fragile!"

Perhaps it was the day he won the Jia Ma Empire Alchemist Convention and accepted the invitation from the Cloud Mist Sect... Perhaps it was the day he put down his longsword and swore never to fight himself again... However, Xiao Lei didn't care what he was thinking; he directly opened a bottle of Ice Spirit Cold Spring and splashed it onto Gu He's face.

The biting cold instantly pulled Gu He's thoughts back.

"Quick, drive the Heavenly Flame into the Na Ling; this is the final step!"

Xiao Lei shouted loudly, afraid that Gu He would collapse at this last moment.

Gu He, having regained his senses, steadied himself, his gaze more resolute than ever before, and even a bit sharper... The next moment, Gu He urged all his Dou Qi. After such a long burst of power, the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire could no longer resist the assault and was directly forced into the Na Ling by Gu He in one go.

Under the combined efforts of Gu He and Xiao Lei, the Heavenly Flame absorption... succeeded!

Gu He was exhausted; after successfully absorbing the Heavenly Flame, he directly fainted.

"Great Master Xiao Lei, may I ask about Pill King's condition?"

Seeing this scene, Feng Li looked at Xiao Lei's expression and then cautiously asked.

Xiao Lei waved his hand, indicating that there was no problem, "The absorption of the Heavenly Flame has been successful. He just fainted from exhaustion; there's no danger. You two may retreat for now; I'll watch over him here."

Feng Li received a positive answer, then gave Yan Shi a look, and then the two of them left one after another.

Seeing the two leave, Xiao Lei excitedly rubbed his hands and opened the System.

【Target: The famous Pill King of the Jia Ma Empire.】

【Cultivation: Eight-star Dou Wang.】

...【Heavenly Flame: Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire.】

...【Physique: None.】

【Copy Time: Ten minutes.】

【Copy?】

"It seems the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Fire isn't strong enough! After all, it's only the twenty-second ranked Heavenly Flame, and I've weakened it so much."

Without rushing to copy, Xiao Lei first gave Gu He several healing Medicinal Pills, lest the effects of his copying become the last straw that breaks the camel's back during the copying process.

Meanwhile, Feng Li and the other person, who had stopped after leaving some distance, could only wait where they were.

After all, Gu He hadn't paid them the final installment yet!

"Feng Li, do you think that Xiao Lei might make a move on Old He? Isn't it a bit bad for us to just leave like this?"

Feng Li was speechless. This Yan Shi couldn't control his mouth again as soon as he left Xiao Lei's side. "If you want to go back, go back yourself. Didn't you see his gaze earlier? Haven't you learned your lesson?"

Yan Shi was about to retort when he suddenly felt a faint aura nearby, and then he quickly punched out.

"Who's there? Get out!"

Boom!

The attack landed on the ground, instantly kicking up a cloud of dust. Seeing Yan Shi's action, Feng Li also quickly became alert.

However, after a long while, no one appeared, nor did anyone attack them.

"Old Lion, can you stop being so paranoid? Can't you just wait patiently!"

Yan Shi didn't speak, but just stared intently at the place he had attacked earlier...