144: Fire Paradise: Nanzhou

His Alchemy Dao reached the ceiling level of the Lower Realm.

The Dao of Crafting and the Dao of Talismans were no exception.

Long Aotian's Alchemy Dao level had always been kept on par with his Dao of Crafting and Dao of Talismans.

For Alchemy Dao, Long Aotian deployed thirty sub-Soul bodies to study; the Dao of Talismans and the Dao of Crafting were the same, initially investing thirty sub-Soul bodies each, and then adding a few more sub-Soul bodies if one of them fell slightly behind.

Anyway, he had a total of one hundred and eight sub-Soul bodies, with the rest invested in practicing Martial Skills and array formations, always ready to be called upon.

Ultimately, as his Alchemy Dao reached the ceiling level of the Lower Realm, his Dao of Crafting and Dao of Talismans also broke through to the ceiling level of the Lower Realm.

At this point, Long Aotian really wanted to use his powerful Dao of Crafting cultivation to refine a high-grade talisman brush for himself, but to refine a high-grade talisman brush, tempering with an exotic flame was indispensable.

Furthermore!

After his Alchemy Dao level reached the ceiling of the Lower Realm, Long Aotian also yearned for an exotic flame to use for Alchemy.

His Alchemy Dao level could still be improved, especially the speed of Alchemy. Currently, he used the Dantian fire mobilized by his internal fire Spiritual Root for Alchemy.

Although Dantian fire could also be used for Alchemy and Artifact Refining, its primary purpose was not for Alchemy or Artifact Refining.

Generally, the fire used by Alchemists and Artifact Refiners is Earth Fire, which is more effective for Alchemy and Artifact Refining than the Dantian fire mobilized by a fire Spiritual Root.

Moreover, some Alchemists and Artifact Refiners do not have fire-attribute Spiritual Roots, and Dantian fire cannot be effectively mobilized without a fire-attribute Spiritual Root circulating.

Besides Dantian fire and Earth Fire, there is another type of fire that is particularly potent, yielding twice the results with half the effort for Alchemy and Artifact Refining.

It is:

Exotic Flame!

There are many types of Exotic Flames; the Exotic Flame ranking list alone records as many as ten thousand types.

However, although there are many types of Exotic Flames, they are also rare in the world. Over ninety percent of Alchemists and Artifact Refiners will never possess an Exotic Flame in their entire lives.

It is worth mentioning that, generally, it is very difficult for Alchemists and Artifact Refiners to raise their Alchemy Dao and Dao of Crafting levels by relying on Dantian fire.

Yet, Long Aotian achieved it.

Because he is not an ordinary Cultivator.

His Dantian fire is Dantian fire imbued with Chaos Qi. It's not that Long Aotian didn't want to use Earth Fire, but he found that the heat of Earth Fire seemed to be inferior to that of his Dantian fire, which greatly astonished him.

The ranking of fire heat used by Alchemists and Artifact Refiners is generally:

Exotic Flame, Earth Fire, and finally Dantian fire.

But for Long Aotian, it's Exotic Flame, Dantian fire, and then Earth Fire. He doesn't even know if his Dantian fire will grow to surpass Exotic Flames in the future.

After all, he possesses the Chaos Dao Body, the origin of all Daos, so many incredible things happening to him are quite normal.

Also, due to his unique Physique and the power of his Dantian fire, Long Aotian managed to raise his Alchemy Dao and Dao of Crafting to the ceiling level of the Lower Realm solely with Dantian fire. This is an unprecedented event in the Alchemy and Artifact Refining circles of the Sky Ruins Continent.

Which Alchemist or Artifact Refiner, whose level has reached the ceiling of the Lower Realm, doesn't possess at least one Exotic Flame?

Even if they weren't that lucky, they would have relied on arduous Cultivation with Earth Fire to raise their level. Unlike Long Aotian, who could achieve it with just Dantian fire, it completely overturns people's understanding.

If other Alchemists and Artifact Refiners on the Sky Ruins Continent knew that Long Aotian only used Dantian fire to raise his Alchemy Dao and Artifact Refining levels to the ceiling of the Lower Realm, they would probably be so devastated that they'd become reclusive and doubt their entire lives.

However!

On the other hand, although Dantian fire is sufficient for Long Aotian, he still hopes to possess an Exotic Flame of his own, so that he, as an Alchemist and Artifact Refiner, doesn't seem so 'cheap'.

Thinking of Exotic Flames, Long Aotian couldn't help but think of a place.

That's right, it's Nanzhou!

Nanzhou is known as the Fire Continent.

However, Cultivators prefer to call Nanzhou the Paradise of Fire.

Nanzhou is inherently biased towards the Fire of the Five Elements, with many fire-attribute Earth Veins. Volcanoes erupt daily in many places across Nanzhou.

But that's not all.

There's also a wonder in Nanzhou: burning mountains. Countless mountains, big and small, burn day and night without cease, for an unknown duration.

Because of this, it's hard to find any green vegetation in Nanzhou. The entire Nanzhou Continent is hot, and the closer one gets to the mountains, the hotter it becomes. Many mountainous areas, even if not burning, emit smoke, appearing from afar with a transparent heatwave circle, while the burning mountains have their bodies scorched golden-red.

It can be said that Nanzhou is one of the two regions with the harshest living environments; ordinary Mortals simply cannot survive in such a place.

This also led to Nanzhou having almost no ordinary Mortals, except for some Immortal Cultivation Sects that Cultivate fire-attribute Cultivation Techniques, making it one of the two least populated regions.

The other region with the harshest living environment and smallest population is Beizhou.

It is the exact opposite of Nanzhou.

Nanzhou is fiery red across the entire continent, hot enough to kill someone.

Beizhou is snowy white across the entire continent, cold enough to freeze someone to death... In Ao Zhan's memory, Long Aotian learned that Nanzhou was not so hot initially, and its mountains were not burning everywhere; it still had some green vegetation.

It wasn't until nearly a million years ago, after the great war that changed the future of the Sky Ruins Continent, that it completely evolved into a Paradise of Fire.

Just as Thundercloud Heavenly Lord was slain by Ao Zhan in his original form over the Yunmeng Sea between the Eastern Wilds and Dongzhou, eventually forming the Yunmeng Marsh, Ao Zhan also slew a Heavenly Lord-level expert who was pursuing him in Nanzhou.

This person's title differed from Thundercloud Heavenly Lord by only one character:

Fire Cloud Celestial Venerable!

If Thundercloud Heavenly Lord was the ancestor of lightning, then Fire Cloud Celestial Venerable was the ancestor of fire.

Thundercloud Heavenly Lord fell into the Yunmeng Sea, eventually forming the Yunmeng Marsh over it, and the most terrifying thing in the Yunmeng Marsh is lightning. Without Immortal-grade Magic Treasures for defense, Cultivators find it very difficult to Transmigrate through it.

Fire Cloud Celestial Venerable fell in Nanzhou. Nanzhou, already biased towards the Fire of the Five Elements, quickly transformed into a true Fire Continent under the influence of Fire Cloud Celestial Venerable's original form.

Fire Cloud Celestial Venerable's original form brought disaster to Nanzhou, but also brought Opportunity to the Cultivators of the Immortal Cultivation world.

Because Nanzhou has many Earth Fire veins, the frequency of Exotic Flame appearances was already higher than other regions. Now, influenced by Fire Cloud Celestial Venerable's original form, the frequency of Exotic Flame appearances has increased at least tenfold compared to before.

Therefore, most Alchemists and Artifact Refiners who wish to possess an Exotic Flame of their own will typically choose to search for it in Nanzhou.

Now that Long Aotian also wants to possess a powerful Exotic Flame, the first place he thought of was naturally Nanzhou, this peculiar place... 5/5