Chapter 19: Absorb and Refine
As Xiao Hua carefully guided the green wisp and the golden spark, circulating it through some of his Qi Path, the other small wisp and spark gradually attracted and followed this companion of theirs. Using the attraction force between the green-colored flame and the golden lightning, the divided wisps of green-colored flame and sparks of golden lightning slowly merge together as Xiao Hua continued to control this one wisp of 'Primordial Green Lotus Core Flame' and one spark of 'Heavenly Tribulation Lightning' as he circulated it through his Qi Paths.
When the last wisp of green-colored flame and the last spark of golden lightning were gathered together through Xiao Hua’s hard work, the green-colored flames and golden lightning gradually merged with each other. Once they merged, the green-colored flames coagulated into a tiny, green-colored lava while the golden lightning turned into a tiny radiant gold thunderbolt.
Forcefully withstood the extreme pain, he clenched his teeth and dragged it to continue circulating both the green-colored lava and the radiant gold thunderbolt through his qi path. During the circulation, Xiao Hua’s mind grew increasingly proficient in controlling the movements of these green-colored lava and the radiant gold thunderbolt as he was about to complete one circulation of his Qi Paths.
When the green-colored lava trickled and radiant gold thunderbolt sparking through the main Qi Path, it finally completed a perfect full cycle. At this moment, the connection between the green-colored lava and the radiant gold thunderbolt with Xiao Hua had become a little more tacit.
Although he completed one cycle, it was only the main Qi Path. Now he has to guide the green-colored lava and the radiant gold thunderbolt through the circulation route that is required by the Chaos Mantra.
Clenching his teeth and withstanding the pain, he drove the green-colored lava and the radiant gold thunderbolt to pass through the last stretch of the route signaled by his Qi Method. As he kept driving the green-colored lava and the radiant gold thunderbolt, it finally exited the last route of the Chaos Mantra Qi Method.
After the green-colored lava and the radiant gold thunderbolt passed through the route of the Chaos Mantra, the high temperature and the prickling sensation that carried an extremely damaging and destructive strength gradually weakened as the pain slowly subsided.
"Have I succeeded? No, I could feel that I have. Proves is I could feel my physical body are being wrapped by the 'Primordial Green Lotus Flame' and 'Heavenly Tribulation Lightning' and undergoing a metamorphosis. If so, this is the best chances to merged them together!"
Now, Xiao Hua had to do the most difficult job so he took a deep breath, bracing himself, clenched his teeth and start to merge them together. After the 'Primordial Green Lotus Flame' and the 'Heavenly Tribulation Lightning', they have definitely transformed into more of a primal state and undoubtedly become more violent and terrifying.
Fortunately, unlike with the process of merging two Heavenly Flames together, he doesn't have to suffered much as there is no resistance between each of them nor is there any sort of sequela from merging them together.
Although it was painful and was met with countless of failures, he persists until he completely merged these two divine objects together. After countless failures and bearing the pain, he successfully merged the ‘Primordial Green Lotus Core Flame’ and the ‘Heavenly Tribulation Lightning’ forming golden-green flames. Yet, his job wasn’t done as he had to continue to circulate this golden-green flame through his Qi Paths.
This golden-green flame was more violent and terrifying than its counterparts, the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’ and the ‘Heavenly Tribulation Lightning’. Nevertheless, when it touches the Qi Path, the Qi Path immediately acts like a hungry snake and slowly devours it.
A moment later, the high temperature, the prickling sensation and the pain completely disappeared, and a thread of soothing warm energy gradually spread forth. He knows it without anyone telling him. He has succeeded.
After successfully refining and merging the ‘Primordial Green Lotus Core Flame’ and the ‘Heavenly Tribulation Lightning,’ Xiao Hua shifted his focus from his inner world to the outside.
He slowly opened his eyes to a clear sky, the chaos of his breakthrough seeming like nothing more than a distant memory. Rising to his feet, he surveyed his surroundings and was struck by the sight of a desert where a once-beautiful yet treacherous forest had stood.
‘Ah… it seems my breakthrough and refining of the Primordial Heavenly Flame have created quite the challenge for the cartographers.’
Xiao Hua smiled wryly, silently apologizing to the mapmakers. A strange breeze brushed against him, and when he looked down, he realized with a start that he was completely naked. With a light cough, he quickly retrieved a set of clothes from his storage ring and dressed.
After recovering from the embarrassing moment, he sat back down, only to be stunned by the realization that he had advanced to a 6-Star Dou Grandmaster instead of a 1-Star.
‘It seems the energy from the Primordial Heavenly Flame and Heavenly Tribulation Lightning has propelled me further than I expected. But this sudden surge in strength is concerning.’
‘If my body can’t adapt, my foundation might become unstable. I need to consolidate and stabilize my foundation after each breakthrough. During that time, I can also focus on the events surrounding Xiao Yan.’
Xiao Hua pondered this and nodded to himself. He wasn’t in a rush to grow stronger; reckless advancement could lead to his downfall rather than his rise.
“Still, it’s nice to have been given an extra reward, considering all the suffering I went through. Now, let’s see the result of the fusion between the ‘Primordial Green Lotus Core Flame’ and the ‘Heavenly Tribulation Lightning.’”
Xiao Hua grinned as he opened his palm. A golden-green flame, crackling with lightning, swiftly enveloped his hand and slowly rose from his palm. The excitement and curiosity were plain on his face.
‘So, this is the fusion of the ‘Primordial Green Lotus Core Flame’ and the ‘Heavenly Tribulation Lightning.’ It deserves a new name, doesn’t it? Like Xiao Yan’s Glazed Lotus Heart Flame, which is a fusion of the Green Lotus Core Flame and the Fallen Heart Flame.’
“But what would be a good name? I’m not exactly great at naming things. For now, let’s call it the Glazed Lotus Tribulation Flame.”
“Hmph! At least include this lady’s name in it.”
As he casually spoke the name aloud, a familiar voice suddenly echoed nearby. He glanced around, but saw nothing. Confused, he wondered if he was hallucinating from mental exhaustion.
POW!
“Over here, you dunce!”
Suddenly, the flame on his arm moved and slapped him across the face. It took a moment for Xiao Hua to process what had happened. He slowly looked at his hand and saw the human form of the ‘Primordial Green Lotus Core Flame’ sitting in his palm.
Lady Azure glared at Xiao Hua. “What? Now that you’ve refined me, did you think this lady would just disappear?”
“Eh? Well, I mean…” Xiao Hua stammered, at a loss for words.
Infuriated, Lady Azure began heating up the inside of his body. “Hmph! Don’t treat us like ordinary Heavenly Flames, or we’ll burn you to death, understand?”
Xiao Hua’s body trembled in fear, and he broke into a sweat. “Yes, ma’am! Ah, I mean, Lady!”
“Good! Don’t worry about my size—I can control it at will. Now, change that name you came up with and include this lady’s name.” Lady Azure commanded.
“It’s not official, you know. I’m terrible at naming things, so I just said the first thing that came to mind. How about ‘Azure Lotus Tribulation Flame’?” Xiao Hua suggested with a wry smile.
“I don’t care if it’s official or not, as long as my name is included. Now, let’s discuss the favor you owe me, shall we?” She scoffed at his words but didn’t object to the name, smiling impishly as she reminded him of the favor.
Xiao Hua sighed wryly and said, “…Rather than a favor, this feels more like a deal, Lady Azure.”
Her words reminded him of the agreement he had made with Lady Azure before he refined and merged her with the Heavenly Tribulation Lightning.
Lady Azure snickered at his weariness, speaking with the air of a teacher addressing a class. “First, let’s discuss the higher world you inhabit and the lower world where your plane resides, known as the Great Thousand World.”
“The Great Thousand World is a vast upper plane where countless races and beings interact. It oversees many lower planes, including your own. While each plane has its own requirements, one common necessity for crossing from a lower plane to an upper one is reaching the highest attainable strength within that lower plane. Only then can you perceive the boundary that separates the two realms.”
“To achieve the highest level in your current plane, you need Origin Qi. Origin Qi was formed when the lower plane was created and cannot be regenerated. This is the predicament in your plane: the lack of Origin Qi prevents anyone from reaching the highest cultivation realm, Dou Di.”
“Now, regarding us, the Primordial Heavenly Flames. We were born alongside the Great Thousand World, together with the Heavenly Lightnings and Celestial Ancient Frost. Initially, we were a single flame known as the Heavenly Genesis Flame, but our original form was too powerful and destructive. As a result, we were divided into 22 Primordial Heavenly Flames.”
“This also applies to the Heavenly Lightning that struck you. Originally, there was only one lightning known as Primordial Heaven Lightning, which later split into nine Heavenly Lightnings. They struck cultivators they deemed worthy, intending for them to endure the strikes and eventually merge back into their original form.”
“Unfortunately, this plan is doomed to fail for one reason: the will of the original lightning is lost. Essentially, the lightning beast in your bloodline is missing. Without this, no matter how many times they strike, they cannot fuse back into their original form.”
“Lastly, the Celestial Ancient Frost managed to avoid splitting by hiding in the void and entering a temporary ‘death state.’ It successfully evaded the splitting effect but remains in a state of suspended animation, unable to awaken without being immediately split again.”
“Nevertheless, because we were all created together in the Chaos, we are like sisters. This is why the Lightning Beast within you is highly sensitive to the presence of the other Primordial Heavenly Flames and the Celestial Ancient Frost. However, you cannot bring or summon them here, which explains the bewildered expression I had when I arrived.”
Lady Azure glanced at Xiao Hua, who responded with an awkward smile. He couldn’t reveal that it was because of the A-C System. He had tried to explain the A-C System to Xiao Xun Er before but had been silenced by the system, unable to speak.
“Regardless, your luck is extraordinarily significant with regard to the Primordial Heavenly Lightning, Primordial Heaven Lightning, and Celestial Ancient Frost,” Lady Azure remarked. “Though, given the suffering you’ve endured, I’m not sure if it can truly be called good luck.”
“So you’re aware that I’m in pain because of this, yet you still want me to continue searching for you all?” Xiao Hua muttered.
Hearing this, Lady Azure cleared her throat awkwardly before continuing. “Ahem! It can’t be helped. Since you’ve fused with the will of the Primordial Heaven Lightning, it seems you’re bound to this task.”
“Basically, no matter what I say, I’ll still have to search for your split forms, huh? Well, it’s not as if it matters much, considering it was thanks to you that I was saved from dying,” Xiao Hua said with a wry smile.
‘However, this makes me question the origin of the Heavenly Lightning. I assumed these Heavenly Lightnings were from the Martial God universe, but I never expected this. Wait a minute, didn’t I receive this bloodline from the System Beginner’s Pack?’
'Really, I should read the descriptions more carefully in the future instead of assuming what an item is capable of based solely on its name,' Xiao Hua thought to himself.
He recalled receiving the Heavenly Lightning Bloodline from the System’s Beginner’s Pack, which had included a free bloodline ticket among its prizes.
‘Does that mean the percentage shown wasn’t the rarity but the chances of surviving when I obtained this grade?’ Xiao Hua pondered. ‘So, my survival rate with a black-grade bloodline was only four percent?! I’m incredibly lucky to be alive!’
Feeling a mix of relief and amazement, Xiao Hua acknowledged how fortunate he was if that was indeed the case. After all, the odds of obtaining a bloodline that originated with the Great Thousand World were likely less than four percent.
He sighed, holding his head as a headache began to build. Deciding it was best to focus on the present and let the past be, he resolved to stop making assumptions based on names alone. Just because he’d encountered something similar in novels didn’t mean it was related or identical to those fictional accounts.