The cave had collapsed, leaving rubble scattered everywhere, and the black stone platform had disappeared without a trace. However, the crystal shaped like a vertical pupil remained, unscathed and without a single crack.
At the center of the crystal, a bright silver flame flickered. Unlike before, the flame didn't transform into an old face but stayed quietly in its original form. Huo Yuhao could no longer sense the consciousness that had previously spoken to him.
The violent energy reaction of the strange fire had completely destroyed its spiritual intelligence, reducing its consciousness to a blank slate.
As a result, the originally suppressed scorching aura, which had absolute restraint over mental power, was now fully released by the heavenly fire, making Huo Yuhao too afraid to use his Spiritual Detection soul skill to perceive it.
"If you want to absorb this heavenly fire, you'll need to prepare just like you did when you absorbed the Profound Ice Cold Flame," Yao Lao said with a smile.
"When you absorbed the Profound Ice Cold Flame, you relied on the Blood Lotus Pill for protection, greatly increasing the success rate. This silver strange fire is much more powerful than the Profound Ice Cold Flame and has the ability to burn and devour souls. So, your preparations this time need to be even more thorough."
"What do we need to prepare this time?" Huo Yuhao asked, feeling a bad premonition.
"A sixth-grade pill, the Earth Spirit Pill. As for the materials, there are only four, but I need to find suitable substitutes based on the medicinal principles of this continent."
"And you need to be prepared because materials for a sixth-grade pill are rare treasures everywhere. You'll need to spend a lot of money to buy them."
"Among the four materials, you also need a ten-thousand-year soul bone from a water-attributed soul beast. Although you have a lot of savings, you still need to work hard to earn more money, Yuhao."
Yao Lao's calm words made Huo Yuhao's previously joyful face freeze.
His mouth twitched slightly. Not to mention the three herbs he had yet to acquire, just the last one made him feel frustrated.
A ten-thousand-year soul bone from a water-attributed soul beast! The Golden Left Arm Bone he had auctioned off before fetched a sky-high price of ten million gold soul coins, showing how rare and expensive ten-thousand-year soul bones were.
Even though he only needed a regular water-attributed soul bone, it would still drain most of Huo Yuhao's savings.
Moreover, he couldn't continue selling pills as he had before. The news about selling the Foundation Establishment Elixir had probably reached Sea God Pavilion and caught the attention of Dragon God Douluo Mu En.
If he continued to have Yao Lao refine higher-quality pills to sell, he might end up negotiating with Sea God Pavilion Master Mu En instead of the Treasure Pavilion Master Lin Huiqun.
Huo Yuhao couldn't afford to take such risks that might expose his identity. His current strength was still weak, and the secret of his alchemy skills couldn't be easily revealed to anyone, not even to those closest to him.
"The consciousness of this heavenly fire has been extinguished, but we still can't collect it now. Let's leave it here," Yao Lao said. "Once you gather all the necessary materials and make thorough preparations, you can absorb this strange fire."
"I believe your strength will then make a quantum leap!"
Shrek Academy, Mimicry Training Zone.
"Rumble..."
The loud sound of rushing water echoed throughout the small valley, and the moist air isolated the valley from the outside heat.
Under the waterfall, which flowed like a silver dragon, a shirtless young man gritted his teeth, tightly gripping a massive black heavy ruler, and continuously slashed at the torrent in front of him. Each swing of the ruler splashed water everywhere.
The waterfall's current was extremely turbulent, requiring enormous strength to cut into it with the heavy ruler. With each swing, the boy's arm muscles throbbed with soreness and pain.
Finally, after three hundred and sixty slashes, the boy's body couldn't hold up any longer, and he collapsed to the ground, leaning on the heavy ruler.
"Teacher, this Earth-rank combat skill isn't something humans can train in! I thought that after absorbing the Initial Pill and consuming medicinal meals daily, along with the ten-thousand-year whale glue's medicinal power, my physical fitness was already very strong. But just swinging the Heavy Mysterious Ruler to split the waterfall has exhausted me," Huo Yuhao said, panting heavily, speaking to Yao Lao in his mental sea.
"Kid, even a thousand-mile high tower is built one step at a time. How can you expect to master a supreme skill so easily?" Yao Lao laughed and scolded. "Alright, stop slacking off, and quickly apply the Burning Blood."
Huo Yuhao sighed helplessly, slowly taking out more than ten transparent jade bottles from his storage soul guide. The bottles were filled with a red liquid, looking as thick as blood.
This was Yao Lao's unique pill, effective only for fire-attributed soul masters, and akin to poison for water-attributed soul masters. Applying it to the body accelerated soul power consumption and regeneration, gradually enhancing one's strength in the process.
Just refining this Burning Blood required twenty-three different fire-attributed herbs and the life essence of three fire-attributed soul beasts over a thousand years old, costing Huo Yuhao three million gold soul coins.
If ranked by grade, Burning Blood would be fourth-grade, much more precious than the Foundation Establishment Liquid.
If high-level fire-attributed soul masters like Ma Xiaotao or Golden Crow Saintess Wu Ming knew the effects of Burning Blood, they would be willing to spend a fortune to buy this miracle medicine.
To them, a medicine that could enhance physical fitness and purify soul power was a rare treasure, especially for those about to form a soul core.
The red liquid fell on Huo Yuhao's chest, releasing intense heat like flames. The burning sensation felt like placing one's arm on scorching hot coals.
However, Huo Yuhao gritted his teeth, seemingly unfazed, and vigorously spread the Burning Blood over his body. Except for some private areas, almost every part of his skin was covered in the red liquid.
As the red liquid spread, Huo Yuhao's body began to tremble, veins bulging on his forehead, looking extremely pained.
"Heh, this feels awesome!" Huo Yuhao said through clenched teeth, his teeth grinding loudly.
This state lasted for over ten minutes before gradually fading. Once the burning sensation subsided, Huo Yuhao let out a heavy sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead.
However, at this moment, his eyebrows suddenly furrowed, and a bright flame flashed in his eyes as he looked towards the entrance of the mimicry training zone.
At the same time, a sharp scream came from that direction.
"Ah! Pervert!"