While the Astral Alchemy Emperor was saying all this, Kai was weighing what he should do.
"Maybe it won't work to evade the test, and slip away... And if it does, maybe when I come back here, I'll automatically be deemed unworthy... Okay, it seems there really is only one option left... Get the legacy!" - Kai finally made his choice.
At that moment, the emperor said one more phrase that finally strengthened Kai's confidence in his decision.
- Also, you should know that the Astral Fire of Sacrifice evolves by absorbing other souls. That is, if you take in enough souls, the power of the fire will grow. The stronger the souls, the better! - He continued, "Right now, you can see my Heavenly Fire, which has absorbed countless souls! And at the end, it has even consumed all the souls of my Sect... And soon, I will give it my soul as well! The power and potential of this fire will be incredible! - Said the Astral Alchemy Emperor.
- I also left information in it, about my Alchemy Technique. If you are destined to obtain the Astral Sacrifice Fire, then it is yours! - Saying that, he once again turned into purple sparks and flew into a ball of black fire.
"Hmm, he didn't say anything about the method of obtaining the fire... That's a problem..." - Thought Kai.
- I thought he would at least tell me roughly what I should be prepared for. Damn... - Said to himself Kai.
"What am I supposed to do? Do I need to get close or touch the fire? Or drip blood on the array like I did back then in the cave?" - Now Kai stood there, wondering what he should do. He wasn't even really sure how to begin the ordeal....
"The old man said that the flames need to be subdued and absorbed... How do I do that? Should it be done in the same way as with energy? But where to absorb it, into the Energy Vortex? Oh, boy... It doesn't make any sense..." - Gritting his teeth, Kai thought.
He now realized that it was better to proceed with caution. But most likely, once the trials started, he would have to react lightning fast! If you hesitate for even a second and do the wrong thing, your soul will become part of the Astral Sacrifice Fire.
It was better to have thought through all the possible options from the beginning, so that you could at least be roughly prepared.
"As much as I don't think about it, I realize that I'm limited by my imagination and experience.... Bad... I can only think of options I can imagine. But maybe something completely different will be waiting for me..." - Kai continued to think.
"Okay, at the expense of the Invisible Kings Torture Technique, coupled with the Eyes of Essence, I keep everything in balance. I train both flesh, spirit, and energy... I don't think I have any noticeable weaknesses..." - Thinking about it, Kai remembered all the laws he had once heard in the Essence Sphere.
Making up his mind, he started walking towards the Astral Sacrifice Fire, mentally repeating the laws of the Sphere:
"The intangibility of Time and Space, is law one. Elusive and unknowable, it seems that it was before everything and will be after.
The causelessness of Fortune, is law two. It is impossible to grasp the causes and effects of the manifestations of the Universe, as if everything is solved by throwing a dice with an infinity of edges, which gives birth to the most incredible regularities.
The eternity of the Will, is the third law. All living and non-living things have the Will, it is like an immaterial essence that sets in motion all the laws of existence.
Life and Death, is the fourth law. The fruit of creation of the highest triad of laws, time - space, luck and will. Luck and will to develop in the infinity of time, give birth to entities and take them away into non-existence.
The Law of the Flesh, is the fifth law. Everything begins with flesh, flesh animate and inanimate, flesh material and spiritual, even the manifestations of nature have flesh.
The Law of Energy is the sixth law. The development and activity of everything gives birth to myriads of variations of energy, its combinations and kinds.
The Law of Spirit, is the seventh law. With enough time, everything receives its spirit, and its consciousness, which is the manifestation of the highest form of being." - Kai repeated
- The Law of Flesh, Energy and Spirit, are the fruit of the Higher Triad of Laws and the Law of Life and Death. They mutually complement and suppress each other, creating balance. In this way I am training myself and I am training myself! I must definitely get this Heavenly Fire - Said Kai as he walked.
Kai began to take steps more determinedly, moving faster towards the center of the array. Towards the Astral Sacrifice Fire!
As he approached it, Kai reached out his hand to touch the black fire without a hesitation.
The moment he touched the flame, it lightning swarmed towards him.
"Bang!" - The fire struck Kai's head, and he flew away from the center of the room.
At that very moment, Kai's entire body began to burn with black and purple fire. It could be seen that the skin on his body was starting to fade little by little, and the tips of his hair were burning.
Now, in the center of the room, there was no longer a ball of fire. It seemed that it was now completely enveloping Kai, trying to devour his body, causing him a hell of a lot of pain.
- Hehehe, don't underestimate me, fireball! For me, that kind of pain, is nothing. - Said Kai, slowly sitting up in the lotus pose.
If there was a master here who lost control of himself, or lost consciousness, he would die immediately. Kai remained in his mind, quickly regaining control of himself.
"We need to start absorbing the Astral Sacrificial Fire! How do I do that!!!" - Kai began to frantically think.
He felt that absorbing the fire would take a long time. But he was in parallel already burning! His body was incredibly strong, ordinary masters would have already been burned to the bone. Kai's so far, his skin was just starting to peel off.
- That's right! Let's try it! - Kai shouted. It was like he remembered something!
"Boom" - It seemed like another, black gray flame appeared. Except it was Kai's energy, not a flame.
His energy had a very strange attribute. It was as if it was devouring and destroying other energies. It had an incredibly overwhelming power. It was as if all living things trembled before him.
Kai realized that he owed it to himself to give it a try! If his energy could suppress the fire even a little bit, he might have a chance at a slow absorption!
When Kai's energy appeared, it began to burn up very quickly in the Astral Sacrifice Fire! But he noticed that the energy slightly weakened the effects of the fire on his body.
"It's working!" - Exclaimed in his head, Kai enthusiastically began to uncontrollably pour energy outwards. Right now, he wasn't holding back at all. The energy was running out very fast!
"Geez... Thank goodness I brought a huge amount of fruit with me!" - Thinking about it in a sweat, he quickly popped a green fruit into his mouth, and his energy began to replenish a bit.
"I can fight back now! I need to get used to the pressure, and calculate my energy expenditure. If I can catch the balance... To keep the energy at a level that can withstand the fire without draining it to zero. Then, we can try to absorb the fire..." - Kai thought frantically.
"Okay, for now I'll pour out maximum energy by eating the fruit and at the same time absorb energy from outside. Then I'll slowly decrease the energy I'm pouring out to see at what level I can resist the fire. The moment I realize where that line is... I'll be able to allocate some of my thinking resources to absorbing the fire!" - Kai quickly thought of a plan of further action.
The most important thing was that he wasn't dead right away, and he could fight back. Also, he has plenty of fruit soaked in energy for support. At the very least, he has time to develop a good plan.
- Let's get started! - Kai said decisively. Closing his eyes, he began to focus on his body and energy.