Chapter 264: The Seventh Elder's Furnace of Elixir Liquid Goes to Waste—What a Pity
At this moment, he suddenly felt an itch all over his body.
It seemed as if every inch of his skin, flesh, and meridians was being nourished by a strange power, subtly yet steadily growing stronger.
Shen Mo gently pressed his skin and noticed that its toughness had increased slightly.
He was rather surprised.
"Such a short amount of time, yet the improvement is this significant."
"No wonder they call it an Eternal Flame!"
Shen Mo was ecstatic.
When he had tamed the Red Lotus Flame, his physical body experienced a tremendous enhancement.
Subsequently, although the Red Lotus Flame would draw on his spiritual energy, it also constantly nourished his body in return.
Now, he had added the Solar Essence Flame.
Clearly, the Solar Essence Flame's ability to nourish the body was even greater than the Red Lotus Flame.
Even without actively practicing, merely sitting here in meditation would grant him a cultivation speed far beyond that of others in the same realm.
If he actively cultivated with his techniques, his speed would be even more astonishing!
"I look forward to the day it fully matures."
"It will surely unleash even greater power."
Shen Mo felt a tinge of excitement in his heart.
The Red Lotus Flame was already so formidable.
The Solar Essence Flame was evidently even stronger!
Meanwhile.
Above the Eleventh Earth Fire Furnace.
The Seventh Elder sensed a change in the flame's intensity, and his expression suddenly turned grim.
"What's going on?"
"The earth fire has suddenly weakened, and it's getting weaker!"
He growled.
The Third Elder paused, examined it carefully, and his face changed slightly as well.
It was true.
The once fiercely burning earth fire had now withered like a limp cucumber.
The fire source was dark and deep.
"What exactly is happening?" The Seventh Elder's expression was furious. "If this continues, this batch of pills will be ruined!"
The Third Elder coughed lightly and said, "Don't panic. I know you're anxious, but panicking won't solve anything."
"We chose the Eleventh Earth Fire Furnace for its stable flame, but now that something's gone wrong, no one could have foreseen this."
"I think we should just wait here. It will recover eventually."
The Seventh Elder rolled his eyes.
What nonsense.
"No, I need to go down and check. This batch of Spirit Refining Pills has reached the most critical stage. If the earth fire doesn't recover within thirty breaths, this entire furnace will be wasted."
"When I return, I won't be able to explain myself!"
The Seventh Elder gritted his teeth, activated a defensive martial skill, and leaped toward the dark earth fire source.
The distance from the surface to the deepest part of the magma lake was considerable.
Before the Seventh Elder could even reach halfway, the earth fire suddenly surged violently and erupted.
His eyes widened in shock, and he quickly retreated.
At the same time, he reinforced his defensive martial skill.
He exerted all his strength to withstand the explosion of the earth fire.
Boom!
A column of flames erupted skyward from the fire source.
It was like a massive firecracker had exploded.
The Eleventh Earth Fire Furnace was instantly pierced by the raging earth fire.
With a thunderous roar, the Eleventh Earth Fire Furnace collapsed.
The elixir liquid inside the furnace naturally spilled into the high-temperature flames.
In the blink of an eye, it evaporated into steam, disappearing into the sky.
Thud.
The charred Seventh Elder was spat out by the fire source.
He rolled a few times on the ground before coming to a stop.
The Third Elder was dumbfounded, unable to speak for a long moment.
Finally, the Third Elder rushed to the Seventh Elder's side and helped him up.
The Seventh Elder's robes were almost entirely burned away.
Large patches of his skin were scorched black.
As for his hair and beard, they had been completely incinerated.
"Hey, hey, hey, are you alright?" The Third Elder swallowed hard.
He hadn't expected the earth fire's power to be so great that even a cultivator in the Divine Transformation Realm would suffer such injuries.
The Seventh Elder spat out a mouthful of black blood.
As soon as the blood hit the ground, it evaporated instantly due to the intense heat.
He rolled his eyes, which were now the only white part of his entire body.
"Do I… look like I'm fine to you…?" the Seventh Elder forced out through gritted teeth.
The Third Elder coughed a few times. "You're not dead, so that's good enough. Hurry up and take some healing pills."
He pulled out a handful of healing pills and shoved them into the Seventh Elder's mouth.
After swallowing the pills, the Seventh Elder let out a sigh of relief.
But his face quickly twisted into fury. "That damned Earth Fire Source… how could it suddenly erupt like that and even injure a Divine Transformation Realm cultivator!"
"Third Elder, go take a look. I suspect there's something wrong in there."
The Third Elder glanced at the blazing Earth Fire Source and shook his head so vigorously it resembled a rattling drum.
Are you kidding me?
You went in and came out looking like this.
If I go in, won't I end up the same?
"My elixir liquid!"
The Seventh Elder's gaze darted past the Third Elder and landed on the collapsed Eleventh Earth Fire Furnace. His eyes bulged, and he let out a high-pitched scream.
He looked as though he had just lost a loved one.
If this batch of Spirit Refining Pills had been successfully refined, it could have produced at least a hundred pills.
Enough to sustain the cultivation of five Divine Transformation Realm cultivators for five years.
Of course, considering the challenges of pill refinement, the two elders had each taken enough materials from the sect's warehouse to attempt refining five batches of Spirit Refining Pills.
However, the Seventh Elder had already failed four times.
This was his final attempt.
And now, not only was the elixir liquid gone, but even the Earth Fire Furnace was destroyed!
How was he supposed to face the other Divine Transformation Realm elders when he returned?
What could he possibly say?
Tell them two pieces of "good news"?
First, his pill refinement success rate was zero, and all five batches of materials had failed.
Second, future refinements would require using the even more dangerous Twelfth Earth Fire Furnace.
Wouldn't the other Divine Transformation Realm elders chew him out when they heard this?
The Third Elder, on the other hand, appeared unfazed.
The Seventh Elder had used up all five of his material batches.
But the Third Elder still had two batches remaining.
Moreover, he was only assisting the Seventh Elder in refining this time.
The failure of the refinement and the collapse of the Earth Fire Furnace were primarily the Seventh Elder's responsibility, not his.
"Third Elder, could you spare me a batch of materials?" The Seventh Elder had no choice but to turn to him.
The Third Elder smiled faintly, resembling a cunning old fox. "Seventh Elder, I heard you own a high-grade spirit weapon at the earth rank, refined with a fifth-tier demon crystal?"
The Seventh Elder cursed inwardly at the outrageous demand.
But he dared not show any displeasure on his face.
He could only nod reluctantly.
It felt as if he could hear his own heart bleeding.
That spirit weapon was incredibly valuable, the kind of treasure many would pay a fortune to acquire.
But now, he had no choice but to agree to the Third Elder's terms.
The Third Elder's face lit up with glee.
Elsewhere.
Shen Mo had already retraced his steps and exited the defensive formation.
Instinctively, he glanced toward the Eleventh Earth Fire Furnace.
What he saw was a furnace reduced to rubble.
Flames still flowed across the ground.
The massive stone furnace was shattered, scattered in pieces.
The fate of the elixir liquid was easy to imagine.
Shen Mo blinked a few times.
He seemed to understand what had happened.
"The Fire Pill Palace opens every so often, and the elders always choose the Eleventh Earth Fire Furnace for pill refinement."
"This practice has lasted for at least five hundred years."
"The Eleventh Earth Fire Furnace couldn't withstand such prolonged use. It's old and worn out, and now it's finally collapsed."
"What a tragedy."
"The Seventh Elder wasted a whole batch of elixir liquid. I really feel sorry for him."
Shen Mo spoke these words devoid of any emotion, then turned and left without hesitation.
He was heading toward the location He Tianchou had pointed out to him, to search for a top-tier earth-rank pill furnace.
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