"Child, are you confident you can refine it?"
In the ancient and unadorned great hall, Gu Lie asked with concern after learning of Gu Fei's intention.
Standing beside Gu Lie, the Dou Saint expert from the Gu Clan, Gu Xiong, also frowned.
It was he who had helped Gu Fei subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame and brought it back. Having witnessed its power firsthand, he knew how formidable it was. Ordinary Dou Venerate experts couldn't even shake the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
"Before you proceed, you must consider this carefully. The Three Thousand Burning Flame is far more dangerous than the other heavenly flames you've refined, the strongest of which was only at the Dou Ancestor level, but the Three Thousand Burning Flame is a genuine high-level Dou Venerate!"
Gu Xiong reminded Gu Fei, who responded with a slight smile, full of confidence.
"Don't worry! If I dare to do it, I have the confidence to succeed!"
Seeing Gu Fei's confident smile, Gu Lie and the others said no more. After reminding him to be cautious, they prepared to deal with the heavenly flame.
Gu Xiong then released the Three Thousand Burning Flame, and the violent fire attribute energy instantly filled the entire hall.
The imprisoned Three Thousand Burning Flame was furious and initially wanted to cause destruction. However, upon sensing the powerful aura from the Dou Saint experts present, it felt a wave of despair.
"Get to it, but don't kill it!"
Following this, several Dou Saint experts attacked simultaneously, and the Three Thousand Burning Flame was instantly beaten down, losing all its dragon majesty.
After severely injuring the Three Thousand Burning Flame, Gu Fei prepared to make his move. He threw the jade bottle given to him by Zi Yan, striking the flame's forehead.
When the dark golden liquid from the jade bottle touched the Three Thousand Burning Flame's forehead, its body instantly stiffened, and the light in its eyes dimmed. At the same time, a strange seal faintly appeared on its forehead, identical to the dragon mark in Gu Fei's palm.
"A dragon seal indeed!"
Gu Fei murmured to himself. A scorching sensation spread through his palm as the dragon mark glowed brightly, resonating with the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Thunderous sounds echoed in Gu Fei's mind as he realized that the Three Thousand Burning Flame's power was invading his consciousness. Looking down at the dragon mark on his hand, he understood what was happening.
The dragon seal's effect was mutual. He could use it to control the Three Thousand Burning Flame, but similarly, it could use its dragon seal to control him. The force invading his mind was the Three Thousand Burning Flame's soul power, attempting to turn Gu Fei into its puppet.
"A battle of souls? Let's see if you have the strength!"
Gu Fei mobilized his soul power to attack the Three Thousand Burning Flame. The flame's body was once again engulfed in violet-black fire as it roared furiously.
Gu Fei infused his soul with a different heavenly flame, creating a barrier that isolated him from the violet-black sea of fire. Despite the ground beneath him shaking, he remained unmoved.
Seeing this, the Three Thousand Burning Flame took to the air, gathering fire in its dragon mouth until it was as dark as the night itself.
"Roar!"
The flame dragon unleashed a black fire pillar that devoured Gu Fei's flame barrier in an instant. The air twisted and distorted as the fire raged.
Just as the fire dissipated, the Three Thousand Burning Flame swooped down, aiming to strike with its tail. The unstable space shattered under its force, but the strike hit nothing.
"You wretch, had enough? Now it's my turn!"
Gu Fei's voice suddenly echoed from above. As soon as the Three Thousand Burning Flame released its fire pillar, Gu Fei had moved behind it.
The Three Thousand Burning Flame was already weakened and exhausted, making this the perfect time for Gu Fei to act.
"Submit!"
With a shout, Gu Fei's soul energy condensed into a massive hand that dwarfed the flame dragon's body, slamming it to the ground.
"If you were at full strength, I might be cautious, but now, you're too weak!"
"Rise!"
With another shout, a massive sea of flames surged into the air. In a flash, Gu Fei was before the Three Thousand Burning Flame, pouring all his soul power into the dragon seal.
Seeing this, the flame panicked, its body shuddering before splitting into countless small fire dragons, which swarmed toward Gu Fei.
But it was too late.
Gu Fei's dragon-sealed hand burst with golden light, swallowing all the small dragons and even dragging the main body of the Three Thousand Burning Flame toward him.
Grasping the flame, the dragon seal emitted a deep dragon's roar, dispersing the flame's form and revealing its true appearance as pure fire, its intelligence completely wiped out.
"Don't worry. With me, your name on the Heavenly Flames Ranking won't be tarnished."
Gu Fei murmured softly. Then, he opened his mouth and swallowed the violet-black flame dragon.
As the source flame entered his body, a scorching heat spread within, and Gu Fei quickly sat down in meditation.
The process of refining the Three Thousand Burning Flame took three whole months.
When Gu Fei finally emerged, his cultivation had soared to the Four-Star Dou Venerate level.
"Four-Star Dou Venerate…"
"Devouring a heavenly flame can have such an effect? In just three months, he leaped from an early Two-Star Dou Venerate to Four-Star. Truly astounding…"
The elders of the Gu Clan, who had been guarding Gu Fei during the refinement, were all astonished by this sight.