Chapter 77: Refining the Sea Heart Flame
Endless Mountain Range.
Inside a cave, Xiao Tian was sitting cross-legged. Beneath him was the Azure Lotus Seat, and in front of him were three jade bottles and the Sea Heart Flame.
As Xiao Tian slowly opened his eyes, Yao Lao asked, "Little one, are you ready?"
"I'm ready, Master," Xiao Tian nodded. "Please release the Sea Heart Flame."
"Alright," Yao Lao nodded, removing the space barrier.
With the barrier gone, the deep blue flame started to expand rapidly, resembling a blue curtain. Intense heat began to fill the cave.
Xiao Tian grabbed two icy blue jade bottles with his mind.
As he opened the bottle stoppers, a rush of dense blue cold air emerged, freezing the surrounding air into ice particles. This was the Heavenly Cold Qi, a rare substance found only in extreme cold places. Ordinary flames would extinguish upon contact, and it even significantly suppressed exotic flames.
Han Feng had originally obtained the Heavenly Cold Qi to aid in his own flame devouring process, but now it served Xiao Tian's purpose.
Xiao Tian flicked his fingers, sending the two icy blue jade bottles into the Sea Heart Flame.
"Explode!" he commanded. The bottles shattered, releasing an overwhelming amount of blue cold air that halted the flame's expansion. As the cold mist and the blue flame neutralized each other, the Sea Heart Flame began to shrink.
Seizing the opportunity, Xiao Tian took out another jade bottle and poured out a blood-red pill the size of a dragon's eye. This pill was the Blood Lotus Pill, a fifth-grade pill he had prepared for devouring the flame.
After swallowing the Blood Lotus Pill, a cold energy spread throughout his body, permeating his meridians and bones like layers of blood membranes.
Xiao Tian's body trembled violently, and blood began to seep from his pores, forming a blood-red keratin layer on his skin, resembling a seamless armor that even covered his eyes.
With his defenses in place, Xiao Tian extended his hand into the deep blue flame. The blood-red keratin layer on his arm began to melt, but the Blood Lotus Pill continually replenished it, allowing Xiao Tian to grasp the essence of the Sea Heart Flame.
Since Han Feng had erased the flame's intelligence, it didn't resist when Xiao Tian seized its essence.
Holding the liquid-like deep blue flame, Xiao Tian took a deep breath and swallowed it. He immediately began refining it. Despite its lost intelligence, the flame instinctively resisted, emitting intense heat. Even with the Blood Lotus Pill and Azure Lotus Heart Flame's protection, Xiao Tian felt a burning pain.
Gritting his teeth, Xiao Tian persisted, surrounding the Sea Heart Flame with his azure flame. The two flames clashed inside him, generating extreme heat. Despite the damage, his body was also being tempered.
Xiao Tian felt his bones, muscles, and meridians strengthening. His bronze-colored skin began to take on a glazed appearance, glowing stronger over time until his entire body was encased in a crystalline layer, symbolizing his Great Sun Thunder Body's advancement to the second level, the Jade Thunder Body.
Now, Xiao Tian's punches could rival a full-strength blow from a Dou Huang.
With his body strengthened and the Sea Heart Flame refined, it was time to merge it with the Azure Lotus Heart Flame. This crucial but dangerous step was key to cultivating the Flame Mantra.
Inside his crystalline meridians, the deep blue flame flowed like water. Having been refined, it obeyed Xiao Tian's commands. He directed it to the empty space in his energy core and summoned the Azure Lotus Heart Flame.
As the two flames appeared, they instinctively wanted to devour each other, but Xiao Tian controlled them, preventing immediate conflict.
"Merge!" Xiao Tian released his control, and the flames collided violently. Under the suppression of the Flame Mantra's energy, they began devouring each other.
Time passed, and the flames fused completely, turning into a jade-green flame.
"Ha ha ha!" Xiao Tian couldn't help but laugh as the jade-green flame appeared within him.
"Did it work?" Yao Lao asked.
Xiao Tian opened his eyes, summoning the jade-green flame. "Yes, it worked."
Yao Lao examined the flame. "This new flame is powerful, almost on par with the Bone Chilling Flame."
"Aside from the increased flame power, my cultivation has risen from Seven-Star Dou Wang to One-Star Dou Huang," Xiao Tian said with a smile. "And the Flame Mantra has advanced to Earth Class Low Level, though not to Earth Class Mid Level."
In the original story, Xiao Yan's devouring of the fourteenth-ranked Fallen Heart Flame advanced his Flame Mantra to Earth Class Low Level. Xiao Tian's Sea Heart Flame, being lower-ranked and previously consumed by Han Feng, didn't have the same effect. But the energy still boosted Xiao Tian's cultivation to Dou Huang.
Even though the Flame Mantra didn't advance, its power was on par with an Earth Class Mid Level technique due to its extraordinary nature.