Chapter 26: The Flame of Life

  When Jiang Huan opened his eyes, it was already the dawn of sunrise. The entire grassland was shrouded in a dazzling splendor, with a hint of clarity amidst the uniqueness, and simplicity amidst the grandeur. Taking a deep breath of the morning air, he felt as if he had been reborn, feeling extremely comfortable.

  After a night of cultivation, Jiang Huan's battle qi had recovered more or less, and it was even more condensed than before, but his soul power hadn't grown much.

  Looking at the wounds all over his body, Jiang Heng couldn't help but smile bitterly. Those powers were too violent, and although he had barely managed to withstand them, their ferocity still left him with no small injuries. Fortunately, most of them were only superficial wounds, and the meridians inside his body hadn't been affected much. After a night of recovery, he had mostly recovered, and the six major acupoints had become even more resilient under the impact of the battle energy. The large and small meridians throughout his body had all expanded significantly.

  Slowly scanning the situation inside his body, it was much better than he had expected. The absorption speed of the battle qi also increased significantly. After a big battle, the stagnant five-star finally broke through the barrier and advanced to a six-star warrior. Feeling the abundant battle qi flowing inside his body, Jiang Huan slowly exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

  "What's this?"

  Jiang Hao's soul power swept across his chest, and he suddenly discovered that on his chest, there was a black bead the size of a soybean. Although it was small, it was profound and terrifying, with faint wisps of black flames escaping from within.

  "What the...? What kind of evil thing is this and how did it get inside me?" Jiang Huan's scalp went numb as he stared at the flames, asking in terror.

  "It's Hei Yan, how did it get into your body? Was it that black crystal earlier?" Ji Tian also sensed it and asked in puzzlement.

  "Damn it, didn't I put it on the necklace? How did it end up here?" Jiang Hao was speechless.

  Jiang Hao hastily inserted his soul power into the necklace, carefully searching for a while. The black crystal he had put in was nowhere to be found, and it seemed that the black pearl on his chest was the transformed form of the black crystal.

  "Let me take a look." Di Tian said, then used his soul power to completely envelop the black bead.

  As time passed, Song Yuan and the others also woke up, and seeing Jiang Huan still sitting there, they didn't go to disturb him, but quietly adjusted their breath.

  "Master, what's going on? Does this thing in my body have any problems? What if it explodes, I'll lose my life!" Jiang Hao was frowning and muttering to himself at this time.

  It seemed that the black bead had heard Jiang Hao's discontented muttering, and suddenly spewed out a lot of black flames, startling Jiang Hao into hastily closing his mouth, not daring to complain again.

  It was almost an hour later, when Jiang Heng was about to fall asleep, that Yi Tian's voice sounded again.

  "Cough, Jiang Hao, there's a good news and a bad news, which one do you want to hear?" Yi Tian's voice carried a hint of helplessness, entering Jiang Hao's ears.

  "What's the good news?" Jiang Hao hastily asked.

  "The good news is that this black bead can produce a dark flame, and in the future when you face an enemy, you can add a dark flame to your battle aura, I believe it won't be difficult to defeat the enemy by catching them off guard."

  "What's the bad news?" Jiang Hao smacked his lips, seemingly craving this dark cloud.

  "Ugh, the bad news is that this black bead will occasionally erupt with dark flames and absorb your battle qi to grow stronger. Of course, it's absorbing your battle qi, which means it will suppress your absorption of battle qi and slow down your cultivation speed."

  "Of course, it's not that bad," Ci Tian hurriedly explained, seeing Jiang Huan's ferocious face. "Your current rapid level-up has caused your foundation to be unstable. If this continues, it will have a huge impact on your future cultivation. Although the black pearl suppresses your battle aura absorption, it can help you temper yourself, so it's not like there are no benefits at all. As for that Black Flame's eruption, don't worry, as long as your master is still around, this little thing won't be able to stir up any big waves."

  After Di Tian finished speaking, Jiang Huan's face looked a bit better.

  "Master, what is this bead going to do with the battle energy it absorbed from me? Is it going to grow too?" As he thought of this, Jiang Huan couldn't help but shiver again.

  "Hmm, according to my observation, it's indeed the case. This black bead seems to possess a hint of spiritual intelligence, yet it's as pure as a newborn baby."

  Jiang Hao was stunned upon hearing this. He had unknowingly raised a good-for-nothing who lived off others.

  "Master, you mean I have to raise it?" Jiang Hao made a sour face, looking unhappy.

  "It seems so, little guy. Hei Yan is a kind of ancient flame that only the legendary dragon clan can fully control. Now that you have this black bead, who knows, maybe one day you'll be able to turn it into your innate flame." Yi Tian spread his hands and said helplessly.

  "Cut, and then frame me again. This dark flame is so terrifying, which day I'm not happy, directly burning me to ashes isn't impossible either. What kind of thing is this life fire?" Jiang Huan said disdainfully.

  "You little stinker, don't you know how to respect your master and the way? With your master around, even if it were an ancient dragon tribe, they wouldn't be able to do anything to you, let alone a small Black Flame. The True Name Fire, heh heh, is something that only alchemists can possess, and those who have the True Name Fire are the most envied among all alchemists."

  Tian's eyes narrowed slightly as he paused for a moment before continuing.

  "Ordinary alchemists can only use their own soul power to control external flames for alchemy, which is extremely exhausting and their battle qi cannot be compared with those who specialize in cultivating battle qi. Alchemists are skilled in soul power, but if they possess a congenital flame, they don't need to rely on external flames, and using it becomes as effortless as using battle qi, allowing for complete control at will. Therefore, the success rate of alchemy is greatly increased."

  "That's great! Then how can I make this black flame my innate flame?" Jiang Hao's eyes lit up.

  "Heh heh, you think it's that simple? You should know that among a hundred alchemists, no more than one or two possess the innate flame."

  "Is it really that little?" Jiang Hao looked at Tianyi with a puzzled expression.

  "That's because most of the flames in this world are weak and feeble, and taking them as one's innate flame is basically useless. Each alchemist only has one chance to choose their innate flame, and once chosen, it cannot be changed. Moreover, the human body is extremely fragile, even for those who specialize in cultivating their physical bodies, they can't withstand the scorching of some powerful flames. Without a special cultivation method, recklessly absorbing flames will only lead to death."

  "So can I absorb it or not?"

  "Don't be in a hurry, although the Black Flame is said to burn everything under the sky, but in my opinion, this black bead seems like a seed. So you can completely devour it, but not now, I need to prepare some things."

  "Alright, Master, you won't harm me either."

  Jiang Hao withdrew his soul power and slowly opened his eyes, seeing that Song Yuan and the others were still sitting on the ground, while only the black-clothed woman was standing alone.

  "Huh, you're awake, big brother, he's awake." The woman in black called out hastily as she saw Jiang Heng stand up.

  Song Yuan and others saw Jiang Huan exit his cultivation state and hastily stood up.

  "Haha, Jiang Hao little brother, your injury isn't serious, right?" Song Yuan stepped forward and said with a smile.

  "Alright, basically done." Jiang Huan casually patted the dust off his body.

  "Look at your aura, you've advanced again." Song Yuan exclaimed, feeling Jiang Huan's aura.

  "It's just luck." Jiang Hao rubbed his nose and said with a smile.

  After finishing speaking, those black-clothed men all looked at Jiang Huan with eyes that seemed to be looking at a monster, making Jiang Huan's heart feel hairy.

  "Everyone, since nothing's wrong, let's part ways here." Jiang Huan also didn't want to stay in this place and said lightly.

  "Hehe, alright then, we should also continue on our journey. In the future, if there's an opportunity, little brother can come to our Jade Roar Mountain. A talent like yours is truly rare." Song Yuan casually pulled out a jade token and handed it over to Jiang Huan.

  The jade plaque felt slightly warm in his hand, with a single character " Luo" written on it. Jiang Hao didn't refuse and flipped his hand to put it into his bosom.

  The crowd sighed a few more times, and then each left on their own. Jiang Heng took a deep breath, stepped into the waist-high grass, and continued to head in the direction of the Demon Beast Mountain Range.

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