The Path of Immortality: Starts With Creating Water Bear Gu

Chapter 352: Gaining the Fire

"Good! Since you won’t let me live peacefully, don’t expect to escape unscathed either. Even if I die today, I’ll drag one of you down with me!"

Yan Tiexin’s eyes revealed a crazed determination. He finally decided to fight recklessly, commanding the Heavenly Fire to condense into fireballs, flinging them at his opponents as if they cost nothing.

In this desperate situation, he began to use the Heavenly Fire’s power without considering the consequences.

However, without fully mastering the Heavenly Fire, it could lose control at any moment. Doing so was undeniably a dangerous gamble.

Seeing the overwhelming Heavenly Fire attacks, Thunder King and the Wind King’s expressions changed drastically, and they hurriedly dodged.

The Heavenly Fire was no ordinary force. Even a single hit would leave someone severely wounded, if not dead.

Fortunately, Wind King specialized in wind manipulation, and Thunder King in lightning control. Both were speed-oriented Gu Masters, so evading the Heavenly Fire’s attacks was not difficult for them.

Moreover, Yan Tiexin had only recently acquired the Sunset Divine Flame and had no time to fully master its power. The Heavenly Fire under his command lacked precision, making it hard for even these two late-stage Gu Kings to be struck.

Instead of injuring his enemies, Yan Tiexin’s reckless use of the Heavenly Fire caused many of his own men to perish in the chaos.

Under the assault of his Heavenly Fire, the Yan Clan estate was soon engulfed in flames. Buildings burned everywhere, and many Yan Clan members were already buried in the inferno. The estate was now on the brink of a catastrophic fire disaster. If the flames weren’t extinguished soon, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Seeing that the Heavenly Fire posed no real threat to himself, Wind King laughed out loud:

"Ha ha… Yan Tiexin, are you attacking us or your own people?"

"Not many Yan Gu Cultivators have died by our hands, but under your Heavenly Fire, they’re falling in droves. Are you our spy? Ha ha!"

As he spoke, Wind King hurled a bolt of lightning at Yan Tiexin. The lightning was swift and struck his chest accurately.

Though Yan Tiexin’s body was protected by a layer of Heavenly Fire, minimizing the lightning’s damage, it still caused him to groan in pain.

"You’re courting death! Even if it costs the lives of all my clan members, I’ll kill you today!"

Yan Tiexin’s eyes grew even more frenzied as he commanded the Heavenly Fire for another attack.

He knew well that the power of the Heavenly Fire was immense and that fighting here would inevitably affect his clan members. Yet he showed no regard for their lives.

Instead of using the Heavenly Fire cautiously, he unleashed its destructive power recklessly, wreaking havoc on everything around him.

Both sides—Master Sun’s Gu Cultivators and the Yan Clan’s Gu Cultivators—suffered heavy casualties under the Heavenly Fire.

The air was filled with scorching heat and the sound of anguished screams.

Even the bystanders were terrified, retreating frantically to avoid being caught by the uncontrolled flames.

Master Sun dodged a flying fireball and looked solemn.

He realized this wasn’t merely a desperate move from Yan Tiexin. From the start, Yan Tiexin hadn’t cared about the lives of his clan members. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have hidden himself while provoking a conflict that led to their deaths.

"What on earth is Yan Tiexin planning? Has he gone mad?" A sense of foreboding rose in Master Sun’s heart.

At the same time, Long Xuan, engaged in a battle with his own opponent, frowned as he glanced toward the battlefield’s center where Yan Tiexin stood.

Despite the aid of the Heavenly Fire, Yan Tiexin was no match for the four Gu Kings. He had sustained significant injuries under their combined assault.

The injuries weren’t the main issue, though. The real danger lay in the Heavenly Fire, which he hadn’t fully mastered. Overusing its power in his weakened state could lead to backlash.

As the backlash began, pain and madness twisted Yan Tiexin’s face.

With the four Gu Kings attacking from the outside and the Heavenly Fire rebelling from within, Yan Tiexin was undoubtedly doomed—and soon.

Knowing his inevitable fate, what crazed act would he commit?

Long Xuan grew wary. Those about to die often sought to take their enemies down with them.

With that thought, Long Xuan fought cautiously, retreating to avoid Yan Tiexin’s last-ditch counterattack. He soon distanced himself from Yan Tiexin.

However, the situation turned out to be far worse than Long Xuan had imagined.

With his enhanced vision, Long Xuan saw the fire seed within Yan Tiexin’s body beginning to crack rapidly. His pupils shrank in horror, and a chill ran down his spine.

"Damn it!"

Long Xuan cursed loudly and abandoned his opponent, running for the city gates with all his might—faster than he had ever run in his life.

His face turned pale as he realized Yan Tiexin intended to self-detonate the Heavenly Fire.

The destructive power of such an explosion was unimaginable. It would not just annihilate all the Yan Gu Cultivators and the invaders; the entire Emperor Flame City would be razed to the ground.

No one would survive—not even the peak-stage Gu Kings.

Terrified, Long Xuan fled with unprecedented speed, soon leaving the city far behind.

When Emperor Flame City became a small black dot in the distance, he instinctively turned back.

"BOOM!!!"

A deafening explosion erupted behind him. The ground trembled violently as the enormous city was swallowed by flames.

Scarlet flames released searing heat, spreading rapidly in all directions. Despite being far from the city, Long Xuan was quickly overtaken by the advancing firestorm.

"Damn it!"

"Water Bear Gu! Hold on!"

Amidst the sea of flames, Long Xuan’s furious roar echoed.

The inferno shredded his clothing, exposing his Soul Armor beneath. Under the stimulation of the Heavenly Fire, the Soul Armor glowed with a dark, otherworldly light, resisting the relentless fiery onslaught.

At the same time, he quickly activated the Purgatory True Demon Technique, enduring the intense heat generated by the Heavenly Fire.

The first level of the Purgatory True Demon Technique involves swimming in molten lava, which had granted him an extremely high resistance to heat. Combined with the fact that he was far from the explosion’s epicenter, he narrowly avoided being reduced to ashes like the Gu Kings caught in the blast.

Pushed by the flames, Long Xuan was flung far away. When the flames finally subsided, he crashed heavily onto the ground, propping himself up with both hands as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Looking back at the scorched land behind him, Long Xuan gave a bitter smile. Indeed, accidents can happen anywhere, and this time, an unexpected catastrophe had occurred.

Everyone else had perished. The entire city was wiped out. Only he, who had fled far in advance, became the sole survivor of this disaster.

Long Xuan quickly assessed his injuries, and his heart sank.

This time, he was gravely injured. Even his Third-grade Soul Armor was destroyed. In the end, it was thanks to the Water Bear Gu, with its immunity to fire and high temperatures, that he narrowly escaped with his life.

Still, he had lost half his life, and the Water Bear Gu had exhausted all its energy and fallen into a deep slumber.

The Water Bear Gu’s method of evolution follows the principle of "no destruction, no creation," a fine line between misfortune and blessing. Although Long Xuan had been severely injured, this presented an opportunity for the Water Bear Gu to complete its evolution.

Yet, Long Xuan felt no joy at this prospect. He immediately activated the farsight ability of his Heavenly Secret Eye to look toward Emperor Flame City.

But Emperor Flame City no longer existed. Its towering walls had disappeared, and the once-majestic city was now gone without a trace. All that remained was a massive crater, charred black and devoid of life.

Whether human or material, everything in Emperor Flame City had been vaporized by the power of the Heavenly Fire.

Seeing this horrifying scene, Long Xuan was shocked and couldn’t help but gasp.

This was the destructive power of the Heavenly Fire—utterly terrifying. What kind of being could possibly survive such power?

Taking a deep breath, Long Xuan shifted his gaze to the center of the crater.

The center was not entirely empty; two items were left behind.

One was a small, fiery-red flame flickering in the wind, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

The other was a black storage ring. Don’t ask why this 'storage ring' wasn’t destroyed by the Heavenly Fire—Long Xuan didn’t know either. He guessed its material was extraordinarily special, capable of withstanding the fire's destructive force.

When Long Xuan saw the small flame flickering in the wind, his heart leapt with joy, and his pulse quickened uncontrollably.

This flame was none other than the Seed of the Sunset Divine Flame.

Though the 'Sunset Divine Flame' had self-destructed, it seemed that most of its essence had been obliterated, leaving behind only a small fragment of the flame’s seed.

This remnant was severely damaged and extremely fragile, as if a gust of wind could snuff it out at any moment.

Unable to suppress his excitement, Long Xuan forced his severely weakened body to rush toward the flame.

Despite the Sunset Divine Flame having self-destructed, leaving behind only fragmented seeds, Long Xuan was content. As the saying goes, “A blessing in disguise,” the diminished power of the Sunset Divine Flame was, in fact, advantageous for him.

After all, what use was an immensely powerful Heavenly Fire if he couldn’t control it? The more potent the flame, the less suitable it was for a Gu cultivator of his low level to absorb.

Originally, with his current strength, attempting to devour the Sunset Divine Flame would have been incredibly risky—a matter of life and death.

But now that its power was greatly reduced, it had become safe for a low-tier Gu cultivator like him to absorb.

Moreover, the seed could be restored. He could allow the Sunset Divine Flame to grow alongside his own cultivation level, gradually returning it to its peak state.

To trade the diminished strength of the Sunset Divine Flame for absolute safety—this was a deal he considered well worth it.

As Long Xuan excitedly approached the flame, he suddenly stopped.

The center of the explosion was still unbearably hot, or rather, the flame seed was radiating an intense heat, making it impossible for an ordinary person to approach.

Had he been at full strength, he might have withstood the heat and retrieved the seed. But now, with his body severely injured, he couldn’t get close to the Heavenly Fire.

Helpless, Long Xuan removed the Heaven-Devouring World Toad clinging to his back.

Just earlier, his insect bag had been destroyed by the terrifying force of the explosion, exposing the Heaven-Devouring World Toad inside.

Fortunately, the Heaven-Devouring World Toad could use the treasure energy of all the items within it to form a terrifyingly strong defense.

All of Long Xuan’s Gu insects and treasures were inside the toad. As a result, while the Heavenly Fire obliterated his clothing, it failed to destroy any of his possessions.

If not for the Heaven-Devouring World Toad, this calamity would have cost him dearly.

“Stop playing dead. See that flame up ahead? That’s the most supreme treasure in this world. Nothing else can compare to its value.”

“You’ll grow a lot bigger if you devour it.”

Long Xuan threw the Heaven-Devouring World Toad to the ground, deciding to assign it the difficult task of retrieving the flame seed.

The toad trembled on the ground, its eyes full of terror. It was clearly still shaken by the earlier explosion and hadn’t yet recovered.

Reluctantly, it glanced back at Long Xuan. It wasn’t blind—it had long sensed the overwhelming power of this supreme treasure. But the problem was that it was too hot. How could it dare to swallow something so scorching?

If it weren’t for the heat, it would have rushed forward and devoured the flame long ago.