novelraw Chapter 353: Blood Lotus Pill
Chapter 353: Blood Lotus Pill
In the end, the Heaven-Devouring World Toad succumbed to Long Xuan's overwhelming authority. It hopped towards the seed of the Sunset Divine Flame, sweating profusely after only a few jumps and letting out a croak of discontent.
“Long pain is worse than short pain. Hurry up and get it done!” Long Xuan urged from behind, his tone hurried.
He had to act fast; the commotion caused by the explosion of the heavenly fire was too loud and might attract nearby powerful cultivators. Long Xuan was closest to the flame seed and had to take it before others arrived. Delays might give any Gu King a chance to appear, and the heavenly fire seed would no longer be his.
The Heaven-Devouring World Toad let out another croak before leaping in a single bound directly beside the flame seed. Turning around, it swallowed the seed in one gulp.
The moment it swallowed the seed, the space within its body expanded significantly. The treasure-like essence of the heavenly fire was astonishing and was an extraordinary supplement for the Heaven-Devouring World Toad.
Once inside, the flame seed floated far away from the main island within the toad's internal space, avoiding damage to the spiritual herbs on the island.
After swallowing the nearby black storage ring as well, the Heaven-Devouring World Toad leaped back to Long Xuan's side.
“Well done!” Long Xuan exclaimed, stroking its head with satisfaction. “Now, let's leave at once. Head for the City of Sin as fast as possible!”
With those words, Long Xuan quickly entered the internal space of the Heaven-Devouring World Toad. He was covered in injuries and could no longer move swiftly, leaving the toad to carry him.
....Shortly after the Heaven-Devouring World Toad hopped away, a group of enforcers from the Flaming Court Empire arrived in droves.
Surveying the scorched land, all the enforcers looked shocked.
“What happened here? What kind of attack could cause such widespread destruction?” someone exclaimed in astonishment.
Others began discussing among themselves, their expressions full of disbelief.
“Don't bother with this for now. We must hurry to assist the Yan Clan—any later, and it will be too late.”
The leader, a man exuding the aura of a peak Gu King, frowned. Stepping onto a flying sword, he ignored the strange scene and quickly headed toward Emperor Flame City.
The others dared not delay, following the man on their flying swords toward Emperor Flame City.
When they arrived, they were dumbfounded at the sight of a massive crater where Emperor Flame City once stood. Everyone's jaws dropped, wide enough to fit an egg.
“Where's the city? I clearly remember there was a city here! How is it gone?” someone cried out, rubbing their eyes as if doubting their vision. But no matter how they looked, the only thing in sight was the conspicuous crater. Emperor Flame City had vanished into thin air.
The murmurs of disbelief behind him grew louder as everyone stared at the scene in a daze.
The leader bent down, grabbed a handful of charred soil, sniffed it, and his expression grew serious.
“This is the trace left by heavenly fire. Someone used the power of heavenly fire here.”
“It seems Emperor Flame City was burned to ashes by the heavenly fire, with everything—people and structures alike—obliterated.”
“Only the power of heavenly fire could cause an entire city to evaporate like this.”
His words drew gasps from the crowd.
Emperor Flame City was a major city, and the thought of it being completely wiped out was unbelievable.
An elder in the group sighed. “We rushed over as soon as we received the Yan Clan’s distress talisman, yet we were still a step too late.”
“To think Yan Tiexin was forced to self-destruct the heavenly fire, perishing along with all his enemies.”
“But by doing so, he also caused the deaths of his entire clan and countless innocent citizens. What a selfish, despicable act. He deserved his fate.”
The elder's anger was palpable as he looked at the vanished city, his heart bleeding for the loss.
A city like Emperor Flame City was rare even within the Flaming Court Empire, and its disappearance was an immeasurable loss. Once this news reached the imperial capital, it would undoubtedly shock the court and infuriate the emperor.
The leader sighed. “When someone is pushed to their limits, they'll do anything without regard for others’ lives.”
“However, Yan Tiexin’s actions were foolish. If he had simply handed over the heavenly fire, none of this would have happened. There was no need for such a drastic fight, nor for dragging his entire clan and city into ruin.”
Gradually, the leader’s face turned angry, and he shouted, “For the people of the Glorious Moon Empire to dare commit such atrocities in our Flaming Court Empire, this matter must not be taken lightly. Otherwise, where is the authority of our empire's laws?”
“Place a bounty on those individuals immediately. Issue a warrant across the Central Lands for their capture!”
Upon hearing this, the elder showed a puzzled expression and hesitated: "The power of the Heavenly Fire's self-detonation is so immense. Surely, everyone in that group is already dead. Why issue a bounty to capture someone?"
The leader replied in a stern tone: "Appearances must still be maintained. Such a significant event has occurred; as enforcers, we cannot appear to do nothing."
"Moreover, everyone being dead is merely your assumption. My Gu insect clearly sensed the presence of a living person here, indicating that at least one individual has survived."
"Hmph, who could have such incredible luck to survive the might of Heavenly Fire? Issue an order immediately—hunt this person down at all costs."
...
Long Xuan had no idea that a group of law enforcers from the Flaming Court Empire had arrived shortly after he left. Luckily, he was quick on his feet.
After entering the space inside the Heaven-Devouring World's toad body, he immediately picked up the black storage ring, his expression solemn as he studied it carefully.
This storage ring had survived the Heavenly Fire's incineration unscathed, which was a clear indication that it was no ordinary item. Its original owner had already perished, reduced to ashes by the flames.
Now that the storage ring was ownerless, Long Xuan effortlessly extended his soul into it to inspect the treasures inside.
Through the contents of the storage ring, Long Xuan deduced the identity of its original owner.
The ring contained a large number of pill recipes and medicinal pills, along with numerous alchemical texts. It wasn’t hard to guess that the owner of the ring was none other than Master Sun.
Among their group, only Master Sun was an alchemist; no one else could match his expertise.
Upon seeing the pile of King Surging Pills in the ring, Long Xuan couldn’t help but grin.
These pills were intended as payment for the eighty Spiritual Sea Stage Gu Cultivators who had been hired by Master Sun, to be delivered after the mission was completed.
But with everyone dead, these King Surging Pills now naturally fell into Long Xuan's hands.
He could disguise himself as Master Wei and sell these pills in his alchemy shop. Eighty King Surging Pills were no small fortune.
By selling these pills and the other medicinal items in the storage ring, Long Xuan would amass a significant amount of wealth. Once he had sold off all of Master Sun's pills, he could even consider looting everything in Master Wei’s alchemy shop.
This way, he would undoubtedly have the funds required to refine the Blood Lotus Pill.
Long Xuan smirked.
The Blood Lotus Pill was a miraculous pill from novels, capable of increasing the success rate of devouring Heavenly Fire. Once consumed, it would form a thick layer of blood scabs inside and outside the body, shielding the user from the Heavenly Fire's burning effects.
He planned to create this Blood Lotus Pill immediately.
Having already acquired the Sunset Divine Flame as a fire seed, it was only natural to prioritize researching pills that could enhance his success rate of absorbing Heavenly Fire.
The only question was whether such a heaven-defying pill would cause an anomaly or attract a heavenly tribulation.
Long Xuan pondered this deeply.
Suddenly, a thought struck him. He quickly rummaged through the medicinal items in the storage ring until he found a pill bottle containing a white pill.
Looking at the white pill, Long Xuan was overjoyed.
This white pill was the Longevity Pill, the one Master Sun had mentioned, capable of extending life by 300 years.
Who could have imagined that such a priceless treasure would end up in his hands? Fate was truly unpredictable.
However, Long Xuan wasn’t excited about the pill itself. He didn’t lack longevity and wasn’t particularly interested in treasures that merely extended life.
What intrigued him was the process of refining the Longevity Pill.
Since Master Sun possessed this pill, it was highly likely he also had its recipe.
Long Xuan's Suo Gu had undergone its first evolution by devouring a Longevity Gu, altering its innate lifespan. Naturally, the second evolution would require a similar approach—developing a stronger Longevity Gu or Longevity Pill.
The Suo Gu's abilities were of immense importance to Long Xuan, even surpassing those of a peak-grade Gu insect. He had been tirelessly researching the second evolution of the Suo Gu.
However, due to his limited knowledge in this area, he had often hit a creative block, stalling his research on the new Longevity Gu.
Now, with the recipe for the Longevity Pill, Long Xuan could draw considerable inspiration from it. Perhaps he could finally break through the challenges that had been holding him back.
The Suo Gu’s second evolution might not be far off.
As he continued to search through Master Sun's collection, Long Xuan found a recipe labeled "Longevity Pill."
He smiled faintly, picked up the recipe, and quickly skimmed through it, clicking his tongue in amazement.
The materials listed were incredibly rare. Even if he intended to gather everything required for the recipe, it would take him a considerable amount of time.
For such a heaven-defying pill, it was only natural that the ingredients would not be easily obtained.