Chapter 116: The Fire Fetus

"What benefit?" Liang Yan asked, stunned.

"If this nascent fire spirit is defeated, it will return to its origin and condense into a primordial fire embryo. The South Bright Li Fire is an incredibly rare and precious flame. If you can find a way to harvest its fire embryo, your strength will surely increase significantly!" Zhao Xunzhen replied.

"Is that so?" Liang Yan looked at her with suspicion. "Since the benefits are so great, why don't you harvest it yourself?"

Zhao Xunzhen shook her head. "This South Bright Li Fire is contrary to my cultivation technique. Not to mention harvesting it, even being near it makes my entire body uneasy. However, you must understand that there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Since I am willing to teach you this method, there will be a time when I need your help later."

"That goes without saying. If I truly succeed in harvesting this South Bright Li Fire, I will certainly do my best to assist you. It’s just that my cultivation is limited; could you perhaps tell me the details of what you need help with so that I may prepare?" Liang Yan asked.

Zhao Xunzhen glanced at him and replied indifferently, "You don't need to worry about that now. Just get through the current situation first; when the time is right, I will naturally tell you."

Liang Yan frowned slightly but nodded. "Fine!"

From that point on, the two stopped talking and stood silently in the middle of the stone bridge, waiting for the moment the fire tornado on the stone platform would vanish.

It is unclear how much time passed, but just as the sky full of firelight had dyed their faces a deep red, the flames in mid-air suddenly flickered, as if a candle had been blown out from above.

Immediately after, the sea of flames spiraled backward, pouring down from above and converging toward the center of the base.

In the blink of an eye, the aggressive, pillar-like fire tornado vanished without a trace, entirely absorbed into the body of the Vermillion Bird fire spirit.

However, after such a long time, the Vermillion Bird fire spirit was clearly exhausted. Its expression grew lethargic, its wings stopped beating, and it slowly descended from mid-air onto the stone platform.

"It is, after all, a newly born fire spirit, its intelligence unawakened, knowing only how to vent its power aimlessly. Hmph, now is the perfect time to deal with it!" Zhao Xunzhen said.

Prompted by her, Liang Yan acted without hesitation.

He drew his Dingguang Sword from his storage bag, channeled his spiritual power into the blade, and lunged toward the Vermillion Bird fire spirit.

The fire spirit let out an angry screech and spat a round fireball from its mouth. The fireball grew as it hit the air, instantly turning into a fire net that descended upon Liang Yan, covering the sky.

Liang Yan’s heart tightened; not daring to take the blow head-on, he pushed off the ground and dodged to the right side of the platform.

He barely escaped the encirclement of the fire net and immediately began weaving hand seals, pointing his right hand like a sword toward the fire spirit from a distance.

Bang!

A thick bolt of blue lightning surged toward the Vermillion Bird fire spirit!

The fire spirit showed panic for the first time, screeching incessantly while flapping its wings violently, conjuring a wall of fire out of thin air before it.

The fire wall collided with the lightning, erupting in visible ripples, and a dull thud echoed that made their eardrums ache.

However, before the fire spirit could react, black mist flashed behind it, and a girl in blue appeared out of thin air.

Her expression was cold, and eerie black mist surged in her hands, accompanied by faint sounds of ghostly wailing—Zhao Xunzhen had also joined the attack.

Appearing like a phantom, she struck the fire spirit’s back with her palm just as it was flapping its wings to maintain the fire wall.

The Vermillion Bird fire spirit tilted its head and let out a mournful cry. It turned to glare at Zhao Xunzhen, its mouth wreathed in flames, as if it were about to spit fire again.

Yet at that moment, a silvery-white lunar radiance pierced through its chest from the front. Seeing that Zhao Xunzhen had succeeded, Liang Yan had lunged forward with his sword. He drove the Dingguang Sword into the fire spirit’s chest and poured all his spiritual power into it.

The Dingguang Sword shone with intense lunar light, wreaking havoc within the fire spirit’s body.

The Vermillion Bird fire spirit let out a few more mournful cries, unable to spit another flame. Its aura plummeted, the divine light in its eyes gradually faded, and finally, its neck went limp as it toppled backward onto the ground.

As the fire spirit lost all signs of life, the deep red flames covering its body did not dissipate; instead, they flowed restlessly before converging toward mid-air.

As the flames peeled away, the body of the Vermillion Bird fire spirit turned into a pile of ashes, which were blown away by the dark winds of the void, leaving no traces behind.

The flames in mid-air condensed, reforming into a deep red orb the size of a fist.

"That is the fire embryo of the South Bright Li Fire. Take it now using the incantation I taught you!" Zhao Xunzhen reminded him from the side.

Liang Yan pondered for a moment, then suddenly waved his sleeve. A small rosewood box flew out, spinning as it opened to release thousands of flying needles—these were Liang Yan's "Red Pine Needles."

He did not follow Zhao Xunzhen’s suggestion to absorb the South Bright Li Fire embryo directly into his body.

The reason was twofold: first, the techniques he cultivated had nothing to do with fire, so it would do little to improve his actual strength.

Second, ever since the incident with Zhu Bufan, he had learned the cruelty of human hearts. Although the two had fought side by side, they were forced by circumstances, and there was no guarantee that the woman wouldn't harbor ulterior motives.

The South Bright Li Fire was so violent that if something went wrong while absorbing it, he might burn himself to death on the spot. Liang Yan would naturally not take such a risk. On the contrary, the Red Pine Needles were originally fire-attributed spiritual weapons, sharing a common origin with the South Bright Li Fire; they would be easier to refine, and for Liang Yan, they would represent a significant increase in combat power.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, reciting the incantation Zhao Xunzhen had taught him, and pointed his hand at the fire embryo in mid-air.

Under his guidance, the smooth surface of the orb began to develop ridges, and it started to spin rapidly in the air.

As the orb spun faster and faster, specks of red light overflowed, guided by Liang Yan’s incantation into thousands of red threads that shot toward the flying needles in the air.

As soon as the Red Pine Needles came into contact with the threads formed by the South Bright Li Fire, they emitted sharp, shrill cries, as if they were immensely excited.

Seeing this, a flash of excitement appeared on Liang Yan’s face. He moved his hands even faster, and the thousands of flying needles, pulled by the threads, curled back and merged into the orb, disappearing from sight.

Inside the orb, the flames flickered, producing a crisp sound like a blacksmith’s hammer striking iron.

Liang Yan finished his incantation and stood up, staring intensely at the deep red orb in mid-air.

Zhao Xunzhen stood to the side, silently observing the situation. Seeing that Liang Yan had not absorbed the South Bright Li Fire into his body as she had instructed, but was instead using it to refine his own spiritual weapon, her expression remained unchanged, though a strange glint flashed in the depths of her eyes.

"It’s done!"

Hearing Liang Yan’s excited voice, Zhao Xunzhen turned to look. The deep red orb in mid-air seemed to have had its essence drained, gradually dimming until it vanished completely.

The thousands of needles within it had turned a deep crimson, radiating such immense fiery power that it made her feel a wave of trepidation.