"One must take a chance. With the unusual flame, my success rate in alchemy will also be much higher, and the number of furnace explosions will correspondingly decrease," Xiao Man dove into the deep pool, heading straight down. "Moreover, I've fought my way through danger all along. If I gave up just because of danger, I wouldn't have gotten to where I am today."
The deeper she went, the colder the water became. Even with her cultivation, Xiao Man felt a biting chill. Finally, after descending to a certain depth, she saw a faint light, a tiny cluster of flames emitting a weak glow in the darkness.
Xiao Man sped towards the light.
She finally neared the flame at the bottom of the pool. The flame appeared small, as if it could be extinguished at any moment, yet it burned on stubbornly. The closer she got, the colder it felt.
"Old Qin, what is this unusual flame?"
"It's the Nine Nether Unusual Flame!" Old Qin looked at her in disbelief. "How could something like this be here?"
"Old Qin, what kind of flame is the Nine Nether Unusual Flame?"
"The Nine Nether Unusual Flame is a Heavenly Flame, and it's different from normal flames. Normal flames scald people, but the Nine Nether Unusual Flame freezes them. It's two extremes. This thing is incompatible with your physique and not suitable for you to absorb."
"What are the consequences of absorbing a flame that is not suitable?"
"Death, utter annihilation!" Old Qin said sternly. "Xiao Man, don't be reckless. There are many unusual flames. This Nine Nether Unusual Flame ranks among the Heavenly Flames, second only to the Chaos Sacred Fire, and is on par with the Samadhi True Fire. The Nine Nether Unusual Flame is most suited for demonic cultivation physiques." Sudancx.com
Xiao Man looked at the flickering flame, her brow furrowed slightly. Unusual flame seeds are rare and can't be found by seeking. Since she had encountered such a treasure, how could she let it go? Even if it was extremely dangerous, she had to try. If she couldn't absorb it, she would still find a way to take the Nine Nether Unusual Flame away.
"Old Qin, is there a way to take it away?"
"We probably can't even get close to it," Old Qin's voice was low. "I've heard that flame seeds can also develop sentience. I don't know if this flame seed has sentience. If it does, and you approach it rashly, you could very well be possessed by it."
"It can possess others?" Xiao Man was stunned. After all, her current body, in a sense, was also one she had possessed. If someone else were to take it, she would be finished.
"I've only heard of it, never seen it with my own eyes," Old Qin said slowly. "The Nine Nether Unusual Flame is, after all, a Heavenly Flame. The flame seeds I subdued back then were merely Earth Flames."
"To encounter something good and return empty-handed is not my style," Xiao Man took a step forward. "Old Qin, I want to try."
"Girl, you must think carefully. Heavenly Flames can affect one's personality. This Nine Nether Unusual Flame is a fire of extreme yin and malevolence. Your body may not be able to withstand it!"
"Old Qin, have you forgotten? My enemies are so powerful that a single breath from them could kill me. If I can't even deal with this small flame seed, what right do I have to challenge my enemies?"
"You keep saying your enemies are very powerful. Who exactly are they?"
"I don't know," Xiao Man spread her hands. "All I know is that this person can traverse spatial rifts, come to where I am, slaughter the Qin family who migrated to the lower continent, and captured my mother."
"Does your mother have the inheritance of the Myriad Poison Golden Body?"
"No," Xiao Man said decisively. "If my mother had the Myriad Poison Golden Body inheritance, my father would have been poisoned to death long ago. How could he have lived until I grew up?"
Old Qin nodded as if enlightened. After a moment, he looked at Xiao Man and said, "Are you sure you are your father's biological daughter?"
"Old Qin, have you been eating too many tonics lately that they've muddled your brain?" Xiao Man asked dangerously. How dare he doubt she wasn't her father's daughter!
Old Qin touched his nose with an awkward smile. "I just find it strange. You possess the Myriad Poison Golden Body inheritance, so by rights, your mother should too, unless she abolished her Myriad Poison Golden Body!"
"Abolish the Myriad Poison Golden Body?" Xiao Man was quite surprised. "Can the Myriad Poison Golden Body be abolished?"
"The Myriad Poison Golden Body is just an inheritance; abolishing it is a normal thing. However, abolishing the Myriad Poison Golden Body is no trivial matter. At best, one would suffer severe internal injuries and become frail and sickly thereafter. At worst, the internal toxins would become imbalanced, leading to immediate death." Old Qin said, "Your mother must have loved your father very much."
"Naturally," Xiao Man said with certainty. To be with her father, her mother had abolished her Myriad Poison Golden Body. With such courage, it was evident that her mother loved her father deeply. She wondered where her mother was now and if she was safe.
"You are now the sole hope of the Qin family. If anything happens to you, the Myriad Poison Golden Body of the Qin family will truly be extinguished," Old Qin reminded Xiao Man. "If you die here, you will never be able to find your mother again, nor can you return to your children."
"If I can't even overcome this little difficulty, how can I become a Nascent Soul stage cultivator, how can I defeat my enemies, reclaim my mother, traverse spatial rifts, and return to my homeland?" Xiao Man looked at Old Qin. "Ancestor, do you want your descendant to be a timid, cowardly, and incompetent good-for-nothing?"
"My Qin family has no cowards. Go!"
"Thank you, Ancestor!"
As soon as Old Qin finished speaking, he regretted it. He wanted to call Xiao Man back, but words spoken are like water spilled, impossible to recall. He could only do his best to lend Xiao Man his full support.
Xiao Man wrapped herself in her true qi to maintain her normal body temperature and avoid frostbite, moving rapidly towards the Nine Nether Fire. The closer she got, the heavier the cold. Even her exhaled breath turned into white mist.
Xiao Man reached out towards the Nine Nether Fire. As if sentient, the Nine Nether Fire instantly burrowed into Xiao Man's body!
"Not good!" Old Qin exclaimed. "This Nine Nether Unusual Flame has sentience and wants to possess you!"
Xiao Man felt an icy coldness spread through her entire body, as if it were freezing every drop of her blood, turning her body into a statue. Her eyelids felt heavy as lead, making her want to fall asleep.
"Sleep, you're tired. Sleep, and you won't have to worry about anything."
A voice whispered in her ear, like a lullaby, making Xiao Man's already weary body and mind even more fatigued. She relaxed completely.
A light chuckle echoed in her ear. Xiao Man's eyes snapped open. She had come to absorb the Nine Nether Unusual Flame, not to sleep!
"I didn't expect you to have developed sentience. Too bad, you're not clever enough!" Xiao Man grabbed the Nine Nether Unusual Fire. In the next moment, she found herself in an ice field, an endless expanse of ice under a howling wind that chilled her to the bone. Was this an illusion?