Chapter 664: Chapter 405: The Earth Abyss Fire Sea, About to Activate
After some idle chitchat, Zhao Sheng’s smile faded as he spoke earnestly, “Now that the ‘Life Flame’ has been maintained for over a year, I wonder how effective it has been?”
With a grin spreading across his face, Zhao Fushi said, “Just look at the growth of these Jade Divine Flowers; they truly are more robust and vigorous than their counterparts from the same period. According to my calculations, their growth rate has at least doubled.”
Hearing this, Zhao Sheng estimated and said, “In other words, what would normally take a thousand-year-old Jade Divine Flower now only needs four to five hundred years to mature?”
“Judging from the growth, it does seem so, but you can’t just look at one aspect. After considering the labor costs, whether we ultimately profit or lose is another matter altogether!”
Zhao Sheng looked at a Golden Core Cultivator in a red robe nearby and nodded in agreement, “Indeed, it seems the ‘Life Flame’ technique still needs significant improvement.”
“Good things come to those who wait! Oh, I must congratulate you. Congratulations, you can now be considered a master who has established his own sect, destined to leave your name in the annals of immortals. To be honest, I’m quite envious of you,” Zhao Fushi said, his face brimming with envy by the end.
“Ancestral God of Fortune, why would you say such a thing?” Zhao Sheng’s heart stirred, and he couldn’t help asking.
Zhao Fushi glared at him and said in an acerbic tone, “Don’t pretend you don’t understand, you rascal. With the infinite potential of the ‘Life Flame’ Dao Skill, more similar middle and low-rank techniques will certainly be derived in the future. If things progress normally, the Tianzhu Realm’s first Fire Element Spirit Farmer might well come from our Southern Sky Zhao Family.”
“In Tianzhu Realm, there should be many Fire Element Spirit Farmers, right? Ancestral God of Fortune, aren’t you exaggerating a bit?”
Zhao Sheng was still trying to be modest, but Zhao Fushi, as if he had swallowed gunpowder, yelled out angrily, “You’re deliberately playing dumb, aren’t you? Can these two be compared? Merely with your unprecedented method of rapid maturation, you can proudly call yourself a Great Grandmaster. In no need of centuries, the Fire Element Soul Boosting Technique will surely become prevalent in the world.”
“And another thing, don’t be too preoccupied with refining treasure. Hurry up and improve ‘Life Flame’, then simplify it as soon as possible and deduce more Soul Boosting Techniques. You must realize that this is the real grand affair!”
Seeing that the other party was serious, Zhao Sheng had no choice but to nod in agreement, “You are right in your teaching, Ancestral God of Fortune. When I return, I will immediately dedicate all my efforts to improving the ‘Life Flame’ Dao Skill.”
After that, he called over the Golden Core Cultivator in a red robe and began to carefully inquire about the cultivator’s experiences.
An hour later, based on the feedback, Zhao Sheng once again divided his Divine Thought into thousands of strands, making meticulous adjustments to the structure of the Dao Skill.
One hour after that, following Elder Fu’s description, Zhao Sheng began again…
This process of continuous fine-tuning went on for a full three days and nights.
On the morning of the fourth day, following an order from Zhao Fushi, twenty-two Fire Element Foundation Establishment Cultivators from Divine Dragon Valley rushed to the Ten Thousand Medicine Garden for instructions.
Zhao Sheng released twenty-two rounds of “Sun” in the Medicine Garden, then personally taught the Foundation Establishment Cultivators how to link the Dao Skill with their Divine Sense, as well as how to maintain the undying ‘Life Flame’.
On the fifth day, Zhao Sheng returned to his cave mansion on Binghuo Peak and immediately hung up a seclusion sign to start a new round of closed-door cultivation.
The reason for the seclusion was twofold: one was to deduce Dao Skills, and the other was because the Hundred Flames Tripod was newly completed and needed constant nurturing and Sacrificial Refining day and night.
Afterwards, he would emerge from seclusion every two or three months to discuss with Zhao Fushi and a group of Fire Element Foundation Establishment Cultivators at the Ten Thousand Medicine Garden, and then, based on the feedback, adjust the subtle flaws in the ‘Life Flame’ Dao Skill.
As time passed, the activity at the Ten Thousand Medicine Garden grew increasingly conspicuous. It attracted the attention of many high-ranking individuals from the Zhao Family, even awakening all of the Nascent Soul Ancestors.
After just one visit to the Medicine Garden, a group of Nascent Soul Ancestors immediately recognized the importance of the ‘Life Flame’ Dao Skill, so they issued a gag order to everyone privy to the information and sealed off the news from the outside.
However, it was already too late by that time!
Divine Dragon Valley, as the core stronghold of the Southern Sky Zhao Family, had long been infiltrated by countless spies from other forces.
The changes in the Ten Thousand Medicine Garden over the past year had already alerted those sharp-nosed secret agents, and the information had in fact been leaked long ago.
Consequently, the high-ranking authorities of the Southern Sky Zhao Family soon discovered that over the past few months, more and more “friendly” forces had been sending representatives under the guise of visits and exchange, eagerly coming to Divine Dragon Valley.
A notable number of these visitors were Alchemists who struck up relationships with the Zhao’s native Alchemists, exchanging various alchemical methodologies and medicinal cultivation experiences, all the while craftily probing information about the Ten Thousand Medicine Garden.
Fortunately, the Zhao Family was prepared and had cloaked the “experimental fields” with an Illusion Array Barrier early on, completely preventing outsiders from spying.
But how could such tricks stop those who were determined?
Among all the visiting forces, the Weaver Dong Family was especially shameless. Banking on generations of marriage alliances with the Zhao Family and their close relationship, they had the audacity to shamelessly request involvement.
Zhao Changdu, Zhao Fushi, Qu Feng, and a few others held a closed-door meeting, and after consulting with Zhao Sheng, they decided to allow the Weaver Dong Family, Purple Sun Sect, and Ksitigarbha Sect—few of the forces with the closest relations—to join the experiment.
Of course, these families had to pay a considerable price, including a hefty sum of Innate Gold Essence.
But upon realizing the significant value of ‘Life Flame’, these forces instantly felt that everything was…very much worth it!
At the same time, Zhao Sheng became increasingly well-known, with many Nascent Soul Ancestors finally remembering this promising member of the Zhao’s Nascent Soul.
…
Time flows like water, and in the blink of an eye, another two years had passed.
On the third day of the ninth month, the atmosphere was tight inside Divine Dragon Valley despite the calm exterior, with all outside visitors having been refused entry three days prior.