Daoling felt deeply frustrated. After struggling to reach the ninth floor and temper his body, he had found no inheritance. Discovering a golden scroll in a ransacked alchemy chamber had raised his hopes, only for a catastrophe to strike at the critical moment—the most intense death aura he'd ever felt, even surpassing that of the tenth floor.
A琉璃色 (colored-glass) flame had engulfed him, burning away his clothes and hair, leaving him bald and his body charred black, with fire tongues licking from within. "Dammit!" he roared inwardly, pain searing his soul as his skin cracked inch by inch. His formidable body had been incinerated on contact, testifying to the flame's horror.
He gulped down Life Essence Liquid, but the scorched husk's regenerative waves were swiftly consumed by the flame. After downing three drops, he managed to sit up and运转 (circulate) his technique to resist, his face contorted in agony as he channeled surrounding energy to rebuild his body.
The glass flame, supremely yang and domineering, incinerated layers of vacuum, creating a black hole in the alchemy chamber that spewed ominous light. "Yin and yang counteract!" Daoling activated his innermost yin energy, releasing chilling aura that slightly eased the burning. Recovery remained arduous—his flesh was necrotic, requiring the flame's expulsion for gradual healing.
After an hour, Daoling's body was torn asunder, sustained only by sheer willpower. "I can't wait to die," he thought desperately, eyeing the golden scroll in the pill furnace. "Ancient Alchemy Classic!" he read, scowling—what use was an alchemy tome now?
Then his eyes lit up: *Alchemists can subdue flames into pill fires. If I subdue this flame, I can solve the crisis!* He knew only by expelling the glass flame could he heal, and this was his last hope.
His斗志 (fighting spirit) flared as he studied the scroll's methods for taming pill fire. "No wonder so many alchemists perish," he marveled. "Subduing primal pill fire requires flame body tempering—madness!" This was exactly his situation: surviving flame tempering would forge a bond between his body and the flame, enabling subjugation.
Alchemists usually prepared life-saving measures for this perilous process. Daoling still had five Life Essence drops. As one drop dissolved, nourishing his wounds, he endured another hour. Three drops later, after half a day, only his soul remained, but the glass flame weakened—prime time for subjugation.
His焦黑 (charred) fingers traced arcane patterns. Thanks to his逆天 (heaven-defying) deductive ability, he deciphered the control seals. The Ancient Alchemy Classic's seals wove a net, trapping the flame and drawing it into his body, where life force separated it from his flesh.
As the temperature subsided, Daoling absorbed energy to heal, simultaneously sealing the flame. Half a month passed before he recovered, his body still charred but pulsing with terrifying energy, nearing the limit.
The next day, his scorched skin cracked, revealing golden radiance. A surge of life force shook the area, his skin glowing with metallic hardness as he regenerated. Black hair sprouted, gleaming with gold, and he shed a layer of old skin—an accidental脱胎换骨 (reincarnation), a rare life transformation usually requiring vast treasures. Now he possessed a legendary treasure body, pure and fragrant, with body and soul unified.
Daoling stood at a peak, his aura erupting skyward. "Break for me!" he roared, triggering a天地动荡 (heaven-earth upheaval). A shadow of a少年天神 (young celestial god) emerged, signifying his arrival at the Ninth Heaven Peak—the highest mortal realm, boundless and free.
"Broken the limit with my own potential… Is this a Saint Body?" he wondered, as the glass pill fire flickered in his palm, burning through vacuum. Though small, its primal essence held enormous growth potential, needing to devour various fires—heterofires, beast fires, heavenly fires, divine fires—to grow.
Grinning, Daoling held the Ancient Alchemy Classic, a supreme technique. Before attempting the tenth floor, he decided to master a divine ability. "Yin-Yang Palm!" he thought. Having tempered with yang flame and mastered yin energy, he now combined both.
Cross-legged, he channeled yang in his left hand, yin in his right, forming a yin-yang diagram. The energies merged, birthing a yin-yang fish in the void, transforming into a giant hand that drew in surging life force. This divine ability could harness energy across vast distances, even draining dozens of li of aura when fully unleashed. The yin-yang hand, though ethereal, emanated godlike might, hinting at a hidden yin-yang sea.