The vibrant green Evergreen Flower entered the cauldron, instantly enveloped by blue flames. Xiao Heng used his soul force to meticulously control the Devouring Blue Flame's temperature, ensuring it didn't incinerate the herb while extracting its essence as quickly as possible.
As it was his first attempt, Xiao Heng kept the flame low, gradually raising it to find the optimal heat. With the flame's steady roasting, the Evergreen Flower's final traces of essence were extracted, impurities turning to ash at the cauldron's base. He carefully bottled the essence in a jade vial.
The same process followed for the other three herbs. An hour later, all four essences were extracted. Next came the second step: refining the essence of a second-tier ice-attribute magic core.
A diamond-shaped, ice-white crystal was tossed into the cauldron, emitting a faint chill. The surging blue flames swiftly engulfed the second-tier ice magic core, devouring the surrounding cold aura. The blazing Devouring Blue Flame roasted the core's shell, and after about twenty minutes, it melted, revealing a small cluster of ice-white energy.
Refining a magic core for the first time, Xiao Heng cautiously increased the heat, seeking the perfect temperature, which took extra time. Finally, he extracted a medicinal powder, completing the ingredient refinement.
The second phase was fusing the essences. Xiao Heng boldly poured all five into the cauldron, gradually intensifying the flame to a fierce roast for fusion. This stage demanded a stable, flexible temperature range. After half an hour, a dragon-eye-sized pill prototype formed in the cauldron—an irregular sphere, pitted like the moon's surface.
The final step, pill condensation, involved merging the pill prototype with the magic core's energy. The ice-white energy cluster was added, joining the colorful prototype. Under the flame's careful roasting, they fused. Rushing this could ruin everything. Forty minutes later, the energy and prototype blended perfectly. Xiao Heng lowered the heat, nurturing the pill for a few minutes.
A snow-white, dragon-eye-sized pill appeared in his hand, smooth and glossy—at least mid-grade second-tier. Not bad for a first try, he thought.
"Can I see it?" Xiao Yi Xian asked.
"Of course, it's for you." Xiao Heng handed her the pill and its jade vial. She took it gingerly, her face lighting up with a silly grin as she admired the glossy pill before storing it carefully.
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After three hours of meditation, Xiao Heng restored his Two-Star Dou Shi Dou Zhi Qi. The refining had consumed about a quarter of his qi, but with practice, he could reduce it to a fifth or sixth. Efficiency comes with experience, he noted.
Focusing intently, he summoned a pure blue flame—his Devouring Blue Flame's core. Since Xiao Yi Xian didn't need a strong flame, he split off roughly a tenth of its core. The sub-flame looked frail, as if a breeze could snuff it out, but with a tenth of the core's essence, it was unextinguishable.
A weaker sub-flame was easier for Xiao Yi Xian to absorb, and she could nurture it by feeding it her uncontrolled energy and toxins. It could grow rapidly, potentially surpassing his main flame in power, though with fewer functions and under his main flame's control.
"Xiao Yi Xian, you can absorb this sub-flame now," Xiao Heng said.
"It looks so weak!" she remarked, comparing the tiny blue flicker to his robust flame.
"Weak is better for absorption. Feed it energy, and it'll grow strong," he replied.
"How do I do it?" she asked.
"Swallow the second-tier Meridian-Protecting Pill to shield your meridians, then ingest this blue flame. Cycle it through your Calamity Poison Body's unique Dou Zhi Qi path once to tame it. I'll inject the Spirit Container into your dantian's qi vortex. Guide the sub-flame into it, and you're done," Xiao Heng explained. "It might hurt. Stay focused and steady."
Xiao Yi Xian swallowed the pill, a faint white film coating her meridians. She then ingested the sub-flame. Its weakness let her poisonous Dou Zhi Qi dominate it completely. The flame followed her body's unique qi path, reaching the gray-purple Dou Zhi Qi vortex in her dantian, where her Dou Shi qi formed liquid droplets.
Xiao Heng flicked a gray gleam—the Spirit Container—into her dantian. The sub-flame naively entered its space. Sweating profusely, Xiao Yi Xian clenched her hand, summoning a blue flame. It shifted to blue-purple, then split into distinct blue and purple flames—two forms of the same flame.
"There's a trace of my soul imprint on this sub-flame. You can sense my location through it. I can erase the imprint, but then you'd rely on the flames' connection, which is less precise and shorter-ranged," Xiao Heng said. Without the imprint, it'd be a second, weaker Devouring Blue Flame.
"No need. You're my savior and first friend. You'd never harm me," Xiao Yi Xian said earnestly.
"Try feeling its effects," he suggested.
"Mm!" She began nurturing the frail sub-flame with her poisonous qi, dubbing it the Devouring Blue-Purple Flame. She played gleefully, turning one eye blue and the other purple. "Xiao Heng, pretty?"
"Like a celestial beauty!" Xiao Heng never skimped on compliments.
Suddenly, a strange heat surged within her. Xiao Heng's presence felt intoxicating, urging her to pounce. As he used stored energy droplets to restore his flame's lost core, Xiao Yi Xian, face flushed, tackled him to the ground.
Then, Xiao Heng discovered the taste of her saliva. "Mmph!" He squirmed briefly, but her Five-Star Dou Shi strength outmatched his. Why fight this? he thought, abandoning resistance to join her in this impromptu "horizontal exercise eagerly."
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