Chapter 217: Refining a Tier Five Wood Element Crystal Core!
Outside Bu Li City, Jiang Lin, cloaked in a black robe that concealed his entire body, slightly turned his head to glance at the vast yellow expanse of the city behind him. A faint smile curled at the corner of his lips. Then, he put on a bamboo hat he had casually purchased in the city. Braving the fierce winds, he stepped alone into the desolate wilderness.
As a physician driven by personal interest, Jiang Lin had no concern for other matters. His goal was always the same: complete the transaction and obtain the Tier Six Wood Element Magic Core Crystal.
Judging by the actions of the High Priest of Bu Li and the others, if the werewolf girl with the ancestral bloodline couldn't resolve her bloodline issue, they would have to consider other options—like attempting to pass on her superior werewolf bloodline. But that was no longer Jiang Lin's concern. The Tier Six Violet Spirit Crystal Pill was extremely potent and had taken Jiang Lin over half a month to refine during his stay at the Alchemist Guild.
It contained a highly concentrated amount of crimson-gold Dou Qi, enough for the werewolf girl to slowly refine over the course of an entire year.
"Next, I should find a place to refine the Wood Element Crystal Core in my hand." As he braved the roaring wind, two brilliant feathered sheaths extended from the void and locked onto Jiang Lin's back with a clang. The intense heat instantly burned two holes in the back of his robe, revealing the dark, armor-like gear beneath.
Buzz~
Azure-blue Dou Qi flowed from Jiang Lin's body and condensed on the feathered wings behind him, forming two ethereal, dreamlike blue wings under the sunlight. With a hum, Jiang Lin soared into the sky, disappearing into the endless yellow sands.
Given his current appearance, not even Xiao Yi Xian might recognize him. After all, in the common understanding of the Dou Qi continent, transforming Dou Qi like this wasn't something humans could do. Well… in a way, that was true. Jiang Lin, born from the imperial bloodline, could nearly be considered an entirely new species.
Take the Spirit Race, for example—their full name was actually the Spirit-Human Race. They were considered an advanced species of the human race.
Of course, not even other members of the Spirit Race could pull off what Jiang Lin was capable of.
"There's a cave below. This will do. Time to refine the crystal core." After flying for nearly a day, Jiang Lin took advantage of the night to find an underground lair in the desert and, without hesitation, dove inside.
"Huh… This must've been a magical beast's den, but now it's abandoned. The fact that the Snake-People Tribe can drive off desert magical beasts on such a large scale… truly astonishing." Jiang Lin descended into the dark cave. Crimson-gold flames rose from his hands, illuminating the surroundings clearly.
With a flick of his wrist, he brought out the Qingxuan Universe Cauldron and set it steadily in the center of the cave, which was only about ten cubic meters in size. The cauldron's inner flames automatically ignited, brightly lighting up the space.
"The energy inside the Qingxuan Cauldron is sufficient to assist me in refining a Tier Six Crystal Core. If I had a less capable cauldron, I really would've had to return to the Alchemist Guild to do this." As Jiang Lin sighed, he retrieved from his robes a smooth, egg-sized crystal. Faint green fluorescence glowed within, and the whole crystal was semi-transparent.
"Is it that the higher the rank of the magical beast—or half-beast—the more their magic cores resemble a golden core?" Jiang Lin stared at the pale green glass-like magic core from the Bu Li werewolf and sighed inwardly. The lower the rank of the beast, the more varied the shape of its core. But as the rank increased, the cores evolved toward a more perfectly spherical form.
"Never mind that. Let's begin refining the crystal core." Jiang Lin took out a lump of origin crystal from his spatial ring and tossed both it and the magic core into the Qingxuan Cauldron, starting the long and intricate process of crystal core refinement.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
On a certain night seven days later, a group of figures suddenly flew swiftly across the starry sky above the desert. All of them bore Dou Qi wings—they were all Dou Wang-level or stronger experts.
The leader's wings were especially unique. Under the red glow, they even showed a hint of a mechanical texture. More than that, his wings weren't just two—but four!
Everyone in the group had dark expressions, especially the man flying in front; his face was as black as charcoal.
"Master Gu He, that Queen Medusa was so rude. Truly infuriating!" one of the Dou Wangs behind Gu He said angrily.
This group was Gu He's Heavenly Flame search team. After being shut out by Queen Medusa last time, Gu He had gathered Dou Huang-level reinforcements to try again.
"Sigh… The Snake-People Tribe is extremely powerful. They're not someone we can afford to provoke. The outside world has severely underestimated Queen Medusa's strength," said a calm voice nearby. A Green-Winged Dou Huang flew in the starry sky not far from Gu He.
"Mm, don't lose heart, everyone. This time, the reward I brought is generous. We will succeed," Gu He responded. Gazing at the silent starlit sky ahead, he sighed inwardly. He could basically confirm that Queen Medusa had already found the Heavenly Flame. The only reason she hadn't traded it yet was because he couldn't offer enough in exchange. But he took some comfort in knowing that Queen Medusa couldn't refine the Heavenly Flame—she seemed to be using it to complete some kind of ritual.
As long as she didn't refine it, Gu He believed he still had a chance.
In this world, Heavenly Flames existed in a strange state—both extremely important and not at all. First, only those with fire-attribute Dou Qi could even attempt to refine them. And the higher-ranked flames were vastly more powerful. As for the lower-ranked ones? They existed in a sort of awkward position. The top ten Heavenly Flames were all owned. As for the bottom ten? Many were still unclaimed.
To most powerful combatants who weren't alchemists, the lower-ranked Heavenly Flames—even if acquired—were of limited use in high-level battles. At best, if obtained by chance, they'd be given to a younger clan member to play with.
'Although I don't know the exact identity of that flame, based on records from the two major guilds, it's likely the 19th-ranked Green Lotus Core Flame. That's pretty much the strongest flame I can safely absorb. Any higher-ranked one, I wouldn't be able to protect or keep. Only at this level is it unlikely someone will fight me for it.' Gu He's eyes turned solemn as he gazed at the silent desert under the night, calculating his chances of obtaining the Heavenly Flame.
"Hmm?" Suddenly, Gu He's eyes sharpened. He looked into the distance where a flash of green light had flickered before disappearing!
"Someone's refining equipment in that area?!"
(END CHAPTER)
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