Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Three Fires of Heaven, Earth, and Man

Three dazzling, radiant crystals suddenly emerged from the backpack, illuminating the stone cave with a brilliant glow. Of the three, one was diamond-shaped and the other two were oval, all of them sparkling and flawless like pure crystal, emitting waves of strange and powerful energy.

It was clear that these three crystals contained extraordinary power.

“Demon cores!” Di Yalan exclaimed, her face alight with delight.

“Ah!” Mu Yudie also gasped softly, her voice filled with joy. “It seems our luck is truly remarkable, to have found demon cores. If we can make it out of the Dark Forest alive, just these three demon cores would be enough to ensure we’d never have to worry for the rest of our lives.”

Di Yalan crouched down, studying the three demon cores intently. After a long moment, she said, “They should be from sixth-level demon beasts, but I can’t tell exactly which beasts they came from.”

“Sister Lan, I’ve heard demon beasts can absorb the energy from demon cores directly. Since these three belonged to the Thunderwing Silver Wolf, why didn't it absorb them to strengthen itself?”

“They say the Thunderwing Silver Wolf recently gave birth to a pup. For a young Thunderwing Silver Wolf to grow quickly, the best way is to absorb the strength of demon cores. If the rumors are true, these three sixth-level demon cores were probably prepared by the Thunderwing Silver Wolf for its offspring.”

“So that’s how it is.”

“The energy within demon cores is an excellent resource for alchemists and artificers. Those people only need a glance to identify which beast a core came from. Well, there are three of us and three demon cores—how about one for each?”

“I didn’t do anything. I’d rather not,” Mu Yudie shook her head, her beautiful eyes glancing at Shi Yan, who was meditating, “I think it’s enough for you two to divide them. I don’t want one. If not for me, you wouldn’t have been in such danger…”

“We’ll decide how to split them when that kid wakes up,” Di Yalan frowned, then lowered her head to rummage through the backpack again.

“Oh!” she exclaimed once more. Di Yalan picked up a transparent jade vial from the ground, staring at the fiery red liquid within, dazed.

The liquid in the jade bottle looked like flickering flames. As Di Yalan shook it, it rippled like a tiny, wavering fire, utterly magical.

Something seemed to dawn on Di Yalan as she gazed blankly at the liquid in the vial.

After a long while, her body trembled and she cried out, “Essence of Earthfire!”

“Congratulations, Sister Lan!”

Mu Yudie, stunned for a moment, quickly realized what it was and exclaimed with delight, “Sister Lan, this is the most valuable treasure for you! I can’t believe how much you’ve gained this time—not only awakening your Martial Spirit, but also obtaining Essence of Earthfire.”

Di Yalan was overjoyed, nodding excitedly as she clutched the vial, barely able to form words. “I—I never expected such fortune. Haha, Essence of Earthfire!”

Shi Yan, who had just finished adjusting his body through three cycles of cultivation, was stirred by the words and opened his eyes to ask, “Essence of Earthfire? What does it have to do with you?”

“What? You don’t know about Essence of Earthfire?” Di Yalan exclaimed in disbelief. “How can you not know something so basic? Are you really a warrior?”

Shi Yan replied indifferently, “Tell me about it.”

“Do you know about the three types of flame: Heaven, Earth, and Human?”

“Not really.”

“Ah, you don’t even know that?”

“No.”

Di Yalan could only shake her head helplessly, as if resigned to Shi Yan’s ignorance. After a pause, she explained slowly, “The three types of flame—Human Fire, Earth Fire, and Heaven Fire. Human Fire, like my ‘Blue Demon Flame,’ is a strange fire within the body of a human warrior, and is the foundation for alchemists and artificers in their cultivation. Every accomplished alchemist or artificer hosts a type of Human Fire within themselves; only then can they reach the profound realms of their crafts.”

Shi Yan nodded, saying nothing, but continued to listen.

Di Yalan thought for a moment, then continued, “Earth Fire and Heaven Fire are flames that exist in nature. For example, the ‘Corefire’ deep within the earth, or the ‘Thousand-Year Volcano Heart Flame’ within the heart of a millennia-old volcano. These are naturally formed. The difference is that one possesses consciousness, and the other does not.”

“What do you mean?” Shi Yan asked with interest.

“Natural fire without consciousness is called Earth Fire. You can think of it as a treasure, like a rare mineral. But Heaven Fire is different. Heaven Fire, like us, possesses consciousness, can think, has wisdom, and wields extraordinary power. It’s the most mysterious lifeform in the world, almost impossible to destroy. Some Heaven Fires have existed since the creation of the Grace Continent.”

Though Shi Yan’s expression remained impassive, his heart was surging with waves of shock.

He did not belong to this world, and the knowledge he had was utterly different. Until now, he had never imagined that flame could possess life, thought, and great wisdom.

Di Yalan’s words deepened his understanding of the world’s marvels. Here, there were all manner of mysteries he could never have dreamed of—Martial Spirits, demon beasts…

“This Essence of Earthfire—is it Earth Fire?” After a long pause, Shi Yan finally spoke again.

“It is the liquid left behind when Corefire transforms into Heaven Fire. It is neither Earth Fire nor Heaven Fire, but something between the two.”

“Corefire can transform into Heaven Fire?” Shi Yan was astonished again.

“Of course. If Earth Fire exists for countless millennia and the conditions are right, it can indeed develop consciousness and transform into Heaven Fire. But this chance is extremely rare, and not all Earth Fires will have the opportunity.”

Di Yalan was radiant with happiness as she explained, “But this Essence of Earthfire is precisely the fiery liquid left behind before Corefire transforms into Heaven Fire. For people like us who possess Human Fire, it is incredibly precious!”

“How so?”

“It can cause Human Fire to change, granting it the powerful attributes of Earth Fire—this is the evolution of the Martial Spirit!” Di Yalan was so excited she nearly danced. “Human Fire comes from the body and rarely surpasses the temperature of natural flames unless the warrior reaches the Divine Realm. Only after multiple enhancements can Human Fire rival the heat of Heaven and Earth Fires.”

“I see.” Shi Yan nodded. “So this Essence of Earthfire can enable your ‘Blue Demon Flame’ to evolve, gaining the scorching heat of Earth Fire?”

“Exactly!” Di Yalan nodded vigorously, her bright eyes shining as she looked at him. After a hesitant pause, she said a little shyly, “Um…”

“No need to say more. The Essence of Earthfire is yours.”

“I…” Di Yalan was overjoyed, but felt she was taking too much advantage and wanted to protest.

Shi Yan said coolly, “It’s useless to me. I don’t have a flame Martial Spirit, so why should I keep it? You take it.”

“If you keep it, you could exchange it in the Valley of the Medicine Kings for any precious pill from the three great Medicine Kings,” she said.

“That’s enough. You keep it.” Shi Yan frowned slightly and said offhandedly, “Isn’t there still a spirit-level martial technique?”

Reminded by his words, Di Yalan quickly rummaged through the backpack again.

“This must be it.” Di Yalan pulled out an ancient, dark yellow scripture, glanced at it, and shook her head. “It’s written in ancient script. I can’t read it. We’ll need an expert to decipher it.”

“Let me see.” Shi Yan reached out for it naturally.

The body Shi Yan now inhabited had been obsessed with exploring ruins. While he had accomplished little in martial arts, his knowledge of ancient scripts and sites far surpassed most so-called sages.

The ancient scroll, dark red and timeworn, passed into Shi Yan’s hands. He glanced at the cover, its characters reminiscent of oracle bone script, and murmured softly, “Magnetic Annihilation Domain…”