BTTH : Emperor Yang

Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Alchemy and Small Talk

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**

Inside the bronze cauldron, a palm-sized black sun floated, gently trembling.

A faint black glow emanated from it, dyeing the entire interior of the cauldron into a dim, shadowy world.

Even the lighting in the great hall outside grew darker as a result.

Xiao Yan licked his lips slightly, his gaze burning with heat as he stared at the black sun, full of anticipation in his heart.

Heavenly Flame!

His fists clenched unconsciously.

Of the three people present, Yao Lao had the Bone Chilling Flame, ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

Wei Yang possessed the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame, currently ranked twenty-fourth...

Only Xiao Yan was still using beast flame.

...

Yao Lao narrowed his eyes slightly, each of his pupils reflecting a black sun.

Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame!

Its appearance was like a black sun—blazing and ferocious. Wherever its light reached, all was burned to ash.

So this is where its name comes from? Quite fitting.

What a terrifying Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame!

Even Yao Lao couldn’t help but marvel at the nature of this flame.

Even its light could harm people—just like a scorching sun. Truly fearsome.

This is yang fire...

Yao Lao couldn’t help but think of the deal they made earlier—

A Quasi-Heaven Grade cultivation technique: Great Sun Burning Heaven Art!

Ahem, seems I was too quick to judge the boy.

How sly of Wei Yang. Back then, he passed up a Low-Level Heaven Grade cultivation technique and chose a Quasi-Heaven one instead. I had thought it was because of his shallow understanding and greed for the matching Quasi-Heaven Grade Dou Technique.

Turns out... he had planned it all along.

No wonder he gave up the Green Lotus Core Flame without hesitation.

No wonder he used the information on Falling Heart Flame and Sea Heart Flame as bargaining chips, completely indifferent to keeping them.

Yao Lao let out a bitter chuckle in his heart.

Well then. Now that he has yang fire, it’s likely that the cultivation technique has already advanced into a full Heaven Grade, and the matching Dou Technique as well.

Yang fire, plus a perfectly matching Heaven Grade cultivation technique and Dou Technique!

Even Yao Lao found himself feeling a bit jealous of Wei Yang now.

This kind of luxurious setup—he truly started at the peak. It’s hard to imagine just how far he might go in the future.

At the very least, Dou Zun peak is guaranteed!

If he pushes hard enough, even Nine-Change Dou Zun might not be out of reach.

As for Ban Sheng and beyond, that’s still too far ahead to say.

At this moment, Yao Lao couldn’t help but feel a tinge of regret.

If I’d known that this kid could achieve such results even when left to grow wild... I should’ve just taken him in as an official disciple back then.

Not even a personal disciple—just an outer disciple would’ve been enough, just to have that bond, that security!

Even if Xiao Yan ended up ruined...

Uh...

Yao Lao let out a dry chuckle.

What an old fool I’ve become.

He shook his head with a smile.

But this isn’t bad either.

After spending this time together day and night, their relationship had grown much closer. Wei Yang treated him with deep respect, honoring him as a teacher. One could say he was half an outer disciple now.

And Wei Yang came from Wu Tan City, close with Xiao Yan.

This was a good connection to have—a relationship of both affection and loyalty.

In the future, if something comes up, a word from him with a small price, and Wei Yang would probably help without much hesitation.

Truthfully, the reason Yao Lao had been so attentive in teaching Wei Yang lately—aside from their previous deals and Wei Yang’s talent—was also because he valued the young man more and more.

Yao Lao narrowed his eyes, carefully sensing the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame. ”Its power and traits can probably barely match a low-level Dou Huang. With the support of Wei Yang’s Heaven Grade technique, their synergy might even rival a mid-level Dou Huang.”

”It seems to have slightly less spiritual intelligence compared to a mature Green Lotus Core Flame, very low sentience. Not sure whether its essence is still in the infant stage, the growth stage, or already mature...”

”If its essence is still in the infant stage, then this newly emerged Heavenly Flame holds terrifying potential! Its future achievements might even match or surpass the top ten flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking—maybe even stronger than my Bone Chilling Flame!”

...

Time passed slowly.

The great hall remained silent.

No one dared to approach this area uninvited.

Nearby patrolling Snake-People guards and waiting Snake-People maidservants would occasionally glance in the hall’s direction, eyes filled with reverence and awe.

Alchemists—worthy of respect, even among the Snake-People.

...

Inside the cauldron, the black sun floated at the center, trembling slightly. Black flames roared atop it, and a faintly mysterious ripple of energy radiated from within.

It was the aura of the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame.

At the moment, the flame seemed excited and joyful—

Like it had found something fun to play with.

This was its first time refining pills, and even with its vague and undeveloped consciousness, it seemed to feel a fresh curiosity.

Those medicinal liquids, filled with pure energy, were being wrapped by it—seemingly making it feel content, even happy.

Alchemy—seemed to be some kind of instinctual behavior for flames.

Wei Yang smiled, and responded slightly with his spiritual perception.

He praised it, complimented it.

Affirmed its performance during this first attempt at refining.

Instantly, it seemed even more excited, trembling faster, radiating joy.

”Calm down, focus on your work—don’t ruin my ingredients!” Wei Yang was startled and quickly tried to soothe it.

It was the crucial moment of pill condensation.

If you get too excited and suddenly raise your temperature, wouldn’t that cause the cauldron to explode?!

Thankfully, the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame slowly calmed down again.

Wei Yang let out a soft breath, a subtle and inexplicable smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

It might be new and novel now, but there’ll be plenty of chances for you to experience it in the future.

From now on, you’re basically a bonafide working flame—what’s there to worry about when it comes to refining pills?

Even though he was currently at a critical stage in the pill condensation process, Wei Yang’s mental state was surprisingly relaxed, showing no signs of strain.

With a Heavenly Flame at hand and a high-quality cauldron to work with, he didn’t even need to divide his focus to manage the cauldron—naturally, the process felt effortless.

Effortless despite the weight.

After all, with his powerful soul and a seemingly endless reservoir of Dou Qi, the rate of consumption was even slower than the speed at which his cultivation method replenished it on its own.

Unlike Xiao Yan in the early stages—whose cultivation technique wasn’t high grade enough—he often ran out of Dou Qi mid-refinement and had to pop pills to recover.

Off to the side, Yao Lao observed all this and couldn’t help stroking his beard in admiration.

”This Heavenly Flame... while its spiritual intelligence seems a bit inferior to the Green Lotus Core Flame, it possesses a kind of peculiar liveliness. It actually gives off the impression of being highly intelligent—like an innocent and eager-to-learn child... It seems its future accomplishments will surpass those of the Green Lotus Core Flame.”

That was Yao Lao’s evaluation of the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame.

”Mhm, I feel the same. It’s very lively and cute—sometimes even quite mischievous and playful,” Wei Yang responded with a smile.

Just like a loving father gazing at his newborn child with affection and doting indulgence.

And the Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame was just like a toddler, having just learned how to crawl—adorable in its innocence and curiosity.

Yao Lao’s description wasn’t wrong.

Though its current spiritual intelligence was limited due to its youth, it still exuded a kind of innate cleverness and vitality.

As it matured, its intelligence would inevitably grow stronger.

The reason it currently seemed less intelligent than the Green Lotus Core Flame was simply because it was still a young flame, whereas the Green Lotus Core Flame was already in its mature stage.

”Master, is there really a difference between spiritual intelligence and liveliness among Heavenly Flames?” Xiao Yan asked curiously from the side.

”There most certainly is,” Yao Lao explained, stroking his beard. ”Just like humans are born with different levels of innate talent—some are geniuses, others mediocre—Heavenly Flames are the same!”

”Though it might be a little odd to describe a Heavenly Flame’s potential using the term talent, the idea is about the same.”

”Heavenly Flames with greater innate potential will naturally achieve greater accomplishments in the future. Otherwise, do you think the Heavenly Flame Ranking was compiled arbitrarily?”

”The rankings primarily reflect each flame’s potential for future growth.”

”And reality has proven those rankings to be quite accurate!”

”The higher-ranked the flame, the greater its power. The gap between a top-ten Heavenly Flame and those ranked lower is immense. Especially the top five—aside from the Life Spirit Flame, the rest like the Nihility Devouring Flame, Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, Gold Emperor Incinerating Heavenly Flame... which one isn’t capable of incinerating the heavens and boiling the seas?”

”In short, Heavenly Flames also differ in terms of talent and potential. The higher the innate potential, the greater their future achievements,” Yao Lao concluded.

Wei Yang and Xiao Yan both nodded.

”Here, let’s say someone offers to trade you a mature Heavenly Flame ranked outside the top ten in exchange for a young flame ranked within the top ten—would either of you accept that trade?” Yao Lao asked.

”Of course not!” Wei Yang and Xiao Yan answered in unison without even needing to think.

”There you go,” Yao Lao smiled. ”Everyone knows there’s a huge gap between the top ten and the rest! Even a young flame in the top ten isn’t something you’d trade for a mature one ranked lower.”

”Because those top-ranked flames have extremely high growth potential! Sure, they may be immature now, but their future is immeasurable. Only a fool would trade one away.”

While Wei Yang kept his focus on the pill condensation process, a slight frown crept onto his face.

Something doesn’t add up here...

If the ranking is based on growth potential, then why are the Yin-Yang Twin Flame and the Mysterious Yellow Flame ranked so low?

Yin-Yang, Mysterious Yellow—just from the names alone, they sound extraordinary.

And yet, bizarrely enough, those two were at the bottom of the ranking—literal bottom-feeders.

One ranked twenty-first. The other, twenty-third...

Yin and Yang—those were the fundamental laws of the universe.

Mysterious and Yellow—the fundamental structure of the world itself.

The phrase ”Yin-Yang of the cosmos, Heaven and Earth’s Mysterious Yellow” wasn’t just for show.

Even cultivation techniques and Dou Techniques were divided into the four grades: Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Huang.

Don’t tell me they really don’t understand that?

It was truly incomprehensible.

Xiao Yan clearly had the same thought, exchanging a silent glance with Wei Yang. Both furrowed their brows in confusion.

Coming from Earth, they’d both been at least somewhat influenced by Taoist philosophy.

So they knew exactly what Yin-Yang and Mysterious Yellow represented.

And yet here, on the Dou Qi Continent, these concepts had been relegated to the very bottom of the Heavenly Flame Ranking?

Even if they didn’t grasp the Dao, the path of cultivation was ultimately a journey toward the same truth.

Should they laugh at the ignorance of those who feared what they didn’t understand?

Or was it simply a lack of vision?

Or perhaps... Yin-Yang and Mysterious Yellow operated at a level so profound that the Dou Qi Continent’s current understanding and cultivation system couldn’t fully interpret them—thus giving rise to these so-called Heavenly Flames that were but poor imitations, the result of blind emulation?

Maybe that was the only explanation that barely made sense.

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/YaoIk