Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 221: Chapter 221 Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire

Xiong Bin snorted coldly, his voice dripping with disdain. ”Don’t worry. The Qingyun Sect is already at the end of its rope. Zhang Dingqiang, that old fellow, won’t hold out much longer, and the other two Qingyun Sect disciples are already exhausted. It won’t be long before the Qingyun Sect’s Alchemy Furnace explodes!”

Xiong Bin’s words were not unfounded but were the conclusion of careful observation.

Just as Xiong Bin finished speaking, the other two third-rank Alchemists from the Qingyun Sect finally could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground.

”Hahahaha! The Qingyun Sect is finished!” Cheng Zhibin burst into loud laughter at the sight. Now, with no substitute Alchemists left and only Zhang Dingqiang and his two companions remaining, their hope of concocting the Heavenly Origin True Soul Pill was nothing but a fool’s dream.

And just as Xiong Bin had predicted, the pressure on Pavilion Master Zhang and the others increased sharply once the two Alchemists fell.

Ye Qingchen couldn’t help but frown. He had already pushed the Fen Tian Earth Fire to its absolute limit. The collapse of his two teammates caused a sudden drop in the Alchemy Furnace’s temperature. Although it wouldn’t explode immediately, it couldn’t hold out for much longer. If this continued, an explosion and failure were only a matter of time.

”Pavilion Master Zhang, what should we do?” Vice-Pavilion Master Liu asked anxiously, having also noticed the situation inside the Alchemy Furnace.

Pavilion Master Zhang’s tone was tinged with unwillingness as he said, ”All we can do now is our humanly best and leave the rest to fate! Let’s give it our all. Even if we fail, we must have no regrets!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Pavilion Master Zhang channeled all his Soul Power, desperately sustaining the Alchemy Furnace. Not to be outdone, Vice-Pavilion Master Liu also unleashed his full strength, striving for this one final attempt.

The actions of the two Pavilion Masters greatly moved Ye Qingchen. The competition has reached this point. It’s just as Pavilion Master Zhang said, we should give it our all and leave no regrets.

At this thought, Ye Qingchen actually pulled back a trace of his Soul Power, causing the temperature of the Fen Tian Earth Fire to drop slightly. Fortunately, the all-out efforts of Pavilion Master Zhang and Vice-Pavilion Master Liu kept the temperature in the Alchemy Furnace from becoming unstable.

Ye Qingchen decided to take a gamble. Pavilion Master Zhang and Vice-Pavilion Master Liu couldn’t hold on for much longer. The only chance to successfully concoct the Heavenly Origin True Soul Pill was for him to enhance his own strength. And the best way to do that was to fuse with a Spirit Fire Seed.

Fusing with a Spirit Fire Seed under these circumstances was extremely dangerous. A slight mishap could not only cause the Alchemy Furnace to explode but could also cause the Spirit Fire Seed to backlash against Ye Qingchen’s body. A failed fusion would result in serious injuries at best; at worst, it could lead to demonic cultivation or even death.

But Ye Qingchen didn’t hesitate. Fortune favors the bold! If I’m always scared and hesitant, I’ll never achieve anything.

While still controlling the Fen Tian Earth Fire, he distractedly retrieved a piece of jade and a vial of Fire Poison from his storage ring. He then carefully dripped the Fire Poison onto the jade.

Ye Qingchen’s sudden move instantly drew the attention of everyone present.

”What is Ye Qingchen doing?” Qin Yue, who had been watching him closely, was the first to notice and asked in confusion.

No one could answer her. In the Qingyun Sect’s rest area, everyone, including Qin Zhantian, held their breath as they watched the events on the stage. Though puzzled by Ye Qingchen’s actions, no one dared to speak up and disturb him.

Xiong Bin and Xiong Hai exchanged a disdainful glance. ”As the saying goes, don’t trust a boy to do a man’s job,” Xiong Bin sneered. ”That kid just advanced to a fourth-rank Alchemist and already thinks he’s someone important. How dare he get distracted during such a crucial competition! He won’t even know what hit him when he dies!”

Unlike the scornful brothers, Cheng Zhibin stared intently at the jade in Ye Qingchen’s hand. His pupils suddenly narrowed as he said, ”That jade stone... if I’m not mistaken, that’s the very one Ye Qingchen won after bidding against me at the auction, isn’t it?”

While Cheng Zhibin was still pondering, Ye Qingchen finished pouring the Fire Poison onto the jade. The stone shattered with a crack, and a wave of heat instantly swept over the stage.

Cheng Zhibin’s pupils shrank. After the jade broke apart, a strange and bewitching Spiritual Fire floated beside Ye Qingchen. The heat wave had emanated from this very flame.

”Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire?” Xiong Bin gasped, his mouth hanging open in shock.

”Master, did you say that’s Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire?” Cheng Zhibin asked in disbelief. Although he had sensed the flame’s extraordinary nature, he never imagined it could be the legendary Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire.

”Grandfather! That jade stone is the one Ye Qingchen won at our Rising Sun Pavilion auction!” Qin Yue exclaimed excitedly to Qin Zhantian after her brief confusion passed. ”At the time, no one in our pavilion could identify what was inside, but to think it was actually the Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire! And with quality this high, it must be worth tens of thousands of Low-grade Spirit Stones!”

When Ye Qingchen had bought the jade for six thousand Low-grade Spirit Stones, Qin Yue had thought he’d been ripped off. It turned out he had known all along that an Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire was hidden within.

A bitter regret flooded Cheng Zhibin’s heart. I had a chance to get the Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire that day, but I treated the jade like worthless junk! I even drove up the price just to mess with Ye Qingchen. If I had known it contained the Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire, I would have fought him to the bitter end for it!

Cheng Zhibin was filled with regret, smacking his head in frustration.

Just as everyone was reeling from the appearance of the Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire, Ye Qingchen made a move so shocking it caused every jaw to drop.

He grabbed the Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire and swallowed it in a single gulp.

”That’s a Spiritual Fire! He just swallowed it? Is he tired of living?”

”That kid’s only at the Martial Master Realm, yet he dares to swallow the Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire raw? He’s definitely a dead man!”

Voices of doubt rose from the crowd. Of course, some who recognized Ye Qingchen watched thoughtfully, recalling how he had revealed his Fen Tian Earth Fire during the youth competition. To dare swallow the Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire now... he must have some kind of ace up his sleeve.

In fact, Ye Qingchen had no preparations. It was only his indomitable spirit that made him willing to take the risk.

He remembered subduing the Fen Tian Earth Fire. Back then, he had prepared Heart-Protecting Pills and vein-protecting pills before daring to attempt the fusion. Even with those preparations, he had nearly died before he succeeded.

Although the grade of the Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire was lower than the Fen Tian Earth Fire, swallowing it raw like this was still an appallingly reckless act.

The moment Ye Qingchen swallowed the Ancient Jade Spiritual Fire, his face flushed crimson, and blood began to seep from his pores.