Lan Xiaobu had originally planned to head to the Leafless Forest and enter the Abyssal Relic from there. But now, having obtained the Fire Origin Pearl, he altered his plans. He decided to first find a place to retreat for a while, allowing his Primordial Eternal Flame to advance. Once the Primordial Eternal Flame reached the level of a holy flame, he would reforge his Longevity Halberd.
Advancing the Primordial Eternal Flame to a holy flame, combined with reforging the Longevity Halberd, would significantly boost his strength.
The Abyssal Relic housed several formidable figures, and Lan Xiaobu had always been wary of the one called Meteor. He suspected Meteor was still in the Abyssal Relic, as it was a treasure trove—perfect for someone like Meteor to recover his cultivation and power.
Lan Xiaobu speculated that if Meteor had found some valuable items, combined with the gradual fusion of the Rootless Divine Realm and the Longevity Realm—where the laws of heaven and earth were steadily perfecting and fortune was rising—Meteor might have already stepped into the late Harmony God stage.
Then there was Min Yuan, who had undoubtedly entered the quasi-sage realm. Min Yuan wasn’t your average quasi-sage—not remotely comparable to the first-layer quasi-sage Lan Xiaobu had dispatched so easily.
If Min Yuan had only reached quasi-sage first layer, Lan Xiaobu wouldn’t be concerned. But if Min Yuan had crossed into the First Revolution Sage realm, Lan Xiaobu would have to steer clear for now. A pseudo-sage like Pu Heng had nearly overwhelmed him; Min Yuan was leagues beyond Pu Heng.
That said, Pu Heng’s ability to injure him stemmed largely from that curse-laden punch. If Pu Heng tried the same move now, Lan Xiaobu would at most suffer a light wound and recover quickly.
Three days later, Lan Xiaobu stopped in an area sparse in divine spiritual energy. Hardly anyone came here, and even if he caused a commotion, no one would notice. He casually picked a small mound, set up a concealing divine array, and entered it.
This time, Lan Xiaobu didn’t plan to upgrade his flame within the Cosmic Dimensional Model. With his current strength in the Rootless Divine Realm, he no longer feared robbery from any powerhouse.
He summoned the Primordial Eternal Flame. A pale golden fire danced in his palm like a golden lotus, adorned with nine purple streaks, strikingly beautiful.
This flame had been nurtured richly by Lan Xiaobu, rarely consuming low-grade materials. It had mostly advanced by devouring fire origin crystals. He believed that even among flames of the same rank, few could match the perfection of his.
Lan Xiaobu took out the Fire Origin Pearl again. The Primordial Eternal Flame leaped more eagerly, its deep yearning palpable to him.
He tossed the Fire Origin Pearl into the flame.
Boom! It was as if a volcano erupted. In an instant, the Primordial Eternal Flame surged a hundred丈 high, then a thousand…
Within a radius of dozens of miles, everything was engulfed in fire. Lan Xiaobu himself was wrapped in it. If this weren’t his own flame, he’d likely have been reduced to ash already. Fortunately, his defensive divine array was expansive enough to avoid being consumed by the blaze.
Lan Xiaobu quickly waved his hand, pushing the wildly advancing Primordial Eternal Flame a bit farther away.
At that moment, he could clearly sense the flame’s aura climbing steadily. Beyond that, he felt it absorbing the laws of heaven and earth, as well as their fortune. Dense primal energy from the surroundings was swept in and devoured by the flame.
It needed divine spiritual energy? Without hesitation, Lan Xiaobu grabbed ten top-grade divine spirit veins and tossed them in. He might lack other things, but divine spiritual energy was something he had in abundance.
Sure enough, with the addition of the spirit veins, the flame danced even more jubilantly. Lan Xiaobu even wondered if, at this rate, it might incinerate the very void around them.
Feeling the increasingly potent flame aura, he thought to himself that upgrading it outside was indeed better. Inside the Cosmic Dimensional Model, it wouldn’t have access to this much fortune or the fully developed fire-attribute laws of this space. Moreover, the Rootless Divine Realm’s laws were currently in flux, constantly refining themselves, allowing the flame to experience that process firsthand.
It seemed he’d need to reforge the Longevity Halberd out here too.
Time ticked by. Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense probed inward, detecting that within the roiling flames, the Fire Origin Pearl was splitting into various fire law fragments, all of which were greedily consumed by the Primordial Eternal Flame.
With each law absorbed, the flame ascended another level.
As its master, Lan Xiaobu could vividly sense its evolution. Consuming the Fire Origin Pearl was a qualitative leap, far beyond devouring fire origin crystals.
Three days later, when the Fire Origin Pearl had fully vanished into the flame, the raging fire settled, transforming into a purple flame that landed in Lan Xiaobu’s palm, flickering gently.
As he examined the purple flame, wondering how it differed from before, a sudden, childlike voice rang out, “Big Brother…”
“You’ve birthed a flame spirit?” Lan Xiaobu asked, thrilled.
Advancing a flame to holy status didn’t guarantee a flame spirit. Typically, only when reaching holy flame status did a flame have a chance to develop sentience.
Yet most flames, even upon becoming holy, failed to gain intelligence. The reasons varied—issues with the flame’s origin, insufficient primal energy, and, most crucially, the method of advancement.
Under normal circumstances, who would use a Fire Origin Pearl to upgrade a flame? In some respects, its value rivalled that of a holy flame. Who’d sacrifice it for an upgrade?
But Lan Xiaobu reckoned another factor was at play: the Rootless Divine Realm was undergoing a dramatic shift in its laws, with fortune surging. This allowed the Primordial Eternal Flame to absorb vast amounts of cosmic fortune and comprehend the continuity of laws. These combined factors had birthed its flame spirit.
“Yes, thanks to Big Brother’s Fire Origin Pearl and top-grade spirit veins, I underwent a qualitative change. There’s hardly anything I can’t melt now,” the flame spirit replied. Unable to speak aloud, it communicated through divine will, its voice brimming with pride.
“Good. From now on, you’re Little Tai…” Lan Xiaobu had intended to name it Little Taichu but hesitated, realising it might reveal the Primordial Eternal Flame’s origins.
“Thanks, Big Brother! I’ll be Little Tai from now on!” Before he could reconsider, the flame spirit chirped joyfully.
Lan Xiaobu didn’t dwell on it, pulling out the Longevity Halberd, “This time, you can make it look nice, right?”
“Leave it to me!” Little Tai confidently unleashed a wave of flame, pulling the halberd into its embrace.
In mere moments, the Longevity Halberd began to melt and reshape. Lan Xiaobu tossed in two chaos law crystals and started weaving grand dao hand seals.
The halberd’s chaotic aura faded, its obsolete laws melted away and discarded. The fortune of the surrounding space swept in again, infusing it with killing intent and slaughter dao principles.
Lan Xiaobu was elated—this would enhance the halberd’s killing domain. Refining in the Cosmic Dimensional Model might work, but it lacked this killing aura and the myriad dao opportunities of the open world.
In just one day, the halberd’s blade morphed into a two-foot purple gleam. Its shaft shed its black hue, turning a deep violet.
As Lan Xiaobu inscribed 108 basic restrictions, the Longevity Halberd swiftly took form.
The more he looked, the more he liked it, though he regretted the scant restrictions. He’d aimed for 720, but after just 108 basic ones, it solidified—leaving him with an incomplete feeling, as if the treasure had finished itself mid-process.
Still, this Longevity Halberd was over ten times stronger than its previous black form. Even without holding it, Lan Xiaobu felt a surge of pride. Facing Nuo Yisheng again, could he escape this single strike?
It was a pity it remained a mid-grade divine artifact. Though vastly improved, it hadn’t reached upper-grade status, leaving Lan Xiaobu slightly dissatisfied. This halberd had cost him his most precious treasures, and the root issue was the limited restrictions he’d inscribed.
Boom! A thunderclap roared down.
“Little Tai, move—it’s the Longevity Halberd’s tribulation!” Lan Xiaobu shouted instantly, recognising it as the halberd’s thunder tribulation.
A treasure facing tribulation upon creation signified its heaven-defying nature—yet his was only a mid-grade divine artifact?
Before he could urge Little Tai further, the flame spirit darted aside as a purple streak.
“Come to me!” Lan Xiaobu barely got the words out before another boom erupted.
He stared, dumbfounded, at the Longevity Halberd and Little Tai. Nine arcs of lightning struck the halberd, which, guided by his will, transformed into countless halberd shadows, clashing skyward against the tribulation.
Simultaneously, nine more bolts targeted Little Tai.
In a flash, Lan Xiaobu understood—both his flame and his weapon were undergoing tribulation together?
He hadn’t expected this. The Primordial Eternal Flame hadn’t triggered a tribulation upon becoming a holy flame, yet it did so now, after forging the Longevity Halberd. What did this mean?
