Beast Tamer Ascension

Vol 3 Chapter 26: The Little Carp’s Adventure

The next day, the Tongtian Tower flying ship departed from Tianqing City. Many were curious about the transformation of Xia Yan, the only son of Pill Sovereign Xia Jie. Among them, the one most aware of the truth was Ling Quan Zun-zhe of the Qingming Commerce Guild.

"This Xia Yan… It seems he underwent his transformation through this Gluttonous Pill. Alchemist Jie Geng should have also interacted with this wandering alchemist… Do you know about the Gluttonous Pill that this wandering alchemist is selling?"

He looked at the bald old man kneeling before him, drenched in sweat.

"R-Respectable One, I-I do know… but I am not an alchemist, so I didn’t realize this Gluttonous Pill had such miraculous effects. If I had known, I would have reported it to the guild right away..."

"I'm not blaming you." Ling Quan Zun-zhe spoke slowly. "You just said that he calls his master a Fifth-Tier Alchemist known as Fire Dragon Pill Sovereign?"

"If that's the case, then this pill likely wasn’t created by him but by his master. A Third-Tier Alchemist at the Foundation Establishment stage is impressive, but they wouldn’t be able to develop such a pill yet."

"Interesting… Fire Dragon Pill Sovereign, huh? I’ve never heard of this name before. Could it be that he isn't a human alchemist but from the demonic beast race?" Ling Quan Zun-zhe pondered.

While the demonic beast race was generally not skilled in alchemy or artifact refinement, there were always exceptions. Some demonic beasts even surpassed humans in certain cultivation arts—like certain monkey demons excelling in spirit brewing…

He truly didn’t know much about alchemists among the demonic beasts.

"Let's go take a look."

…

"Amateur!"

Over at the alchemist’s side, after Jie Geng and Xia Yan, another distinguished guest arrived at the Beauty Hair Pill Pavilion.

Though this individual hadn’t revealed their cultivation level, the alchemist’s innate sensitivity allowed them to sense the powerful presence emanating from the visitor’s soul… It was unmistakable—this was no ordinary elder. At the very least, he was a Nascent Soul cultivator!

Dressed in an opulent blue robe, the elderly man stepped into the pill pavilion. The alchemist immediately rose and quickly guessed his identity.

"Junior greets the esteemed Ling Quan of the Qingming Commerce Guild." They respectfully bowed.

‘It’s easy to recognize you, but I’m not here for formalities. I’m merely interested in this Gluttonous Pill you’re selling. Did you create it?" Ling Quan Zun-zhe approached the Gluttonous Pill, giving it a careful look, deeply intrigued. Р𝘈ƝÒ𝖇ËŜ@@novelbin@@

The alchemist shook their head. "Respectable One, while I did refine this pill, the formula and refining method were actually created by my master, Fire Dragon Pill Sovereign, who passed it down to me."

"This is the exotic flame Crystal Flame. Tell me, how many of your Gluttonous Pills can I exchange for it?" Ling Quan Zun-zhe stretched out his hand, producing a transparent container with a floating blue flame inside.

"Crystal Flame?!" The alchemist licked their lips—this was a high-level exotic flame!

Flames were categorized by quality from highest to lowest: Mortal Extinguishing Flame, Special Spiritual Flames, Low-Tier Exotic Flames, and Top-Tier Exotic Flames.

Mortal Extinguishing Flames referred to mundane flames that lacked spiritual energy, while Special Spiritual Flames were unique flames generated by cultivators using True Qi or True Essence—such as the commonly used Fireball Technique, which was composed of Special Spiritual Flames.

Starting from Low-Tier Exotic Flames, things became significantly rarer. These required cultivation techniques or secret arts to acquire, or they could be naturally formed in special locations.

Many alchemy sects or fire-based sects had cultivation techniques specifically designed to refine Low-Tier Exotic Flames. For example, the purple pill flame used by Xia Yan and Ziling'er from the Pill Cauldron Sect was one such flame.

Such flames could be used all the way up to the Nascent Soul stage without issue, making them a staple in the cultivation world due to their stability and effectiveness.

The Emerging Lotus Heart Flame obtained by Long Li through the Sacred Fire Lotus was also a flame of this tier.

As for Top-Tier Exotic Flames, they were even rarer and nearly impossible to obtain. The Dragon Scales Fire of the Fire Qilin Dragon was an example—it was a Top-Tier Beast Flame and a variant of Top-Tier Exotic Flames, derived from its bloodline inheritance.

However, unlike naturally occurring Top-Tier Exotic Flames, beast flames didn’t start at full power. Instead, their strength grew with the beast’s bloodline.

When a Fire Qilin used its flame at the King-level bloodline, it was vastly different from when it used it at the Emperor-level bloodline. Even if the energy consumption was the same, the latter’s power was exponentially greater.

The same applied to the Netherworld Ghostfire. Though categorized as a Top-Tier Exotic Flame, it had to absorb and burn souls to increase its power. The more souls it consumed, the stronger it became.

For this reason, the demonic cultivators of the Netherworld Hall had cruelly sacrificed countless souls in pursuit of amplifying their Netherworld Ghostfire.

Since Lin Jing and Long Li were righteous cultivators, their Netherworld Ghostfire had yet to reach its full potential.

Most of the time, they just used it to roast mosquito souls.

Compared to human souls—considered the best fuel—these mindless mosquito spirits barely provided any benefits.

The Crystal Flame, on the other hand, was a high-tier exotic flame, and Lin Jing was definitely tempted. If he recalled correctly, the Crystal Flame had the unique effect of countering water-based techniques!

Under normal circumstances, with similar cultivation levels, a water-element cultivator had a natural advantage over a fire-element cultivator in battle.

However, the Crystal Flame was an anomaly. It not only resisted water techniques but could also envelop its wielder, allowing them to move freely underwater as if they were an aquatic creature—like a personal Water Evasion Technique.

"This is great." Lin Jing thought to himself. His little carp had never properly swum in water since birth. He even started to worry whether it could truly dive into the sea when it eventually transformed into a dragon…

If it refined the Crystal Flame, that problem should be solved.

However…

"Senior, at the moment, I may not have enough Gluttonous Pills to exchange for this Crystal Flame. If Senior doesn’t mind, could I have some time to prepare more?"

Though Lin Jing wanted to make the trade immediately, he had already depleted his stock of Gluttonous Pills after encountering the distinguished guests Xia Yan and Jie Geng.

"No problem." Ling Quan Zun-zhe casually tossed the Crystal Flame to Lin Jing and turned to leave.

"Once you’ve refined more, deliver the pills to Qingming Pavilion. I’ll be waiting for you there."

…

After Ling Quan Zun-zhe left, Lin Jing let out a long breath, his tense nerves finally relaxing. Thankfully, the elder hadn’t seen through his disguise…

He casually tossed the Crystal Flame into his Meditation Staff. The Fire Qilin Dragon immediately refined it and even let out a satisfied belch. Seeing this, Lin Jing sensed that if it absorbed one more high-level exotic flame, it would likely reach the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Come out. Refining two exotic flames in succession—if you rely solely on alchemy, you won’t be able to stabilize your power. That will hinder your upcoming Core Formation breakthrough."

"From now on, you’ll train your strength through combat. We’re going to refine a False Core soon, and we’re short on one key ingredient—Monster Cores. Monster Cores are expensive, so we’ll just hunt them ourselves."

"I’m putting you in charge of this mission. Outside Tianqing City, in the Sunset Mountains, there’s a popular hunting ground for rogue cultivators. Prioritize fire-element monsters. If you run into danger, activate this Fire Dragon Pearl—it contains my imprinted Nascent Soul peak-level Fire Dragon Phantom Power…"

Thus began the little carp’s grand adventure. Compared to alchemy, it seemed far more interested in hunting for Monster Cores.