Like dry kindling meeting fierce fire, the searing energy, upon entering his meridians, caused the spiritual power within to boil and burn, nearly throwing Nie Kong from his feet.

Nie Kong hurriedly interrupted the "Five Star Movement Art," but the thread after thread of scorching heat showed no sign of stopping, ceaselessly flowing from the blood cocoon into his body.

He was utterly hooked!

At this moment, Nie Kong could clearly sense streams of blood-red filaments piercing through the emerald green spiritual power in his meridians, flowing like water, rapidly extending along his neck, arms, and legs. Their destination: the "Three Spirit Acupoints" located in Nie Kong’s Dantian.

Damn it, I have a Wood-attribute physique, why is Fire elemental energy crashing this party!

Nie Kong’s entire body felt scorched, and he cursed inwardly in anger. But curse all he liked, he dared not let them linger inside him. Thus, Nie Kong circulated the only spiritual technique he knew, attempting to slow the speed at which the searing energies rushed towards the "Three Spirit Acupoints."

The Five Star Movement Art, being the lowest-grade general spiritual technique, was clearly inadequate for Nie Kong's current cultivation needs; his control had utterly failed to take effect.

“Hiss!”

The searing energy pressed forward relentlessly. Moments later, they burst into the rapidly vibrating acupoints from all directions, igniting a thunderous roar.

“Boom!”

It was as if dozens of pounds of explosives had ignited inside the Three Spirit Acupoints, violently scattering a ferocious and tyrannical aura. In an instant, Nie Kong’s meridians resembled a flurry of miniature tornadoes, with Wood and Fire attribute spiritual energies intertwining chaotically.

During this critical time, the Fire elemental energy contained within the blood cocoon continued to pour into his body, causing Nie Kong’s physical temperature to rise again and again.

“Ugh!”

Nie Kong could not help but groan out loud.

He resembled a shrimp being roasted over a furnace, his body hunched over and trembling, permeated by a blazing red light from the outside in. The searing pain transmitted to his heart made Nie Kong feel as though his soul and body were gradually being converted into ash, his consciousness growing hazy.

“Ayaya!”

Sensing Nie Kong’s dire situation, the little creature hiding in the hidden acupoint, undisturbed by the scorching heat, cried out in alarm. Seeing Nie Kong in a stupor, the little creature panicked, and its roots, which had only recently retracted, suddenly extended out of the Yaochi Acupoint, resting against the sidewalls of the three acupoints.

The emerald green aura flowed through the tender roots, pouring into the three acupoints like streams of pure spring water, and a sensation of coolness rapidly spread.

“Xiangxiang!”

Nie Kong’s mind cleared slightly, and the dull, heavy sensation eased marginally.

Ayaya! The little creature cheered excitedly, its two leaves shaking rapidly, sending more emerald green energy into Nie Kong’s Three Spirit Acupoints.

Nie Kong gritted his teeth fiercely. Taking advantage of this rare moment of clarity, he resumed circulating the Five Star Movement Art. Nie Kong knew very well that the emerald green substance released by the little creature was the purest medicinal essence, its very life essence; if too much were lost, the little creature might truly wither away.

If he could not take advantage of the opportunity created by the little creature to set his internal spiritual energy back on the right path, all its sacrifice would be in vain.

Burning spiritual power, torn meridians, boiling blood, trembling muscles, and internal organs that felt on the verge of rupture… every part of him was ablaze with heart-wrenching pain. With his consciousness awake, this pain stimulated every nerve in Nie Kong’s body with terrifying clarity.

Nie Kong felt as if he were immersed in a vat of boiling oil, repeatedly flipped and fried, enduring that inhuman torture over and over.

“…”

The spiritual technique flickered continuously through his mind; Nie Kong desperately tried to restrain the wildly chaotic spiritual energy within his meridians, but it only brought him continuous failure.

Once, twice, thrice…

…

He didn't know how many times he failed, but the cool essence injected into the acupoints by the little creature grew weaker, and Nie Kong’s consciousness began to blur again.

"Is it finally no use?"

A trace of unwillingness flashed across Nie Kong’s heart. He had endured countless battles against spirit beasts, escaped the blood mist of the giant serpent, and finally managed to return his soul to his body, smoothly advancing his cultivation to the Second Grade of Tongling. He never expected to die in the end due to this inexplicable Fire elemental energy.

Even when his soul first attached itself to this sickly body, Nie Kong had never felt this profound weakness. In his daze, Nie Kong even felt as if his entire body were constructed from ash—that a mere gentle poke… no, even a light breath, would cause it to collapse instantly.

"Huamei, you must take care of yourself from now on!"

Huamei’s bashful face flashed through his mind. Relying on the instinct forged through countless failures, Nie Kong ran the Five Star Movement Art one last time.

“Hiss!”

Suddenly, a faint spark erupted deep within the spiritual energy mingled in the three acupoints. A minuscule portion of the rampant Fire elemental energy actually merged with the Wood spiritual energy.

“Huh? What is this…”

Sensing this minute movement, the numb Nie Kong’s spirit jolted, and his consciousness sharpened slightly. He immediately circulated the spiritual technique.

Hiss-hiss-hiss…

More trace amounts of Fire elemental energy merged into the Wood spiritual energy. As Nie Kong continuously circulated the technique, the speed of the spiritual energy fusion grew faster and faster. In the span of a moment, the hissing sound erupting from the depths of the acupoints spread like wildfire across all the acupoints.

The rampaging internal energy calmed down. The Three Spirit Acupoints began to vibrate with an orderly and wondrous rhythm. Then, the sparks spread towards all the meridians connected to the acupoints at an even faster rate—a heaven-and-earth difference compared to the initial speed.

This earth-shattering change instantly reinvigorated Nie Kong, and his consciousness completely cleared.

At this moment, Nie Kong finally noticed the little creature’s roots still rested on the acupoints, intermittently inputting a faint trace of medicinal essence. However, its purple stem and leaves had completely withered, floating limply upon the pool of dark green blood within the Yaochi Acupoint, radiating the yellow light that signaled decay.

“Xiangxiang, stop quickly!”

Nie Kong shouted urgently. With a thought, Xiangxiang’s roots were repelled from the acupoints. Previously, the spiritual energy chaos and his blurred consciousness had severely impaired Nie Kong’s perception. He could sense the little creature’s life force but could not discern its exact condition; otherwise, Nie Kong would have stopped it long ago.

With a thought, the blood-red medicinal herb snatched from the giant serpent’s mouth appeared in Nie Kong’s palm. As the dense medicinal fragrance emerged, before it could even drift out of the blood cocoon, Nie Kong inhaled it. Threads of the essence converged into the Yaochi Acupoint, then forcibly poured into the stem and leaves of the Purple Luo Illusionary Spirit Incense.

Soon, Nie Kong discovered that even without his control, the Fire elemental energy was continually being assimilated by the Wood spiritual energy. He thus transferred all his focus, vigorously absorbing the medicinal fragrance to nourish the little creature. Gradually, the yellow tinge on the little creature’s leaves began to recede…

…