The moment the palm connected with the dark red flame, the sound tore like ripping silk, and then the dark red flame rapidly spread towards Nie Kong's right hand.

In that instant, Zhan Tianlun’s heart hung suspended, and Zhan Feihong beside him quietly raised both palms, staring fixedly at Nie Kong without blinking.

When attempting to absorb the "Nether Fire," guiding the fire into the body was the most difficult and perilous step. For two thousand years, countless Black Spirit Masters met their end at this precise moment, their [body]’s entire death energy incinerated by the encroaching flames.

If it were merely the burning of the body's death energy, it wouldn't be a great matter. The death energy gone could be cultivated back. However, in the Nether Earth, the vast majority of death energy circulated within the skeletal structure. If the death energy burned within the bones, a slight misstep could easily consume the marrow entirely, leading to certain death.

To this day, the people of the Nether Earth have never definitively categorized which physique is perfectly suited to absorb "Nether Fire." For a sect to cultivate Nether Pill Masters, they must select numerous disciples and let each attempt it, stopping immediately at the slightest hint of trouble.

Take the Zhan Clan, for instance: five hundred or so people attempted to absorb the "Nether Fire" alongside Zhan Feihong; only two ultimately succeeded.

Now that Nie Kong was attempting it, Zhan Tianlun couldn't possibly be anything but extremely cautious.

Compared to Zhan Tianlun and Zhan Feihong, Nie Kong himself felt remarkably relaxed. In his mind, even though the "Nether Fire" was born from death energy, it still belonged to the category of Fire Spiritual Energy elements. At the conclusion of his training in the Nie Family's "Cycle of Life and Death Illusion Realm," Nie Kong had successfully fused Fire Spiritual Energy elements before. Now, it was merely equivalent to repeating that past process.

As he thought this, the death energy Nie Kong supplied dwindled to a single, almost imperceptible wisp. After burning for just a brief moment more, the palm-sized mass of dark red flame was reduced to a tiny flicker, no thicker than a thumb, and even this flicker continued to shrink.

Nie Kong meticulously sensed the ebb and flow of the flame’s intensity, showing not the slightest trace of impatience.

After several more seconds, the wisp of death energy grew exceedingly faint, and the red in the flame became paler and paler, seemingly ready to extinguish completely at any moment.

"Now!"

Just as the flame was on the verge of dying, a thought sparked in Nie Kong’s mind. The “Nether Path Shadow Technique” suddenly activated. A colossal surge of death energy erupted from his right arm like a tidal wave, instantly enveloping the minuscule flame and carrying it back [into the body].

It was like suddenly releasing a spring after pulling it taut; the spring instantly snapped back to its original form. Thus, the entire process—from the appearance of the death energy to its encompassing and returning with the flame—occurred in the flash of an eye, so rapid that the naked eye could barely track it.

Sensing Nie Kong’s movement, Zhan Tianlun became even more tense, and Zhan Feihong held his breath. Even the three Nether Pill apprentices watching beneath the great stone had their hearts lodged in their throats, five pairs of eyes fixed solely on Nie Kong.

The most dangerous moment had arrived!

"Hmph."

Nie Kong’s brow furrowed slightly, and he let out a soft snort through his nose.

Upon contact with the abundant death energy, the nearly extinguished flame surged with vigor. Almost the instant the death energy retreated [into the body], an intensely scorching sensation permeated from the center of that mass of death energy, instantaneously radiating through his limbs and bones.

In a flash, Nie Kong’s entire body flushed a deep crimson. His physique, already refined by the "Heart Drum Battle Sound" to be nearly devoid of impurities, appearing almost translucent with a faint inner glow beneath the skin, now looked even more striking, like a statue carved from scarlet blood.

"Hm?"

Zhan Feihong’s gaze shifted, and undisguised astonishment flickered across his face.

It was only now that Zhan Feihong suddenly realized the constitution of this young rogue who had entangled him for so long was so profoundly peculiar. In the next moment, however, Zhan Feihong caught sight of Zhan Tianlun, who could no longer restrain himself, channeling his full force as his palm lunged towards Nie Kong's chest.

"Stop!"

Zhan Feihong let out a low shout and suddenly seized Zhan Tianlun by the wrist. "Third Uncle!"

Seeing Zhan Feihong prevent him from forcing the assimilated "Nether Fire" out of Nie Kong's [body], Zhan Tianlun grew frantic, sweat beading on his forehead as he hissed in a suppressed voice.

Zhan Feihong calmly stated, "It is not yet time."

"He's already like this!"

Zhan Tianlun was like an ant on a hot pan, exceptionally anxious.

Zhan Feihong said sternly, "If this elder says it's not time, then it's not time! Do you understand the 'Nether Fire' better than this elder?"

"..."

Zhan Tianlun was silenced, having no retort, and he could only cease struggling, staring intently at Nie Kong. Seeing this, Zhan Feihong released his wrist and turned his gaze back to Nie Kong.

At this point, the radiating heat felt as if it would entirely melt his very being. Nie Kong endured it fiercely, rapidly circulating the “Nether Path Shadow Technique.” The "Nine Nether Stars" [within his body] flickered at an unprecedented rate, and death energy frantically converged upon his right hand from all parts of his body, layering up to completely encase the small flame in his palm.

In an instant, Nie Kong’s right palm transformed into a perfectly round, black sphere.

Only upon successfully refining the fire seed would that intense heat vanish. Under normal circumstances, if the fire seed refinement failed, the Nether Fire had to be expelled from the body with utmost speed, otherwise, the "Nether Fire" would eventually consume all the bones in the body.

Even so, during the process of refining the fire seed, various unforeseen accidents frequently occurred. Throughout the entire Nether Earth region, a considerable number of Black Spirit Masters perished annually attempting to absorb the Nether Fire and refine the fire seed, testifying to its inherent danger.

According to the notes left by Zhan Feihong, refining the fire seed involved two steps. The first was to compress the "Nether Fire" introduced [into the body] as much as possible; the second was to temper the compressed "Nether Fire," causing it to merge with one's own death energy. Between these two steps, the first was the most dangerous, and the second was the most time-consuming.

The prerequisite for compressing the "Nether Fire" was possessing the ability to suppress the "Nether Fire." In this process, first, the death energy could not be too weak—though it didn't need to reach the level of Nie Kong’s current strength; a third-tier level would suffice. Second, even if the death energy could not be supplied continuously in a cycle, it still needed to sustain the effort for a significant duration. Because if one’s power source faltered, the suppressed "Nether Fire" would erupt with even fiercer intensity. Once erupted, the "Nether Fire" was inescapable and would instantly burrow into the bones; at that point, even survival would be difficult.

However, for Nie Kong, this was not the hardest part.

As waves of death energy pressed down, the flame finally ceased its outward expansion. Then, under the continuous coercion of the death energy, the flame contracted inward and began to relentlessly shrink—this meant the Nether Fire had been successfully suppressed.

About ten minutes later, the flame was as small as a thumb, and the massive amount of death energy enveloping it also condensed back into his right palm.

At this moment, Nie Kong couldn't help but feel a pang of frustration. For others, the first step was the most dangerous, while the second, though time-consuming, was relatively easier. But for Nie Kong, it was the exact opposite. Having absorbed Fire Spiritual Energy elements before, he already possessed the most fundamental prerequisite for absorbing the Nether Fire. This meant Nie Kong encountered very little resistance during the compression of the "Nether Fire." Therefore, completing this first step was remarkably easy.

The second step, however, was exceedingly troublesome. Generally, transforming the absorbed Nether Fire into a fire seed required a very long time—ranging from half a month to a full month. Nie Kong did not have such an extended period to waste on fire seed refinement.

When he was on the second floor of the Pill King Tower, Nie Kong hadn't paid much attention to the time described in the notes. He had figured that since refining his "Nine Nether Stars" took less than an entire night, refining a single fire seed should take at most half a day. After all, he had fused Fire Spiritual Energy elements before; otherwise, he wouldn't be so confident.

But upon sensing the intense aura contained within the compressed flame in his right palm, Nie Kong realized he would need at least half a month to succeed.

"I still underestimated the Nether Fire, and overestimated myself!" Nie Kong thought inwardly, his mind racing.

"Little fellow... Grand-mère has a fine idea for you." Just then, Qingyue’s smiling voice suddenly sounded in Nie Kong's mind.

"Tell me," Nie Kong responded mentally.

"Didn't your Wood Incarnation fuse with Fire Spiritual Energy elements? Draw a little of that wood energy over; it will immediately allow the 'Nether Fire' and the death energy to merge easily without being burned away. Once the fusion is successful, refining the fire seed will be child's play," Qingyue said smugly.

"We can ignore those three Nether Pill apprentices, and Big Brother Zhan is a seventh-tier Black Spirit Master. Zhan Feihong is probably even stronger. Doing this might be noticed by them," Nie Kong countered. He had considered this method, but his many reservations kept him from acting.

"They aren't ninth-tier Black Spirit Masters, what's there to fear? As long as the speed is fast enough, they won't notice anything. Even if they sense something, they'll just think it's a hallucination. Who would ever imagine someone in the Nether Earth cultivating Wood Spiritual Energy?" Qingyue chuckled slyly.

"Tempting..."

Nie Kong pondered for a long while before finally rejecting Qingyue’s suggestion. To remain within the Zhan Clan undisturbed, it was best to minimize actions that could expose his identity. "The Wood Spiritual Energy in the second Incarnation cannot be used; however, I can try Xiangxiang’s innate medicinal power."

"How will you try?"

The proposal rejected, Qingyue immediately lost some of her enthusiasm, replying petulantly, "That little fellow’s innate medicinal power doesn't contain Fire Spiritual Energy elements."

Nie Kong smiled secretly. "It doesn't need to contain Fire Spiritual Energy elements. I only need its innate medicinal power to give a spark of vitality to both the death energy and the 'Nether Fire.'"

"Vitality?"

Qingyue regained some interest, asking curiously.

Nie Kong explained, "This vitality will be the link for the fusion between the Nether Fire and the death energy. Broaden the scope: given suitable conditions, vitality can cause any two things to merge. Of course, this is just my conjecture, and today is a perfect opportunity to test it with the Nether Fire and death energy."

"Impossible, right?" Qingyue sounded skeptical and intentionally posed a challenge. "A patch of dry land and a dead blade of grass, how do you make them merge?"

Nie Kong laughed, "If the dry land gains vitality, it becomes moist. If the dead grass gains vitality, it can be brought back to life. Planting the grass back into that soil, even without tending it, it will grow vigorously on its own. Doesn't that equate to the fusion I speak of?"

"Sophistry!" Qingyue huffed after a moment of surprise at Nie Kong’s unconventional logic.

Nie Kong stopped arguing with Qingyue and sent a thought instantly towards the little fellow in the Spirit Aperture: "Xiangxiang..."

"Ah-yah-yah!"

The little fellow, feeling sluggish from Nie Kong’s long delay in refining the pill, immediately became energized upon sensing Nie Kong’s mental call. The purple flower bud at the tip of its stem jerked upright, and then two streams of green shot out of the aperture, instantly reaching Nie Kong’s right palm.

Immediately, one stream of green adhered to the death energy on the exterior, while the other stream shot like lightning into the flickering flame within the core of the death energy.

"Boom! Boom!"

Two faint explosions sounded. The green power burst and scattered simultaneously within the death energy and the flame, threads of green power permeating into both. Instantly, two more surges of green power exploded in the same locations, the interval between them barely exceeding a second.

"Boom! Boom!"

"Boom..."

Since reaching the fifth tier, the little fellow’s innate medicinal power had become formidable. Now, in the hope of obtaining more Nether Pills, it exerted its utmost effort. Streams of medicinal power poured forth incessantly, creating a regular rhythm of muffled explosions inside Nie Kong’s right palm...

On the great stone, Zhan Feihong's face showed disbelief. The crimson light emanating from Nie Kong’s body had only appeared for a short while before it began to recede. Now, although his skin still held a reddish tint, it was significantly paler compared to the beginning.

This situation could only mean one thing...

That Nie Kong had successfully compressed the "Nether Fire!" It hadn't even been fifteen minutes! Could this slightly eccentric rogue naturally possess the aptitude of a Nether Pill Master? Otherwise, how could he compress the "Nether Fire" so easily?

A faint, almost imperceptible doubt flashed in Zhan Feihong’s eyes as he stared even more intently at Nie Kong, not letting a single subtle change in his expression escape him.

Zhan Tianlun, on the other hand, harbored no such deep thoughts, his mind remaining full of vigilance. Successfully compressing the "Nether Fire" did not mean Nie Kong was safe yet. If Nie Kong slipped up even slightly, the compressed "Nether Fire" could erupt immediately. This possibility was not small, and he had to remain prepared.

Time passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, two or three hours had gone by.

Zhan Feihong and Zhan Tianlun maintained their original postures without any change, but the three Nether Pill apprentices below the stone slab were growing restless. They occasionally shifted their weight or glanced around.

"Stop being so tense," Zhan Feihong suddenly said, glancing at Zhan Tianlun.

Zhan Tianlun instinctively asked, "The 'Nether Fire' isn't going to rebound?"

"If it were going to rebound, it would have done so long ago!" Zhan Feihong snorted. "Nothing has happened to this rogue so far; while it isn't absolutely safe, the chance of danger has at least dropped to less than one-tenth."

"Never mind one-tenth, even half a percent and I still can't relax," Zhan Tianlun replied with a wry smile.

"..."

Zhan Feihong frowned, reluctant to say more, letting the other man stare at Nie Kong with eyes wide as ox-eyes, unblinking.