Zhan Feihong blinked, still lost in the echoes of the "Six-Nine Battle Tone" and the "First Golden Art." Zhan Tianlun, however, ignored the oppressive heat, strode to Nie Kong’s side, and exclaimed with mixed relief and joy, “Brother Nie Kong, how is it?”

Nie Kong narrowed his eyes into a smile, rapidly waving his right palm in front of Zhan Tianlun’s face. Right in the center of his palm, a small, flame-shaped crimson mark was strikingly visible.

“The seed!”

Zhan Tianlun’s eyes lit up, and he burst out, this kid had truly managed to condense the Fire Seed!

The initial surge of excitement quickly subsided, and Zhan Tianlun’s emotions settled.

Though he couldn't track the exact time passed, it couldn’t have been half a day. Condensing a Fire Seed in half a day—a process that usually took others ten or twenty days—would have been described as “inconceivable” for anyone else.

But for this to happen with Nie Kong didn’t seem overly surprising.

After all, back at Fubo Mountain, Nie Kong had condensed the Nine Great Nether Stars in less than one night, then broken through to the peak of the Third Order in just one month. Upon arriving at War God Mountain, he heard the Nine-Nine Battle Tone and his cultivation even broke through to the Fourth Order. Then, this morning in the “War Spirit Listening God Platform,” he acquired the First Golden Art, the “War God Star Seal.” All these shocking feats had occurred around Nie Kong. Adding one more now felt almost routine. Moreover, condensing the Fire Seed in half a day was far less staggering than witnessing the complete “Heart Drum Battle Tone” or obtaining the “War God Star Seal.”

This was especially true for Zhan Tianlun, who had experienced both events firsthand!

However, in the mind of Zhan Feihong, a high-tier Nether Pill Master, condensing the “Fire Seed” in just half a day was what truly captured his attention.

Startled awake by Zhan Tianlun’s shout, Zhan Feihong stared intently at Nie Kong’s right palm without blinking. The flame, no bigger than a thumbnail, was imprinted precisely at the center of Nie Kong’s palm like a birthmark, so lifelike it seemed poised to leap from the skin.

“Good! Nie Kong, I truly underestimated you!”

After a long moment, Zhan Feihong addressed Nie Kong using his full name for the first time. A barely perceptible flicker of appreciation crossed his eyes, though his expression remained one of astonishment.

In the next instant, Zhan Feihong’s expression returned to normal. “To refine Nether Pills, one must possess Fire Power. Now that you have successfully condensed the ‘Fire Seed,’ continuing to absorb ‘Nether Fire’ to ignite it should not be difficult for you.”

“Indeed, it is easy,” Nie Kong smiled. “Third Uncle, Brother Zhan, wait for me a moment longer.” With that, Nie Kong took a shallow breath, and his eyes closed once more.

Just as Nie Kong had predicted earlier.

As the searing heat dissipated, with the last trace of “Nether Fire” vanishing, the condensation of the “Fire Seed” was completed naturally. At that time, Nie Kong had continuously drawn the Death Qi from his right palm, allowing all the residual heat to settle in his right Jixin.

When his entire right palm held no trace of Death Qi, the scorching heat began to gather again. And as they converged completely, Nie Kong’s Death Qi surged forward once more, compressing them incessantly… until they were condensed to the absolute limit, at which point the Fire Seed would be directly branded onto his palm. Thus, the Fire Seed was completely refined.

The ability of Nether Fire to merge with Death Qi and be drawn out from it was a rather miraculous property of Nether Fire. This became significantly easier for a Nether Pill Master who had already condensed a Fire Seed, whether it was merging the Nether Fire into the Death Qi or extracting it.

The difficult part remained the instant the Nether Fire entered the body!

That brief, almost negligible process carried a degree of danger even for seasoned Nether Pill Masters. Even a high-tier master like Zhan Feihong had to be cautious when guiding fire into his body. Of course, the danger was significantly less than the very first time.

But in Nie Kong’s view, this minor danger was negligible.

Therefore, after clearing his mind of distractions and calming his spirit, Nie Kong immediately activated the “Nether Path Shadow Secret Art” at full power. Death Qi erupted from his right palm, shooting out like a ribbon toward the flame atop the massive stone. As the Death Qi retracted, the flame was already burning fiercely.

A moment later, the burning flame seeped along the Death Qi into Nie Kong’s palm, converging toward the flame imprint. In an instant, the color of that mass of flame grew brighter and more dazzling than before.

In the blink of an eye, all the burning Nether Fire was absorbed by Nie Kong.

“Hoo!”

With a soft sound of air displacement, another torrent of powerful Death Qi surged forth, resembling towering waves. In the next second, what returned from the top of the massive stone was a flame burning even more violently, its searing essence rolling out, causing even the void to gently ripple…

“That fellow has incredible audacity!”

Seeing the manner in which he guided the fire into his body, Zhan Feihong’s expression shifted, his heart deeply stirred.

Zhan Tianlun leaped down from the stone and landed beside Zhan Feihong, laughing heartily. “Third Uncle, stop worrying so much. When my Brother Nie Kong was suppressing the Nether Fire just now, he could already manipulate it between his palms. What is absorbing a bit of Nether Fire to ignite the seed compared to that?”

Zhan Tianlun now had absolute confidence in Nie Kong.

Forget guiding fire into his body to ignite a seed; even if Nie Kong claimed he could refine a high-tier Nether Pill right then, Zhan Tianlun would believe him without question.

“Hmm? You dare speak to your Third Uncle that way?” Zhan Feihong raised an eyebrow.

“Ha, haha…” Zhan Tianlun rubbed the back of his head, chuckling awkwardly. He had gotten a little too carried away just now.

“If you don’t understand, don’t pretend you do. Do you think guiding fire into the body is simple?” Zhan Feihong reprimanded, then looked back at Nie Kong, speaking next in a tone laced with uncertainty, “Perhaps, for this Nie Kong, guiding fire into the body really is simple?”

“……”

To avoid incurring undeserved trouble, Zhan Tianlun suppressed the urge to speak, keeping his mouth tightly shut, though his eyes darted around restlessly. Catching sight of the three dumbfounded Nether Pill Apprentices nearby, he couldn’t help a silent smirk. If he himself had been a genius recognizing Nie Kong in the Pill King Tower, he might have displayed a similarly stunned expression!

Time slipped by quickly.

“Phew…”

Finally, Nie Kong let out a soft sigh, rising to his full height. The imprint on his right palm was now blood-red, the flame seemingly ready to rise from his palm’s center.

“Let’s go!”

Zhan Feihong said nothing, waving a hand and starting to walk out. Yet, as his gaze fell upon the vivid crimson flame imprint on Nie Kong’s palm, his eyes twitched involuntarily a few times. This little fellow had probably managed to ignite the “Fire Seed” in less than fifteen minutes!

“Go!”

At this, Zhan Tianlun no longer cared about disturbing anyone. Laughing loudly, he clapped Nie Kong on the shoulder and strode out. He was now impatient to see if Nie Kong could successfully refine that particular Nether Pill using the formula he had devised himself!

Nie Kong followed with a faint smile, quietly assessing his right palm.

Having absorbed a large quantity of Nether Fire, Nie Kong could now distinctly feel a gentle warmth emanating from his palm. According to the records in Zhan Feihong’s notebook, the Fire Seed of a typical low-tier Nether Pill Master could only sustain itself for five days. After five days, the Nether Fire within the seed would dissipate, requiring the master to absorb more Nether Fire to reignite the seed in their palm.

For a mid-tier Nether Pill Master, the ignited Fire Seed lasted ten days; for a high-tier master, twenty days; and for a super-tier master, forty days. Of course, these were maximum durations; the actual sustain time depended on the diligence of the alchemy work. If too much Fire Power was consumed during refinement, the Nether Fire would be depleted before the maximum period, and the Fire Seed would extinguish automatically.

This aspect—the limit on Fire Power—was entirely different between the Nether Earth and the Tianling Continent.

On the Tianling Continent, the Fire Power used was the Fire Spirit Power or mutated Spirit Power cultivated by the Spirit Master themselves, which was virtually impossible to deplete entirely because cultivation continued daily. Even if it were completely exhausted, it could be replenished through practice or spirit herbs.

But on the Nether Earth, Fire Power was essentially borrowed external force, which severely constrained the scope of a Nether Pill Master’s alchemy. If there was no fire source nearby to absorb, and one’s own Fire Seed had extinguished, a Nether Pill Master could not practice alchemy at all.

“However, for me, limitations like the ‘Medicine Cauldron Phantasm’ are meaningless.”

A slight smile touched Nie Kong’s lips. With a thought, he followed Zhan Feihong and Zhan Tianlun into the passage, the sound of their footsteps echoing loudly. The three Nether Pill Apprentices beside the massive stone snapped out of their daze and hurried after them. Not long after, the five of them emerged from the tunnel. The sky outside was already quite dusky; clearly, night was approaching. Even the first floor of the “Pill King Tower,” which had been bustling before, had quieted down considerably, with only a few Zhan Clan men selecting medicinal herbs.

Indeed, only half a day had passed!

Zhan Feihong and Zhan Tianlun exchanged a glance. Zhan Tianlun merely grinned, finding nothing surprising. But Zhan Feihong was deeply moved. Although he had already guessed the time elapsed, witnessing it firsthand still sent a tremor through his spirit.

A short while later, the group ascended to the second floor.

No one was visible selecting herbs on the lower level. However, the elderly man, in his sixties or seventies, was still sitting quietly by the window. After exchanging greetings with the old man, Zhan Feihong led Nie Kong and the others back to the upper level. Without needing instruction, the three Nether Pill Apprentices became busy: one sweeping up the dark, sticky dregs from the floor, another fetching a new medicine cauldron, and the last cleaning the messy tabletop.

In under two minutes, the table was clean and orderly, holding only a brand-new medicine cauldron and the eight medicinal herbs Nie Kong required.

“Please proceed,” Zhan Feihong gestured toward Nie Kong, stepping aside to watch quietly, like an outsider. Nie Kong walked to the table with a smile, glanced over the herbs Zhan Feihong had procured, and placed them one by one into his palm, re-evaluating their weight to ensure precision and avoid any misstep…