Yet, Lei Dong also knew that if he hadn't touched that Flame Spirit Essence, so many troubles likely wouldn't have arisen. However, greed moves the heart, and to pass up the chance to contend for such a rare treasure as the Flame Spirit Essence would have been a disservice to himself. The thing was, while he had secured the item, it had now become a hot potato in his hands.

Hot potato or not, the item appeared to be his current lifeline. Judging by the reaction of the Purgatory Demon King, he must value this thing immensely.

Just how crucial was this item to the Purgatory Demon King's standing, he couldn't fathom.

Fortunately, Lei Dong had a know-it-all in artifact refining by his side to consult. With that thought, Lei Dong sent a divine transmission to Zhen Mao, who was still reeling from the blow dealt by the Flame Demon King: "Senior Zhen Mao, what marvelous uses does the Flame Spirit Essence actually possess?"

Zhen Mao had remained within the Soul Sealing Orb, completely unaware of the process by which Lei Dong acquired the Flame Spirit Essence. It was only later, hearing the exchange between Lei Dong and the Purgatory Demon King, that he learned Lei Dong had obtained it. However, the situation had been too critical, leaving no time for discussion until now. Upon hearing Lei Dong's sudden inquiry, Zhen Mao immediately flew to his side and transmitted telepathically, "That one you have is the Natal Essence Spirit of a Soul Transformation level fire element, correct? In this era of scarce resources for you, it's quite the considerable item. You could use it to cultivate a relatively powerful fire cultivation technique, or refine it into a spiritual treasure of significant might. Though, it seems this thing is rather hot to handle right now." As Zhen Mao spoke, he eyed the suddenly appearing Flame Demon King with a mixture of apprehension and annoyance.

Lei Dong frowned. If those were its only two functions, it absolutely would not command such intense focus from the Purgatory Demon King. After all, everyone knew about those capabilities; weren't figures like King Chi Gui also deeply interested in the Flame Spirit Essence? He pressed further, "Senior Zhen Mao, please think carefully. Does this Flame Spirit Essence perhaps have other uses? Such as advancing one's cultivation, or drastically boosting combat power, or some other critical function."

"This? Allow me to ponder deeply." Zhen Mao steadied himself, pulling his focus back from the heat of battle, meticulously searching through data long sealed in his memory. Suddenly, his eyes brightened, and he transmitted, "I recall hearing whispers long ago that the High Demons conducted some special experiments using elemental lifeforms, and they seemed to yield rather impressive results. As is widely known, elemental beings are favored by Heaven and Earth, born from the laws of the Five Elements, naturally commanding mastery over them. Furthermore, the lifespans of these beings far exceed the vast majority of life forms composed of flesh and blood or mere spirits. That experiment seemed to involve refining something like a Flame Spirit Essence into one's own clone using a secret art. By doing so, one would gain not only a powerful clone but also the ability to share that clone's lifespan during critical moments. Of course, I've only heard rumors of such things; I'm unclear on the specific execution, and the difficulty level appears to be exceedingly high."

Lei Dong's eyes shone. A Flame Elemental Clone. That sounded like an excellent application. He imagined having a clone similar to the Flame Monarch—how dramatically would his strength surge?

However, Zhen Mao immediately poured cold water on the idea: "Young Lei, you are being far too optimistic. The High Demons expended countless hours and energy, perhaps even capturing numerous Soul Transformation level elements, just to reach that stage. Without the precise secret technique, success would be extremely difficult. Most importantly, the current strength of your Divine Soul is nowhere near sufficient for refining a clone. Generally speaking, one must reach at least the Void Refinement stage to even begin attempting such a refinement."

"Void Refinement stage?" Lei Dong murmured telepathically. "In that case, the Purgatory Demon King must not possess the secret art for refining a Flame Monarch clone, then?"

"That's not certain. The Purgatory Demon King is already a peak middle-stage Soul Transformation cultivator, just one step away from the late stage." When discussing matters like this, it was Zhen Mao's true expertise, and he spoke fluently. "In this resource-starved era of yours, to cultivate to that level, one's talent, insight, and luck must all be top-tier. Perhaps the Purgatory Demon King has a unique method to refine a Flame Monarch clone? But you have no hope now. No matter how special the method, it's impossible for a Nascent Soul cultivator to split their nascent soul to forge a clone—that is pure suicide."

Lei Dong felt a mixture of regret and relief. Regret because he held a treasure yet couldn't maximize its potential. Relief because, since he couldn't forge the Flame Monarch clone, he didn't need to antagonize the Purgatory Demon King over this near-useless item, which would have involved risking his very life.

Risking his life wasn't entirely out of the question, but when the investment and the return were so grossly imbalanced, it simply wasn't worthwhile. Based on these projections, the next course of action wasn't to forcefully keep the Flame Spirit Essence, but rather to make it generate the greatest possible benefit for him.

Theoretically, if the Purgatory Demon King truly intended to refine a Flame Monarch clone, his strength and lifespan would increase substantially upon success. This held immense allure for an expert already at the pinnacle. It was the kind of prize one would fight for, regardless of the cost.

Indeed, the Purgatory Demon King was one who valued credibility and honored commitments, but only when his bottom line hadn't been genuinely challenged. If Lei Dong insisted on keeping the Flame Spirit Essence, the chance of the Purgatory Demon King turning hostile was practically zero.

Therefore, at this moment, Lei Dong had completely shifted his focus away from how to secure the Flame Spirit Essence and was only considering how to extract higher returns from the situation.

"So, the renowned Flame Demon King." Lost in some inner calculation, King Chi Gui reformed into her human shape, the pierced wound on her body somehow concealed by an unknown means. She still presented as a delicate and pure girl next door, but the severe injuries from the combat had left her complexion pale and bloodless. Her tone was level, devoid of any ingratiating quality: "This King is the current Clan Leader of the Scarlet Refining Fire Serpent clan, named Chi Gui."

The Flame Demon King was not like ordinary flame elemental entities; he was a special elemental being who had traversed the Purgatory Domain and even other realms. However, having been betrayed in the past and sealed for so many years, his mental state was hardly sound, and he held no goodwill toward King Chi Gui. He responded gruffly, "So it is King Chi Gui of the Purgatory Fire Serpent clan. What guidance do you seek?"

"Guidance is hardly the word," King Chi Gui stated calmly. "I merely wish to share a small piece of intelligence. This Nascent Soul human brat possesses the Essence Spirit of your clan's Flame Monarch." In Chi Gui's estimation, the Flame Spirit Essence was long beyond her grasp, so exposing this fact might lure the Flame Demon King into a temporary alliance to eliminate that Soul Transformation puppet. If that puppet died, no matter how formidable the brat was, he would become her easy prey.

"What?" The Flame Demon King was startled by this. He turned his head, giving the Purgatory Demon King hiding in the shadows a peculiar look, momentarily confused by the situation. The Flame Demon King was perfectly aware of the Flame Spirit Essence's origin. If he hadn't personally informed the Purgatory Demon King about the locations where the Flame Monarch’s Spirit Essence would await rebirth after death, and even sent one of his own Nascent Soul subordinates to sneak in and steal it, the Purgatory Demon King would never have found this Essence Spirit, even if he were beaten to death.

But why, then, had the Flame Spirit Essence not yet fallen into the Purgatory Demon King's hands?

The Purgatory Demon King, perched above, felt intensely aggrieved when the Flame Demon King looked at him. His deal with the Flame Demon King was that the latter would dispatch a split elemental lifeform to help steal the Flame Spirit Essence, in exchange for the Purgatory Demon King helping the Flame Demon King break his seal.

The Flame Demon King had done his part excellently; the elemental offspring he sent was quite clever and successfully pilfered the Essence Spirit without alerting the Flame Monarch's guards—after all, the thief was also a flame elemental.

Alas, fortune turned ill. While preparing to hand over the Flame Spirit Essence to the Purgatory Demon King's faction, an accident occurred. A team of human Nascent Soul cultivators exploring the Purgatory Domain chanced upon that elemental lifeform and, quite naturally and quite tragically, terminated it, treating it as a passing wild monster.

It was fortunate that the elemental lifeform had disguised the Flame Spirit Essence as an extremely high-grade Fire Spirit Jade during the theft. Furthermore, the Nascent Soul cultivators among the humans lacked deep knowledge and simply assumed it was genuine high-grade Fire Spirit Jade, tossing it into the auction house.

To make matters worse, when the Purgatory Demon King investigated the matter, the news was leaked by spies, causing the Fire Giant clan and the Scarlet Refining Fire Serpent clan to dispatch their own forces to contend for it. Securing it would have been ideal, but even failing to get it served to annoy the Purgatory Demon race. This forced the Purgatory Demon King into another massive expenditure.

The Purgatory Demon King had exhausted his wits and efforts for this Flame Spirit Essence, only for it to end up in Lei Dong's hands. This left the Purgatory Demon King feeling utterly miserable.

"Senior Purgatory Demon King, you mentioned just now that as long as this junior could pass King Chi Gui's test, you would refrain from using force to demand the Flame Spirit Essence?" At this moment, Lei Dong suddenly spoke aloud, his voice carrying clearly. "I wonder if Your Senior remembers your words from just now?"

The Purgatory Demon King felt an overwhelming urge to curse. Why had he indulged in such posturing? If that brat Xing Ran had simply remained silent and launched a sneak attack from behind, none of this trouble would have surfaced!

…… (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly passes on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation.)