Chapter Fifty-two: Refining the Fire Essence

  Gan Ping heard the sound and looked over, and as expected, Wu Yunzi was standing on the other side of the wall barrier. Although he was a bit surprised that Gan Ping had arrived so early, Wu Yunzi was also very pleased with his diligence as a designated disciple. Finally, the thin layer of white mist dispersed, and Gan Ping walked up to Wu Yunzi's side, bowing respectfully and saying, "Elder, you're doing well!" Wu Yunzi smiled and looked at Gan Ping in front of him, suddenly moving his eyes and stretching out his hand to help him up. As he examined Gan Ping's body, Gan Ping knew that his breakthrough in the second layer of the Controlling Fire technique had been discovered by Wu Yunzi. So, he said frankly, "Disciple was lucky and did not disappoint Elder's expectations. Yesterday, I broke through the second layer of the Controlling Fire technique, the Tai Chong Channel Liver Fire Meridian."

  "Good, good, good." The three "goods" were enough to reveal Wuyi's excitement. He had indeed not misjudged Ganning, who was a rare talent in cultivation. It seemed that his decision to pass on the mantle to Ganning was a wise one. Who would have thought that such a talented individual would fall into his hands? If those old guys found out later, they would definitely be filled with regret and lamentation. In just over a month, Ganning had already broken through two layers of the Controlling Fire Heart Method, an entry-level technique. Although it was only a basic method, this speed was enough to make people take notice.

  Wu Yunzi excitedly stared at Gan Ping, looking him up and down. A miniature flying sword about the size of an inch flew down from above and stopped between them. Wu Yunzi stretched out his hand to catch it in his palm, then suddenly patted his head and said: "Gan Ping, go wait for me in the Dan room first, I have some things to attend to on Yinhuan Peak. Also, don't call me Elder from now on, just call me Master." Gan Ping was extremely intelligent and immediately understood, he knelt down with a thud and exclaimed: "Disciple Gan Ping greets Master!" The meaning behind Wu Yunzi's words was clear, it seemed that he had accepted him as his disciple. These days, Gan Ping had been serving by his side in the Dan room, and he had personally seen Wu Yunzi's status within the sect. Being able to be taken under his wing, he didn't need to worry about Li Xingan anymore, and entering the inner sect was just a matter of time. How could this not make Gan Ping overjoyed?

  A loud, clear laugh echoed as Wugengzi put away the small, purple flying sword into his sleeve and flew over Ganping's head, rushing out of the hall. It wasn't until much later that Ganping came back to himself from the shock, never having expected that he would be taken in by Elder Wugengzi. This way, he would definitely be safe and sound, no longer needing to worry about anyone using open moves against him. As for covert ones, Ganping gave a faint, cold smile - bring it on.

  Arriving in the dan room, Gan Ping found a quiet corner and placed Huo on a futon. This was Wuyan's private dan chamber; except for himself, no one else could enter without permission. Huo would be absolutely safe here and wouldn't be disturbed. After settling Huo down, Gan Ping gazed at the raging flames burning beneath the dan furnace, lost in thought.

  His own Sanhuo Rongyuan Quan body true method had been stuck in the Xiangjin stage for a long time, and with the dragon tribe's long lifespan, he could slowly cultivate his magical powers, and one day he would be able to cultivate this technique to the Mahayana. However, as an ordinary person, if he wanted to achieve something with this technique, he had to think of other methods. On that day, although it was just a sneak attack on Li Xingan, Gan Ping saw the advantage of the cultivator's strong physical body, and even if he was injured, the tough cultivator would have a higher chance of survival.

  At this moment, Master Gan Ping hurriedly left for the Hidden Mystic Peak, seemingly having an urgent matter to attend to. He won't be able to return anytime soon. Normally, he wouldn't leave this dan room even a step. Today's emptiness is his own opportunity. Thinking of this, Gan Ping opened his mouth and a small golden dragon shot out, which was the transformation of the one strand of Tri-fire Primordial Qi that he had cultivated. This dragon-shaped Tri-fire Primordial Qi, like a strand of hair, moved according to Gan Ping's will and flew into the blazing fire below the dan furnace. This Tri-fire Primordial Qi was indeed powerful and overbearing, although it was only a single strand, it compressed the flames, shrinking them instantly, and then merged with them, disappearing from sight. Gan Ping had already taken a look, there was no alchemy being performed in this dan furnace. If the Boundless Patriarch had left a batch of elixirs inside before he left, Gan Ping wouldn't dare to disturb the earth fire for anything.

  He slightly narrowed his eyes, gazing calmly at the raging flames. His mind, however, was commanding that thread of dragon-patterned primordial fire to move downward along the flames, and in an instant, it had reached a depth of nearly a hundred zhang before stopping. Gān Píng already faintly felt that the flames here were much more overbearing than those above, and even his own thread of primordial fire seemed to have hints of being melted and refined. Gān Píng knew this was because his cultivation wasn't sufficient; if it were Fire Dragon instead, its majestic and fierce dragon-patterned primordial fire would certainly engulf these terrestrial flames completely. Moreover, Gān Píng felt that the power of his divine soul reaching a depth of a hundred zhang was already his limit; wanting to delve deeper was impossible.

  Under the guidance of Gan Ping's divine soul, the dragon-shaped Bing fire yuan gong surrounded his body in a circle and swallowed the earth fire with its big mouth. Not long after, the dragon-shaped Bing fire yuan gong emerged from under the Dan furnace and stopped in front of Gan Ping. The scorching heat made it impossible for people to get close, and Gan Ping slightly furrowed his brow, not expecting that the Wu fire essence in the earth fire would be so overbearing. The golden-yellow small dragon's eyes had already turned slightly dark red, and the thin red lines on its body floated to the surface, which was indeed the Wu fire essence in the earth fire.

  That little dragon opened its mouth, and the fiery red essence of Wu Huo's fire shot out from its mouth, rushing straight towards Gan Ping's face. Gan Ping didn't dare to slack off, and hastily held his breath, concentrating his mind to absorb that thread of fire essence into his mouth. For a moment, it was as if he had swallowed a piece of hot charcoal. He quickly circulated the Seven Wu Huo Fire Refining True Method, dispersing the heat of the fire essence throughout his body. The heat waves rolled across his skin, and even the clothes on his body gradually emitted wisps of smoke. Gan Ping couldn't care about these things at this moment; he hadn't expected that the Wu Huo fire essence would be so overbearing, with a tendency to break through his body's meridians. Fortunately, under the guidance of the Refining True Method, it circulated restlessly throughout his body, and wherever it passed, it was as if it had branded his skin, tendons, and bones with a hot iron. The pain was unbearable.

  Gan Ping bit his lip, not making a sound, this method was extremely painful, but it was currently the fastest way to improve his cultivation. Refining the Wu fire essence not only improved his Yang fire fusion and body tempering true intent, but also had great benefits for his other two techniques. Compared to worrying about his life, this bit of pain didn't amount to much. Finally, after nearly an hour, the Wu fire essence that was surging left and right in Gan Ping's body was finally refined calmly. Gan Ping faintly felt that his Yang fire fusion and body tempering true intent, which had not been growing for a long time, had grown by a thread. He couldn't help but feel secretly delighted, it seemed this method was indeed effective, and he would have to rely on it in the future to improve his cultivation.

  He let out a deep breath, and a strand of pale blue smoke burst out from his chest. He had finally refined the essence of the Mars fire. As he looked up, the tiny dragon-like flame was still suspended in mid-air. Gan Ping's mind stirred, and he carefully counted that there were over ten more fire essences wrapped in the Mars fire yuan ring. However, under current circumstances, they couldn't be refined anymore. This terrifying object to others had become a great tonic to Gan Ping. He directed the Mars fire yuan ring to layer upon layer wrap these ten plus fire essences, finally transforming them into a golden orb. Gan Ping swallowed it in one gulp.

  The remaining fire essence cannot be wasted, and the opportunity to absorb the Wu Fire's essence is rare. These dozen or so fire essences must be cherished, and Gan Ping decided to temporarily store them away. Upon returning to his residence, he would refine one every day. Feeling the now spherical Bing Fire Yuan Gang roaming in his Dantian, Gan Ping let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed that his choice was correct, with these fire essences assisting him, he would definitely reach the middle stage of Qi Refining by the end of the year. At that time, his master-disciple relationship with Wu Tongzi would also be truly established.

  Gan Ping knew that Wu Yunzi had only taken a liking to him, but he was still just a black-clad servant disciple. If the elders inside the sect found out that he had become Wu Yunzi's personal disciple, they would surely make a big fuss about it. Li Liefeng would definitely be the first to jump out and oppose it. His most important task at present was to quickly reach the middle stage of Qi Refining, and when he became an official disciple, although not an inner sect one, no one would be able to say anything about it.

  Just as Gan Ping was considering these things, a slightly surprised voice came from the entrance of Dan Fang's room. "Gan Ping, you... um, what are you doing?" Gan Ping turned his head to look back and saw that his newly-minted master was standing at the door with an expression full of surprise on his face. When he saw his master's strange gaze, he hastily looked down at himself and couldn't help but be shocked, then became embarrassed. It turned out that when he had refined the fire essence just now, the scorching flames had spread all over his body, and most of his clothes had been burned to ashes by the flames, leaving only a little clothing around the collar and cuffs.

  At this moment, he was seen by Wuyan Zi, and it was extremely embarrassing. He had just accepted himself as a disciple, and now he appeared almost naked in front of him. GAN Ping's face turned bright red instantly. Wuyan Zi saw his face turn red and knew he was embarrassed, so he flipped his hand, and a set of clothes appeared on his hand, which he threw far away to GAN Ping. GAN Ping didn't rush to catch it, but instead, without leaving any trace, put the black lacquer ring that had been burned by the broken thread on his chest into his palm. Fortunately, there was still a bit of collar to cover it up; otherwise, the black lacquer ring would have been exposed in front of Wuyan Zi.

  He picked up the ring, and Gan Ping stretched out his hand to pick up the clothes that had fallen on the ground. Wuyan Zi on the other side had already turned his head around, apparently afraid of embarrassing him. After pulling off the remaining clothes on his body, Gan Ping slowly put on the long gown thrown by Wuyan Zi. The sleeves were very large, and it seemed to be Wuyan Zi's clothes. Gan Ping dragged the hem to walk to Wuyan Zi's side, who was facing away from him. At this time, Wuyan Zi had already turned his head around, staring at Gan Ping, who was wearing a mismatched outfit, and asked: "How did you get into this state?"