Chapter 332: Arrogance Turned to Submission, A Thorough Refinement

Chapter 332: Arrogance Turned to Submission, A Thorough Refinement

"Boy, where are you? What do you intend to do?"

The Plague Elder's expression changed drastically when he saw Lu Qing suddenly appear, especially when he instantly realized that Lu Qing had manifested through the power of Soul Force.

His heart sank as he feared his suspicions were about to be confirmed.

This place was indeed a Spirit Tool Realm.

Moreover, it was a Spirit Tool Realm under Lu Qing's control.

Otherwise, with his cultivation level, it would be impossible to manifest a Soul Incarnation, such an advanced Supreme Technique.

"What's it to you, old Plague Ghost? Weren't you boasting that I couldn't do anything to you?" Lu Qing calmly stared at the Plague Gourd.

"Guess where we are now?"

The Plague Elder let out a cold laugh, knowing by now that he couldn't deceive Lu Qing, so he didn't bother with further pretenses.

"Boy, your luck is defying the heavens. You're just a lowly Qi Condensation Realm cultivator, yet you have the audacity to control two Spirit Tools.

But good fortune doesn't last forever. Such intense luck is like a flame burning oil.

Be careful, one day you might meet an untimely death and fall into an irredeemable calamity!"

"Don't trouble yourself, old ghost. Since you've guessed that this is another Spirit Tool Realm, why don't you take a guess as to which Spirit Tool this realm belongs to?" Lu Qing said indifferently.

"No matter what Spirit Tool it is, it can't do anything to my Plague Gourd!" The Plague Elder spoke coldly. "Boy, I advise you not to waste your efforts.

If you truly wish to know about ancient times, consider my proposal.

If you release me, I can not only tell you about the ancient era but also pass on to you a Supreme Technique.

In the future, when you achieve the Golden Core, enter the Primordial Spirit Realm, or even ascend to immortality, it will all be within your grasp!"

"What a bold claim, ascending to immortality, old Plague Ghost. How is it that I've never heard of such a Supreme Technique of yours? Back in the day, you were nothing but a mouse scurrying before the righteous sects.

You only dared to hide in the shadows, too afraid to show your face.

It's only because of that broken gourd of yours that you gained some reputation.

And now, you dare to boast so shamelessly. Truly, you have no shame!"

Just as the Plague Elder was about to try persuading Lu Qing again, a mocking voice echoed through the surroundings.

"Who is it?!"

The Plague Elder's heart raced with shock. Someone knew his origins so clearly, it had to be someone from his era.

Could it be the person backing Lu Qing?

The Plague Elder's thoughts raced, and in the next moment, he saw a majestic middle-aged man with a fiery robe and twin horns standing before Lu Qing.

With this man's appearance, the dryness in the surrounding space intensified.

It was as if the ruler of this space had arrived.

"You are the Spirit of this Spirit Tool Realm!"

The Plague Elder, himself a Spirit, immediately recognized the true nature of 'Flame'.

His heart sank further.

The aura emanating from 'Flame' was significantly stronger than his own.

This indicated that the Spirit's recovery was far more advanced than his, and its true nature was even more powerful.

And with Lu Qing...

The Plague Elder's heart chilled.

"What's wrong? Are you afraid?"

'Flame' seemed to sense the Plague Elder's emotions and let out a cold laugh.

"Plague Ghost, I didn't expect you to be so ruthless. To survive the Heavenly Tribulation of Five Decays, you actually possessed the Spirit of your own Spirit Tool, barely clinging to life.

But even though you succeeded in the possession, your True Spirit must have suffered greatly."

"Now, trapped here, it won't be long before your True Spirit collapses, and you won't even qualify for reincarnation!"

The Plague Elder's face turned ashen.

His greatest fear was that Lu Qing would discover this secret, but he hadn't expected 'Flame' to expose it so directly.

However, he maintained his composure and replied coldly, "Is that so? My Supreme Technique is not something a mere Spirit like you can comprehend.

If you say my True Spirit is about to collapse, then wait and see.

After being trapped here for a thousand years, will I, the Plague Ghost, perish?"

"Plague Ghost, there's no need for your theatrics. I'll ask you again, are you willing to open your heart and let me imprint my Soul Force upon your True Spirit?" Lu Qing asked coldly.

"In your dreams, boy! Do you think I, a Spirit, would submit to a lowly Qi Condensation Realm cultivator like you?

You're nothing but an ant. In my heyday, a single breath from me could have wiped out countless beings like you.

How dare you even think of refining the True Spirit of a Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator? You have no idea how vast the world is!"

"Very well.

Lu Qing didn't say another word, his figure dissipating within the Spirit Artifact space, leaving behind a sentence that lingered within, "Flame, make your move, refine him to death for me!"

Hearing Lu Qing directly calling out its name, Flame's heart couldn't help but feel a chill.

However, it couldn't muster any anger, only sensing a trace of coldness swirling within.

Not daring to delay, it waved its hand, and in the Spirit Qi space, endless flames materialized out of thin air.

Its body transformed, becoming a Flamefire Dragon, coiling around the Plague Gourd.

"Flamefire Dragon, you're not the Flamefire Cauldron of the Flamefire Sect!"

Seeing the Flamefire Dragon that 'Flame' had transformed into, the Plague Elder finally understood that he was within the space of that Spirit Artifact.

In ancient times, he had no interaction with the Flamefire Sect, so he hadn't recognized 'Flame's' aura earlier.

But the Flamefire Cauldron of the Flamefire Sect was quite famous throughout the cultivation world.

The Flamefire Dragon that spewed out and swept across the land was one of the trademark moves of the Flamefire Cauldron.

Seeing the form that 'Flame' had transformed into, the Plague Elder now realized that he was trapped within this Spirit Artifact.

This made the Plague Elder's heart tremble.

The Flamefire Cauldron was the Flamefire Sect's sect-protecting Spirit Artifact, and its rank had reached the middle-grade among Spirit Artifacts.

It was even one level higher than his Plague Gourd.

Most importantly, the Flamefire Cauldron was renowned for its expertise in refinement.

Especially in artifact refinement and alchemy.

Initially, the Flamefire Sect had relied on it to continuously refine high-grade treasures and pills, securing a place in the cultivation world.

Now, finding himself in the spirit artifact space of this damned thing, the Plague Elder couldn't have received worse news.

If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have provoked that boy so much.

A hint of regret flashed through the Plague Elder's mind.

But regretting now was useless.

Seeing the Flamefire Dragon that 'Flame' had transformed into coiling around, he could only shrink back and hide deep within the Plague Gourd.

He hoped that his spirit artifact could withstand the refinement of the Flamefire Cauldron.

The Plague Gourd was something he had refined by chance after infusing it with a piece of Alien Iron he had obtained unintentionally.

Perhaps its peculiar power, which even he couldn't fully comprehend, could protect him.

Powerful flames surrounded the Plague Gourd, and the Flamefire Dragon that 'Flame' had transformed into tightly coiled around the gourd.

However, after half a quarter of an hour, the Plague Gourd showed no signs of change, as if the surrounding flames didn't exist.

"How is this possible?"

A hint of disbelief flashed through Flame's eyes.

Although it was currently injured and far from its peak strength, it was still a middle-grade spirit artifact.

Yet, this Plague Gourd was clearly more damaged than it.

"This broken gourd is strange!"

Just as this thought flashed through Flame's mind, Lu Qing's voice came from above.

"Senior Flame, how is it going?"

A hint of embarrassment flashed through Flame's eyes, but it replied truthfully, "This Plague Gourd seems strange, and I can't seem to refine it for the time being."

"What should we do then?"

Lu Qing's voice carried no emotion.

But Flame's heart inexplicably tightened.

It thought for a moment and said, "My true spirit hasn't fully recovered, and I can't utilize much power. In a short time, it will be difficult to deal with this Plague Gourd, and I'll need your help."

"Good!" Lu Qing immediately agreed, "I'll use the grand array within this cave residence to help you refine this old fiend to death!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Flame felt a powerful array force enhancing the Flamefire Cauldron.

At the same time, a vast amount of spirit qi surged into the cauldron.

It immediately felt invigorated and greedily devoured all the spirit qi.

The next moment, the body within the spirit artifact space suddenly swelled.

It swallowed the Plague Gourd whole, its body coiling as endless flames penetrated into the gourd.

The Plague Elder, hiding deep within the gourd, had initially thought that 'Flame' couldn't do anything to him, and he secretly rejoiced.

But he never expected 'Flame's' aura to suddenly surge tenfold.

His eyes widened, and disbelief filled his face, "How is this possible!"

At the same time, his thoughts raced, and he hurriedly activated the remnants of his Soul Force to drive the power of the Plague Gourd to resist.

However, all his efforts were in vain. Under 'Flame's' relentless refinement, white flames continuously seeped into the interior of the Plague Gourd.

The seals that the Plague Elder had painstakingly refined within the gourd were destroyed layer by layer, and the gray Plague Energy was completely burned away, gradually spreading deeper into the gourd.

No matter how hard the Plague Elder tried, he could not stop it.

"No!"

Seeing the white flames continuously erode the space where his True Spirit was hiding, the Plague Elder revealed a look of terror.

His Divine Soul suddenly emitted intense fluctuations: "Young Master, I submit! I am willing to release my True Spirit and serve you!"

The white flames that were about to burn the Plague Elder's True Spirit instantly stopped.

"Flame" also looked up to the sky.

The Plague Elder let out a sigh of relief.

However, the next moment, Lu Qing's cold voice descended from above: "Too late, Plague Old Fiend. I gave you a chance, but you didn't cherish it. 'Flame,' refine him for me!"

These words not only stunned "Flame," but also made the Plague Elder turn pale with fear.

He hastily shouted: "Master, it was all a misunderstanding before. I was too disrespectful and shouldn't have provoked you like that.

The old servant knows he was wrong. Please, Master, spare me this time.

In the future, the old servant will serve you with all my heart, ready to do anything for you!"

To save his life, the Plague Elder discarded all his dignity, directly addressing Lu Qing as Master and referring to himself as the old servant.

His submissive and fawning attitude left "Flame" speechless.

He knew that these demon cultivators were always cunning, deceitful, and despicable.

But he never expected that a once great Primordial Soul cultivator would be so shameless just to save his life.

However, what "Flame" didn't expect even more was that Lu Qing remained unmoved by the Plague Elder's humble plea for mercy.

He simply said coldly: "'Flame,' didn't you hear what I said? Refine him!"

Hearing the overpowering tone in Lu Qing's voice, "Flame" understood that this Master truly intended to vanquish the Plague Old Fiend to death, not just scare them into submission.

Sensing the dissatisfaction in Lu Qing's tone, "Flame" dared not hesitate and immediately rekindled the flames, causing them to spread toward the Plague Elder once more.

"No! Don't!"

The Plague Elder couldn't believe that even after lowering himself so much, Lu Qing still intended to refine him to death.

He hastily shouted: "Master, the old servant truly knows he was wrong. Please, Master, give the old servant one more chance to be your most loyal servant!

And if you refine me to death, the Plague Gourd's rank will drop, turning it into a Treasure Tool.

This would be a great loss for you, Master. Please think it over!"

Unfortunately, his plea for mercy received no response from Lu Qing.

In the silence, "Flame" continued to drive the white flames, finally breaking through to the space where the Plague Elder was hiding.

Seeing the white flames, which exuded a terrifying aura, inching closer to his True Spirit, the Plague Elder finally despaired.

Madness appeared on his face.

"Little brat, you want me to die, then let's die together!"

With that, he rapidly manipulated his mind, trying to detonate the core seal within the Plague Gourd, causing it to explode and take Lu Qing with him.

However, when his mind penetrated the core seal, he discovered that he could no longer activate the Plague Gourd's power.

"Want to self-destruct?"

"Flame's" booming voice echoed deep within the gourd.

"Plague Old Fiend, if you had triggered the seal from the beginning, I might not have been able to stop you.

But you are too afraid of death. My flames nearly refined you to death before you thought of self-destructing.

Do you really think my power is just for show? Accept your fate!"

As he spoke, numerous white flames that had penetrated deep into the gourd surged toward the Plague Elder's True Spirit.

"No!!!"

The already weakened True Spirit of the Plague Elder couldn't withstand the terrifying flames that carried a hint of Rule Force.

He had no strength left to resist and was instantly incinerated, completely reduced to nothingness.

After refining the Plague Elder's True Spirit, "Flame" immediately spat out the Plague Gourd from his abdomen and retracted all the flames.

Without the Artifact Spirit to maintain the seals, the Plague Gourd's rank dropped.

If "Flame" hadn't retracted his power, the Spirit Artifact would have been completely destroyed.

Lu Qing's figure reappeared in the Spirit Tool Realm.

"Young Master, this is the Plague Gourd left behind by the Plague Old Fiend."

"Flame" handed the Plague Gourd to Lu Qing, even changing his address from "kid" to "Young Master."

Lu Qing took the gourd, which was no longer as large as a person but had shrunk to the size of a palm, easily held in one hand.

"Young Master, this gourd seems peculiar. Even my flames couldn't subdue it for a while. There must be something more to it."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end