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"Some flames burn not for power, but remembrance."
The valley wind swept through the sealed refinement cavern as Su Yang placed the jade box into a spiritual vault hidden beneath the floor—one reinforced with formations of his own creation. The Soul-Fused Fire Nourishment Pill rested within it, glowing faintly even through the sealed jade.
He didn't speak for a while. Not even as Mu Qinglian continued watching him with unreadable eyes.
Only when the glow faded did she say softly, "Do you even realize what you've done?"
Su Yang sat down cross-legged, wiping the sweat from his brow. "You mean… succeeded where a Profound Alchemist died trying?"
Her gaze didn't change, but something in her tone did. "I mean... touched a dead alchemist's soul flame and lived. Most would've lost their minds or collapsed into soul shatter."
He glanced up. "Then I guess I was lucky."
Mu Qinglian tilted her head. "No, not luck. Instinct. Like you've done something like this before…"
He didn't answer.
How could he explain it?
That as the pill formed, memories that weren't his had brushed against him—too clear, too visceral to be mere illusions.
He still felt them.
---
> "Live… even if I do not."
> "Flames… burn brightest when the soul is broken."
> "If the Valley learns the truth… it must be earned."
---
Those words echoed again in his ears as if spoken by someone very close, yet long gone.
> "Wu Tianzheng…" Su Yang whispered.
The name was only known to senior elders. Yet in that one moment, Su Yang had experienced a piece of that man's life.
> "Could this be the true purpose of Soul Flame Alchemy?" he wondered. "To carry not just essence—but will across generations?"
Mu Qinglian was still watching him, but now her tone softened. "I'll report the cavern's integrity to Elder Ke. No one else needs to know what you refined—yet."
Su Yang gave her a long look. "Why are you helping me?"
Her eyes narrowed briefly, then she turned. "Because you're not arrogant. And because…" She paused, voice quiet. "That pill… felt like it was born of sorrow."
And then she left.
---
Later that night, Su Yang returned to the Valley of Harmonious Fire, the moonlight casting long shadows across the glowing lava-streams and flame-fed trees.
Inside his meditation room, he opened the system interface again.
---
Name: Su Yang
Cultivation: Blood Tempering Realm (High)
Body Type: Karma Fire Body (Sealed Evolution: 16 Petals – Bloomed: 2)
Alchemy Level: Yellow Grade (Mid-Tier)
Flame Mastery: 53%
Soul Resonance: 6% (New Stat Unlocked)
→ Unlocked through first successful Soul Flame Integration.
Pill Archive Unlocked:
Soul-Fused Fire Nourishment Pill (Purity 93%)
Legacy Flame Residue: Bound Memory: Wu Tianzheng
System Note:
> Memory Trace Detected. An echo remains within the pill.
Proceed with caution. Recommend soul-strengthening exercise before consumption or secondary testing.
---
Su Yang frowned slightly. "So the pill holds something more than medicinal value. An imprint?"
> "Then I need to test it. Carefully."
But not on himself. Not yet.
---
Inside the Spirit Land—
A year had passed inside—though only a day outside.
Zi Shu, the little purple snake, was coiled around a large obsidian stone at the center of the spirit pond. Her breathing had become steadier. The streaks of energy pulsing from the spirit veins had grown brighter near her body.
Su Yang stepped in and approached quietly.
Her eyes blinked open as soon as he neared. Violet and bright. Still childlike, but deeper now.
> "You've grown again," he said with a warm smile.
The snake hissed gently, slithering up his arm and nestling into the crook of his neck.
> "Still sleeping most of the time, huh? I guess you need it."
She flicked her tongue, then blinked at him again.
And then—
A voice echoed faintly in his mind.
> "...My name... is Zi Shu..."
Su Yang froze.
> "...Was that her?" he thought.
He looked at the snake in shock. But her body remained curled, her breathing calm.
> "Was that a spiritual transmission… or a fragment from the pill's memory?"
Before he could finish the thought, the jade box in his robes rattled.
Thump. Thump.
His eyes widened.
He stepped out of the Spirit Land, sealing the gate behind him, and pulled out the jade box.
The pill inside had begun to glow again—faintly.
And then—
> A whisper.
> "If you're hearing this… then you've inherited my final will."
Su Yang's body tensed.
> "A message… left inside the pill?"
---