Chapter 74

After Hu Gao sat down, Xiao Wu didn’t waste any time. The energy in the world rapidly converged toward him, and any fire toxins about to approach Hu Gao were quickly absorbed by him.

The energy around Xiao Wu instantly became incredibly violent, and Hu Gao could clearly feel the temperature of the surrounding air rapidly increasing. If it weren’t for the protection of his primordial energy, he would have become a dried-up corpse by now.

"Boss, I’m going to send you the purified fire toxins now. Be careful when refining them. If you can’t control them, don’t force it. Don’t harm your body. Just let me know, and I’ll absorb these fire toxins immediately."

Xiao Wu’s voice echoed in Hu Gao’s mind, and then Hu Gao found a strange energy descending and enveloping his body.

"Damn, is it even purified? Are you kidding me?"

Feeling this violent energy, Hu Gao felt as if he were at the center of a high-explosive bomb, with the possibility of being shattered at any moment. Without hesitation, he immediately mobilized all his mental focus to control this fire toxin energy.

Although he controlled the fire toxin in the first moment, the violence it contained still left several wounds on Hu Gao’s body, with blood spurting out and quickly turning black.

"Shit... it hurts so much!"

Although the wounds were not large, Hu Gao felt as if someone had sprinkled salt and poured a bottle of strong sulfuric acid on his wounds. His mental focus couldn’t help but tremble, and it was far beyond what an ordinary person could endure. No wonder the martial artists outside were all so afraid of fire toxins. Even after Xiao Wu had purified most of the fire toxins, they still had such great power. Those unrefined fire toxins would be absolutely unbearable for a Body Transformation Realm martial artist, and even a slight touch would result in severe injury or death.

However, in an instant, his heart was filled with joy.

"Even a little bit of fire toxin has such strong killing power. If I refine it into a fire toxin bomb, its power will definitely increase several times. At that time, it will definitely be comparable to the full force attack of a peak Ninth Stage Condensed Shadow Realm martial artist, and even Body Transformation Realm martial artists will find it troublesome."

Hu Gao was excited and even forgot the pain in his body. At this moment, he made up his mind to refine the fire toxin bomb no matter what. With this thing, it would be like having a powerful weapon.

"Next, it’s about whether I can refine these fire toxins into a ball."

Hu Gao suppressed his excitement. At this critical moment, he couldn’t afford to be careless, or he would suffer a lot. A slight mistake could even be fatal. Fortunately, he had a jade pendant to heal him; otherwise, he would have many scars on his body.

Under his control, the fire toxins on the surface of his body began to move in a regular pattern, all converging toward Hu Gao’s chest.

After a long time, about half of the fire toxins had gathered in front of Hu Gao’s chest, forming a fist-sized black crystal, emitting intense violent energy fluctuations. However, the speed at which Hu Gao mobilized the other fire toxins gradually slowed down.

"Damn! My primordial energy is insufficient, and my mental focus is greatly consumed!"

Seeing this, Xiao Wu didn’t let Hu Gao continue refining. Since he had already condensed a considerable amount of fire toxins, he swallowed the remaining fire toxins into his body and released a circle of golden dragon energy to envelop Hu Gao’s body. Then he transmitted his voice: "Boss, leave here quickly!"

Hu Gao nodded dejectedly and then mobilized the remaining primordial energy in his body to quickly leave this open area.

"Phew!"

Soon, Hu Gao left the open area and sighed in relief. Without saying much, he let Xiao Wu guard beside him, and he sat down cross-legged to start meditating and recovering.

Now, his primordial energy was almost depleted, but fortunately, his speed of absorbing primordial energy was quite fast. In less than half an hour, he had recovered to his peak state.

"Xiao Wu, how did the refinement of the fire toxin go?" This was what Hu Gao was most concerned about.

"Wow, boss, I’ve refined the fire toxin bomb, but because it only contains half of the fire toxin energy, its power is greatly reduced, probably about half of what I estimated."

Xiao Wu jumped off Hu Gao’s shoulder and then opened his mouth, spitting out a small, black, peanut-sized pill.

"This... this is the fire toxin bomb?" Hu Gao took the black pill and examined it for a moment, then asked in surprise. This pill looked like a bean and didn’t emit any violent energy. Could it be a fire toxin bomb?

"Boss, of course, this is the fire toxin bomb. The fire toxin inside is completely suppressed, so it doesn’t look like much. But once you use primordial energy to fully detonate it, its power will definitely be strong, probably not inferior to the full force attack of a peak Ninth Stage Condensed Shadow Realm martial artist."

Xiao Wu knew that Hu Gao was very concerned about the refinement of the fire toxin bomb, so he quickly explained to reassure him.

Hu Gao looked at the pill in his hand and then at Xiao Wu, somewhat skeptical: "Equivalent to the full force attack of a peak Ninth Stage Condensed Shadow Realm martial artist? Really?"

Xiao Wu chuckled: "Boss, why don’t you try it? Since it’s only equivalent to the full force attack of a peak Ninth Stage Condensed Shadow Realm martial artist, it’s not very useful to keep it. You might as well use it now."

"Alright, I’ll give it a try to see how powerful it is." Hu Gao nodded; he really wanted to test it.

He glanced around and then focused on a few giant trees of the same species. These trees were about as thick as a person’s arms and quite hard.

"Boom!"

He stepped forward and struck one of the trees with his palm, leaving a one-inch deep palm print and a crisp cracking sound. It seemed that the inside of the tree was almost completely shattered, and a strong wind might blow it down.

He didn’t use his full strength, but the force he used was not inferior to the full force attack of a peak Ninth Stage Condensed Shadow Realm martial artist.

"This tree needs a full force attack from a peak Ninth Stage Condensed Shadow Realm martial artist to break it. I’ll see if the explosion of the fire toxin bomb can shatter it."

"Boss, you just need to slightly mobilize your primordial energy, and the fire toxin bomb will explode in one second. You must throw it out immediately," Xiao Wu reminded him.

"Okay!"

Hu Gao nodded, then without hesitation, mobilized his primordial energy to trigger the fire toxin bomb and threw it at a nearby giant tree.

With a loud boom, the place where the fire toxin bomb hit was instantly covered in flying wood chips, creating a vacuum. The giant tree, over ten meters tall, collapsed, and the temperature of the surrounding space sharply increased, with a violent wave of primordial energy sweeping out.

"Whoa!"

Seeing this, Hu Gao drew in a sharp breath, "The power of this fire toxin bomb is really incredible."

He could confirm that although the explosion of the fire toxin bomb was only equivalent to the full force attack of a peak Ninth Stage Condensed Shadow Realm martial artist, the destructive power it caused was even greater and more terrifying, definitely a powerful weapon in a fight.

"Wow, boss, isn’t this thing great?" Xiao Wu said excitedly.

"I need to refine more of these fire toxin bombs. Do you have any ideas?"

Hu Gao was completely captivated by the fire toxin bomb. If he had some of these, it would be like having a large number of experts at his disposal.

If he encountered someone he couldn’t defeat, he could just use some fire toxin bombs to take care of them.

"Wow, boss, with our current abilities, we don’t seem to meet the standard for refining fire toxin bombs yet."

Xiao Wu’s answer was like a bucket of cold water, leaving Hu Gao feeling both helpless and a bit embarrassed. The idea was beautiful, but the reality was harsh. Hu Gao had to admit that he currently didn’t meet the standard for refining fire toxin bombs.

At the very least, his primordial energy cultivation needed to double to refine a fire toxin bomb that would satisfy him.

Hu Gao knew that it would be quite difficult to break through in a short time. After all, there were very few late-stage First Rank demonic beasts in the vicinity, and even fewer late-stage First Rank demonic beasts with demonic cores. To obtain enough late-stage First Rank demonic cores to break through to the Eighth Stage Condensed Shadow Realm would take a long time.

As for peak First Rank demonic cores, Hu Gao had to reluctantly rule them out. He and Xiao Wu would probably need to team up to hunt a peak First Rank demonic beast.

Xiao Wu had only recently broken through to a late-stage First Rank demonic beast, while a peak First Rank demonic beast was a terrifying existence that even ordinary First Rank Body Transformation Realm martial artists couldn’t handle. He and Xiao Wu would need to team up and use their full strength to possibly hunt a peak First Rank demonic beast. With a peak First Rank demonic core, he might be able to break through to the Eighth Stage Condensed Shadow Realm.

But in such a dangerous place, using their full strength to hunt a peak First Rank demonic beast would likely result in injuries, and even expose Xiao Wu. Was this a wise move?

"Boss, there are plenty of fire toxins in the Flame Valley. We can refine the fire toxin bombs later. When we get stronger, the fire toxin bombs we refine might be even more powerful."

Xiao Wu comforted him.

Hu Gao wasn’t someone who couldn’t adapt. Although he really wanted to refine the fire toxin bombs, he had to admit that it was impossible at the moment, so he could only postpone it.

Nodding, Hu Gao asked, "Alright, where should we go now? Have you found any Black Fire Lotus or fire attribute demonic beasts with demonic cores?"

"I haven’t seen any fire attribute demonic beasts with demonic cores. There are too many humans around, and I haven’t found any traces of demonic beasts."

Xiao Wu’s eyes flickered, "However, I did find a few Black Fire Lotus, and they’re not far from us, only about three miles away."

"Let’s go then. I must get all those Black Fire Lotus. Xiao Wu, once I get them, you can directly absorb and refine them to strengthen your organs and try to boost your strength."

Unable to successfully refine the fire toxin bomb, Hu Gao decided to use the Black Fire Lotus to compensate, which would make him feel better.

Xiao Wu straightened up and patted his chest with a paw, "Wow, boss, I estimate that I only need about a hundred Black Fire Lotus to be able to kill a peak First Rank demonic beast."

"..."

Hu Gao really wanted to tie this guy up and beat him up. Does he think Black Fire Lotus are like cabbages on the roadside, just waiting to be picked?

Finding a divine beast is not easy, and satisfying a divine beast is even harder!