Chapter 16

Meng Xinghui said with a righteous expression, "Those sons of princes and ministers, born with golden spoons in their mouths, not only fail to show gratitude, but instead become even more arrogant, riding on the heads of the common people, oppressing men and women, and committing all sorts of evil deeds. Tell me, shouldn't these people be punished by everyone? We established the Justice Alliance to deal with these scoundrels... However, for the Justice Alliance to operate normally, it always needs funds, right? Where do these funds come from? Naturally, they come from those scoundrels. The wealth their fathers have plundered from the people, if given to us, can be used to do something beneficial for the people. How meaningful is that... They are rich and evil, we are poor and good. Taking some money from them to use is called robbing the rich to help the poor. Got it?"

Song Li nodded while inwardly thinking, "Damn, brainwashing is indeed a tiring job."

Pang Da, who was no ordinary person, was utterly impressed by Song Li's theory of robbing the rich to help the poor. He showered Song Li with flattery, making Song Li almost believe that he was a messenger of justice and a symbol of peace.

After discussing for a while, the Justice Alliance added another "business" to its operations: robbing and extorting the rich young men in the capital. This became one of the main sources of income for the Justice Alliance.

Song Li thought to himself that although this method was cost-free, it still brought in money too slowly. He needed a lot of things, and the prices of heavenly treasures and elixirs were astronomical. As his mother had mentioned, a perfect heavenly elixir could sell for fifty million gold coins, and that was a conservative estimate. If such a legendary treasure appeared in the market, it would drive all the major forces into a frenzy. Even fifty million might not be enough to buy one, and even if you did buy it, you might not have the life to consume it.

Faced with such a huge financial demand, relying solely on extorting the rich young men would never be enough. He needed to find another way to make money.

While chatting with Pang Da, Song Li's mind was racing. He suddenly remembered what his mother had said about the rarity of fire seeds. For alchemists, fire seeds were undoubtedly extremely precious. Having a high-quality fire seed would make alchemy much more efficient. If a low-quality fire seed was used, the flame energy produced would be flawed, and even if an elixir could be refined, its quality would be greatly reduced. From his mother's words, he could sense that fire seeds were extremely rare and valuable in this world. But for Song Li, who possessed the "Imperial Fire Seed," they seemed quite ordinary. He wondered if fire seeds could be used for trade. If so, he would make a fortune.

With this thought, he asked Pang Da to wait in his room, saying he had something to attend to, and then ran to find his mother.

Yun Lin was studying herbs in the alchemy room. Seeing Song Li rush in, she scolded, "This child, you're so big and still so impulsive. Be careful not to fall."

"I'm a skilled expert, how could I fall?" Song Li wiped his sweat, took his mother's hand, and sat down affectionately, saying, "Mom, you're getting more and more beautiful. People on the street would definitely think you're my sister."

"Little monkey, stop flattering me. What do you want?" Yun Lin was clearly flattered by her son's praise but tried to maintain a calm demeanor.

"Uh... nothing major, just thinking about what you said about fire seeds the other day. More knowledge is always an asset, right?" Song Li said casually.

Yun Lin looked at her son suspiciously, wondering why he suddenly had an interest in fire seeds. Given the strange things that had been happening to Song Li recently, she had developed a certain immunity. Besides, any mother would be happy to help her son who had finally become ambitious. And since Song Li's question was in her area of expertise, she was eager to share her knowledge. Sometimes, a person full of knowledge needs someone to show off to. She wouldn't talk about such things with her husband, so it was perfect that her son was interested. Yun Lin began to explain the details of fire seeds to Song Li.

In the Star Cloud Continent, alchemists held a supreme status, and their numbers were extremely scarce. Fire seeds were even rarer than alchemists. As the saying goes, "To do a job well, one must first sharpen one's tools." Given the importance of flames to alchemists, each alchemist spends their entire life searching for high-quality fire seeds. Only by finding better quality fire seeds can the flame energy produced be more pure, making alchemy more efficient and the quality of elixirs better.

Fire seeds are divided into three categories. The first category is "Primordial Fire," which grows between heaven and earth, absorbing natural fire elements to form. Primordial Fire seeds are formed by absorbing the energy of heaven and earth over tens of thousands of years, containing extremely terrifying energy. The flames produced are extremely pure, making them the preferred choice for alchemists. However, Primordial Fire seeds are extremely difficult to find, and even if someone finds one, they may not be able to use it. This is because Primordial Fire seeds have a certain level of spirituality and contain enormous energy, which can easily burn you to ashes. Only those at the Yuan Ying stage would dare to consider using Primordial Fire.

The second category is the fire seeds cultivated by fire-attribute cultivators, the strongest of which is the Three-Flavored True Fire. This can only be condensed after reaching the Golden Core stage. The energy of the Three-Flavored True Fire seed is also terrifying. Yun Lin's father, the Holy Alchemist Yun Hengtian, possesses a Three-Flavored True Fire seed.

The third category is artificial fire seeds. Since the first two categories are extremely difficult to find, most alchemists choose the third category. This involves finding fire-attribute heavenly treasures and mixing them in a certain ratio to create a fire seed. Strictly speaking, these can only be called "flames" and can only be used a few dozen times before the fire elements in the materials are exhausted, at which point they become useless.

Whether artificial or primordial, fire seeds are divided into seven colors based on their energy levels: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Red has the lowest energy, while violet has the highest. The "Imperial Fire Seed" in Song Li's body is violet, the highest energy level among primordial fire seeds.

The Three-Flavored True Fire has only one color: white. It is the strongest fire seed below the primordial level.

Yun Lin uses an artificial fire seed called "Three-Flavored Flame Rock Fire." The main material is "Red Rock" from the Red Rock Valley in the center of the Star Cloud Continent. It was mixed by the Holy Alchemist Yun Hengtian, who added a bit of Three-Flavored True Fire, making the fire energy more pure and allowing it to be used for a longer time.

Although the "Three-Flavored Flame Rock Fire" is red, the addition of Three-Flavored True Fire makes its energy level much higher, roughly equivalent to a yellow artificial fire seed.

As Yun Lin continued to share her knowledge, Song Li's heart was already in turmoil. The "Imperial Fire Seed" he inherited was undoubtedly a primordial fire seed, and the most powerful and dominant "Emperor of All Fires" among them! Holy crap, this is amazing. Song Li's heart rate instantly soared to 200 beats per minute, his blood rushed, and his face turned red.

"Hey... why are you shaking? Your face is so red. I'm just telling you about fire seeds; I'm not roasting you with them. Why are you like this?" Yun Lin noticed that Song Li was acting strangely and asked urgently.

"Uh... I'm fine, maybe it's because what you said was so exciting," Song Li wiped his sweat, thinking to himself, "Stay calm, stay calm. One must be low-key, even with immense wealth. But despite this, he couldn't suppress his excitement.

Without knowing the market value of fire seeds, Song Li hadn't realized how valuable his "Imperial Fire Seed" was. But after Yun Lin's explanation, he understood that his "Imperial Fire Seed" was an extremely rare and precious treasure on the Star Cloud Continent. If others found out, they would likely tear him apart in seconds. Even his grandfather, Yun Hengtian, might not be able to resist the temptation of the "Imperial Fire Seed" and might compete with his grandson.

This wasn't because Yun Hengtian was cold-hearted, but because the "Imperial Fire Seed" was too tempting. For alchemists, it was a dream treasure!

"Oh, you're fine, I thought you were sick," Yun Lin relaxed when she saw her son was okay.

"Mom, I have a question. Can fire seeds be traded in the market?" Song Li asked his mother, pretending to be a curious and eager learner.

"Of course, in the Star Cloud Continent, anything related to cultivation can be traded," Yun Lin gave him a "you're asking a stupid question" look and continued, "However, fire seeds are extremely rare. Even artificial fire seeds are very difficult to synthesize. The materials are hard to find, and even if you find them, you need to seek help from experts to synthesize the fire seed. Therefore, fire seeds are basically priceless rarities in the market. If I were to sell my 'Three-Flavored Flame Rock Fire,' the entire Holy Lion Empire would go crazy, and they would pay whatever price I ask. That's the value of fire seeds!"

Song Li swallowed hard. Holy crap, artificial fire seeds are so valuable. If I can casually create a "Primordial Fire Seed," wouldn't the entire continent be in a frenzy? Hahaha, how lucky am I? The God of Fire chose me as the successor of the Imperial Fire Seed. It seems my good karma has finally paid off. Good karma, everything is good.

With the "Imperial Fire Seed" and the fire control techniques passed down by the God of Fire, Song Li could easily extract a strand of energy from the "Imperial Fire Seed" to create a new fire seed. However, he understood that with his current strength, if he created something too shocking, no matter how he hid his identity, he would be found by those with ulterior motives. A man without sin is not to be blamed, but a man with a treasure is. He couldn't die before becoming the supreme ruler of the continent, that would be tragic.

Fortunately, his current strength was relatively weak, and it was unlikely he could create a shocking "Primordial Fire Seed." However, as his strength increased, the quality of the fire seeds he created would also improve, which was certain.