Chapter 17

Logically, Nie Qian should not be able to withstand the high temperature of the beast bone, and Nie Tian should be even less likely to do so.

Moreover, Nie Tian had previously said that he and the beast bone did not have any spiritual resonance. When the beast bone gradually heated up, Nie Tian indeed let go, which indicated that he had no way to endure the high temperature.

But now, as the beast bone absorbed the fire power of many fire cloud stones and reached its peak temperature, even she found it hard to bear, Nie Tian actually dared to try again.

This was already enough to surprise her.

But what was even more astonishing was that Nie Tian's fingers, pressing on the red-hot beast bone, did not move at all.

For the first time, Nie Qian felt that she could not see through her nephew.

"Zhisshh!"

Upon closer inspection, Nie Qian found that there were sparks flickering at the point of contact between Nie Tian and the beast bone.

Nie Tian, on the other hand, was in a daze, his eyes gradually shining with an unusual light.

"Has he discovered something?" Nie Qian muttered softly, then quickly closed her mouth, afraid of disturbing Nie Tian.

Tiny fire points, like small crimson stars, flowed within the beast bone in Nie Tian's perception.

He seemed to see those fire points gathering at a single point within the beast bone.

That crimson light point grew larger, with strange light intertwining and flashing, becoming increasingly mysterious.

He focused all his spiritual awareness and tried to explore its profundity.

"Boom!"

His mind suddenly jolted, and he found himself entering a bizarre and wondrous world.

In the red unknown space, countless fire starlight flickered, and threads of red light intertwined like spiritual snakes, gently wriggling and forming intricate patterns every second.

In the midst of those fire starlight and twisting red threads, it seemed to contain the essence of fire power.

A thread of his spiritual consciousness roamed in the mysterious sea of fire, perceiving and awakening to the truth and mystery of fire power in the secret realm of fire.

He was completely immersed in it.

After an unknown period of time, he felt as if he had transformed into a fire spirit, soaring in that unknown realm of fire.

The red-hot beast bone gradually began to lose its luster.

"Boom!"

The mysterious realm of fire suddenly shattered, the space exploded, and countless firelight and red threads scattered.

Nie Tian's spiritual awareness was abruptly pulled back, instantly returning to the beast bone.

He saw a drop of crimson blood separate and shatter within the beast bone, then transform back into many fire points, scattering throughout the beast bone.

Then, the firelight gradually extinguished, and the beast bone returned to its original state.

His spiritual awareness slowly withdrew, once again feeling the roughness at the point of contact between his finger and the beast bone.

"Phew!"

He took a deep breath, moved his finger away from the beast bone, and stared at it, saying, "A drop of blood..."

"What?" Nie Qian, who had been holding her breath, immediately asked, "What happened? Why can you withstand the high temperature of the beast bone?" She fired a series of questions.

"I'm not sure either," Nie Tian replied, "I don't know why, but I just felt that I should touch the beast bone. When I did, I didn't feel the scorching heat; instead, I sensed something strange."

"Tell me more!" Nie Qian was suddenly very interested.

"This beast bone seems to have absorbed enough fire power, with many fire points gathering inside, forming a tiny drop of blood. That drop of blood seemed to contain a mysterious realm of fire. I felt as if I entered that bizarre realm of fire and roamed within it."

"However, that drop of blood seems to be not fully formed yet."

"After a while, when the beast bone returned to its normal state, the drop of blood formed by the fire points separated back into individual fire points and disappeared within the beast bone."

"I have a feeling that the beast bone... still needs more fire power to fully form that tiny drop of blood."

"A drop of blood?" Nie Qian was puzzled, "How can there be a drop of blood inside the beast bone? And it's not even fully formed, which is very strange."

"I don't know either," Nie Tian said, shrugging.

Nie Qian thought for a moment and said, "I don't have any fire cloud stones left, but your grandfather should have some. Wait here, I'll go find him!"

With that, Nie Qian left.

After a while, Nie Donghai and Nie Qian came in together. He casually handed a larger bag filled with fire cloud stones to Nie Tian and said, "All the fire cloud stones I have are here."

Fire cloud stones were just low-grade spiritual materials, and the Nie family had accumulated a good stock over the years.

However, only those with fire attributes in their bodies could use fire cloud stones for cultivation, and neither Nie Donghai nor Nie Qian possessed fire attributes, so their stock was limited.

"Try again," Nie Qian said with bright eyes.

"Okay!" Nie Tian nodded.

Then, in front of Nie Donghai and Nie Qian, he once again guided the fire power from the fire cloud stones into the beast bone.

The beast bone quickly turned red, and the fire points inside became visible to the naked eye.

"Let me try!"

After the beast bone absorbed the fire power from a few fire cloud stones and became scorching hot, Nie Donghai extended his hand and tried.

"Zhisshh!"

A streak of firelight shot out from the beast bone, and Nie Donghai cried out in pain, pulling his hand back with a pained expression.

Even he could not withstand the high temperature from the beast bone and had to give up.

"You said Nie Tian can touch it?" he asked in surprise.

Nie Qian nodded, "That's right."

"Nie Tian, be careful, show me," Nie Donghai said seriously.

"Wait a moment," Nie Tian gently shook his head and said, "It seems I need to wait a bit longer, until the fire points inside the beast bone start to gather, then I can touch it."

"Keep letting it absorb the fire power from the fire cloud stones!" Nie Donghai instructed.

"Okay." Nie Tian took out the fire cloud stones from the bag, placed them on the beast bone, and guided the fire power from the fire cloud stones into the beast bone one by one.

"Crack!"

The fire cloud stones, after absorbing the fire power, shattered one by one, turning into ordinary grayish-white stones.

Nie Donghai's eyes widened as he looked at the beast bone, occasionally glancing at Nie Tian, his face full of anticipation.

He had always wanted to figure out if Nie Tian had any special cultivation attributes and secretly hoped that Nie Tian would one day display surprising cultivation talent.

To him, the beast bone might be a breakthrough.

"Done!"

At this moment, Nie Tian noticed that the scattered fire points inside the beast bone were gathering again.

He decisively reached out and pressed his finger on the beast bone.

Instantly, his spiritual awareness seemed to be sucked into the beast bone.

Numerous fire points flickered in his perception, quickly gathering like hundreds of fire stars converging at a single point.

In the blink of an eye, the drop of blood that had previously disappeared reformed, and his soul consciousness instantly re-entered the unknown realm of fire.

His expression became dazed and confused, and his eyes gradually shone with a bright light.

"Just like before!" Nie Qian said softly.

Nie Donghai was deeply moved, his breathing becoming a bit faster, suppressing his inner excitement.

Nie Tian's spiritual awareness roamed in the realm of fire, where the red light points and twisting red threads were more clearly visible and easier to capture.

It seemed that this mysterious unknown space, after absorbing enough fire power, was becoming more complete.

Vaguely, he seemed to grasp a mysterious fire technique or the profound essence of fire power from the constantly moving light points and red threads.

However, even after absorbing the fire power from the fire cloud stones provided by Nie Tian, the mysterious realm was still not fully formed.

Thus, when he was perceiving its mysteries, he felt that something was still missing.

After a while, this wondrous realm of fire shattered again, and his spiritual awareness instantly returned.

He saw the drop of blood separate once more, turning back into fire points that settled within the beast bone, which slowly returned to its normal state.

"How is it?" Nie Donghai asked with a serious tone.

Nie Tian regained his composure, carefully choosing his words, and said, "The drop of blood needs more fire power to fully form. I feel that within that drop of blood, there seems to be a mysterious fire technique or a secret of fire power."

"Good!" Nie Donghai said excitedly, "I will help you get more fire cloud stones! In the meantime, pay close attention to any changes in the beast bone and remember any unusual details!"

"Understood," Nie Tian replied.

...