Li Ximing's mastery over Radiant Fire was not particularly remarkable, but his fire-control techniques were exceptional. Although he had only just begun cultivating Great Radiant Light, once he closed his eyes and sensed carefully, he quickly grasped the profound intricacies of the art.

This Great Radiant Light is not like accumulated mana or divine abilities. It is more like a reflection of Purple Mansion Realm Radiant Fire. It is like using a bronze mirror to reflect a flame and gather [Radiant Light]. No matter how refined or vast the mirror becomes, even if one creates several mirrors, once the flame goes out, the light inevitably disperses, and all returns to nothing!

Thus, the starting point for cultivating Great Radiant Light lay in Radiant Fire of the Purple Mansion Realm. Moreover, it had to be Radiant Fire; nothing else would suffice!

Because this mystery originated from that source, no matter how short his cultivation time was or how weak the mirror might be, as long as he cultivated it, there would inevitably be a flicker of candlelight.

Thus, the moment the [Red Pheasant Surging Radiant Flame] settled into [Li Radiance], his qihai quickly produced its first trace of Great Radiant Light. To be precise, it was [Great Li Crimson Radiance].

He opened his eyes with delight. Bringing two fingers together and turning his wrist inward, a dim and hazy red glow appeared at his fingertips, no larger than a pinky finger.

The power is acceptable...

When this strand of [Great Li Crimson Radiance] shot out, its power was actually inferior to [Bright Light Heavenly Surge]. But Li Ximing had not forgotten how long he had cultivated that technique, compared to how little time he had spent on Radiance Light. To achieve this level of power immediately after reading it, even if it relied on Radiant Fire, still spoke volumes of the art's brilliance.

He soon lost himself in it. Not only did he read the introductory section, he hurried through the rest all the way to the end. By the time he finished reading the sixth-grade art in full, he finally understood the purpose of each of the nine profound apertures.

The immortal cultivator who created [Great Li Crimson Radiance] originally used eight apertures to absorb spiritual energy, with one aperture, [Li Radiance], releasing Radiant Light. Yet it seemed that after mastering this art and reaching an extremely high level of attainment, he discovered there was still another path forward.

After Great Li White Radiance reaches completion, the eight apertures will no longer be used to absorb spiritual energy. Instead, one can continue collecting spiritual flames and, with immense mastery, maintain them within the body simultaneously, using those eight apertures to contain them and seek an even greater breakthrough...

At that point, one must gather five types of Radiant Fire and four types of True Fire. Among the five Radiant Fires, one must be the [Everlasting Radiant Fire of Departure], also known as [Folding-Burn Radiant Fire]... Truly extravagant!

Li Ximing had heard of [Folding-Burn Radiant Fire] before. Not only had Huoyang mentioned it, he himself had long known of it. This flame was exceedingly rare, immensely powerful, and possessed a peculiar trait. Once its owner died, it would immediately split into eighty-one portions of [Long Marching Fire Essence].

Li Ximing let out a sigh and opened his eyes again. The sun had already begun to dip westward, and quite some time had clearly passed. Yet the mountain remained bathed in Bright Light. A woman in red stood quietly to one side, waiting respectfully.

"Greetings, Daoist Master..."

The response from the lake had been swift. Li Minggong had arrived in the mountains, but seeing Li Ximing deep in thought, she had immediately swallowed the words she was about to say. Li Ximing pondered on his own for a moment, then casually waved for her to sit at the side. His spiritual sense stirred.

[Valley Wind Leading Fire]!

His Juque Court trembled violently. The [Profound Fire of the Three Phases' Guard] surged forth, racing upward along his dharma body before finally settling within his qihai.

At least in this regard, I don't need much mastery. What difficulty could there be?

Under normal circumstances, Li Ximing would not have been able to make the slightest adjustment. Even a fourth-grade spell art placed before him would be beyond modification, let alone attempting to cultivate [Great Li White Radiance] with his current Radiant Fire mastery...

But with [Valley Wind Leading Fire], his fire-control was theoretically astonishing. He forcibly made the [Profound Fire of the Three Phases' Guard] yield and obediently squeeze into the profound aperture.

The strand of [Great Li Crimson Radiance] was immediately extinguished. Li Ximing calculated with his divine ability for a moment, his eyes lighting up faintly. He then pulled the [Profound Fire of the Three Phases' Guard] back out and tested it through each of the eight apertures one by one.

He did not rely on his own mastery to adjust the apertures. Instead, he forced the [Profound Fire of the Three Phases' Guard] to submit and match them. Before long, his eyes gleamed slightly, and he extended his hand again.

Buzz...

Two points of crimson Radiance Light appeared at his fingertips. The additional one was somewhat illusory, like a dying candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.

"Haha."

Li Ximing smiled and waved his hand to disperse the spell art. He already understood everything. By relying on [Valley Wind Leading Fire], he could temporarily produce an additional portion of [Great Li Crimson Radiance]. This portion was entirely extra, not part of his own cultivation, nor could it grow. But it could exist temporarily.

This method seemed of little use. Unlike [Li Radiance], the other eight apertures required the [Profound Fire of the Three Phases' Guard] to withdraw into the body and remain within them. It could not be brought out to use against enemies. Moreover, the power of a portion of [Great Li Crimson Radiance] was nowhere near that of the [Profound Fire of the Three Phases' Guard], making it almost pointless.

That may be true for one strand of [Great Li Crimson Radiance], but what about nine? Advancing from [Great Li Crimson Radiance] to even a fraction of [Great Li Golden Radiance] is a major hurdle in the art, extremely difficult to cross. But if I form nine strands, then in battle I can temporarily withdraw the True Fire and still unleash it.

Satisfied, he put away the art and turned to Li Minggong with a smile. "Well?"

He was naturally asking about Master Dingyang of Lacquer Marsh. In his mind, everything had already been arranged, Since I plan to borrow [Profound Owl Crossing Scene Furnace], why not settle everything in one go? If I refine those pills for him, I'll gain a portion of Purple Mansion Realm spirit material, and with the Purple Mansion Realm furnace, I might even produce one or two extra pills. As the saying goes, ride the wind and follow the current. Refine everything that should be refined!

Moreover, who was Master Dingyang? When he had left Zhijing Mountain that day, he said there was still a spirit artifact being refined in his furnace. That was a spirit artifact, not a spirit embryo. This man was a rare artifact smith. He had something to ask of Li Ximing, and Li Ximing likewise saw him as valuable. That was why he had revealed his strength early and sought to build good relations.

Li Minggong understood his meaning and replied respectfully, "After I arrived at Lacquer Marsh, Master Dingyang's Dao lineage, [Reverent Yang Mountain], treated me with great courtesy. I was even personally received by a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator. After hearing your intentions, the mountain lord planned to visit in person and brought me along to the lake. Unfortunately, you were not there, so we had to return in regret, leaving a message for me to pass on."

With a spirit artifact in the furnace, Master Dingyang naturally could not move about freely. That he came once already showed how seriously he regarded the matter. She continued respectfully, "He holds your alchemy in the highest esteem and is willing to continue refining the Supreme Shaman spirit embryo for you. If you no longer require it, he is also willing to undertake the forging of spirit artifacts on your behalf."

This was exactly what Li Ximing coveted most. He nodded slightly as Li Minggong continued, "Unfortunately, the Daoist Master still has a spirit artifact in the furnace and a full schedule. He is also considering whether our family has sufficient spirit materials for artifact forging. Thus he spoke plainly. As long as you refine these three batches of pills for him and produce at least fifteen, he will design a spirit artifact for our lake and provide a draft. As for the actual forging and costs afterward, those can be discussed later.

"If our family has connections in artifact forging, we can simply take his draft to someone else to forge it, greatly reducing the difficulty..."