The Annihilator: Killer Of Gods

Chapter 205 Heaven Grade Pill Flame

"The Pill Flame is a little aggressive," Karsha said, looking at the burning bud of flame.

"It's a heaven-grade pill flame I inherited from my master. He wanted me to tame and refine it, but I couldn't, so I added it to the archives when I became the Guild Leader, hoping to find something of equivalent value. Luckily for me, you came along and took it off my hands." Master Artemis smiled.

"Don't worry. Even if I can't refine it, the lightning fruit has already been given to you, so there's no need to worry about returning it." Karsha could sense the hesitation in his voice. The lightning fruit he had given him was something he had no use for.

He could return to the island and find its source whenever he wished. After all, the lightning fruit was found inside Thundercoil's hideout, suggesting there was a tree somewhere on the island. He hadn't had time during his last visit, so he assigned the Shadow Guards to locate these important items whenever they had a chance.

But even if they didn't find a tree of lightning fruits, he still had four fruits he could sell or use whenever he pleased.

"Alright, none of you should come close, even if something happens," Karsha warned.

After the caution, he formed a hand seal, and a diagram appeared in front of him. The diagram was circular with a flame-like allure. It was a flame-refining diagram he had mastered from his master's memories.

He placed the flame inside the circle and, as before, began the taming incantation. Xian was immediately captivated by how fluidly Karsha spoke. Curious about the extent of his soul strength, Xian began focusing on the essence behind the words, without even attempting to hide his curiosity.

Karsha recited a series of seemingly random words that held no meaning to those around him, but to Xian, they carried a much deeper resonance.

Karsha had already shared taming techniques with him, but Xian's innate talent as a tamer had awakened when he opened his soul sea. This talent allowed him to comprehend the essence behind sounds produced by most things. Although not at Karsha's level, his comprehension speed was still higher than that of most soul cultivators.

He could interpret the meaning behind the reactions of the pill flame as it responded to each word Karsha spoke. Within a minute, Karsha had managed to gain the flame's acknowledgment and was ready to move on to the difficult part.

He retrieved three legendary-grade flames and had the heaven-grade pill flame consume them. This was Karsha's way of solidifying their newly established bond.

Master Artemis was beyond shocked to see the flame he had spent years trying to tame submit to Karsha so effortlessly. When Karsha tamed the epic-grade pill flame, Master Artemis thought it was normal, as many could manage such flames with relative ease.

However, even Pill Sages struggle to tame heaven-grade pill flames. But Karsha, a 19-year-old Pill Saint, had subdued a heaven-grade pill flame with ease, as if it were no harder than picking fruit from the ground.

"Alright, little fella, time to meet your new sibling," Karsha said, as a green flame appeared in his hands. The moment the Devil Breath flame materialized, the heaven-grade pill flame exuded a commanding presence, trying to assert its dominance.

To Karsha's surprise, his Devil Breath flame also emitted an infernal breath in response. Though much weaker than the heaven-grade flame, the confidence it showed spoke volumes.

"No need to get hostile. This is just a merging ceremony. From now on, you two will become one. Your confidence and his infernal might will merge to form a new whole. This will make you both stronger, so instead of fighting, accept each other and grow powerful together." Karsha wasn't sure if it would work, but he had to try.

What he didn't realize was that his soul strength had risen to a level where even taming a Tier 9 monster would be within his reach. Despite merely trying to encourage the two flames to merge, the strength radiating from his soul was too domineering for either flame to act arrogantly.

The heaven-grade pill flame, though stronger, recognized that merging with the confident epic-grade flame would benefit them both. Yet, accepting such a weaker flame as a companion was difficult for it.

"It's okay to be arrogant, little fella; your standards are clearly higher than little Devil's here. But you're both powerful, and merging could make you even greater, so why not give it a try?"

Karsha considered forcing them to merge if they resisted, but seeing that his words were influencing them, he waited. Once they accepted each other, he could use the Pyro Merging Art to fuse the two flames, creating a new variant.

Lady Yi Ran watched Karsha from the sidelines, her eyes full of admiration. Like Xian, she also had some experience with soul cultivation. Although she didn't fully understand the essence behind Karsha's speech to tame the pill flame, she could sense the spiritual fluctuations radiating from him as he communicated with the two flames.

As a Sage with some skill in soul cultivation, she could detect these subtle fluctuations. Master Artemis sensed them as well, but the elders, most of whom were body or mana cultivators, were not so fortunate.

June and Fairy Mei Lin also watched with admiration. June was open about her feelings for Karsha, but Mei Lin had not yet taken that step. She was uncertain about how Karsha would feel or how to express her feelings.

She lacked June's confidence. But as a supportive friend, June assured her that Karsha would like her regardless of what happened.

Aside from admiring Karsha, June kept stealing glances at Li Fei, Xian's older sister. Although Li Fei's beauty didn't yet match her's, shecould tell that once Li Fei reached the level of Grandmaster or Semi-Saint, her beauty would be heavenly, capable of captivating anyone with just a smile.

Though no one knew what June was thinking, her smile hinted at the plans she was making as she observed Li Fei's continued gaze at the handsome redhead.

"Since you two are willing to merge, try not to resist each other. The process will be over before you know it," Karsha said with a smile, looking at the two flames. He was impressed by their intelligence, especially Devil's Breath.

That little wretch even made some demands, and thanks to Karsha's ability as a Universal Enigma, he was able to respond to each of them.

The little wretch insisted on keeping part of his name, and after some back-and-forth, they finally agreed on a name: Aegon's Breath.

The heaven-grade flame was originally called the Aegon Blue Heaven Flame, a flame from a powerful beast known as the Single Horn Aegon Flame Lizard. This flame-type beast stored all its flames in its horn, and when it died, the horn would bury itself deep underground, preserving the heaven flame's purity until a worthy individual discovered it.

Master Artemis's master had found it in an underground passage during one of his adventures and brought it back, hoping his talented disciple would be able to tame it when he grew stronger. However, after years of failure, Master Artemis eventually gave up.

Karsha couldn't help but sigh—if Master Artemis had managed to tame this flame, he could have achieved the rank of Gold Badge Pill Sage by now.

While talent is important, a more powerful pill flame is also essential in the art of alchemy.

'I'll make sure to compensate him more; it feels like I'm cheating him,' Karsha thought. The heaven-grade pill flame was indeed powerful, and for someone indifferent to lightning fruits, the flame held far more value.

"Merge," Karsha commanded, forming a hand seal. The green and blue flames flew toward each other, gradually beginning to fuse. The green flame exuded strong confidence, while the blue flame contributed infernal might.

As they started to bond, their consciousnesses began linking, forming a new whole. Because they were merging willingly, Karsha's role was minimal—he only needed to maintain the diagram for as long as the process required.

BOOM

A burst of energy erupted from the flames as the merging process entered its final phase. The two flames were almost fully combined, and to Karsha's surprise, the color barely changed.

Neither blue nor green dominated; instead, the result was a blend of green and blue with a subtle hint of purple. The aura coming from the merged flames was much stronger than even that of the Aegon Blue Heaven Flame.

"This aura... it's a mutation," Master Artemis murmured, eyes widening in amazement. "I never thought I would live long enough to witness a mutated Pill Flame."

"Master Artemis, what is a mutated Pill Flame?" Sect Master Xu asked, puzzled. They were not alchemists, so they had little knowledge of pill flames and their significance.

"In alchemy, a mutated Pill Flame is like a soul weapon for an alchemist."

"What?" Aside from Xian's family, the others gasped aloud. To them, a soul weapon was the ultimate and most powerful grade of item a cultivator could possess. Seeing something akin to a soul weapon, they couldn't help but marvel, awestruck by the strength and rarity of what they witnessed.

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"Success," Karsha announced with a smile, summoning the new flame. It radiated both confidence and fierceness. He then cut his palm, allowing a few drops of blood to fall onto the flame. The flame flew toward him and merged with his arm, making Karsha's smile widen even more.

"Time to shake the alchemy world and show them what you're capable of—what we're capable of," Karsha said, clearly pleased with his achievement. Without wasting a moment, he summoned a pill furnace in front of him, signaling the start of his first refining session with his soul-bound Pill Flame, Aegon's Breath.