After Yuan Ming extricated himself, without the slightest hesitation, he raised his hand and waved. Half of the soul crows swooped down, launching a soul collision against the Crimson Fire Dragon.

The first black crow charged at the Crimson Fire Dragon, taking advantage of its stunned state by the crow cry, it collided head-on into its brow and with a "poof," it penetrated inside.

The Crimson Fire Dragon's body shuddered violently, as if it were desperately struggling to resist, but Yuan Ming, of course, would not give it the chance. The two subsequent soul crows dashed into the dragon's head with lightning speed, followed closely by three more...

After a total of six impacts, the Crimson Fire Dragon's eyes turned completely chaotic, devoid of the previous liveliness.

While performing the soul collision, Yuan Ming also took the opportunity to inject part of the soul crow's soul power into the Crimson Fire Dragon, causing the flames within it to once again spiral out of control, binding its body and restricting its movements.

Yuan Ming seized the opportunity immediately, fully activating the Zhu Rong Heart Technique. Two thick red lights injected into the Fire Dragon, refining the Crimson Fire Dragon once more.

Although heavily damaged by the soul collision, the Crimson Fire Dragon hadn't completely lost its resisting power. Its body, and dragon claws instinctively struggled to resist, yet Yuan Ming had already gained the upper hand, giving it no chance to catch its breath.

After about a quarter of an hour, the Crimson Fire Dragon was once again subdued, its flames retracted, and it lay prostrate before Yuan Ming, offering no sign of resistance.

Yet, Yuan Ming still did not dare to relax, his gaze fixated tightly on the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod, fearing that more Fire Pythons might fly out from it.

Fortunately, the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod showed no reaction. However, the Crimson Fire Dragon on the ground seemed to have exhausted too much strength, transforming into nine multi-colored Fire Pythons, which flew back.

As the Fire Pythons entered the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod, its body continuously emitted light, returning to normal after a moment.

"Senior, does this mean I've passed the test?" Yuan Ming looked towards Emperor Yan and asked.

Emperor Yan also assessed him, nodding slightly: "Although you relied on trickery, being able to subdue the Nine Fire True Dragon barely passes the test. The Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod is yours."

With that, Emperor Yan waved his hand, and the three-legged round tripod on the table immediately spun and flew straight towards Yuan Ming.

Yuan Ming was overjoyed but didn't dare let the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod get too close to his body, hurriedly emitting two streams of mana to catch it.

A tremendously heavy force came over him, as the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod, barely the height of a person, was surprisingly heavy, as if he were holding up a mountain. He quickly pushed his mana to the extreme, preventing the tripod from falling to the ground.

"The Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod was crafted by the Pill King Pavilion over several generations, using Supreme Yang Fire Jade, Five-Colored Stone, and Earth Core Mysterious Copper, other top-notch spiritual materials. Especially its body was made with Earth Core Mysterious Copper, naturally weighting as much as a mountain and exceptionally sturdy, or it could not bear the twelve kinds of Earth Fire," Emperor Yan explained slowly.

Yuan Ming had seen records of Earth Core Mysterious Copper in the classics, stating it was produced deep within subterranean lava, refined from Fire Copper Essence, extremely heavy in texture but also the most resistant to fierce fire roasting.

The Earth Core Mysterious Copper occasionally found is ground into copper powder, applied inside or outside Alchemy Furnaces or Artifact Refining Furnaces, significantly enhancing the furnace's heat resistance. Surprisingly, the entire body of the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod was made from this material.

As for Supreme Yang Fire Jade and Five-Colored Stone, though he had never heard of them, he imagined they must be extremely precious spiritual materials as well.

Yuan Ming's gaze towards the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod grew even more fervent. While he previously valued the twelve kinds of Earth Fires within, he hadn't anticipated the furnace body would be so extraordinary as well.

"Senior just mentioned this furnace contains twelve kinds of Earth Fire? Shouldn't it be True Fire?" He suddenly thought of a question. This chapter is part of the collection on *.

"What is meant by Earth Fire is not subterranean flames, but a level of True Fire. In the Cultivation World, True Fire is divided into Heaven, Earth, and Human levels. Ordinary True Fire is of the Human-level, though precious, they're also abundant. Earth Fire is much rarer and more powerful than Human Fire. The twelve kinds of Earth Fire within the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod are top-tier Earth Fires. Our Pill King Pavilion established its illustrious reputation in the Central Continent largely due to these twelve kinds of Earth Fire. You must learn to use them wisely in the future," Emperor Yan elaborated.

Yuan Ming listened intently and hurriedly agreed.

According to Emperor Yan, Yan Sijing's apricot wood green fire and ice core yin fire should be Human Fire, whereas the Pure Yang Flame's power far surpasses the apricot wood green fire and ice core yin fire, so it should belong to Earth Fire.

"And what about Heavenly Fire?" Yuan Ming inquired curiously.

"Heavenly Fire is even rarer, with only nine kinds of True Fire earning the title of Heavenly Fire throughout history. Each Heavenly Fire possesses incredible Divine Skills, with value beyond measure. Our Pill King Pavilion has been searching for Heavenly Fire across multiple generations, alas to no avail. If we had even one Heavenly Fire, our sect would not have fallen to the Three Realms Sect," Emperor Yan's tone was filled with regret.

"Heavenly Fire is so precious!" Yuan Ming was greatly shocked.

He immediately remembered something, his pupils contracting suddenly.

The Bright Soul Fire within the Stealing Heaven Tripod, which Xia Jie once referred to as Bright Soul Heavenly Fire, could it be that the Bright Soul Fire is indeed a kind of Heavenly Fire?

"Senior Yan Emperor, what are the names of the nine Heavenly Fires?" Yuan Ming pretended to ask out of curiosity.

"The nine Heavenly Fires are extremely mysterious and little-known, even in ancient texts they are scarcely recorded. In my days, my status in the Pill King Pavilion wasn't very high, so I only know four: the Great Sun Glaze Flame, the Red Lotus Netherworld Fire, the Purple Heart Fire, and the Bright Soul Heavenly Fire," Emperor Yan detailed without reservation.

Yuan Ming maintained a calm expression, but his heart skipped a beat. The Bright Soul Fire was indeed one of the nine Heavenly Fires!

Nevertheless, considering the incredible magical powers of the Stealing Heaven Tripod, it doesn't seem surprising for it to possess a Heavenly Fire.

"Thank you, senior Yan Emperor, for informing me. I will make good use of this Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod... Huh, there seems to be something inside the tripod?" Yuan Ming was about to put away the tripod when he suddenly let out a small exclamation.

Earlier, he had smelled a strange fragrance emanating from the tripod, thinking it was the natural scent it acquired after years of alchemy. Now that he had the tripod in his hands, he discovered a white light cluster floating inside, which was surprisingly an elixir the size of a dragon's eye.

"This is an Ancient Spirit Pill, the Three Flowers and Five Qi Pill, not yet completed. It needs to utilize the intense environment inside the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod to be preserved. Earlier, if you couldn't tame the Fire Dragon formed by nine kinds of Earth Fires, I would have taken out this elixir to store it elsewhere. But now, it seems you are useful enough to protect this Three Flowers and Five Qi Pill." The Yan Emperor continued.

"Since even the seniors of the Pill King Pavilion couldn't refine this Three Flowers and Five Qi Pill, I'm afraid I too cannot complete it. I wonder how I should handle this?" Yuan Ming was slightly taken aback before he asked.

No wonder the fire control test was so difficult earlier; it turns out the Yan Emperor had this intention.

"It's not that our pavilion cannot complete the Three Flowers and Five Qi Pill, but rather that there isn't enough time. If you have the opportunity to visit the Central Continent in the future, you can go to a place called Flame Mountain and seek out a Daoist Huo Yi there. He will help you complete the refining of this elixir, which will be a great opportunity for you." The Yan Emperor spoke.

"Flame Mountain, Daoist Huo Yi... I will remember that." Yuan Ming committed this to memory and was about to ask about the effects and grade of the Three Flowers and Five Qi Pill.

"Alright, enough has been said. Next is the second challenge, which will test your alchemy talent." The Yan Emperor spoke again.

"Senior Yan Emperor, I've already said that I'm not an alchemist, this challenge might be too difficult to pass." Yuan Ming quickly put away the Complete Heaven Exquisite Tripod and spoke frankly.

"I know, which is why I'm testing your alchemy talent, not your alchemy skills." The Yan Emperor snorted as he spoke.

"I see, then please proceed, senior." Yuan Ming scratched his head and said.

"What is alchemy?" The Yan Emperor asked.

"Alchemy is divided into external and internal elixirs. External elixirs refer to all plant, mineral, and stone substances refined into pills, aiding cultivation; Internal elixirs mean using the body as a furnace tripod, internally refining spirit into a pill bound by essence, Qi, and spirit." Yuan Ming racked his brains for his knowledge of elixirs, thought for a moment, and then replied.

"The inner elixir is also called the Golden Core. When it breaks during the Nascent Soul Stage, can there still be an inner elixir to refine?" The Yan Emperor continued to ask.

"Of course not." Yuan Ming shook his head and said.

"Essence, Qi, and spirit form the Golden Core, which transforms into a Nascent Soul. Isn't the Nascent Soul also consolidated by essence, Qi, and spirit?" The Yan Emperor asked.

Yuan Ming stiffened upon hearing this and hesitantly said, "Yes."

"If that's true, then can there still be an inner elixir to refine?" The Yan Emperor continued.

"Yes." Yuan Ming nodded.

"What is refined?" The Yan Emperor pursued the question.

"The Nascent Soul... No, it's essence, Qi, and spirit." Yuan Ming instinctively responded and then had a sudden realization and corrected himself.

"Is there a connection between external and internal elixirs?" The Yan Emperor asked again.

"Naturally, internal elixir cultivation requires the assistance of external elixirs. The essence of plant, mineral, and stone from the external aids in invigorating the inner elixir." Yuan Ming said.

This was recorded in the alchemy classics he had perused in the past.

However, Yuan Ming's understanding of alchemy was not profound, so being able to answer even this much was already quite commendable.

"Hmph, is that all?" The Yan Emperor snorted coldly and asked.

"Forgive my ignorance." Yuan Ming pondered for a moment, unable to come up with a better insight, and showed a remorseful expression.

"The inner elixir possesses Pill Fire, which is crucial for alchemy practitioners, incomparable to various earth fires outside. The achievement level of an alchemy dao practitioner is largely related to the quality of his Pill Fire..." The Yan Emperor seemed to teach Yuan Ming, detailing aspects of the alchemy dao that he had not known before.

Afterward, the Yan Emperor posed various questions regarding alchemy, many of which Yuan Ming had never heard of, leaving him rather embarrassed.

However, through this exchange, he gained quite a lot.

The knowledge about the alchemy dao, even though he did not understand it, was silently kept in mind, intending to organize it later, thereby helping to preserve a piece of the Pill King Pavilion's inheritance.

He believed that the Yan Emperor had this intention, which was why he spoke to him so extensively.

"Senior, how did I perform in this challenge?" Yuan Ming glanced anxiously at the Pill King Secret Manual on the table, feeling deeply uneasy.