Rise from a Poor Family: My Martial Arts Counterattack

Chapter 555 Advancement of Innate Fire
The canyon trembled, and the entire earth began to crack at that moment, with bursts of fire rising continuously from the cracks.

In just a dozen or so breaths, the temperature in the surrounding area rose by several degrees.

Lin Chen frowned and landed directly in the canyon.

"Fellow disciples of the Myriad Flames Sect, I am Lin Chen from the Canglan Sect. I have come here at the request of Elder Zhuang of your sect to learn about what happened in the Sacred Flame Realm. Before coming here, I had already met with your sect's fellow disciple Zhang Qing and learned about the changes that have occurred in the Sacred Flame Realm."

Lin Chen directly told him why he was in the Sacred Flame Realm: he didn't want to waste time.

"Something has happened in the Sacred Flame Realm, so you should all leave now."

At the edge of the canyon, the disciples of the Ten Thousand Fires Sect looked at each other, and finally their gazes fell on the yellow-robed youth at the front.

Senior Brother Wang is the strongest among them who entered this time, and it is under his leadership that they have persevered to this day.

"Thank you, Brother Lin."

Wang Chen clasped his hands in a salute. Although the four innate flames had been devoured by Lin Chen, it did not mean that the crisis was over. Everyone had felt the earth-shaking tremor just now.

"Everyone, head towards the exit immediately. Do not linger in the Sacred Flame Realm."

Wang Chen looked at his other junior brothers. Of the hundred people who came in this time, more than thirty had already sacrificed themselves. If these junior brothers also met with an accident, then the Wanhuo Sect would be completely wiped out this generation.

After dismissing his fellow disciples, Wang Chen himself did not leave. Instead, he walked towards Lin Chen, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and said, "Thank you for your help this time, Brother Lin. If it weren't for you, my Wanhuo Sect would have suffered a great loss."

Although Lin Chen was a few years younger than him, in martial arts, elders are respected, so Wang Chen called him "Brother Lin" very naturally.

"Brother Wang, you're too kind. I was only asked by Elder Zhuang."

Lin Chen smiled and waved his hand, saving the disciples of the Sacred Flame Realm was just a small favor for him.

"Brother Lin, you probably don't plan to withdraw right now, do you?"

Wang Chen looked at Lin Chen, and his judgment was based on Lin Chen's perspective.

The Sacred Flame Realm is only open to disciples of the sect. Lin Chen was able to enter the Sacred Flame Realm because these disciples were trapped, and the elders outside were worried about them, so they agreed to let Lin Chen in.

For Lin Chen, there is only one chance to enter the Sacred Flame Realm.

For these disciples of the Myriad Fire Sect, the changes that occurred in the Sacred Fire Realm meant that if they didn't stay here for a little longer, they would risk losing their lives. But Lin Chen didn't think so.

Those four innate flames, which were unstoppable to them, could not last more than three breaths in Lin Chen's hands. Such a change was nothing. If he were Lin Chen, he would never leave so easily.

Wang Chen knew that Lin Chen had also refined innate fire, and the flame that Lin Chen had just flicked his finger to shoot out was innate fire. He couldn't recognize which kind of innate fire it was, but he guessed that it was a fusion of several innate fires.

If Lin Chen wants to enhance the power of his innate fire, he needs a fire source bead, and the Sacred Fire Realm is the best place for that.

The rampage of the innate fire was a disaster for Lin Chen and his fellow disciples, but an opportunity for him. To prevent being devoured by other innate fires, the fire spirits also emerged from underground or rocky nests, greatly increasing the chances of capturing fire dragons and obtaining fire source pearls.

"I will stay in the Sacred Flame Realm for a while longer."

Faced with Wang Chen's question, Lin Chen didn't hide anything. Having finally gotten in, how could he just leave like that?

The four innate flames just now were only equivalent to the early stage of the fourth realm of innate energy, which was nothing to me.

What is a deadly danger to the disciples of the Myriad Fire Sect is just a minor trouble for me.

Moreover, after devouring these four innate flames, he could clearly feel the growth of his own innate flames. The more innate flames he had, the better, so he wouldn't have to collect fire source beads.

"Brother Lin, if you're going to stay here, you must be careful. That roar just now was able to cause the earth to tremble, so it's very likely that a super innate fire has awakened."

Wang Chen asked Lin Chen if he wanted to stay here, precisely because of what he was about to say.

"The four innate flames that you extinguished, Brother Lin, are somewhat special. They should not be truly autonomous innate flames, but rather controlled by a higher-level innate flame. Otherwise, these four innate flames would not have been able to avoid devouring each other."

During the months he was trapped, Wang Chen kept thinking and came to the conclusion that there was an even more powerful innate fire behind the four innate fires.

However, he did not tell his other junior brothers about this speculation, fearing that if he did, they would lose their will to survive. If they lost even their last will to survive, they would not have been able to hold on for so long.

“At first, I was just guessing, but after Brother Lin extinguished those four innate flames, there was a roar, which proves that my guess was correct.”

Wang Chen looked intently at Lin Chen and explained his analysis in detail. As for how Lin Chen decided, that was Lin Chen's own business.

"Thank you for informing me of this, Brother Wang."

Lin Chen expressed his gratitude to Wang Chen. When the roaring sound came out just now, he had actually guessed that it was true, but he was not 100% sure. Wang Chen, on the other hand, had been trapped here for several months and had more information, so his judgment was more accurate.

Even so, he didn't intend to leave so easily.

"Take care, Brother Lin!"

Seeing that Lin Chen only thanked him, Wang Chen knew that Lin Chen still intended to stay here.

Wang Chen left, but before leaving, he gave Lin Chen a jade slip. Lin Chen focused his divine sense into it, and after a while, his eyes gleamed.

This jade slip is a map of the Sacred Fire Realm, with red and yellow lines indicating different areas.

The yellow lines represent the areas explored by previous disciples who entered the Sacred Flame Realm, while the red lines represent the areas explored by Wang Chen and his group.

The two areas overlapped and did not overlap. Based on the direction he came from, Lin Chen determined the locations he had passed through on the map and found that most of the terrain in these areas was similar to what was marked on the map, with only a small part being different.

If the map only marked the terrain, it wouldn't be very useful. What pleased Lin Chen was that the map also marked the locations of some innate fires.

These were all discovered by disciples of the Myriad Fires Sect over the years. These innate flames are very powerful and cannot be refined by them. Marking them down is also a reminder to later disciples to avoid the areas where these innate flames are located.

The Sacred Flame Realm opens once every thirty years, which is quite a long time for martial artists, but not so long for innate flames. Many innate flames slumber for several thirty-year periods before awakening, so even if there are changes, they won't be significant. As for Lin Chen, with this map, he can quickly travel to the locations of these innate flames and devour them.

Knowing that a super innate fire exists within the Sacred Fire Realm, this map is absolutely priceless.

……

……

Seven days later.

At the bottom of a nearly depleted giant volcano deep within the Sacred Flame Realm, Lin Chen sat cross-legged, surrounded by hundreds of scattered fire source beads that shone with a warm and abundant luster. At this moment, his mind was completely immersed in his dantian.

That newly formed innate fire seed, forged from four top-tier innate fires, was no longer a weak flame.

After absorbing thirty-five different forms and characteristics of innate fire essence, it expanded to an unprecedented size, like a shrunken crimson-gold sun hanging in the center of Lin Chen's dantian, pulsating quietly yet intensely.

As Lin Chen thought this, a flame slowly floated out from his dantian and hovered in the air.

Each flicker of the flame caused the void to distort slightly, radiating a chilling heat and immense pressure. The terrifying energy contained within was already approaching a critical point.

Taking advantage of the map, Lin Chen has devoured thirty-five innate flames and harvested hundreds of fire source pearls in the past seven days.

Without this map, it would probably take him a month or even longer to find these thirty-five innate flames.

The two innate fires cannot see each other, and the distance between any two innate fires is also very far. If the direction is wrong, one will go even further.

For Lin Chen, if he discovers other innate flames, he can choose to refine them. However, firstly, the "Racing Against Time" feature did not provide any hints, and secondly, the time required to refine an innate flame is uncertain; it could take a day, several days, or even half a month.

The dangerous environment within the Sacred Flame Realm was insufficient to support him in refining a primordial flame.

Even without refining the innate fire, he had to stop after absorbing thirty-five innate fires, because the innate fire within his body was about to advance to a higher level.

Lin Chen's eyes were filled with anticipation. He was eager to know how much his new innate fire would increase in power after it advanced.

Advancing the innate fire is simple; all you need is enough energy. All Lin Chen has to do is watch from the sidelines. If the advancement process isn't going well, he can simply throw in the fire source bead.

Without much guidance from Lin Chen, the flame seemed to possess its own will and instinct, and began to rotate on its own. As the flame rotated, the fire waves that filled the surrounding air, and even the residual warmth of the earth's fire veins deep underground, were all drawn in by an invisible suction force.

In an instant, a massive, slowly rotating vortex of fire, visible to the naked eye, formed.

Endless flame energy, red, gold, cyan, blue... mixed with the colors of other devoured innate flames, all appeared in that vortex.

It's as if countless colors of paint have been thrown into a swirling vat of dye, and someone is stirring this vat, with terrifyingly high temperatures surging out like a tide.

The entire dried-up crater wall emitted a low hum due to this terrifying energy tide.

As the vortex of flames rotated, the colors inside began to slowly blend, gradually decreasing from a variety of colors to only about ten... until finally only a simple reddish-gold remained.

The crimson-gold vortex began to collapse inward, but the light at its center was rising at an unbelievable speed, from scorching to blinding, and finally almost pure white. Lin Chen was certain that if he were not the master of this innate fire, even with his peak fourth-level immortal body, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand this temperature.

This temperature was not just a simple high temperature, but a terrifying temperature that made one's soul feel scorched, far more terrifying than the physical pressure he had endured in the Thousand Layers Secret Realm.

To Lin Chen's relief, although the temperature released during the advancement of the innate fire was terrifying, the process was quite smooth.

There were no signs of violent energy collisions leading to loss of control; it was as if it were a natural and inevitable process. The enormous innate fire energy was continuously absorbed as the vortex shrank.

When the energy absorption reached its peak, the blinding white light in the vortex suddenly subsided, and the entire vortex stopped rotating at that moment. A new flame quietly floated out of the vortex.

As the vortex collapsed and disappeared, Lin Chen looked at the new flame before him with a look of intoxication in his eyes.

Although the color of the flames remained unchanged—golden on the outside, cyan on the inside, and a deep blue at the very center—this time the colors were captivating, possessing a beauty that defied description.

The beauty of nature, the beauty of the great way.

Lin Chen opened his right hand, and the flames floated on his palm before disappearing into his palm.

At the same time, in his dantian, the flame once again transformed into a fire that hung high in his dantian. Its size was smaller than before, but its color was purer and deeper. The shape of the flame was more restrained and rounded, and its core flowed with a warm yet sharp light like glass.

The fiery sun hovered silently, yet its rays continuously shot out in all directions, landing on Lin Chen's internal organs, blood, acupoints... every part of his body. Lin Chen felt as if his body was burning hot like a furnace at this moment.

Lin Chen was not surprised by this change.

Any martial artist who has refined the innate fire has their body constantly being tempered by the innate fire within their body. As the level of the innate fire increases, it will temper the body once again, which is also an opportunity for the martial artist to improve their physical body.

On the sixth level of the Thousand Illusions Secret Realm, Lin Chen cultivated his Immortal Body to the fourth level, and then entered the seventh level. His physical strength was improved once again, but he failed to break through to the fifth level.

Lin Chen had a hunch that perhaps with the advancement of his innate fire, he would have a chance to reach the fifth level of his immortal body.

However, since this was not the first time he had refined the innate fire, the tempering of his body by the innate fire this time was a slow process.

Half an hour later, his body returned to normal. Lin Chen put away the Fire Source Pearl. Just as he was about to leave the volcano, he suddenly suppressed his aura.

A voice came from above him.

"Brother, aren't we going to search for the Holy Fire Palace?"

"The Holy Fire Hall? That's not something we can touch. Let's take this opportunity to see if we can find any newly born innate fire. If we find even one, it can fetch a good price in the outside world. I just sensed the unique aura of innate fire here, but it's gone now. It's extremely consistent with the characteristics of innate fire. It sensed our arrival and hid itself."

"Brother, do you mean there's primordial fire beneath this volcano? But this volcano has clearly been abandoned."

"Don't underestimate the power of innate fire. Any innate fire possesses intelligence no less than that of our human race. This volcano was abandoned, so who would have thought that an innate fire would be hiding here?"

(End of this chapter)