บท 346: Chapter 345: Core Bead

Countless rays of light descended from the sky, scattering onto the ancient altar and entering its interior, filling it with warmth.

Xiao Ming's eyes scanned the surroundings, and the reflection of light from the smooth stone walls made him squint. Sitting on the altar, it felt as if they were in a world of sunlight as if the altar itself was a radiant sun.

However, Xiao Ming soon shifted his gaze toward the bottomless hole within the altar. He stood up and moved beside the hole, peering inside.

All he could see was an endless darkness, its depth unfathomable.

Xiao Ming rubbed his chin, intrigued by the Core Bead within.

After a moment of contemplation, Xiao Ming gently pressed his hand against the hole in the ground and shouted softly. A powerful suction force surged out of his hand, pulling up a considerable amount of fire affinity energy, which eventually dissipated. However, the so-called Core Bead did not appear.

Frowning slightly, Xiao Ming increased the strength of the suction force, causing thick fire affinity energies to continuously spew out from the hole. Yet, the Core Bead remained elusive.

This frantic suction force continued for over ten minutes, and just when Xiao Ming was starting to feel helpless, a sudden thought crossed his mind. He quickly shifted his hand aside.

As his hand moved, a tiny, blood-red fire seedling shot out from the hole with incredible speed. The fiery-red seedling made contact with the rays of light above, creating a ripple. Suddenly, a warm white-colored flame appeared out of nowhere in front of Xiao Ming with a soft "puff" sound.

Surprised, Xiao Ming gazed at the flame before him. The flame was pure-white in color, but its interior was filled with countless vein-like blood threads. It was as though they were the blood vessels of this flame, covering its body.

'Is this the Sun Flame? I didn't expect to obtain the Sun Flame while searching for the Core Bead!'

Xiao Ming extended his hand and received the white-colored flame. The fire energy within it was calm and lacked the violent nature of other flames. With his discerning eyes, Xiao Ming could tell that this Sun Flame was much stronger than some ordinary Beast Flames. Though it might not excel in terms of raw power, its lack of aggression made it particularly suitable for alchemy. After all, it was easier to control.

'Perhaps deep within the heart of the earth lies the origin fire seed of this flame,' Xiao Ming pondered inwardly.

The flame before him wouldn't last long, similar to a wisp of the Fallen Heart Flame. It was likely a dispersed flame that had escaped.

Even if it wasn't an extraordinary flame, it wouldn't be weak either.

After contemplating for a while, Xiao Ming suddenly closed his eyes, and a majestic soul power emanated from between his brows, transforming into a tiny wisp as it entered the hole with lightning speed.

As the soul power entered the hole, Xiao Ming immediately felt an intense scorching heat. The deeper his soul traveled, the more intense the sensation became. However, with Xiao Ming's current realm and the protection of the Heavenly Flame, he remained unharmed.

The speed of the soul power was astonishingly fast. After an unknown period of time, Xiao Ming discovered a flickering red glow in the depths of the pitch-black hole.

In an instant, he approached the crimson glow, within the range of his spiritual sight.

The red glow was emitted from a cluster of some unknown, sticky, blood-red liquid. This liquid was circular in shape and its size coincidentally sealed off the bottom of the hole.

And as Xiao Ming focused his gaze, he noticed a thumb-sized, round, red bead suspended within the sticky blood-colored liquid!

The blood-red bead, although small, appeared like a fiery bead with a flame burning above it. Its outer appearance exuded an air of mystery.

'The Core Bead is finally found!'

The Core Bead, also known as Core Fire Bead, was a type of energy bead formed from essence energy deep underground over countless years. It contained immensely vast and mighty energy within it. Rumor had it that some eighth or even ninth-tier medicinal pills required this legendary Core Fire Bead for their creation.

Furthermore, the Core Bead could be refined into the Core Lightning Bead, which has terrifying power. Even a Dou Venerate powerhouse would be severely injured if directly struck by it.

Naturally, Xiao Ming intended to keep it for alchemy purposes.

With a smile in his heart, Xiao Ming's soul power enveloped the surroundings. The closer he got, the more he sensed the majestic energy and scorching temperature, causing ripples to stir within his soul. However, these ripples had no effect on him. His focus remained entirely on the Core Bead.

The viscous blood-red liquid surrounding the Core Bead pulsed like a beating heart, alternating between brightness and darkness in a rhythmic pattern. Xiao Ming carefully observed that when the red glow dimmed, the immense energy within the Core Bead also decreased. He patiently waited for the moment when the red glow reached its darkest point.

Years of pill refinement endowed Xiao Ming with sufficient patience. Like a hunter lurking in the shadows, he kept his sharp gaze fixed on the Core Bead, eagerly awaiting the perfect opportunity to make his move.

Time was passing, second by second.

Suddenly, the repeatedly flashing fire glow on the surface of the sticky liquid descended to its dimmest level!

Seizing this moment, Xiao Ming acted swiftly, moving like lightning.

His soul power abruptly delved deep into the blood-red sticky liquid. The sensation of scorching heat instantly invaded Xiao Ming's soul, but he paid no attention to it.

This type of searing heat lasted only a few moments before Xiao Ming's soul power charged toward the Core Bead. His soul power curled like lightning and instantly turned around. Finally, it shot wildly toward the ground hole's exit.

Boom!

The Core Bead forcefully emerged from the blood-colored sticky liquid, swept by Xiao Ming's soul power. However, the liquid seemed to sense something amiss, triggering a surge of wild and violent energy that transformed into a blood-colored flood as it chased after Xiao Ming's fleeing soul power with incredible speed.

Feeling the hot energy coming from behind, Xiao Ming felt trouble brewing. If he were to be struck by the wild and violent energy within such a narrow space, it was likely that his relatively small soul would crumble on the spot.

Reacting swiftly, Xiao Ming intensified the speed of his soul power to the extreme.

During the pursuit, the opening at the top of the hole finally revealed a glimmer of light. In the next instant, Xiao Ming's soul power, encompassing the Core Bead, surged out of the narrow hole in the ground with lightning-like speed.

The soul power charged through the opening and into the space between Xiao Ming's brows, while he tightly gripped the Core Bead in his palm.

Xiao Ming curved his palm, creating a powerful suction force as his soul merged back into his physical body. The nearby dark-black stone tablet shattered and quickly covered the hole in the ground!

Boom!

At that precise moment, the rays of light surrounding the altar abruptly shifted their trajectory, converging on the stone tablet. It resembled an immensely heavy crown, firmly pressing down on the hole.

Crafted from an unknown material, the black stone tablet seemed to devour the gathered light like a voracious black hole.

Assisted by the sunlight, the trembling of the stone tablet gradually subsided.

Xiao Ming turned to face Xiao Yi Xian, who was still calmly absorbing the Woeful Poison vapor. Then he returned his attention to the Core Bead in his hand, which gave off a warm sensation.

'I had initially wanted to explore the presence of a Fire Seed in the Earth Core, but obtaining the Core Bead is not a bad outcome,' Xiao Ming contemplated. 'As for the Sun Fire Seed, let's wait until Xian'er advances before considering it. Otherwise, it might have an adverse impact on her.'