Leo flipped his right hand, and a blue heart-shaped flame surrounded by sea-blue fire appeared above his palm.
He looked down at the small lake below and commanded, “Collect!” Like a dragon absorbing water, the small lake formed by the sea-blue flames rose and gathered into the Nether Flame source above Leo’s palm.
Within seconds, the entire lake was gone. The glow from the Nether Flame source became more concentrated and profound. Leo then absorbed the Nether Flame source into his dantian.
Inside Leo’s dantian, the sea-blue flames spread out, forming a small lake. Above the lake, the Nine-Petal Ice-Soul Lotus bloomed, with Spirit Fish shadows swimming in the icy white light. Leo’s entire dantian became vibrant, like a small world. The Nether Flame source had been refined by Leo and could now coexist peacefully with the Nine-Petal Ice-Soul Lotus.
With the Nether Flame source, Leo’s strength reached a new level. He suddenly realized he was naked and quickly took out clothes from his Storage Sack to put on.
Just as he finished dressing, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to gather madly towards him. A massive vortex of spiritual energy formed above Leo’s head, continuously drawing in energy from all directions.
The opportunity to advance to the peak of the upper Spirit Saint realm had arrived! Leo sat cross-legged in mid-air, with the vortex growing larger above him. He closed his eyes and activated Nine Transformations of the Stars, absorbing all the spiritual energy into his body.
The vast and pure spiritual energy was converted into spiritual power and entered the golden core in his dantian. The golden core grew brighter, with a phantom heart inside becoming more distinct and beating continuously.
Days passed in an instant. On the morning of the third day, Leo’s aura reached its peak. The spiritual power in his golden core reached its limit, and the vortex above his head stopped spinning and slowly dissipated.
As the vortex disappeared, Leo’s eyes suddenly opened, with brilliant starlight flashing in his pupils. A powerful aura burst from his body. Leo stood up, clenched his fists, and felt the overwhelming spiritual power within him.
He reached out towards the distant void, and a massive hand of spiritual power formed from the surrounding energy. Even a mountain could be crushed under this giant hand.
Leo had now advanced to the peak of the upper Spirit Saint realm! It could even be said that he was halfway into the Spirit God realm. Normally, even with Leo’s talent, it would take at least one or two years to reach this level through regular cultivation.
The refinement of the Nether Flame source and the inheritance from Ancient Tyrant Pill Sovereign allowed Leo’s cultivation to progress rapidly in a short time. Once he truly stepped into the Spirit God realm, he could go find Sophia.
He had been training tirelessly to go to Frostwhisper Clan and bring Sophia back. Calming his excitement, Leo turned his gaze to the central stone platform.
The priority now was to deal with the Sea Serpent King. With a step, space around him twisted, and in the next second, Leo appeared above the central stone platform.
He formed a hand seal and sent it downward. The formation lights flickered, revealing several Formation Flags. With a wave of his sleeve, spiritual power surged out, and the Formation Flags turned into streams of light, flying into his Storage Sack.
A giant alchemy furnace appeared. Seven of the eight sea-blue flame chains binding it had already broken, with the last one on the verge of breaking.
Seeing this, Leo felt relieved that he had acted quickly enough. He looked at the furnace with a mocking tone, “Sea Serpent King, are you comfortable in there?”
Hearing Leo’s taunt, the furnace shook violently. “Human brat, don’t be arrogant! When I get out, I’ll tear you to pieces!” The Sea Serpent King’s furious voice came from inside.
As the king of Star Moon Lake, he had never been sealed before; this was a great humiliation. “Sea Serpent King, you have no chance. I wonder what a blood pill made from your flesh will taste like,” Leo laughed.
“Arrogant human brat! Do you think you can refine me into an Alchemical Pill?!” The Sea Serpent King laughed angrily. He was confident in his body’s defense and strength; ordinary cultivator flames couldn’t harm him.
He would soon break out of the furnace’s seal and make this human brat pay! Leo said nothing more, opening his right palm to reveal a sea-blue fireball above it.
With a wave of his hand, the fireball entered the furnace. “Ah…!” The sudden high temperature caused the unprepared Sea Serpent King to scream in pain.
But he quickly suppressed it and exclaimed in disbelief, “This is Nether Flame! You refined it!?”
Leo’s lips curled slightly as he replied, “Yes, so you have no chance.”
“Damn it! The Nether Flame is mine! Give it back!!” The Sea Serpent King roared from inside the furnace.
The furnace shook violently again as more cracks appeared on the remaining chain. The enraged Sea Serpent King was desperately trying to break free from the seal.
“Sea Serpent King, since you like Nether Flame so much, enjoy its taste.” A cold light flashed in Leo’s eyes as he sat cross-legged in front of the furnace.
With a thought, sea-blue flames flowed from Leo’s body into the furnace. The large furnace was instantly filled with roaring flames.
“Damn it…!” Even with his strength, the Sea Serpent King couldn’t withstand such high temperatures and roared in anger and pain. “When I get out, I’ll tear you to pieces!”
“Stop! Stop it!!”
The Sea Serpent King’s roars continued from inside the furnace. Ignoring his curses and threats, Leo flicked his fingers repeatedly, sending more Nether Flames into the furnace.