The hundred flowers echoed, overlapping and interlocking, forming a massive wreath that enveloped Long Chen. The violent fluctuations made the space tremble.
Seeing this scene, Long Chen couldn't help but shout excitedly. Although he couldn't sense the power of the Heavenly Dao, a scene appeared in his mind.
The Hundred Flowers Ming Dao Pill was basically ineffective against Long Chen. He took it only to test its potency, thinking it would have some effect.
But looking at the patterns all around him, it was as if thunder was exploding in Long Chen's mind. Some things he hadn't understood before suddenly became enlightened and clear.
It turned out that Long Chen had been researching the second evolution of the World-Destroying Fire Lotus, but had tried many times and failed each time.
Currently, the World-Destroying Fire Lotus can only condense nine Starfall Orbs, distributed at the tips of the nine petals.
Long Chen wanted to add more Starfall Orbs, but the problem he couldn't solve was that no matter how much he added them, the balance would instantly become unbalanced, causing them to explode.
But now, seeing the strange phenomenon triggered by the Hundred Flowers Dao Pill, Long Chen instantly understood. He had previously fallen into a dead end, trying to condense a source of power within the core of the World-Destroying Fire Lotus.
Using this source to activate the entire spell and achieve true control, no matter what Long Chen did, he could not control it.
"I've always wanted to go from the inside out. How stupid is that. Why not try going from the outside in?"
Long Chen saw that within the phenomenon of Hundred Flowers Singing the Dao, those flowers absorbed the power of the Heavenly Dao and were channeled into his body.
Although the power of the Heavenly Dao quickly vanished after entering his body and was undetectable, it gave Long Chen a great inspiration.
"Buzz"—
a lotus flower appeared in Long Chen's palm—it was the World-Destroying Fire Lotus. Now, Long Chen could operate the World-Destroying Fire Lotus almost instantly.
Looking at the nine-petal lotus, each petal held a small sphere—the Starfall Orb, the place where the power of fire condenses. The flames swirled like a fiery star.
"Ning!"
Long Chen shouted sharply, and on the nine petals, a Starfall Orb formed.
"Boom!"
But the Starfall Orb had just formed when it shattered in an instant. Long Chen's hand was instantly blown apart, flesh and blood in the blast.
Long Chen's expression remained unchanged. To evolve the World-Destroying Fire Lotus, he had endured countless injuries and had long gained experience.
"This method isn't right. Try again."
Long Chen summoned the World-Destroying Fire Lotus again. This time, he no longer blindly condensed it, but instead carefully examined the flame lotus in his hand.
On the lotus petals, the veins were distinct, much like human meridians, with powerful energy flowing like blood.
"Since the Hundred Flowers Ming Dao can gather a hundred strengths, then my World-Destroying Fire Lotus can also be used. It's just that I haven't found the right method yet."
Long Chen looked at the fire lotus in his hand, then at the energy light map of the Hundred Flowers Singing Dao flowing around him, growing even more confident.
The principles of the two were quite similar. Long Chen compared and verified them back and forth, and soon, the gaze in his eyes grew even brighter.
"Buzz!"
The golden lotus in Long Chen's hand shone brilliantly. He had been experimenting with the Burning Heaven Flame, but even so, if he failed, he'd be torn apart. He didn't even dare use the Dark Phantom Dragon Flame, let alone the Reverse Path Water Spirit Flame—it was simply courting death.
As the golden lotus flowed, patterns lit up inside the starfall sphere on the lotus petals.
Previously, the power of the fire lotus only surged into the Starfall Light Orb, but this time, divine patterns flowed within the orb, slowly nurturing another tiny orb.
The tiny orb gradually grew larger and was slowly peeled away from the Starfall Orb.
At this moment, Long Chen's expression was grave, his eyes fixed on the tiny stripped orb. This was nurtured according to the principles of the Hundred Flowers Ming Dao Pill, using the first Starfall Orb as the mother body to nurture a new Starfall Orb.
Although Long Chen had tried countless times before, he had failed every time. The new Starfall Orb couldn't be nurtured at all and exploded directly.
"Buzz!"
A new Starfall Sphere had just been formed, but the World-Destroying Fire Lotus in Long Chen's hand rapidly expanded, instantly losing its balance, and finally exploded again.
Long Chen showed no sign of discouragement; instead, the excitement in his eyes grew stronger.
"Whoosh."
The World-Destroying Fire Lotus was summoned again. Nine petals trembled, and the Starfall Orb at the top of the petals shone together. Divine light flowed, and at the same time, new Starfall Orbs were nurtured.
The nine newly nurtured Starfall Orbs slowly glowed and grew larger. After a single breath, they actually grew to the same size as the mother's body.
"We did it!"
Long Chen couldn't help but shout loudly. Staring at the eighteen Starfall Orbs inside the World-Destroying Fire Lotus, Long Chen was so excited that even his voice trembled.
This meant that the World-Destroying Fire Lotus in Long Chen's hand was at least twice as powerful as before.
"Boom!"
But as Long Chen formed the third Starfall Orb, the World-Destroying Fire Lotus in his hand exploded with a thunderous roar. This time, Long Chen was cautious, summoned the Azure Dragon Scale, and shielded his hand, but still got blown out and bleeding.
"How could this be?"
Long Chen was stunned. This time, he had failed. He condensed another Starfall Sphere from his mother's body, but when he tried to form a third one, it exploded again.
"Can only one Starfall Sphere be born?" Long Chen couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.
Long Chen tried again, this time trying to condense a third Starfall Sphere from the second Starfall Orb, but he failed once again.
Unwilling to give up, Long Chen calmed down for a moment before testing again. This time, after condensing two Starfall Orbs, he simultaneously operated the first and second Starfall Orbs.
The two meteorite spheres spun around each other, and somehow finally merged into one, becoming one again. After a brief fusion, they became two again.
After the two Starfall Orbs merged and then separated, their appearances underwent a tremendous transformation. The power between them became completely still, yet they could still attract each other.
"Buzz"—
as the two Starfall Orbs operated, a third Starfall Orb was born. After the third Starfall Orb was born, it actually separated the two spheres between the first and the second.
At this moment, Long Chen realized that he no longer needed to deliberately activate them; they could actually operate on their own.
Under their movement, the third Starfall Orb slowly disappeared, forming a strange curve that transformed into an arc that swallowed the first and second Starfall Orbs. After a moment, it unexpectedly evolved into a mysterious Taiji pattern.
After that Taiji diagram was generated, the fourth Starfall Sphere also appeared, followed by the fifth... The sixth ....
"The Dao gives birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to all things—so that's how it is." Looking at the ever-increasing Starfall Orbs within the fire lotus, Long Chen suddenly understood—by a stroke of genius, he had actually comprehended a profound truth.
"Not good."
Long Chen's face suddenly changed drastically. In that moment of distraction, the fire lotus in his hand rapidly grew larger because the number of Starfall Orbs was increasing, rapidly extracting Long Chen's soul power and flame power.
When the Starfall Orb condensed into the seventh one, Long Chen's soul was struck by intense pain. Even the Fire Dragon began to feel uneasy, because the fire lotus had drained too much of its power.
The World-Destroying Fire Lotus had nine petals, each condensed into seven Starfall Orbs. The terrifying power caused cracks to appear in the void, making the space seem about to shatter.
"Whoosh!"
Long Chen was shocked and hurriedly withdrew his power. As he withdrew his power, the Starfall Orbs on the World-Destroying Fire Lotus disappeared one by one.
Six ... Five ... Four ... By the third time, the Taiji pattern formed by the Starfall Sphere trembled slightly, then finally disappeared, and all its power was withdrawn.
"That was close,"
Long Chen let out a long breath. If he hadn't discovered the problem in time and let the World-Destroying Fire Lotus drain Long Chen's power, and when Long Chen's power couldn't control it, it would have exploded, which would have been fatal.
"Hahaha, I never expected that I, Long Chen, would finally come up with my own ultimate move."
Suddenly, Long Chen let out a long, sky-high howl. The next upgrade of the World-Destroying Fire Lotus would become his most terrifying trump card. The excitement and pride in his heart could no longer be suppressed.
"The Seven-Star Fire Lotus condensed from the Burning Heaven Flame is already terrifying. What if we use the Dark Phantom Dragon Flame?" If he used the Reverse Dao Water Spirit Flame... Long Chen could hardly imagine it.
But after the excitement, Long Chen also thought of a question: the stronger a move, the more control it needs to match.
The Burning Heaven Flame was currently his weakest flame. If he used the Dark Phantom Dragon Flame, he would need to invest even more soul power and flame power.
If the spell's power exceeds the user's, it's very likely they might play with fire and self-immolation, killing themselves before the move even begins.
"Heh heh, no matter what, this makes me another trump card for Long Chen. At the Ancient and Modern Heroes Gathering, I'm getting more and more confident." Long Chen chuckled.
In the following time, Long Chen did not refine pills but focused on studying the World-Destroying Fire Lotus.
After repeated testing, Long Chen discovered that the advanced World-Destroying Fire Lotus possessed terrifying power. Each additional Starfall Orb greatly boosted its power.
This is not just a simple one-plus-two logic. The newly formed Starfall Sphere forms a strange formation, and even some mysteries within it are so profound that even Long Chen, the inventor, cannot fully comprehend them and requires careful deliberation bit by bit.
But one thing was certain: the advanced World-Destroying Fire Lotus would become an extremely terrifying killing move in Long Chen's hands.
Time flew by, and the runes on the walls of the alchemy room flickered continuously. Long Chen smiled slightly: "
Very good, the third auction has begun. I bet everyone who should be here has already arrived."