Chapter 791: Mysterious Power

"It is indeed a bit strange," Zu'an mused as he changed into a new set of clothes, observing Daji beside him. It was truly difficult to reconcile the serene and beautiful woman before him with the legendary vixen queen who had overthrown kingdoms. "If you say she has consciousness, her eyes are usually quite vacant, and she can't even speak; but if you say she doesn't, she won't even let me touch her."

Mi Li sneered repeatedly, "As expected, you're a pervert. You see a pretty woman and immediately want to do strange things."

"I was just testing, alright?" Zu'an quickly defended himself.

Mi Li rolled her eyes, too bothered to deal with him. "Since you've already made the Nine Cauldrons acknowledge you as their master, do you know what functions they have now?"

Zu'an wiped the blood from his body. Although the injuries looked frightening, they were nothing serious given his current physical strength. "I haven't had a chance to feel it yet. Let me connect with it first..." He closed his eyes, linking his mind with the ancient and weighty will. A moment later, he opened his eyes, his expression peculiar.

"What's wrong?" Mi Li asked curiously.

"Because the Nine Cauldrons are incomplete, only a small portion of their functions can be used currently. Primarily, they can be used for alchemy, and you already know their characteristics for that," Zu'an replied.

"I know?" Mi Li was confused. She hadn't personally encountered the Nine Cauldrons back then, so how would she know?

"You should have known from Sheng Xuzi just now. The Nine Cauldrons' alchemy characteristic is that they combine the features of various cauldrons, such as the Crucible of Kindness, the Crucible of Demons, the Crucible of Diligence, and the Crucible of Extravagance."

Mi Li was both surprised and delighted. "Doesn't that mean it combines the advantages of all cauldrons?"

"Exactly." Zu'an beamed. Earlier, when he heard Sheng Xuzi describe his various miraculous cauldrons, he had yearned for each of them, but different cauldrons were mutually exclusive and couldn't be possessed simultaneously. Now, the Nine Cauldrons allowed him to perfectly achieve his "I want them all" ambition. He couldn't help but say, "I wonder if the Nine Cauldrons have a copying function, secretly replicating the characteristics of those cauldrons."

Mi Li shook her head. "I think it's quite the opposite. It's more likely that those cauldrons, having been with the Nine Cauldrons for so long, were unconsciously influenced by their aura. Because they aren't ordinary artifacts themselves, they were able to manifest some of the Nine Cauldrons' characteristics. Of course, even though they aren't ordinary, they are still far inferior to the Nine Cauldrons, so each could only inherit a small portion of the Nine Cauldrons' abilities, along with so many cumbersome restrictions."

"So that's how it is." Zu'an also found her analysis more logical. He quickly retrieved the medicinal ingredients he had prepared earlier. There were plenty of Sky Crane Ganoderma and Red Star Jade at the Imperial Academy of Medicine, but only two Purple Cloud Spirit Flowers remained, which had been seized from the red dragon's nest outside Mingyue City. There had been a few more originally, but they were unfortunately wasted when his previous attempts at alchemy with a common cauldron exploded.

"I hope this time it succeeds." Zu'an placed the various medicinal ingredients into the Nine Cauldrons according to the proportions recorded in the "Ancient Gathering Yuan Scroll," then called Daji to tend the fire for him. Daji stared with wide eyes. Perhaps it was his imagination, but there seemed to be a hint of reluctance in her gaze. However, she did not refuse, still extending her slender jade hands to manipulate the fox fire, which began to envelop the cauldron for alchemy. At this moment, Zu'an felt a perfect synchronicity with her, allowing him to precisely control the intensity of her flames.

Zu'an was very curious: since they were in sync, why couldn't he sense what she was thinking? However, he quickly refocused his mind and began to concentrate on the alchemy.

Surrounded by the fox fire, the Nine Cauldrons became translucent, and the changes within the medicinal ingredients were almost visible to the naked eye.

Mi Li couldn't help but exclaim, "This cauldron is truly exceptional for alchemy! The reason ordinary alchemy has such a low success rate is largely because it's an extremely delicate process. If there's slightly too much or too little of an ingredient, or if the heat isn't just right, it can easily lead to failure. This skill usually requires alchemists to practice extensively over many years. Now that you can directly observe the changes in the medicinal ingredients inside the cauldron, you can address issues specifically, completely bypassing decades of research and experience that others would need."

Zu'an, however, couldn't relax at all. He said in a deep voice, "No, I feel the heat is still far from enough."

"Could Daji's cultivation be too low right now?" Mi Li frowned.

"No," Zu'an shook his head. "The Nine Cauldrons are giving feedback that something is missing. How to describe it... it feels like another kind of flame is needed, but I don't understand the specifics."

"Oh?" Mi Li could now also observe the situation inside the Nine Cauldrons. She saw that the surface of the ingredients had gradually turned mushy, but there was clearly no change within. Her thoughts raced, and she quickly realized, "I understand! The Nine Cauldrons likely require a balance of Yin and Yang for alchemy. Daji's fox fire is Yin. As the saying goes, 'solitary Yin does not give birth, solitary Yang does not grow.' At this moment, another flame, one of ultimate Yang, is needed to successfully activate the Nine Cauldrons."

Zu'an was dumbfounded. "But where am I supposed to find such a flame now?"

He knew that due to his cultivation method, he hadn't awakened elemental powers like other cultivators after reaching the sixth rank. The only reason he could use fire was by borrowing Daji's fox fire. Now, where could he conjure fire from thin air?

Under normal circumstances, he might have been able to slowly figure out a solution, but now, with alchemy in progress, it was like an arrow on the bowstring; there was no way to stop midway. Otherwise, these precious ingredients would be completely ruined, and who knew when he would be able to gather them again.

Mi Li was also frowning deeply, clearly troubled by the same problem. However, with her extraordinary insight, she quickly came up with an idea.

"Does your 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra' awaken a strange bird with corresponding unique abilities every time you break through a layer?" Mi Li asked quickly.

Zu'an nodded. "That's right." Given their current relationship, there was no need to hide it from her.

Mi Li said, "The strange birds you previously awakened were, in order: Da Feng, Bai Ming, Lan Fu, Snow Phoenix, and Green Luan. If I'm not mistaken, these should correspond to the Nine Chicks of the Phoenix."

"The Nine Chicks of the Phoenix?" Zu'an was startled.

Mi Li nodded. "Exactly. Legend has it that the Phoenix has nine divine bird offspring, each with its unique abilities. The cultivation method you practice is called the 'Phoenix Nirvana Sutra,' and you happen to have awakened these types of birds, so it's definitely not a coincidence."

Zu'an had actually harbored this suspicion before, but he hadn't been as certain as she was.

Mi Li continued, "If I remember correctly, among the Nine Phoenix Chicks, there's also one called the Fire Phoenix. It inherits the Phoenix's ability to control flames. If you can awaken this divine bird, you should be able to produce the ultimate Yang flame. Calculating the sequence, it should be almost its turn."

Zu'an gave a wry smile. "It's strange, actually. Previously, every time my cultivation advanced by a rank, I would awaken a divine bird's ability. But this time, I've clearly broken through to the eighth rank, yet for some reason, no new strange bird has appeared."

Mi Li replied, "Cultivators after the eighth rank are qualitatively different from those before. It's likely because you've just broken through and are still at the threshold of the eighth rank, so your cultivation hasn't yet reached the level required to trigger the Fire Phoenix."

"Then there's nothing to be done right now," Zu'an said, his head aching. "Where am I supposed to quickly raise my cultivation in such a short time?" He had just absorbed Ma An's cultivation, but Ma An was only a sixth-rank cultivator, which was a drop in the bucket for his own cultivation advancement.

Mi Li's expression was somewhat unusual. "Have you forgotten that there's still a power within you?"