An Extra Villain in Cultivation World-Chapter 72: Ember Breathing Gu

"That is why cultivators are given attainment ranks once their understanding reaches certain levels. These ranks reflect how deeply someone understands their chosen path."

"Think of it like cooking. If someone has never cooked before, even if you give them the best recipe and ingredients, they might still ruin the dish.

"But someone with high attainment in cooking doesn’t rely only on recipes. Even with poor ingredients, they understand how to balance heat, flavor, and timing. That is the difference between knowledge... and attainment."

Xuanyan nodded slightly as he listened. Mei Lingyao then gestured toward Yanmei.

"Take Yanmei as an example."

Yanmei had been listening carefully to the explanation, but the moment both of them looked at her, she stiffened slightly.

Mei Lingyao didn’t seem to care about that. "She has studied alchemy for many years and refined thousands of pills; her knowledge is extensive, and in terms of experience she has already reached the Quasi-Master stage. But even now, she still hasn’t fully grasped the deeper principles behind controlling spiritual flame. Because of that, she is still limited to refining pills.

"But you... are different."

"So from now on, you will not waste your time practicing ordinary pill refinement," Mei Lingyao said calmly. "Instead, we will move to something far more difficult in alchemy—refining Gu and treasures."

Her eyes rested on Xuanyan before she continued, "Prepare yourself. Your test begins now."

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Yanmei stepped toward the central table and began preparing the materials for the test. One jade tray after another appeared on the stone surface, each holding strange ingredients meant for refining a fire-attribute support Gu. Around the table she also arranged several piles of spirit stones, forming a simple formation that would provide steady spiritual energy during the refinement.

Inside the trays lay a collection of unusual materials rarely seen outside alchemy halls. At the center rested the shell of a Blazing Ember Beetle, still faintly warm to the touch. This Rank-2 fire beast naturally absorbed heat throughout its life, making its shell an ideal core material for refining flame-attribute Gu.

Beside it lay a bundle of Crimson Flame Grass, its thin leaves glowing softly like burning threads. When refined properly, the herb helped stabilize fire energy and prevented spiritual flames from becoming too violent during the fusion process.

Yanmei then placed a small crystal vial containing Molten Fire Essence beside the grass. The liquid inside flickered like living lava, occasionally releasing tiny sparks of heat that briefly distorted the air around the vial.

Next came several Ash Heart Seeds, small black seeds formed from trees that had survived lightning-born wildfires. These seeds were valued for their unusual resilience and were often used to strengthen the endurance of fire-type Gu during refinement.

Beside them rested a fragment of Charred Salamander Bone, taken from a Rank-2 salamander beast that lived deep within volcanic caverns. The bone carried a natural resistance to flame and was commonly used to stabilize the internal structure of fire-attribute Gu.

Finally, Yanmei arranged a handful of Burning Silk Threads around the central materials. These delicate threads were harvested from fire-silk spiders and were often used during the final stage of Gu refinement, binding different fire materials together so their energies could fuse without collapsing.

While Yanmei finished arranging the materials, Mei Lingyao began explaining their purpose to Xuanyan in detail. The ingredients on the table were meant for refining a Rank-1 Ember Breathing Gu, a small support-type Gu belonging to the fire path. In this world, most Gu, spiritual beasts, and refinement treasures all began from Rank-1, because Qi Condensation cultivators were not considered true practitioners yet and could not properly control such lifeforms.

She then opened a small jade container resting beside the furnace. Inside lay a thumb-sized red beetle.

Its body resembled a piece of burning charcoal, the dark shell split by thin cracks that released a faint orange glow from within. Whenever the insect stirred slightly, gentle ripples of heat distorted the air around it as if the creature carried a tiny flame inside its body.

Xuanyan leaned closer and observed the Gu carefully before reaching out to pick it up from Mei Lingyao’s palm.

"What does it do?" he asked.

"It has little value in direct combat," Mei Lingyao replied calmly. "But when a cultivator reaches the Foundation Establishment Realm and feeds it a thread of spiritual essence, the Ember Breathing Gu allows its master to exhale a thin stream of heated breath. The air expelled from the lungs becomes infused with the Gu’s fire essence, making the breath slightly scorching."

"However, its real usefulness appears during refinement."

"The Ember Breathing Gu assists its master during alchemy, forging, or Gu refinement by stabilizing heat and improving material fusion. When activated with a small thread of spiritual essence, it releases a gentle fire energy that spreads through the furnace or cauldron."

"This fire essence does not greatly increase the temperature. Instead, it purifies and refines the flame itself, allowing materials to melt and merge together far more smoothly."

Because of this stabilizing effect, several benefits appeared during refinement. Impurities burned away more easily, materials fused with less violent rejection, and the overall chance of refinement failure decreased noticeably.

"For beginners who struggle to control flame intensity," Mei Lingyao added, "the Ember Breathing Gu acts almost like a silent assistant, smoothing fluctuations in temperature and preventing sudden bursts of unstable fire."

Of course, its effect was still limited by its rank.

"This Gu can only influence low-grade materials and Rank-2 refinement processes," she added. "If it is used on stronger spiritual materials, the fire essence inside the Gu will be overwhelmed and it will fall dormant."

Xuanyan looked down at the small Ember Breathing Gu resting quietly inside the jade container. The faint heat radiating from its body felt almost alive against his fingers.

For the first time since entering the chamber, he began to realize that Mei Lingyao’s test might be far more complicated than refining a simple pill he had expected.