Urban Extraordinary Immortal Doctor
Chapter 1061: Fire Essence Iron

Chapter 1061: Chapter 1061: Fire Essence Iron

"A draw? Heh..."

Fang Bai noticed that when Hong Qitian spoke, his gaze flickered, clearly indicating that those few words of showing weakness weren’t coming from his heart. The corners of Fang Bai’s mouth twitched slightly, revealing a mocking smile. "You come at me with killing intent, chasing me like a madman, and you expect me to believe you just want to make peace?"

Of course, Hong Qitian didn’t actually intend to show weakness to Fang Bai. He simply wasn’t confident he could defeat Fang Bai and wanted to stabilize the situation until he could return to Purple Flame City. There, he planned to secretly coordinate with a few powerful friends to deal with Fang Bai.

"Brother Bai jokes. In truth, I chased you here just to find a secluded place to discuss some matters with you..."

Despite Fang Bai’s mockery, Hong Qitian’s expression didn’t change; he put on a full-faced smile and said, "Without reservation, Brother Bai, my name is Hong Qitian, an Elder of Tribute of the Purple Flame Sect. Today I heard that our Purple Flame City had been graced by a Pill Master quite skilled in alchemy, so I couldn’t help but come over to see... Haha, those harsh words before were just a little joke between us, Brother Bai. You shouldn’t take them seriously..."

Fang Bai crossed his arms over his chest, watching Hong Qitian’s poor act with a smile but not believing a word he said.

"So, Elder Hong isn’t planning to make me ’roll out’ of Purple Flame City anymore?"

Fang Bai replied with a mocking tone after Hong Qitian had finished speaking.

Hong Qitian let out an awkward laugh, saying, "Just jokes... Just jokes... There are over a million martial artists in Purple Flame City, but Pill Masters and Artifact Refiners are extremely rare. Personally, I very much welcome Pill Masters like Brother Bai to come and do business in Purple Flame City. Your reputation has already spread throughout Purple Flame City, and I believe that soon enough, our Sect Master of the Purple Flame Sect will personally come to the Martial Artists Trading Market to invite Brother Bai..."

"Sect Master Zu Tiangang of the Purple Flame Sect?"

Fang Bai slightly furrowed his brow. "What does he want with me?"

The Purple Flame Sect was the foremost powerful sect in Thousand Lakes Country, and its Sect Master, Zu Tiangang, was the most powerful individual in the country, having achieved Vast Level Perfection. When the martial artists of Thousand Lakes Country mentioned Zu Tiangang, they always respectfully called him "Sect Master Zu" or "Ancestor Zu" with great reverence. However, Fang Bai didn’t just call him by his name but also referred to him as "he" without any hint of respect. It was extremely arrogant and if any disciples of the Purple Flame Sect were to hear it, they would certainly be enraged.

Hong Qitian was secretly pleased, thinking that upon his return to the Purple Flame Sect, he could use this incident as leverage. Although Sect Master Zu Tiangang was desperately in need of talents and treated Alchemists and Artifact Refiners courteously, he wouldn’t allow someone who showed no respect to enter the Purple Flame Sect.

As long as Fang Bai didn’t get involved with the Purple Flame Sect, then Hong Qitian had many ways to deal with him, to the point of driving him out of Purple Flame City, or even erasing him from this world.

"Brother Bai is skilled in the art of alchemy, so naturally our Ancestor Sect Master invites you to become an Elder of Tribute. Brother Bai surely knows that our Purple Flame Sect is the strongest sect in Thousand Lakes Country and also one of the third-rank sects in the True Martial Realm. If Brother Bai joined the Purple Flame Sect, you would certainly be treated with great courtesy and receive generous compensation. However..."

Here, Hong Qitian changed his tune, "However, Brother Bai, you’re quite young, and if you were to become an Elder of Tribute, I’m afraid some disciples in the Purple Flame Sect might not take kindly to it. Therefore, I worry that if you were to enter the Purple Flame Sect, some disciples might treat you with hostility..."

"Have I ever said I wanted to join the Purple Flame Sect?"

Fang Bai dismissed Hong Qitian’s obvious provocation with a disdainful glance and chuckled lightly, "A mere third-grade sect can hardly excite me. So, I have absolutely no interest in joining the Purple Flame Sect!"

"Kid, you’re quite arrogant! But the more arrogant you are, the worse your end will be!"

Hong Qitian was pleased again, thinking that once he returned to the Purple Flame Sect, as long as he recounted Fang Bai’s words to the Sect Master and the other disciples, not only would the Sect Master feel annoyed, but the other disciples would also be riled up. Then, without needing to lift a finger himself, other disciples from the Purple Flame Sect would seek out Fang Bai to make trouble for him, making it impossible for Fang Bai to set foot in Purple Flame City.

"The Purple Flame Sect is the number one sect in Thousand Lakes Country, with numerous disciples and strong prowess. It also controls the vast majority of the country’s cultivation resources, and many martial artists take pride in joining the Purple Flame Sect. If Brother Bai, you reject the invitation from Ancestor Sect Master, he will definitely be displeased. And if Ancestor Sect Master is unhappy, you will have a tough time in the Purple Flame Sect! So, I advise Brother Bai to be sensible and agree to join the Purple Flame Sect if the Ancestor Sect Master invites you!"

Hong Qitian continued, seemingly giving advice to Fang Bai, but in reality, he saw Fang Bai’s arrogance and intentionally tried to provoke Fang Bai’s rebellious spirit.

Fang Bai chuckled unconcernedly, "I can earn cultivation resources myself! As for whether your Ancestor Sect Master is happy or not, what does that have to do with me? I refine pills and artifacts for people in the Martial Artists Trading Market, without offending or provoking anyone. If someone comes looking for trouble, these fists of mine won’t agree!"

With a smile that was not quite a smile, he said to Hong Qitian, "Elder Hong, are we going to fight or not? If we are fighting, I’ll be happy to oblige; if not, I’m heading back to Purple Flame City!"

Hong Qitian thought that the arrogant words Fang Bai had just said would be enough to land him in deep trouble, and that there would be disciples from the Purple Flame Sect to handle him, so why would he personally spar with him? He quickly said, "It was just a joke, Brother Bai, don’t take it to heart! I have some matters to attend to and must take my leave first! Farewell! Farewell!"

With that, he turned and left, his figure flashing rapidly, disappearing into a grove on the north side of Fire Lake in the blink of an eye.

Fang Bai extended his Divine Sense to survey the surrounding area, seeing that Hong Qitian had gone far and no one was approaching, he turned around to face the Fire Lake before him.

The lake water was like fire, boiling tumultuously with waves of intense heat.

Several withered leaves were swept up by the wind and drifted above the Fire Lake before gently falling. Less than ten feet above the water’s surface, they turned into wisps of smoke and vanished, indicating the extreme temperature being emitted from the lake.

Fang Bai’s Divine Sense spread out, permeating the water, to find that the lake was extremely deep and the deeper it went, the hotter the water became. At three hundred meters deep, the temperature was so terrifying that even a Vast Level Martial Artist could not bear it and would not dare to dive further.

"Huh? I didn’t expect to find high-grade Fire Essence Iron in the True Martial Realm! This is indeed quite rare!"

When Fang Bai’s Divine Sense reached four hundred meters below the lake, he finally saw the bottom. There lay a millstone-sized piece of Fire Essence Iron, nestled in the mud, emitting a wildly hot aura. The color of the entire lake was dyed a reddish hue by that piece of Fire Essence Iron.

Moreover, the temperature of the lake water around the Fire Essence Iron was even more alarmingly high, such that even a Vast Level Perfection Martial Artist, if not born with a fire-attribute body attuned to fire, could not get close to the Fire Essence Iron.