Chapter 610 333: Healing Sage Inauguration

'Uncertain? That means there's still time.'

Su Chen nodded thoughtfully. "If the Fog Ashes are purified even further," he asked, "will the Ancient King be able to leave freely?"

Qing Cang, standing to one side, looked down at Su Chen on the ground. "If the middle-layer Fog Ashes can be purified," he responded, "then according to my Master's projections, the Flame Fire will be able to burn continuously. As long as there are no external triggers, it should be fine."

'So that's how it is,' Su Chen realized. 'Once the outer and middle layers of Fog Ashes are purified, the Flame Fire's intensity will be enough to overpower the core Fog Ashes.'

It wouldn't be a complete solution, but as long as the Fog Ashes' intensity didn't increase, the Flame Fire could keep it suppressed indefinitely.

Qing Cang seemed to guess what Su Chen was thinking and said reassuringly, "You don't need to be in such a hurry. Purifying the outer-layer Fog Ashes this quickly has already exceeded my Master's and my expectations. It's given us a lot of breathing room."

Thinking of this, he remarked with a sigh, "If not for you, my Master would have had to hold his nose and continue to tolerate Qin Yun."

"Besides, let's not even talk about the core Fog Ashes for now. As for the middle layer, you'll most likely be able to purify it once you advance to Tier Seven, or perhaps after you've built up your foundation at Tier Eight. But for now, while you're at Tier Six, you shouldn't even think about it."

"The intensity of the middle-layer Fog Ashes is far beyond that of the outer layer. Even with your Melting Holy Profession, you wouldn't be able to maintain an all-out burst of power for very long."

A projection of Su Chen had appeared on the preliminary selection list, so Qing Cang was already aware of his current level of strength.

"You've already tried?" Su Chen asked, surprised by the implication in Qing Cang's words.

"Yeah." There was a hint of resignation in Qing Cang's voice.

Before the outer layer was purified, he couldn't even reach the middle layer. But a while back, he'd gotten curious and went in to test the strength of the middle-layer Fog Ashes.

'You could barely handle the outer layer, yet you went to test the middle layer? Old Qing, what's with this intense curiosity of yours?' Su Chen was speechless.

Qing Cang didn't seem to notice Su Chen's odd look. He continued with a trace of lingering fear in his voice, "Deceitful Gods... these creatures live for far too long. The outer layer was already more than I could handle, and the middle layer's intensity is simply unimaginable."

"Using your purification method, I estimate that a Tier Seven with two fused Holy Professions might be able to trade blows with Black Tuo's projection. But only just trade blows. As for actually purifying it..."

Qing Cang shook his head. If it weren't Su Chen standing before him, he would have already said the two words: "Absolutely impossible."

Originally, there was no such thing as purifying this Fog Ashes stuff. The possibility only arose because the Deceitful God's Power manifests differently depending on its target.

Before Su Chen came along, if you got caught in it, the only solution was to obliterate it with overwhelming force. There was no other way.

This wasn't surprising to Su Chen. 'Looks like my earlier assessment was correct,' he thought. 'This middle-layer Fog Ashes is no simple matter.'

'Black Tuo's projection has a limitless power source,' he mused. 'To win, you have to be stronger than it—and not just by a small margin.'

'A Tier Seven with two fused Holy Professions can only trade blows with it, but if the projection were weakened to a Tier Six level, things would be different. A Tier Six Black Tuo would naturally be weaker. In other words, it would be an easier fight.'

'And my current strength hasn't hit its ceiling yet. Right now, my strongest burst of power can only barely enhance a single Secret Artifact to Tier Eight.'

"Alright."

Seeing Su Chen's eyes darting about, Qing Cang could guess what the young man was calculating. He shook his head and said reassuringly, "Don't take this so much to heart, and don't feel burdened by it. This was never your responsibility in the first place. It's fine even if you can't purify it."

"The Ancient King is just tied down for long periods of time, that's all. If it weren't for running into something like the Spirit of Sun, he's more than capable of handling most unexpected crises."

Su Chen nodded but didn't offer much of an explanation.

'Burden? What burden?' he thought. He felt nothing but anticipation. It wasn't just that freeing the Ancient King would make his own life easier; the reward for purifying the Fog Ashes was still dangling right in front of him.

"You just keep at it in here."

Once he confirmed that Su Chen hadn't suffered any ill effects from the Blood of the Deceitful God he'd drawn a while back, Qing Cang left.

Watching Qing Cang go, Su Chen quickly pushed those thoughts aside and continued to tough it out.

「Another half-month passed in the blink of an eye.」

On this day, Su Chen was squatting on the ground, his eyes unfocused. His gaze was fixed on the various plants before him, which grew and withered in a continuous cycle.

He stared until, on his status panel, next to the second requirement for the Healing Sage, the word "Completed" appeared.

"Ha!" He couldn't help but stand, a thrill of excitement shooting through him.

The tempering requirement for the Cauldron Maker had been finished several days ago, but the second requirement for the Healing Sage—which required him to experience a year and a half's worth of time—had taken this extra while to complete.

"Finally done!" Su Chen let out a long, deep breath and stretched his limbs, which let out a series of pops and cracks.

All told, he had been inside the Copper Heart for nearly four months. He couldn't move, eat, or drink, and had to meticulously manage his Physical Strength every day. Even with his temperament, he had almost reached his breaking point.

The only reason he had lasted this long was because he'd already come too far to give up now.

"Copper Spirit, thanks for everything. I'm heading out now."

He didn't even have time to say more to the Copper Spirit before stepping out of the Copper Heart.

He immediately took a deep breath of the outside air, filling his lungs. It didn't feel any different, but the sensation was still incredibly refreshing.

"Brother Ku." He looked toward the old man at his side. The man's eyelids lifted slightly, and he spoke in a hoarse voice, "You stayed a little longer this time."

"Just a little?" Su Chen knew better than to argue about the scale of time with an old-timer like him, so he just offered a noncommittal reply and walked on.