Chapter 369

Compared to the turmoil outside, the Ye residence was much more peaceful .

The current situation was messy . Students had been told to return home, so the Ye residence was empty .

Ai Hui could feel that the atmosphere in the house wasn’t too good . He sensed that the servants were talking under the table, and since Ai Hui had keen ears, it did not take much effort for him to figure that they were discussing the rumors revolving around Madam Ye and Xiaobao .

Xiaobao wasn’t the biological son of the deceased Master Ye?

Ai Hui couldn’t help but shake his head . These people had too much time and would do anything to win those internal strifes .

He had no time or effort to waste on such nonsensical rumors . The stone statue had returned to its original state and did not react to anything . Even its initial heavenly charm was gone .

Are you going to give me just one episode after I’ve spent so much effort to get ahold of you?

Ai Hui stared at the bandage and stone statue unkindly . If they were alive, he would smash them against the brick wall .

When the bandage had been removed from the stone statue, it split into two pieces again and they coiled themselves around Ai Hui’s body like a snake, even knotting themselves . Many a time Ai Hui felt that the bandages were very spiritual and alive .

The stone statue did look more exquisite, but was useless .

To a practical snob like Ai Hui, useless things were naturally treated as less . As such, the once mighty and impressive demonic god portrait was thrown aside by Ai Hui .

Ai Hui placed his attention on the metal elemental elixir . He had received a total of three metal elemental elixirs from Madam Ye .

These metal elemental elixirs came from high-level dire beasts, so none of the beasts producing them were weak . Such dire beasts were generally left alone by hunting teams; the hunters would even flee at the mere sight of them . Only elemental masters had the ability to hunt them down . Many new elemental masters would visit the Wilderness to hunt for these high level beasts as not only did doing so allow them to practice their inheritances, but it also helped them to lay the foundations of their training in the future .

Becoming a Master meant that the elementalist had entered a higher level of combat capability, so upon joining combat divisions, he or she would receive better treatment and privileges; the assistance rendered by aristocratic families thereafter would also be rather shocking . The masters’ training costs, however, also rose significantly . Ordinary elemental food and ingredients were no longer effective for them . In other words, the elemental energy within their bodies was purer than that found in most ingredients .

This was also the reason why elemental masters were preyed on by high-level dire beasts .

The three metal elemental elixirs were of different sizes, with the biggest being the size of a fist while the smallest was the size of an egg . Their shapes were also irregular . Each metal elemental elixir was covered by silver, hair-like threads . They were densely packed and formed a very complicated but fine decorative design; these were commonly known as elixir traces .

Many elemental masters believed that elixir traces represented a certain rule of elemental energy . Some aristocratic families and the Great Elder had researched them, but had formed no conclusive theories thus far .

Metal elemental elixirs needed to be kept in special light-swallowing sand cases . They could not be out in the air for a long time or they would develop intense elemental energy waves that altered the composition of the elemental energy in the nearby region .

It was Ai Hui’s first time taking the elemental elixir, so he was excited but also slightly nervous .

Elemental elixirs were undoubtedly good items, but absorbing them was a test for elementalists . The surging elemental energy contained within was accumulated over a long period of time by the dire beasts, so it was exceptionally pure .

Being pure meant that the elemental elixir would be more difficult to absorb .

Furthermore, the remnant fiendish aura was another issue . The beasts which produced the elemental elixirs were vicious and must have gobbled up countless beasts and elementalists . Other than containing pure, surging elemental energy, the elemental elixirs also carried huge volumes of remnant fiendish aura .

This remnant energy was adverse to elementalists and a hindrance to the absorption process .

Elemental elixirs were the quickest way to raise one’s elemental energy realm since the elemental energy they contained was much purer than that found in any other part of the beasts’ bodies .

Ai Hui had always been lagging in this aspect because his body’s aptitude was naturally terrible . If not for the elemental food prepared by Lou Lan, Ai Hui wouldn’t have attained Elemental Externalization so easily . The good thing was that the glass body of his Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp, upon completion, improved his aptitude significantly .

It was a pity that Lou Lan wasn’t around, otherwise he would know how to eliminate the fiendish aura from the elemental elixir .

He could only rely on himself now .

Without Lou Lan, Ai Hui felt as though a storm was brewing . He had to grab hold of whatever time he had to upgrade his abilities, so as to protect his own life .

It was fortunate that he had already trained the [Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp] as it could possibly help to remove the elemental elixir’s fiendish aura .

The lamp in his sky palace turned much brighter as it operated fully . Ai Hui swallowed the smallest elemental elixir .

Boom!

The surging elemental energy exploded suddenly with a howl like that of a tyrannical beast, then rushed into Ai Hui’s brain, causing his mind to turn blank . His frail elemental energy was like paste in front of even stronger elemental energy .

Ai Hui had underestimated the strength of the elemental elixir .

In reality, when most young aristocrats consumed the elemental elixir, there would be an accompanying senior to prevent them from experiencing what Ai Hui was experiencing now . No matter how talented a genius was, they weren’t worth a mention before this fearful energy that had been accumulated by dire beasts over hundreds of years of slaughter .

Ai Hui knew only the benefits of the elemental elixir, not the right way to consume it . When it came to precious treasures like these elemental elixirs, ordinary folks might never get the chance to see one, let alone learn about the minute details involved about consuming one . That information circulated among aristocratic families only .

If Ai Hui could see what was going on in his body, he would realized that wisps of black fog were seeping out from amid the elemental elixir’s elemental energy .

The Skyheart Flaming Lamp operated unceasingly to remove some of the fog, but more quickly emerged .

The fog gathered without dissipating and formed a mighty beast, which appeared blurry but emitted intense disdain, arrogance, and a dense, ice-cold, murderous spirit .

The beast suddenly opened its mouth and silently bellowed towards the Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp .

The Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp’s flames shook once before dimming significantly .

Out of control, the metal elemental energy scattered within Ai Hui’s body and black fog seeped out . The fog gathered and did not dissipate at all . It was a horrifying sight .

Just then, in a corner, the eyes of the demonic god statue glowed slightly .

Suddenly, the fog-formed beast appeared to be frightened, as if it’d seen a most terrifying enemy . It struggled wildly, but there seemed to be an invisible lock holding it down, preventing it from breaking free .

The stubborn black fog pointed towards the stone statue . The fog appeared to be very attracted to the statue as it continuously extended and stretched towards it frantically, like water plants .

The frontmost wisp of black fog entered the slightly opened mouth of the statue .

The demonic god statue’s eyes glowed brighter .

Staring blankly, Ai Hui heard a dire beast’s anguished wailing .

It was a howl filled with despair and fear .

Ai Hui quivered and snapped out of his daze . What he saw next made his jaw drop .

Innumerable wisps of black fog seeped out of his pores to form black hair-like threads that eventually ended up in the statue’s mouth .

Demonic god statue…

He watched on helplessly as the statue swallowed the black fog incessantly .

Ai Hui’s body shook as the last wisp of black fog left it and an indescribably comfortable and light feeling rose from deep within his body .

This was . . .

Overwhelmed, Ai Hui felt very suspicious, but quickly lost the desire to ponder over the stone statue . Without the fiendish aura, the force of the pure metal elemental energy was also immediately released . It became small knives that circulated throughout his body, causing him to feel sharp pains all over .

The metal elemental energy released by the elemental elixir was much purer than Ai Hui had imagined .

Fortunately, he was quite experienced when it came to things like this . Long ago, starting from his time in the Suspending Golden Tower, he’d had to refine even purer metal elemental energy .

Ai Hui was good at persevering and being patient .

He stood up with some effort while holding onto the Silverfold Plum Sword . Without being showy, he got into a comfortable position . Enduring the acute pain, he started operating his one and only Circulatory Cycle Revolution .

Most people required a quiet room for this as they had to be in a very relaxed state of mind . It was hard to imagine anyone being able to do it under such terrible conditions .

For Ai Hui, however, it had always been this way .

While this pain was not like anything he’d felt before, he got into the momentum of things gradually .

The Skyheart Flaming Lotus Lamp, which had been restrained by the black fog earlier, regained its vigor . Its light started to circulate within Ai Hui’s body, illuminating his flesh and making it appear glassy .

The sky dimmed slightly, but Ai Hui’s glass-like body continued to glow and operate .

The blood plum blossom on his chest started moving . It could feel the abundant elemental energy; it was exactly what it liked . Just then, the bandage around his chest stuck itself onto the blood plum bosom, instantly calming it down to a motionless state .

Wisps of silver fog oozed out from Ai Hui’s pores . They were like soft cow hair needles, needle-like but also fog-like . The absorption process consumed part of the elemental energy . The amount of elemental energy consumed was directly linked with the body’s aptitude . The better the body’s aptitude was, the lower its elemental energy consumption and higher its absorption efficiency would be .

While Ai Hui had already mastered [Glass Body], he still lost about twenty-five percent of the elemental energy . Thick metal elemental energy circulated throughout his whole body like an enveloping ball of silver fog .

The stone statue remained still this time . The silver fog seemed to be of no interest to the statue . The glow in its eyes vanished and the statue returned back to its charmless, ordinary granite rock-like state .

Time passed slowly as Ai Hui completed one Circulatory Cycle Revolution after another .

At dawn on the second day, a faint glow appeared outside the windows and on the horizon far away . The room was still dark, but a glassy sculpture of a human figure, seemingly fresh out of the oven, could be seen . The glow had yet to disperse and he was still surrounded by silver fog . He was like thunder and lightning amid the thick clouds .

He quivered suddenly before slowly opening his eyes .

Those eyes were peaceful and deep, like the night sky still lingering on the horizon .

He’d stepped into the Second Elemental Realm .