Starting from Douluo Continent, I've become a god through daily check-ins.

Chapter 558 Choice

"What terrifying destructive power! If it were thrown into a city, it could probably burn a large city to the ground within an hour, right?" Looking at the interior of the cave, which had changed so drastically in just a short time, Jing Chen felt a pang of fear on his face and murmured to himself before turning his gaze to Yao Lao.

At this moment, the old doctor was watching the blue flames with a tense expression. When he felt Jing Chen looking over, his tense, old face softened slightly, and he gave him a comforting smile.

Jing Chen nodded with a forced smile at Yao Laoqiang, then suddenly raised an eyebrow, a surge of joy spreading across his face. He quickly turned his head back and stared intently at the blue flames.

The arm, covered in a blood-red keratin layer, frantically clawed at the blue flames. A moment later, the rapidly flailing arm suddenly froze, and a smile gradually crept onto Jing Chen's lips.

Seeing Jing Chen's expression, Grandpa Yao breathed a sigh of relief. Although the blood armor formed by the Blood Lotus Pill was powerful, it could not withstand the prolonged baking of the strange fire. If the blood armor evaporated due to the exhaustion of energy, then Jing Chen's attempt to devour the strange fire would be a complete failure.

With his hand gripping a tangible object tightly, Jing Chen gritted his teeth, enduring the burning pain in his palm, and slowly pulled his arm away from the blue flames.

As his arm was withdrawn from the blue flames, a wisp of liquid, resembling blue magma, was wriggling slightly in Jing Chen's palm.

"Is this the seed of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame?" Staring at the wisp of azure magma in his hand that was releasing terrifying heat, Jing Chen blinked and murmured softly.

As the fire seed was extracted from the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, the enormous azure flame before him gradually shrank. A moment later, it transformed into a tiny wisp of azure flame and entered the azure magma strip in Jing Chen's palm.

"This is the original fire seed of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame. Don't underestimate its size. When it first took shape, it should have been as big as half a mountain. However, after thousands of years of tempering by the earth, its size has become smaller and smaller. Only when its size is compressed to the size of a palm can it form a spark of fire spirit. Only then can it truly be called a strange fire."

"Imagine compressing the terrifying energy absorbed over a millennium into a mere thumb-sized magma strip. If it were to fully erupt, the power would be utterly devastating. To put it bluntly, even a Dou Zong expert would face only one fate in the face of such a sudden burst of power." Yao Lao stared at the worm-like blue magma in Jing Chen's palm and said softly, "That would be... annihilation!"

With a long sigh, Jing Chen nodded silently, carefully holding the cyan magma bar in his palm. Due to the terrifyingly high temperature contained within the magma bar, the thick layer of blood-red keratin was melting at a heart-stopping speed.

"What's next?" Jing Chen stared at the lava bar in his hand for a while, then looked up, blinked, and murmured.

"Swallow it"

The pale white flames on Yao Lao's body trembled uncontrollably a few times, and his aged voice, which he tried to maintain composure, already trembled slightly. The step Jing Chen was about to take was the most dangerous step in devouring the strange fire. No matter how tough the human body is, the inside is always the most vulnerable part. Inside the human body, let alone a strange fire with destructive power, even just anything that gets inside can make a powerful person wish for death.

Upon hearing Yao Lao's words, Jing Chen's hand, which was tightly gripping the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame Seed, trembled slightly. He lowered his head slightly, his dark eyes fixed on the slowly writhing flame seed, a struggle flickering in his clear black and white eyes.

No matter how calm Jing Chen was, he couldn't help but feel a bit of fear and trepidation when faced with such a life-or-death situation. What he was about to swallow was an extremely volatile bomb, one that had a very high chance of blasting his body to ashes the instant he was swallowed.

As Jing Chen fell silent, the atmosphere in the cave gradually quieted down. The sweltering air lingered in the cave before seeping out through some cracks.

Looking at Jing Chen's slightly twitching hand, Yao Lao sighed softly. His face showed no disappointment at Jing Chen's hesitation. Having experienced devouring a strange fire before, he knew very well the wavering of the heart at this moment.

Back then, when he was devouring the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, he even sat there dumbly for nearly an hour, holding the flame seed. Finally, trembling with fear, he gritted his teeth, prepared to die, and forcefully shoved the flame seed into his stomach.

Seeing the struggling boy clutching the flame, Yao Lao remained silent, offering no words of comfort. Devouring a strange fire inherently carried immense risk. Although he had prepared items like Blood Lotus Pills as requested, these could only slightly increase the success rate.

According to rough calculations, without auxiliary items like the Blood Lotus Pill, the success rate of devouring a strange fire is less than one percent. With them, the success rate might increase to around ten percent. Even so, the risks are still considerable; one could even say that devouring a strange fire is inherently a gamble. Good luck, and you'll soar through the heavens, overlooking the world; bad luck, and you'll be reduced to ashes, buried with the earth.

Therefore, seeing Jing Chen's hesitation and struggle, Yao Lao remained silent, simply standing quietly to the side, awaiting his decision. However, he believed that the young man before him would not disappoint him. Three years of arduous training had allowed him to thoroughly understand the ruthlessness and stubbornness hidden within the young man's bones. The young man had sacrificed a great deal for the strange fire, and now it was time for it to blossom and bear fruit; given his nature, he would certainly not give up.

"Since we won't give up, let's seize it. Life and death, the strong and the weak, the choice begins from this moment." The old man lowered his eyes slightly and murmured to himself.

Time ticked by in silence. At one moment, the seated boy suddenly trembled slightly, took a long breath of warm air, and raised his head slightly, revealing his profile, which was gradually shedding its childishness. He turned his head and smiled slightly at the silent old medicine master beside him, raised the flame in his hand, and said softly, "Old medicine master, it begins!"

(End of this chapter)