With the help of six fire lotuses, absorbing the fire-attributed spiritual energy in this cave became far easier for Jiang Chen.
The six fire lotuses surrounded Jiang Chen at the center, greatly reducing the pressure on him and making his absorption twice as efficient.
"Ice Fire Demon Lotuses—just what they need is nourishment. This cave is practically a heaven-sent feeding ground. Tsk tsk, like searching everywhere only to find something right under your nose. The pity is, I can only control six Demon Lotuses at once right now. Otherwise, the feeding speed would be even more outrageous. At the end of the day, my cultivation realm is still too weak."
Jiang Chen felt a twinge of regret. If he could release more Demon Lotuses now, their feeding speed would increase dramatically.
The faster they fed, the quicker the Demon Lotuses would grow.
And the faster the Demon Lotuses progressed, the more it would benefit the advancement of Jiang Chen's own cultivation.
The six fire lotuses greedily devoured the ceaseless fire-spiritual essence flowing through the cave. Through Jiang Chen's refinement, it continuously filled his Spirit Sea.
Jiang Chen's Spirit Sea had been shaped by the Five Dragons Open Heaven Pill. Though he was not born with an innate constitution, the pill's molding gave his Spirit Sea a full foundation across all five basic elemental aptitudes.
However, water and fire—the two attributes—had been the first ones Jiang Chen developed thanks to his fortuitous encounter with the Ice Fire Demon Lotus. For the time being, these two were his most important cultivation directions.
As for the other three basic attributes, while Jiang Chen intended to cultivate them as well, they lacked the heaven-defying support of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus. Their cultivation speed naturally couldn't compare to the water and fire attributes.
In this Heavenly Fire Spirit Vein cave, fire-spiritual energy was abundant, and Jiang Chen's fire lotuses were in their element.
For ordinary martial artists, this was a grueling trial.
But for Jiang Chen, this was practically a vacation—more relaxing than any holiday.
……
"Tsk tsk, a full day has passed. This 'Rock Monstrosity' really is something else. He's the first secular disciple to attempt the hard difficulty level."
By now, the outside world had given Jiang Chen a nickname: "Rock Monstrosity." His performance in the first trial had been so monstrous that only someone with a heart as unyielding as bedrock could have completed the Path of Reincarnation in a single day.
So until his true identity was revealed, everyone could only call him by this title.
"Heh heh, true geniuses always march to their own drumbeat. That Rock Monstrosity is exactly like that. He didn't even glance at the other aptitude tests—went straight for the martial Dao aptitude test. And of course, he picked the hardest one. That's what you call a monster!"
"Don't go overboard with the praise. The Heavenly Fire Spirit Vein cave increases in difficulty by one fold every day. By the third day, the power of the fire-spiritual energy will be four times that of the first day. It won't be easy. I hope this so-called genius doesn't quit halfway." Not everyone was willing to applaud the genius's performance—some were eager to pour cold water on it.
"Daring to challenge the hard difficulty means he's confident he can handle it."
"Exactly! This selection process is no joke. That Rock Monstrosity has a Dao Heart as firm as steel. He must have his own plan. A reckless brute could never forge such an unshakable Dao Heart. In my view, this kid clearly knows what he's doing."
"Agreed. A true genius must have exactly that kind of boldness."
What Jiang Chen didn't know was that the discussions about him in the outside world had reached a fever pitch unlike anything before.
Jiang Chen could also feel that with the arrival of the second day, the fire-spiritual energy inside the Heavenly Fire Spirit Vein cave had grown noticeably more violent.
Flames and storms surged in like countless primordial beasts rampaging through the stone cavern, trying to tear every living thing within to shreds.
The fire lotuses, having absorbed fire-spiritual energy for a full day, had grown visibly larger. Their massive petals opened wide like the greedy maws of giant beasts, continuously devouring the incoming torrents of flame.
"The fire intensity has increased, and the fire-spiritual energy is clearly more active. It looks like the difficulty of this hard-level trial goes up day by day."
Jiang Chen had noticed this as well, but with six ever-strengthening fire lotuses shielding him, his own body wasn't affected in the slightest. He remained perfectly calm in the center, as serene as a gentle breeze.
The second day passed quietly.
On the third day, Jiang Chen once again noticed that the fire inside the cave had intensified like a volcanic eruption. Powerful currents of fire kept blasting upward from beneath the earth.
Flames darted about from every direction inside the stone cavern, like countless fire-crows crashing wildly through the space.
The intensity seemed to have doubled once more compared to the second day.
Yet the six fire lotuses, having been nourished for two consecutive days, naturally didn't find this situation taxing.
If the fire had been this violent on the very first day, the six fire lotuses might have struggled to keep up.
But two days of adaptation and two days of growing stronger through absorption had made the lotuses intimately familiar and fully attuned to the Heavenly Fire Spirit Vein.
So by the third day, the six Demon Lotuses still had power to spare facing this situation.
By the third day, the examiners in the outside world had grown noticeably tense.
The appearance of such a genius stirred anticipation in some, but jealousy inevitably crept into the hearts of others.
"The third day is almost over. It looks like this Rock Monstrosity will absolutely pass the trial!"
"Does this mean the boy possesses a superior spiritual body?"
"A superior spiritual body, combined with heaven-defying mental fortitude! This... this is absolutely monstrous. Could it be that the heavens have sent us a prodigy for our Sixteen Kingdoms Alliance?"