"At present, this is probably the most practical function for you. You will learn more uses of the fire bead
in the future,"
the fire source beast said to Austin.
"Thank you, sir."
Austin was overjoyed to receive this treasure.
He had been concerned that even if he cultivated the fire controlling skill as best he could, it would be
useless in the outside world without the power of the eight kinds of sacred fire.
He had not known the fire bead could store all the sacred fires within it.
Austin's life was made a lot easier now, and this was going to be a great help.
"Can this fire bead really store the eight kinds of sacred fire in it?
That would be truly incredible!"
He was excited to be sure, but he could still scarcely believe it.
"Why don't you give it a try right now?
Perhaps that will give you your answer.
There is a way to collect fire using the fire controlling skill. Remember what I taught you.
You can use this bead to gather the eight sacred fires. Give it a go.
But first you must refine this bead, and make it your personal magic treasure. Only then can you use it
to gather the fires,"
said the fire source beast with a proud smile.
"Okay,"
Austin replied with a nod.
He immediately crossed his legs and sat on the ground, beginning to refine the fire bead.
It had been left by an elder of the fire source beast's race. It was by no means an insignificant object.
After all, every fire source beast was terrifyingly powerful.
It was little surprise then that the internal core left by such a creature was extraordinary.
Because of this, it took time and effort to refine it.
It took Austin about half a year to make the magic treasure his own.
When it was done, he used the secret skill of fire collection on the treasure right away, testing whether
he really could collect the eight kinds of fire in it.
As soon as Austin activated it, the fire bead emitted a bright light that shone like a small sun.
Runes of fire attribute floated out, one after another.
A strong pull force then burst out of it.
Whoosh!
All the eight kinds of sacred fire in the surrounding area reacted and flames of all sorts of colors began
swirling towards the fire bead.
Eventually, the bead absorbed the fire.
"It actually did it!"
Austin's heart raced as he watched the sacred fire being absorbed into the bead non-stop.
He continued activating it, collecting more and more sacred fire.
The more it collected, the more heat radiated off it.
"Try collecting as much fire as possible. If anyone dares cross you in the future, you can simply release
the sacred fire from the magic treasure. When they see its power, even the gods of chaos will not dare
provoke you,"
explained the fire source beast, nodding his head seriously as he spoke.
"But if I collect too much, there won't be a lot of sacred fire left in the Eight Fires Valley.
And then when you have to fight someone, you won't have enough sacred fire at your disposal. I'm
afraid of weakening your combat effectiveness.
I think I'll just take some,"
Austin replied after pondering for a moment.
"Ha-ha-ha! There is no need to worry about that, Austin.
There are things you're not aware of. Like that there's a Fiery Eye in here that endlessly spews out the
eight sacred fires.
No matter how much you take with you, it won't be long until it's replenished. You need not worry about
decreasing the amount of sacred fire here.
Just take as much as you can. You'd better fill up that fire bead,"
revealed the fire source beast, encouraging Austin.
"Really?
That's great!"
Austin was both surprised and pleased to hear this.
Of course he knew the more sacred fire he collected, the more powerful he would be when he fought
his enemies. He knew the value of taking as much as he could.
He had no qualms about doing so anymore. He activated the bead again and did his best to collect as
much sacred fire as possible.
While Austin was having fun practicing with the Fire Bead, his enemies were keeping themselves busy
as well.
In the palace the three Lords of Darkness were in,
Cain was sitting cross-legged on the altar, investigating the fire source beast and the Eight Fires Valley.
"I have good news!
I've discovered that the amount of sacred fire in the Eight Fires Valley is decreasing rapidly.
What's more, the terrible burning power is getting weaker and weaker too.
The fire source beast is losing his combat effectiveness without the fires.
And it's not slowing down.
Lords of Darkness, if you want to deal with that fire source beast, now would be the best time.
The beast is likely at its weakest now. With your strength, it should not be a problem for you,"
Cain said excitedly, his eyes suddenly flashing open while still on the altar.
"Really? The sacred fire in the Eight Fires Valley is decreasing?
That's amazing to hear!
We're going to head for the valley right this second.
Finally, we're going to deal with that fire source beast!"
The three Lords of Darkness erupted with elation, all of them springing to their feet at the same time.
"Remember, our primary goal is catching that beast. As for Austin, let the demon guards of darkness
take care of him,"
said a Lord of Darkness.
The lord sent a message to the demon guards at the same time.
It only took a moment for a group of them to come before the Lords of Darkness.
"Go! Now!"
The cry echoed through the air and the three lords vanished instantly.
Before they left, one lord stretched a big black hand out and grabbed all the demon guards of
darkness, taking them with in his palm.
"I hope the lords will successfully bring back that beast," Cain said frowning strangely at the spot they
had stood.
He sighed softly a moment later. There was something on his mind troubling him.
In the Eight Fires Valley, Austin was still busy harvesting more sacred fire.
He held nothing back now that he knew it wouldn't take long for all he took to be replenished.
He was hungry to take all he could manage.
However, he soon found the sacred fire was decreasing without any signs of recovering what he'd
taken.
"Why hasn't the sacred fire been replenished?"
Austin asked the fire source beast.
"It won't happen that quickly. It will take some time.
Don't worry. It won't be long before the Fiery Eye automatically replenishes enough sacred fire,"
answered the fire source beast.
"All right, that's good,"
Austin said and nodded.
He continued collecting sacred fire in the days that followed, uninhibited and care-free.
After quite a long time, he finally felt he had collected as much as the Fire Bead could hold.
There was still around two-thirds of the sacred fire left in the Eight Fires Valley. He had successfully
taken a third of it into his Fire Bead.
"With your current strength, this is the most you can collect,"
said the fire source beast.
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