RE: LORD OF TIME

As soon as William returned to the Fire Essence Crystal Mine, the entrance to the Source Area rippled, and then it disappeared.

William was taken aback when he saw this, and a look of confusion appeared on his face.

’Just like the core of an Astral Rift, the Source Area also always remains hidden so that people with ulterior motives don’t find it and damage the source. Now that you know about its location, the Fragment of the World Source simply shifted the entrance somewhere else.’

"I see."

William nodded upon hearing this, but he didn’t care too much about it because he had already gotten the thing he wanted from the Source Area.

"So, can you tell me now what this is?"

He held the dark red stone in his right hand and asked.

’Try infusing your Fire elemental energy into the stone.’

The spirit didn’t answer his question and instead instructed him to do something.

William did as the spirit told him, and the instant his Fire elemental energy was infused into the dark red stone—

Woosh!

A dark red flame erupted from it, enveloping his entire palm that was holding the stone.

William was so frightened that he almost threw the rock away, afraid that his palm would be burned.

But he suddenly noticed that the fire wasn’t burning his hand.

In fact, his palm felt extremely comfortable, as if he were soaking it in warm water while standing in the middle of a snowfall.

"This..." William looked at the dark red fire burning on his hand with a baffled expression, completely unable to understand what was happening.

’It really is a Natural Fire Seed.’ The voice of the spirit echoed inside William’s mind.

’And this is the Fire Seed of the extremely rare Vermilion Fire.’

"A Natural Fire Seed..." A look of shock appeared on William’s face.

He knew about Natural Fires. They were some of the rarest treasures in the world and appeared extremely rarely.

Most Natural Fires possessed extraordinary abilities, and if someone refined one, they could easily use that Natural Fire and its abilities as well.

In fact, in the original timeline, William had seen someone use the Natural Fire they had refined to burn down an entire army during the war against the Abyss.

The power that Natural Fire possessed was something that was still deeply imprinted in William’s mind.

’You are very lucky. Even among Natural Fires, Vermilion Fire is a top-grade fire. Not only does it possess extraordinary offensive power, especially against creatures with Death Energy, but it also has an extremely powerful healing effect. If you carefully nurture it and develop its full potential, it can even bring you back from the dead.’

"Are you serious?"

William couldn’t help but suck in a breath of cold air as he stared at the small dark red stone in his hand.

’It’s only possible once you develop it to a higher level. Currently, it is merely a Fire Seed that hasn’t even fully sprouted its flames. You will need to put in a lot of effort if you want to make it reach that level.’

William wasn’t discouraged by the spirit’s words. Instead, he asked.

"How do I refine this Fire Seed?"

’The Fire Seed has already accepted you. Just swallow it and guide it toward your Aether Core.’

William was taken aback by the spirit’s words.

"What do you mean by saying it has already accepted me?"

’Although it is just a seed, it is still the seed of one of the top-grade Natural Fires. Do you think you could have brought it outside if it didn’t allow you to do so?’

William frowned but didn’t say anything and waited for the spirit to continue.

’Because of the influence of the Source of the World, this Fire Seed was naturally born there. But there is only a small fragment of the Source of the World remaining in that place. That small fragment isn’t strong enough to help it grow any further. Only by leaving the Source Area can this Fire Seed continue to grow.’

"You mean I was able to take it away because it wanted to leave that place so that it could grow further?"

’Right.’ The spirit confirmed his words. ’Since it allowed you to take it away and didn’t harm you when you infused your Fire elemental energy into it earlier, it means that it has already accepted you.’

’Now, you just need to guide it to your Aether Core, and it will become a part of you.’

William nodded and asked another question.

"How do I help it grow? Do I just need to feed it my Fire elemental Aether Energy?"

’That’s one of the ways, but the best way is to feed it rare materials that contain Fire Energy.’

William paused upon hearing the spirit’s words and looked at the Fire Essence Crystals embedded throughout the walls of the mine.

"These Fire Essence Crystals... Are they of any use?"

’The level of the Fire Essence Crystals is very low. But if you use a large quantity of them, you should at least be able to make the Vermilion Fire sprout from its seed.’

William’s eyes flickered upon hearing this, and he immediately had an idea.

Without hesitation, he swallowed the dark red stone and using the Aether Energy within his body, guided it toward his Aether Core.

The small Fire Seed approached his core without any obstruction, and the moment it got close to it, William didn’t even need to guide it anymore.

The Fire Seed moved toward his core on its own and the instant it touched his Aether Core, it instantly merged with it.

William immediately felt the Aether Energy within his core surge dramatically, and its intensity began increasing rapidly.

He had just broken through to the Middle Stage of the Star Warrior Realm.

But the instant the Fire Seed merged with his core, his realm began to increase rapidly, moving towards the Peak Stage of the Star Warrior Realm.

"This is some unexpected benefit..."

William muttered as he felt his Aether Energy slowly increasing.

A few minutes later, when he was just a little way from reaching the peak of the Star Warrior Realm, the commotion within his core finally calmed down.

At the same time, a notification flashed before William’s eyes.

(You have successfully refined Vermilion Fire Seed.)

William ignored the notification and stretched out his palm.

The Aether Energy within his core moved, and the next second—

Woosh!

A dark red flame appeared on top of his palm.