The moment the fiery energy was transferred by everyone, a red halo lit up under the formation. The continuous fiery energy, like red starlight, surged towards the Firewood, and was then absorbed and disappeared into the air.

The delivery process took a long time; after two hours, the colors of the more than a thousand petals gradually changed. The original blue parts were spreading towards the white parts, and the white parts of the flower, which had a blue-to-white gradient around its edges, were gradually being spread until the entire flower turned blue. The red leaves also began to fall due to this change. About 70% of the leaves had fallen.

The blue flower turned from blue to purple, and then, with the help of everyone's heat energy, the flower began to wither.

After the flowers withered, pale green fruits appeared. However, not every flower could produce fruit; at least half of the petals withered and there was no further activity. Qi Zhiheng guessed that these flowers were useless and couldn't help but feel a little regretful.

Six hours had passed since they first began channeling their fiery energy. Some alchemists with weaker foundations were already turning pale and their spiritual energy was waning.

They held on for another hour before some people started to quit and rest.

Qi Zhiheng's spiritual energy was also half depleted, but his complexion was still better than most of the people present. He rolled his eyes and slightly froze his blood, causing the color to gradually fade from his face, so as not to stand out too much among the crowd.

One by one, some people quit, and others took a break before rejoining the team that inputs Flame Power.

When Qi Zhiheng had one-third of his spiritual energy left, he also stepped back to rest, so as not to be too conspicuous.

By this time, the fruit had grown to the size of a fist and had a faint pink hue.

This pink color is still turning into red and then dark red.

After resting for a while, Qi Zhiheng resumed inputting his fiery power.

After three days of being infused with fiery energy, the fruit finally ripened, its deep red surface enveloped in golden flame patterns.

"They're ripe." Wu Shengyao inspected all the fruits on the tree, confirming that the golden flame patterns on them were complete, and announced that the transfer of flame energy was finished.

Qi Zhiheng and the other alchemists present stopped transmitting the fiery energy.

The disciples of the Divine Tree Sect began to busy themselves picking the essence fruits from the trees. This year's harvest was more than 500 fruits, compared to a maximum of more than 300 in the past. The trees are growing well this year.

Qi Zhiheng ultimately obtained twenty Essence Fire Fruits, which greatly pleased him. He even secretly wondered if he had played some role in their acquisition. Of course, this was just speculation, and he would never find the answer.

After receiving their own Essence of Fire, the group left the forbidden area.

After the event concluded, the alchemists who had come to participate in the exchange meeting also prepared to leave.

Guan Yunmo wanted to persuade Qi Zhiheng to stay at the Shenmu Sect for a few more days, but Qi Zhiheng politely declined, as he still had to go back to educate his own disciples.

Guan Yunmo was somewhat disappointed: "Then how about I take you back?"

Qi Zhiheng waved his hand and said, "No need, I can go back by myself."

Seeing that Qi Zhiheng did not agree, Guan Yunmo still escorted him to the entrance of the Shenmu Sect.

Qi Zhiheng took his valuables and immediately returned to his sect, leaving quietly.

After Qi Zhiheng returned, the entire Qi family knew that he had come back.

Qi Zhiheng instructed Yang Yao to set up a hidden formation: "I went out and got some good stuff! Those with fire seeds can use them."

"What good stuff?" Yang Yao didn't have a fire-attribute spiritual root, nor had she fused with a fire seed. Upon hearing Qi Zhiheng's instructions, she had already begun preparing the materials.

Qi Zhiheng didn't dare to release the item yet, lest the aura of the Essence Fire Fruit leak out and be discovered: "Please set up the formation first."

After preparing the materials, Yang Yao walked outside to set up the formation: "I'll go prepare now."

Yang Yao set up a defensive array outside the house, isolating the aura inside.

After the formation was activated, Qi Zhiheng took out the Essence Fire Fruits he had obtained. Twenty fruits were piled on the table, each about the size of a baby's head.

Qi Dong immediately recognized what it was and became quite excited: "It's actually the Fruit of Essence Fire!"

The Fruit of Refined Fire can enhance the quality of fire seeds without the danger of consuming them. It is something that many alchemists and weapon refiners dream of. Qi Dong is obsessed with alchemy, so naturally he has no resistance to such a treasure.

Qi Zhiheng walked around the fruits of fire and reached out to scoop one up in his hand.

With his left hand, he summoned a flame; with his right hand, he held the Fruit of Essence Fire and used his spiritual power to cut it open. Inside was a cloud of red mist.

In an instant, the temperature in the air rose.

The Qi family watched from the roadside. Qi Zhiheng placed the red mist in his left hand next to the fire seed in his right hand. The fire seed instantly seemed to come alive, rushing towards the red mist, entangling and devouring it. The red mist gradually disappeared.

After absorbing the red mist, the color of the fire in his hand seemed to become more translucent.

As the owner of the fire seed, Qi Zhiheng could feel that the quality of the fire seed had improved considerably.

Qi Zhiheng did want to use one more, but this kind of essence fire fruit has limitations, and he cannot use a second one in a short period of time, so he had to put aside this idea.

The fruit shell that had just been split open fell to the ground. Qi Zhiheng bent down and picked it up. With a "thud," something popped out of the shell.

Qi Zhiheng's attention was drawn to the ground, where he saw a black object.

Qi Dong also attracted attention: "What is this? Could this be a seed?" He picked up the black thing, which was about the size of an almond.

Qi Zhiheng thought for a moment and said, "It should be."

Qi Dong asked excitedly, "If it's a seed, can it be planted?"

Qi Zhiheng said helplessly, "Grandpa, the Firewood is very expensive to cultivate. In the entire Southern Continent, only the Divine Wood Sect has planted one. Just imagine how difficult it is to cultivate."

Qi Dong disagreed: "You and I are both fourth-level alchemists. No one in the entire Southern Continent can refine so many top-grade pills like you. If the Divine Wood Sect can afford to support them, you certainly can too!"

Qi Zhiheng looked at Qi Dong, whose eyes were shining, and hesitated for a moment. In fact, he was also a little tempted. What alchemist wouldn't want the Essence Fire Fruit? He was an alchemist too!

If he wanted to plant the Firewood, he definitely couldn't plant it outdoors; it could only be planted in his own space. Cultivating Firewood would be quite expensive, but he didn't need to worry about the Flame Power required for planting. He still had a large amount of Flame Seeds in his space that he hadn't absorbed yet.

Qi Zhiheng hesitated for a moment and said, "I'll give it a try, but I'm not sure if it will survive. This kind of spiritual fruit isn't easy to grow." Qi Dong was overjoyed to receive confirmation and immediately beamed. He picked up a Spirit Fire Fruit from the table and said, "Is one seed enough? If not, I'll contribute one to help."

Qi Zhiheng was speechless: "Grandpa, if you want to use the Essence of Fire Fruit, just use it. Why come up with such a lame excuse?"

Qi Dong turned around, holding the Fruit of Essence Fire: "What nonsense are you talking about! Your grandfather just wanted to contribute some seeds to you."

Qi Zhiheng had no choice but to let him go as he pleased.

Qi Dong fused with a fruit of pure fire and gave the seed to Qi Zhiheng.

After everyone in the family who possessed the fire seed used the essence of fire fruit, Qi Zhiheng took a few seeds and entered the space to prepare for planting.

He first checked the relevant planting information before he started.

The planting site was chosen near the volcanic cluster, and the seeds of fire that Qi Zhiheng had captured were placed there.

After choosing a good spot, Qi Zhiheng planted a seed. Whether it would sprout or not depended on his luck.

Germination usually takes about ten days. If there is no sign of germination after half a month, it means the seeds are useless. Fortunately, he now has 20 seeds to squander. Twenty seeds should be enough to grow one.

After planting the seeds, Qi Zhiheng left the space. He stored away the remaining Essence Fire Fruits for future use.

After removing the defensive formation, Qi Zhiheng hurriedly went to Danfeng, pretending that he had already emerged from seclusion and that his bust size hadn't increased much.

Upon arriving at the alchemy room and learning that Rong Gu and Ye Hanyuan had already used up all the Soul Refining Pills they had, Qi Zhiheng said speechlessly, "Didn't I give you the pill formula? Can't you refine them yourself after you've used them all up?"

Although I gave them away in a bit of a hurry, I was generous enough to give them all away. These two disciples rarely knew that they were making pills for their own use, which was a bit too rigid!

Rong Gu and Ye Hanyuan lowered their heads after being scolded, and said, "Master, your disciples know they were wrong. Please punish us."

Qi Zhiheng felt that he was somewhat estranged from his two disciples. Both of them respected him very much and never gave him a hard time, at least on the surface. However, they were not very close. They would often ask him to punish them. Was he, Qi Zhiheng, just someone who only knew how to teach by punishment?

Qi Zhiheng sighed and said, "What punishment? Did I say I was going to punish you? Hurry up and go back to refining pills so I can check your progress over this period of time."

Seeing that Qi Zhiheng really had no intention of punishing them, the two disciples happily ran off to refine pills.

After they got into the zone, Qi Zhiheng turned around and went to the alchemy room next door, where a large group of his disciples were.

Rong Gu went to cultivate, and now Ye Hanyuan has also gone to train his soul power. Qi Zhiheng felt that he needed to select a third disciple to manage the alchemy room for him.

So he went next door to have the children refine pills, and from among them selected his third disciple. This disciple was named Feng Yuanyi, sixteen years old this year, even younger than Ye Hanyuan. After Ye Hanyuan went to train his soul power, Feng Yuanyi became the best pill refiner in the entire group. Naturally, he stood out and became Qi Zhiheng's third disciple.

Feng Yuanyi has a pleasing appearance, looking somewhat chubby-cheeked with a baby face, making him seem very well-behaved. Qi Zhiheng assigned him some daily tasks, which Feng Yuanyi happily accepted.