Chapter 11: Cultivating Flame Division Devouring Wave Ruler

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged, eyes closed.

He breathed slowly, adjusting himself to peak condition.

Xiao Yan began learning Alchemy at age ten; though it took him over three years to refine his first One Grade Pill, he hadn't produced a Second-Rank Pill in the following year. But this time, Xiao Yan was confident he could refine a Second-Rank Pill within two or three months.

Now, Xiao Yan's Dou Qi already carried a thread of Bone Spirit Cold Fire, greatly accelerating his purification of medicinal materials.

Xiao Yan repeatedly recalled the scene of Hun Xu Zi refining an Elixir last night; though it lasted only a few seconds, those seconds were won at the cost of his life.

The advantage of strong Soul Force is superior memory, allowing one to observe minute details more clearly.

Especially when observing Spirit Refining, since Alchemy itself relies on Soul Force.

Those few seconds were replayed and slowed down repeatedly by Xiao Yan, like watching a film at ten times slow motion, leaving not a single detail unexamined.

"Try."

Xiao Yan placed his hands before the Alchemy Furnace, condensed a cluster of Dou Qi flame, and launched it into the furnace, controlling its intensity with Soul Force.

Different medicinal materials require different Infernal Heat levels for purification; most Elixirs demand immediate fusion after purification, with no room for error.

Boom! The Infernal Heat was too high—the medicinal materials were destroyed.

"Again."

Boom! During purification, the medicinal materials' position wasn't controlled—premature fusion caused the furnace to explode.

"Again!"

Boom! Soul Force weakened, the flame wasn't controlled—the flame spilled and exploded the furnace, and Soul Force was completely depleted.

"Damn it, I… I'll come back tomorrow!"

Without a teacher to guide him step by step, Xiao Yan could only use the most foolish method to cultivate.

Day after day, week after week, month after month. In this hidden Cave, a boy trained daily, teaching himself Alchemy.

Three months passed in a flash.

"Ba Ji Bong!"

Xiao Yan aimed his right fist at the innermost rock layer of the Cave, spun his body, and unleashed a punch gathering all his strength.

Boom! Boom-boom! Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!! The solid rock layer dented eight times! Eightfold force—Ba Ji Bong perfected! An Arcane-Rank High Grade Dou Ji had been perfected!

This was utterly inconceivable!

Although Xiao Yan had reached Fourth-Star Dou Zhe, he was still a Dou Zhe—his father Xiao Zhan's Arcane-Rank Low Grade Dou Ji, Lion Mountain Crack, had barely been perfected!

"Sigh… it took me eleven years to perfect it. Am I really that weak?" If outsiders heard this, they'd probably spit blood.

Arcane-Rank High Grade Dou Ji weren't meant for Dou Zhe to cultivate; Xiao Yan was entirely over-leveling. Had Ba Ji Bong not been special—requiring physical strength rather than Dou Qi for entry—he couldn't even have begun.

Xiao Yan swept away his gloom, brushed his finger across his storage ring, and pulled out a massive black ruler—the Xuan Zhong Chi—and a Dou Ji.

The obsidian ruler's surface was etched with faint, strange patterns; the lines spread nearly over the entire blade, blending with its ancient black hue, giving it an air of mystery.

"Now I can finally cultivate Flame Division Devouring Wave Ruler."

Earth-Rank Low-Level Dou Ji—Flame Division Devouring Wave Ruler—Xiao Yan had coveted it for a long time.

When perfected, a single motion could cleave mountains and split waves, sweep away thousands of soldiers!

At first, Xiao Yan had actually wanted to cultivate Flame Division Devouring Wave Ruler, not Ba Ji Bong, because like Ba Ji Bong, its entry requirement was physical strength, not cultivation level.

Flame Division Devouring Wave Ruler is a Dou Ji where Dou Qi and physical strength mutually reinforce each other.

Moreover, cultivating Flame Division Devouring Wave Ruler requires pairing with the Xuan Zhong Chi, doubling the results.

But the problem was, at age four, Xiao Yan's strength and physical condition were too weak—even to lift the Xuan Zhong Chi, let alone cultivate with it—so he chose to practice Ba Ji Bong first.

The instant Xiao Yan gripped the Xuan Zhong Chi with both hands, a powerful suppression spread through his entire body; the Xuan Zhong Chi wasn't just unimaginably heavy, it also sealed Dou Qi.

When Dou Zhe lift heavy objects, they usually fill every cell with Dou Qi to enhance strength. But the Xuan Zhong Chi suppressed Dou Qi and was brutally heavy.

Even as a Fourth-Star Dou Zhe, Xiao Yan was suppressed down to a First-Star Dou Zhe.

"Lift!"

Whoosh! The massive Xuan Zhong Chi, like a giant iron sword, surged upward as Xiao Yan exploded with all his strength and channeled Dou Qi—a gust of wind whipped up surrounding stones.

"So heavy—no wonder it's an Earth-Rank Dou Ji. Just lifting it is exhausting."

He hadn't expected this unassuming object to be so terrifying—it not only suppressed the Dou Qi flowing through his body as if it were crawling, but its monstrous weight nearly prevented him from lifting it even when he poured all his Dou Qi into it.

"Good thing I perfected the Arcane-Rank High Grade Ba Ji Bong—otherwise I couldn't even lift this thing."

The rank of a Dou Ji doesn't just represent power—it also reflects difficulty. Arcane-Rank High Grade Dou Ji could still be bought at the Miter Auction House in Wutan City, around 400,000 to 500,000 Gold Coins. But Earth-Rank Dou Ji had never appeared.

Only during the Jia Ma Empire's annual imperial auction might an Earth-Rank Dou Ji surface—and the price would be tens of millions of Gold Coins, or even an Exchange Offer.

"One."

"Two."

Whoosh! Xiao Yan swung the Xuan Zhong Chi; the entry condition for Flame Division Devouring Wave Ruler was the ability to swing the Xuan Zhong Chi freely. If you couldn't swing it freely, forget the rest of the cultivation.

Xiao Yan now felt like running with tires tied to his legs—not only must he move, he must move fast. Not only must his body be strong, he must expend Dou Qi to resist the Xuan Zhong Chi's suppression, consuming several times more Dou Qi than usual.

Boom! On the fiftieth swing, Xiao Yan's hands trembled, lost grip, and the Xuan Zhong Chi fell to the ground. Looking at his trembling hands, he knew his current limit was fifty swings.

Each swing consumed immense Dou Qi—fifty swings had drained it completely.

Xiao Yan shook his head with a bitter smile: "Guess I can't cultivate this Dou Ji today. I'll recover my Dou Qi first, then refine an Elixir."

Xiao Yan never returned home until his Dou Qi, Soul Force, and physical strength were utterly exhausted!

Xiao Yan set down the Xuan Zhong Chi, released Bone Spirit Cold Fire, and sat beside it, slowly circulating the Burning Scripture. Every day, Xiao Yan cultivated by absorbing the heat waves emitted by Bone Spirit Cold Fire.

Now, Xiao Yan could approach within one meter of Bone Spirit Cold Fire to absorb it.

"Huh? Why is my Dou Qi circulation so much faster!"

Xiao Yan remembered something and looked at the Xuan Zhong Chi stuck in the ground.

In his state of extreme exhaustion, Xiao Yan clearly sensed that his nearly numb muscles and Qi vortices were greedily absorbing the thermal energy released by Bone Spirit Cold Fire.

Xiao Yan had a feeling—the explosive power stored in his muscles and cells seemed slightly stronger than before, and he felt he could move even closer to Bone Spirit Cold Fire.

"What a pity. If I could refine a third-rank Qi-Returning Pill and use it together with the Qi-Returning Pill, it should be even better."

Xiao Yan took out a two-rank Minor Restoration Pill and Foundation Building Spirit Liquid. Although the effect wasn't as strong as a third-rank Qi-Returning Pill, it could still help Xiao Yan recover his Dou Qi. Combined with the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid soothing his muscles and tendons, it kept Xiao Yan from getting muscle soreness, so he could keep suffering tomorrow.

Pain and pleasure together.

Xiao Yan licked his lips, his eyes burning hot as he stared at the Bone Spirit Cold Fire. No elixir could compare to this Heavenly Flame. If only he could use the Burning Art to devour this Heavenly Flame, his strength would surely skyrocket.