Chapter 244: Energy Runaway

Seeing Lin Yan on the verge of tears, Xun Er wisely withdrew, softly saying: "I should continue my cultivation too, or I'll fall even further behind Brother Xiao Yan."

Xiao Yan affectionately stroked Xun Er's silken hair, then cupped her delicate face; warmth spread from his palm, and as he gazed at her lips, he couldn't help swallowing hard.

Xun Er's cheeks flushed red; she lowered her head slightly and said: "I'll go back now."

Before Xiao Yan could finish speaking, Xun Er gave him no chance for mischief—she dashed off like a streak of smoke back to the pavilion.

Watching Xun Er flee in shy embarrassment, Xiao Yan merely smiled faintly; public places were indeed inappropriate, especially with Ling Ying watching.

Beside him, Lin Yan stared blankly at Xiao Yan: "Big brother, there's still someone else here! Can you at least show some restraint?!"

"Come with me." Xiao Yan glanced at the third wheel and said.

Inside Xiao Yan's room.

"How long has the fire poison been accumulating in your body?" Xiao Yan began his diagnosis—observation, listening, questioning, and palpation—before purging the poison, he needed to fully understand the condition.

"About a year and a half," Lin Yan replied, his expression darkening; his mind had been deeply corrupted by the fire poison, growing extremely irritable.

"I was desperate to boost my strength back then, so I locked myself in the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta for one or two months at a time. The fire poison kept accumulating, and by the time I noticed, it had already become inseparably entangled with my fighting qi."

Xiao Yan couldn't help sneering at Lin Yan—wasn't it just one or two months locked in the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta?

"Soon, endure it—I'll send flames into your body to burn away the fire poison," Xiao Yan said calmly.

Lin Yan froze—he had fire poison, not ice poison! Why add more fire? Isn't that pouring oil on the fire?!

Seeing Lin Yan's skepticism, Xiao Yan glanced at him and said flatly: "If you don't believe me, you can take four hundred fire energy now—I'll give it to you immediately."

"Hehehe, how could I not believe you? I believe, I believe!" Lin Yan had no other choice—even if he had the fire energy, he'd be dead without it; Xiao Yan was his only lifeline now.

Lin Yan turned his back to Xiao Yan and nervously asked: "Brother Xiao Yan, what's your success rate?"

Xiao Yan smiled confidently, placing his palm on Lin Yan's back: "Someone asked me that same question before. My answer remains the same."

Boom! A surge of energy shattered Lin Yan's robe into powder, revealing a muscular physique.

"One hundred percent."

Xiao Yan instantly activated the Burnt Decree; Void Swallowing Flame traveled from his meridians to his palm, and his immensely powerful Soul Force drove the Black Flame into Lin Yan's body.

Thud! Lin Yan's body suddenly trembled; his already muscular frame swelled like an inflated balloon—his entire skin turned crimson, like a boiled shrimp.

"Aaaah!!" Even this reckless madman screamed in agony, gritting his teeth; despite his insane willpower, he couldn't help crying out.

"Hold on, relax—don't use your fighting qi to resist," Xiao Yan chuckled, shaking his head; Lin Yan didn't seem nearly as tough as the Inner Court claimed—Old Nalan Jie could endure far more.

Lin Yan's fire poison was much like Luo Du—invading not just meridians and internal organs, but also SpiritFlesh, bones, even skin.

To completely eliminate it, Void Swallowing Flame must traverse every inch of his body, devouring every trace of Luo Du.

The terrifying heat of Void Swallowing Flame made Lin Yan's face twist in pain; his fists clenched tightly, tendons bulging along his arms.

But Xiao Yan was no longer the man who cleared Luo Du from Nalan Jie in the Nalan Mansion—his Void Swallowing Flame offspring had grown stronger, and his Soul Force was incomparably more powerful.

Moreover, Spiritual Flames naturally attracted one another; wherever Void Swallowing Flame passed, the fire poison of the Heartfire fell into its grasp—Black Flame devoured it all like a ravenous snake.

About thirty minutes later, Xiao Yan retracted all Black Flame; Lin Yan collapsed onto the table as if struck by something, eyes vacant, panting heavily, utterly drained and motionless.

Xiao Yan exhaled and said: "Done. Put your clothes on and go home."

"Done?! That's it?!" Lin Yan immediately checked his body—and sure enough, all the fire poison had vanished!

"Overreacting—it's just a minor poison," Xiao Yan opened his palm, raising an eyebrow, signaling Lin Yan to pay the medical fee.

Only then did Lin Yan snap out of his shock, slightly embarrassed: "Uh… I'm not sure if the fire poison's fully gone—what if…?"

"Everyone's like this," Xiao Yan thought of Old Hai Bodong, who'd dithered endlessly; he sighed: "Fine, fine, fine—I know you won't be stupid enough to skip payment. I'll give you seven days to feel it out."

After seeing Lin Yan off, Xiao Yan counted his fingers and muttered: "Still need Ice-Fire Dragon Whisk Fruit and a Sixth-Rank Ice Attribute Magic Core."

"The Strong List Conference is still over half a year away—I must refine the Earth Spirit Pill within half a year."

Xiao Yan immediately felt pressure—he had only one set of materials for the Earth Spirit Pill; failure was not an option.

"For the next few days, I'll focus on Spirit Refining."

As expected, seven days later, Lin Yan arrived with a smile and handed over the Green Wood Immortal Vine to Xiao Yan.

For the next ten days, Xiao Yan centered himself on Pill Alchemy—luckily, he'd plundered several Sixth-Rank Pill's main Medicinal Materials from the Yun Lan Sect and Mei Du Sha's imperial treasury, enough for practice.

Using Black Demon's immense power, after wasting seven batches of Medicinal Materials, Xiao Yan finally succeeded on the ninth day in refining a Sixth-Rank healing Elixir—once he refined more to improve success rate, he'd become a Sixth-Rank Alchemist!

On the tenth day, Zi Yan finally emerged from the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta, greeted Xiao Yan, then vanished into the deep mountains to seek Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

With Training Room No. 1 now vacant, Xiao Yan stopped refining pills and went to Training Room No. 1 on the seventh floor to begin cultivation.

Passing through the central rest area of the seventh floor, spacious training rooms appeared before Xiao Yan's eyes; as he drew closer, he could faintly sense pure energy seeping from within.

Along the way, at some training room doors, Xiao Yan indeed saw room numbers—starting from No. 20, the deeper he went, the more potent the warm energy became; by the time he reached rooms within No. 10, he could even see faint red energy like fine threads drifting in the air—this strange sight filled him with silent awe.

Xiao Yan halted before the deepest, most spacious training room; this one was peculiar—while others overflowed with potent energy, this one was utterly empty; standing outside, Xiao Yan sensed not a single trace of energy within.

"Tsk tsk tsk—Training Room No. 1 even requires a Barrier to seal in the energy and prevent leakage," Xiao Yan's Soul Force clearly perceived a Barrier surrounding the room; it was clear how terrifying this room was.

Before the stunned gaze of the Strong List experts, Xiao Yan pulled out the Soul Token Zi Yan had given him, pressed it against the training room, and pushed open the stone door—its creaking groan unleashed a sudden burst of pale red light.

Seeing the interior—a sea of crimson Fire Attribute Energy—Xiao Yan couldn't help murmuring: "This energy is insane—imagine how extreme the Spiritual Flame space at the Heartfire's origin must be."

Entering the training room, Xiao Yan wasted no time, activated his Fire Energy Card.

"Thirty… truly a fortune, but worth every bit."

A flash of green light—the Lotus emerged from his storage ring; Mei Du Sha's serpent body poked her head out, surveying the surroundings: "The energy here is much denser."

"And expensive too. First, absorb Spiritual Flame energy to solidify your Serpent Body—I'll use Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame on the final day to refine it further."

"Mm."

Xiao Yan wasted no time—he sat cross-legged on the Stone Platform, furiously activating the Burnt Decree for cultivation, while Mei Du Sha coiled atop the Lotus, greedily devouring the floating Fire Attribute Energy.

The two became twin vortices, absorbing furiously; Xiao Yan's mind filled with vast clusters of Heartfire purified into slender threads of exquisitely pure fighting qi.

Cultivation knows no time—twenty days passed swiftly; the terror of Training Room No. 1 had elevated Xiao Yan's Cultivation Realm by one star—he reached Sixth-Star Battle Spirit!

The Spiritual Flame energy in Training Room No. 1 was visibly thinner now—luckily, this was Training Room No. 1, and its energy replenished quickly.

Sitting cross-legged on the Stone Platform, a blood-red flame, under Xiao Yan's Soul Force control, continuously condensed; through his unique Soul Contract with Mei Du Sha, Xiao Yan channeled the Heart Fire drawn from the Stone Platform to her, accelerating the formation of her Spiritual Flame Serpent Body with pure Heart Fire.

"This should finally bring Mei Du Sha up to Dou Zong combat power."

Although Mei Du Sha's body has not yet fully matured, Xiao Yan's refined Three-Flame Serpent Body has brought her close to Dou Zong strength.

Just as Xiao Yan secretly rejoiced at the prospect of having a Dou Zong enforcer, joy turned to sorrow—sudden change occurred!

Boom! Boom! Boom!!! Suddenly, the entire cultivation chamber trembled slightly.

"What's going on? Is the Fallen Heart Flame erupting? No—this is!" Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened as he stared at the Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent within the Ten Thousand Beasts Spirit Flame; he sensed that this tremor originated from the serpent's energy.

"Energy runaway?! Hey, Mei Du Sha, are you okay?!" Xiao Yan's heart tightened—he had never tried using Spiritual Flame to refine another's body or forge a Three-Flame Serpent Body; he had no idea what might happen!

In an instant, the Seven-Colored Devouring Sky Serpent within the Ten Thousand Beasts Spirit Flame suddenly opened its eyes, locking them onto Xiao Yan—with a crimson hue identical to Lin Yan's.

"You're kidding me! You've been poisoned by mid-stage Dou Huang fire toxicity?!" Xiao Yan was stunned—Lin Yan he could handle, but Mei Du Sha at Dou Zong? He'd have to use his head to fight her!!

Suddenly, a burst of Seven-Colored Divine Light erupted from the serpent's body, hurling Xiao Yan backward with tremendous force. Thud! Xiao Yan slammed hard against the wall.

Xiao Yan shook his head, still dazed, when suddenly his wrists were seized and pinned against the wall. In his foggy state, his lips suddenly felt something soft.

Xiao Yan's body jolted! His pupils widened in shock—he felt as if struck by Heavenly Thunder, his body instantly stiffening as he stared at the blushing beauty before him. He let out a muffled wail (My first kiss was meant for Xun Er!).

(End of Chapter)