Chapter 25

The Bone Spirit Cold Fire is too powerful to swallow directly with the Burning Scripture; if I had a lower-rank Heavenly Flame, I could first swallow it to grow stronger, then swallow the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.

The Burning Scripture is extremely powerful and mysterious—it can ascend by swallowing Heavenly Flames and incorporate them into the body as part of itself, rapidly boosting cultivation.

In short, his cultivation is too weak, his body is too weak, and the Bone Spirit Cold Fire's energy is too strong—before the Burning Scripture can even begin to swallow the flame, his body will be burned to ashes.

Xiao Yan opened the Heavenly Flame Ranking, which he didn't know who had written, and it contained detailed illustrated explanations of the twenty-three Heavenly Flames of the Dou Qi Continent.

Xuan Huang Flame, ranked twenty-third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Xuan Huang is the color of heaven and earth. Born where heaven and earth meet in a clash of yin and yang, all things blend and ripple together; Xuan Huang is vast, formless, its power like heaven and earth pressing down—when Xuan Huang appears, it weighs a millionfold.

Ten Thousand Beasts Spirit Flame, ranked twenty-second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Born in places teeming with the life force of ten thousand beasts, it fuses the strength and spirits of all beasts, its color mirroring that of the beasts themselves. It is the flame that protects and nurtures the vitality of all beasts.

Yin Yang Dual Flame, ranked twenty-first on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Born in the void between the netherworld and the mortal realm, its colors are black and white like the Yin Yang Fish, drifting through space. Yin and yang are the laws of nature, the origin of all things. The Yin Yang Dual Flame, born from this origin, holds the dual forces of life and death. Yang Fire saves, endlessly renewing; Yin Fire kills, leaving no trace of bones or flesh.

Netherworld Poison Flame, ranked twentieth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Born in the ancient Netherworld Poison Marshes, forged over millennia by the sky-blocking toxic miasma, the flame consumes endless toxic vapors, becoming sentient after a hundred years, taking form after a thousand, and reaching full maturity with a greenish hue, like a ghostly fire moving through the marsh's poisonous haze. The Netherworld Poison Flame is highly toxic—merely touching a spark will poison the body; it cannot normally be swallowed or used, except by the Eternal Calamity Poison Body.

Qing Lian Earth Core Fire, ranked nineteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Born deep within the earth's molten rock, tempered for millions of years by the earth's fire, it becomes sentient in ten years, takes form in a hundred, blooms into a lotus in a thousand. At full maturity, its hue is bluish-green, with a cluster of blue flame at its heart—this is the Qing Lian Earth Core Fire. Its power is unfathomable, capable of controlling volcanic forces to unleash nature's destructive might!

Xiao Yan focused on the descriptions of the last five Heavenly Flames—if he wanted to swallow a flame quickly to boost his strength, these five were undoubtedly the best.

Although Xiao Yan didn't know who wrote the Heavenly Flame Ranking, its order was clearly based on the strength of the flames.

In his space ring, Xiao Yan found a record—or rather, a diary—detailing how the ring's owner subdued the Bone Spirit Cold Fire. The owner had taken a Five-Grade Pill, the Blood Lotus Pill, and even with his Dou Wang cultivation, he nearly turned to ash; only at the last moment did he manage to subdue the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.

That means if Xiao Yan truly wants to completely swallow the Bone Spirit Cold Fire with the Burning Scripture, he must at least refine a Five-Grade Blood Lotus Pill and possess Dou Wang cultivation to have any chance.

The Blood Lotus Pill forms a blood scab inside the body, protecting it from flame damage both inside and out.

Xiao Yan had long asked Ya Fei to keep an eye out for the medicinal materials needed for the Blood Lotus Pill; in the space ring Ya Fei gave him, all the auxiliary herbs were present, except for the main ones.

"If I had the Blood Lotus Pill, could I absorb the last-ranked Xuan Huang Flame? Maybe even a Dou Ling or Grand Dou Shi? No—even a Peak Dou Shi might have a chance. After all, I already have a trace of Bone Spirit Cold Fire inside me; maybe I can use that trace to protect myself."

Xiao Yan kept calculating, but soon he lay on the ground, utterly dejected.

"Sigh, a Five-Grade Pill? How am I supposed to refine that with my head? I can't even make a Third-Rank Pill yet."

The difficulty isn't in the refining—it's in gathering the materials. Collecting medicinal herbs for a Third-Rank Pill in Wutan City is nearly impossible for Xiao Yan.

Alchemists are money pits. Besides observing high-level alchemists refine pills, the key is constant practice, learning from failure. The higher the rank of the pill, the rarer the materials—even with a Heavenly Flame's help, success is hard.

Gathering a full set of materials for a Third-Rank Pill is incredibly difficult!

Xiao Yan raised his right hand, staring at the Soul Ring. Two paths now lay before him: the first was to enter Jia Nan Academy with Xun Er and the others to study cultivation, waiting until his cultivation was strong enough to swallow the Bone Spirit Cold Fire directly.

As one of the most renowned advanced academies on the Dou Qi Continent, Jia Nan Academy was virtually a Holy Land in the hearts of all teenagers.

Jia Nan Academy stood at the border where Jia Ma Empire met two other great empires; even in this lawless region, it maintained a transcendent status—clearly demonstrating Jia Nan Academy's immense power.

Had he not cultivated the Burning Scripture, Xiao Yan would have definitely entered Jia Nan Academy.

The second path was the Soul Token hidden in the space ring.

Xiao Yan had solved Hun Xu Zi's riddle and cured the poison. According to Hun Xu Zi's words, he could take that token to the Wang Du Soul Temple.

Inside the space ring was a book of maps of the Dou Qi Continent, which included a section on the continent's factions: One Hall One Tower, Two Sects, Three Valleys, Four Pavilions. The Soul Temple was one of the top two organizations on the Dou Qi Continent, with influence spanning the entire continent.

But the problem was—the book described the Soul Temple as more like an evil, terrifying organization!

They constantly abducted talented alchemists and seized powerful Soul Bodies.

Xiao Yan understood: Hun Xu Zi had given him the token because he recognized Xiao Yan's naturally strong Soul and his talent as an Alchemist.

Though the Soul Temple brimmed with unknown dangers, there was no denying that if Xiao Yan wanted to learn about Heavenly Flames and master stronger Alchemy, joining the Soul Temple was the best option.

Power is like a knife—how it's used depends on the wielder. Whether to chop people or chop melons is entirely up to the user.

"Where am I supposed to find a Heavenly Flame?"

Xiao Yan looked up at the sky—it was getting late—and left the cave.

As Xiao Yan returned to the family gate, he happened to see a familiar girl's silhouette standing gracefully in the courtyard, looking exceptionally beautiful.

"Xun Er finally came back."

Xun Er turned at Xiao Yan's voice and saw him returning from the outer gate. She stuck out her tongue and smiled softly: "I just came back from seclusion. I heard nothing but tales of Brother Xiao Yan's glory."

What she meant, of course, was how Xiao Yan had publicly refined pills and nearly bankrupted two major families without lifting a finger.

"It's nothing. I just know how to refine a few pills—what's so impressive?"

Seeing Xiao Yan's smug expression, Xun Er's laugh rang clear: "Then congratulations, Brother Xiao Yan! No matter what rank Alchemist you are or what your cultivation is, Jia Nan Academy will admit you without an exam—you won't even need to take the test."

Hearing "Jia Nan Academy," Xiao Yan's expression flickered with hesitation.

Xun Er noticed instantly and asked worriedly: "What's wrong, Brother Xiao Yan? You don't want to go to Jia Nan Academy?"

"Not exactly. Compared to cultivating Dou Qi at Jia Nan Academy, right now I want a Heavenly Flame more." Xiao Yan didn't hide it—every Alchemist dreamed of a Heavenly Flame.

Hearing this, Xun Er blinked and looked at Xiao Yan: "There's a Heavenly Flame at Jia Nan Academy. Didn't Xiao Yu, your cousin, tell you?"

???

(0-0)

(◇)?

ヽ(｀Д)︵┻━┻┻━┻

"That bitch!!!"