Chapter 262

Spirit Spirit Pill, a Fourth-Rank Peak Pill, has the same effect as Dou Wang Pill and Imperial Ultimate Pill—raising one Star in Rank—and can be consumed only once in a lifetime.

Xiao Yan had never used the Spirit Spirit Pill; he had been waiting for this very moment—to use it to advance from Star Eight Dou Ling to Star Nine.

Ordinary Spirit Spirit Pills may not guarantee a Star Eight Dou Ling's advancement to Star Nine, but Xiao Yan is a Sixth-Rank Alchemist and possesses a Heavenly Flame; the Spirit Spirit Pill he crafted for himself must be of the highest quality.

The other one is the main event—a Fifth-Rank Peak Pill, the Bai Wang Pill. It is the most powerful and precious among Fifth-Grade Pills; though classified as Fifth-Grade, its refinement difficulty rivals that of an ordinary Sixth-Grade Pill.

The effect of the Bai Wang Pill is simple and singular: it enables a Star Nine Dou Ling to break through that bottleneck and achieve Dou Wang!

With the Ten Thousand Beasts Spirit Flame and having used true Earth Heart Tempering Milk, Xiao Yan cared nothing for the Heart Flame Core Body Tempering. Just like Zi Yan, who was already a Dou Wang—she came here merely out of boredom; this body tempering was barely better than nothing.

For others like Liu Qing, Lin Xiuya, and Han Yue, body tempering and paving the path to Dou Wang was their pursuit, their deepest desire; but for Xiao Yan, Zi Yan, and Xun Er, this thing was utterly useless—they would become Dou Wangs merely as a matter of time.

As a Sixth-Rank Alchemist, for Xiao Yan to become a Dou Wang was simply a matter of one Pill.

But while Pills are convenient, they carry a fatal flaw: the Dou Qi becomes hollow and the foundation unstable.

So Xiao Yan came here not for body tempering, but to use the Heart Flame Core to solidify his Dou Qi—to counteract the side effects of his Pill-induced breakthrough and make his Dou Wang foundation far more solid!

Seeing the invisible Heart Flame begin to drift, preparing to enter through his crown, Xiao Yan knew time was critical—he swallowed the Spirit Spirit Pill outright.

Instantly, a powerful energy surged through all his Meridians; the Pill's energy transformed into the purest threads of Dou Qi, flooding into his vortex.

Xiao Yan, who had long been at Star Eight Dou Ling, advanced smoothly to Star Nine, and even began subtly pushing toward Nine Star Peak.

But Xiao Yan did not break through to Dou Wang—he first guided the Heart Flame Core into his body.

The instant the Heart Flame entered, an unimaginably terrifying heat enveloped Xiao Yan's entire body, turning him as red as a fully cooked shrimp, glowing crimson, ready to be dipped in sauce.

"I wonder how many will manage to endure this?" Elder Su Qian murmured to himself.

After glancing at everyone, Su Qian focused on Xiao Yan and said: "Why is this kid swallowing a Pill? Does he intend to break through to Dou Wang using it?!"

Elder Su Qian first stared in shock, then broke into a bitter smile, sighing inwardly—Alchemists are truly incredible; this is even possible.

Others endure the agony of body tempering, suffering countless hardships to pave their path to Dou Wang, and you? One Pill.

"If Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing found out, they'd probably spit blood."

At this moment, the excess Dou Qi from the Spirit Spirit Pill inside Xiao Yan was once again purified and refined by the Heart Flame Core; the already extremely pure Pill energy was forcibly halved again.

Wisps of white mist seeped from his scalp; his Meridians, bones, even his blood seemed to turn transparent; invisible flames oozed from every part of his body, clinging like parasitic worms, burning anything within that could be burned.

Even the Dou Qi hidden within his SpiritFlesh could not escape this trial; though Xiao Yan could not see it internally, he felt it—the Dou Qi concealed throughout his body churned like boiling water.

But this was exactly what Xiao Yan wanted!

The Dou Qi that had reached Nine Star Peak due to the Spirit Spirit Pill was now decreasing.

When it could decrease no further, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes and took out the Bai Wang Pill from the Pill Bottle.

"Kuang! Bai Wang Pill!" Elder Su Qian's eyes were sharp—he instantly recognized the golden Pill in Xiao Yan's hand.

"Even ordinary Sixth-Rank Ji Di Alchemists have less than a fifty percent success rate refining Bai Wang Pill—how strong is this kid's Alchemy?!"

Under Elder Su Qian's gaze, Xiao Yan swallowed the Bai Wang Pill in one gulp.

!!!!!!!!

Xiao Yan's pupils widened in shock—a terrifyingly powerful energy instantly flooded his entire body, causing his flesh to swell like an inflating balloon, stretching his Meridians to their limits!

Combined with the searing of the Heart Flame Core, the dual agony made him grit his teeth, every vein on his body bulging violently.

Seeing this, even Elder Su Qian furrowed his brows, showing clear concern—no one had ever attempted to break through to Dou Wang using the Bai Wang Pill while simultaneously undergoing Heart Flame Core body tempering.

His face flushed crimson, then purpling; bubbles continuously formed on his skin; the terrifying energy surging from within his body seemed ready to burst him apart—then, in the next instant, the invisible Heart Flame Core ignited with intense heat, relentlessly reducing his Dou Qi.

Swelling, burning, shrinking, swelling again, burning again, shrinking again.

Xiao Yan's body swelled and shrank like a balloon.

After an unknown length of time, the sixth-ranked student could no longer bear the pain—he spat blood, slowly opening his eyes; he clearly knew he had failed, his gaze filled with gloom and helplessness.

"Rest over there for now. Heart Flame body tempering often ends in failure—don't take it too hard." Elder Su Qian opened the barrier and let him rest aside.

In the end, two students failed body tempering and were taken away by Elder Su Qian from the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta.

Heart Flame Core body tempering takes considerable time; over the next three days, they endured the Heart Flame's burning, during which they clearly felt their bodies strengthen—Meridians, bones, and more all improved significantly.

Normally, Heart Flame Core body tempering lasts three days, but exceptions exist.

On the second day, the jade platform where Xun Er sat dimmed—the Heart Flame Core was completely consumed.

Seeing Xun Er step out of her platform early, Elder Su Qian felt no surprise—he knew where she came from.

"Greetings, Elder." Xun Er bowed politely.

"Mm, you may return now. The others will likely need another day."

Xun Er gently shook her head, glanced at Xiao Yan's position, then sat aside and began Cultivation—she would naturally wait for Xiao Yan. Soon after, Zi Yan also stepped out of her platform.

After all, Zi Yan had long been a Dou Wang, and her physical strength was peerless; this time, she was merely tempering her body while eating the Medicinal Material candies Xiao Yan gave her—finished eating, finished.

Zi Yan glanced at Xiao Yan and saw he was still undergoing tempering; she sneered and turned to leave the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta.

Soon, one day passed—the first to emerge were Lin Yan, Han Yue, and Yan Hao; to Elder Su Qian's surprise, Han Yue, the one with the lowest Cultivation Realm, had endured it—even though her Rank didn't rise, it was clear she would soon enter the Dou Wang realm.

About thirty minutes later, almost simultaneously, the jade platforms of Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing erupted with a Dou Wang aura.

"Kuang! These two broke through to Dou Wang!" Lin Yan's eyes widened—he and Yan Hao were both Dou Ling Peak; after body tempering, they had touched the Dou Wang threshold but failed to break through!

Han Yue whispered: "Normal. Both have long been Half-step Dou Wang—this was inevitable."

After speaking, Han Yue glanced at Xiao Yan's position.

Boom—boom! Two figures soared from their platforms, each with a pair of Dou Qi wings forming behind them—proof they had truly become Dou Wangs!

Liu Qing and Lin Xiuya flew before Elder Su Qian, who nodded approvingly: "Good. Very good. Your talents are excellent; becoming a Dou Huang is merely a matter of time."

Hearing the Elder's praise, Lin Xiuya couldn't help but smile with satisfaction; Liu Qing remained expressionless, then turned his gaze to Xiao Yan.

"Why hasn't he come out yet?" Liu Qing asked.

Elder Su Qian explained: "That guy Xiao Yan also intends to break through to Dou Wang."

!!!!!!!!

Except for Xun Er, everyone's faces changed drastically—they stared at Xiao Yan in shock, unable to believe it.

"He was only Star Eight Spirit, right? How could he possibly leap to Battle King in just three days?" Lin Yan asked in confusion.

Han Yue's beautiful eyes flickered and she said, "Elixir."

"Elixir?!"

"Could it be a Five-Grade Peak Bai Wang Pill?!"

Seeing the Grand Elder nod, everyone's faces filled with envy—Elixir! An Elixir had surpassed more than a year's effort by Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing!

The Bai Wang Pill was worth more than many Six-Grade Elixirs, and even if you had money, you couldn't buy it—it simply wasn't available.

Lin Yan could only smile bitterly again and again, for when they first met, his own Cultivation Realm had been higher than Xiao Yan's; now, not only was his strength inferior, but even his Cultivation Realm had fallen behind.

"But isn't this taking too long? With an Elixir's aid, he shouldn't be slower than Lin Xiuya and Liu Qing."

Just as everyone was puzzled, suddenly—an anomaly occurred!

A tremendous suction erupted from the jade platform where Xiao Yan stood, as if the very spot had become a colossal vortex, frantically drawing in energy.

"What is this?!"

"I don't know, but does reaching Battle King look like this?!"

To make matters worse, at that exact moment, Su Qian, the Grand Elder who had been watching below, suddenly turned pale.

"All of you leave the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta immediately!" With that, Su Qian's figure vanished and reappeared at the tower's base.

At the very bottom of the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta, an invisible energy was striking the Flame Sealing Barrier.

"The energy has grown so much... then... these seals, their effectiveness..." Suddenly remembering something crucial, Su Qian's heart turned icy—he prepared to immediately gather others to reinforce the seals.

Those above felt a shock—they too realized something terrible was happening!

"Hurry, leave!"

"What about Xiao Yan? What is he doing right now?!"

Lin Yan looked toward Xiao Yan's direction; Xiao Yan seemed to be at a critical moment, eyes tightly shut, as if a terrifyingly potent energy was coalescing within him.

Xun Er slowly stood, her beautiful eyes flashing a glint of golden flame, her cold, clear voice ringing out: "You all leave. I will take Brother Xiao Yan away."

With that, Xun Er waved her hand—and instantly, she flung all four of them out of the space; moments later, a cluster of golden flame appeared out of thin air, sealing the entrance.

Xun Er's expression was grave, her eyes flickering with golden fire, then she looked down, as if her gaze could pierce through, seeing the true form of the Falling Heart Flame below.

"Brother Xiao Yan still needs some time."

(End of Chapter)