Chapter 279: Sky Phenomenon Descends

Xiao Yan looked at the Bone Spirit Cold Fire before him—it was an Strange Fire that had accompanied him since childhood.

Xiao Yan also knew that this Bone Spirit Cold Fire had originally been sealed within the Black Demon, effectively left as an inheritance by the ring's former owner for a worthy successor.

According to the records within the ring, the owner had only refined the Bone Spirit Cold Fire after reaching Doubao Peak; Xiao Yan had originally planned to do the same.

But now, after encountering the Gu Clan, Xiao Yan craved greater power—Earth Grade Cultivation Methods were clearly insufficient; he needed a Heaven Grade one!

And right now, he was in this Strange Fire space, surrounded by Strange Fire energy—refining and fusing the Strange Fire would subtly absorb its energy, without wasting his cultivation time, making it an ideal location.

Exhaling a breath of turbid air, a faint luminescence appeared on Xiao Yan's face; his eyes blinked, and thin strands of pale white flame spread from deep within his pupils, covering both eyes in an instant.

"Then let's begin refining."

Whispering softly to himself, Xiao Yan changed his hand seals, slowly closed his eyes, and after taking the Blood Lotus Pill, extended his hand to touch the Bone Spirit Cold Fire.

"Though I don't know who you are, since I've received your inheritance, if Han Feng truly committed the crime of betraying his master and ancestral lineage, I shall cleanse the sect for you!" Xiao Yan's voice was calm and unruffled, as if muttering to himself—or swearing an oath to heaven.

Whether or not his spirit still lingered in heaven, the Bone Spirit Cold Fire stirred of its own accord.

Naturally, the ring's original owner had perished, and the Bone Spirit Cold Fire bore no trace of Spiritual Soul—otherwise, Hun Xu Zi would have found it when searching for the Tuoshe Ancient Jade.

As his words faded, the Bone Spirit Cold Fire flowed along Xiao Yan's Meridians into his body.

In the lava world, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged, eyes tightly shut; terrifying heat continuously radiated from his body, and faint pale white flames crept out from his pores, winding around and enveloping his entire form.

Xiao Yan's expression remained utterly serene, unaware of the changes around him—his spirit had fully sunk into the peculiar process of refining the Strange Fire within.

Consuming and refining the Bone Spirit Cold Fire—perhaps because Xiao Yan now controlled five Strange Fires—the refinement was far less difficult than he'd imagined.

Though the Bone Spirit Cold Fire ranked higher than the Fallen Heart Flame, perhaps due to Xiao Yan's lifelong exposure to it, the process proceeded smoothly, with no uncontrollable anomalies.

At this rate, barring any unforeseen mishaps, Xiao Yan was confident he could successfully refine the Bone Spirit Cold Fire within a month—by then, he would possess six Strange Fires; even without counting the Sub-Flame of Swallowing Flame, he would still have five complete Strange Fires!

Such an extraordinary event, if made public, would surely turn many powerful figures' eyes blood-red—Strange Fire was something most people could only dream of obtaining one of; now Xiao Yan had five!

It was truly beyond belief—never mind how hard Strange Fire was to find, even if one did find it, few would dare to simultaneously absorb five Strange Fires brimming with destructive power into their bodies.

This act was no different from swallowing several nuclear bombs into one's stomach; to most, it was suicide—but fortunately, for Xiao Yan, who possessed the Burning Decree, what others deemed impossible had become a solid foundation for him to reach peak strength.

Xiao Yan couldn't help but be grateful he'd chosen to cultivate the Burning Decree.

As Xiao Yan's refinement gradually settled into rhythm, the temperature around him surpassed even that of the lava; eventually, the infernal heat repelled the lava entirely.

Under such heat, even ordinary Dou Huang experts dared not linger—the wild energy permeating the air, if inhaled, would cause their Dou Qi to erupt uncontrollably.

As time passed, the aura emanating from Xiao Yan's body steadily strengthened; waves of vast Dou Qi spread outward like ocean tides, even producing a faint whooshing sound.

Cultivation knows no time—a month passed swiftly.

In the courtyard owned by the Inner Court's strongest faction stood a stone pavilion, within which two graceful figures sat, their gazes fixed on the closed Stone Gate at the courtyard's end.

"It's almost two months… why hasn't Brother Xiao Yan come out yet?" Xiao Mei propped her chin on her hands, staring toward the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta, pouting in boredom.

Xiao Yu shook her head slightly, her beautiful eyes also fixed on the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta: "The Senior Elder said he long ago refined the Fallen Heart Flame—he's just cultivating inside. With his current strength, nothing should go wrong; it's normal for a Doubao to seclude himself for one or two months."

Yet despite her words, faint worry lingered in her brows—if this were ordinary seclusion, Xiao Yu wouldn't be concerned at all, but Xiao Yan was entering the lava world to refine a Strange Fire—who knew what might happen?

"Sigh, this guy, always doing things without warning anyone," Xiao Yu silently grumbled.

Since Xun Er left, although Xiao Yan appeared unchanged, Xiao Yu sensed a shift within him—he now craved power more desperately.

Xiao Yu slowly stood, her long, smooth, well-proportioned legs exposed beneath her skirt—the Inner Court's uniform short skirt accentuating her slender limbs, both elegant and beautiful.

Xiao Mei stretched, her supple waist bending into a seductive curve, exuding a languid charm.

In the Xiao Clan, girls mature early—undoubtedly, even though the Dou Di Bloodline had withered, certain traits still subtly influenced them. Since Xun Er left, Xiao Yu and Xiao Mei had become the living emblems of Xiao Hall.

Suddenly, as Xiao Yu was about to leave, a violent tremor surged beneath her feet, causing her to stagger; she quickly gripped a nearby stone pillar, her face filled with shock.

"What's going on?! An earthquake?"

"Could this be Xiao Yan?!"

Xiao Yu's eyes snapped toward the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta—though she didn't understand what was happening, her instinct told her this was definitely that big pervert's doing!

Such commotion naturally drew the attention of the Senior Elder and several other Elders.

Xiao Yu unfurled her Thunder Bat Heavenly Wings and flew straight toward the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta.

At this moment, above the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta, Senior Elder Su Qian had already sensed something and was waiting.

"This guy never cultivates peacefully," Su Qian sighed helplessly, channeling his Dou Qi and bellowed: "Students, don't worry—this is just a normal earthquake."

But the next second, he regretted his words—it was anything but normal!

A vast aura, dormant for two months, slowly spread outward, followed by a scorching heat surging straight toward the heavens!

Figures from all over Jia Nan Academy began darting out, standing on the horizon, staring in astonishment at the direction of the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta; those with sharp eyes, upon sensing the aura, saw their shock instantly turn to disbelief.

"What the hell—this is Xiao Yan's aura?! How has his strength increased so much again?!" Lin Yan went frantic—he'd spent two months just breaking through to Doubao, yet clearly, Xiao Yan's cultivation had surged again.

"Does refining a Strange Fire really give you this much benefit? Or did he swallow some Spiritual Pill? How could he surge this much in just one or two months?!"

"Hmm? What's this?"

Above the azure sky, thick layers of dark clouds suddenly surged forth; the heavens howled with violent winds, howling ceaselessly.

This sudden spectacle left everyone stunned, faces blank with confusion.

"Sky Phenomenon—this is!" Senior Elder Su Qian also froze momentarily; after a pause, as if realizing something, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"Is this a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method emerging? What the hell is this guy doing?!!"

Generally speaking, Sky Phenomena arise in three scenarios: first, when a Grade Eight or higher Spiritual Pill emerges, drawing Pill Lightning; second, when one breaks through to Dou Zong; third, when a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method or Heaven Grade Dou Technique emerges—here, "emerging" doesn't mean rediscovery, but rather, creation from nothing.

Only when a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method or Dou Technique is newly created does it summon such a Sky Phenomenon.

The sky now bore no trace of Pill Fragrance, so it wasn't a Pill; the second scenario was also ruled out—though Xiao Yan's strength had surged, he was still far from triggering a Sky Phenomenon; thus, only the third possibility remained.

But this left Senior Elder Su Qian baffled—could Xiao Yan create a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method or Dou Technique?? That seemed even more absurd!

Two figures shot through the air—Chen Bai, the two Dou Zong Peak guardians of the Library Pavilion.

Even with their composure and keen eyesight, Chen Bai now wore expressions of grave shock—creating a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method or Dou Technique—how many people on the continent today could accomplish such a feat?

A twenty-one-year-old youth creating a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method or Dou Technique? That was even more absurd than breaking through to Dou Zong at twenty-one!

Logically speaking, even the Dean himself likely lacked such ability—let alone Xiao Yan.

At this moment, in the Fallen Heart Flame's Spiritual Flame space, Mei Du Sha was also awakened by this phenomenon, her beautiful eyes filled with shock as she gazed at Xiao Yan at the center.

"Heaven Grade… How could he?" Mei Du Sha murmured with her red lips, never having imagined Xiao Yan could create a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method—this completely surpassed her expectations!

At this moment, the space around Xiao Yan twisted, six different Spiritual Flames rotating around his body, then all surging into him, merging into one!

His eyes snapped open; Xiao Yan had finally completed the refining and fusion of all Spiritual Flames, slowly halting the operation of the Burnt Decree, and the Sky Phenomenon vanished.

"Evolved to Heaven Tier Low Grade? No—the Ancient Texts record that once a Heaven Tier Low Grade Cultivation Method is activated, it immediately absorbs all energy within a hundred zhang. What I felt earlier still fell slightly short. It should be classified as a Quasi Heavenly Rank Cultivation Method."

Xiao Yan's expression turned thoughtful; he hadn't expected the Burnt Decree's evolution to Heaven Tier to be so demanding—even the Eleventh-ranked Bone Spirit Cold Fire had only pushed the Burnt Decree to Quasi Heavenly Rank. Still, it didn't matter: whether Quasi Heavenly Rank or true Heaven Tier, it had now entered this level, and the transformation would be a leap.

It was easy to imagine that surpassing Heaven Tier would require swallowing every Spiritual Flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

"My strength… has risen four stars? Five-Star Peak Dou Wang." Xiao Yan frowned; he knew swallowing Spiritual Flames did not increase Cultivation Realm. But soon he understood—it was the Spiritual Flame energy in this space that, during the Burnt Decree's evolution, had caused him to absorb the energy originally belonging to the Fallen Heart Flame.

Rising from One Star Dou Wang to Five-Star Peak Dou Wang in two months—this speed was faster than even a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method!

After all, merely absorbing Spiritual Flames does not increase Cultivation Realm; the gains from refining the Ten Thousand Beasts Spirit Flame and Yin-Yang Life and Death Flame were due to other reasons.

【Following the original work's Chapter 232 【First Source Spiritual Flame】 initial setting: refining and absorbing Spiritual Flames does not increase Cultivation Realm; the increase in Cultivation Realm stems from other causes.】

Fortunately, his strength hadn't risen too quickly—if it had, various problems would have arisen, and resolving them might have consumed even more time and energy.

If others knew this fellow Xiao Yan had gained strength yet still complained about rising too fast, they'd surely curse him to death.

Xiao Yan turned his head toward Mei Du Sha Queen, who was watching him. Seeing him look, Mei Du Sha's face instantly grew cold, yet deep in her eyes, for some reason, there was a flicker of unease—no doubt recalling events from that time in Training Room One.

Xiao Yan smiled slightly and asked, "Queen, how is your progress in condensing your Spiritual Flame body?"

Mei Du Sha glanced at Xiao Yan coldly and said, "It will still take over a year to reach Seven Rank."

Xiao Yan sized up Mei Du Sha; whether due to absorbing Spiritual Flames to condense her body or not, she now seemed to carry an even greater allure than before, more alluring.

Even "world-class beauty" failed to describe her—her graceful figure, her flawless appearance and physique, beyond any pen's ability to capture.

"Hmm?" Xiao Yan frowned, suddenly sensing something amiss. He sank his spirit—and discovered a wisp of demonic flame rising.

Meow! Instantly, Black Flame surged within Xiao Yan's body; Mao Wu, utterly clueless, swallowed the flame in one gulp.

Xiao Yan sighed helplessly and said, "The Fallen Heart Flame lives up to its name—swallowing too much Spiritual Flame energy can corrupt the mind. Fortunately, the Black Flame's offspring protects me."

He clenched his fist, feeling the immense power within, and a faint smile appeared. Thinking of that slender figure, he now felt greater confidence.

If he encountered Ling Quan now, Xiao Yan was confident he could obliterate him outright with Buddha Fury Lotus.

Xiao Yan surveyed his surroundings; the Spiritual Flame energy here remained abundant. Even though Mei Du Sha was absorbing it, and even Mao Wu had consumed much of the Fallen Heart Flame's residual energy, there was still plenty left.

Undoubtedly, with cultivation here, combined with the Burnt Decree's evolution to Quasi Heavenly Rank and these Spiritual Flame energies, Xiao Yan could break through to Dou Huang in one year, and possibly reach High-Level Dou Huang within two.

After a moment's thought, Xiao Yan's gaze hardened—he had no intention of staying here for two years; two years to reach Dou Huang was too slow!

Classics will exist, but they cannot be forced. Books will be banned. Times are not what they used to be.

(End of Chapter)