Chapter 355

"Sigh, after reaching Heaven Grade, this Burning Scripture is just too hard to improve." Xiao Yan was slightly displeased—the Burning Scripture still hadn't broken through to the Intermediate stage, but his Dou Qi quality had indeed improved, proving the scripture had made some progress, just not enough to level up.

"You really plan to eat Different Flames like rice?"

At this moment, the Flame Master drifted slowly over, his Soul Force also restored.

The Flame Master looked at Xiao Yan with a strange expression; having followed him for so long, he'd guessed Xiao Yan's cultivation method required devouring Different Flames—only with that unique technique could Xiao Yan recklessly consume so many Different Flames.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you're truly a freak—your Soul Force has reached the Spirit Realm. Back in my day, I never even reached a Spirit Realm Soul." The Flame Master had finally conceded; he simply couldn't fathom how Xiao Yan cultivated.

The Flame Master had once been a famed Dou Zun, yet even upon reaching Dou Zun, his Soul Force had never broken into the Spirit Realm.

Xiao Yan shrugged and said indifferently, "A Spirit Realm Soul is impressive, but I'd rather be a Dou Zun myself."

Indeed, a Spirit Realm Soul matched the power of a Dou Zun—after all, refining an Eight Grade Pill required Eight Grade Soul Force, and Eight Grade Pills, called Spiritual Pills, must possess spiritual awareness.

And Eight Grade Pills were precisely the pills suited for Dou Zuns.

But when it came to combat power, it was different: with Xiao Yan's current cultivation realm, even with Eight Grade Soul Force, he was still far weaker than a Dou Zun, since Dou Zuns' Soul Force was no weakling—even if not in the Spirit Realm, it wouldn't be too far behind, so you couldn't calculate it one-to-one.

Not to mention Xiao Yan only had one Soul Technique—fighting a Dou Zun with Soul Force alone would be suicide.

Xiao Yan stood up, stretched, and after refining the Wind Fury Dragon Flame, he gained a slight boost—one Star, reaching Star Seven Dou Huang.

Refining Different Flames never directly raised cultivation, but during the process, there were often side benefits—such as entering Enlightenment, or rapidly boosting cultivation by absorbing Flame Energy within the Different Flame's space.

Gaining one Star was already good enough for Xiao Yan; after all, refining the Wind Fury Dragon Flame had felt effortless, not difficult at all.

"What are your plans now?" asked the Flame Master.

Xiao Yan smiled and raised an eyebrow at the Flame Master. "Refining Pills—and helping you, Master Yao, rebuild your body."

Hearing that Xiao Yan finally understood his intentions, the Flame Master grinned, showing his teeth. All his desperate efforts were precisely to make Xiao Yan revive him.

"Although we haven't yet gathered all the materials for the Yin-Yang Life and Death Soul Pill, we're nearly there. First, I'll forge your physical body, then improve my Alchemy. By the time we leave, I should reach Seventh Rank Intermediate or even High-Level Alchemy—then, with the materials complete, you'll be reborn!" Xiao Yan wore a look of quiet pride.

His current Alchemy level was Seventh Rank Low Grade Peak; advancing to Intermediate wasn't hard. With good luck, he might even reach Seventh Rank High-Level Alchemy before leaving!

Fortunately, Xiao Yan had collected hundreds of "gifts" from the Sect Grand Meeting—his ring now held an abundance of Seventh Grade Pills; even after giving some to Zi Yan, he still possessed a vast stockpile of Seventh Rank Medicinal Ingredients.

Added to that, beneath the Heavenly Ladder lay a vast primeval forest, where some low-grade medicinal materials could serve as auxiliary herbs, giving Xiao Yan ideal conditions to improve his Alchemy.

Xiao Yan waved his hand, and countless brocade boxes flew out of his ring—each filled with Seventh Rank Medicinal Ingredients. He sorted them meticulously by quality, first mentally reviewing the Seventh Rank Low Grade primary ingredients, recalling the Pill Formulas that used them, then descended the Heavenly Ladder to search for the auxiliary herbs required.

Naturally, he began with Seventh Rank Low Grade Pills.

After a month, Xiao Yan successfully refined six Seventh Rank Low Grade Pills; one failed due to Cai Lin's bloodline stirring and distracting him, but the rest succeeded—even twice yielding two Pills per furnace. His Alchemy talent was so extraordinary, no wonder Hun Xu Zi had taken notice.

"Alright, let's start refining Seventh Rank Intermediate Pills."

Xiao Yan plunged back into work. He already possessed Seventh Rank Intermediate Alchemy; though his success rate was lower than for Low Grade, the gap between Intermediate and Low Grade wasn't huge. With his Different Flame and Spirit Realm Soul, Xiao Yan could refine Seventh Rank Low Grade Pills with Intermediate quality.

"Tsk tsk tsk, a Spirit Realm Soul is truly powerful—refining Seventh Rank Intermediate Pills feels like descending to crush them." When Xiao Yan first began refining Seventh Rank Intermediate Pills, he realized his Soul Force was terrifyingly strong.

When Xiao Yan focused his Soul Force, in his vision, the flames he controlled moved like slow-motion film—the exact moments herbs cracked, when heat intensified or weakened, when medicinal effects emerged, the veins within the herbs—all escaped his perception.

Xiao Yan had assumed he could only refine Low Grade Pills smoothly; he never expected Seventh Rank Intermediate Pills to be barely harder.

In other words, due to his Spirit Realm Soul, the difficulty of refining Seventh Rank Intermediate and Low Grade Pills had become nearly identical—his effortless, precise Soul Force made even the calm Xiao Yan ecstatic.

"Of course—otherwise, why would a Spirit Realm Soul be the benchmark for Eighth Grade?" The Flame Master stroked his beard.

"Even in Zhong Zhou, pills and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures capable of boosting a Seventh Rank Alchemist's Soul Force were hot commodities. Whenever such treasures appeared, countless Alchemists would bid madly." The Flame Master slowly explained to Xiao Yan.

What could you do? Soul Cultivation Techniques were monopolized by the Soul Sovereign. Not just techniques—even Pill Formulas for enhancing Soul Force were extremely rare, even at Dan Tower.

The Arcane-Rank High-Level Soul Cultivation Technique Xiao Yan once traded with Gu He for a Transformation Pill was an absolute windfall for Gu He; though Arcane-Rank High-Level wasn't exceptionally rare, it could at least help Gu He break through to Seventh Rank.

Had Xiao Yan not reached Zun status, he couldn't have transmitted Soul Cultivation Techniques. Soul Sovereign techniques had restrictions—once learned, they couldn't be passed on. Yet even so, restrictions on trading Soul Cultivation Techniques remained strict.

Because the Soul Sovereign understood: if they monopolized all Soul Cultivation Techniques on the Dou Qi Continent, no supreme powerhouse could ever emerge—and they would be invincible!

Though selfish, it was undeniably brilliant.

After over two months refining Seventh Rank Intermediate Pills, Xiao Yan's success rate finally nearly matched that of Seventh Rank Low Grade—he occasionally even achieved two Pills per furnace!

Seeing Xiao Yan now summoning Pill Lightning comparable to a Star Seven Dou Zong's attack, the Flame Master shook his head in resignation.

After collecting the Pills, Xiao Yan nodded in satisfaction and sat cross-legged to cultivate, restoring his Soul Force and Dou Qi.

Since reaching the Spirit Realm, Xiao Yan's Soul Force recovery had accelerated several-fold.

In just half a day, Xiao Yan opened his eyes and exhaled deeply. After months of refining Pills, his cultivation had risen significantly—he now stood at Star Seven Late Stage.

Even with a Heaven Grade Cultivation Method and the Falling Heart Flame's aid, advancing one Star to High-Level Dou Huang required exponentially more time.

But Xiao Yan wasn't worried—he still had one Imperial Ultimate Pill unused. Based on past experience, a Nine Star Peak Five Grade Bai Wang Pill guaranteed a breakthrough from Nine Star Dou Ling to Dou Wang; a Nine Star Peak Six Grade Huang Tian Pill guaranteed a breakthrough from Nine Star Dou Wang to Dou Huang.

Naturally, a Nine Star Peak Seven Grade Pill would guarantee a breakthrough from Nine Star Dou Huang to Dou Zong!

Xiao Yan had no intention of using a Breakthrough Zong Pill—such pills required Nine Star Peak Dou Huang cultivation, and even then, they merely increased success rate, not guaranteeing breakthrough.

Only Dou Huangs like Jia Xingtian, who could never break through on their own, resorted to them.

Yet what disappointed Xiao Yan was: the Medicinal Sage's collection contained no Pill Formula guaranteeing a 100% breakthrough to Dou Zong!

But Xiao Yan wasn't in a hurry—he'd already reached the Spirit Realm. He could trade for Pill Formulas with Dan Tower; if that failed, he'd trade with the Soul Sovereign. With his Alchemy, how could he lack Formulas?

Xiao Yan had always relied on Different Flames to upgrade the Burning Scripture, rapidly boosting cultivation, then using his own Alchemy to refine higher-grade Pills to break through bottlenecks, finally suppressing unstable Dou Qi by refining new Different Flames.

This entire upgrade sequence had accompanied Xiao Yan for a long journey—and he intended to keep using it.

With a soft thud, Xiao Yan tossed the Corpse of the Bone Child Elder onto the ground. Seeing the Corpse appear, the Flame Master's Soul Body trembled slightly.

He'd spent so many years beneath the Tian Fen Lian Qi Ta, dreaming of rebirth—and now, at last, this moment had come.

Besides the Bone Child Elder's Corpse, Xiao Yan also released a Jade Bottle containing a vial of essence blood—seventh-stage beast essence blood.

To forge a body required not only the bones of a Dou Zong, but also seventh-stage beast essence blood. For Xiao Yan, who had plundered countless sects in the Northwest Region, these materials were hardly precious.

Additionally, Xiao Yan withdrew from his ring a set of bones—these were the Flame Master's own remains from the cave, a Dou Zun's bones, and more importantly, his own. Xiao Yan planned to replace his bones and condense his body!

After a moment's thought, Xiao Yan summoned the Falling Heart Flame and the Yin-Yang Life and Death Flame.

Xiao Yan didn't use all his Different Flames together—more or higher-grade wasn't always better; suitability was best.

The Falling Heart Flame needed no explanation—the Flame Master had once been its master. Xiao Yan didn't use the Ten Thousand Beast Spirit Flame, since the Flame Master wasn't a beast.

The Yin-Yang Life and Death Flame governed Yin and Yang, life and death—its black-and-white fish wielded two forces: Yang Fire nurtured life endlessly, while Death Flame annihilated corpses into nothingness—perfectly suited.

Xiao Yan concentrated his Soul Force, his eyes flashing with spiritual light; the Death Flame transformed into a scalpel, directly dissecting the Corpse of the Bone Child Elder, burning all two hundred and six bones into nothingness without harming the SpiritFlesh.

He retracted his Soul Force, draining all the Blood from the Bone Child Elder's body, leaving only a pale carcass.

Profound Class—he clenched his palm hard, shattering the Jade Bottle; the large mass of Blood inside floated out, then, as Xiao Yan waved his hand, it was poured over the corpse wrapped in flames.

The moment the Blood touched the corpse, a sharp hissing erupted; the skin of the corpse rapidly began to rot.

This change did not faze Xiao Yan; after a casual glance, he commanded the Yin-Yang Life and Death Flame and the Fallen Heart Flame to surge in Infernal Heat.

As the temperature of the Yin-Yang Life and Death Flame and the Fallen Heart Flame rose, the Blood clinging to the corpse mysteriously began to slowly seep inward; the originally pale skin and muscles gradually regained vitality through the integration of the Essence Blood.

Then Xiao Yan swept his hand, and the body wrapped in Strange Fire drifted into the Hai Shi of the Heavenly Flame Elder.

A hum sounded—Xiao Yan's fingers rapidly formed seals; the Yin-Yang Life and Death Flame and the Fallen Heart Flame fused into the Fallen Life and Death Flame, continuously refining this vessel.

The SpiritFlesh and Essence Blood visibly merged; the flesh and blood, as if alive, slowly fused onto the bones, reassembling!

Seeing this, even the Heavenly Flame Elder's composure tightened his fists in tension.

After a day and night, a body like a jade soul appeared—but this body, though shaped like a body, resembled more a white object with limbs and a head, possessing none of a human's features.

Only when the Heavenly Flame Elder's Soul Body fully merged into the body would it begin shaping its appearance according to his Soul.

"Master Yao, place this body inside your Ring of Storage; you may slowly sculpt its form with your Soul Force in daily practice. When I refine the Yin-Yang Soul Pill, you shall be reborn." Xiao Yan smiled. This Secret Technique belonged to the Pill Sage; using Strange Fire to forge a body was his first attempt.

This method of Reincarnation was indeed miraculous.

"Good, good! Xiao Yan, I owe you a favor," the Heavenly Flame Elder laughed.

Xiao Yan shook his head. "I already promised you back then—I won't take more than agreed."

"Hahaha, doesn't matter—I'll remember. Even after ten years pass, I'll never forget." The Heavenly Flame Elder nodded, smiling.

After storing the body in the Heavenly Flame Elder's Ring of Storage, the Heavenly Flame Elder returned inside to begin sculpting.

Xiao Yan glanced toward Qing Lin and Cai Lin.

Qing Lin was only one step away from completing her inheritance; Cai Lin, having obtained half-Sage Essence Blood, saw her Cultivation Realm surge—she had already ascended to Nine-Star Dou Zong, and looked poised to challenge Dou Zun!

No wonder the Tian She Clan had spent generations yearning for Demon Saint Essence Blood; even for a Dou Zun, it was a rare treasure.

Essence Blood was no ordinary Blood—it was the core essence of a beast; even a Dou Saint possessed little of it.

Seeing they still needed time, Xiao Yan's eyes flickered; he pulled out a Brocade Box containing a small blade of grass.

Transformation Grass!

The primary ingredient Xiao Yan possessed most of among Seven-Pin High-Level Pills was Transformation Grass—he received one from Yun Yun, acquired some in the Black Horn Region, bought some from the Huangquan Treasures Pavilion, and received more as gifts; he had too much.

The Transformation Pill was the most famous among Seven-Grade Pills; nearly every beast desired it.

Though not the most difficult to refine among Seven-Pin High-Level Pills, it was far from easy; among Alchemists, it was said that anyone who could refine a Transformation Pill was already a Seven-Pin High-Level Alchemist—the benchmark for entering that tier.

One could imagine the difficulty level of the Transformation Pill.

"It's time to repay the Lion King's favor—I've delayed it long enough." Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and smiled, recalling that his first "investor" had been the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, who helped him obtain his first complete Strange Fire, the Ten Thousand Beasts Spirit Flame.

President Xiao would never let his shareholders suffer losses!

Think of Shareholder Yao, think of Shareholder Hai—neither failed to return their principal with countlessfold profits.

Now it was Shareholder Lion's turn.

Refining the Transformation Pill was the most difficult pill Xiao Yan had ever attempted; the auxiliary ingredients nearly covered the ground—he even brought out the Black Demon.

First, borrow the Black Demon's energy to refine one Transformation Pill to get a feel for it, then use the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron. Xiao Yan's rapid breakthroughs in Pill Alchemy owed much to the Black Demon.

The Black Demon's ability allowed Xiao Yan to achieve superior-level pills earlier and faster; once he found the right sensation, refining high-grade pills became easier, breaking through alchemical bottlenecks.

Even with the Black Demon's aid, Xiao Yan spent a month, failed twice, and wasted two Transformation Grasses before successfully refining one Transformation Pill.

Then, after another month of relentless refinement, Xiao Yan finally mastered refining the Transformation Pill by his own ability!

"Destruction Fire Lotus!"

Facing the descending Pill Lightning, Xiao Yan sneered; the five-colored Strange Fire instantly fused, its infernal heat burning a massive hole through the Sky.

Xiao Yan renamed the five-colored Fire Lotus as the Destruction Fire Lotus, symbolizing annihilation.

Boom!!!! Even within the Qi San Hua Tong's space, Pill Lightning was unavoidable—it was a law of Heaven and Earth; refining a Pill above Seven-Grade anywhere with Heaven and Earth Power summoned Pill Lightning.

The Pill Lightning, equivalent to a strike from an Eight-Star Dou Zong, slammed into Xiao Yan's Destruction Fire Lotus—but to Xiao Yan's surprise, the lightning melted into the flames!

At the critical point, a cataclysmic nuclear explosion erupted, terrifying even Xiao Yan.

He was now an Eight-Star Demonic Realm; his Cultivation Realm had greatly enhanced the Fire Lotus's power.

A normal high-level Demonic Realm needed one or two years—even with a Profound Class Cultivation Method—to ascend one star; but Xiao Yan had spent the past half-year refining Pills.

And still, he rose one star—his advancement speed was nothing short of cheating!

"Now that my Soul Force has reached the Spirit Realm, fusing Strange Fire has become easier—I feel I could summon another Destruction Fire Lotus." Xiao Yan murmured.

Xiao Yan looked up—the Destruction Fire Lotus had not only shattered the Pill Lightning, but even scattered the storm clouds. This power could only be described in four words.

Terrifying indeed!

(End of Chapter)