Chapter 11: Quenching Fire Technique

Having gained a rough understanding of the cultivation guide, Yan Xiao still focused his efforts on the cultivation of his mental cultivation method.

Strength is the only hard truth.

As long as my strength is sufficient, no matter what demons, ghosts, monsters, or freaks they are, when they see me, they will all have to bow and say: "Greetings."

Just thinking about it is exhilarating.

Holding the 【Three Elements Spirit Gathering Art】.

The first thing he had to do was to sense the Spirit Qi of heaven and earth.

Then, absorb the Spirit Qi to nourish his dantian and strengthen his own power.

But after Yan Xiao studied it for a long time and sat in meditation for a while, the Spirit Qi he could sense was pitifully scarce.

A wisp of thin Spirit Qi drifted toward him, then took a turn and left.

The Spirit Qi didn't even pay him any mind.

He passed the Three Elements Spirit Gathering Art to Qingxue, and she began to cultivate as well.

Qingxue now even had smoke rising from her head from the practice.

That was a sign of dense Spirit Qi.

The Spirit Qi was drilling into the little girl's body all on its own.

As for him, it took him forever to catch a single wisp of Spirit Qi, and absorbing it was exhausting to death.

This left him feeling incredibly depressed.

"System, what is going on? Is the gap between Qingxue and me really this big?" Yan Xiao couldn't help but ask.

"Owner, Miss Qingxue has a Heavenly Spirit Root aptitude and is exceptionally gifted; as long as she has a cultivation method, she can absorb all the surrounding Spirit Qi and transform it into True Essence to increase her own realm.

As for you.

You have the lowest Pseudo Spirit Root aptitude, so the amount of heaven and earth Spirit Qi you can communicate with is extremely, extremely small."

"Pseudo Spirit Root... what the hell is that?" Yan Xiao was speechless.

"It means a fake Spirit Root, equivalent to having no Spirit Root at all," the system explained.

Yan Xiao felt a wave of dizziness, the world spinning around him.

He almost fainted on the spot.

Is it really that miserable?

You give me a Spirit Root aptitude that can't cultivate, and you won't even let me take pills; isn't this just messing with me?

Yan Xiao was on the verge of tears.

Could it be that the second level of Qi Refining is the peak of my life?

"System... is there any way to remedy this?" Yan Xiao asked hurriedly.

"The Xisui Pill can wash the marrow and cut the bones, increasing your Spirit Root aptitude," the system replied.

Xisui Pill, Yan Xiao had seen it, in the slot right next to the Soul Gathering Pill, priced at 100,000 Fear Value.

Ah!

100,000 Fear Value, how long would it take him to earn that?

The Fear Value that the villagers of Majia Town could provide seemed to be reaching its limit.

Does it want him to refine the Pill Poison himself...

At his current cultivation speed, he would have to borrow another 500 years from the heavens, otherwise, there's no chance.

"Owner, the Quenching Fire Technique can also refine Pill Poison, though the process is somewhat painful."

The system said slowly, sounding very human-like.

Hmm.

Yan Xiao perked up upon hearing this.

Pain? What of it? A real man, what is a little physical pain?

Yan Xiao thought firmly.

He opened the Quenching Fire Technique, preparing to cultivate.

"Come on."

Yan Xiao spread his hands and began to guide the Fire Origin Qi according to the steps of the Quenching Fire Technique.

Perhaps because he had consumed the Fire Attribute Pill, the affinity of the Fire Origin Qi toward him was significantly higher.

At least it wouldn't deliberately avoid him.

The Fire Origin Qi condensed in his palm, turning into a small flame that swayed gently in the breeze.

"Tsk tsk... so the little flame is this cute, I love you to death!"

Yan Xiao laughed happily, like a child teasing the flame in his hand.

"Owner, guiding the flame into your bloodline can burn away the Pill Poison and also temper your body; there are many benefits."

The system prompted.

"Alright, little flame, you have to be gentle, okay?"

Yan Xiao chuckled and abruptly sucked the flame into his bloodline.

"Gah!"

At that moment, Yan Xiao felt terrible.

The instant he inhaled it, the incomparable pain caused his thoughts to pause, and he stood frozen in place.

His facial features twisted and he bared his teeth, wanting to scream but unable to make a sound.

Black smoke began to rise from Yan Xiao's entire body, and his hair stood straight up, as if he had been struck by lightning.

"Woo woo woo..."

Yan Xiao was whimpering directly from the pain.

While crying, blue smoke was coming out of his mouth; the scene was quite spectacular.

"System, can you pause? I feel like I'm going to die!"

Yan Xiao cried out in complaint.

"Owner, you will be fine, you must hold on. Didn't you just say that a real man shouldn't care about a little suffering?

You cannot give up now, otherwise you will be even more afraid next time."

The system encouraged him.

That's right, if he backed down now, he definitely wouldn't dare to try again next time.

Yan Xiao wiped away his tears, gritted his teeth, and looked resentfully at the small flame in his hand.

Now he didn't think the small flame was cute anymore.

"I'll absorb it!"

Yan Xiao wept while inhaling the flame, refining this damned Pill Poison.

He swore that he would never take pills indiscriminately again...

After a while, he finally burned away the Pill Poison all over his body, and even the toxins accumulated in his body were refined by the Quenching Fire Technique.

Yan Xiao's physique had improved significantly.

Wiping his tears, he would never admit that he had cried from the pain, even if it killed him.

Opening his eyes, he saw the little girl standing in front of him, looking at him with a worried face.

"Brother, what's wrong with you?"

The little girl asked with concern.

"Oh, nothing, what could be wrong with me." Yan Xiao said with a guilty conscience; it was a good thing the little girl couldn't see, otherwise if she knew he had been sniffling, it would be too embarrassing.

"Qingyao said you were crying!" The little girl said seriously.

Qingyao was the name she had given the black cat.

"I..."

Yan Xiao looked at the black cat resentfully, not knowing how to answer.

He was too embarrassed to say that he had burned himself to tears.

"I also smell something burnt? Brother, are you roasting something?" The little girl asked suspiciously.

"Pfft~" The black cat laughed out loud in a human voice, but after seeing Yan Xiao's cold, sharp gaze, it buried its head in the little girl's arms, not daring to look at Yan Xiao again.

Roasting something? Yes, he was roasting himself.

"Nothing, by the way, what level of strength have you cultivated to?"

Yan Xiao hurriedly changed the subject.

"It seems to be Qi Refining Level 1, I can gather Spirit Qi and channel it into my dantian."

The little girl said happily.

Is the Heavenly Spirit Root really that awesome?

It would be a lie to say he wasn't envious.

However, seeing the little girl's strength improve, Yan Xiao was happy for her.

"Can your Divine Sense recover?" Yan Xiao asked again.

"No, but I can observe the surroundings through the fluctuations of the Spirit Qi around me. Although it's not as clear as Divine Sense, it won't affect my movements."

As the little girl spoke, she walked a few steps to show that she was fine.

But her cultivation was not high and her Spirit Qi was limited, so she tripped over a wooden board after only two steps.

She fell face-first into the mud.

Yan Xiao hurried over to help her up, feeling heartbroken.

"One day, you will see this world with your own eyes. Brother will find a way to cure your eyes." Yan Xiao said to himself in his heart.

The little girl sensed Yan Xiao's intentions and couldn't help but smile happily.

"You fell flat on your face and you're still laughing."

Yan Xiao said irritably.

As a result, the little girl laughed even more happily.

It had always been like this; she had been blind since childhood and had fallen countless times. She had cried when she was little, but ever since she met Yan Xiao, she only knew how to face things with a smile.

The more it hurt when she fell, the more joyfully she laughed.

Yan Xiao looked reproachfully at the Cat Demon in the little girl's arms and scolded, "Your Owner fell down, and you didn't even help."

The Cat Demon felt aggrieved, but it dared not retort.

Previously, it had the opportunity to backfire on Qingxue and regain its freedom.

But it gave up. After becoming a Phantom Demon, it had lived in a daze for who knows how many years, and later, after a mutation occurred, it merged with the memories of the beautiful woman and gained consciousness.

But it was always treated as the most evil Phantom Demon by cultivators and was hunted down all the way.

It was tired of that kind of life. It was gambling, gambling on the growth and future of this pair of siblings before it.

It was also gambling on its own tomorrow.

"Brother, don't scare it. It was seriously injured before, and later it helped me resist the medicinal power of the Soul Gathering Grass. It is very weak now."

The little girl stroked the black cat and said softly.

"Alright, I blamed it wrongly."

Yan Xiao scratched his head, feeling a bit embarrassed.

Suddenly.

The Cat Demon raised its head, its gaze solemn as it said, "Owner, a Phantom Demon is approaching."