In the quiet cave, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged like a meditating monk, his entire body radiating a golden glow as he absorbed vast amounts of natural energy to replenish his depleted Heavenly Flames.
The cultivation of "Four Righteousnesses of Vajra" used all external forces as its driving power, allowing for an endless cycle of refinement.
After restoring his Heavenly Flames to their peak, Xiao Yan could clearly sense that they had grown significantly stronger through the cycle of depletion and recovery.
The Xuanhuang Flame had broken through its lowest-tier ranking, now reaching the level of the 22nd-ranked Heavenly Flame. The newly condensed Beast Spirit Flame had stabilized at around the 19th rank.
The Yin-Yang Twin Flame, a Heavenly Flame that embodied the laws of nature, possessed the ability to harmonize the yang-based flames (like the Sun Flame) and the yin-based poisonous flames (like the Netherworld Poison Flame).
As the power of these opposing flames grew, the Yin-Yang Twin Flame itself had reached the peak of the 19th rank, becoming his strongest Heavenly Flame.
Even the Three Thousand Burning Flames had seen a notable increase in growth speed, now nearly matching the Xuanhuang Flame in strength.
Xiao Yan slowly rose to his feet and stretched. "Three months, and my strength has risen by three stars—now a five-star Dou Huang. This isn't just due to my technique evolving to Earth Tier Advanced, but also because of the grueling forging process over these months."
Walking to the stone bed, he carefully examined the Blazing Spirit Armor Yun Yun had left behind, his eyes deep in thought.
After personally using this prototype equipment in combat, Xiao Yan had gained a deeper understanding of how to wield Heavenly Flames.
If he used the hide of the sixth-tier peak Blazing Feather Eagle Emperor as material, it could perfectly contain three Heavenly Flames at once, instantly elevating a Great Dou Master to the level of a one-star Dou Zong.
But Xiao Yan had no intention of doing so.
Thanks to the "Seven Spinning Piercing Finger," the corpse of the Blazing Feather Eagle Emperor had been dissected with perfect preservation. Using only its hide for the Blazing Spirit Armor would be somewhat wasteful.
With the development of weapons derived from the Blazing Spirit Armor, Xiao Yan's vision for equipment had expanded into a complete set.
The Blazing Spirit Armor and the Fire-Tipped Spear were combat-oriented, but aside from fighting to the death, there was one more essential necessity—
A means of escape with unparalleled speed!
With a wave of his arm, a blueprint unfurled on the table. Though the paper itself was simple, the design was intricate, depicting a complex fighter craft based on the Blazing Feather Eagle Emperor's remains.
This machine would use Heavenly Flames as its energy source, allowing the corpse to unleash speeds surpassing even most Dou Zongs.
Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on the ground, organizing his thoughts on Heavenly Flame applications. With proper refinement, they could unleash unimaginable power in the future.
Half a day later.
[Through your experience in crafting the Blazing Spirit Armor and Fire-Tipped Spear, you have achieved enlightenment. You have comprehended the secret art: Unquenchable Flame.]
[Unquenchable Flame: A powerful secret art that harnesses multiple Heavenly Flames as energy sources. Its effects and power depend entirely on the equipment's design and the quality of the Heavenly Flames used.]
Exhaling softly, Xiao Yan immediately stood and picked up the blueprint, his eyes burning with ambition. "To fully unleash the Blazing Spirit Armor's potential, I'll need the vine roots beneath the Green Lotus Core Flame's pedestal."
Although Yao Lao had said that leaving those roots behind would allow another Green Lotus Core Flame to form in centuries, Xiao Yan disagreed.
Because, sometimes, Yao Lao could be a bit… senile.
When Gu He offered the "Shape Transformation Pill" to Queen Medusa, Yao Lao had immediately dismissed it, arguing that a sixth-tier alchemist like Gu He couldn't possibly refine a seventh-tier pill.
But in this vast Dou Qi Continent, weren't there plenty of people who weren't alchemists? Did every pill they consumed have to be self-refined?
Gu He could acquire pill recipes even Yao Lao didn't possess. Entering the Central Plains' Pill Tower, he might have his own connections. His second brother had stumbled upon a seventh-tier Life-Stealing Pill, sacrificing lifespan to leap straight to the Dou King level…
Opportunities like these were everywhere in this world.
Whether through auctions or chance discoveries, the pill Gu He offered didn't necessarily have to be his own creation.
Similarly, those vine roots didn't have to be completely uprooted.
"Perhaps it's the pride of an eighth-tier alchemist—believing that any pill in hand must be self-refined. But how many in this world actually possess such skill?"
Xiao Yan smirked. Once he condensed the Life-Forming Heavenly Flame, its unparalleled nurturing properties could stimulate the vine roots' growth. Woven into fabric, they would become the ultimate material for crafting an even stronger Blazing Spirit Armor.
Rubbing his hands together, Xiao Yan gazed at the pile of metals and the massive skeleton before him. "The construction of the Blazing Feather Eagle Emperor begins! After the coming-of-age ceremony, I'll head straight for the Tagor Desert."
While Xiao Yan buried himself in crafting the Blazing Feather Eagle Emperor, atop the lush forested peak behind the Xiao family estate, a young girl in a pale green dress stood gracefully.
Her long, ink-black hair cascaded down her shoulders, stopping just above her slender waist.
Bathed in the faint mist surrounding the mountaintop, her silhouette resembled a pristine lotus blooming amidst the mortal world—ethereal and brimming with spiritual energy.
A girl like her seemed as if she had been nurtured by the very essence of heaven and earth, so breathtakingly beautiful that it was almost blinding.
"Ding-ling."
Suddenly, a crisp and ethereal chime echoed across the quiet peak. Upon closer inspection, two tiny green bells could be seen hanging from the girl's fair wrists.
As the bells chimed, the shadows beside her rippled, and an elderly figure emerged.
"Congratulations, young mistress, on breaking through to the Dou Huang level!" The old man bowed respectfully, his face warm with pride.
The girl wasn't even sixteen yet, yet she had already reached the same realm as him.
"Elder Ling, you've finally returned." Xun'er turned slowly, her exquisite, otherworldly face breaking into a smile that put even blooming flowers to shame. The vibrant hues of the forest seemed to converge upon her, making it impossible to look away.
Her rapid cultivation was largely thanks to that boy's seven years of continuous meridian nourishment, which had prematurely awakened the ancient bloodline within her.
Xiao Yan's meridian-warming techniques were never static—through constant refinement, they had evolved to an astonishing degree.
Under his prolonged care, the purity of Xun'er's bloodline—originally destined to reach divine-grade—had been activated far earlier than it should have been.
She believed that in the future, its awakening would accelerate even further, eliminating the drawback where losing her chastity would hinder her cultivation speed. The shackles of this divine bloodline would soon be broken entirely.
"I've investigated the anomalies in the Magic Beast Mountain Range," Elder Ling reported with a smile.
(End of Chapter)
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