On the mountain behind the Xiao Clan, Xiao Xun'er walked through a dense forest.
Beneath the trees, where the shade should have been cool, waves of heat swept through instead.
As she ventured farther in, the surrounding trees grew increasingly lush, as though something were nourishing them, and the heat grew ever more intense.
When Xiao Xun'er passed a tree so thick it would take two people to wrap their arms around it, she saw the source of the heat.
It was a brilliant, dazzling Extreme Yang Land, where the sunlight seemed especially fierce and waves of scorching heat rose into the air.
The entire Extreme Yang Land was planted with Fire Attribute medicinal herbs, which filled the air with a rich fragrance.
This Extreme Yang Land was a forbidden ground of the Xiao Clan. Ordinary people were not even qualified to know of its existence.
At the center of the Extreme Yang Land lay a young man wearing nothing but shorts.
At the sight of him, ripples appeared in Xiao Xun'er's beautiful eyes, which were normally calm and indifferent toward everyone, and a smile touched her lips.
The young man lying lazily on the bed before her was an unprecedented genius of the Xiao Clan—Xiao Yao!
He had begun cultivating Dou Qi at the age of four and successfully condensed his Dou Qi Vortex at seven, breaking through to become a Dou Zhe.
His breakthroughs had come so quickly that even the Xiao Clan's higher-ups had concealed them, lest his astonishing talent draw the wariness of other factions and bring a deadly calamity upon him.
Even within the Xiao Clan, only a handful of people knew how terrifyingly fast Xiao Yao had broken through.
But the good times did not last.
When his attribute was tested, Xiao Yao was found to possess a special attribute never before seen on the Dou Qi Continent.
Because it was extremely compatible with the sun, it was named the Yang Attribute.
It was precisely because Xiao Yao possessed the Yang Attribute that not a single cultivation method suited to him could be found in the entire Xiao Clan, or even on the whole Dou Qi Continent.
Unlike those at the Dou Qi stage, a Dou Zhe needed a cultivation method to continue breaking through.
Thus, Xiao Yao became stuck at the initial stage of Dou Zhe.
Every Xiao Clan higher-up who learned of Xiao Yao's situation wrung their hands and sighed, regretting what had happened to him.
In their eyes, with Xiao Yao's talent, if he grew to his full potential, he could undoubtedly lead the Xiao Clan to its peak!
That would benefit the entire clan, and as Xiao Clan higher-ups, they would naturally benefit greatly as well.
When they learned that Xiao Yao could not continue advancing because of the problem with his cultivation method, they were naturally filled with regret.
The Xiao Clan's higher-ups also mobilized the clan's resources to search for a Yang Attribute cultivation method for Xiao Yao, but found nothing.
Even when the Xiao Clan's higher-ups began to give up, Xiao Yao never did.
Xiao Xun'er still remembered what Xiao Yao had said to her back then: Since I can't find a Yang Attribute cultivation method, I'll create one myself.
At the time, Xiao Yao's face had still looked very young, yet he had spoken those words with unwavering resolve, deeply touching Xiao Xun'er.
Over the following six years, Xiao Yao proved through his actions that his words had not been empty talk.
In those six years, Xiao Yao read every book in the Xiao Clan's collection, gaining a thorough understanding of cultivation, the human body's meridians, and related subjects.
He then relied on his talent and value to persuade the Xiao Clan's higher-ups to open the Dou Qi Pavilion to him alone, allowing him to examine the cultivation methods the clan had collected.
Using the clan's cultivation methods as references, Xiao Yao began, step by step, to create a cultivation method uniquely his own.
During that time, Xiao Xun'er often saw Xiao Yao suffer damaged meridians when he made mistakes circulating his Dou Qi, or even suffer Dou Qi backlash and cough up blood.
Fortunately, Xiao Yao's attribute was special and had an affinity with the sun, so he could quickly recover from his injuries by basking in sunlight.
An ordinary person with injuries like Xiao Yao's would have needed at least three to five months to recover, but Xiao Yao could shorten that time considerably.
Heaven did not disappoint those who persevered. Finally, two years later, Xiao Yao created a cultivation method suited to the Yang Attribute from nothing.
This might have been the first Yang Attribute cultivation method on the Dou Qi Continent!
Although it was only Yellow Tier Middle Grade, this was already a tremendous change, bringing something into existence where nothing had been before.
Xiao Xun'er believed that, with Xiao Yao's talent and temperament, he could certainly raise the cultivation method's level step by step.
After all, the Dou Qi Continent had not possessed the so-called Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow cultivation methods from the very beginning either.
Had they not been pioneered and created over countless years by countless sages standing on the shoulders of those who came before them?
All sorts of thoughts flashed through Xiao Xun'er's mind. She looked at the young man lying there and said with a smile,
"Brother Xiao Yao, Xun'er came to see you."
Hearing Xiao Xun'er's voice, the young man emerged from his thoughts. He opened his pale golden eyes and smiled slightly at her.
"You're here, Xun'er. Sorry for the trouble."
Xiao Xun'er looked at the young man's pale golden eyes. They were like two newly risen suns, gentle and bright, making one feel warm and comfortable.
"It's no trouble at all. On the contrary, Xun'er feels comfortable all over when she comes here."
Smiling, Xiao Xun'er walked along a specially laid flame-stone path and came to the young man's side.
Xiao Yao sat up on the stone bed, made room for Xiao Xun'er, and patted its edge.
"Sit down. The bed's a little small, so you'll have to make do."
Xiao Xun'er covered her mouth and giggled, then sat down with easy grace.
"Brother Xiao Yao, the clan leader and elders paid an enormous price to buy this Flame Crystal Stone from the Mittel Auction House. It's very precious."
Xiao Yao rolled his eyes and patted the Flame Crystal Stone bed beneath him.
"Isn't that only natural? I earn so many gold coins for the Xiao Clan every year. Did they really intend to make me sleep on an ordinary stone bed?"
The two chatted and laughed for a while. Then Xiao Xun'er turned her wrist and took dish after dish from her Storage Ring, each one a feast for the eyes, nose, and palate.
Finally, Xiao Xun'er brought out a large plate of stewed meat in a rich sauce. Even without tasting it, one could sense faint energy fluctuations in the meat.
A rich medicinal fragrance also reached the nose. Clearly, it had been stewed from magical beast meat and various medicinal herbs.
This kind of medicinal meal was stewed from a combination of magical beast meat and medicinal herbs.
Although its effect on cultivation might be far inferior to that of medicinal pills, it at least had some effect.
It was clear that the Xiao Clan had given Xiao Yao the very best treatment.
This was not only because of Xiao Yao's talent, but also because he was the one who had created the Extreme Yang Land before them.
Xiao Yao had an affinity with the sun and could control some of its light, gathering it in this area to create an artificial Extreme Yang Land.
It provided an excellent environment for Fire Attribute medicinal herbs to grow.
Moreover, Xiao Yao could strengthen the vitality brought by sunlight, promoting the herbs' growth.
The Xiao Clan had filled its pots and bowls to overflowing by selling Fire Attribute medicinal herbs.
Ample gold coins meant access to more resources.
Over the years, the Xiao Clan's overall strength had made enormous strides.
Because alchemists were scarce, not every clan or faction could train an alchemist or retain one in its service.
Under such circumstances, some people also studied methods of advancement other than medicinal pills.
That meant using medicinal herbs in various ways.
Some medicinal herbs could improve Dou Qi to begin with. Alchemists combined herbs, removed their toxins and impurities, and enhanced their effects to refine them into medicinal pills.
Those herbs that improved Dou Qi could also be used by taking them directly or preparing them in dishes.
However, compared with medicinal pills, it took longer to expel the toxins and impurities in the herbs.
But even if one could only consume cultivation herbs once every few days or months, the results were still much better than simply sitting cross-legged and cultivating.
Thus, to the Xiao Clan, Xiao Yao was not merely a genius and a future expert.
He was also a vital pillar who could already help improve the Xiao Clan's overall strength.