Inside the Xiao Clan's forbidden grounds, Xiao Yao and Xiao Xun'er ate their fill, then each began cultivating.
Xiao Yao watched Xiao Xun'er, who sat cross-legged before him with her eyes closed in cultivation, and the corners of his mouth rose slightly without his realizing it.
Because of Xiao Yao's own Yang Attribute, he had an affinity with the sun. Sunlight gathered around his body, making the area exceptionally well suited to the growth of fire-attribute medicinal herbs and, naturally, to Fire Attribute cultivators as well.
Xiao Xun'er's fire attribute was exceptionally pure, and she especially liked cultivating beside Xiao Yao.
When they were young, Xiao Xun'er followed Xiao Yao every day, inseparable from him like a shadow.
Sometimes Xiao Xun'er even ran over and hugged Xiao Yao to sleep, saying Xiao Yao's body was warm like a little furnace and that sleeping while holding him was very comfortable.
After growing up, however, Xiao Xun'er never did that again.
Xiao Yao occasionally teased her about it, always making her blush shyly.
Perhaps it was simply that words spoken and things done in childhood always felt unbearably embarrassing when remembered after growing up.
Perhaps Xiao Yao's gaze was too obvious, for Xun'er's cheeks flushed slightly without her realizing it, though her eyes had been closed in cultivation.
Her eyelids fluttered, and she opened them slightly. She glanced at Xiao Yao and said with a hint of reproach, "Brother Xiao Yao!"
Xiao Yao laughed twice to ease the awkwardness, then hurriedly closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the stone bed.
The afternoon sun was quite fierce, especially around Xiao Yao, where the sunlight was so scorching that even the air seemed to warp.
For Fire Attribute cultivators, however, such an environment was tremendously beneficial.
Xiao Xun'er could feel that the surrounding energy of heaven and earth was exceptionally active, pouring into her body in an endless stream.
On the other side of the flame crystal stone bed, Xiao Yao likewise circulated his cultivation method, absorbing energy from the sunlight.
While cultivating, however, he also directed his awareness toward a translucent panel that only he could perceive.
[Realm: Nine-Star Dou Shi (9%)]
[Cultivation method: Sun True Scripture (Yellow Tier Middle Grade, refinement progress: 21%)]
[Ability: Analyze the Sun, analysis progress: 5.1%]
[Sun-Swallowing Qi Gathering (obtained at 0.1% analysis progress): Absorb solar energy for one's own use to improve cultivation]
[Bathe in Yang and Heal Wounds (obtained at 1% analysis progress): Absorb solar energy to heal injuries]
Below that was the cultivation progress of several low-level Dou Techniques.
This was Xiao Yao's golden finger, a panel that could record his cultivation progress. It ensured that once something was attained, it remained attained forever, with no regression.
It was precisely because of this golden finger that, when Xiao Yao first transmigrated and his soul passed straight through the sun, it was not burned to nothing by the Sun True Fire. Instead, he gained the ability to Analyze the Sun.
And as long as his Analyze the Sun reached a certain point, he could gain many powerful abilities.
His current Sun-Swallowing Qi Gathering and Bathe in Yang and Heal Wounds had both been obtained this way.
Relying on Sun-Swallowing Qi Gathering, Xiao Yao had become the fastest person in the Xiao Clan to break through to Dou Zhe.
Bathe in Yang and Heal Wounds, meanwhile, gave Xiao Yao the chance to keep trying and making mistakes, allowing him to quickly eliminate incorrect circulation routes when creating a Yang Attribute cultivation method.
By his careful reckoning, nine months had passed since Xiao Yao created the Sun True Scripture.
His strength had risen from a newly advanced Dou Zhe to a Nine-Star Dou Shi. His progress could hardly be called slow, averaging two stars a month.
If the other members of the Xiao Clan found out, their eyes would surely pop out of their heads in shock.
The main reason for such progress was the increase in his Solar Analysis.
Xiao Yao had unlocked Sun-Swallowing Qi Gathering when his analysis progress reached 0.1%.
Now, Xiao Yao's Solar Analysis had reached 5.1%.
As his Solar Analysis progressed, the effects of abilities he had already unlocked also grew stronger.
If the energy his original Sun-Swallowing Qi Gathering could draw from sunlight was a small stream, then the energy Xiao Yao could draw from sunlight now was a river.
The same was true of Bathe in Yang and Heal Wounds. Its healing effect was much stronger than it had been at first.
Xiao Yao moved his awareness away from the panel and directed it into his body.
After reaching Dou Zhe, cultivators gained the ability to look inward, allowing them to see inside themselves and perceive the state of their bodies clearly.
The higher a person's cultivation, the greater their control over their own body.
His awareness sank all the way to the Dou Qi Vortex in his lower abdomen. There, he saw the golden Dou Qi Vortex rotating slowly, giving off a golden radiance like the light of dawn and bathing the surrounding nebula-like energy in a dreamlike glow.
Within the cyclone, drops of crystalline golden liquid were constantly rising and falling.
The mark of the Dou Shi realm was the liquefaction of Dou Qi, condensing it into drops of liquid energy of astonishing quality.
At that moment, the liquid energy inside Xiao Yao's Dou Qi Vortex shone with a dazzling golden light, and there was a great deal of it.
It flowed within the Dou Qi Vortex in the direction of its rotation, like a coiling golden river.
He had only recently broken through to Nine-Star Dou Shi, and he still had a long way to go before he accumulated his full measure of Dou Qi.
As Xiao Yao was thinking this, the Dou Qi Vortex gathered energy, and another drop of crystalline, brilliant liquid energy slowly condensed within it.
Noticing this, Xiao Yao could not help laughing. The road was long, but he was traveling it quickly.
Afterward, Xiao Yao checked the circulation of his cultivation method and could not help sighing.
With his current Sun-Swallowing Qi Gathering ability, the solar energy he drew in was already considerable.
The problem was that the Sun True Scripture Xiao Yao had created could not fully refine this energy. Otherwise, he would improve even faster.
Given his current foundation in cultivation and the methods available to him in Wutan City, creating a Yellow Tier Middle Grade cultivation method was already his limit.
If he wanted to refine the Sun True Scripture to a higher grade, he could only put in the painstaking work of slowly improving it, or study more high-level cultivation methods and incorporate their essence into his own.
To be honest, a Yellow Tier Middle Grade Sun True Scripture did not quite live up to its name.
But Xiao Yao believed that he could draw on the strengths of many methods and refine it to Heaven Tier or even higher. Then it would truly live up to the name Sun True Scripture.
Time always flew during cultivation. Before they knew it, the last ray of sunlight had vanished among the treetops, the fiery clouds on the horizon had gradually dimmed, and night had fallen.
Xiao Yao and Xiao Xun'er opened their eyes at the same time and smiled at each other.
"Xun'er, how much did you gain?"
"Not bad. I can't compare with you, Brother Xiao Yao, but it was still quite good."
Xiao Xun'er's beautiful eyes were full of smiles. She could clearly sense that Xiao Yao's presence was much stronger than before.
"Are you going straight back to rest, Brother Xiao Yao?"
"No, I'm planning to make a trip to the Mittel Auction House. I am also a book appraiser there, after all."
Xiao Yao spoke with a smile.
Xiao Xun'er's gaze shifted, and she teased him.
"That chief auctioneer at the Mittel Auction House certainly treats you well, Brother Xiao Yao."
"It's mutually beneficial."
The two chatted as they walked out of the forbidden grounds.
After leaving the rear mountain, they happened to run into several Xiao Clan juniors. Leading them was Xiao Ning, the First Elder's grandson.
The other Xiao Clan juniors followed Xiao Ning, eagerly fawning over him, while he looked quite pleased with the attention.
When Xiao Ning saw Xiao Yao and Xiao Xun'er following beside him, the faintly smug look on his face immediately darkened. A trace of gloom flashed through his eyes.