Phoenix

After Xiao Yan had taken precautions to protect himself and Zi Yan, he immediately rolled up his sleeves, took out the Heavenly Demon Puppet, and ordered it to dig.

In just a moment, the once relatively flat land was dug into a large pit, revealing the crimson inside.

A wave of heat emanated from the pit, causing the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame to react. The flames surging on their bodies transformed into Purple-gold Ancient Void Dragons, roaring at the pit with slight agitation.

Xiao Yan could vaguely sense that the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame was actually wary of the owner of this aura.

Even the power of the Ancient Void Dragon Emperor of the Void is something to be wary of. Could there be a fully-developed Ancient Heavenly Phoenix down there?

But that's not right either. Zi Yan only felt pressure and fear, not that disgust and hostility stemming from blood ties.

Xiao Yan thought for a moment and stopped the Heavenly Demon Puppet from digging downwards. At this moment, a large pit tens of meters deep appeared in front of Xiao Yan. It was filled with bright red soil, and as the steam rose, it vaguely transformed into a large fiery red bird.

"You wait for me here, I'm going... never mind, you come with me."

Xiao Yan ordered the Heavenly Demon Puppet to bring up some soil, took out the wooden door, hung Black Lock on it, and then took Zi Yan's small hand and walked into the Nether Flame Demon Saint Inheritance Space together.

"The Dragon Phoenix Auspiciousness good fortune; it's a very auspicious sign."

Before Xiao Yan could speak, he heard the sigh of the Nether Flame Demon Saint.

Xiao Yan glanced at Zi Yan, then at the soil in the Heavenly Demon Puppet's hand, and asked, "What kind of Ancient Heavenly Phoenix aura is that? I don't think it's like it."

The Nether Flame Demon Saint shook his head and slowly said, "It's not Ancient Heavenly Phoenix. It should be a Phoenix that tried to break through to the Dou Emperor through Nirvana but failed."

Xiao Yan racked his brains, but couldn't recall anything about the Phoenix on the Dou Qi Continent, so he asked, "Does the Dou Qi Continent actually have Phoenix?"

"They used to exist, but Phoenix were already few in number, had difficulty reproducing, and had a high mortality rate during their rebirth, so they gradually became extinct."

"Even I have only found some Phoenix Nirvana Fluid in some Ancient Ruins, and have never seen a real Phoenix."

The Nether Flame Demon Saint sighed softly, feeling melancholy at the ever-regressing state of the world.

"The Phoenix Nirvana has a high mortality rate? Isn't the Phoenix known as the Undying Bird, so it should be very difficult for it to die?" Xiao Yan looked puzzled.

"That must be a misunderstanding by later generations. The Undying Bird just a name, but a type of Phoenix. Moreover, even for the Undying Bird, the mortality rate during rebirth is extremely high."

"After all, Nirvana is a magnificent death. However, when the Phoenix dies, it can enter a special state and use the stimulation of life and death to transform itself, thus being reborn from the ashes."

"Perhaps it is because of this that people think Phoenix are extremely difficult to kill, while ignoring the sorrow of countless phoenixes turning to ashes!"

"Hmm... I can sense that there seems to be a special power lurking in your body, perhaps the effect of some kind of Pills? In any case, that power can also allow you to enter a state of 'destruction and rebirth' when you are on the verge of death."

"If you unfortunately enter that state in the future, and then come to this Phoenix Nirvana Land, although the Phoenix will turn to ashes completely after failing, the Phoenix that can try to break through to the Dou Emperor level is enough to affect the surrounding environment."

"The altered environment should allow you to survive a near-death experience longer and have a greater chance of being reborn from the ashes."

"This effect will remain effective until you break through to the Dou Sheng."

Xiao Yan nodded thoughtfully, then bid farewell to the Nether Flame Demon Saint and led Zi Yan and the Heavenly Demon Puppet away.

After putting away the wooden door, Black Lock, and key, Xiao Yan noticed that Zi Yan seemed a little unhappy, so he patted her head and asked, "What's wrong?"

"That was a Phoenix that was about to break through to the Dou Emperor! But it left nothing behind." Zi Yan pouted, her face full of regret.

"Haha, why think so much? Even if a powerhouse of that level left something behind, we wouldn't be able to use it." Xiao Yan pinched Zi Yan's puffed-up cheeks, looking completely unconcerned.

After saying that, Xiao Yan dropped a Jade Slip with Flame Mark, buried it to serve as a marker, and then took Zi Yan's hand again. "Let's go! This area is the Phoenix's rebirth place. Let's go somewhere else and come back here when we are stronger."

"Wait!" Zi Yan called out to Xiao Yan, then painfully plucked a scale from her body and placed it together with the Jade Slip Xiao Yan had left behind before putting her small hand back into Xiao Yan's hand.

"Let's go! Hmm... this way!" Zi Yan pointed casually.

After the minor incident, Xiao Yan and Zi Yan stopped splitting up and instead searched for rare and precious materials together in the Scorching Volcano Range.

Xiao Yan was already quite familiar with the superimposed forms of the Heavenly Fire Three Profound Transformations and the Peerless Prison Body, and could practice them while flying.

The terrifying aura that Xiao Yan exuded while cultivating his Dou Technique was undoubtedly the best pass to the Scorching Volcano Range.

Even the rarest Eighth Grade Magical Beast, upon sensing the aura of that Heavenly Flames that seemed ready to explode at any moment, were able to restrain their originally violent nature and let Xiao Yan leave.

The two wandered around the Scorching Volcano Range for nearly a month, collecting a large amount of fire-attribute Medicinal Herbs. Xiao Yan kept the herbs that could be used to refine Eighth Grade Pill Medicinal Herbs, and refined the rest into medicinal liquid to remove their violent nature. He then made them into small cookies and shared them with Zi Yan.

After a month of eating, Xiao Yan's strength improved slightly, barely breaking through to the Five-star Dou Ancestor. On the other hand, Zi Yan's aura improved considerably, now comparable to Three-four star Dou Ancestor.

There's nothing that can be done about it; the difference between each star level in the Dou Zong is enormous, so cultivation naturally won't be as easy as before.

Zi Yan was able to level up so quickly purely because she had a cheat code activated beforehand. She consumed the Form Transformation Pill and the First Origin Pill, making her talent terrifying.

As for Xiao Yan, he can only cultivate slowly until the new account is available.

This continued until Xiao Yan received a text message from Tang Zhen Burning Flame Valley Master —he intended to discuss the transaction of the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire with Xiao Yan again.

Xiao Yan gladly went, Tang Zhen personally greeted him.

"Why did you suddenly change your mind? Did your daughter fail to subdue the Heavenly Flames?" Xiao Yan asked casually.

Tang Zhen blushed and stammered, "Huo'er is too impatient. If we wait until she breaks through to the Dou Zun Realm before refining the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire, the success rate will be much higher."

"The refining failed; you must have been seriously injured."

"Ahem, I've invited a group of Sixth and Seventh Grade Alchemist to refine Seventh Grade Advanced Pill, the Fire Bodhi Pill. If they fail, I'll have to trouble you, Master."

"Seventh Grade Advanced Pill? I can easily upgrade that level of Pills to Eighth Grade."

"Um, well, let's talk about that later!" Tang Zhen said guiltily, ending the conversation.

Xiao Yan thought about it and realized it made sense. He couldn't even afford to hire Seventh Grade High-level Alchemist. If he were to refine an Eighth Grade Pill himself, he would be heartbroken.