Successive Breakthroughs

"Boom boom boom!"

The continuous explosions truly made Xiao Yan experience what it meant to be deafened.

It's like a pan of oil that was originally calm, but suddenly a drop of water is thrown in, and then the whole pan of oil explodes because of that drop of water.

Centered on Xiao Yan, the surrounding Silver Thunder went berserk. The lightning-attribute energy that was originally dormant now acted like Pill Lightning, treating Xiao Yan as a newly formed Pills and striking him fiercely with an extremely violent attitude.

However, the thunderbolt, despite its impressive display, was not actually that powerful.

If he were just a Dou Zong, he would be covered in dust and grime right now, and even if he used all his Dou Qi, he wouldn't be able to hold on for long. In the end, he would have no choice but to flee in panic.

However, Xiao Yan is already a Dou Zun, and Dou Zun who has undergone multiple body tempering experiences with Heavenly Flames. His physical strength is comparable to that of Eighth Grade Magical Beast.

The continuous Silver Thunder strikes only caused Xiao Yan a tingling sensation, without any stinging pain or damage.

Similarly, because the surrounding lightning power could not exert enough pressure on Xiao Yan, it naturally could not temper his physical body.

Xiao Yan shook his head, channeling his Dou Qi to his ears to form sound-isolating earmuffs. Only then did he feel much clearer-headed, and the booming thunder in his ears was reduced to an acceptable level.

"The Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire is hiding somewhere. Thunder is everywhere, and even the Soul Power cannot probe too far."

Xiao Yan murmured something, then reached out and clutched his chest. In this place where his Soul Power was greatly restricted, Xiao Yan's perception was severely weakened, and he could only rely on the power of the Heavenly Flames.

The Cyan Gold flames flickered, their light faintly pointing to the left front. Without further hesitation, Xiao Yan found the right direction and charged forward.

Wherever it passed, thunder roared, as if the sky were collapsing and the earth was splitting.

A calm, silvery ocean slowly revealed a crack, with violent lightning forming a kind of radiation that spread outwards extremely rapidly and could not be stopped for a long time.

The Silver Thunder only gradually calmed down after it had spread hundreds of miles away and Xiao Yan had been gone for more than half an hour.

After flying inward for nearly half a day, Xiao Yan, who was the instigator, finally felt a little pressure.

If the outer perimeter is a place for Dou Zong to temper their bodies, then at this moment Xiao Yan seems to have broken through some kind of limit.

The number of Silver Thunder has dwindled, preventing them from coalescing into a pure silver world; instead, gaps have appeared between them.

At the same time, each Silver Thunder shone as brightly as the sun. Each bolt, several feet thick, was enough to completely engulf Xiao Yan's figure, causing his hair to stand on end and his skin to sting.

The sensation emanating from the Heavenly Flames in his chest became increasingly pronounced, with wisps of intense heat seeping out and spreading throughout Xiao Yan's body, completely dispelling all discomfort.

In this back and forth, Xiao Yan's bones, muscles, skin... every part of his body truly received a little improvement.

The tangible improvement is one of the most addictive things. Xiao Yan twisted his neck, grinned, and looked excitedly at the numerous bolts of lightning surging towards him.

"Let the storm rage on!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The endless thunder responded to Xiao Yan with the most intense attitude.

Xiao Yan showed no fear and made no defenses. He even stopped trying to block out the thunderous roar and continued to advance step by step into the deeper part of the Thunder Pool.

The lightning bolts were incredibly fast; with each step, three to five bolts of lightning would strike Xiao Yan, only to be absorbed by his ever-growing body.

At this moment, Xiao Yan was like a puppet, seemingly unable to feel pain, absorbing the power of lightning to strengthen himself while following the perception of the Heavenly Flames to move forward.

The method of moving forward by stepping on the void is naturally much slower than flying.

Within the Thunder Pool, the sun and moon are obscured; all that remains is seemingly endless thunder. The eyes are filled with flashing lightning, and the ears with booming thunder; time itself seems to lose its meaning here.

Xiao Yan didn't know how long he had advanced, but he felt as if he had developed resistance to the lightning in the process of repeated tug-of-wars.

"Buzz..."

A faint buzzing sound arose, seemingly causing no ripples amidst the thunder, for Xiao Yan had broken through to the Two-star Dou Zun.

Although most of the power of the lightning was used to temper the body, the Dou Qi was originally stored in every part of the body. After the Heavenly Flames completely refined the power of the lightning, the remaining energy was naturally transformed into Xiao Yan's fighting Dou Qi.

At the very moment Xiao Yan broke through to the Two-star Dou Zun, the resulting fluctuations seemed to have alarmed the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire in the Thunder Sea.

Or rather, after being chased for a long time and discovering that the opponent was constantly getting stronger, the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire finally made its move against Xiao Yan.

The lightning, which had already lost some of its effect on Xiao Yan, now possessed an added fiery aura.

The most violent lightning and fire energies in the world combined, each strike creating an unparalleled explosion.

Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he became even more excited.

Without any hesitation, Xiao Yan even activated the Flame Mantra, which had evolved into Heavenly Grade Cultivation Method, and autonomously devoured the violent energy.

A golden mark flashed between his brows, and an all-consuming Golden Flame appeared, attaching itself to the meridians in Xiao Yan's body. The violent and scorching lightning, after being introduced into the meridians by Xiao Yan, was like a docile lamb, completely crushed by the even more violent and scorching Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame.

As they exchanged blows, a vortex actually appeared in the Thunder Pool.

These lightning bolts are merely pure energy. The Lei Clan uses the Thunder Pool for cultivation, not for guarding Thunder Pool home, so naturally they wouldn't cause trouble and allow the lightning to develop intelligence.

In other words, when Xiao Yan was quietly moving forward before, he was very passive, just waiting to be struck by lightning; now Xiao Yan has turned passivity into initiative, actively attracting those lightning bolts.

Lightning bolts surged in from all directions, completely eliminating any gaps and replicating the appearance of the surrounding silver Thunder Sea of lightning once again.

After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Yan's aura trembled once more, and he suddenly broke through to the Three-star Dou Zun.

At the Dou Ancestor realm, the difference between each star is enormous; a difference of just one star makes it difficult to turn the tide. Only by having superior Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills, physical strength, and combat experience in all aspects can one have a chance.

Being two stars behind was like an insurmountable chasm; he quickly fell into a disadvantageous position, and then suffered continuous injuries.

Reaching the Dou Zun Realm, the two-star increase in strength allowed Xiao Yan to achieve a near-leap in power.

At this point, the Thunder Pool had almost lost its effect on Xiao Yan. If he wanted to advance further, he would probably have to go to the core area and use the Black Demonic Lightning to temper his body.

However, the Black Demonic Lightning can only be withstood by those at the Half-Saint or even Dou Sheng realms, so Xiao Yan cannot consider it for the time being.

"There's no need to drag this out any longer, let's take down the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire..."

With the eruption of three flames, Xiao Yan's strength instantly surged from Three-star Dou Zun to the Seven-Star Dou Zun Peak, just a hair's breadth away from becoming Eight-star Dou Zun.

The Thunder Pool in this area could no longer hinder Xiao Yan; the pressure emanating from his body alone instantly dispelled all the lightning.

Several enormous silver dragons appeared in Xiao Yan's eyes— the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire that was thriving in the Thunder Pool.

Having been controlled by the Burning Flame Valley Master for many years, the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire has virtually no intelligence. Not to mention comparing it to the Three Thousand Burning Flame, it is even inferior to the wild Fallen Heart Flame of the Jia Nan Academy.

Acting purely on instinct, the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire was spotted by Xiao Yan and immediately ran away. There was no fear in its eyes; it was simply a matter of running away because it couldn't win, without any accompanying emotion.

The Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire stayed in the Thunder Pool for a while, but for Heavenly Flames that requires hundreds or thousands of years, this time was just a blink of an eye. Its energy fluctuations did not increase at all, remaining at around four or five Dou Zun, far inferior to Xiao Yan.

Neither their primal power nor their energy fluctuations could compare to Xiao Yan's, so it seemed like a sure win for them. Xiao Yan confidently charged forward.

Xiao Yan tapped his toes and appeared directly above the head of a silver dragon, throwing a backhand punch at it.

"Roar!"

The silver dragon's head shattered under this blow, and it let out a furious roar of resentment before it died. Even the thunder that had been booming was suppressed at this moment.

However, Xiao Yan did not achieve the result he wanted.

The Origin Fire Seed of the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire was not hidden in this head.

"Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar! Roar!"

Xiao Yan continued to blast the five silver dragons with incredible ferocity until he finally discovered the Silver Flame the size of a human head.

He reached out and grabbed it. After thinking for a moment, Xiao Yan decided to give this Heavenly Flames some face. He set up a Fire Sealing Seal Technique to suppress its power, then restrained the Heavenly Fire Three Profound Transformations and took an Eighth Grade Spirit Pill.

After sensing the extra layer of protection within his meridians, which was negligible, Xiao Yan opened his gluttonous maw once more and swallowed the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire in one gulp.

A familiar feeling exploded within Xiao Yan's body—a swift and powerful flame, with nine silver dragons spreading out and rampaging through Xiao Yan meridians.

However, Xiao Yan had been exposed to lightning and fire for so long that he had developed great resistance to both lightning and fire. In addition, with the help of the Pills, the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire could not even harm Xiao Yan.

Even the resounding dragon roars that could shake the soul dissipated under the sharp counterattack of the Fallen Heart Flame, and Xiao Yan remained unaffected.

With each heartbeat, the Cyan Gold flames dispersed into nine large hands, each hand holding a silver dragon. They forcefully grabbed the dragons, suppressing their constant struggles, and pulled them into the path of the Flame Mantra Cultivation Technique Route.

The rest was simple. After a perfunctory process, Xiao Yan refined the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire, Soul Imprint, and it began to slowly integrate into his heart.

Of course, Xiao Yan did not stop cultivating. Relying on the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire's ability to control lightning, he activated the Flame Mantra, continuously devouring the surrounding lightning, and breaking through to the Four-star Dou Zun.

He successfully achieved the dual goals of Fusion Heavenly Flame and cultivating Dou Qi.

What followed was a matter of patience and skill. Xiao Yan, who was very familiar with the process, quickly completed a series of operations. The Cyan-Gold Lotus in his dantian also underwent a significant evolution, gaining a wisp of silver light and showing signs of new lotus seeds about to be conceived.

"Four-star Dou Zun, Heavenly Tier... low-level."

Xiao Yan smacked his lips and slowly opened his eyes.

There's not much to say about the improvement in cultivation level. The Heavenly Grade Cultivation Method provides a very powerful boost to the Dou Zun Realm, and the energy in the Thunder Pool is also extremely abundant, so the cultivation speed is naturally fast.

The evolution of the Flame Mantra is somewhat disappointing. While the purity and speed of its Dou Qi have indeed improved, they haven't created a qualitative difference, and it remains at the Heaven Tier Low-Level.

Of course, this may be related to the fact that the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire is only ranked twelfth.

To make Heavenly Grade Cultivation Method tremble, even the Three Thousand Burning Flame are probably not enough. At least the Eight Desolations Destruction Flame are needed to evolve the Flame Mantra to the Heaven Class Mid Grade.

Xiao Yan was not discouraged. After concealing the aura of his breakthrough, he walked out of the Thunder Pool, greeted the elder guarding the place, and returned to Little Medicine Mountain.

Only half a year had passed, and Old Yao had not yet emerged from seclusion, still appearing to be asleep with his eyes closed, though the aura within him was growing increasingly weak—

This is a manifestation of power being constantly controlled by the soul. Otherwise, with Old Yao's strength, even if he stood in front of Xiao Yan would not be able to detect his aura unless he actively released it.

All I could feel was the Bone Spirit Cold Flame.

After visiting Old Yao, Xiao Yan went to check on Dan Chen's condition.

Dan Chen's young apprentice is still working on getting to know the Fallen Heart Flame, but it has already shown initial success. Even when using the Fallen Heart Flame to refine Eighth Grade Pill, the success rate is quite impressive.

At this stage, it's not far from completely refining the Fallen Heart Flame. The Soul Power permeating it and forming a mark is a certainty; all that's needed is to wait patiently.

Both the old man and the young man had things to do, and Xiao Yan felt that he couldn't be idle either.

The Heavenly Tomb will open in a year or two, and the Gu Clan Coming-of-Age Ceremony will be held a little before that time.

Xiao Yan was naturally aware of the Yao Clan's last stand, their desire to compete with the Gu Clan Yan Clan and preserve their Heavenly Flames.

As the ultimate beneficiary, Xiao Yan would inevitably be criticized if he didn't fight and win.

"Having just refined a Heavenly Flames, is it too hasty to devour the Three Thousand Burning Flame?"

Xiao Yan wasn't sure if his current physical strength could withstand another Heavenly Flames, but the process of refining the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire was incredibly easy. The addition of a new Heavenly Flames did not cause Xiao Yan to lose control over it. He could still manipulate its temperature and shape at will, as if nothing had changed.

So, Xiao Yan went to find Gu Yuan.

Xiao Yan believed that his uncle was able to see his actual situation.

Gu Yuan is now alone, conducting experiments on the seabed of a vast ocean.

The water-attribute experts who originally cultivated in this sea area were also forced to leave, both to prevent Gu Yuan from being disturbed and to prevent them from being harmed.

Just as an old man with white hair and beard led Xiao Yan to this sea area, a deafening explosion rang out, followed by waves thousands of meters high, like a tsunami.