Cultivation

Five days later.

In Lin Yuan's courtyard.

"Are three drops enough? Why don't I give you three more! Just make me that medicinal meal." Zi Yan looked at Lin Yuan eagerly and asked with anticipation.

Looking at the greedy young girl before him, all wide-eyed and expectant, Lin Yuan could hardly connect her with the frail young girl from yesterday who had lost three drops of essence blood.

Yesterday, Lin Yuan had frankly asked Zi Yan for help. Zi Yan had been very generous and straightforward, forcing out three drops of essence blood and giving them to Lin Yuan. Looking at the three drops of essence blood, and at Zi Yan's slightly pale, frail face from losing them, Lin Yuan had felt somewhat distressed.

After that, Lin Yuan used quite a few high-grade spiritual medicines and paired them with what could be considered top-tier culinary skill among alchemists, racking his brains to make an entire table of medicinal dishes that possessed both flavor and energy. He directly replenished Zi Yan's deficit, and even filled her up a little too much.

The result was the scene before him.

"It's already enough. If I need more, I'll tell you!" Lin Yuan said, stroking Zi Yan's head.

"Fine." Hearing this, Zi Yan sighed, her tone revealing a trace of regret.

"You girl." Hearing her sigh, Lin Yuan did not know whether to laugh or cry and flicked Zi Yan on the forehead. This girl thought about eating all day long.

"If you want food, just tell me directly. I prepared it for you long ago! Here." Looking at the pitiful Zi Yan, Lin Yuan took several food boxes and a few bottles of pills from his storage ring and placed them on the table.

Seeing this, Zi Yan's pitiful expression instantly turned into a beaming smile. She sat down on the chair, opened the food boxes, and got ready to eat!

"You eat. I'm going to the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower. I'll be back in a few days!" Lin Yuan told Zi Yan.

"Got it, brother, go on!" Zi Yan casually replied to Lin Yuan, then continued burying her head and battling the large table of food before her.

Inside a cultivation room on the lower levels of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged. In the jade bottle before him were several dark-red pills: Blood Spirit Pills, fifth-grade pills that could quickly replenish a person's essence blood consumption and increase their qi and blood power for a period of time. They were pills he had prepared over the past few days.

Then, Lin Yuan took three exquisite jade bottles from his storage ring and opened them. Three gem-like drops of essence blood floated out and hovered before him, a lively purple charm flowing through them. The bloodline pressure that should have been on the essence blood had already been removed with Zi Yan's help. Fortunately, he had Zi Yan; otherwise, just the spirit awakening stage of the Hundred Beast Refining Spirit Art would have been a huge obstacle.

The stronger a magical beast's bloodline was, the harder it was to remove the pressure from its essence blood, and the harder it was to use. This was the power of the bloodline itself. Therefore, even with top-tier magical beast essence blood, under normal circumstances, it was very difficult to use it to complete spirit awakening. Zi Yan herself possessed the most peak-level magical beast bloodline, the Ancient Void Dragon Royal Bloodline. Only with her taking the initiative to help could the bloodline pressure contained within the essence blood be removed completely and without damage. This allowed Lin Yuan to obtain the best initial conditions for cultivating the Hundred Beast Refining Spirit Art, raising the upper limit of this body refining dou skill to the greatest degree.

Lin Yuan's expression was solemn. His hands formed several complex seals, forcing out a drop of essence blood from his main body that contained the purest dou qi within him. As his hand seals changed, his own essence blood wrapped around the three drops of essence blood before him that carried wisps of purple, and then the three drops slowly fused with Lin Yuan's natal essence blood.

Not long after, Lin Yuan's and Zi Yan's essence blood had completely fused together. A flash of joy crossed Lin Yuan's eyes. He swallowed this natal essence blood that had fused with three drops of Zi Yan's essence blood, then immediately circulated the spirit awakening chapter of the Hundred Beast Refining Spirit Art. The qi and blood power in his body surged toward that drop of mixed essence blood, beginning to forge and nourish the vitality furnace.

Five days later.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged with his eyes lightly closed, emitting vast qi and blood. Inside his body, a small purple-red vitality furnace had already taken shape, and as it spun, it seemed to resonate with Lin Yuan's heartbeat. Suddenly, Lin Yuan opened his eyes. A wisp of purple light flashed through them, and a powerful aura erupted from his body. Compared with several days ago, his aura had gained a bit more mysterious change.

"It's finally done! The spirit awakening stage is complete. My idea really wasn't wrong. Using a qi and blood pill like the Blood Spirit Pill to increase my own qi and blood really can help nourish the vitality furnace."

"I also broke through to Four-Star Dou Wang! That's an unexpected bonus."

"It's time to start the spirit refining stage. When Zi Yan and I looked for medicinal ingredients before, we killed quite a few fifth-tier magical beasts, and I also obtained some through trades with the elders. This much essence blood is enough to complete the preliminary spirit refining and spirit ascension stage. Let's start with the Snow Demon Sky Ape's essence blood!"

Lin Yuan took a bottle of essence blood from his storage ring. It was precisely the essence blood extracted from the Snow Demon Sky Ape's body. He then took out the essence blood and swallowed it in one gulp.

The instant the essence blood entered his abdomen, Lin Yuan circulated the spirit refining chapter of the Hundred Beast Refining Spirit Art. The vitality furnace began rapidly refining the Snow Demon Sky Ape's essence blood.

The ancient dragon aura contained within the vitality furnace made the small amount of residual pressure in the essence blood completely unable to resist during this process. Large amounts of bloodline essence were continuously extracted and refined, constantly flowing through his body, repeatedly destroying and repairing Lin Yuan's body. Each completed cycle made Lin Yuan's physical body a bit stronger.

Five days later.

Lin Yuan, who was cultivating, moved the seals in his hands rapidly. The vitality furnace in his body spun at high speed, and the vast qi and blood power within him frantically flooded into the vitality furnace. At the same time, Lin Yuan swallowed the Blood Spirit Pill in his mouth. The Blood Spirit Pill quickly replenished and increased Lin Yuan's qi and blood.

More than ten minutes later.

"Natal Blood Pill, form!" Along with a light shout from Lin Yuan, within the vitality furnace inside his body, a round blood pill finally completely solidified and took shape. It was precisely the embryo of the Natal Blood Pill.

More than ten minutes later, Lin Yuan withdrew the seals in his hands. Inside his body, at the center of the vitality furnace, a crystalline pale-red blood pill tinged with purple hovered there, emitting tremendous energy. It was precisely the Natal Blood Pill embryo.

"After refining ten kinds of magical beast essence blood, the spirit refining stage really reached minor completion, and the first step of the spirit ascension stage was also completed: the nurturing and birth of the Blood Pill embryo. Next, before the Hundred Beast Refining Spirit Art reaches great completion, I'll have to keep tempering this blood pill through spirit refining and spirit ascension."

Lin Yuan sensed his current strength and nodded in satisfaction.

"Although cultivating this Hundred Beast Refining Spirit Art consumes an enormous amount of resources, it truly is powerful. In this way, devouring Heavenly Flames in the future will also be much easier to handle."

"Right now, using only my physical strength is already enough to be comparable to an ordinary Low-Tier Dou Wang. My dou qi also made a considerable breakthrough by digesting part of the power in the essence blood. After being refined by the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower, it has already stabilized at the middle stage of Four-Star Dou Wang. If I encounter a High-Tier Dou Wang head-on, I should also be able to fight. I can't continue closed-door bitter cultivation. It's time to go out."

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yuan made his decision. He then stood up, put away his Fire Crystal Card, and left the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower.

As soon as he returned to his small courtyard, Zi Yan pounced over and grabbed Lin Yuan's arm.

"Brother Lin Yuan, you're finally back. I missed you so much! Look, I missed you so much I even got thinner." Zi Yan anxiously expressed her "longing" for Lin Yuan, her eyes shining brightly as she looked at him, and there was also an implied meaning in her words.

"Did you miss me, or did you miss the food I make for you?" Lin Yuan said irritably.

"Hehe, both, both." Zi Yan shook Lin Yuan's left arm and said coquettishly.

"I really can't do anything about you." He dotingly tapped Zi Yan's little head with a finger. "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll make you a feast!"

"Yay!" Zi Yan was overjoyed when she heard this.

"But, Brother Lin Yuan, did something happen to you? Why is there an aura coming from you that makes me feel really close to you?" Zi Yan was somewhat doubtful.

Hearing this, Lin Yuan pondered for a moment and understood. Most likely, cultivating the Hundred Beast Refining Spirit Art with Zi Yan's essence blood had caused him to become tainted with some of Zi Yan's ancient dragon aura. This aura from the same source made Zi Yan feel close to him.

"Isn't that good?" Lin Yuan did not explain much. Instead, he asked Zi Yan with a light laugh.

"It's very good! It feels even more comfortable when we stay together." Zi Yan replied without hesitation.

"That's good. Let's go. I'll get ready and make you a feast!"

"Yay!"

The two chatted and laughed as they walked toward the kitchen.

The new book has set sail. I'll have to trouble everyone to support it, help add it to your collections, vote with recommendation tickets, and increase its exposure. If you have any thoughts, you're also welcome to chat in the review section.