Breakthrough, Nine-star Great Dou Master!

A moment later, Lu Yu slowly opened his eyes, deliberately showing a hint of confusion. "Senior, this cultivation method..."

Old Man Yao stroked his beard and smiled. "What? You think it fits too well with your Method for Shaping Spiritual Meridians?"

His eyes gleamed as he said with some excitement, "This old man has roamed the continent for hundreds of years. I originally thought the concept behind Fen Jue was already daring to the extreme. I never imagined such a wondrous method existed in this world."

He floated over beside Xiao Yan, his speech unconsciously quickening as he continued, "Fen Jue's greatest flaw is that its early cultivation is slow, and it requires devouring multiple Strange Fires before its true potential can show. But with this Method for Shaping Spiritual Meridians..."

Old Man Yao paused, pointed at the Jade Slip, and said with a smile, "As long as you find the first Strange Fire and shape spiritual meridians with it, little Yanzi, even if you can't find any other Strange Fires for the time being, your cultivation speed definitely won't be slow!"

When Xiao Yan heard this, a spark of excitement also lit in his eyes.

But immediately after, he seemed to think of something and shook his head with a bitter smile. "But Teacher, isn't finding the first Strange Fire the hardest part? Right now, we don't even have a single Strange Fire..."

Old Man Yao's illusory figure paused slightly, then he laughed despite himself. "Silly child, do you think your teacher's experience over all these years is just for show?"

His illusory finger lightly tapped, and a soul message entered Xiao Yan's mind. "As far as this old man knows, the Alchemy Tower in the Central Plains has one Strange Fire, and there are several other places as well..."

"Don't be impatient. Take it slowly. Your teacher will accompany you in searching for it."

"Heaven never bars every path. There will always come a day when your wish is fulfilled."

When Xiao Yan heard this, he nodded heavily, and the disappointment in his eyes was gradually replaced by determination.

Lu Yu looked at Xiao Yan regaining his confidence and nodded inwardly. Then he straightened his sleeves, cupped his hands in salute, and said, "Senior Old Man Yao, Brother Yan, the night is deep. This junior will take his leave first."

Old Man Yao's illusory figure nodded slightly. "Go. You must have gained quite a bit from this trip out to broaden your horizons. You should digest it properly."

After leaving Back Mountain, the night wind brushed his face. Lu Yu raised his head to glance at the star-filled sky, silently planning his next steps in cultivation.

He thought to himself, There are still more than two months before Jia Nan Academy begins recruitment. I need to speed up my cultivation...

After returning to his room, Lu Yu sat cross-legged on the bed. With a flip of his wrist, two pill bottles appeared in his palm.

Inside the bottles were Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pills, Peak Fourth-grade Pills whose value was comparable to ordinary Fifth-grade Pills. This pill was most effective for Great Dou Masters; taking one could raise one's strength by one star.

What was rarest was that two could be taken consecutively within the same realm without producing any obvious drug resistance.

Lu Yu stared at the pill bottles, thoughts churning in his mind. Originally, he had indeed considered asking Gu He for a Sixth-grade Pill as payment, but after thinking it through, he had given up on the idea.

Sixth-grade Pills were good, but for the current him, they were far too distant. Even if he obtained one, with his present strength, it would be difficult to keep it, and it might instead invite disaster.

Rather than that, it was better to directly exchange for pills that could improve his current strength and accelerate his cultivation.

"My strength is still lacking. If my realm were higher, I wouldn't have to act so cautiously."

Lu Yu murmured softly, a trace of resolve flashing through his eyes. Without hesitation, he pulled out the stopper and placed one Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill into his mouth.

"Gulp—"

The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, turning into a warm current that slowly flowed along his meridians. He immediately held his breath and focused his mind, circulating the Great Pagoda Art as he carefully guided the medicinal power through his body again and again.

Three double-hours passed. After the medicinal power of the first pill had been fully absorbed, he had already broken through to Eight-star Great Dou Master. Without the slightest hesitation, he took out the second pill and swallowed it.

This time, the instant the pill entered his stomach, an even more violent surge of energy erupted, rampaging through his meridians like stormy waves. Lu Yu let out a muffled groan, fine beads of sweat instantly covering his forehead, yet he still gritted his teeth and circulated his Dou Qi with all his might to refine it.

Boom!

With a muffled sound inside his body, some invisible barrier shattered in response. Surging Dou Qi rushed through his meridians like floodwater bursting through a dam. Lu Yu suddenly opened his eyes, brilliant light swelling in his pupils—Nine-star Great Dou Master, achieved!

"Whew..."

"At this rate, before Jia Nan Academy starts, I should be able to break through to Dou Ling."

Lu Yu exhaled a breath of turbid air, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

He then focused inward, observing the faintly visible Pagoda Tower within his body.

Seeing that its degree of condensation was still less than thirty percent, he could not help shaking his head and sighing softly. "Once I reach Jia Nan Academy, the condensation speed of this Pagoda Tower should be much faster."

The Pagoda Tower cultivated from the Great Pagoda Art was, in essence, still a kind of energy construct.

Since the Falling Heart Flame could temper Dou Qi, it could naturally temper the Pagoda Tower as well, thereby accelerating the condensation of the Pagoda Tower.

If he remembered correctly, back then, Mu Chen had used the power of heavenly lightning in the Northern Cang Spiritual Academy's Lightning Domain to accelerate the condensation of the Pagoda Tower, thus stepping into the Pagoda Transformation realm in the late Divine Soul Stage and condensing the Pagoda Tower.

The Lightning Domain of Northern Cang Spiritual Academy was a treasured land for cultivation. The heavenly lightning power within possessed the effect of tempering spiritual energy, which was rather similar in purpose to Jia Nan Academy's Falling Heart Flame.

"If I can obtain the complete Falling Heart Flame, that would naturally be even better..."

"Perhaps after refining it, I'll be able to directly temper and condense the Pagoda Tower."

Lu Yu lightly tapped the edge of the bed with his fingertips, light flickering in his eyes as he pondered inwardly. "The Blood Lotus Pill and Ice Spirit Cold Spring are both prepared. When the time comes, I'll just act according to the situation."

"The best choice would be to obtain the mature Falling Heart Flame in the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower. Even if that doesn't work, the infant one in Venerable Sky Flame's hands is also a good option."

"When the time comes, I can exchange for some treasures from the simulator that benefit the growth of Strange Fire and simply feed it until it matures."

Thinking up to this point, Lu Yu could not help lightly stroking his Storage Ring. With the simulator in hand, ordinary Strange Fires held little meaning for him.

But Strange Fires that could assist cultivation like the Falling Heart Flame, or ones with special effects such as the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame and the Void Devouring Flame, were things he absolutely had to plan for.

"However..."

Lu Yu frowned slightly, sensing the somewhat unsteady fluctuations of Dou Qi within his body, and murmured to himself, "I still need to temper my cultivation first."

A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes, and as if suddenly remembering something, he took a fiery-red jade bottle from his Storage Ring. The bottle was warm to the touch, and five lotus seeds glowing faintly with green light could be vaguely seen floating quietly within—it was none other than the companion product of the Green Lotus Core Flame, the Earth Fire Lotus Seed.

"This contains the essence of earth fire. Perhaps..."

A thoughtful look flickered through Lu Yu's eyes. He took out one lotus seed and swallowed it without hesitation.

The instant the lotus seed entered his stomach, the Earth Core Flame within his body suddenly throbbed violently, pouncing on the seed like a starving wolf. Greenish-red flames wrapped around the lotus seed layer by layer, slowly drawing out strands of pure earth-fire power and merging them into the fire seed.

"It really works!"

Joy rose in Lu Yu's heart. After absorbing the earth-fire power, the greenish-red hue at the core of the Earth Core Flame grew even deeper, and the blaze itself became a few degrees stronger.

He immediately guided the strengthened Earth Core Flame through the meridians all over his body. Wherever the scorching waves of fire passed, his unsteady Dou Qi was tempered again and again, gradually becoming more solid, and its circulation grew smoother and more effortless.

Time slipped by quietly amid focused cultivation...

The next morning.

Lu Yu slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. At this moment, not only had his realm completely stabilized, but the Dou Qi within his body had also become even purer than before his breakthrough thanks to the repeated tempering of the Exotic Flame.

And after the Earth Core Flame had absorbed the earth-fire essence from three lotus seeds, the greenish-red hue at its flame core had grown increasingly profound as well. Though it had not evolved again, its power had still increased by quite a bit.

"There are still two lotus seeds left..."

Lu Yu gently rubbed the warm jade bottle, a thoughtful light flashing in his eyes.

After pondering for a moment, he put the jade bottle back into his Storage Ring. "It would be more appropriate to save them for stabilizing my realm after my next breakthrough."

"I should also send Xun'er a copy of the Method for Shaping Exotic Flame Spiritual Meridians..."