Alchemist Aptitude (Please Follow and Vote Monthly)

Based on Gu Yi's original estimation, he should have obtained a skill related to flight or speed, such as Blood Escape.

After all, the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle was a flying magical beast, so the greatest possibility was developing a flight-related skill.

Yet Gu Yi had instead unearthed the Ancient Phoenix bloodline within the Purple Cloud Eagle's wings, creating Blood Flame, which could heal injuries. It was an unexpected delight.

To some extent, Blood Flame suited Gu Yi's Blood Martial Soul better than Blood Escape.

"Phoenixes are said to undergo nirvana and be reborn..." Gu Yi pondered. "I wonder whether my Blood Flame will be able to reach that stage in the future."

Blood Refinement, Blood Ignition, and Blood Flame—Gu Yi believed all three skills possessed great potential for development. They were closely tied to 'essence blood,' and their effects could strengthen alongside his cultivation.

This life-filled skill, Blood Flame, might truly allow Gu Yi to achieve Rebirth from a Drop of Blood and return through nirvana once it developed far enough.

Source Power increased by 1,500 points!

Unnoticed, Gu Yi's Source Power increased once more.

The flying Dou technique, 'Wings of the Eagle,' had been tremendously useful to Xiao Yan in his early days, helping him escape danger on multiple occasions.

Now that Gu Yi had snatched it away first, it had greatly affected the predetermined fate. The Source Power he received far surpassed that from the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame Fragment Map and the Ice Spirit Flame Grass.

Seeing that he had nearly eight thousand points of Source Power on the panel, Gu Yi was in high spirits.

After glancing around the empty cave, Gu Yi nodded. "It is time to leave this place."

Before leaving, Gu Yi did not forget the skeleton on the chair. He dug a pit on the spot and gave it a proper burial.

Rumble—

As the stone door descended, Gu Yi strolled out of the cave and stood atop the sheer cliff.

Looking at the bottomless abyss beneath his feet and the vast, boundless sky overhead, a surge of lofty ambition rose within Gu Yi.

Humans had always yearned for the sky, longing to experience the freedom of soaring through the air. Gu Yi was no exception.

Now that he had cultivated a flying Dou technique and obtained Purple Cloud Wings, he could no longer suppress that desire.

Soul Power flowed through the meridians in his back, and a pair of black feathered wings, each half a zhang long, suddenly spread behind Gu Yi.

Whoosh—

Gu Yi shot into the sky, soaring toward the heavens and roaming freely through the air.

"So this is what flying feels like? It feels incredible!" Gu Yi laughed loudly, his laughter echoing in every direction.

Of course, that was because Gu Yi knew this area was at the outermost edge of the Magical Beast Mountain Range. The strongest flying magical beasts here were only first-tier, and he could handle them with ease.

If this were the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Gu Yi would never have acted so recklessly.

Within the forest below, a group dressed as mercenaries advanced cautiously, constantly on guard against attacks from magical beasts.

Suddenly, one of them casually looked up and caught sight of a tiny figure in the sky.

At first, he thought it was some flying magical beast, but upon closer inspection, the figure was clearly a person, with wings distinctly visible behind them.

"Dou Qi wings! There is a Dou King expert!" the man cried out, drawing everyone's attention.

The others followed his gaze and also saw the figure flying through the sky. Yet after only a few seconds, it vanished beyond the distant mountains.

"I never expected to encounter a Dou King expert this time."

"Perhaps it is even a Dou Emperor expert."

No one doubted it. Dou Qi wings were the signature ability of Dou Kings and Dou Emperors.

"I wonder which expert from the Jia Ma Empire has descended upon the Magical Beast Mountain Range?"

Elsewhere, after experiencing the sensation of flight, Gu Yi landed near the edge of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, not far from Qingshan Town.

His face was somewhat pale, and more than half of the Soul Power within his body had been consumed.

"No wonder cultivators of the Dou Qi Continent can only form Dou Qi wings after reaching the Dou King or Dou Emperor realm. Flying consumes Dou Qi far too quickly."

Gu Yi sighed. "Only Dou Kings and Dou Emperors can probably sustain Dou Qi wings for long periods."

Of course, another reason was that Dou Kings possessed far greater control over Dou Qi than lower-level Dou practitioners.

Gu Yi turned back for one last look at the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

The Magical Beast Mountain Range stretched endlessly and contained many Heavenly Materials, Earthly Treasures, such as the Companion Purple Crystal Source and a valley filled with all kinds of high-grade medicinal herbs.

However, they were all located deep within the mountain range. The former in particular was guarded by a Purple Crystal Winged Lion King with the strength of a Dou Emperor, something the current Gu Yi could not covet.

Therefore, having obtained the treasure within the cave, Gu Yi turned and left without hesitation.

"The other known opportunities in the Jia Ma Empire are mostly in the Tagor Desert..."

"The second Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame Fragment Map in the hands of Ice Emperor Hai Bodong... the nineteenth-ranked Heavenly Flame, Green Lotus Core Flame, located in the underground lava world outside Shimo City..."

Information concerning the Jia Ma Empire flashed through Gu Yi's mind one by one. He realized that, just like the opportunities in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, these required certain prerequisites before they could be acquired.

For instance, to obtain the second fragment map from Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, he would either have to promise to refine a sixth-grade medicinal pill capable of breaking the seal on him.

Or he would need the strength of a Dou King to seize it by force from the Ice Emperor—after being sealed by Queen Medusa, Hai Bodong's strength was only equivalent to that of a Dou Spirit, but his combat experience remained. An ordinary Dou King might not necessarily be able to deal with him.

As for the Heavenly Flame, 'Green Lotus Core Flame,' according to the current timeline, Queen Medusa should not have discovered it yet. It was still within the underground lava.

However, the energy of a Heavenly Flame was violent, and it was guarded by a Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake at the Dou Spirit level. Without the strength of a Dou Spirit, it could not be obtained either.

In the original novel, Xiao Yan had only been able to enter the lava world thanks to Qing Lin, who possessed the special physique known as Jade-Green Snake Three-Flower Pupils and helped him subdue the Two-headed Fire Spirit Snake, as well as Old Yao, who used a Heavenly Flame to withstand the blazing energy of the lava...

In short, Gu Yi's current strength was insufficient. He was not even qualified to seek these opportunities.

Gu Yi shook his head. "I should stick to my previous plan and first learn pill refinement in the Dou Qi Continent and the Nine Heavens Continent."

"After all, it is still early. None of these opportunities will change for the time being."

"Once my pill-refining skills improve, many matters will resolve themselves."

Back in Wutan City, Gu Yi had tested his soul attributes and discovered that he possessed all five elemental attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Among them, the water and metal attributes were more pronounced.

After all, Gu Yi's martial souls were 'blood' and 'bone,' which leaned toward the water and metal attributes.

As for the fire, wood, and earth attributes, they were relatively weaker.

But even if they were weaker, he still possessed them. Therefore, Gu Yi met the requirements to become an alchemist of the Dou Qi Continent.

Of course, becoming an alchemist was not so easy. It was not something Gu Yi could achieve simply by deciding to do so; he needed a teacher's guidance and an inheritance of pill-refining techniques.

Thus, Gu Yi planned to first visit a nearby city with an Alchemist Association and see whether he could join it and become an apprentice under an alchemist.

If that did not work, Gu Yi could return to the Cloud Sea Sect of the Nine Heavens Continent and become a disciple of one of its alchemists.