Flame God Mantra, Emperor Flame Seed

The surface of the pitch-black giant ruler was etched with strange, somewhat blurred patterns. The patterns extended all the way to the hilt, covering nearly every part of the ruler. Combined with its ancient, dark color, it carried an air of mystery.

Gazing at the enormous black ruler before him, Xiao Yan finally reached out and grasped it after searching through his memories several times.

"Up!"

Xiao Yan gave a low shout. The terrifying strength he had gained through nearly five months of bitter training had long surpassed that of ordinary people. Even his physical strength alone could now contend with a Dou Zhe.

Even so, the instant he lifted the Mysterious Heavy Ruler, he felt a distinct strain.

In particular, even though his Dou Qi had been tempered into something solid and stable, the moment it entered the Mysterious Heavy Ruler, it became several times heavier.

Xiao Yan's expression remained unchanged by this transformation. After all, he had long grown accustomed to the feeling of holding the Mysterious Heavy Ruler.

The reason he had asked Yao Lao to summon the Mysterious Heavy Ruler was to use this characteristic to give his Dou Qi one final tempering, then achieve the goal of cultivating his newly created cultivation method.

Over the next month, Xiao Yan continued his day-after-day bitter training. By the time he had tempered the Dou Qi within his body to the utmost limit, and even raised his physical strength by another small step, the fifth bottle of Foundation Establishment Divine Liquid had also been completely exhausted.

Winter had fully arrived. A thin layer of ice had begun to form over the waters of Wu Tan City, yet amidst such cold, Xiao Yan quietly found a cave in the Xiao Family's Back Mountain and sat cross-legged within it, bare from the waist up.

After half a year of tempering, his Dou Qi had become so condensed that even Yao Lao found it unbelievable. Beneath the clear lines of muscle on his still-underage body lay explosive force that could only be described as terrifying.

Along with the strength of his body and his unceasing visualization of himself over the past half year, Xiao Yan's Soul Power had long surpassed what it had been just after his rebirth. At this moment, his Soul Power was already somewhat stronger than that of most Second Grade Alchemists.

Once he entered the Dou Zhe realm, he would be comparable to a Third Grade Alchemist, perhaps even stronger. At that point, he would undergo a heaven-shaking transformation.

"Half a year of bitter training was all for this moment."

With a soft laugh, Xiao Yan felt the incomparably solid Dou Qi within him and turned his eyes toward Yao Lao beside him.

"Teacher, let's begin!"

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Yao Lao was momentarily stunned. Then he looked at Xiao Yan with some concern. "Are you really going to use that method to break through to Dou Zhe?"

"Of course. Only by using my own method to break through to Dou Zhe will my future path be smoother."

Xiao Yan smiled calmly, his eyes filled with confidence.

When it came to playing with fire, who in this universe could be his match? The name Flame Emperor had long spread throughout the Great Thousand World in later generations.

After becoming a Heavenly Sovereign, he had evolved the Flame Mantra through repeated great wars against the Extraterrestrial Evil Clan. In the end, after becoming a Dominator, he derived an even more powerful cultivation method than the Flame Mantra—the Flame God Mantra!

Seeing Xiao Yan's confidence, Yao Lao said no more. With a flick of his finger, an earth-yellow pill the size of a longan fell into Xiao Yan's hand.

This pill was called the Lesser Earth Spirit Pill. It was a weakened version of the Earth Spirit Pill Xiao Yan had once prepared in order to refine the Fallen Heart Flame, with every ingredient replaced by a substitute of lesser medicinal potency.

Even so, refining this single Lesser Earth Spirit Pill had completely squandered the three hundred thousand Gold Coins Xiao Yan had earned back then.

Fortunately, he later gave Ya Fei another twenty bottles of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, allowing his finances to recover somewhat.

"Once I advance to Dou Zhe, I'll be able to refine pills myself."

A sharp gleam flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes as he raised his hand and swallowed the Lesser Earth Spirit Pill.

The moment the Lesser Earth Spirit Pill entered his stomach, waves of pure, dense, immense energy began spreading through Xiao Yan's body.

Over the past half year, Xiao Yan had added the single drop of Earth Heart Spiritual Milk left over each time he refined Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid into this Lesser Earth Spirit Pill, accumulating them over many sessions.

Only a body like Xiao Yan's, tempered and forged to this extent, could withstand such dense and immense energy. Otherwise, even though it was relatively gentle, an ordinary youth at the Dou Qi stage would have his meridians burst in an instant.

Only after his Soul Power, which had already begun to take shape, sensed that the energy of the Lesser Earth Spirit Pill had fully protected his body did Xiao Yan turn his gaze toward Yao Lao.

Seeing this, Yao Lao's expression turned solemn. After hesitating for a moment, he condensed a wisp of Bone Chilling Flame from his fingertip and flicked it toward Xiao Yan.

Yet this mere wisp of Bone Chilling Flame caused Yao Lao's face to turn slightly pale, and his figure became a little more ethereal.

Clearly, this wisp of Bone Chilling Flame was no ordinary fire. It was a Sub-Flame—or rather, a wisp of the Bone Chilling Flame's fire essence.

Staring at the wisp of Bone Chilling Flame floating before him, Xiao Yan did not hesitate. He directly seized the Bone Chilling Flame Sub-Flame, which even Dou Ling experts greatly feared, then slapped it into his mouth in a single motion beneath Yao Lao's slightly contracted pupils.

The instant Xiao Yan seized it, the Bone Chilling Flame began wildly burning through the layer of energy film from the Lesser Earth Spirit Pill that covered Xiao Yan's body with terrifying heat.

If it were an ordinary person, even under the protection of the Lesser Earth Spirit Pill, they would likely have soon been burned into ashes. Fortunately, Xiao Yan was exceedingly familiar with Heavenly Flames.

The instant the Bone Chilling Flame entered his mouth, Xiao Yan began mobilizing his Soul Power, guiding this wisp of flame along the route of the Flame God Mantra to refine it as quickly as possible.

As if sensing the danger, the wisp of flame immediately began struggling madly. Its terrifying might caused even Xiao Yan's meridians, protected by the Lesser Earth Spirit Pill, to ache with excruciating pain.

"Behave yourself!"

Xiao Yan snorted coldly. His Soul Power, which had been violently consumed by the Bone Chilling Flame, suddenly became incomparably condensed. Though there was clearly no flame present, an even more terrifying heat faintly emerged in the void.

Silently, an incomparably brilliant phantom flame appeared above his head.

The instant that phantom appeared, the wisp of Source Fire Seed trembled. Then, like a mouse encountering a cat, it became utterly docile.

Upon seeing this, Yao Lao's expression changed drastically. The instant that flame phantom appeared, even the complete Bone Chilling Flame within his body trembled slightly, as though bowing in worship to it.

After using that simulated trace of Emperor Flame aura to intimidate the Source Fire Seed, Xiao Yan hurriedly mobilized his Soul Power and Dou Qi together, driving the temporarily docile Bone Chilling Flame swiftly through his meridians.

He remained awake throughout the night. By the time a faint pale light had appeared in the sky the next morning, Xiao Yan's face was pale, but his eyes showed no trace of exhaustion. Instead, they were brighter than ever.

Within his lower abdomen, a Source Fire Seed of Bone Chilling Flame floated quietly. It had now been completely tamed.

Yet after Xiao Yan's refinement, although this wisp of flame seed still possessed the attributes of Bone Chilling Flame, it faintly gained an even more terrifying essence.

As Xiao Yan's strength continuously increased and the number of Heavenly Flames he devoured grew ever greater, this essence would eventually develop into Emperor Flame once more.

"The Emperor Flame Seed is complete!"