Beast Flame, Spirit Flame

Beast fire, spirit fire.

The furnace flame gradually died down.

The dark stone statue sat upright in the center of the black cauldron, where fire patterns swayed. The spirit flame that had formed within the cauldron on its own was still slowly roasting it; though its support of Dou Qi had been cut off, its temperature remained terrifying.

Yao Lao quietly observed the lifeless black statue, his fingers tapping out a rhythm as though counting time.

"Thump... thump, thump..."

The faint tremors gradually grew clearer, quickening bit by bit, becoming ever more powerful. It was like the first spring thunder exploding, like a living being slowly reviving from deathly silence.

The sound of a heartbeat grew heavier and more majestic, until it became like the booming of great bells and drums, echoing through the cave dwelling.

"Awakening of Insects? Dawn?"

Yao Lao ran through the medicinal effects of the main ingredients in his mind, trying to name this newly created pill. After thinking it over carefully, he still chose to give up.

After all, using a huge pile of Sixth and Seventh Grade materials to refine something like this would be somewhat embarrassing if word got out.

"Crack..."

Several tiny cracks pierced through the ink-black medicinal shell, peeling away a small opening. A golden eye slowly opened, as though fireworks were burning within it.

"Crack... crack..."

Xiao Yan rose to his feet, and the medicinal residue covering his body collapsed like an avalanche. His jade-like muscles and bones bloomed with radiance.

A faint, almost imperceptible cool-colored glow gradually passed through every corner of his body, while dim blue lines outlined the paths of his meridians.

His entire body truly seemed as if it had been returned to the furnace and reforged. All old and new injuries, inside and out, had been completely wiped clean, and every deficit within his body had been filled.

"Haa..."

Xiao Yan let out a long breath. The stream of air dragged out a phantasmal, multicolored glow in the air, and a strange fragrance spread, filling the space.

He had never felt so refreshed and clear-headed before. It was as if he had undergone rebirth and become a "perfect person."

"Clang!"

With a shake of his hand, a blazing golden longsword instantly sprang out and was held in his grasp. Scarlet lines like Pill Veins spread across it, as though formed from solidified raging flames, and the fiery edge extended to the gleaming blade.

Just looking at it from a distance gave off an aggressive, dangerous aura.

Condensing form into substance!

Moreover, Xiao Yan's golden blood-and-qi radiance could also be mixed into it, shaping together into a weapon.

"How is it? How was the medicinal liquid your master refined on the spot?"

After carefully examining his disciple's physical condition, Yao Lao immediately felt delighted. He leisurely came to the side of the cauldron, rolled up his sleeves, and clasped his hands behind his back.

"It was naturally a godly medicine bestowed by the heavens! Master is truly mighty and resourceful!"

Xiao Yan spared no effort in flattering him, but even more pill fragrance poured from his mouth and condensed into clouds, blocking his vision for a moment. He hurriedly covered his mouth. "Mm... Teacher, this is...?"

"What is there to panic about?"

Though Yao Lao felt somewhat pained, he still put on an unconcerned appearance. "You should think about how much your master threw in there. Those heavenly treasures can not only reforge your physical body, blood, and qi, and cleanse your meridians, tendons, and bones, they can also nourish your spirit, nurture your soul, supplement your Dou Qi... and so on."

"If I were to go into detail, I'd have to divide everything into categories and write a whole book."

Reaching out to press Xiao Yan's chest, Yao Lao suppressed the wildly gushing mist. "Although this medicinal power seeped into your body through the medicinal liquid, with your current strength, you simply can't absorb it."

"In the days to come, this medicinal power will continue to disperse subtly and steadily. It may even buy you a sliver of life when you suffer a devastating injury."

"How long can this medicinal power last?"

Xiao Yan rubbed his chest. A bone-white cold flame mark was branded there, suppressing the loss of medicinal power.

"That depends on your situation."

Yao Lao also could not be certain about Xiao Yan's state. This little fellow could be called someone who defied common sense in many aspects. "If my estimate is correct, it will be mostly consumed by the time you reach the Dou Emperor stage."

"At that time, your foundation will be a level higher than other experts of the same rank. For you, breaking through the bottleneck to Dou Zong should be something that happens naturally."

The Dou Zong bottleneck...

Xiao Yan scratched his hair. He did not dare say that Dou Zong and Dou Venerate presented no obstacle to him at all, afraid Yao Lao would hammer him straight into the bottom of the cauldron.

"But Teacher... I discovered something."

"What?"

Yao Lao tossed him a set of clothes, and only after seeing him tidy himself up did he put away the Black Demon Cauldron.

"Look~"

The corner of Xiao Yan's mouth curled as he extended an index finger. At his fingertip, a dark golden spirit flame quietly lit up.

Black Demon Cauldron Flame!

Yao Lao's calm shattered in an instant. He grabbed Xiao Yan's hand and stared fixedly at it. "You... you can actually use other flames?! No, it should be that Fen Jue can actually use..."

Throughout the entire Fen Jue, it had only mentioned that things like Heavenly Flames could be devoured for advancement. It had not said a single thing about any other information. Precisely because of this, he had always believed that only Heavenly Flames could satisfy Fen Jue's appetite.

But no matter what, he had never expected that this thing could actually eat all flames, that as long as it was fire, it could be used.

It truly was not picky in the slightest.

Still, this was an enormous stroke of good fortune. With this, all kinds of previous plans could be revised, and his choices had clearly become much more flexible.

"Mm, refining it was still fairly easy. It should be that the Fen Jue itself has an auxiliary effect for taking in flames. And not only can it absorb them naturally, it can also use them to upgrade itself."

Xiao Yan circulated the Fen Jue, and an aura clearly different from before spread out.

The efficiency of the Qi Method had actually increased by more than double.

Yellow Rank High Level?

Yao Lao's eyes lit up. "Good! Excellent!"

He understood the intensity of the flame within the Black Demon Cauldron better than anyone. After being nurtured over such a long period of time, it could already stand shoulder to shoulder with some Heavenly Flames ranked near the very bottom.

Since a special flame of this intensity could raise it by a level, then perhaps the difficulty of evolving the Fen Jue to the Tian Rank was not as high as he had imagined.

After all, nearly all of the higher-ranked Heavenly Flames had owners. The master and disciple could only scheme for those scraps at the back that the peak experts looked down on.

"Under ideal circumstances, collecting seven or eight Heavenly Flames ranked in the middle-to-lower range should let it touch the Tian Rank. That'll be enough for you to use all the way until you cap out at Dou Sheng."

"Is that so..."

A faint light flickered in Xiao Yan's eyes.

In truth, what he should collect the most was not those lower-ranked Heavenly Flames, but the various sixth- and seventh-rank Beast Flames that were easier to get his hands on.

If conditions allowed, he could even go to Jia Nan Academy and look for that Ancient Dragon girl, then take some Essence Blood to catalyze a Beast Flame. Setting aside its strength, its quality should not be low.

After all, that was the bloodline of a magical beast Emperor Clan!

"Come, come... Since you can even absorb the flame within the cauldron, then you should be able to handle this as well, right?"

Yao Lao raised a hand and summoned the Bone Chilling Flame. Pulling with both hands, he forcibly tore off a portion of the origin flame seed.

The instant he acted, Yao Lao's Soul Body, which had originally been fairly solid, trembled and clearly became much weaker. "Hurry and try the effect of this Sub-fire!"

"..."

Xiao Yan's gaze rippled for a moment before returning to normal. "All right!"

Was that really a Sub-fire?

It could be considered a split of the origin flame, couldn't it...

Old Master Nalan Jie, it looked like he would have to get his hands on your precious Seven Illusory Green Spirit Saliva a little earlier. Although with Yao Lao's current state, it would only work as something like an oral tonic, that still counted as filial piety, didn't it? The pale-white flame hovered between his palms. Xiao Yan silently circulated the Fen Jue and refined it step by step, but his thoughts had drifted to a certain unlucky poisoned fellow.