Switching to the Burning Art Fragment

Before Xuan Jin's eyes, a dark-blue flame floated silently.

Sea Heart Flame, ranked fifteenth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.

Xuan Jin could sense the flame's resistance.

He extended a hand, releasing gentle fire-element energy that enveloped the Sea Heart Flame.

Unexpectedly, when his energy touched the Sea Heart Flame, its resistance weakened considerably.

Xuan Jin's heart stirred. It seemed his special physique held a natural attraction for Heavenly Flames as well.

With a thought, he restrained the Sea Heart Flame, then swiftly left the area.

Not long after Xuan Jin departed, two figures shrouded in black robes appeared in the cultivation chamber like ghosts.

One of them crouched down to inspect Han Feng's corpse and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"He's dead. Killed in a single blow. His soul was severely wounded and escaped as well."

The other figure swept his gaze around the room, his eyes settling on the empty space.

"Sea Heart Flame... is gone."

"To kill Han Feng in one strike and seize a Heavenly Flame so easily, the opponent is at least a Dou Zong—and no ordinary Dou Zong."

The black-robed man who had spoken first rose to his feet, his tone grave.

"Investigate! No matter who he is, anyone who dares steal something the Soul Hall has its eyes on must die!"

"Han Feng's soul escaped. He should contact us. Find him first."

"Report this matter to Protector Xuan."

After whispering among themselves, the two figures turned into black mist once more and vanished from the room.

After leaving Feng City, Xuan Jin headed east, venturing deep into the desolate mountains of the Black Corner Region.

He needed an absolutely safe place to accomplish something crucial: cultivate the Burning Art and devour the Sea Heart Flame.

As a transmigrator, a Seventh-Rank Peak Alchemist, and a Three-Star Dou Ancestor, his perception far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Before long, beneath a sheer cliff, he discovered a hidden cave concealed by vines.

The cave was dry and spacious, with fairly abundant spiritual energy. It was an excellent place for secluded cultivation.

Xuan Jin set several restrictions at the entrance, ensuring that no foolhardy people or magical beasts would come disturb him.

Then he sat cross-legged and took out an ancient scroll from his Storage Ring.

Burning Art Fragment.

Yellow-Tier Low-Level Technique.

This was likely the technique on the Dou Qi Continent with the lowest initial rank, yet the most terrifying potential.

Xuan Jin took a deep breath and slowly unrolled the scroll.

An obscure and difficult cultivation method entered his sight.

For anyone else, cultivating such a fragmentary technique would have been nothing more than a fool's dream.

But for Xuan Jin, who knew the plot well, it was no difficult matter.

He closed his eyes and began trying to circulate the Dou Qi within his body according to the method recorded on the scroll.

This was a painful and dangerous process.

Dissipating one's cultivation.

To cultivate a new technique, one first had to abolish the original one, disperse all of one's pure Dou Qi, and then gather it anew.

If an ordinary person did this, their strength would inevitably plummet. They might even lose all cultivation.

Yet Xuan Jin did not hesitate in the slightest.

The several strands of fire-element energy within his body had already been in conflict, and his old technique could no longer suppress them.

No destruction, no rebirth!

At Xuan Jin's command, the Dou Qi that had once flowed smoothly through his body began circulating in reverse with savage force.

Excruciating pain instantly spread through every limb and bone.

His meridians felt as though countless steel needles were piercing them, while cracks began appearing in the Dou Qi crystal within his dantian.

Xuan Jin's face immediately turned pale, and beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead.

But he clenched his teeth tightly, and there was not the slightest wavering in his eyes.

He controlled the dispersing Dou Qi, preventing it from escaping his body. Instead, he guided it along the entirely new yet incomparably fragile path of the Burning Art.

Once, twice, three times...

Each circulation was like carving out a new path through his meridians with a blade.

The pain was enough to drive anyone lacking firm resolve completely insane.

No one knew how much time passed. When the first wisp of brand-new Dou Qi carrying the aura of the Burning Art was born within his meridians, a smile finally appeared on Xuan Jin's pale face.

He had succeeded!

Next came devouring the Heavenly Flame.

Xuan Jin's gaze shifted to the sealed Sea Heart Flame. Forming hand seals, he released its seal.

The next instant, the rocks along the cave walls turned crimson at a visible speed. Yet strangely, the air rippled like ocean waves.

"Roar!"

An invisible roar exploded within Xuan Jin's mind.

A dark-blue flame burst out from the jade bottle, transforming into a ferocious flaming dragon that bared its claws and fangs as it lunged at Xuan Jin.

The Heavenly Flame possessed intelligence. Sensing the threat of being devoured, it launched its fiercest resistance.

Xuan Jin's expression did not change. The Burning Art Dou Qi he had just cultivated rapidly circulated through his body, forming a vortex that met the flaming dragon head-on.

"Boom!"

The dark-blue flame collided with Xuan Jin's body.

The terrifying heat instantly burned his robes to ash.

A searing agony spread across his skin.

More terrifying still, the violent flame energy surged madly into his meridians through his pores.

At the same time, the several conflicting strands of fire-element energy already within his body began to riot like sharks that had smelled blood.

Three forces launched a brutal melee within his body.

Xuan Jin felt as though his body was about to be torn apart, and his consciousness began to blur.

"Devour it!"

Xuan Jin bit down hard on his tongue, and the sharp pain restored a trace of clarity to his mind.

He frantically circulated the Burning Art. The vortex in his dantian spun at high speed, unleashing a powerful suction force.

Whether it was the Sea Heart Flame raging within his body or the several rioting strands of native Fire Energy, all were dragged by that suction and helplessly drawn toward the vortex.

At this moment, the Burning Art's tyranny was revealed without reservation.

It was like a bottomless black hole, refusing nothing and seeking to devour and fuse all flame energy.

The process was filled with unimaginable pain.

Xuan Jin's body was like a powder keg on the verge of exploding.

But he had no other choice. He could only give everything he had to maintain the Burning Art's circulation and guide the fusion of the three forces.

Time passed second by second.

Inside the cave, the dark-blue glow of the flames flickered unpredictably.

Crimson patterns appeared on Xuan Jin's body one moment, only for his skin to turn a deep blue the next. The two colors continuously intertwined and collided.

Finally, at a certain moment, all the violent turmoil subsided.

The several strands of fire-element energy that had plagued his body for over a decade, together with the violent Sea Heart Flame, were completely devoured by the vortex in his dantian.

A dark-blue flame burned quietly at the center of the vortex.

A brand-new Dou Qi several times more powerful than before poured from the vortex and flowed through every limb and bone.

Xuan Jin slowly opened his eyes.

A wisp of dark-blue flame flickered through his pupils and vanished.

He spread open his palm. With a thought, a dark-blue flamelet danced merrily in his hand, as docile as a pet.

"So this is the Sea Heart Flame..."

Xuan Jin could feel the terrifying power contained within the flame.

He examined his body internally. The conflicting energies had vanished, replaced by purer and more powerful new Dou Qi carrying the characteristics of the Sea Heart Flame.

The Burning Art Fragment had also risen to the Profound Tier High-Level. After all, Sea Heart Flame ranked fifteenth, several places above Green Lotus Core Flame.

Though his cultivation was still at the Three-Star Dou Ancestor level, with the Heavenly Flame's support, Xuan Jin's combat strength had increased by at least half.

(Switching to the Burning Art Fragment caused his cultivation to fall, but absorbing the Sea Heart Flame made up for it.)

The hidden dangers in his body had also been initially resolved.

Before reaching the Dou Venerate realm, as long as he could obtain the complete Burning Art, this problem could be completely eradicated.

"Phew..."

Xuan Jin let out a long breath of stale air and rose to his feet.

Looking at the results of his efforts, he was in an excellent mood.

"With matters in the Black Corner Region settled, it's time to meet this world's protagonist."

Xuan Jin changed into a clean black robe and walked out of the cave.

He raised his head and looked toward the northwest.

Jia Ma Empire, Wutan City, Xiao Family.

There lay the complete Burning Art he needed.