Refining Dou Qi

After leaving the area around the Fire Well, Xiao Ling headed toward the training rooms.

He casually found a Low-level Training Room and entered, intending to first familiarize himself with using Fallen Heart Flame's Branch Flame to refine Dou Qi.

After closing the door he had opened upon entering, Xiao Ling carefully surveyed the training room.

This training room was designed for a single person. At its center stood a Black Stone Platform, only large enough for two people to sit cross-legged upon. It rose roughly two inches above the floor.

Xiao Ling stepped forward and cautiously touched the black platform with his palm. A faint warmth flowed through his fingertips, and under that strange warmth, even the circulation of Dou Qi within his body seemed to become somewhat more active.

The effects of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower really are obvious. Especially for Fire Attribute cultivators, training here gets twice the result with half the effort. I wonder what effect there will be once I swallow that larger Fallen Heart Flame in the future. Xiao Ling muttered inwardly before flipping onto the stone platform.

Sitting cross-legged on the platform, Xiao Ling felt the increasingly dense warmth and let out a long breath. With a flick of his finger, an Azure Fire Crystal Card appeared in his palm.

He clasped the Azure Fire Crystal Card in both hands and cautiously inserted it into the groove before him. A faint click sounded, and a dim gleam burst from the groove. As the light appeared, Xiao Ling clearly saw that the number on the Azure Fire Crystal Card immediately dropped by one. Apparently, this was the fee for one day's cultivation—one unit of Fire Energy.

Not long after the Fire Energy was deducted, Xiao Ling slowly closed his eyes. His hands formed a Cultivation Hand Seal, and his body became as motionless as an old monk in meditation.

Within his lonely, tranquil mind, only the long, steady beat of his heart slowly echoed. After entering his cultivation state, Xiao Ling's senses toward the energy between heaven and earth became increasingly acute. He could feel the astonishingly dense, scorching energy within this training room. Cultivating in such a place, those who practiced Fire Attribute cultivation methods would undoubtedly achieve far greater results than others.

"Pfft..."

As his mind grew ever calmer, a low, faint sound suddenly rang out. Then, a cluster of flame that seemed invisible yet gave off an unusual fluctuation appeared without warning not far from Xiao Ling's heart. Threads of warmth slowly spread out, baking the inside of his body until it seemed to steam.

As his mind focused on that wisp of invisible flame, Xiao Ling once again felt a lingering fear at Fallen Heart Flame's unpredictability. Even though he was currently on the highest alert, he had still failed to notice how this flame had appeared...

After sighing inwardly, Xiao Ling stared fixedly at the flame. This cluster was undoubtedly more powerful than the one he had encountered at the entrance to the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower earlier. It was likely because of this training room.

Enduring the burning pain inside his body, the wisp of invisible flame grew ever more lively. Wisps of high temperature seeped from it, forming something like a furnace within the human body. Every organ and even the Meridians within his body were tempered in that furnace, continuously growing stronger through the tempering!

Although the burning pain caused by the high temperature occasionally made Xiao Ling's Meridians twitch ever so slightly, fortunately, whenever they were damaged, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor's Trunk Bone within his body automatically released life energy to heal them. Through this continuous destruction and reconstruction, his physical constitution also slowly strengthened. After enduring this for roughly ten minutes, Xiao Ling's mind stirred. The diamond-shaped Dou Crystal within his Qi vortex suddenly emitted a faint gleam, and wave after wave of powerful Dou Qi poured forth from it like floodwaters released from a broken dam.

Dou Qi raced through his Meridians, finally arriving under the guidance of Xiao Ling's Soul Power at the Fallen Heart Flame projection that radiated high temperatures. At a slight movement of his mind, the Dou Qi that had long been waiting there surged downward. Red Dou Qi poured straight into the invisible flame!

The instant the Dou Qi entered the invisible flame, Xiao Ling could clearly feel the latter suddenly become much hotter. The Dou Qi entering the flame also seemed like boiling water, as something was continuously driven out and stripped away by the high temperature.

This boiling did not last long before that wisp of Dou Qi successfully emerged from the flame. Compared to before, the Dou Qi that emerged had shrunk by nearly half in volume. Yet the energy contained within it was far denser and more compact than before. Clearly, after being tempered by the invisible flame, this wisp of Dou Qi had successfully been slimmed down...

After the first wisp of refined Dou Qi emerged from the flame, it circulated once more through his Meridians under the pull of Xiao Ling's Soul Power before pouring into the Dou Crystal. At once, the light on the surface of the Dou Crystal swelled slightly again.

Seeing this change in the Dou Crystal, joy immediately welled up within Xiao Ling. Fallen Heart Flame truly deserved its reputation as a cultivation accelerator. Such an effect was enough to make anyone green with envy. If word of this got out, even with Jia Nan Academy's standing on the continent, it would inevitably draw covetous eyes. It seems the forces in the Central Plains do not have a cultivation treasure ground like this either. I wonder how Jia Nan Academy keeps this news from spreading.

With the success of the first refinement, Xiao Ling finally set aside the last of his worries. At a thought, wisps of Dou Qi were continuously drawn from the Dou Crystal, circulated through his Meridians, passed through the flame, and finally returned to the Dou Crystal.

Operating Fen Jue at full force, the surrounding Dou Qi gathered around Xiao Ling and entered his body through every pore. After being refined by the Heart Flame within him, it became even purer. This feeling was simply wonderful.

During cultivation, there was no precise concept of time. Xiao Ling immersed himself in his rapidly growing strength, seeming as though he wanted to cultivate in one breath until he broke through.

Within the spacious training room, Xiao Ling's body was enveloped in a faint layer of invisible fluctuations. Wisps of pale white mist curled up from the top of his head, gradually thinning until they finally turned into nothingness and disappeared.

Exhaling a breath of turbid air, Xiao Ling awoke from cultivation, a flash of crimson passing through his eyes. Feeling the scorching sensation in his body, he frowned, feeling somewhat displeased. Without a Heavenly Flame protecting my body, I really am prone to Fire Poison. Fortunately, I'm an alchemist. Otherwise, even taking pills would consume a great deal of cultivation resources.

He then took out the jade bottle containing the Rank 3 Pill Clear Heart Pill, poured out a milky-white pill, and placed it in his mouth. As the discomfort within his body gradually faded, Xiao Ling formed his cultivation hand seal and continued refining his Dou Qi.

Cultivation time flowed away like water, silently slipping through his fingers. When an ancient bell chime rang throughout the entire tower floor at some unknown time, Xiao Ling, who had been sitting in the training room with his eyes closed, slowly opened them. The excitement in his eyes flashed away.

After examining the greatly increased Dou Qi within his body, Xiao Ling was thoroughly satisfied. At this cultivation speed, I'll soon break through to become a Five-star Great Dou Shi. The Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower's ability to refine Dou Qi is truly powerful. From now on, I won't need to hesitate when taking pills.

Once my cultivation reaches the Dou Wang realm, I can seek out the opportunities from the original story. Fallen Heart Flame is no longer very effective for Dou Wangs. Otherwise, there would not be so many elders at the academy whose cultivation is only at the Dou Wang realm.

No longer dwelling on it, Xiao Ling stood up from the stone platform, left the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, and headed back the way he had come.

Watching the dense crowd pour out of the Heavenly Flame Refining Qi Tower, Xiao Ling felt rather troubled when he remembered that he still had dozens of minutes of travel ahead of him.

He originally had not wanted to reveal Rayquaza before outsiders in the Inner Academy, but to avoid wasting too much time on the journey, he still had to summon it for some exercise.

He patted his wrist, and Rayquaza slipped out from his sleeve, flying before Xiao Ling and letting out a long roar toward the sky.

Under the envious gazes of the crowd, Xiao Ling leaped up and landed steadily on Rayquaza's back.

After patting Rayquaza, which was linked to his mind, it flew into the sky and vanished from the students' sight in the blink of an eye.

Seeing this, the surrounding students began discussing among themselves.

"I really envy that guy. He even has a magical beast mount to ride back to his dormitory. Think of how much cultivation time that saves."

"Isn't that the new student, Xiao Ling? Does anyone know what kind of magical beast that is? I've never seen one before. If I'd seen such a cool magical beast, I definitely wouldn't have forgotten it."

"I only entered the Inner Academy last year. When I was in the Outer Academy, I asked around before. It seems to be called Rayquaza."

"If only I could raise such a cool magical beast too."

Among the clouds, Xiao Ling felt the wind blowing against his face and felt incomparably free. Looking down at Rayquaza beneath him, he pondered inwardly. I can still take Rayquaza around the Northwest Continent, but I can't bring this fellow to the Central Plains. It would inevitably draw attention and cause trouble. I should let it follow Xun Er to the Gu Clan, where it can live in luxury.

Shaking his head, he stopped thinking about it. Such matters were still too far away for him. He should simply live each day well for now.