Absorption Complete, Three Months
Xiao Yan opened his eyes, his divine light concealed.
The Yao Lao's voice rang in her ears again. "Yan'er, you're finally awake. Xiao Yi Xian and the others have been looking for you countless times."
Xiao Yan showed a hint of doubt.
Xiao Yi Xian is a reasonable person. In the past, even when he was in seclusion for ten days or half a month, he never heard Xiao Yi Xian knocking on the door to disturb him. Why is she doing this this time?
"What exactly happened to the teacher? Has something happened to the Alliance?" Xiao Yan asked.
"No," Yao Lao shook his head and said, "It's just that Yan'er, the length of your seclusion this time exceeds any previous one."
"A full three months!"
Three months?
Xiao Yan's mouth gaped slightly, somewhat surprised.
Since acquiring the [Heaven-Swallowing] Heaven-Swallowing Talent, his efficiency in absorbing various energies has improved dramatically. Normally, even absorbing the essence blood of Dou Venerate- level Fire Lizard and Crimson Orb would only take a few days.
Unexpectedly, absorbing the essence blood of Semi-Saint level Fire Lizard took a full three months.
"This is taking quite a long time." Xiao Yan frowned slightly, looking somewhat troubled.
Beside him, the Yao Lao comforted him, "Yan'er, at the Dou Zun Realm, each stage is equivalent to starting over at the entire Dou Zun Realm. The difference is enormous."
Semi-Saint is far superior to Nine-Revolution Dou Venerate.
"You're only at the Four-Star Dou Venerate level right now, so it's normal for your absorption to be a bit slower."
"In fact, if it weren't for your Heaven-Swallowing Talent called [Heaven-Swallowing], Yan'er, you most likely wouldn't have been able to devour so much of the Semi-Saint Fire Lizard's essence blood at once."
Xiao Yan nodded, a hint of worry appearing between his brows.
"I know, teacher, I'm just a little troubled."
"The essence blood of this Semi-Saint Fire Lizard has taken me so much time."
"Wouldn't a single drop of Ninth-Rank Magical Beast Blood Essence consume a year of my lifespan?"
"Including these three months, there are only a little over two years left until the Three-Year Agreement reached, which is really not enough time."
"If I just follow the rules and absorb the Ninth-Rank Magical Beast Blood Essence, I can only absorb two portions at most, which might not even be enough to raise my physique to the Semi-Saint level."
"If that's the case, how should I deal with the Ancient Clan?"
Xiao Yan understood that the further one progressed in cultivation, the greater the gap between realms became. Often, it would take decades of accumulation to advance by just One-Star. Even absorbing Heavenly Treasures and Earthly Riches could only result in an advancement of One-Star in a few years, which was already quite good.
His speed of absorbing resources actually far exceeds that of others.
But with the Three-Year Agreement fast approaching, his goal was already set.
He planned to absorb the remaining four portions of Ninth-Rank Magical Beast Blood Essence and then acquire some resources from the Central Plains. Perhaps this would allow him to raise his physique to the point where he could directly confront Dou Sheng Expert.
However, this increased absorption time greatly disrupted his plans.
Just then, the Storage Ring on Xiao Yan's hand swayed slightly.
The Soul Spirit Emperor's Soul Body emerged from it.
He opened his mouth somewhat lazily and said, "Disciple, the Cultivation Technique you practice allows you to absorb different kinds of Heavenly Flames without them conflicting with each other. Heavenly Flames is a spiritual treasure of heaven and earth, and you can use it to help you absorb it more quickly."
"The strength of your Fusion Heavenly Flame is not low, which should greatly shorten the time it takes for you to absorb the essence of magical beasts." (This was mentioned briefly in the original work; Xiao Yan's absorption speed was faster than others because he possessed Heavenly Flames.)
The Soul Spirit Emperor's words made Xiao Yan's eyes light up.
He had completely forgotten that, in addition to absorbing Beast Flame or other Heavenly Flames, the burning power of the Heavenly Flames itself could help him absorb it faster.
However, he usually only needed to use his [Heaven-Swallowing] Heaven-Swallowing Talent, so he didn't make much use of this function of the Heavenly Flames.
This feature is now actually usable.
With the [Heaven-Swallowing] Heaven-Swallowing Talent and the burning power of the Heavenly Flames, along with the four portions of Ninth-Rank Magical Beast Blood Essence in the Storage Ring, it should be possible to absorb them all before the Three-Year Agreement.
"Thank you for the reminder, Third Master. I've remembered it." The worry between Xiao Yan's brows disappeared.
"Well then, I'll continue to recover my Soul Power." The Soul Spirit Emperor nodded and returned to his Storage Ring.
The Yao Lao looked at Xiao Yan: "Yan'er, are you going to absorb the Ninth-Rank Magical Beast Blood Essence in your Storage Ring now?"
Xiao Yan pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Having not shown my face for three months, I plan to first check on the Alliance's development, and then make a trip to Central Plains."
"I want to try and see if I can get my hands on all of the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame and the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Changes from Burning Flame Valley."
"And the Pill Tower, I've heard it also possesses a Heavenly Flames, which I also covet."
"The Pill Tower..." A trace of nostalgia flashed in Yao Lao's eyes. He nodded and said, "I also have a reputation in the Pill Tower. Now my strength and alchemy skills have both improved considerably, and my influence is even greater."
"I will find a way to help you, Yan'er, absorb that Heavenly Flames from the Pill Tower."
"Thank you, teacher!" Xiao Yan said, cupping his hands in thanks.
The Yao Lao chuckled, "You rascal, you have to thank me for such a small thing."
The master and apprentice both smiled.
After putting away the Earth Fire Lotus Platform, Xiao Yan left the bedroom.
Three months later, I was bathed in sunshine again, and my mood inexplicably improved.
However, before he could react, a soft, delicate body crashed into his arms and hugged him tightly.
Xiao Yan looked down and saw that it was Xiao Yi Xian.
"Let me hold you for a while." Xiao Yi Xian's tone was calm, but she tightened her grip on Xiao Yan's arms even more.
Xiao Yan remained silent, letting Xiao Yi Xian hold him.
After a while, Zi Yan's voice suddenly rang out from the courtyard. "Xiao Yi Xian, brother, how much longer are you going to hug?"
"I'm so hungry, bro."
Xiao Yi Xian released her arm, calmly smoothing her hair, though the tips of her ears were frighteningly red.
Xiao Yan chuckled twice and replied to Zi Yan, "I'll refine some more for you."
Without hesitation, he began refining the Medicinal Herbs Dou Qi his Storage Ring. In the blink of an eye, the herbs were refined and condensed into pills.
After putting the refined pills into a jade bottle and handing it to Zi Yan, Xiao Yan glanced around but still couldn't see Qing Lin and Medusa.
"Where are Qing Lin Medusa?" Xiao Yan asked Xiao Yi Xian directly.
Xiao Yi Xian replied, "Medusa hasn't returned yet, and Qing Lin was summoned away by a letter from her."
"It seems the Snake-People Tribe are preparing to relocate again, with the entire clan moving to the Heavenly Snake Empire where the environment is better, so they're quite busy."
Xiao Yan nodded in understanding. Although he regretted not being able to see Medusa as soon as he came out of seclusion, he knew that Medusa was busy now so that she could spend more time with him in the future, so how could he be angry?
"I'll be busy if I want to be, anyway, I haven't had a moment's peace lately," Xiao Yan said.
"How has the Alliance progressed during my three-month seclusion?"
Xiao Yi Xian seemed to have anticipated that Xiao Yan would want to know these things, and was prepared in advance, blurting out. "The Alliance is developing very well in the Northwest Continent."
"However... our expansion into the Central Plains has encountered some obstacles."
"The obstacle from Central Plains? Which force is it?" Xiao Yan asked.
There was no need for Xiao Yi Xian to hide anything, so she stated directly, "Wind Lightning Pavilion."