Spirit Crystal

Hun Xuzi floated in midair, his transparent body wreathed in black flames. Like a ghost reaping lives, red light flickered in his eyes, making him look somewhat terrifying against the backdrop of the black fire.

He was not surprised by Yao Yan's expression. No alchemist in this age could resist the temptation of a Heavenly Flame, much less a powerful one ranked near the top like the Nihility Devouring Flame. Even if it was merely one wisp of its sub-flame, its power surpassed that of ordinary Heavenly Flames. Even among the top ten Heavenly Flames, quite a few were inferior to it.

Take the Living Flame, ranked fifth. Solely discussing the power of the Heavenly Flame itself, it was far inferior to a sub-flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame. Even its enhancement to combat power was not as good as that of certain special beast flames.

The reason it ranked fifth lay in its uniqueness. It contained immense life force and could stimulate the growth of all kinds of medicinal ingredients. As long as one possessed this flame, one would have an inexhaustible supply of herbs. Its value to an alchemist was simply immeasurable. Beyond that, it was also a flame of longevity. Those who refined it could live as long as certain magical beasts.

In other words, one's lifespan would double, or perhaps even multiply several times over.

Solely in terms of practical value, the Living Flame could be called number one on the Heavenly Flame Ranking for alchemists.

Unfortunately, the Living Flame had not appeared for a thousand years.

"Those things are still rather distant for you. On the path of cultivation, it is better to keep your feet on the ground. True experts are not produced by pills. The Yao Clan's method of cultivation only produces trash in the end."

Hun Xuzi continued, then seemed to recall something, and his tone turned somewhat disdainful.

Among the Eight Great Ancient Clans, aside from the Xiao Clan that had already vanished, many members of the other clans used immense resources to cultivate geniuses, even forcefully raising people into Dou Sheng Experts. Most such experts reached their limit at two or three stars and had no future to speak of.

This was one reason the Soul Clan looked down on the other clans. True geniuses were not raised that way.

Just like Hun Xuzi.

Back then, he had infiltrated the Pill Tower and taken the Pill Tower Master as his teacher. During that time, he had not relied on help from the Soul Clan, but had climbed step by step on his own.

Their method of popping pills was just wrong... Yao Yan muttered inwardly. Simply popping pills was naturally the behavior of trash, but if one combined pills with refining Heavenly Flames, that was an endless cheat mode. The minor side effects of taking pills would be eliminated through refining Heavenly Flames, while the body tempering and reconstruction from refining them could endlessly stack one's talent.

Xiao Yan of the original work had taken precisely this cheat-filled path, completing in less than thirty years the journey others spent their entire lives walking. Who could possibly reason with that?

Hun Xuzi naturally had no idea of Yao Yan's rebellious thoughts. He continued, "Your talent is extremely high, and you have refined the peculiar Tunling Clan bloodline. Your future peak should stand at the pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent. Do not let petty gains before your eyes blind you."

"This disciple understands."

Yao Yan nodded solemnly. He understood that a "normal person" like Hun Xuzi could not comprehend the existence of someone with cheats, so he naturally could not be bothered to argue with him.

Hun Xuzi watched him in silence for a moment. Then black flames rolled across his palm, and amid Spatial Distortion, a Jade Bottle appeared in his hand. He took out a thumb-sized crystal from within. It was chaotic in color and emitted a profound aura.

Yao Yan stared eagerly at the thing. He could feel that it held an enormous attraction for him. "Teacher, this is..."

"A Spirit Crystal. It is a crystallized form of Spiritual Qi. Only a Rank 9 Alchemist can refine such an item, and doing so requires no small price. Since you are an alchemist, you should understand the realms of the soul. There are four major soul realms: the Mortal Realm, Spirit Realm, Heaven Realm, and finally, the Emperor Realm."

Hun Xuzi spoke unhurriedly. These were all things Yao Yan would encounter in the future, and he did not mind telling him in advance.

Yao Yan revealed a "shocked" expression and listened with a serious face.

"Most alchemists in the world are in the Mortal Realm. Only those with exceptional talent can sense that fleeting trace of spirituality during their usual pill refinement. You should know that Rank 6 Pills already possess a certain degree of spirituality. Rank 7 and Rank 8 Pills possess even greater spirituality, while Ninth Grade Pills are no different from people. To refine such pills, possessing a Spirit Realm Soul is one of the most basic requirements."

"The Spirit Realm is a realm that can only be reached by those whose souls contain sufficient Spiritual Qi."

"In the Heaven Realm, the Soul Body is already no different from a human body and can roam freely through heaven and earth."

"As for the Emperor Realm, that realm is already related to an Emperor..."

At the mention of the word Emperor, a trace of longing entered Hun Xuzi's voice. On the Dou Qi Continent, only a Dou Di stood at the true pinnacle. Unfortunately, that pinnacle had now become an elusive legend.

"Then Teacher's soul realm is...?"

Yao Yan asked with feigned curiosity.

Black flames flickered in Hun Xuzi's eyes as he replied in a low voice, "Grand Perfection Heaven Realm, only one step away from the Emperor Realm. Unfortunately, no one knows how long that single step will take. Breaking through to the Emperor Realm is not something cultivation alone can accomplish."

He knew very well that if he wished to break through to the Emperor Realm, he could only use an enormous amount of Soul Origin to supply himself and forcefully break through that level.

Unfortunately, the Soul Origin accumulated by the Soul Hall was not yet his to use.

Thinking of this,

he did not continue the topic.

Lowering his gaze to Yao Yan, Hun Xuzi continued, "Your body is somewhat unusual. Perhaps it is related to the Yao Clan's Dou Di Bloodline, or perhaps to the power of the Tunling Clan bloodline you refined. You can already refine Spiritual Qi into your body at the Dou Zhe stage. Perhaps you may even reach the Emperor Realm in the future."

He teased him, then directly sent the Spirit Crystal into Yao Yan's soul. With the control of a Ninth Grade Grandmaster, he did not need to worry about harming Yao Yan's soul.

Along with a chaotic streak of light, an icy crystalline glimmer shot directly into his forehead.

Yao Yan felt a tearing pain in his soul. A moment later, a cool sensation surged through it. The feeling was no different from refining Spiritual Qi, only more direct, and even his body was nourished by it.

Spiritual Qi was the Origin Power of the Great Thousand World.

Unfortunately, it was extremely scarce on the Dou Qi Continent. It seemed that Spiritual Qi had degraded into Heaven and Earth Energy, leaving the Dou Qi Continent only able to cultivate Dou Qi.

In ancient times, there had been some techniques that assisted the soul in absorbing Spiritual Qi, but over the course of their inheritance, such Soul Skills had almost entirely been lost to the outside world.

Of course, that did not include the Ancient Emperor Clans.

After sending the Spirit Crystal into Yao Yan's soul and waiting for him to become familiar with it, Hun Xuzi circulated his Soul Power and transmitted a chant into Yao Yan's soul. He instructed, "This chant can assist you in refining Spiritual Qi. Remember, once your soul cannot bear it, slow down. Your current Soul Power is still insufficient to completely refine a Spirit Crystal. Proceed gradually."

"Yes, Teacher."

Yao Yan nodded in reply, his feelings complicated. For a moment, he both loved and hated Hun Xuzi.

He did not know whether he would still be able to harden his heart in the future.

Perhaps that was the greatest difference between him and someone like Hun Xuzi.

"Recover for a while. Then I will teach you pill refinement. Alchemy is not some little game of playing with mud."

Hun Xuzi stared at Yao Yan with an amused gaze. He was clearly well aware of how Yao Yan had refined the Stone Wall to escape.

Yao Yan's heart tightened, and that faint Good Feeling vanished completely.

Hun Xuzi was still a pervert!