Devouring

Yao Lao lightly tapped the Black Demon Cauldron, and a ghostly white flame sprang to life within it.

A moment later, Yao Lao tossed in the Blood Lotus Essence.

Next came the Ice Flame Spirit Grass and the Tier 4 Ice-Type Magical Beast Core.

Time continued to pass.

"It's done." Yao Lao placed a round pill the size of a longan, radiating a fragrant medicinal aroma, into the Rouge Jade Bottle.

Yao Lao casually tossed the jade bottle to Xiao Yan. "Take a look. What do you think of its quality?"

Xiao Yan caught the jade bottle and examined it closely. Three pill patterns flickered faintly on the pill's surface. Just as he was about to comment—

Knock, knock, knock! A series of knocks sounded from outside.

"Master, I found the Ice Spirit Cold Spring." Hai Bo Dong's voice came from beyond the door.

"So quickly?" Xiao Yan and Yao Lao exchanged delighted looks.

Xiao Yan opened the door and looked at Hai Bo Dong. "You found the Ice Spirit Cold Spring already?"

"Yes, Master." Hai Bo Dong handed Xiao Yan a snow-white jade bottle whose surface emitted a faint chill.

Xiao Yan accepted the jade bottle. It was icy enough to pierce his bones, and only after circulating the Purple Flame within his body did he feel somewhat better.

When he opened the jade bottle, mist swirled inside it, while layers of fluid-like crushed ice rested at the bottom.

"It really is Ice Spirit Cold Spring. Where did you get it, Hai Bo Dong?" Xiao Yan asked.

"I searched the entire city but couldn't find any Ice Spirit Cold Spring. Fortunately, Mo City lies on the very edge of the Tagor Desert and is a trading city. Merchants from all across the continent gather here, along with countless rare treasures."

"In the end, the Mo City Lord heard that I was searching for Ice Spirit Cold Spring, so he voluntarily gave me the Ice Spirit Cold Spring he had exchanged from a continental merchant at great cost twenty years ago," Hai Bo Dong said proudly.

"Hehe, you really went through a lot of trouble," Xiao Yan said with a smile.

As he watched Hai Bo Dong leave, Yao Lao spoke from within the Storage Ring. "Now that we have gathered everything needed to devour the Heavenly Flame, rest for these next two days and adjust your condition. Don't keep yourself wound so tightly. We'll devour the Heavenly Flame in two days."

"Alright, Teacher," Xiao Yan said.

Xiao Yan opened the door and looked at the sunlight spilling across the room from the sky. He had never felt so good before.

"Brother Xiao Yan!" "Brother Xiao Yan!"

Just as Xiao Yan stretched and loosened his limbs, two crisp, childish voices called out from beyond the courtyard.

Xiao Yan looked up at the two little girls hopping toward him and smiled. "So it's Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin."

Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin in the distance and fell slightly into a daze.

Perhaps both girls seemed somewhat delicate and pitiful in temperament, but there were subtle differences between them. Xiao Yi Xian was gentle on the outside but strong within, her frail appearance concealing a powerful heart. Qing Lin, on the other hand, had suffered bullying and disdain since childhood because of her background. Her nature was truly weak and timid, and she needed even more care and protection.

"Xiao Yi Xian, I told you to play with little Qing Lin. You didn't bully her, did you?" Xiao Yan caught the two little girls who threw themselves at him, then rubbed Xiao Yi Xian's head.

Before Xiao Yi Xian could answer, Qing Lin's face had already turned red as she timidly denied it. "N-No, Xiao Yi Xian didn't bully me."

"Hmph, bad brother. You never play with us. You only know how to stay shut up in your room or fly around in the sky," Xiao Yi Xian complained as she hugged Xiao Yan's waist.

"Haha, aren't I here now? Come on, let's go to the front courtyard and see what that old man Hai Bo Dong is doing." Xiao Yan draped an arm over each little girl's shoulder and headed toward the front courtyard.

When the three arrived at the front courtyard, they discovered that Hai Bo Dong was still lying on the counter as before, quietly drawing maps.

Xiao Yan laughed speechlessly. "Hai Bo Dong, now that you've broken the seal and returned to the Dou Emperor realm, why are you still drawing maps? Don't tell me you plan to stay in Mo City and guard this 'Ancient Map' while drawing maps for the rest of your life?"

Hai Bo Dong calmly set down his pen, raised his head, and looked at Xiao Yan. "Master, you may not believe this, but before I took over the Miteer Clan at the age of twenty, my dream had always been to become a cartographer."

"."

"So Ice Emperor Hai Bo Dong's hidden profession was actually a map-drawing artist? No, this had to mean I was reading Battle Through the Heavens wrong." After several seconds of confusion, Xiao Yan ultimately gave up thinking about it, because he had promised the two little girls that he would take them to the Marketplace today.

Seeing this, Hai Bo Dong lowered his head again and quietly continued drawing his map.

After wandering around for two full days, Xiao Yan finally adjusted his state of mind until he was completely relaxed.

Afternoon.

In an open area of the courtyard, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao sat facing one another.

"Yan, let's begin," Yao Lao said. He then took out the Rouge Jade Bottle containing the Blood Lotus Pill from the Storage Ring, as well as the snow-white jade bottle containing the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, its surface radiating a faint chill.

Finally, Yao Lao flicked a gray ray of light from his fingertip. It landed on the ground and transformed into a thumb-sized gray stone—the Spirit Container.

"So this is the Spirit Container? What a miraculous creation. Such a tiny gray thing can actually create a mysterious space inside a person's body to hold a Heavenly Flame." Xiao Yan stared at the gray stone, whose surface glimmered faintly, and murmured.

"Remove the Green Lotus Core Flame." Yao Lao placed the green Lotus Pedestal before Xiao Yan.

"Alright." Xiao Yan nodded solemnly.

Holding the Lotus Pedestal in his palm, Xiao Yan carefully removed the quietly burning green flame from it.

Phew. Xiao Yan softly exhaled.

"Take the Blood Lotus Pill and extract the flame seed from the center of the Green Lotus Core Flame," Yao Lao calmly instructed.

Xiao Yan poured out the round Blood Lotus Pill, which exuded a rich medicinal fragrance, from the Rouge Jade Bottle and swallowed it in one gulp.

The moment the pill entered his mouth, it melted within Xiao Yan's body and turned into pure energy that spread throughout him. It flowed into his bones, meridians, and the surface of his skin, forming layers of blood scabs over them and tightly encasing them.

Xiao Yan lowered his head and looked at his hands, seeing that he had become a blood-colored monster. He laughed at himself, then stopped hesitating and reached straight for the center of the wildly burning Green Lotus Core Flame before him.

Bang! Under the violent external stimulation, the Green Lotus Core Flame began to expand outward, scattering sparks in every direction. Stray flames continuously splashed onto Xiao Yan's body.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Fortunately, they were all blocked by the blood scabs formed by the Blood Lotus Pill.

A mass of ghostly white flame emerged from Yao Lao's body and wrapped around him, isolating the sparks cast out by the Green Lotus Core Flame. Then, a powerful surge of energy spilled from Yao Lao, surrounding the two of them and completely enclosing them, thoroughly separating them from the outside world.

P.S.: The second update will be later. Everyone can read it tomorrow; there's no need to wait.