Two Little Ones

"Qing Lin, since the Fire Spirit Snake is still alive, it'll be your companion from now on. Make sure to raise it well."

Xiao Yan looked at the third-tier Fire Spirit Snake, whose strength was still at the peak of Da Dou Shi, then thought for a moment before taking an Earth Fire Lotus Seed from the Green Lotus Core Flame's Lotus Pedestal out of his Storage Ring.

"Qing Lin, this is an Earth Fire Lotus Seed, known as the essence of Fire Spirits. It is condensed from the purest fire-attributed energy. Let this stupid snake absorb a little of it every day from now on."

"Hiss, hiss, hiss."

Xiao Yan smiled helplessly as he watched the Fire Spirit Snake excitedly circle around him the instant he took out the Earth Fire Lotus Seed, then casually tossed it to Qing Lin.

Qing Lin slapped away the Fire Spirit Snake's large head as it reached over, then carefully placed the Earth Fire Lotus Seed Xiao Yan had handed her into the low-grade Storage Ring on her hand.

"Ancient records state that among every ten thousand third-tier magical beasts, Fire Spirit Snakes have a chance of evolving into Flame Snakes. Starting from the fourth tier, they grow a pair of wings from their ribs. With every breakthrough in tier, the number of a Flame Snake's wings increases. At the fifth tier, it has four wings, and so on."

"Legend says that in the ancient era of the Dou Qi Continent, when the Twelve-Winged Flame Snake King spread its wings and blotted out the sky, even Dou Sheng experts would tremble before it. So raise this stupid snake properly." Xiao Yan encouraged Qing Lin.

"Mm-hm." At the thought of Xiao Qing growing twelve wings someday, Qing Lin's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"All right, those things are still far too distant for you two. Changing to those cultivation methods will have to wait until after you become Dou Zhe. Now, I'll teach you the first step of cultivation: how to cultivate a basic method, mobilize the Dou Power in your bodies, and break through to the first stage of Dou Power."

"Come on, the two of you do this with me. Form the hand seals with me, close your eyes, then focus and feel the fluctuations in the sea of Qi within your dantian, then..."

The morning sunlight streamed through the wooden door and windows, scattering mottled patches of light across the three of them.

In the back mountain of the Xiao Clan, it was now noon, when the fire element in the air was at its most active.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged in a small grove atop a green Lotus Pedestal.

He held a crystal-clear, translucent Earth Fire Lotus Seed that was crimson throughout, his hands forming a seal as he cultivated with his eyes closed.

As the Flame Mantra continued to circulate, the pale cyan Dou Qi within Xiao Yan's body began to race through his meridians in rapid cycles.

The enormous blazing sun overhead recklessly poured energy down upon the earth.

Countless fire elements drifted through the air, invisible to the naked eye, and at that moment, they rushed one after another toward the Lotus Pedestal beneath Xiao Yan.

Because the Lotus Pedestal absorbed the free fire elements in the air too quickly, a ring of tangible flames actually formed around it.

From a distance, Xiao Yan looked as though he were sitting cross-legged and cultivating atop a stone platform of fire.

The purified energy filtered through the Green Lotus Core Flame's Lotus Pedestal was then sent into Xiao Yan's body through the pedestal.

As Xiao Yan continuously drew upon its energy, the Earth Fire Lotus Seed in his hand freely emitted a crimson glow. The fire-attributed energy inside the lotus seed rapidly burrowed through Xiao Yan's fingers into his body, as though its supply were inexhaustible.

Supported by these two streams of external energy, Xiao Yan circulated the Flame Mantra and crazily devoured every trace of energy entering his body.

The transparent energy entered through Xiao Yan's pores, passed through the surface of his skin, and merged into deeper layers. It nourished his muscles and bones, silently strengthening his physical body.

It then entered Xiao Yan's meridians and followed the surging current of pale cyan Dou Qi into the Qi Cyclone above the sea of Qi in his dantian.

After being filtered once more by the Green Lotus Core Flame, it finally transformed into droplets of cyan liquid that clung to the inner walls of the Qi Cyclone.

More and more cyan liquid accumulated, coating the inner walls of the Qi Cyclone. Eventually, when the inner walls could no longer bear their weight, all the droplets slid down and gathered at the bottom of the Qi Cyclone, filling over half of it.

It was foreseeable that when the Qi Cyclone was completely filled, Xiao Yan would break through to Da Dou Shi.

"Phew! Peak Eight-Star Dou Master. Cultivating with the Lotus Pedestal and Earth Fire Lotus Seeds really gives twice the result for half the effort."

Xiao Yan opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air. He set down the slightly dimmed Earth Fire Lotus Seed in his hand and excitedly sensed the surging energy within his body.

"The Earth Fire Lotus Seed truly deserves its reputation as a rare treasure called the essence of Fire Spirits. Even Dou Emperor experts would covet it. Unfortunately, there are only eleven lotus seeds, and I even gave one to Qing Lin. Every one I use is one less."

"Slow, still too slow. At this rate, when will I break through to Da Dou Shi?"

"You went from the third stage of Dou Power to an Eight-Star Dou Master in just two years, and you call that slow? If that counts as slow, everyone else might as well kill themselves."

Yao Lao floated out and looked at Xiao Yan, who was giving off an air of smugness, then said irritably.

"Time waits for no one, Teacher. Your disciple only wants to help you revive sooner and restore your body."

Xiao Yan winked at Yao Lao, wearing an oily expression as though he were only thinking of sharing Yao Lao's burdens.

Bang!

With a wave of his hand, Yao Lao sent a blast of force into Xiao Yan's arm, making Xiao Yan grimace in pain.

"Get lost! You brat actually dared to make fun of your master."

"Hehe, but I do have a method that can greatly shorten the time you need to break through to Da Dou Shi. It's just a little dangerous. It depends on whether you dare to try it."

Yao Lao suddenly rolled his eyes and gave a mischievous smile.

"As long as it makes me stronger, I'll do anything," Xiao Yan said.

"Do you remember how, when you returned home this time, Xiao Xun'er used the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame, and the Flame Mantra within your body became restless?"

"Of course I remember, but Teacher, are you asking me to make a move against Xun'er? That's impossible. Even if Xun'er is the Ancient Clan Leader's daughter, she would still receive severe punishment if she lost the Ancient Clan's inherited flame." Xiao Yan immediately objected.

"No, it isn't the same. I am not asking you to seize Xiao Xun'er's Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame. I have a secret method that only requires Xiao Xun'er to use it to split off a Child Flame of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame. Splitting it off will not damage the Heavenly Flame's origin. At worst, Xiao Xun'er will merely be weak for two days."

"We can use the pure energy of an Earth Fire Lotus Seed to transform and strengthen the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame's Child Flame, then nourish it with your Dou Qi. That way, we can create a Pseudo Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame."

"Though it will possess only some of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame's traits, it is still a portion of the fourth-ranked flame on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Helping you break through to Da Dou Shi will be more than enough. However, it will fall somewhat short when it comes to evolving the Flame Mantra." Yao Lao looked at Xiao Yan with an expression of complete confidence.

"The only difficulty is whether you can persuade Xiao Xun'er to take this risk. So, it is time to test your charm." Yao Lao smiled meaningfully.