Black Fire Sect Makes Its Move, the Art Is Mastered!

Ye Yan had been cultivating.

News had already begun spreading through Ye City that alchemists in the Pill Region were dying for no apparent reason.

And after those alchemists died, their souls vanished as well.

Though only a few alchemists had died, it still caused panic among the alchemists of the Pill Region outside Sacred Pill City.

That panic had even spread to Ye City.

"Could it be that Soul Hall has made a move?"

Someone looked around cautiously, his expression grave as he could not help discussing it in a low voice.

Even his movements remained guarded.

"Who knows? But I heard all those alchemists' souls disappeared. Who else could it be?"

Another person said, "And right now, among the Five Great Families and Sacred Pill City, no alchemists have gone missing."

"At this rate, who knows whether it will draw Pill Tower's attention?"

"Even if it does, I doubt they'll make any major moves."

There was a widely circulated saying in the Central Region: "One Hall, One Tower, Two Sects, Three Valleys, Four Pavilions."

Of these, the One Hall ranked ahead of the One Tower.

Given that only a small number of sixth- and seventh-tier alchemists had vanished, and there was no concrete evidence proving Soul Hall was responsible, Pill Tower...

Pill Tower would at most send some people to maintain order in the Pill Region.

Beyond that,

it would be the usual empty talk.

At most... at most, a few Soul Hall strongholds might mysteriously catch fire and disappear.

There definitely would not be any major action in the open.

"Ah, forget it. Matters like this have nothing to do with people like us."

Another person said dejectedly.

They were only Dou Wangs now, and only two of them were even alchemists.

There was no point worrying about a level they might never come into contact with in their entire lives.

While these people chatted,

several black-clad figures nearby listened silently with unreadable expressions.

The leader was Zhao Hei, a tall, dark-skinned man with a gloomy face.

Listening to their discussion, Zhao Hei said seriously,

"While gathering information on that Ye Family genius, do not make too much of a commotion."

"Lest the other families misunderstand!"

"This disciple obeys!" the Black Fire Sect disciples replied.

"Go investigate!"

Zhao Hei waved his hand and said no more.

To be honest, under these circumstances, it was both an opportunity and a crisis for the Black Fire Sect.

With Soul Hall stirring up trouble, the Black Fire Sect would not need to fear being discovered by Pill Tower as much when handling its affairs.

But if the Black Fire Sect made too much trouble, with Soul Hall's actions coming first, no one would know which side the Black Fire Sect's public actions stood on!

A hidden hand operating on another person's territory with an unclear stance was something worth pondering deeply.

Half a day later.

Deep within the Ye Family, at Gravel Square.

Ye Yan's cultivation had reached its final stage.

At that moment, within his dantian, the three-legged, two-handled Red-White Cauldron had become solid beneath the intertwining of pure Dou Qi and that wisp of Yang Fire. Three flame patterns could faintly be seen on its surface.

Only once this furnace completely refined and absorbed that wisp of Yang Fire could it nurture its own Life Fire Seed.

It also lacked the Wood Qi from medicinal herbs, which could nourish it and speed up the emergence of the fire seed.

Ye Yan took several Evergreen Flowers rich in wood-element medicinal power from his storage ring.

The yellow vortex within him turned slightly, and a stream of yellow Dou Qi streaked with red surged from his body and appeared in his palm.

The Dou Qi continually rose, fluctuated, and took shape in his hand. In the end, it vaguely formed a miniature furnace.

"How is this kid's spiritual power so strong? He can use fire as a furnace?"

Ye Zhong's eyes widened at the sight.

But when he examined it carefully, he discovered something was off.

"No, this isn't using fire as a furnace. His spiritual power hasn't reached that level. This is more like an externalized furnace. What cultivation art is this kid practicing?"

It was the first time he had seen such a cultivation art. It was truly strange.

It seems this kid has encountered quite a great opportunity, Ye Zhong thought.

Still, this allowed him to rest easy. At the very least, this cultivation art was far from simple, so Ye Yan would not have to take detours in his future cultivation.

At that moment,

Ye Yan mobilized the Dou Qi within his body and poured it into the furnace in his palm.

The furnace absorbed that Dou Qi and expanded into one two feet four inches tall and one foot two inches in diameter.

However, because Ye Yan's cultivation was too low, the furnace in his dantian had yet to fully form, and his Life Fire Seed had not yet been born. Naturally, the furnace condensed from Dou Qi was extremely unstable.

Then Ye Yan opened his left hand, divided the Evergreen Flowers into several portions, and guided them into the furnace.

He also poured into the furnace the trace of wood element he had spent five minutes locating within his body.

As that faint green current entered the furnace, the unstable furnace seemed to undergo a chemical reaction and began to settle down.

Moreover, due to the principle that wood fed fire, the furnace became more sustainable and easier to control.

"I still need to use the wood element within my body to draw out the Wood Qi inside the Evergreen Flowers."

Though Ye Yan was somewhat exhausted, he gathered himself and once again poured several streams of green energy into the furnace, wrapping them around those Evergreen Flowers.

Through his soul perception, he saw the Evergreen Flowers wither and curl inside the special furnace.

As Ye Yan poured more Dou Qi into the furnace, a faint reddish-golden flame formed within it.

The flame pounced on the Evergreen Flowers, instantly roasting some of them into ash. However, green currents belonging to the wood element had already wrapped around them, even drawing out the remaining emerald-green Wood Qi.

"The temperature is too high!"

Ye Yan did not blink. This was his first attempt, so it was normal.

He then tossed in another Evergreen Flower.

Only after scorching ten Evergreen Flowers did he finally grasp the point at which the herb could withstand the flames.

Within the furnace, his own wood-element currents wound around the accumulated ash.

Ten strands of emerald-green Wood Qi floated above it.

Wood Qi was a form of energy even better than the medicinal power contained in herbs.

If not for the furnace of the Heaven-Burning Furnace Fire Art, he absolutely could not have extracted Wood Qi from such pure medicinal power.

After successfully extracting complete Wood Qi from the Evergreen Flowers seven or eight times,

Ye Yan's face had already turned somewhat pale, and beads of sweat covered his forehead.

Maintaining the furnace for so long while extracting Wood Qi—if the furnace had not already existed within his dantian, and if his cultivation at the one-star Dou Zhe realm had not been comparable to that of an ordinary eight-star Dou Zhe,

he would never have held on until now.

Ye Yan stopped supplying Dou Qi with his right hand, and the illusory furnace formed from Dou Qi and flame gradually dispersed, leaving behind only the Wood Qi he had extracted.

The accumulated ash also scattered instantly and fell to the ground.

After Ye Yan circulated his cultivation art, the emerald-green Wood Qi above the ash divided into fine strands and entered through his nose and mouth, passing through his meridians into his dantian.

The three-legged, two-handled cauldron in his lower dantian had become much more illusory after its earlier use.

Those emerald-green strands of Wood Qi entered his dantian and wrapped around the furnace.

Its illusory state began to stabilize, and it even showed signs of turning from insubstantial to solid.

The fist-sized furnace floated and sank within the sea of Qi in his dantian. It had already taken on a dark cyan color, marked with special wood-like patterns and reddish-golden flame markings. Its texture was rough and weighty, carrying an uncarved ancient air.

Above it was the yellow Dou Zhe vortex!

Only after finishing everything did Ye Yan exhale a long stream of turbid air like an arrow.

He closed the black stone tablet before him, then heavily collapsed onto the ground and closed his eyes to rest.

Seeing that everything was over, Ye Zhong walked over and slowly said,

"Your cultivation art is quite unusual. You can actually construct a furnace at the Dou Zhe level. Perhaps once your cultivation grows higher, you may even be able to use this furnace to refine pills."

"I obtained it by chance outside."

Ye Yan's entire body was numb and sore, as though all strength had left him.

"Old Master, after I rest for a while, I'll try using the Azure Ice Flame to split off a Child Fire!"

"No rush, no rush!"

Though Ye Zhong said so, a trace of anticipation appeared deep in his eyes.