Counterattack Against the Wolf Head Mercenary Group

"It looks pretty good." Xiao Yan touched the flame mark between his brows and smiled at his reflection in the mirror.

"Is that the point?" Yao Lao finally could not hold it in any longer. "Do you know how much natural energy you absorbed last night? That vast amount of energy would have been enough to let a Dou Shi advance!"

"I was truly afraid you would suddenly explode and die during cultivation. Not even knowing how you died would be far too miserable."

The smile faded from Xiao Yan's face as he said seriously, "Whether it is reviving you in the future, Teacher, or developing and strengthening the Xiao Clan, these are things Xiao Yan must do. I will not fall so easily, so Teacher need not worry too much."

It seemed this boy was not entirely ignorant about that little girl. Having a goal worth striving toward could also draw out his potential for cultivation. Reaching such heights would not be easy.

A glint flashed through Yao Lao's aged eyes before vanishing. He raised a hand and put away the mirror formed from Bone Chilling Flame. "Who would worry about a troublesome brat like you? I am feeling sorry for myself."

"Even if I had a physical body, having a disciple who gives me such shocks would probably scare a hundred years off my life." Yao Lao let out a long sigh.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly, picked up the waterskin beside him, and took several gulps before slowly explaining the matter of the flame mark to Yao Lao.

"After cultivating the low-grade Yellow-tier Flame Mantra, I began thinking about how to solve the problem of having too little Dou Qi. But the root of that problem lies in the grade of the cultivation method, and it cannot be resolved overnight.

"So, I thought of a way to open up a second Dou Qi vortex, giving my body another one. Then, it succeeded. I named it the Flame Seal!"

For a lie to be believed, it always needed seven parts truth.

At present, the Flame Seal truly was merely a simple second Dou Qi vortex, but it could be upgraded in the future.

"A second Dou Qi vortex?!" After hearing Xiao Yan's explanation and looking once more at the flame mark between his brows, Yao Lao recalled one of his worst-case plans.

As Xiao Yan's strength increased, encountering the Soul Hall in the future was inevitable. He could hide for a while, but not forever.

If he were one day captured by experts of the Soul Hall, the Bone Chilling Flame and Bone Flame Ring would become assistance left behind for Xiao Yan to grow strong enough to contend with the Soul Hall.

And Xiao Yan's brow would serve as the place to store the origin of the Bone Chilling Flame.

For someone who had controlled the Bone Chilling Flame for many years, this was a trivial matter.

But who could have imagined that Xiao Yan would manage, in a single day, to open up a second Dou Qi vortex in such a special location?

Still, Xiao Yan likely had no other choice.

The evolution of the Flame Mantra required Heavenly Flames. Many people searched their entire lives, only to never even catch sight of one.

Cultivation geniuses generally began with high-grade Mystic-tier cultivation methods and had no need to worry about exhausting their Dou Qi. As for ordinary mediocrities, they likely could not even comprehend their own cultivation methods, much less open up a second Dou Qi vortex.

Even if a genius began contemplating Dou Qi vortices from the start, it would likely take them several years of comprehension.

In any case, even with Yao Lao's abilities, he had not the slightest clue how to open up a second Dou Qi vortex. At minimum, he would need three years to think it through.

For Xiao Yan to open up a second Dou Qi vortex in just one day—his comprehension was truly heaven-defying!

Stormy waves seemed to rise within Yao Lao's heart, refusing to settle for a long while.

After a long time, Yao Lao finally said, "Go look for medicinal ingredients. If we are lucky enough to obtain two second-tier fire-attribute beast cores and gather the rest of the ingredients, I can refine something to aid your cultivation within the next couple of days."

"Teacher, there is no need for such trouble. Someone has already prepared them for us." Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together and smiled.

Even Yao Lao was stunned for a moment before understanding what Xiao Yan meant.

"You mean those mercenaries from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group?!" Yao Lao looked at Xiao Yan in shock, then gave a bitter laugh. "I am starting to feel sorry for those mercenaries. To think they provoked a calamity like you."

Xiao Yan shrugged unconcernedly. "If not for that Flame Bullet yesterday, and if I did not have you as my final trump card, those mercenaries would have faced nothing more than a two-star Dou Zhe. They would not have spared me. Only those with strength have the chance to show mercy."

Yao Lao nodded approvingly, closed his eyes, and carefully sensed the location of that group of mercenaries.

After one or two breaths, Yao Lao opened his eyes. "Their camp is not far from here. There are still more than ten of them, and every one is a Dou Zhe. Their overall strength is considerable."

"If you had suddenly attacked and fought yesterday, you could have seized a significant advantage while they were careless. Now that they know how formidable you are, once those mercenaries who live by the blade start fighting for their lives, even with your backup plan, you may not necessarily win safely."

"How can there be so many matters in this world that are guaranteed? Opportunity slips away in an instant. Once these mercenaries leave, it will be difficult to obtain such a large amount of resources all at once again. Besides, knowing that your opponent is powerful is not always a good thing."

Xiao Yan walked out of the cave and rushed toward the Wolf Head Mercenary Group's campsite.

His soul returned to the Bone Flame Ring, and Yao Lao gave one final warning. "I look forward to your victory, little fellow. Do not come begging these old bones to act. I already told you that unless you face a life-or-death crisis, I will not help you. If I am even a little late, your little life will truly... be gone."

Ignoring Yao Lao's intimidation, Xiao Yan's gaze was incomparably resolute, and his speed increased by several notches.

With the Flame Seal, he no longer needed to worry about using up his Dou Qi for the time being, and Xiao Yan could not help but consider evolving his cultivation method.

After all, the low-grade Yellow-tier Flame Mantra was not only the root cause of his meager Dou Qi, but also the reason his current cultivation speed was so slow.

Only by resolving the root cause could the problem be completely solved.

The normal evolution of the Flame Mantra required Heavenly Flames for a major improvement.

But his strength was too low right now, and he also lacked any auxiliary items for fusing Heavenly Flames.

Even if he knew where a Heavenly Flame was, he would have no chance of successfully fusing it. It would be entirely futile.

Still, while he could not improve it greatly, a small improvement was possible.

Beast flames were strange flames born within magical beasts. Though they differed enormously from Heavenly Flames, they were also much safer to fuse, making them the best choice for now.

Moreover, fusing a single beast flame was only the beginning.

Earth Demon Old Ghost of Demon Flame Valley had relied on his own comprehension to create a True Flame Manipulation Mantra.

Though its name overlapped with some other cultivation methods, it could cultivate a "false Heavenly Flame" with power comparable to a true Heavenly Flame.

Xiao Yan believed that as long as he comprehended it earnestly, creating a secret method capable of producing a true Heavenly Flame would not be too outrageous.

Earth Demon Old Ghost had exhausted his entire life and still remained far from even touching the threshold of Dou Zun. His comprehension was self-evident.

Yet Xiao Yan's heaven-defying comprehension was enough to far surpass even a Dou Di's. If he could not even surpass something created by Earth Demon Old Ghost, then he might as well call it idiot-level comprehension.