The Dou Qi Foundation-Building Art had two cultivation modes.
Passive cultivation mode: you could cultivate automatically while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down. The Dou Qi absorbed and refined was purer than with the Dou Qi Breathing Technique, and cultivation speed increased by fifty percent. It also improved Dou Qi's ability to expand the meridians and temper the channels.
Active cultivation mode: the cultivator sat cross-legged and formed hand seals, actively driving the technique. Its cultivation speed was twice as fast as the Dou Qi Breathing Technique, and it further improved Dou Qi's ability to expand the meridians and temper the channels.
Xiao Yan smiled faintly. He really did live up to his heaven-defying comprehension!
Knowing the Dou Qi in his body was about to be devoured, he naturally wasn't going to sit around doing nothing.
Enhancing the cultivation effects of the Dou Qi Breathing Technique was absolutely necessary.
He was no longer the infant who knew nothing about cultivation.
He had mastered a certain amount of cultivation knowledge and had spent years focusing on the Dou Qi Breathing Technique. What's more, he had created the technique himself.
He wouldn't boast about other areas, but when it came to cultivating Dou Qi, even a Dou God couldn't match Xiao Yan's experience.
That was precisely because every one of those Dou Gods was a peerless genius. It was absolutely impossible for them to devote themselves almost entirely to cultivating Dou Qi for several years, as Xiao Yan had.
On top of that, the comprehension of Dou Gods was already inferior to Xiao Yan's, making the gap even wider.
If Xiao Yan's heaven-defying comprehension were expressed as a number and compared with those peerless powerhouses, he would be at least at the N+1 level—absolutely top-tier.
"Heh heh, it's time to experience being a Dou Zhe." Yao Lao chuckled. The Bone Flame Ring he inhabited flashed with white light, and immediately began devouring Xiao Yan's strength.
The Dou Qi Vortex suddenly drained away, making Xiao Yan furrow his brow. He snapped out of the joy of having comprehended the Dou Qi Foundation-Building Art.
Xiao Yan changed his hand seals and immediately began cultivating the Dou Qi Foundation-Building Art.
In an instant, surging energy of heaven and earth welled up around Xiao Yan, growing denser and denser.
Even for someone at the Ninth Stage Dou Qi, this much energy would be enough to break through to Dou Zhe.
Xiao Yan, however, welcomed it all. His body was like a bottomless black hole, devouring and refining every bit of energy that came his way.
As he absorbed this pure Dou Qi, Yao Lao's badly damaged soul finally received the energy it needed to recover.
Feeling the unending flow of Dou Qi in Xiao Yan's body, Yao Lao's wounds began to heal, and his condition improved considerably. But when he sensed the strange change in Xiao Yan, he was utterly astonished.
He had practically watched Xiao Yan grow up, and knew that his constitution was extraordinary. With talent like this, even cultivating a Yellow Tier technique could make him a grandmaster of a sect.
The cultivation techniques of the Dou Qi Continent hadn't fallen from the heavens. They had all been created through the comprehension of brilliant predecessors.
Xiao Yan was a genius with that very same ability!
"Could it be that my act of absorbing Xiao Yan's Dou Qi has further stimulated his constitution?"
As the greatest alchemist on the Dou Qi Continent, Yao Lao had naturally seen and heard a great deal.
Among the terrifying constitutions found on the continent, the Woeful Poison Body could only be awakened after its owner consumed poison.
Xiao Yan's constitution was several times stronger than the Woeful Poison Body. Yao Lao had no idea what change Xiao Yan's constitution might undergo now.
Yao Lao murmured to himself and sped up his devouring of the Dou Qi in Xiao Yan's body.
The energy of heaven and earth gathering around Xiao Yan was simply too terrifying, far greater than what gathered when an ordinary Dou Zhe cultivated a technique.
At the Dou Qi stage, the focus was on expanding the meridians and tempering the channels, not on the speed of absorbing energy. The goal was to improve one's foundation, which was far less effective than the cultivation techniques practiced by Dou Zhe who had formed a Dou Qi Vortex and truly begun cultivating.
What Xiao Yan was doing now was practically equivalent to cultivating a Yellow Tier technique!
If he didn't speed up his devouring, Yao Lao was genuinely afraid Xiao Yan would be so full of energy that he'd explode.
Sensing another large portion of Dou Qi slipping away, Xiao Yan—now familiar with this new cultivation method—cultivated even faster.
He had only been cultivating the Dou Qi Foundation-Building Art for the first time just now. He simply hadn't been very proficient yet.
Countless streams of energy of heaven and earth came rushing in. It was no less impressive than a Dou Zhe advancing a star.
Yao Lao's heart jumped. He was just about to devour with all his might when, to his astonishment, he discovered that the energy flooding into Xiao Yan's body was being rapidly refined into incomparably pure Dou Qi.
This Dou Qi didn't rampage through Xiao Yan's meridians. Instead, it slowly flowed into them.
After expanding his meridians, it passed through them to nourish Xiao Yan's bones, strengthen his flesh, and fortify his cells.
Absorbing energy from heaven and earth like this would have been perfectly normal if a Dou Zhe were cultivating an Xuan Tier technique. But Xiao Yan was performing the purest form of Dou Qi cultivation.
As Yao Lao's soul continued devouring and absorbing, Xiao Yan could feel his strength constantly declining.
The Dou Qi Vortex vanished, and he fell to the Ninth Stage Dou Qi... Eighth Stage Dou Qi... Seventh Stage Dou Qi... Sixth Stage Dou Qi...
It stopped? Xiao Yan, still circulating the repeatedly refined Dou Qi Foundation-Building Art, couldn't help feeling puzzled.
He was only at the Sixth Stage Dou Qi. Wasn't Yao Lao going to absorb a little more?
Yao Lao certainly wanted to drain Xiao Yan down to the Three-Stage Dou Qi level, but he was no longer the Venerable Yao who had once dominated the Dou Qi Continent. He was now a remnant soul on the verge of dissipating.
Xiao Yan's terrifying constitution contained far more Dou Qi than an ordinary person's. And while Yao Lao absorbed it, Xiao Yan was also taking in a massive amount of energy from heaven and earth to replenish it.
If he kept going, Yao Lao's remnant soul wouldn't be able to take it. He'd have to absorb more after a rest.
To put it plainly, Yao Lao had eaten too much and was stuffed.
Xiao Yan got out of bed with a sigh, putting on a look of regret over his failed breakthrough.
After calming himself down a little, Xiao Yan quietly slipped out of the courtyard.
Four years old was a fairly important milestone. It was time to nourish his meridians!
It was already the dead of night. Even if the Xiao Clan had guards on watch, Xiao Yan's powerful spiritual perception would let him spot them in advance.
As he left the courtyard, Xiao Yan casually held a blade of grass between his lips and strolled unhurriedly along the quiet path.
Everything was finally on the right track. All that remained was for Yao Lao to return at full strength.
The Dou Qi Yao Lao absorbed wasn't wasted. It would not only help him recover from his injuries, but also restore his soul power to its peak.
By then, even though Yao Lao would still be a soul, the strength he possessed would make the likes of Yun Shan and Wu Protector nothing but dirt.
Moreover, Dou Qi's ability to expand the meridians and temper the channels could continually strengthen his body. In the future, he would suffer far less pain when devouring Heavenly Flames.
A cool night breeze drifted by. Xiao Yan felt his mind grow utterly clear, and his footsteps faltered for a moment. He mused, If I'm only using Dou Qi to nourish my meridians, wouldn't that be a waste of my heaven-defying comprehension?
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