Fire Poison

The second floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower was not much different in size from the first, but both its temperature and fire-element energy far surpassed those of the first floor.

The moment Xiao Yun entered this second-floor space, he knew he had come to the right place. Cultivating here, even if the energy provided by the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill proved insufficient, he could absorb the abundant fire-element energy in the air to break through to the Dou Ling realm. After breaking through, he could also use the Falling Heart Flame to temper his Dou Qi, so there was no need to worry about impurities within it.

The outermost area of the Ancient Pagoda contained low-grade cultivation rooms and resting rooms. Xiao Yun walked straight past this area without even sparing it a glance. He had come here to break through to Dou Ling, so the more fire-element energy a place had, the better. Even if he could not find a high-grade cultivation room, he needed at least an intermediate one. He would only consider a low-grade room if all the others were unavailable.

Moving quickly along the circular corridor within the Ancient Pagoda, Xiao Yun arrived at the innermost area of high-grade cultivation rooms after nearly seven or eight minutes.

Xiao Yun walked slowly through the high-grade cultivation room area, his gaze sweeping back and forth until he finally spotted a cultivation room with a vacant sign hanging outside.

Approaching the high-grade cultivation room, Xiao Yun gently pushed open the door, slipped inside quietly, and closed it behind him.

Soft lighting illuminated the entire cultivation room. At its center stood four Black Stone platforms spaced roughly a meter apart. Xiao Yun casually chose one and sat down, then took out his Azure Fire Crystal Card and inserted it into the groove. A faint glow immediately spilled from the groove, and two days' worth of Fire Energy was deducted from the Fire Crystal Card.

Ignoring the lost Fire Energy, Xiao Yun formed hand seals before him and steadied the Dou Qi within his body. After a while, he took out the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill he had refined yesterday and swallowed it in one gulp.

A massive surge of medicinal power immediately erupted from the pill, transforming into streams of pure energy that Xiao Yun absorbed into his body. He hurriedly formed the cultivation seal, and the Dou Qi within his body began circulating along the path of his cultivation art, continuously absorbing the medicinal power.

As his Dou Qi circulated, a powerful aura unconsciously burst forth and filled the entire room. Even out in the corridor of the cultivation rooms, one could sense the fluctuations of that formidable aura.

"Damn, who's in my cultivation room? Looks like they're breaking through in there too."

Outside in the circular corridor, a young student stood at the door to the cultivation room, looking as though he were about to cry. He had merely gone out to rest for a while, only to return and find his cultivation room occupied by someone else. Sensing an aura from within that was clearly stronger than his own, he did not dare push open the door. If he disturbed someone during a breakthrough, he would truly make a mortal enemy.

Inside the room, Xiao Yun had no idea that he had taken someone else's cultivation room. His eyes were tightly shut, his mind immersed within his body as he continuously guided the massive energy along the circulation route of the Nine Splendors Fire Art. The endless energy was like wild horses breaking loose, galloping recklessly through his meridians before charging straight into the Dou Crystal within his Qi Vortex.

At the same time, as the cultivation art within his body operated at high speed, a powerful suction force formed around him, forcibly drawing fire-element energy from the air into his body. Once the fire-element energy entered him, it was tempered by the Heart Flame. Energy once filled with impurities instantly became incomparably pure, then, together with the medicinal power, tirelessly surged into the Dou Crystal, gradually smoothing its originally uneven surface.

With the medicinal power and fire-element energy working together, if Xiao Yun could open the Status Panel now, he would discover that the progress bar between Nine-Star Da Dou Shi and Dou Ling was steadily increasing, soon approaching the halfway mark.

As time slowly passed, the progress bar reached 80/100, but the medicinal power within Xiao Yun's body was nearly exhausted. The momentum of his advancement had begun to show signs of weakening. When Xiao Yun absorbed the final trace of medicinal power from the Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill, the Dou Qi converted from the fire-element energy inside the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower was far from enough to sustain the absorption of the Dou Crystal within his body. Gradually, the cultivation art within Xiao Yun began to slow, and the suction force around him was no longer as powerful as before.

"It seems that for a Nine-Star Da Dou Shi, the energy brought by one Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill is still a little too little. It simply isn't enough for me to break through to the Dou Ling realm." After absorbing the last trace of medicinal power, no matter how unwilling Xiao Yun was, he could only withdraw from his cultivation state. He summoned the Status Panel, looked at the progress bar that had reached eighty percent, and gave a helpless bitter smile.

Although only twenty percent remained, even if Xiao Yun neither ate nor drank and stayed in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower every day, it would likely still take him half a month to break through to the Dou Ling realm.

Breaking through a realm was like pouring water into a small pool, while energy was the water Xiao Yun needed to pour in. Now that he lacked energy, he was clearly only a little short of breaking through to Dou Ling, yet he had no second Purple Heart Barrier-Breaking Pill. Naturally, he had failed.

"Forget it. Slow is slow. Cultivating in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower is fast enough anyway." After being dispirited for a moment, Xiao Yun shook his head and threw aside his frustration over the failed breakthrough. He took out an Ice Heart Pill and swallowed it. He intended to remain in the tower and cultivate until he broke through to Dou Ling!

Twenty days later, Xiao Yun emerged from the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower with bloodshot eyes. Though a considerable amount of Fire Poison had accumulated in his body during those days, he had finally broken through to Dou Ling. The Dou Crystal within his body had not only become smooth and round, but was also covered in sharp protrusions, like a sea urchin. This was the sign of breaking through to Dou Ling.

"Hahaha, this power!" Xiao Yun threw back his head and laughed, completely ignoring the strange looks from others. Feeling the near-reborn changes within his body, he found that in terms of Dou Qi alone, he now possessed as much as three or five of his former selves, not to mention the combat power that Dou Qi could unleash.

"Damn it, the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower has driven another one mad. Look at his eyes—they're so red they're practically bleeding."

"You really dare to say that? Hurry up and leave. People with Fire Poison attacking their hearts are extremely bad-tempered. If he hears you, he might come over and beat you up."

Hearing those words, red light flashed in Xiao Yun's eyes as he immediately looked toward the source of the voices. He saw two Inner Academy students not far away, lowering their heads and whispering to each other. When one of them noticed Xiao Yun looking over, he hurriedly grabbed his companion and quickly left the area.

"Don't run! Who are you calling crazy? If this young master sees you two again, I'll beat you up every time!" Watching them leave, Xiao Yun felt fury rise in his heart, along with an overwhelming urge to beat the two of them senseless.

"No! Why has my temper become so violent? No, something's wrong." After sulking in place for a while, Xiao Yun suddenly came to his senses and muttered, "This Falling Heart Flame's Fire Poison is truly powerful. I only cultivated in it for twenty days, yet it has already affected my temperament."

Light flashed from his Storage Ring, and a bronze mirror appeared in Xiao Yun's hand. Looking at his bloodshot eyes and savage expression in the mirror, Xiao Yun knew that it was caused by excessive accumulated Fire Poison.

He hurriedly took out an Ice Heart Pill and swallowed it. Only when he saw the red light in his eyes fade somewhat did Xiao Yun relax. He put away the mirror and planned to return and refine more medicine. Relying solely on Ice Heart Pills to remove Fire Poison was far too inefficient for him.

A short while later, Xiao Yun returned to the dormitory. Seeing Fang Wen in the courtyard, he asked in surprise, "Are you an NPC? Why are you in the courtyard every time I come back?"

"What's an NPC?" Fang Wen looked at Xiao Yun with confusion. He knew every word Xiao Yun had said, but when put together, he could not understand them at all.

"Nothing. Help me find a third-tier ice-element Magic Core as soon as possible. I need it urgently. Bring it to my room later." After casually brushing him off and giving Fang Wen an instruction, Xiao Yun ran straight to his room.

For Inner Academy students, a third-tier Magic Core was not some rare item, even one with a specific attribute. Thus, before long, Fang Wen delivered the ice-element Magic Core Xiao Yun needed.

Xiao Yun gave Fang Wen a thumbs-up as a reward, then hurriedly shut the door. He placed the medicinal cauldron in the center of the room and flicked his finger, sending a wisp of Purple Flame into it.

As the flames heated the medicinal cauldron, Xiao Yun continuously took out stalk after stalk of medicinal ingredients from his Storage Ring. Then, together with the ice-element Magic Core, he tossed them all into the flames.

What he intended to refine was called Cold Dew Ice Liquid. It did not count as a pill, and its refining method was not difficult. Given Xiao Yun's alchemy skill, it would not take much time. His reason for refining it was simply to take it together with Ice Heart Pills, which would quickly remove the Fire Poison from his body.

Purple flames burned fiercely within the medicinal cauldron. Under the extreme heat, the Magic Core and medicinal ingredients gradually melted into pools of snow-white liquid. Soul Power flowed out, guiding the liquids as they fused together.

About half an hour later, all the medicinal ingredients and the Magic Core had turned to ash, leaving only a pool of medicinal essence radiating cold air, suspended above the Purple Flame. With a sweep of his sleeve, the flames instantly extinguished, and the medicinal essence flowed through the outlet and was precisely poured into a jade bottle.

Exhaling the turbid breath he had been holding in his chest, Xiao Yun smiled slightly at the jade bottle filled with Cold Dew Ice Liquid. With a wave of his hand, the medicinal cauldron on the floor was stored in his Storage Ring, replaced by a wooden basin.

He filled the wooden basin with clean water, then poured in one-fifth of the Cold Dew Ice Liquid. Looking at the basin that continuously radiated cold air, Xiao Yun removed his clothes and sat naked within it, removing the Fire Poison from his body...