Heavenly Flame Body Tempering

Medicine Elder lowered his gaze and pondered for a while before slowly saying, "Do you really want to go a step further? You should know that your body is already tougher than most people's. And as your strength increases, it will improve even further, so you will always be a little stronger than Dou Zhes of the same level."

"Of course! It would be best if I could reach the state of an indestructible King Kong body!" Xiao Yan said with a smile.

Medicine Elder stroked his beard and said calmly, "If you want to improve further, the previous method will not be very effective anymore. However, I have an idea we can try. If it truly works, you might really achieve what you described!"

"What method?" Xiao Yan pressed.

"Heavenly Flame Body Tempering!" Medicine Elder slowly uttered those four words.

"Heavenly Flame Body Tempering? Didn't we already do that before?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

"Hehe! Before, I merely wrapped a thin layer of Heavenly Flame around the Dou Qi lash. What could that tiny bit of Heavenly Flame possibly accomplish?" Medicine Elder said disdainfully.

"What do you mean, what could it accomplish? It hurt like hell! It nearly took half my life, and that still wasn't enough? Don't tell me you want to burn my entire body with Heavenly Flame?" Xiao Yan complained.

"Sigh! You got it right! That is exactly what I mean—burning your body with Heavenly Flame. Do you dare?" Medicine Elder's teasing voice sounded.

"H-how exactly would this Heavenly Flame body-burning work?" Xiao Yan's voice trembled slightly.

Could it be like Sun Wukong in Journey to the West, locked inside an alchemy furnace and burned for forty-nine days before gaining an indestructible King Kong body? Xiao Yan was startled. It was something he had never considered before.

"Of course, you would control the Heavenly Flame to burn your entire body from the inside out. But the pain..." Medicine Elder spoke softly, then shook his head. The pain was simply too unbearable; no one could endure it.

Medicine Elder did not continue, because even without him saying more, Xiao Yan understood. Medicine Elder's previous training had used Heavenly Flame, but its burning sensation had vanished in an instant. Yet even that fleeting pain had made Xiao Yan howl in agony. Now, he would be using Heavenly Flame to burn his body directly, meaning he would have to endure it continuously.

It was like accidentally getting electrocuted. You would only feel a sudden jolt, and then it would be over. But if you were continuously electrocuted, your body would slowly lose feeling before you eventually died.

Xiao Yan paced back and forth, considering whether he should do this and whether it was worth it. A voice in his heart kept telling him that he was already strong enough and had no need to suffer such inhuman torment. Yet that very voice stirred up his rebellious streak.

"I'll do it! It's just Heavenly Flame Body Tempering! Teacher, protect me. I'll try it right now," Xiao Yan said to Medicine Elder.

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth and immediately sat cross-legged, preparing to temper his body with Heavenly Flame. He was in such a hurry because he feared that once this burst of courage faded, he would never dare try again. While this madness still burned within him, Xiao Yan hurriedly began.

Xiao Yan sank his consciousness into his Qi Sea and observed the Heavenly Flame at the center of the vortex. The black-and-white Heavenly Flame seed wriggled continuously like lava, and the longer Xiao Yan looked at it, the more frightened he became. The Heavenly Flame seemed capable of burning anything; it even burned away much of his reckless courage, plunging Xiao Yan back into hesitation.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to give up, his rebellious nature gained the upper hand again. Gritting his teeth, he instantly controlled the Heavenly Flame to spread throughout his entire body, and then... there was no then.

Black-and-white flames suddenly erupted from Xiao Yan's body. In an instant, they reduced his clothes to nothingness, set his body ablaze, and caused him to fall directly into unconsciousness.

When Medicine Elder saw flames rise from Xiao Yan's body and watched him collapse to the ground, he was badly frightened, but there was nothing he could do. He simply could not extinguish the flames on Xiao Yan's body. Since he could only use Heavenly Flame himself, acting rashly would only worsen the situation. All Medicine Elder could do was try his best to keep the Heavenly Flame from spreading.

"Sigh! This foolish brat is far too reckless! I only told you to control the Heavenly Flame and wrap it around your whole body, then slowly raise the temperature. How could you be so rash? This is completely over now. His body will probably be burned to ashes any moment. I finally found a disciple, and now he is finished!" Medicine Elder said helplessly.

While Medicine Elder was sighing, he discovered that Xiao Yan's body remained intact. He had not been burned to death by the Heavenly Flame.

"This brat's luck is truly outrageous. He is fine even after that, and the Heavenly Flame is actually taking the initiative to temper his body!" Medicine Elder looked at the flames rising from Xiao Yan's body and could not help feeling a little envious.

However, that was not the only thing that shocked Medicine Elder. A black-and-white intersecting mark appeared on Xiao Yan's forehead. Though the mark was faint, Medicine Elder knew exactly what it was.

"It even triggered a clan mark. I never expected this Heavenly Flame could increase his bloodline power. No, this does not seem to be a clan mark. I know the clan marks of the Eight Ancient Clans, and none look like this. I have seen the clan marks of other families as well, and none are like this either. This mark should be connected to the Heavenly Flame inside him. What a mysterious little fellow. Even I am starting to fail to understand him," Medicine Elder said with feeling.

While Medicine Elder was marveling, the black-and-white flames on Xiao Yan's body gradually changed. The black flames slowly vanished, leaving only white flames behind. Like restorative spiritual liquid, those white flames continuously healed Xiao Yan's scorched body.

While unconscious, Xiao Yan had a dream. He dreamed that, like Sun Wukong, he had been thrown into the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Flames surrounded him, constantly burning his body. The searing pain was unbearable. He desperately tried to crawl out of the alchemy furnace, but no matter how he struggled, it was useless. The furnace seemed welded shut, without even the slightest gap.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to give up struggling, he suddenly found that the flames inside the furnace had gone out. Water instead appeared from nowhere. This water was incredibly miraculous. Soaking in it, Xiao Yan felt as light as if he were floating in the sky.

"Ah! That feels so good!" Xiao Yan could not help groaning.

"Why are you moaning like an idiot?" Medicine Elder's voice sounded beside Xiao Yan's ear.

"Ah?"

Xiao Yan suddenly opened his eyes and looked around, only to discover that he was in a deep pit and completely naked. A cool breeze passed by, making his body feel chilly. Looking down, he saw that all his clothes were gone. Xiao Yan immediately covered himself, took out a set of clothes from his Storage Ring, put them on, and then climbed out of the pit.

"Teacher, what happened to me? Why am I in a pit? Were you trying to bury me alive?" Xiao Yan asked in confusion.

"You brat, and you still have the nerve to ask? Didn't you cause all this yourself?" Medicine Elder rolled his eyes.

"Ah! I caused this? You mean the Heavenly Flame did all of this?" Xiao Yan scratched his head and only remembered after thinking for a while.

"You remember now? You were far too reckless. You are an alchemist, after all. Isn't controlling the temperature of flames what you are best at? But what did you do? You did not control it at all and directly let the Heavenly Flame burn your body. You were lucky; otherwise, you would have turned to ash long ago," Medicine Elder scolded.

"Wasn't I fine in the end?" Xiao Yan said with an apologetic smile, knowing he was in the wrong.

"Hmph! I have no idea where you got such absurd luck. Not only were you fine, you even triggered a special mark!" Medicine Elder snorted, then spoke with a hint of envy.

"What special mark?" Xiao Yan asked doubtfully.

"Can't you look for yourself?" Medicine Elder said speechlessly.

Xiao Yan hurriedly took a mirror from his Storage Ring, but after looking for a long time, he found nothing on his forehead.