Within the Portable Space, at the Magma Lake.
Xiao Yan sat cross-legged atop the Green Lotus Platform, his hands forming a cultivation seal.
Vast, pure fire-attributed energy continuously surged from the lotus platform beneath him and entered Xiao Yan's body.
Once this energy entered the Qi Vortex, it barely needed refining before transforming into fire-attributed Dou Qi.
The only thing Xiao Yan needed to do was compress this newly formed gaseous Dou Qi into liquid Dou Qi.
Xiao Yan had nearly reached the terrifying rate of condensing one drop of liquid Dou Qi per hour.
Half a day later, Xiao Yan advanced from the Eight-Star Dou Master level, where he had remained for quite some time, to the Nine-Star Dou Master level.
Within the Qi Vortex was enough liquid Dou Qi to fill an entire basin.
One more drop of liquid Dou Qi and it would overflow.
At the Nine-Star Dou Master level, further cultivation meant compressing the liquid Dou Qi within the Qi Vortex so that it could contain sufficient Dou Qi.
After breaking through to the Nine-Star Dou Master level, Xiao Yan did not stop cultivating and instead chose to continue.
In the original story, the Green Lotus Platform had been cut away by Medicine Elder with a jade ruler.
Even so, the Green Lotus Platform still provided three or four times the cultivation efficiency, while also steadying the mind and preventing cultivation deviation. It was practically a sacred cultivation treasure.
But now, the Green Lotus Platform had not been cut away. It was still a living thing.
Its cultivation efficiency had reached a terrifying level, practically without limit.
As long as it had enough energy to draw upon, the roots beneath the Green Lotus Platform, over a dozen meters long, could absorb it all and transform it into pure fire-attributed energy.
Instead, the speed of cultivation was determined by Xiao Yan himself. How quickly he compressed gaseous Dou Qi into liquid Dou Qi determined his cultivation speed.
The speed of compressing Dou Qi, meanwhile, depended on two factors.
The first was the grade of one's cultivation method. Flame Mantra was currently at the mid Huang tier. Though comparable to the high Huang tier, it was still holding him back.
The second was soul power. In this regard, Xiao Yan was exceptionally gifted. His soul power had already reached sixteen times that of an ordinary person, the Perfect Mortal Realm.
With his powerful soul power, Xiao Yan's speed in compressing Dou Qi was not slow. It was comparable to, or even surpassed, that of someone cultivating an Earth-tier method.
This was because the Green Lotus Platform was a living thing. Not only could it steady the mind and prevent cultivation deviation, it could even nourish the soul.
As Xiao Yan cultivated atop the Green Lotus Platform, his soul not only did not grow weary, but became more energized the longer he cultivated.
In other words, Xiao Yan could cultivate without resting, endlessly. It was simply terrifying.
If the Magma Lake contained sufficient energy, Xiao Yan could directly enter seclusion and cultivate all the way to the peak of the Nine-Star Battle Saint level.
Why not emerge from seclusion as a Battle Emperor? Because he lacked Emperor Origin.
By the lakeside, Medicine Elder witnessed the Green Lotus Platform's many benefits for cultivation and was also glad that he had not cut it away.
And so, Xiao Yan continued sitting atop the Green Lotus Platform with his eyes closed, cultivating.
Within his dantian, the Qi Vortex spun rapidly, driving the liquid Dou Qi into rotation.
Xiao Yan used his soul power to compress the rotating liquid Dou Qi within the bounds of the Qi Vortex.
If the liquid Dou Qi was flung out of the Dou Qi Vortex and lost the Qi Vortex's restraint, it would go berserk.
Rampaging Dou Qi would not only damage the Dou Qi Vortex, but also rush into his meridians and wreak havoc.
When that happened, Xiao Yan would not only lose his cultivation level, but his body would also suffer severe injuries.
Fortunately, Xiao Yan's soul power was simply too powerful. That was why he dared to compress liquid Dou Qi immediately after breaking through to the Nine-Star Dou Master level.
Ordinary people approached this stage of cultivation with painstaking, gradual effort. Those with slightly poorer talent might even remain permanently at the Nine-Star level.
Xiao Yan restrained the liquid Dou Qi that was about to be flung from the Qi Vortex while guiding newly formed Dou Qi into it.
Whenever the liquid Dou Qi was compressed slightly and a small gap opened up, Xiao Yan fed new Dou Qi into it to fill the space.
As time passed, the liquid Dou Qi within the Qi Vortex became extremely viscous.
"Teacher, there isn't enough energy."
Xiao Yan split off a thread of soul power and transmitted his voice to Medicine Elder by the lakeside.
Hearing this, Medicine Elder tossed three fourth-tier fire-attributed magical beast cores toward the green lotus.
The magical beast cores fell into the lake and were caught by the tendrils on the green lotus's long roots.
Those tendrils frantically absorbed the fire-attributed energy within the magical beast cores, transported it through the roots into the lotus platform, then transformed it through the platform into pure fire-attributed energy that entered Xiao Yan's body, passed through his meridians, and entered his dantian.
In just one day, the three fourth-tier fire-attributed magical beast cores were completely absorbed, turning into powder and dispersing throughout the Magma Lake.
Xiao Yan's cultivation had also reached an extremely critical moment.
The Qi Vortex within his body had begun spinning at an incredibly high speed.
The rotating liquid Dou Qi actually produced a low whirring sound, as though a solid object were spinning.
That was because the liquid Dou Qi had been compressed to the extreme, becoming incomparably viscous and reaching the stage of Dou Qi crystallization.
Within the thick liquid, tiny crystals had already begun to appear.
"Teacher!"
Xiao Yan called out to Medicine Elder again.
Medicine Elder flicked his finger, sending the jade bottle in his hand flying toward the green lotus. The bottle tilted, and purple liquid flowed onto the lotus platform before being instantly absorbed.
That purple liquid was the Companion Purple Crystal Source obtained from the Amethyst Winged Lion King's cave.
The vast energy contained in a single bottle of Companion Purple Crystal Source was transformed by the lotus platform into pure fire-attributed energy, which entered Xiao Yan's body.
Because the energy was too immense, Xiao Yan could not absorb it in time. It gathered around his body, forming an energy barrier that enveloped him.
With this energy, Xiao Yan could focus entirely on compressing the liquid Dou Qi in his Qi Vortex.
As more and more tiny crystals appeared within the liquid, Xiao Yan's soul power split once more into countless strands, locking onto those tiny crystals and drawing them toward the center of the Qi Vortex.
The tiny crystals were drawn to the center, where they fused together and grew.
As the crystal grew, even without Xiao Yan guiding them with his soul power, the tiny crystals in the liquid were pulled toward the center by a suction force.
The crystal gradually became a diamond-shaped crystal of violet and crimson.
When the diamond-shaped crystal grew to the size of his thumb, it generated a powerful suction force and firmly held the rapidly rotating liquid in place.
At this point, even without Xiao Yan restraining it with his soul power, the liquid would not rush out of the Qi Vortex.
He was one step away from completion.
Because Xiao Yan sat atop the lotus platform, his soul was not fatigued, so he continued with the final step.
The central diamond-shaped crystal held the rotating liquid in place, while his soul power transformed into a vast net that gradually compressed the liquid's range of movement toward the center.
As his soul power compressed it, more and more tiny crystals formed, merging into and enlarging the diamond-shaped crystal.
When the last drop of liquid vanished, the diamond-shaped crystal emitted a faint violet-crimson glow, brightening and dimming like breathing.
At the center of the Qi Vortex, the diamond-shaped crystal slowly began to rotate. As it turned, rings of Dou Qi ripples spread outward.
"Success!"
Xiao Yan let out a breath of turbid air and opened his closed eyes. Two violet-crimson rays shot from his pupils.
The violet-crimson rays extended three zhang and lasted a full ten minutes before gradually fading.
By the lakeside, Medicine Elder also revealed a gratified smile.
Xiao Yan, One-Star Da Dou Shi.
From an Eight-Star Dou Master to a One-Star Da Dou Shi, Xiao Yan had taken half a month.
After Xiao Yan advanced to Da Dou Shi, the Portable Space also trembled slightly and expanded once more.
The energy of heaven and earth in this space was six times as dense as in Wutan City.
It had reached a radius of seventy-five li. Thereafter, it would expand by ten li with each level he advanced.
As the Portable Space expanded, a profound and mysterious stream of information entered Xiao Yan's mind.
The space had gained a new ability.
Xiao Yan could grant Space Authority to another person, but there was only one slot.
Anyone who received Space Authority would possess the same abilities as Xiao Yan within the space.
Thinking this, Xiao Yan flashed into the villa, leaving Medicine Elder alone and lonely by the lakeside.
Xiao Yi Xian was sleeping, dressed lightly as she lay on the bed, revealing a glimpse of spring.
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