Alchemy, Cultivation, Coming-of-Age Ceremony

After becoming a Dou Practitioner and cultivating the Flame Mantra, Xiao Yan finally possessed fire-attributed Dou Qi and could barely begin learning alchemy.

To learn alchemy, he needed medicinal ingredients and a cauldron.

Both required a great deal of gold, and Xiao Yan's savings were clearly insufficient.

However, for an Alchemy Master, making money could not be easier.

Xiao Yan brought ten bottles of Foundation-Building Spirit Liquid refined by Medicine Elder to the Mittel Auction House, intending to auction them off.

The precious Foundation-Building Spirit Liquid caught the attention of Ya Fei, the chief auctioneer. It was also Xiao Yan's first time meeting this enchantress.

Her voluptuous figure and soul-stirring eyes and brows made the fire within Xiao Yan burn even hotter than usual due to his Vajra Saint Body. At that moment, his Supreme Bone was especially restless.

Fortunately, Xiao Yan was wrapped in a black cloak, sparing him the embarrassment of making a fool of himself.

Under Ya Fei's masterful auctioneering, the ten bottles of Foundation-Building Spirit Liquid sold for nearly five hundred thousand gold coins. After the commission was deducted, it was enough for Xiao Yan to buy a two-handled cauldron and a large quantity of low-grade medicinal ingredients.

Under Ya Fei's scorching gaze, Xiao Yan fled the Mittel Auction House as though escaping for his life.

"Look at you. Once you become a high-grade Alchemy Master, what woman won't you be able to have?"

Inside the Portable Space, Medicine Elder sensed the raging heat in Xiao Yan's body and scolded him in exasperation.

"If you want to deal with it, don't you already have a ready-made one in your space?"

Medicine Elder pointed toward the courtyard where Nalan Yanran was imprisoned in the distance and spoke with a strange grin.

"Teacher, stop scolding me."

Xiao Yan said awkwardly.

Having lived four lives, he was still a virgin. With the Vajra Saint Body, wasn't it normal for his urges to be a little stronger?

As for Nalan Yanran, his preconceived opinion of her gave him an instinctive dislike for her. He had never considered her in that way.

But after Medicine Elder mentioned it, Xiao Yan suddenly felt that Nalan Yanran was not entirely unacceptable.

Once that thought arose, it became serious.

Inside the Portable Space, Xiao Yan could do whatever he wanted. Nalan Yanran had no way to resist.

His Supreme Bone immediately hardened like steel.

Xiao Yan's face flushed red as harsh breaths poured from his mouth and nose.

"Go on. Don't suppress yourself."

Medicine Elder said with a strange grin from the side.

Xiao Yan could no longer bear the burning heat. With a casual wave, a pool appeared out of thin air, and he jumped into it.

The icy pool water gradually extinguished the heat inside him.

After staying in the pool for more than ten minutes, Xiao Yan climbed ashore dripping wet beneath Medicine Elder's peculiar gaze.

Ever since imprisoning Nalan Yanran, Xiao Yan had been treading on thin ice, careful at every step.

The Cloud Mist Sect was not frightening. What was frightening was the Soul Hall force lurking behind it.

In the original story, if Xiao Yan had not gone to the Cloud Mist Sect for the three-year agreement and drawn Soul Hall's attention, the Xiao Household in Wutan City would never have been exposed.

The Xiao Household would not have suffered such heavy casualties, and Xiao Zhan would not have been captured by Soul Hall.

Therefore, Xiao Yan's strategy was to keep a low profile.

His current priority was increasing his strength. He could not become a slave to desire. The big head was the big head; he could not let the little head take control.

Besides, Xiao Yan was lustful but principled. Between men and women, it should be mutual and their desires should blend together. That was what made it meaningful.

Casting women from his mind, Xiao Yan changed into dry clothes and began learning alchemy under Medicine Elder's guidance.

Alchemy emphasized refining techniques and control over the temperature of the flames.

The former required the guidance of a renowned teacher, while the latter required exceptionally strong soul perception.

Xiao Yan's soul perception was outstanding, and he also possessed the Myriad Flame Emperor Physique. After more than a dozen attempts, his temperature control had already reached an extremely high level.

Even Medicine Elder clicked his tongue in amazement, declaring that Xiao Yan was a born Alchemy Master.

After that, Xiao Yan divided each day into three parts: one for learning alchemy, one for cultivating Dou Qi, and one for cultivating Dou techniques.

At present, Xiao Yan had mastered the Rock-Splitting Palm, Absorption Palm, Flame-Blowing Palm, and Eight Extremes Collapse.

Knowing that the marketplace had the Absorption Palm, Xiao Yan naturally had no reason to give it up. He spent three days searching the marketplace before finding it.

There were no shortcuts in cultivating Dou techniques. It was all about practicing them over and over again.

Every Dou technique had its own unique meridian circulation route. Cultivating a Dou technique meant directing the Dou Qi in one's qi vortex through those meridians.

When one wished to use a Dou technique, the Dou Qi in the qi vortex had to swiftly pass through those meridian routes, reach the corresponding acupoints, and unleash its unique power.

Cultivating Dou techniques first required opening the corresponding meridian routes with Dou Qi, the faster the better.

Second, it required allowing the meridians to withstand repeated bursts of Dou Qi within a short period.

Third, it required skillfully controlling the amount of Dou Qi used, using however much one intended to use.

All of this required a great deal of time and practice.

With the Qi-Recovery Pills refined by Medicine Elder, Xiao Yan could swiftly recover his Dou Qi whenever it was exhausted, giving him more time to cultivate Dou techniques and learn alchemy.

Time passed in the blink of an eye, and another half year went by.

Xiao Yan was nearly sixteen years old and needed to attend the upcoming Xiao Household coming-of-age ceremony.

After half a year of cultivation, Xiao Yan had already become a Six-Star Dou Practitioner.

Xiao Yan frowned slightly. In the original story, Xiao Yan had only reached the eighth stage of Dou Qi Stage during the coming-of-age ceremony.

Yet even the eighth stage of Dou Qi Stage had shocked the Xiao Household members and the invited guests.

Advancing five stages in a single year—such talent was rare even at Jia Nan Academy.

If his strength as a Six-Star Dou Practitioner were detected, everyone's jaws would surely drop, and his name would spread throughout the Jia Ma Empire.

That ran completely contrary to his strategy of keeping a low profile.

"Teacher, is there any way to suppress my Dou Qi realm?"

Xiao Yan voiced his concern.

"I originally planned to give you this weapon when you went to train in the Magic Beast Mountain Range."

Medicine Elder nodded. Then, with a wave of his hand, a black object fell from the sky and smashed heavily into the ground, sending dust flying everywhere.

Once the dust settled, a broad giant ruler could be seen embedded in the ground. Its body was covered in strange patterns, and its upper end had a handle resembling that of a sword, making it look exceptionally peculiar.

"It was forged from extraterrestrial meteoric iron and was something I acquired by chance. It is extremely hard and heavy. More importantly, it can suppress Dou Qi."

Medicine Elder said as he stroked his beard.

Slightly excited, Xiao Yan stepped forward and gripped the handle with both hands. Sure enough, a strange force enveloped his body. Even the rotation of his qi vortex became sluggish, while the Dou Qi flowing through his meridians slowed to a crawl.

"Up!"

He shouted, exerting strength with both hands as he pulled the ruler free bit by bit. Sure enough, there was no sword tip at the end, only a flat cross-section.

"What a fine Profound Heavy Ruler!"

Xiao Yan raised the ruler with both hands as though lifting a small door panel.

"Profound Heavy Ruler? That is quite a good name."

Medicine Elder said with a smile.

"With this Profound Heavy Ruler, my realm should be suppressed to the level of a One-Star Dou Practitioner. It is still too high, but there is nothing to be done about it."

Feeling the aura of Dou Qi within his body, Xiao Yan said with slight regret.

Xiao Yan swung the Profound Heavy Ruler around within the space, familiarizing himself with its weight.

He also made a back mount that could secure it to his back.

Medicine Elder required Xiao Yan to keep the Profound Heavy Ruler on his back from then on, even holding it while sleeping.

This was weight training. It could not only temper his body, but also train his Dou Qi.

"Brother Xiao Yan!"

Inside the Portable Space, Xiao Yan heard a young girl's clear and lively voice outside the door. He hurriedly flashed back into his room.

He took a deep breath, walked over, and opened the door.

Outside stood a girl dressed in a purple gown, her hands behind her back and her skin as fair as snow.

The moment Xiao Xun'er saw Xiao Yan, her brows curved with delight. Smiling brightly, she said, "Brother Xiao Yan, the coming-of-age ceremony is about to begin. Let's go."

It was Xiao Xun'er.

Xiao Yan chuckled softly. "Let's go."