The Talisman Awakens Again, and the Flame Mantra Advances

Xiao Yan raised his middle finger. At a thought, a wisp of purple flame sprang from its tip.

At last, I won't have to rely on a Medicine Cauldron's fire vent to transform flames when I refine medicine! Xiao Yan gazed at the dancing Purple Flame on his fingertip, delighted.

Before he could finish celebrating, the next Talisman arrived.

Xiao Yan closed his eyes and felt its power. Then he blurted out, "Chicken! What a beautiful chicken!"

"What chicken?" Yao Lao's voice rang out unexpectedly.

"Ahem! N-nothing." Xiao Yan hurriedly collected himself. His gaze fell on the box in Yao Lao's hand, and his eyes lit up. "Teacher, you succeeded!"

"When I'm on the job, what can't I accomplish?" Yao Lao boasted, then tossed Xiao Yan the box containing the Transformation Pill.

Xiao Yan caught the box and opened it. A rich medicinal fragrance immediately filled the cave.

Breathing in the fragrance, Xiao Yan exclaimed, "As expected of a pill you refined yourself, Teacher! Just smelling it makes me feel as though my Dou Qi has grown!"

"You rascal, who taught you to flatter people like that?" Yao Lao asked with a smile, stroking his beard.

"I'm not flattering you. I'm just telling the truth," Xiao Yan replied with a grin.

"You little rascal..." Yao Lao shook his head, smiling.

But as he did, he suddenly sensed that Xiao Yan had broken through to Da Dou Shi. His brow furrowed.

"You've broken through to Da Dou Shi?" Yao Lao asked.

Xiao Yan nodded. "Just now."

"Too reckless! Breaking through too quickly can leave your Dou Qi unstable and your cultivation unsteady. It'll do you nothing but harm. Let me take a look!" Yao Lao scolded sternly.

He seized Xiao Yan's wrist and examined him carefully.

What he sensed left him stunned. "Your Dou Qi is solid, and your cultivation is stable... Far more stable than that of an ordinary Da Dou Shi!"

Yao Lao looked up at Xiao Yan, his eyes full of confusion. "You rascal, how did you do it?"

Xiao Yan felt warmth rise in his chest at Yao Lao's genuine concern.

He patiently explained, "You could call it an inborn talent. No matter what I do, my Dou Qi will never become unstable, nor will my cultivation."

"Such an extraordinary talent actually exists?" Yao Lao was shaken beyond words.

Even if he racked his brains, Yao Lao could never have imagined such an absurd gift existed. It was almost frightening.

After that little interruption, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao left the Cave Abode. The Amethyst Winged Lion King had been waiting outside for some time.

"Master," the Amethyst Winged Lion King greeted him respectfully.

The lion king had not even noticed how naturally that word now came to it.

"Go refine this. Once you've taken human form, come find me in the Small Mountain Valley." Xiao Yan handed the Transformation Pill to the Amethyst Winged Lion King, told it where the valley was, and gave his instructions.

"Yes!" The Amethyst Winged Lion King stared at the Transformation Pill, excitement surging in its eyes, then nodded its enormous lion head firmly.

"Let's go, Teacher," Xiao Yan said, turning to Yao Lao.

Before Yao Lao could answer, Xiao Yan rose into the air before his astonished eyes.

Yao Lao nearly yanked out his beard. "You rascal! What's going on?"

"It's another one of my talents, Teacher." Seeing Yao Lao's shocked expression, Xiao Yan gave him a wicked grin.

"What kind of creepy..." Yao Lao could not help muttering.

"Don't make such a fuss, Teacher. You'll see plenty more things like this," Xiao Yan said with a laugh.

Yao Lao rubbed his chest and caught his breath. "Next time, warn me first. You nearly scared me to death. I almost thought you'd broken through to Dou Zong."

With that, he slipped back into the ring, saying he needed time to recover.

Xiao Yan said nothing. He simply savored the indescribable thrill of floating in midair.

If I combine the Chicken Talisman with the Purple Cloud Wings, I might be able to fly as fast as a Dou Wang—or even a Dou Emperor.

He tried using them together, and sure enough, his speed increased severalfold.

Before long, Xiao Yan returned to the Small Mountain Valley. Xiao Yi Xian heard him arrive and hurried out of the Small Wooden House.

Xiao Yan had been gone for days, leaving Xiao Yi Xian alone in the valley. She had worried day and night that he might run into danger or get hurt...

Now that he was finally back, she rushed to his side and looked him over from head to toe. She seemed ready to examine every inch of him just to make sure he had not suffered the slightest injury.

"What's this? Were you worried about me?" Xiao Yan asked with a mischievous grin.

"N-no! You... you'd be better off dying out there. Then you couldn't come back and make me angry." Xiao Yi Xian's face flushed as she stubbornly denied it.

After spending so many days together, the two had grown close. Xiao Yan knew perfectly well that Xiao Yi Xian often said the opposite of what she felt.

Back in the Small Mountain Valley, Xiao Yan resumed his old routine of cultivation and medicine refining.

While Xiao Yan cultivated and refined medicine, Xiao Yi Xian cultivated and studied the Poison Scripture. From time to time, she cooked a meal and called him in to eat. Their days were pleasant enough.

Some time later, Xiao Yan finally finished nurturing the Purple Flame within him.

Sensing the flame inside his body, he said excitedly, "Next, I'll devour the Purple Flame and fuse it with the Flame Mantra!"

With the power of the Talismans at his disposal, Xiao Yan had no need to prepare the many supplementary materials required in the original story. He could devour it directly.

After a difficult struggle, Xiao Yan used the Talismans' power to devour the Purple Flame and fuse it with the Flame Mantra.

At last, after devouring the Purple Flame, his Flame Mantra advanced from Low Yellow Tier to Intermediate Yellow Tier.

The improvement was not enormous, but he had taken that crucial first step.

"You rascal, I have to say, your talent makes even me envious," Yao Lao remarked in wonder.

Yao Lao had watched Xiao Yan devour the Purple Flame with his heart in his throat. Without any pills to help him, Xiao Yan had endured the entire ordeal through his own strength.

Yao Lao had been startled the moment Xiao Yan said he needed no pills to assist him.

After all, a person's meridians were incredibly fragile. Even if the violent flame entering Xiao Yan's body was not a Heavenly Flame, the damage it could cause was no small matter.

Once the meridians were damaged, a person's cultivation prospects were all but finished.

At best, Xiao Yan could have been crippled. At worst, he could have died on the spot.

Yao Lao had objected fiercely at first, but Xiao Yan had eventually persuaded him.

And so he had watched Xiao Yan forcefully devour the Purple Flame and fuse it with the Flame Mantra.

Throughout the process, Xiao Yan's body and meridians were burned, restored, burned again, and restored again.

In the end, his body became far stronger, while his meridians widened and grew tougher.

Death had never been a risk, but the pain had been real. The benefits, however, far exceeded those of the usual method.

Xiao Yan changed into clean clothes and walked out of the cave.

When he returned to the Small Wooden House, he found a woman inside whom he did not recognize—yet who somehow looked familiar...