Deep within the Dark Forest of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on a massive boulder scorched black by flames. Crimson fire swirled around him, burning all vegetation within several feet to ash.
In his palm, a wisp of deep azure flame was wrapped in layer upon layer of Fatal Flame, continuously compressed and refined.
The flame let out a faint hiss, like a trapped beast making its final struggle.
"Refine!"
Xiao Yan growled, pushing the Flame Mantra to its limits as Dou Qi surged into the deep azure flame like a tide.
Yet the anticipated advancement of his cultivation method never came. The flame merely trembled before turning into a beast's silhouette and merging into the Fatal Flame.
Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, a trace of disappointment flashing through them. He lowered his gaze to the embers remaining in his palm, his brows tightly knitted.
"Teacher, why can neither the Netherflame Leopard's netherflame nor the Azureflame Eagle's Qingyun Flame advance the Flame Mantra any further?"
"They're both beast fires from Fifth-Order magical beasts. When I refined the Fatal Flame back then, the Flame Mantra jumped straight from yellow tier to low mystic tier!"
Yao Chen's spectral soul slowly drifted out of the Bone Flame Ring.
He gazed at the deep azure sparks in Xiao Yan's palm that had yet to fade completely, a solemn look appearing on his aged face.
"Little Yanzi, do you still remember what happened when you first devoured that Fatal Flame?"
Xiao Yan froze, then sank into his memories.
Several months earlier, when Yao Chen extracted that crimson flame from inside a Fifth-Order magical beast resembling a gorilla, Xiao Yan had briefly fallen unconscious.
Through the haze of his consciousness, he seemed to have seen a young spirit monkey evolving, growing, and transforming in a mysterious environment...
"The environment that magical beast lived in didn't seem to be within the Jia Ma Empire."
"And that flame seemed to possess some special property..."
Xiao Yan said gravely, "When I devoured it, I not only felt a bone-corroding burn, but also seemed to experience assaults from the souls of two different magical beasts."
"Exactly."
Yao Chen stroked his beard and nodded, his spectral soul flickering faintly in the moonlight.
"That Fatal Flame is nothing like ordinary beast flame. In my hundreds of years roaming the continent, I've never encountered such a wondrous beast flame-"
"It not only contains extraordinarily high temperatures, but also a kind of..."
He paused, seemingly weighing his words. "A power that borders on a 'rule.'"
"A rule?"
"Have you noticed that ever since you devoured the Fatal Flame, anyone injured by your fire has wounds that are difficult to heal?"
Xiao Yan's pupils contracted slightly at those words.
It was indeed true.
Whether he was fighting Xiao Zha's puppet or battling tier 2 magical beasts in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, the same held true.
Every enemy burned by the Fatal Flame was left with a strange crimson energy in their wounds. Like a festering sore clinging to the bone, it constantly ate away at their flesh. Even when suppressed with Dou Qi, it took several times longer than usual to remove.
"That property is more like a corrosive burn."
Yao Chen's voice was low and solemn. "It isn't merely damage from fire, but something that clings to its target. Once it touches you, it becomes like maggots burrowing into the bone, difficult to eradicate."
"And..."
His tone shifted, and his spectral gaze grew profound. "Do you remember what happened with the final strike when you fought Xiao Zha's puppet that day?"
Xiao Yan's heart tightened.
Of course he remembered.
After the puppet made from a Jia Lie Family elder took a direct hit from the Flame Splitting Wave Ruler, its Dou Qi suddenly dissipated like floodwater bursting through an opened sluice gate. It was as though some core sustaining its life had been utterly destroyed. It crashed to the ground and never stirred again.
"That was certainly not the power of an earth-tier Dou Technique."
Yao Chen said slowly, "With the level of Dou Qi you possessed then, even using the Flame Splitting Wave Ruler, you could never have slain a Da Dou Shi-level puppet in a single blow."
"Though the refining process had left that puppet's body withered, its Dou Qi cultivation remained intact. It was certainly not something you could destroy with one strike of your sword."
"And among the many low-tier magical beasts you've slain lately, not all had fatal wounds on their bodies."
"You mean..."
"The Fatal Flame seems to possess another, even more terrifying property."
Yao Chen's voice seemed to drift down from the distant heavens, carrying a chill that made the heart tremble:
"An extremely low chance... of killing in a single strike."
Xiao Yan sucked in a cold breath, a chill immediately running down his spine.
He looked down at the crimson flame quietly dancing in his palm. It was as docile as a cat, yet contained a terrifying power that made even an expert like Yao Chen take notice.
"How... how is that possible?"
"That is why I suspect that magical beast may also have come from beyond this continent. Things from beyond our world cannot be measured by ordinary reason."
Yao Chen sighed softly. His spectral soul gazed toward the vast, distant horizon, a trace of apprehension he could not conceal flashing through his eyes.
"The Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes Yun Xiaotian obtained may appear to be no more than a high yellow-tier Dou Technique, yet it can manifest wings and grant the ability to fly ahead of time."
"Xiao Zha's inheritance allows him to refine people stronger than himself into puppets."
"And Nalan Yanran's inheritance comes from something called a Thousand-Wind Spirit, which even I have never heard of."
"The powers these inheritors possess may all carry some property that defies reason."
Xiao Yan fell silent for a moment, then suddenly spoke:
"Teacher, that day Nalan Yanran mentioned that her inheritance came from the Thousand-Wind Spirit of the Teyvat Continent. That spirit also had another identity... the 'God' of that continent."
"A God?"
Yao Chen's brows knitted tightly, a solemn expression emerging on his aged face.
"If what she said is true, the level of that inheritance likely far exceeds my imagination. Could it be a legendary existence comparable to a Dou Di?"
"Wind attribute Dou Techniques already excel in speed and agility. If power on the level of a 'God' were added to that..."
He turned toward Xiao Yan, his tone more serious than ever:
"Little Yanzi, let me give you a warning. Unless absolutely necessary, avoid confronting those inheritors head-on."
"There are too many unknowns surrounding these people."
"Just like the Fatal Flame in your hand. It appears to be merely fifth-tier beast fire, yet it can kill a Da Dou Shi far above your own level. Nalan Yanran's inheritance might also conceal some lethal move that even I cannot see through."
"If confrontation truly becomes unavoidable..."
Yao Chen's spectral soul flickered faintly, his voice as deep as an abyss:
"Then you must uncover their true capabilities and understand their special properties. Know yourself and your enemy, and you need never fear a hundred battles."
Xiao Yan nodded firmly, engraving Yao Chen's words in his heart.
He looked down at the crimson flame dancing in his palm, a complicated emotion flashing through his eyes.
Did I now count as a true [inheritor], too?
"Never mind."
Yao Chen's voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
"We've gained all we can from this journey into the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Seeking more ordinary low-tier beast flame would be no more than a cup of water against a blazing cartload of firewood. It would hardly help the Flame Mantra break through to middle mystic tier."
"Next, it's time to prepare to devour heavenly flames."
Before you continue