Cultivating the Flame Mantra

Recently, several key figures in Starfall Pavilion had fallen into a peculiar state.

The pavilion master, Yao Chen, had recently taken on a new disciple. He was supposedly the young master of some great clan and seemed quite formidable, but after accepting him, the pavilion master had immediately gone into seclusion.

Rumor had it that people had occasionally encountered the pavilion master in secluded mountain forests.

They said his hair was now disheveled, and he often muttered things like "Dou Sheng" and "ninth-grade."

Some said the pavilion master was about to break through. Others thought something had gone wrong while he was refining pills and driven him mad.

Aside from the pavilion master, their senior brother Han Feng had not been in a good state of mind lately either. He sometimes appeared with a bruised face, and anxiety seemed to permeate his every word.

The only one doing relatively well was the deputy pavilion master, Feng Xian. Lately, he spent every day wandering about at leisure, drinking tea, taking his birds out, and watching cricket fights. Whenever he encountered a disciple who caught his fancy, he would laugh heartily and offer a few pointers.

As gifts to honor his new master and payment for the Flame Mantra, Xiao Yan had given Yao Chen a Heaven Rank Low Grade fire-attribute cultivation method and Feng Xian a High-grade Earth-tier wind-attribute Dou Technique, respectively.

Spurred on by Xiao Yan's words, Yao Chen had taken his fire-attribute cultivation method into seclusion, swearing he would not leave Starfall Pavilion until he reached Dou Sheng. Feng Xian, meanwhile, had gained nothing but happiness.

Even to a Dou Zun, a High-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique was worth a great deal.

Although he already had some, he possessed only one or two. How could a High-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique falling into his lap not make him happy?

After all, getting things for free was the wellspring of human happiness.

Han Feng, on the other hand, had nearly suffered a mental breakdown. Seeing that both Yao Chen and Feng Xian had received gifts, he had secretly gone to see Xiao Yan that very night to ask whether there was one for him too.

What he received instead was a vicious beating from Xiao Yan.

Although Xiao Yan was only a Nine-Star Dou Emperor, his cultivation methods and combat skills far surpassed Han Feng's. Even his physical body had combat power comparable to a Dou Zong's. With Wen and Wu, the Two Saints, watching like hungry tigers from the sidelines, Han Feng had naturally ended up with a battered, bruised face.

"Senior brother, when you die, could you leave your Sea Heart Flame to me?" Watching Xiao Yan say those words with an innocent expression, Han Feng felt a chill run down his spine.

Especially with that hot-tempered old man behind him, who seemed to be sharpening his blade in eager preparation to finish Han Feng off.

With a Half-Saint keeping an eye on him, Han Feng spent practically every day with his heart in his throat, growing increasingly haggard.

On a mountain summit in Starfall Pavilion, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged. Wen and Wu, the Two Saints, had already sealed the surrounding space with spatial power, making it difficult for even a Dou Zun expert to enter.

Anyone who did break in would be greeted by a Half-Saint's fist.

"Whew." Xiao Yan took a deep breath, steadied his emotions, and then brought out a black scroll. This was the very thing Han Feng dreamed of obtaining-the Flame Mantra!

"Young master, are you truly going to give up a High-grade Earth-tier Cultivation Method to practice this mere Yellow Tier Low Grade cultivation method?" Xiao Wen could not help asking from beside him.

Everyone knew that switching from a lower-tier cultivation method to a higher-tier one would improve the quality of one's Dou Qi. Although there would be a brief period of weakness, a few days of recovery were usually enough.

But switching from a higher-tier cultivation method to a lower-tier one would not only reduce the quality of one's Dou Qi, it could even cause one to lose stars-a phenomenon commonly known as dissipating one's cultivation.

"That's right!" Xiao Yan nodded.

Switching from a High-grade Earth-tier Cultivation Method to a Yellow Tier Low Grade one would send the quality of his Dou Qi plunging, and his cultivation would drop substantially as well.

But compared with gaining the strange ability to devour heavenly flames to increase his strength and obtaining a Dou Di Inheritance, what did this brief period of weakness amount to?

With Wen and Wu, the Two Saints, protecting him, perhaps there was little difference between being a Dou Wang and a Dou Emperor.

Seeing Xiao Yan's firm decision, Wen and Wu, the Two Saints, stopped trying to dissuade him. After spending some time with him, they naturally understood that this Emperor's Son was not only far from foolish, but also quite intelligent.

Since he was willing to cultivate this Yellow Tier Low Grade method, he surely had his own reasons. Prying to the roots of the matter would instead mean that they were failing in their duties as his two guardians.

After settling his mind, Xiao Yan opened the scroll and gently touched the writing on it. The next instant, a stream of information flowed into his mind through his soul power.

Once he had carefully committed the cultivation formula and meridian pathways to memory, Xiao Yan closed his eyes.

The next instant, a deep crimson glow lit up the surface of his body.

It came from the Dou Qi within him. Cultivated through the High-grade Earth-tier Cultivation Method, the Blazing Eight Desolations Art, this Dou Qi was supremely hard and yang, its might unmatched.

Yet in the next instant, guided by Xiao Yan's soul, that Dou Qi began moving in another direction.

This was an entirely new meridian route. The moment it entered, Xiao Yan's original Dou Qi began voicing wave after wave of "protest."

Fortunately, Xiao Yan had painstakingly cultivated all of this Dou Qi bit by bit himself. Although it showed some resistance, it still obediently followed his will.

Guided swiftly by his powerful will, the vast surge of Dou Qi entered an entirely new, unopened route. That alone sent threads of pain through Xiao Yan's meridians.

However, his body had been soaked in heavenly treasures since childhood, and he had also cultivated the Crimson Refining Flame Demon Body. It was exceptionally tough, so he had nothing to fear from this.

Soon, the deep crimson Dou Qi completed a circuit through Xiao Yan's body according to the Flame Mantra's meridian diagram. By the time it finished the full route, a thin sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

When all that Dou Qi finished circulating and returned to his vortex, Xiao Yan distinctly felt that it had weakened a little, and even its color had dimmed slightly.

"Keep going!" Xiao Yan steadied his mind a little, then guided his Dou Qi along the Flame Mantra's route again. Every circuit wasted a great deal of Dou Qi, and his aura weakened with each one.

After nine circuits, the deep crimson Dou Qi had turned dark red. Xiao Yan's aura faltered, then rapidly declined, suddenly dropping to the level of an Eight-Star Dou Emperor.

Weakness spread through his body, as though he had just fought a great battle.

"Keep going!" Xiao Yan gritted his teeth.

After another nine circuits, the dark red Dou Qi turned scarlet. Xiao Yan's aura weakened again, dropping another star.

With every nine circuits, the color grew a shade lighter, and Xiao Yan's aura fell by another star.

By the time he completed nine times nine-eighty-one circuits-Xiao Yan's aura had fallen to One-Star Dou Emperor, and the Dou Qi within him had turned an exceedingly weak pale yellow.

On the mountain summit, Xiao Yan lay on a large boulder, his face pale. His complexion was bloodless, his eyes sunken, and even his figure had grown somewhat thinner.

Cold sweat streamed down his forehead.

"I'm so weak. It feels like my body's been hollowed out..."

With his left hand trembling, Xiao Yan kept pulling pills that replenished Dou Qi and physical strength from his Storage Ring and stuffing them into his mouth.

"Six-Flavor Earth Emperor Pill."

"Golden Cabinet Qi-Replenishing Pill."

Only after swallowing four or five pills did a trace of color return to his face.

"I've dropped to One-Star Dou Emperor?" Xiao Yan frowned slightly. Losing stars alone would not have mattered much, but once the Dou Qi inside him had also become Yellow Tier Low Grade Dou Qi, the feeling was entirely different.

It felt as though a vigorous, strapping man had been mercilessly wrung dry, going from young and strong to utterly feeble in an instant. That gulf in strength was the hardest thing to endure.

If I set aside my Dou Techniques and physical body now and competed purely with Dou Qi, I probably couldn't even beat a Peak Dou Wang...

With a helpless sigh, Xiao Yan raised a green flame in his hand.

"Although my Green Lion Demon Flame isn't a heavenly flame, it's still one of the more top-tier beast flames. After I devour it, evolving the cultivation method to high-grade Yellow Tier shouldn't be a problem."

"Whew, no, I need to rest first. Even walking makes me sweat." Xiao Yan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.