The violent Nine Nether Wind carried a terrifying chill that could freeze and shatter metal and stone, sending faint shivers through even Xiao Yan's current body.
His flesh had been tempered by six Heavenly Flames. His physical strength alone now rivaled that of a Five-Star Dou Zun, yet even so, the terrifying Nine Nether Wind still made his skin sting.
But the fiercer it grew, the brighter the light in Xiao Yan's eyes became.
Nine Nether Wind Flame differed from other Heavenly Flames. Its flame seed was scattered throughout every wisp of flame, dancing with the wind. In other words, he could not devour it by simply swallowing it as he had done before.
"There's only one way to refine Nine Nether Wind Flame: immerse my body in it, withstand its assault, and draw its flames into my body little by little before finally refining them into my Dou Qi."
Precisely because of this, Nine Nether Wind Flame was harder to refine than any Heavenly Flame outside the top eight-even harder than Three Thousand Burning Flame, which ranked above it.
The refining process also carried tremendous risks. Not only would his body endure terrifying wind and fire, with death awaiting him the moment he could no longer hold on, but the demonic sounds within Nine Nether Wind Flame could also severely damage his soul.
Thus, another saying surrounded Nine Nether Wind Flame: anyone below Dou Sheng should never even consider refining it.
Failure meant being reduced to scattered ashes, with even the soul potentially vanishing altogether.
Of course, successfully refining Nine Nether Wind Flame brought enormous benefits. Besides tempering the flesh to a terrifying degree within its wind and fire, it would also make the soul immensely resilient.
For Xiao Yan as he was now, retreat was naturally out of