Advancing to Da Dou Shi

When he sensed the savage aura around Xiao Yan dissipate, Yao Lao let out a soft breath. It seemed the Soul Body that had invaded Xiao Yan had vanished. Just then, however, he suddenly sensed an energy countless times more violent than before erupt from Xiao Yan's body.

Yao Lao's expression darkened. He thought his worst fear had come true, but upon sensing it more carefully, he discovered that although the energy within Xiao Yan was violent, it lacked the viciousness of the earlier presence. It probably had not been caused by Body Possession.

He looked down and soon discovered the source of that violent energy. The seventh-rank magic core Xiao Yan had been holding had crumbled into powder. That tremendous energy was flowing into Xiao Yan's body from the shattered magic core.

At the sight, Yao Lao's heart gradually sank. Although he now knew that Xiao Yan had not fallen victim to the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle's Body Possession, he could not feel happy. With Xiao Yan's strength, directly absorbing a magic core's energy could end only one way-his body would explode, killing him.

Never mind a seventh-rank magic core; even the lowest-ranked magic core could not be absorbed recklessly. Even a Dou Wang absorbing a first-rank magic core would face an extremely high chance of exploding on the spot.

This was not because the energy in a magic core was so powerful, but because it inherited the magical beast's own violent nature, making it almost impossible to refine. Only certain highly accomplished Alchemists could extract that energy and refine it into various pills.

And what Xiao Yan was absorbing now was not an ordinary first-rank magic core, but a seventh-rank magic core! That was energy comparable to a Dou Zong's! How could a mere Dou Shi like him possibly withstand it?

Xiao Yan, too, sensed the invasion of that terrifying energy. He had been peacefully refining the soul energy and was nearly finished when he sensed a violent energy far more powerful than himself entering his body. His face immediately grew somewhat pale.

He immediately used his Soul Force to examine his body, then discovered a viscous purple-black liquid flowing through his meridians. The violent energy originated from that liquid. With his wealth of knowledge and experience, Xiao Yan recognized it at once-it had to be the blood essence of some magical beast!

To think that the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle had hidden not only his Soul Body in the magic core, but his blood essence as well.

Such energy would naturally have been nothing to the Demon Fury Sage of his previous life, but to his current self, it was something he could hardly resist. Within just a few breaths, he felt as though his body were about to explode. Energy this violent was far beyond what he could currently endure.

Just then, the mass of black flame appeared once more. As though drawn by some force, the violent energy surged into it of its own accord. The blood essence also poured ceaselessly into the black flame. At the same time, the Flame Mantra within him actually began circulating on its own, as though it had evolved again.

Normally, the Flame Mantra could evolve only by devouring flames. Yet he clearly had not devoured any flames this time, and it still showed signs of evolving... The only explanation was that this mass of black flame had evolved as well. Since its rank had risen, the Flame Mantra had evolved on its own.

Although he had never heard of a flame capable of evolving, this was the only answer that could explain the situation.

Xiao Yan did not dwell on the matter, for he still had to continue refining that energy. Although the black flame had drawn away most of the energy and blood essence, a small portion remained within his body. Even that tiny amount of energy was enough to inflict pain that pierced deep into his marrow.

He drew a deep breath and immediately mobilized the Soul Force within him to suppress the remaining violent energy. With his current strength, he naturally could not refine it all. His only option was to channel it elsewhere; otherwise, he would still be unable to escape the fate of exploding to death.

Xiao Yan changed his hand seal, and a pair of seemingly solid Purple-Black Wings emerged from his back. They were precisely the Flying Dou Technique he had obtained in the cave-the Purple Cloud Wings.

With the appearance of the Purple Cloud Wings, the violent energy rampaging through Xiao Yan's body seemed to find an outlet and immediately surged into them. That energy more than doubled the wings' size, and even the purple patterns originally covering the black wings became far more intricate.

The Purple Cloud Wings and the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle shared the same origin, so Xiao Yan simply used this energy to strengthen the Purple Cloud Wings. After resolving the problem of the energy, he focused entirely on dealing with the blood essence within him.

The energy of this remaining blood essence was indeed powerful, but after the black flame had absorbed most of it and another portion had been channeled into the Purple Cloud Wings, what remained no longer posed such a great threat. Xiao Yan immediately circulated the Flame Mantra to refine the little blood essence left within him.

Outside, Yao Lao also breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the violent aura around Xiao Yan suddenly disappear. Although he did not know exactly what had happened, judging by the situation, the little fellow should have successfully weathered the crisis...

Although the remaining blood essence was weak, Xiao Yan still spent an entire day and night refining it completely. Even that was only possible because he possessed powerful Soul Force. Otherwise, his current self would probably have been left in a sorry state by this residual blood essence.

Once the final trace of energy had been refined, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes. A purple-black light flashed through his pupils. Immediately afterward, an immensely surging aura erupted from his body. It was several times stronger than before and even broke straight through the barrier of Dou Shi, reaching the realm of Da Dou Shi!

"So I've broken through to Da Dou Shi..." Feeling the tremendous energy within him, Xiao Yan let out a soft breath. It truly was worthy of a Seventh-Rank Magical Beast's blood essence. Just the tiny amount remaining had spared him several months of arduous training. Moreover, during the refining process, some of the blood essence had seeped into his flesh and meridians, strengthening his body to a certain extent.

By his estimate, his physical toughness was now no inferior even to that of a third-rank magical beast. After all, the Eight Extremes Collapse he had practiced earlier also demanded a certain degree of physical strength, so he had never neglected tempering his body from the very beginning. With the additional strengthening from the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle's blood essence, it was like giving wings to a tiger.

If he fought She Mo again now, he certainly would not face the bitter struggle of their last battle. He was confident he could kill him head-on without even using the Flame Splitting Wave Ruler.