There were generally two ways to improve one's strength: cultivate Dou Qi to raise one's level, or practice an exceptionally powerful Dou Technique or switch to a higher-grade cultivation method.
Neither approach suited Xiao Yan at present. Raising his Dou Qi cultivation was not something he could accomplish in a single bound. He would have to take medicinal pills or natural treasures, or spend a long time cultivating. He was about to search for traces of Heavenly Flames, so he clearly could not go into seclusion. As for natural treasures, he had no time to hunt for those either, and relying on such external aids would affect his future cultivation to some extent.
Changing cultivation methods was simply out of the question for Xiao Yan, who practiced the Flame Mantra. As for learning powerful Dou Techniques... the Emperor Seal Art was already the strongest technique he currently practiced, and it was a high-grade Earth-tier technique. Anything stronger would have to be Heaven Tier, but Heaven-tier Dou Techniques were simply beyond a Dou Wang's ability to cultivate.
Under normal circumstances, even a High-grade Earth-tier Dou Technique could only be cultivated upon reaching the upper levels of Dou Emperor or beyond. Had it not been for the Emperor Seal Art's unique nature, Xiao Yan could never have mastered it as a Dou Wang, much less unleashed its power in battle.
Thus, after ruling out those two approaches, Xiao Yan came up with a third: start with his Heavenly Fire Three Mysterious Transformations. If he could unleash its second transformation, his combat strength would rise considerably. The trouble was that his body still could not withstand the side effects of using it.
However, if he could strengthen his physical body, he should be able to use the second stage of the Heavenly Fire