Even Su Qian, a Dou Zong, was secretly alarmed by the tremendous energy within the purple cocoon of light.
He knew Zi Yan was breaking through to the fifth rank, equivalent to the human Dou Wang realm. On the Dou Qi Continent, the Dou Wang realm marked the first great dividing line.
Only upon becoming a Dou Wang could someone count among the continent's "powerhouses." In the Black-Corner Region, Dou Zong were rare, Dou Emperors ruled their own territories, and Dou Wang were the top fighting forces of the major factions.
Even the elders of Jia Nan Academy were mostly Dou Wang, which showed just how precious they were.
Su Qian himself had passed through the Dou Wang stage, so he knew exactly how terrifying the energy Zi Yan was releasing truly was.
Just what race did she belong to?
A profound question lingered in Su Qian's mind, refusing to fade.
Just then, the cocoon of light pulsed with a steady rhythm. With each pulse, faint ripples passed through the surrounding space, and all the loose energy between heaven and earth was drawn into the cocoon.
Every pulse made the cocoon shine brighter. As time passed, its pull grew increasingly terrifying.
After pondering briefly, Su Qian rapidly formed seals with one hand. Jiang Yun could sense the space around them being connected in some peculiar way.
As Su Qian abruptly pressed his palm downward, the air throughout the entire space seemed to be forced down with it. Invisible threads spread like a spiderweb, enclosing the room.
"Zi Yan's breakthrough is causing too much of a disturbance. To avoid stirring up a commotion, I've placed a seal around this room."
Once he finished, Su Qian turned toward the thoughtful Jiang Yun and spoke slowly.
He gave Jiang Yun a curious glance as the boy came back to his senses, but suspected nothing. He merely assumed that witnessing an advanced technique had stirred a child's admiration for power.
"Zi Yan's breakthrough might be an opportunity for you, too. Work hard, and don't keep this old man waiting too long in the Inner Academy!" Su Qian encouragingly patted Jiang Yun's shoulder, then slowly vanished from the room.
Jiang Yun lowered his gaze to his own palm. His hand began rapidly forming seals. Had Su Qian still been there, he would have recognized the simple Space Seal he had just used.
This was a Dou Zong's technique, yet Jiang Yun, a mere seventh-stage Dou Power cultivator, had learned to reproduce it convincingly after seeing it once. Who knew whether Su Qian would question everything he knew if he found out?
As he continued forming seals, Jiang Yun's movements grew slower and slower, until finally he pressed down with one hand. He immediately sensed that something seemed to have changed in the surrounding space.
"It seems... it isn't that hard!" His puzzled murmur echoed through the quiet room. If anyone heard him, someone would sooner or later throw a sack over his head and beat him up. He was simply too infuriating.
Dispelling the Space Lock, Jiang Yun wiped the sweat from his forehead. Studying spatial power while still at the Dou Power stage was too much of a strain.
"For now, cultivation must come first. These can only serve as methods for fighting enemies. Cultivation is the key," Jiang Yun said softly, looking down at his palm.
He then walked slowly farther into the room. He had already reached seventh-stage Dou Power, only two steps away from Dou Zhe. Once he broke through, he would finally be able to learn all sorts of techniques.
With Zi Yan advancing and the energy of heaven and earth so dense, this was the perfect time to cultivate.
Sitting cross-legged in the room, Jiang Yun sensed the surrounding energy, now more than twice as dense as before. He formed seals with both hands and began cultivating his Dou Power.
Once Jiang Yun entered cultivation, the room fell silent. Only two heartbeats, one large and one small, echoed within it. Their powerful rhythm spoke of how extraordinary their owners were.
Half a year later!
Inside the room, Jiang Yun slowly opened his bright eyes. Sensing the abundant Dou Qi within him, he found that he had reached the peak of ninth-stage Dou Power. The Dou Qi stored in his dantian could no longer increase by even the slightest trace. He could break through to Dou Zhe at any moment.
"It's time to advance to Dou Zhe!" Jiang Yun said solemnly, feeling the power filling his body. Sensing the increasingly active aura beside him, he knew Zi Yan was probably close to succeeding. If he failed to become a Dou Zhe and gain the strength to refine medicinal ingredients before she emerged, there would be another bout of chaos.
Advancing to Dou Zhe carried a chance of failure, and in severe cases, one's cultivation could even regress. Qi Gathering Powder had come into existence to address precisely that problem.
But Jiang Yun had been born with the Nine Divine Veins and possessed peerless talent. The Dou Qi within him was exceptionally condensed, so failure was already impossible, not to mention the terrifying soul power he had as a safeguard.
Thus, Jiang Yun had complete confidence in this breakthrough!
He immediately formed hand seals, and the Dou Qi within him moved at his command, circulating rapidly. Wisps of pale-white Dou Qi gathered toward him from outside, soon flowing in an endless stream like running water.
The most important step in advancing from ninth-stage Dou Qi to Dou Zhe was forming a Dou Qi Vortex. Successfully condensing one meant becoming a true Dou Zhe.
As Jiang Yun released the Dou Qi he had painstakingly suppressed within him while madly devouring the surrounding Dou Qi, the energy inside his body rapidly expanded, racing through his meridians.
His entire body became like a funnel, voraciously swallowing the surrounding Dou Qi.
Under the constant pressure of his soul power, the quantity of Dou Qi shrank, but its quality kept rising as it grew increasingly viscous. Now, his absorption could barely keep pace with his compression.
Sensing that his absorption was too slow, Jiang Yun split off another strand of soul power and sent it into his meridians, sweeping the Dou Qi rapidly into his dantian. At the same time, he used his soul power to keep the compressed Dou Qi moving, strengthening its ability to draw in more energy like a whirlpool.
He had Zi Yan to thank for this. If her breakthrough had not made the surrounding energy of heaven and earth so dense, Jiang Yun's pace would likely have left him trapped in a dilemma by the lack of energy.
The Dou Qi swelled, soon filling most of Jiang Yun's meridians and reaching the limit of what they could contain.
"Almost there." With a thought, Jiang Yun began rapidly changing his hand seals.
As his seals changed, the Dou Qi within him seemed to receive an order and surged swiftly toward his lower abdomen.
The pale-white Dou Qi condensed within his lower abdomen, finally transforming into a strange blend of black and white.
Jiang Yun focused his mind. His soul power spread wildly, forcefully compressing the intertwined black-and-white Dou Qi Vortex within his lower abdomen.
The black-and-white Dou Qi Vortex resisted fiercely, but Jiang Yun's soul power crushed that resistance with absolute force.
When the mass of Dou Qi shrank to the size of a palm, it abruptly solidified and began spinning rapidly in a fixed direction with a steady rhythm.
At the same time, a powerful surge of energy burst from Jiang Yun's body.
The Dou Zhe realm-achieved!
After a dizzying whirl of heaven and earth.
Jiang Yun once again arrived inside Qing Ming Tower. With his first visit behind him, he already knew the ropes and waited quietly where he stood.
Before long, he saw the Tower Spirit's body gradually take solid form.
"Senior Qing Ming!" Jiang Yun called politely. The sight of Qing Ming involuntarily reminded him of his grandfather, who was still with the Evil Spirit Clan. He wondered how his grandfather was doing now.
"Hehe, after half a year apart, you've grown taller and stronger, Yun'er."
"You broke through to Dou Zhe in half a year, Yun'er. Not slow at all, not slow at all." Qing Ming carefully studied Jiang Yun. Ever since the boy appeared, the smile had never left his face.
As the weapon Jiang Hong had wielded throughout his life, Qing Ming had acquired all of Jiang Hong's memories the moment he developed sentience. In a sense, he, too, had watched Jiang Yun grow up.
Coupled with Jiang Hong's influence, this made him especially fond of Jiang Yun.
"Dou Qi is more violent in nature than spiritual energy and can temper the body. Over the past half year, I've already honed my body to the limit for my age."
Jiang Yun was delighted as well, not only because he was about to begin refining the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame, but also because Qing Ming's care felt like that of an elder in his family.
"Very good. If you wish to reach the summit, you cannot neglect any part of your cultivation!" Qing Ming gave Jiang Yun an approving glance. To possess such insight at so young an age-his future was promising indeed!
"Grandpa Qing Ming, I'm a Dou Zhe now. Can I start absorbing the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame?"
"You can try, but you're still missing one crucial thing, Yun'er!"
"A cultivation method!"
Hearing Qing Ming's words, Jiang Yun nodded. "I've read a few cultivation methods from the Dou Qi Continent lately. Although they were only Yellow Tier, even a glimpse through a narrow tube can reveal a leopard's markings. The cultivation methods here share similarities with the spiritual arts of the Great Thousand World. I imagine spiritual arts can be cultivated here, too. Only the type of energy has changed!"
"You're right. The purpose of cultivation methods is to harness the energy of heaven and earth for oneself. That holds true in any world." Qing Ming affirmed Jiang Yun's reasoning, but still cautioned him, "However, you've only just entered the Dou Zhe realm. It would be best not to choose a cultivation method of too high a grade."
Jiang Yun nodded. Every stage had suitable cultivation methods and Dou Techniques. Cultivating a Heaven Tier method at the Dou Zhe stage did not necessarily make someone powerful.
The mysteries of Heaven Tier cultivation methods were immensely complex. How could a mere Dou Zhe comprehend them? Even a Dou Zun barely had enough energy to use Heaven Tier Dou Techniques. At any earlier realm, using techniques beyond one's capabilities brought a hundred harms and not a single benefit.
Otherwise, every member of the Emperor Clans would be clutching Earth Tier and Heaven Tier cultivation methods, and Xiao Yan probably would not even have made it past Ling Quan.
By Jiang Yun's estimate, Black Tier and Earth Tier Low Grade cultivation methods were best for the Dou Zhe stage, with Black Tier Dou Techniques kept as trump cards.
And so.
Jiang Yun slowly sat cross-legged and began cultivating a spiritual art he had found in his memories. It was a Divine Grade spiritual art, equivalent to an Earth Tier Cultivation Method on the Dou Qi Continent, named.
Crimson Fire Treasure Mirror!
The initial conversion of Dou Qi did not take long. Thus, after only two hours, the cross-legged Jiang Yun slowly opened his eyes.
After cultivating the method, Jiang Yun seemed more spirited than before. A faint sheen like warm jade glimmered across his youthful face, making him look full of vitality.
Bang-
A vortex of intertwined black and white rested at an acupoint in his palm. According to the rules of the Dou Qi Continent, the higher the grade of a Dou Qi cultivation method, the darker the Dou Qi's color.
Then... did his Dou Qi, so pale it was white yet so dark it was black, count as high-grade or low-grade?
"The Saint Heavenly Demon Flame truly is domineering!" Qing Ming had already learned the basic principles of the Dou Qi Continent. Seeing Jiang Yun's Dou Qi, he could not help voicing his amazement.
Jiang Yun withdrew his Dou Qi and looked up at Qing Ming.
Qing Ming nodded and said solemnly, "Although that Saint Heavenly Demon Flame is only a child flame split from the original, it is still powerful enough to severely wound a Heavenly Sovereign. Jiang Ya and I suppressed it together back then. Its origin was damaged, but no amount of caution is excessive when dealing with it!"
"One careless mistake could cost you your life at any moment. Do you still want to try?"
Jiang Yun took a deep breath. He thought of Jiang Hong, of the clansmen who had died before his eyes with despair written across their faces, and of Zi Yan. Resolve filled his face. "I understand, but I have reasons that leave me no choice but to become stronger! And I have the determination to succeed!"
"Come with me!"
Jiang Yun stood and followed Qing Ming toward the bottom of the tower.
As they slowly approached their destination, Jiang Yun felt the surrounding air grow scorching hot, as though it might burn a person into a dried husk at any moment.
Yet Qing Ming did not stop. He continued down the passage toward the bottom of the tower.
Drenched in sweat, Jiang Yun began breathing rapidly. Beads of sweat rolled down his youthful face. Watching Qing Ming move farther away, Jiang Yun gritted his teeth and slowly followed.
Jiang Yun did not know how far they had walked. He only knew that not a single patch of his clothing remained dry. He felt as though he were submerged in water.
"All right, you've passed my test!" A gentle voice sounded just then. Jiang Yun felt a hand rest on his head. A moment later, cool energy washed through his entire body, and he instantly felt as though he had come back to life.
Looking up, he saw a massive sealing platform of stone in the distance. A flame of intertwined black and white burned there, bound by dozens of thick energy chains.
Countless tiny flames covered the entire bottom level, their terrifying heat reaching the four floors above.
"Do you see it? That is the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame. If you couldn't withstand even that little heat, I would never let you attempt to refine it!"
As Qing Ming spoke, he reached out and grasped one of the countless flames drifting in the space. It burned slowly in his hand.
"Let's go. This is your target!" After scooping up the flame, Qing Ming took Jiang Yun with him and retraced their path.
Jiang Yun glanced back at the dancing Saint Heavenly Demon Flame and silently resolved that one day, he would refine it.
Jiang Yun looked at the tiny flame flickering before him. If the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame sealed at the tower's base was a great stone sphere, this flame was a grain of rice.
The difference could not have been more stark!
But for Jiang Yun, a mere Dou Zhe, it was just right!
"I'm starting!" After regulating his breathing, Jiang Yun glanced at Qing Ming. Without any further hesitation, he grabbed the flame and hurled it into his mouth.
As the flame entered his body, Jiang Yun instantly felt pain in every part of him. He nearly convulsed from the agony.
The flame scorched Jiang Yun's internal organs, meridians, and everything else within him.
Amid Jiang Yun's excruciating pain, the Nine Divine Veins within his body suddenly erupted with terrifying power.
Seizing the opportunity, Jiang Yun forcefully drove the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame toward his dantian.
Once inside his dantian, the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame no longer had any chance to resist. Jiang Yun circulated his Dou Qi, accelerating its flow.
As he continued refining it, Jiang Yun's Dou Qi grew increasingly condensed. The Saint Heavenly Demon Flame now occupied the center of his dantian, with black-and-white Dou Qi slowly circulating around it.
Every time the surrounding Dou Qi entered his dantian, the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame scorched it, making it purer. Throughout this process, Jiang Yun also steadily increased his affinity with the Saint Heavenly Demon Flame.
Thank you to Thousand-Feather Asura and Time Has Me for your monthly votes. Thank you so much! Thank you for your support!
Before you continue