Digesting resources, rapidly advancing cultivation, and beginning to absorb the Green Lotus Core Flame

Xiao Ce wasted no time. He took a jade ruler straight from his Storage Ring, cut off the entire Green Lotus Platform, and put it into the Gilded Ring.

Once that was done, he instructed the Mysterious Yellow Flame to leave.

As for the root stalk, he did not take it.

In the original story, Yao Lao had taught Xiao Yan not to take things to extremes. Spiritual treasures of heaven and earth were not easily born; their roots should be left behind so they could be born again in the centuries or millennia to come.

Xiao Ce rather agreed with that principle, so he deliberately left the root stalk behind.

He already had the most valuable things-the lotus flame, platform, and seeds. There was no need to fixate on that little bit of lotus stalk.

Before setting off this time, Xiao Ce specifically stressed that time was pressing and told the Mysterious Yellow Flame not to delay.

The Mysterious Yellow Flame said nothing. With a casual swipe, it tore open a spatial rift. Xiao Ce stepped through and returned to the ground above the pit.

Xiao Ce opened his mouth, but did not ask why they had wasted so much time on the way there. Instead, he helped make an excuse. "Mm, when you're looking for something, you obviously can't travel straight to it through space. Taking things slowly is normal."

The Mysterious Yellow Flame nodded and returned straight into Xiao Ce's body, not forgetting to continue helping him keep the Green Lotus Core Flame isolated.

Xiao Ce looked up at the sky. The moon hung high, and he had no idea what time it was.

I should go back to Xiao Yi Xian first. She's been waiting for a while too, Xiao Ce thought.

Under the moonlight, he walked across the sand and gravel. Before long, he saw Xiao Yi Xian in the distance, still inside the Dou Qi barrier without having moved.

At the same time, Xiao Yi Xian spotted Xiao Ce returning, and delight immediately spread across her face.

When Xiao Ce reached her side, she breathed a sigh of relief.

In fact, she had started regretting it after Xiao Ce left her.

The late-night desert was deserted, with only the occasional passing Magical Beast attacking her. There was nothing but fear, and she could not even rest.

Fortunately, the Dou Qi barrier was sturdy enough. Otherwise, she truly would not have known what to do.

Now that Xiao Ce had finally returned, a powerful sense of security arose, and the exhaustion Xiao Yi Xian had suppressed for so long finally washed over her.

She looked at Xiao Ce, her eyelids drooping. "Senior, where are we going next..."

As she spoke, her head fell against Xiao Ce, and she sank into a deep sleep, her delicate pink nose twitching slightly.

Seeing this, Xiao Ce could hardly take Xiao Yi Xian on the road. He took a tent and thick bedding straight from his Storage Ring.

Although he was out gaining experience, he would not torment himself. He had all the daily necessities he ought to have, and now Xiao Yi Xian got to enjoy them first.

Xiao Ce placed Xiao Yi Xian in the tent and wrapped her in the thick bedding, then sat cross-legged outside.

With the Dou Qi barrier laid down by the Ninth Grade Golden Pill, calling this place absolutely safe would be no exaggeration.

Xiao Yi Xian was asleep, making this the perfect opportunity. Xiao Ce planned to absorb the resources he had acquired right now.

In the dim moonlight, Xiao Ce took the Green Lotus Platform from the Gilded Ring and sat cross-legged on it.

He tried circulating the Spirit Refining Art and cultivated for a while, reaching a conclusion. The Green Lotus Platform really does increase cultivation speed. It can also help temper the Dou Qi within my body and firm up my foundations.

Combined with the Fallen Heart Flame, it more than doubles my cultivation efficiency.

At this cultivation speed, twenty days would be enough to advance one star, and two months would mean three stars.

Even if higher star levels require more energy and advancement slows down somewhat, it still won't take too long!

In short, this Green Lotus Platform is quite useful!

After testing the Green Lotus Platform's effects, Xiao Ce used the jade ruler to remove an Earth Fire Lotus Seed from it.

Only one Earth Fire Lotus Seed could be born every hundred years. It was an exceedingly precious fire spirit essence.

In the original story, Xiao Yan had even been reluctant to absorb it to advance his cultivation, trading it for resources instead.

Xiao Ce naturally had no such intention. With the Deployment System, the faster he advanced his cultivation and gained more deployment opportunities, the faster his cultivation could advance.

He intended to swallow all these Earth Fire Lotus Seeds to improve his cultivation.

If he absorbed all eleven Earth Fire Lotus Seeds, reaching Dou Ling by the Three-Year Agreement would certainly be no problem.

Taking into account the hundred-plus bottles of ice spirit cold spring, the green lotus core flame, and that sealed mass of blood essence, his cultivation might even reach Dou Wang by the Three-Year Agreement.

When that time came, everything would swing to the opposite extreme.

Of course, it was a little too early to think about such things now.

Xiao Ce cast aside the stray thoughts in his mind and swallowed the Earth Fire Lotus Seed straight into his stomach. Then he circulated the Spirit Refining Art and immediately began refining its terrifying energy.

Quietly, the emperor flame within his body slowly changed from multicolored fire into a completely colorless, formless flame. It was none other than the nihility devouring flame, ranked second on the Heavenly Flame Ranking and endowed with the power of devouring.

This wisp of nihility devouring flame was not very strong, and might not even compare to a wisp of its child flame, but its devouring power was genuine.

With the support of that devouring power, and with the Spirit Refining Art itself being a cultivation method created to refine spiritual treasures of heaven and earth, the combination made Xiao Ce feel as though his body were an enormous furnace. Once the Earth Fire Lotus Seed entered him, it was rapidly burned down and digested.

In the original story, Xiao Yan had relied on part of the energy from a single Earth Fire Lotus Seed to break through two stars in a month and a half. Even excluding his own cultivation, that portion of a single seed's energy had been enough to raise him by one star.

Xiao Ce, however, was digesting all the energy of the Earth Fire Lotus Seed.

Time slipped by little by little. The Earth Fire Lotus Seed's immense energy surged against Xiao Ce's meridians, circulating round after round under the Spirit Refining Art's control until it was thoroughly assimilated into his Dou Qi.

His cultivation climbed bit by bit.

Roughly four hours later, Xiao Ce opened his eyes, and his aura immediately rose two levels.

Five-Star Dou Shi!

Six-Star Dou Shi!

A single Earth Fire Lotus Seed had raised his cultivation by two whole stars, and that was with him deliberately directing part of its energy toward firming up his foundations rather than advancing his cultivation. Otherwise, reaching Seven-Star Dou Shi might not have been impossible.

Such was the Earth Fire Lotus Seed, a supreme treasure enough to tempt even a fire-attribute Dou Huang expert.

Aside from his cultivation advancing, what surprised and delighted Xiao Ce most was that, after absorbing the Earth Fire Lotus Seed, the grade of the Spirit Refining Art had actually risen a tiny bit. Although it was still some distance from reaching the next grade, it had opened two new meridians within his body, increasing the speed at which his Dou Qi circulated somewhat.

Xiao Ce steadied his breathing. He had not expected that, with the support of the Spirit Refining Art and the power of devouring, a single Earth Fire Lotus Seed would take him only four hours.

Such efficiency in absorbing resources was simply a cheat even more terrifying than the Fallen Heart Flame's automatic cultivation.

He turned to look at Xiao Yi Xian, still fast asleep inside the tent, then at the moon still hanging high in the sky, feeling an itch to act.

"There's still enough time. I might as well absorb the green lotus core flame." Xiao Ce made his decision.