By the moonlight, Xiao Ce took out the green lotus core flame and brought it to his mouth.
Under his precise control, the emperor flame formed an extremely thin barrier over his Adam's apple and the surface of his windpipe.
Protected by this barrier, he was completely insulated from the green lotus core flame's intense heat.
The flame seed traveled down his throat into his abdomen. Without hesitation, Xiao Ce instantly activated the Spirit Refining Art and began devouring it.
Then the emperor flame also began transforming into the colorless, formless nihility devouring flame. Its devouring power quietly spread, helping Xiao Ce absorb the green lotus core flame's energy.
Wrapped in the Spirit Refining Art's Dou Qi, the green lotus core flame circulated along with it.
The green flames slowly traveled through his meridians. With every fraction they advanced, Xiao Ce digested another fraction of their energy. By the time they completed one circuit, more than half the green lotus core flame's energy had been consumed.
Xiao Ce's physique, comparable to that of a Sixth Rank Magical Beast, allowed him to absorb the energy without the slightest discomfort, smoothly taking it all in.
The nihility devouring flame's devouring power also made the digestion exceptionally smooth.
Soon, the green lotus core flame completed another circuit. Its energy had essentially been digested in full, completely assimilated into the Spirit Refining Art's Dou Qi.
Sensing the connection between his mind and the green lotus core flame, Xiao Ce nodded in satisfaction.
He opened his eyes and discovered that, without his noticing, the sky had long since turned clear again.
Scorching heat once again held sway over the desert.
Beside him, the Ninth Grade Golden Pill's Dou Qi barrier blocked out almost everything, keeping the external environment from affecting him at all.
Only after gently stroking the Ninth Grade Golden Pill did Xiao Ce examine the progress he had made this time.
First was his cultivation. After absorbing the green lotus core flame, he had broken through two stars in succession, rising from Six-Star Dou Shi to Eight-Star Dou Shi.
Second, the green lotus core flame had evolved the Spirit Refining Art to the Intermediate Xuan Tier, leaving it just one step short of the high tier.
At this, Xiao Ce could only smile helplessly.
A cultivation method's advantages came with disadvantages. Since the Spirit Refining Art could absorb all spiritual treasures of heaven and earth to evolve, it naturally required more energy for its evolution.
By comparison, Xiao Yan, who cultivated the Flame Mantra in the original story, had evolved his cultivation method straight to the Intermediate Xuan Tier after absorbing one sixth-rank beast flame and the green lotus core flame. He, however, had absorbed a wisp of emperor flame, an infant myriad beast spirit flame, and the green lotus core flame.
"Good thing I still have Earth Fire Lotus Seeds and ice spirit cold spring on me. Once I absorb them, evolving the Spirit Refining Art to the High Xuan Tier will be no problem.
"Come to think of it, a High Xuan Tier cultivation method actually suits my current cultivation.
"Any higher, and I probably wouldn't be able to handle it." Xiao Ce was not discouraged.
He raised his hand, and the dazzling, multicolored emperor flame rose, its intensity noticeably greater.
In absorbing the green lotus core flame this time, the greatest improvement was not to his cultivation method or cultivation level, but to the restoration of the emperor flame's essence.
Having absorbed part of the green lotus core flame's essence, the emperor flame had now recovered to an intensity roughly equivalent to sixteenth place on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.
This also meant that the functions and power of the various heavenly flames the emperor flame transformed into had improved.
Taking the fallen heart flame formed by the emperor flame as an example, its current intensity had increased the speed at which its heart fire tempered Dou Qi by twenty to thirty percent.
"Although the emperor flame is only in an incomplete state, its usefulness can't be overlooked.
"The nihility devouring flame's devouring power lets me digest all kinds of resources quickly, saving as much time as possible.
"I haven't used the purifying lotus demon flame's purification power yet. I can try it later.
"Next, of the heavenly flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, the one most worth transforming it into and using is the fifth-ranked life spirit flame. It can accelerate medicinal herbs' growth and prolong life.
"I have no use for prolonging life, but accelerating medicinal herbs' growth is a devastating weapon!"
Xiao Yan knew perfectly well that in alchemy, just three things mattered most in determining one's upper limit.
One's own talent for alchemy, guidance from an accomplished teacher, and the supply of medicinal herbs.
His talent for alchemy needed no elaboration. He felt it was quite good, and he already possessed the very best Fire Control Technique, so even somewhat lacking talent would be nothing to fear.
As for guidance from an accomplished teacher, the inheritance his clone had left behind was already sufficient. No one under heaven could surpass it.
What could truly affect his upper limit in alchemy was actually medicinal herbs alone.
Why were alchemists scarcer in more remote places, with some even failing to advance an inch after reaching a certain level?
The reason was a lack of medicinal herbs.
Without sufficiently dense natural energy, many medicinal herbs simply could not be grown.
Without medicinal herbs of a sufficient grade to refine pills, and without any way to make repeated attempts, how could anyone become a higher-grade alchemist?
Not everyone was like Xiao Yan in the original story, able to immediately establish himself at a given grade after barely managing to refine a pill of that grade once by putting everything he had into it.
Without a sufficient, ongoing supply of medicinal herbs for refining, even high-grade alchemists risked slipping backward.
And now, the flame of life's ability to accelerate medicinal herbs' growth perfectly solved this problem!
"Let's set a small goal: become at least a sixth-grade alchemist by the time of the Three-Year Agreement!" Xiao Ce clenched his fist.
"Mmm~"
"Senior, you're awake this early?" Xiao Yi Xian woke inside the tent, unzipped it, and looked at Xiao Ce through bleary eyes.
Xiao Ce nodded. The emperor flame had returned to his body before the tent was even unzipped.
"Wake yourself up. We'll head straight to Stone Desert City in a bit." Xiao Ce had no particular intention of walking to Stone Desert City himself. He planned to have the Ninth Grade Golden Pill teleport him and Xiao Yi Xian straight there.
Xiao Yi Xian nodded and gave a soft, drowsy murmur of assent. Her clothes were a little loose, unwittingly exposing a little snowy white skin.
Xiao Ce stared until Xiao Yi Xian noticed it herself. She looked down at her open collar, her face instantly flushed crimson, and she ducked back into the tent.
Xiao Ce turned back around, looking out over the boundless desert and rolling dunes, and inexplicably found himself craving big, white steamed buns.
On the eastern outskirts of the Tagor Desert.
An enormous city stood here.
Compared with ordinary cities, this city looked far more solemn, its walls given an added sense of weight by the scouring sand.
Soldiers patrolling everywhere were visible to the naked eye.
Far from the city, Xiao Ce and Xiao Yi Xian stepped out of a spatial rift. After confirming that no one had noticed them, they walked toward the distant city called Stone Desert City.
Entering through the main gate, Xiao Ce and Xiao Yi Xian paid a small entrance fee, registered their names, and smoothly made their way into Stone Desert City.
Neither had traveled far from home much, and now that they had arrived in Stone Desert City, with its markedly different style, both looked around with some curiosity.
Xiao Ce even bought several local snacks to share with Xiao Yi Xian. They ate as they headed toward the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, utterly at leisure.
After walking for a while.
Xiao Ce suddenly stopped, a faint smile of surprise appearing on his face.
Within his field of vision, a cute girl dressed in plain hemp clothes was clutching her skirt in distress. Opposite her, the owner of a vegetable stall wore a face full of disgust.
"Get lost, get lost! You monster, I won't sell you my vegetables!
"If you don't get lost, don't blame me for getting rough!"
None of the surrounding pedestrians or vendors showed any pity. They nodded in agreement, and some pedestrians even came over to support the vegetable vendor by buying a few vegetables.
Looking aggrieved, the girl dared not meet those hostile gazes. She lowered her head and walked back, then ran straight into a solid chest.
She looked up, and the young man's handsome face, bearing a faint smile, came into view.
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