The dazzling, multicolored Emperor Flame entered his body, and scorching energy that seemed capable of burning everything to nothing erupted rapidly.
There was no resistance, only submission, yet even so, Xiao Ce felt his body swelling almost to the point of bursting.
The Spirit Refining Art circulated at full power, channeling the energy from the Emperor Flame into his meridians to digest it, yet even so, it was still far too slow.
Faint cracks appeared in his skin, and dazzling energy flowed through them like magma.
His flesh tore apart at the same time, while his bones and meridians shattered into fragments.
Xiao Ce's body had reached its limit.
Yet at that very moment, the Emperor Flame began changing of its own accord.
Its dazzling colors gradually faded, leaving only a single color behind.
It was purple, but a purple so deep it was nearly black.
Ninth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, the Three Thousand Burning Flame!
In an instant, a terrifying power of self-healing took effect. Split skin, torn flesh, severed meridians, shattered bones-everything slowly healed beneath the deep purple energy, returning to its original state... no, becoming far stronger than before!
His bones grew harder, his flesh held greater power, and his skin became impervious to blades and spears like a Magical Beast's...
And his meridians, which bore the greatest onslaught of energy, were constantly torn apart and restored, growing wider and tougher. Dou Qi flowed through them several times faster, allowing him to mobilize it more swiftly.
At that moment, the deep purple gradually changed back into the Emperor Flame's dazzling colors.
Absorption... began anew!
The Emperor Flame did not contain much energy.
In terms of quantity alone, it perhaps could not even compare to the Mysterious Yellow Flame at the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Ranking. But the quality of its energy had already reached the ceiling of the entire Dou Qi Continent, and digesting every wisp took Xiao Ce a long time.
During this process, the origin energy belonging exclusively to the emperor of all flames seemed to give Xiao Ce a trace of that same aura.
The sun and moon alternated, warmth and cold shifted, and the passage of time took on a tangible form.
When everything was over, and the Spirit Refining Art had truly transformed the Emperor Flame into Xiao Ce's own power, he opened his eyes.
And his current cultivation was... Eight-Star Dou Zhe!
"Third Brother!"
"Brother Xiao Ce!"
The two calls startled Xiao Ce, and he looked up ahead.
A boy and a girl were watching him with complicated expressions. They were none other than Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er.
"Fourth Brother, Xun'er, why are you here?" Xiao Ce asked.
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose. "Because you suddenly disappeared, Third Brother! You were gone for an entire month. Xun'er and I were worried, so we came to the back mountain to look for you, only to find you cultivating."
"A month?" Xiao Ce caught the key point and was slightly startled.
He had never imagined that such a faint trace of Emperor Flame origin would take him so long to absorb successfully. He had thought it would take seven days at most.
Still, looking on the bright side, didn't this demonstrate just how powerful this wisp of Emperor Flame was?
His gains this time went far beyond the increase in cultivation visible on the surface.
"Fourth Brother, Xun'er, does that mean you both saw my cultivation increase?" Xiao Ce asked.
Xiao Yan and Xiao Xun'er nodded. Xiao Yan spoke enviously. "Yes. You're an Eight-Star Dou Zhe now, aren't you, Third Brother? Isn't that a little too fast?"
Xiao Xun'er blinked her sparkling eyes and said with a soft laugh, "You're amazing, Brother Xiao Ce."
Xiao Ce smiled helplessly. "I just encountered a little opportunity. I didn't expect digesting it to take longer than I imagined.
"But there was no need to hide it from you anyway. Since you know, you know.
"After all, the two of you have even more secrets than I do."
As he spoke, Xiao Ce stared at them for a few moments. Xiao Yan immediately gave a couple of awkward laughs, while Xiao Xun'er played cute to get through it.
"Well, uh, Third Brother, as long as you're all right. I'll be going now," Xiao Yan said.
Xiao Xun'er also smiled faintly. "Brother Xiao Ce, take Xun'er shopping with you when you have time. Xun'er will be going now."
Xiao Ce nodded to Xiao Xun'er and called out to stop Xiao Yan. "Fourth Brother, wait a moment."
Xiao Yan stopped, while Xiao Xun'er left the back mountain.
"Third Brother, is there something else?" Xiao Yan asked.
Xiao Ce chuckled. "Don't bring me any more Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid."
Xiao Yan scratched his head and smiled wryly. "You found out, Third Brother?"
Xiao Ce asked in return, "Although I was cultivating in seclusion, I still knew you reached the Seventh Stage of Dou Qi at the coming-of-age preliminary test, and now you're already at the Eighth Stage of Dou Qi.
"Then, thinking about who would give me something as precious as Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid for free without any reason, wasn't it easy to guess?"
Xiao Yan did not deny it, only saying, "It's a little difficult to explain. Anyway, I've had some opportunities too."
Xiao Ce naturally knew it was Yao Lao, so he did not ask. He patted Xiao Yan's shoulder and smiled. "Perfect. Both of us brothers have secrets.
"Having secrets is normal. They can't change the bond between us brothers anyway.
"I'm happy that things are getting better for you."
Warmth welled up in Xiao Yan's heart. "Third Brother..."
"All right, just a few words and you're already moved. You brat, how are you going to get by out there in the future?" Xiao Ce said.
Xiao Yan left the back mountain with a smile.
With no one around, Xiao Ce began taking stock inwardly.
Absorbing the Emperor Flame this time raised my cultivation from One-Star Dou Practitioner to Eight-Star Dou Zhe. That's a considerable increase.
Besides the improvement in cultivation, the improvements in my physique and constitution, as well as what the Emperor Flame can do, can't be overlooked either.
With a thought from Xiao Ce, the status panel unfolded before his eyes.
[Host: Xiao Ce] [Race: Human] [Cultivation: Eight-Star Dou Zhe] [Soul: Mortal Realm] [Physique: First Rank] [Attribute: Fire with a trace of wood (fire attribute mutation)] [Cultivation method: Spirit Refining Art (Yellow Tier, high level)] [Dou Technique: Rock-Splitting Palm (Yellow Tier, high level/minor attainment)] [Bloodline: Xiao Clan Dou Di Bloodline (extremely faint)] [Constitution: Three Thousand Star Body] [Mount: None] [Pet beast: None] [Natural spiritual treasure: Emperor Flame (faint)] [Deployments remaining: 1 (advanced to Dou Zhe, deployments +1)]
As he looked at the changes on the panel, the corners of Xiao Ce's mouth curved upward in satisfaction.
My cultivation has advanced to Eight-Star Dou Zhe, and my physique has reached the first rank too, equivalent to a first-rank Magical Beast.
There's also the Dou Qi attribute mutation and the Three Thousand Star Body.
In the original story, the Eighth-Tier Nine-Colored Pill, the Flame Demon Clear Profound Pill, refined by Old Monster Hou, that Eighth-Tier Nine-Colored alchemist from the Little Pill Tower, only had a chance of mutating one's attribute to enhance combat power.
Yet by absorbing the Emperor Flame, I achieved it directly.
The Three Thousand Star Body is practically an undying body. As long as I don't encounter someone who can kill me in one strike, I can fight a prolonged battle and grind them to death!
The more Xiao Ce took stock, the brighter his eyes grew.
This was only the first deployment, yet the feedback he had received had already let him shed his old self and completely turn his fortunes around.
What about the second deployment, then?
He did not ask for its feedback rewards to surpass the first. As long as they weren't too poor, that would do.
At this thought, Xiao Ce promptly said inwardly, System, begin the second deployment!
The panel before his eyes changed instantly.
[Yes/No, begin deployment.]
"Yes!" Xiao Ce confirmed once more.
Before you continue