The blazing golden sun, like a ball of flame, unleashed its intense heat, mercilessly showering down upon the vast continent below.
The deep blue sky was like a calm, boundless ocean, without a single cloud in sight. This made the already scorching world even hotter. The dry air contained very little moisture, and even a normal person's breath would make them weaker. In this extremely hot world, however, there was a figure in black robes, sitting calmly on a mountaintop.
The mountaintop was undoubtedly the most scorching place under the blazing sun, especially in this awful weather. Even some Half-Emperor wouldn't choose to stay here, so the appearance of this black-robed figure was naturally quite strange.
Of course, no matter how strange it is, in the Xilin Mountain Range where almost no one comes, no one will notice it.
Under the bright sunshine, the trees in the mountains drooped their heads pitifully, but Xiao Yan was full of energy.
After three consecutive days of cultivation, Xiao Yan not only completely refined the energy within his body, but also restored his aura to its peak. Even though he still had residual injuries, he was no longer afraid.
Feeling the powerful fire-attribute energy permeating the world, Xiao Yan smiled and casually stretched out his hand, making a grasping motion in the void before him.
Feeling the intense heat emanating from his palm, Xiao Yan couldn't help but show a hint of surprise in his eyes. He hadn't expected that the fire elemental energy in the world he was in would be so strong. If he were to use this place for cultivation, wouldn't it be twice as effective with half the effort?
Of course, despite this, Xiao Yan did not intend to cultivate here. At present, his strength has reached a bottleneck, and it is obviously unrealistic to improve his strength in a short period of time. At this moment, there is not even a trace of Dou Qi that can be contained in Xiao Yan's Qi vortex.
He sighed inwardly. Such a wonderful place for cultivation was not always available. It would only appear by chance at a certain moment. Moreover, the time this strange state could exist was limited. It might last for several months, or it might only last for a few days, or even just a few hours.
Seeing that such an excellent place for cultivation could not be used, Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel a little regretful. Xiao Yan sighed helplessly, shook his head, and then turned his attention back to the jade box in his palm.
Looking at the jade box in his hand, Xiao Yan's expression gradually changed, and he couldn't help but show excitement on his face. After searching for several months, he finally got his hands on it!
" Soul-Congealing Fruit... With you, my breakthrough to the Third-Tier Alchemist is now a certainty!"
With an eager tone, Xiao Yan opened the jade box. Instantly, a thick, milky-white mist spread out the moment the box was opened.
"Buzzing..."
At this moment, Xiao Yan felt as if a hot spring had flowed into the depths of his soul, making him feel relaxed from the inside out. He couldn't help but let out a soft moan, as if all the fatigue he had accumulated over a long period of time had been washed away in that instant, leaving him feeling refreshed from the inside out.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Yan's eyes widened, and he quickly came back to his senses. When he looked at the jade box in his hand, his expression was extremely excited.
This is merely the Spiritual Strength overflowing from the Soul-Congealing Fruit, yet it has already reached such a powerful level. Moreover, its purity is such that anyone can easily devour it. It must be said that this Soul-Congealing Fruit truly deserves to be called a more valuable soul medicine than the Soul Infant Fruit!
"Call..."
After a long while, Xiao Yan slowly exhaled, his throat bobbing involuntarily, and the burning desire in his eyes was self-evident.
" Third-Tier Alchemist! Here I come!"
With an excited whisper, Xiao Yan immediately stopped hesitating. A surge of vast Spiritual Strength erupted from between his brows, quickly enveloping the Soul-Congealing Fruit in the jade box. Like a pair of invisible hands, it carefully lifted the fruit. Then, Xiao Yan opened his mouth wide, and brilliant Heavenly Flames burst forth, also carefully enveloping the Soul-Congealing Fruit before he slowly put it into his mouth.
The palm-sized Soul-Congealing Fruit melted instantly upon entering Xiao Yan's mouth, resembling milk, and flowed down Xiao Yan throat, instantly entering Xiao Yan body.
"Boom!"
The next moment, Xiao Yan's body, which was sitting cross-legged on the mountain peak, suddenly trembled. Instantly, an invisible energy storm swept out from Xiao Yan and spread across the sky above the mountain range.
At the same time, an extremely terrifying soul pressure instantly filled the world. At this moment, all the magical beasts within the mountain range were heavily pressed to the ground by this aura, each one crawling on the ground in fear, their massive bodies not daring to make the slightest movement.
Of course, under this terrifying aura and oppressive force, let alone not daring to move, even if they did dare to move, they would be completely unable to move at all under this pressure.
Meanwhile, Xiao Yan, atop the mountain, was also observing his own body with utter astonishment, his joy beyond words.
At this very moment, the Soul-Congealing Fruit that had entered Xiao Yan's body was suspended within Xiao Yan's vortex, directly above the Qi Cyclone Space.
As a milky-white light emanated from the Soul-Congealing Fruit, a vast and pure Spiritual Strength surged through Xiao Yan 'Xiao Yan body, spreading in all directions after passing through his form.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Yan's expression changed slightly. Although he wanted to merge with it using his own Xiao Yan Spiritual Strength, no matter what he did, the enormous Soul Power released from the Soul-Congealing Fruit simply passed right through his body, as if ignoring him completely, and continued to spread into the distant void.
"Damn it, how could this happen?!"
This scene surprised Xiao Yan greatly. He never expected that after searching so hard for the Soul-Congealing Fruit, the final result would be like this. Judging from the appearance, if he could not retrieve the Spiritual Strength that had spread out, then in the end, the Spiritual Strength in the entire Soul-Congealing Fruit would probably dissipate completely like this!
To have all one's efforts in vain is an outcome that Xiao Yan absolutely cannot accept.
" Elder Gu, what's going on? Am I just supposed to watch these Spiritual Strength continue to spread like this?"
"Hehe, kid, the Spiritual Strength contained in the Soul-Congealing Fruit is indeed the purest and most powerful. However, it is naturally impossible to easily devour and refine it using ordinary methods. After all, it is a product of heaven and earth, born and nurtured by nature. How could it be so easily devoured by you?"
Upon hearing Xiao Yan's plea for help, Gu You chuckled and explained to Xiao Yan.
"If you really want to devour these Spiritual Strength, it's best to use Heavenly Flames to refine them first before devouring them. That way, although there will be some consumption, you will be able to devour most of the Spiritual Strength. There are always gains and losses, so don't expect any perfect method."
Hearing these words, Xiao Yan finally understood. It seemed that the Spiritual Strength of the Soul-Congealing Fruit was not so easy to obtain. The so-called ability to easily devour it was only because the Soul-Congealing Fruit could not cause any harm to ordinary people. However, if one really wanted to devour it, it would be difficult to do so without a certain amount of loss.
"There are always gains and losses..."
Muttering to himself the words Gu You had just said, Xiao Yan nodded slightly. Most things in the world are like this: to gain something, you must lose something else. Everything is proportional; gain and loss are always interdependent.
"Thank you for your guidance Elder Gu!"
After thanking Gu You in his heart, Xiao Yan did not hesitate any longer. With a thought, the massive Dou Qi in his Qi vortex spun rapidly like a windmill, and the dazzling Heavenly Flames also rose up, condensing into a magnificent flame cauldron, in which he placed the Soul-Congealing Fruit.
"Clang clang clang!"
As expected, this time, with the resistance of the Heavenly Flames, the Spiritual Strength that was originally spreading outward was indeed restrained by the Heavenly Flames. The vast and pure Spiritual Strength collided back and forth inside the medicine cauldron, and a series of loud clanging sounds came from the cauldron. The entire medicine cauldron was trembling involuntarily.
It has to be said that the Spiritual Strength contained in this Soul-Congealing Fruit is truly terrifying. Fortunately, this thing has no killing power against ordinary people. Otherwise, with the strength of this Spiritual Strength, it would probably be enough to shatter Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength under countless bombardments!
"Hmph, refine it for me!"
After a brief moment of surprise, Xiao Yan suddenly let out a sharp shout. At the same time, the surging Heavenly Flames within the medicine cauldron suspended in Xiao Yan's vortex surged up like an ancient demonic beast, baring its fangs and claws as it pounced on the Soul-Congealing Fruit.
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
At the same time, the Soul-Congealing Fruit seemed to have its own reaction. After a buzzing tremor, the milky white Soul-Congealing Fruit quickly released a large amount of pure Spiritual Strength. In the blink of an eye, an invisible soul shield condensed on the surface of the Soul-Congealing Fruit, protecting the Soul-Congealing Fruit's body completely.
"Hiss hiss hiss hiss..."
With this layer of Spiritual Strength covering it, the attack of the Heavenly Flames was temporarily blocked. The Spiritual Strength on it was being refined at an extremely slow speed under the terrifying high temperature of the Heavenly Flames. Although this method was indeed effective, if Xiao Yan really thought about it this way, he would probably have to spend a lot of time on this Soul-Congealing Fruit!
"I didn't expect this thing to have autonomous defense capabilities. It truly lives up to its name as the Soul-Congealing Fruit. But if that's all it is, then I'll just have to obediently refine it!"
He was slightly surprised and exclaimed in amazement, but then a cold smile appeared on Xiao Yan's face. While looking inward, he controlled the huge amount of Dou Qi in his body's vortex, which surged outward like the Yellow River in a raging torrent. It condensed into a giant Dou Qi dragon in the vortex and then rushed into the medicine cauldron all at once.
"Roar!"
The moment this massive amount of Dou Qi was injected, a deep dragon's roar suddenly emanated from within the cauldron. Immediately afterward, the dazzling flames surged even more fiercely towards the Soul-Congealing Fruit.
"Hiss hiss hiss!"
Compared to before, at this moment, under the powerful force of the Heavenly Flames, the soul shield on the surface of the Soul-Congealing Fruit melted away rapidly, just like ice encountering fire. In just a short while, the soul shield was about to shatter.
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
At that moment, a dazzling light flashed from the Soul-Congealing Fruit, and powerful Spiritual Strength surged out from it, quickly pouring into the person's soul shield.
"Hmph, you think you can solidify? Break it!"
Upon seeing this, Xiao Yan let out a loud shout. At the same time, inside the medicine cauldron, the fierce Heavenly Flames surrounding the Soul-Congealing Fruit transformed into a giant dragon of Heavenly Flames in the blink of an eye. The dragon twisted its body, and just as a massive Spiritual Strength was about to enter the soul shield, the dragon opened its mouth wide and bit down hard on the soul shield that was already on the verge of breaking.
"Bang!"
With a single gulp, the soul shield shattered in less than a moment, and then the Soul-Congealing Fruit beneath it was immediately swallowed up by the dragon!
"Boom!"
The instant the Soul-Congealing Fruit was devoured by the Flame Dragon, even more ferocious flames surged forth from within the Flame Cauldron, frantically refining the Soul-Congealing Fruit, which was surrounded by Heavenly Flames, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey.
At this moment, no matter how much Spiritual Strength surges from the Soul-Congealing Fruit, it will be quickly torn apart, broken down, and devoured one by one by the surrounding Heavenly Flames.
As the Spiritual Strength was continuously refined by the Heavenly Flames, strands of purer Spiritual Strength slowly rose from the vortex within Xiao Yan's body, eventually flowing into the Soul Bead deep within his mind.
Having broken through that soul shield, refining the Soul-Congealing Fruit naturally became much easier. From now on, refining the Soul-Congealing Fruit will no longer present any difficulties.
At this moment, all Xiao Yan needs is enough patience to slowly refine the Heavenly Flames Condensation Fruit with the remaining time, without rushing or being impatient. He believes that it won't be long before he completely devours the Spiritual Strength within the Soul-Congealing Fruit. At that time, Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength will be able to break through, allowing him to reach the level of Third-Tier Alchemist!