Xiao Yan, Eight Levels Collapse Reached Great Accomplishment

"All right, all right, Xiao Yan. I'd like to see just how capable a genius like you really is!"

Yao Lao was so furious that he laughed instead. He extended a forefinger and jabbed Xiao Yan's forehead several times, his voice dripping with mockery.

Now that they had returned to the amethyst cave, he, Yao Chen, was determined to knock the arrogance out of this brat.

At the very least, he had to make him understand that beyond every mountain was another mountain, and above every person was another person!

Back in the day, he had made his way alone through the Central Plains, become champion of the Pill Gathering, founded Starfall Pavilion, and been the foremost alchemist acknowledged by the Dou Qi Continent. What glorious days those had been.

Now he had fallen so low that even a greenhorn looked down on him. How could he possibly stand it?

"You wet-behind-the-ears brat! If I don't show you what your teacher can do, you'll really think I, Venerable Yao, am living on an empty reputation!"

Yao Lao roared in anger, his soul power exploding from his body and stirring up a fierce wind that quickly swept away every cloud around them.

"Then I'll wait and see."

When it came to learning Dou Techniques, Xiao Yan was equally confident. He put away the scroll before replying with a smile.

Just then, the scenery around the youth changed.

Before long, he entered a cave covered in purple crystals.

A scent mingled with baleful Qi and a rich medicinal fragrance filled the air, lingering at the tip of his nose.

Xiao Yan looked around and realized he had reached his destination.

As soon as he arrived, he sensed another presence coming from afar.

Suddenly, a deep, resonant roar reached Xiao Yan's ears from the amethyst cave:

"My lord, you have returned. Please, take the seat of honor."

Xiao Yan looked ahead and saw the silhouette of a beast flash past.

A moment later, the Amethyst Winged Lion King flew down.

She stepped gracefully up to Xiao Yan and lowered her head respectfully. After briefly recounting what had happened during this time, she added:

"Just yesterday, the Deadly Mad Bird from the forest west of the Magical Beast Mountain Range suddenly came to visit... and decided to join our alliance."

"According to it, it has taken over all the territory belonging to Fifth-Order Magical Beasts in that forest."

"As of now, it has eight Fifth-Order Magical Beasts under its command, ready to join the alliance at any time."

As Xiao Yan listened, the scene of him putting the Deadly Mad Bird in its place appeared on his face, and he could not help chuckling.

A moment later, he came back to himself. He nodded, looked the Amethyst Winged Lion King over, and gave a satisfied nod.

"Not bad. You've actually reached Five-Star Dou Emperor already. Congratulations!"

Originally, the Amethyst Winged Lion King had been a Three-Star Dou Emperor at best.

But after taking the Emperor's Extreme Pill, she had directly reached Five-Star Dou Emperor, drawing out almost all of the pill's effects.

In truth, the Emperor's Extreme Pill could indeed raise a Dou Huang expert's cultivation by one or two stars.

But the chance of that was extremely slim. Only a fortunate few could bring it about.

At that, he paused, then said seriously:

"But there's no rush with the alliance. We have one more ally who hasn't arrived yet!"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King was slightly taken aback. "Oh? There's another ally?"

The youth replied calmly, "The Nether Snake King."

At those words, the Amethyst Winged Lion King abruptly shrank her neck back, and her mind trembled as she recalled the proud, solitary figure of that peerlessly ferocious snake from years ago.

"What? His Majesty the Nether Snake King agreed to join us too?"

The Amethyst Winged Lion King was abashed. She had never imagined Xiao Yan had enough clout to bring out such a mighty figure.

The Nether Snake King was a terrifying existence who had reached Seventh-Rank Magical Beast long ago, as well as the ultimate overlord of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Back when the Nether Snake King had fought a decisive battle deep in the marsh with Yun Shan, a Peak Dou Emperor, she had been no more than an ordinary Fifth-Order Magical Beast.

At the time, merely seeing his silhouette from afar had left her trembling with fear. She had not dared approach within ten li, terrified of being caught in the crossfire.

"That's right. I refined a seventh-grade pill for him, and he owed me a favor, so he agreed."

Without blushing or batting an eye, Xiao Yan patted his chest and claimed all the credit for Yao Lao's work.

"Gasp! A seventh-grade pill! I didn't expect you really had reached that soul realm, my lord."

Surprise flashed through the Amethyst Winged Lion King's eyes. Looking at Xiao Yan's face, she drew a sharp breath.

Powerful soul power was a prerequisite for refining high-grade pills.

And for a seventh-grade pill, the soul had to be at least on par with that of a Dou Zong expert.

Xiao Yan was just about to boast when a scolding interrupted him.

"Enough nonsense. Hurry up and leave Xiao Yi Xian with her, then get down the mountain and cultivate!"

"I can hardly wait to see how clumsily you learn a Dou Technique."

Yao Lao's impatient voice rang out in the youth's mind, urging him to finish up quickly.

Right now, all he wanted was to use his superb experience with Dou Techniques to give this disciple, who knew neither the height of heaven nor the depth of earth, a thorough lesson.

"I know, I know."

Xiao Yan gave a helpless, bitter smile. It seemed he really had gotten under Yao Lao's skin, for him to be so impatient to teach a Dou Technique.

With that thought, he wasted no more time. He picked up Xiao Yi Xian, placed her on the Amethyst Winged Lion King's back, and instructed:

"Take good care of this girl. She'll be a member of our alliance in the future too. Nothing can happen to her, or I'll hold you responsible!"

Feeling something unfamiliar on her back, the Amethyst Winged Lion King instinctively resisted and was about to throw Xiao Yi Xian off.

But when she heard Xiao Yan's voice, she immediately settled down and hurriedly nodded.

"Understood. Please rest assured, my lord. I will take good care of her."

Then the Amethyst Winged Lion King released her soul perception and quickly detected Xiao Yi Xian's Dou Qi cultivation.

Ninth Stage Dou Qi...

Isn't she far too weak?! the Amethyst Winged Lion King muttered inwardly, feeling as though a huge question mark had appeared over her head.

But when she remembered that Xiao Yan had assigned her this task, she let it go.

She did not understand why Xiao Yan would take in such a weak human.

But past events had proved one thing.

Never question Xiao Yan's judgment.

Because every decision Xiao Yan made was correct.

In that case, why should she say anything more? She only had to do her own job.

So she agreed without hesitation. "No problem, Lord Xiao Yan!"

Before her words had faded, the Lion King prepared to carry Xiao Yi Xian away and carry out her orders.

Just as she finished speaking, the youth's voice rang out again.

"Mm. Besides that, I have a few things to take care of, so I'll be leaving for a while."

"When the Nether Snake King arrives, just call out my name loudly."

Xiao Yan folded his arms across his chest as he gave the instructions calmly.

Then he pushed off with the tip of his foot, his figure flashing as he leaped onto a purple crystal to his left, before continuing into the distance.

After repeatedly gliding between purple crystals in different positions, he soon leaped out of the cave.

The youth circulated his soul power, skillfully manipulating the surrounding energy into a spiraling air current.

Xiao Yan stepped onto the current and lingered briefly in the air. Then he twisted his body, adjusted his direction, and sped away from the cave entrance.

Meanwhile, inside the amethyst cave, the Amethyst Winged Lion King turned her head.

Staring after Xiao Yan's vanished figure, she said thoughtfully:

"Lord Xiao Yan really is a busy man..."

She sighed softly, recalling the time she had spent with Xiao Yan.

From the moment she had been subdued, Xiao Yan had hardly rested.

But before long, she shook her head and stopped letting her thoughts run wild. She soon carried Xiao Yi Xian into the heart of the cave and settled down there.

Meanwhile, in the sky outside, a shadow streaked across the heavens.

It sped through the sea of clouds, obscuring the moon for an instant.

That was right. This person was Xiao Yan.

Only after crossing several mountain peaks did Xiao Yan abruptly stop, release the vortex's restraint, and drift down toward a lake below.

The sight of the lake reminded him of an old acquaintance, and the corners of his mouth rose in a faint smile.

In his previous life, Yun Yun had bathed here. As a result, the Amethyst Winged Lion King's subordinates had caught her scent and followed the trail to the vicinity of the cave where they were hiding.

When the Magical Beasts attacked back then, if not for Teacher's help, that woman would probably have been eaten by the Amethyst Winged Lion King.

Xiao Yan murmured to himself inwardly before coming back to his senses.

Then he immediately sank his consciousness into the sea of his mind and communicated with Yao Lao in the Storage Ring:

"Teacher, you can show me what you're capable of now!"

"Let your disciple see just how hard it is to comprehend those powerful Dou Techniques you're always talking about!"

Seeing the eager expression on the youth's face, Yao Lao chuckled inwardly and said with confidence:

"You little brat, don't be impatient. I'll grant your wish right now!"

With that, Yao Lao wasted no more words. His illusory spirit gradually floated out of the youth's ancient-looking ring.

He raised a hand and waved it. Endless milky-white soul power immediately poured out of thin air, forming a flickering mass of distorted white light.

Before long, the white light gradually took shape, turning into a lifelike old man.

This was a temporary false body Yao Lao had made for himself using the effect of condensing Dou Qi into matter.

Although the body looked crude, it was more than enough to teach Xiao Yan how to use Dou Techniques.

And so, the story of a Dou Zun teaching the Flame Emperor finally began!

"Watch closely. This is the first Dou Technique I'm going to teach you: Eight Extremes Collapse!"

Yao Lao wasted no time getting used to the body. He merely snorted and immediately gathered Dou Qi at the edge of his palm.

Dou Qi flowed through the meridians in his body, quickly concentrating at several points before ultimately forming eight faint rays of light.

"Ha!"

He shouted again and abruptly threw a punch.

His fist struck with fierce force, sending a whirlwind howling straight out to slam into a towering ancient tree dozens of meters in diameter in the distance.

The next instant, an explosive crack rang through the air, and a huge crater was blasted into the trunk.

Wood chips flew and dust filled the air. The ancient tree shook violently before crashing to the ground.

Looking at his handiwork with his hands on his hips, Yao Lao nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad!"

After that, he flicked a finger, sending a strand of soul power quietly into Xiao Yan's forehead.

In an instant, a sharp pain erupted in Xiao Yan's mind.

Immediately afterward, the cultivation method for Eight Extremes Collapse flooded into his mind, clearly etched before the youth's eyes.

Xiao Yan looked up and swept his torch-bright gaze over the ancient characters.

"Eight Extremes Collapse, a High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique. It can gather Dou Qi to form eight streams of hidden force..."

"When cultivated to great accomplishment, the eight forces overlap, and its destructive power becomes comparable to a Low Earth Tier Dou Technique."

Seeing the familiar contents of the Dou Technique again, Xiao Yan's gaze grew nostalgic for a moment.

Before long, however, he composed himself and circulated the multicolored Dou Qi in his body, tempering his meridians according to the cultivation method of Eight Extremes Collapse and beginning to strengthen his body.

He had learned this Dou Technique in his previous life, and by now he knew it by heart.

He was certain that once his body adjusted a little, he would have almost no difficulty using it.

"Eight Extremes Collapse!!"

Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened as he shouted.

Then he lowered his stance and charged, building momentum. He quickly reached an ancient tree and likewise threw a punch.

In an instant, eight faint streams of multicolored Dou Qi shot from the tiny pores of the youth's fist and struck the ancient tree.

Crack... crack...

In the blink of an eye, the Dou Qi had permeated every corner of the ancient tree. It pierced straight through the center of the trunk, blasting a hole in it.

Not only that, but because the ancient tree was too slender to withstand the air current from the wind of the youth's punch, it finally snapped with a crash. Its upper half flew into the sky before falling back down.

Yao Lao stared at the scene, hurriedly rubbed his eyes, and said in stunned disbelief:

"Am I seeing things? He's only been learning it for a few minutes! How has he already brought the Dou Technique to great accomplishment?"

At the thought, Eight Extremes Collapse's prestige kept falling in Yao Lao's mind until it reached rock bottom.

What a disgrace... This is far too disgraceful!

The Dou Technique he had just taught had nearly failed to measure up to his own student.