Chapter 894: Five Star Dou Huang
Old Qian and Old Bai did not remain in the Inner Academy for long before they quietly disappeared just like they had appeared. In regards to their disappearance, Xiao Yan and the others did not feel any other emotion other than speechless. An expert must have the style of an expert.
Xiao Yan examined the corpse of the Old Ground Demon Ghost the two had left behind only to be surprised to discover that there was not the slightest spiritual trace. It was likely that this old fellow"s soul had been destroyed by Old Bai. Some cold sweat formed on his forehead after learning this. He did not know just what kind of grudge Old Bai had with this fellow to cause him to be this ruthless.
Of course, Xiao Yan would not feel any pity for this old fellow. If Old Qian and Old Bai did not reveal themselves this time around, it was likely that the entire Inner Academy would become a wasteland under his frightening "Extermination Fire Lotus." At that time, he would become a sinner of the Jia Nan Academy.
Xiao Yan did not destroy the ice-cold corpse of the Old Ground Demon Ghost. Instead, he asked an Elder who specialized in ice affinity Dou Qi to freeze it in ice before he placed the body into his Storage Ring.
The corpse of a seven star elite Dou Zong might not be of much use to an ordinary person, but Xiao Yan always remembered the refined body Yao Lao needed. Although he had obtained Yun Shan"s body back then, this Old Ground Demon Ghost"s body was undoubtedly a little stronger.
Xiao Yan dragged his tired body and returned to his room after storing the corpse properly. The soul-stirring battle today had exhausted him. If he had not wildly swallowed some medicinal pills at that time and had the help of Old Qian and Old Bai in suppressing the revolting medicinal strength within his body, it was likely that Xiao Yan would have fainted from the force of the wild, violent medicinal strength.
Even though this was the case, the current Xiao Yan possessed both internal and external injuries. Adding this to his nearly shriveled Dou Qi, he was clearly seriously injured.
Of course, even though his injuries were quite serious this time around, there was no need for the frequently injured Xiao Yan to be overly worried. Given sufficient time, he would recover sooner or later. After all, his spirit was far stronger than an ordinary expert. The many natural treasures he had consumed during these few years had not been expelled from his body like excretion.
Xiao Yan sat cross-legged in a room with warm light. His hands formed a training seal and his eyes were slightly shut. Threads of energy lingered at the tip of his nose. Finally, they followed his breathing cycle and entered his body.
Xiao Yan mind had also sunk into his body during his training. He carefully investigated his body with it before the corner of his mouth let out a bitter smile. Unexpectedly, the injuries that he had suffered this time around had somewhat exceeded his expectations. It seemed that he would have to cautiously use this "Extermination Fire Lotus" in the future.
Xiao Yan mind gradually became focused after understanding the injuries in his body. After which, he circulated his "Flame Mantra" and once again maneuvered some of the medicinal strength that had appeared from consuming a large amount of medicinal pills. The Glazed Lotus Core Flame was subsequently summoned and began its refinement…
The medicinal strength that was produced from such medicine might be able to achieve a supplement effect if one occasionally consumed small quant.i.ties of it. However, if one used a manner similar to how Xiao Yan gulped them down, one would cause these medicinal strengths to become unusually wild, violent due to the mixture. Therefore, it would not only be difficult to heal one"s injuries but it would also worsen the internal injuries of one"s body. Hence, all of these mixed medicines must be refined before he healed his injuries…
Given the ability of the Glazed Lotus Heart Flame, it was naturally not too troublesome to refine these medicinal strengths. He had not done it during the daytime because he could not spare it any attention. Now that he was free, the refinement would not exhaust too much time.
The refinement continued for around half an hour or so before the threads of wild and violent medicinal strength mixed within his body were completely refined by the Glazed Lotus Heart Flame. Finally, they transformed into a pure, gentle medicinal strength that followed the veins as they flowed slowly, healing some of the injuries that his veins had received.
On the bed, Xiao Yan gently exhaled as he sensed the faint pain within his body gradually disappear. His injuries required some time to recuperate. Currently, the Dou Qi in his body was at a deficit, and he needed to train to fill it. If such an empty condition was maintained for too long, it would leave lasting harm on his strength.
Xiao Yan"s hands once again displayed training seals as he gradually shut his eyes. His breathing became calm and the s.p.a.ce around his body fluctuated slightly. Immediately, strings of powerful natural energy followed the pores around his body before pouring into it unceasingly. After the refinement by the Glazed Lotus Heart Flame, the energy transformed into the purest Dou Qi as merged with Xiao Yan"s limbs…
This training continued for around four hours or so. When Xiao Yan once again opened his eyes, the tired and empty feeling within his body was wholly expelled. Just when Xiao Yan was about to withdraw from his training state, a strange feeling suddenly surged in his heart…
Xiao Yan"s mind followed this strange feeling as he automatically circulated the "Flame Mantra." With the swift circulation of the Flame Mantra, the natural energy within the room immediately began to intensely fluctuate. Immediately, numerous powerful energies surged toward Xiao Yan from all directions…
Xiao Yan was startled when he saw this strange scene. A joy that was difficult to contain immediately surged into his heart. He was currently no longer some novice who knew nothing. Such a situation was something that would only appear when one was advancing.
It had been some time since Xiao Yan had gained the strength of a four star Dou Huang. Of course, he could have advanced quite some time ago during this period of time. However, he did not choose the method of relying on other items to quickly advance. He clearly understood in his heart that this kind of steady one-star-at-a-time increase was the most stable. Such stability would make a firm foundation when he advanced to an even higher level in the future.
Xiao Yan might have given up many faster methods, but after today"s soul-stirring big battle, the time was ripe. The joy and satisfaction of advancing without being stimulated by any external items filled his body. Countless numbers of cells within him were also emitting cheers at this moment. His originally full muscles and bones began to greedily absorb the Dou Qi within his body while his tough veins had also taken this opportune time to become even tougher…
More and more natural energy was poured into Xiao Yan"s body. Xiao Yan did not reject the mottled natural energy. The Glazed Lotus Heart Flame was just like a refining fire dragon that lingered within his body. Any energy that entered it would be wrapped by the flame immediately. After undergoing the refinement at a frighteningly high temperature, the impurities in the natural energy were washed away, transforming it into pure energy that followed the Flame Mantra Qi Method to complete a full cycle. Eventually, it agglomerated into the purest Dou Qi, which was absorbed by his uncountable cells, bones, muscles, and other organs in his body…
The ripple within the room continued for around two hours or so before it gradually diminished. The room once again returned to its silence after the final thread of natural energy was poured into Xiao Yan"s body…
A young man on the bed had his eyes tightly shut. His eyes did not rise or fall by even a little, and the breathing from his nose was nearly inaudible. If his body was still not emitting some heat, it was likely that anyone would have treated him as a corpse.
This silence continued for a moment before a turbid breath from the young man"s mouth finally broke it. His eyes twitched slightly as they slowly opened. A glaring glow flashed within those dark-black night-like eyes. Under this glow, even the light in the room appeared somewhat dark.
The glow within Xiao Yan"s eyes continued for a moment longer before it was completely withdrawn. Xiao Yan"s hands gently pressed on the bed and his body agily leaped up from it. His body stood extremely straight as a sharp aura swept out.
Xiao Yan spread his hands and they shook slightly. The bones all over his body appeared to be alive as they pressed and squeezed together, emitting waves of clear sounds. These slight sounds even carried traces of a deep thunderous roar, that were quite mysterious.
Xiao Yan"s hands suddenly tensed as he sensed the replenished feeling within his body. His fist swiftly struck out. As his fist appeared, a whistling sound from the tearing of the air repeatedly resounded within the room. With his current strength, a simple ordinary fist technique was used in a mighty fas.h.i.+on by him.
Xiao Yan adjusted a little before slowly coming to a stop. He spread both his arms and sensed his body being filled with Dou Qi. He involuntarily smiled. This advancement had not only caused his strength to advance, but the injuries within his body had mostly healed. This had somewhat exceeded Xiao Yan"s expectations. Originally, according to his many injuries, he would at least need to recuperate for an entire month in order to be fully healed. It was unexpected that he was more than half recovered after this advancement. This unexpected gain had caused Xiao Yan to feel quite joyful.
Xiao Yan slowly focused his mind. His eyes flickered slightly as he widened his mouth. Immediately a cl.u.s.ter of grayish-brown flames slowly drifted out.
Xiao Yan studied this cl.u.s.ter of grayish-brown flame called the "Life Transforming Flame." However, he became somewhat hesitant as he did so. He naturally knew that if he were to refine it at this moment, his strength would definitely be able to advance a little. Yet, if he did this, he would lose a trump card to protect his life. He was about to make a trip to a place that gathered the peak experts of the entire continent, the Central Plains. Failing to have a sufficiently strong skill to protect his life in that place, which was filled with danger, would be quite a troublesome thing…
In that case… should he refine it now? Or should he leave it for future use?
For an instant, Xiao Yan could not help but face uncertainty.
Chapter 895: Training Venue
The gentle light landed on Xiao Yan"s repeatedly changing face in the room. A cl.u.s.ter of grayish-brown flames slowly rose in front of him, emitting a hot temperature.
This silence continued for a moment before Xiao Yan finally exhaled. He beckoned with his hand and the grayish-brown-colored "Life Transforming Flame" landed in his hand. A bitter laugh sounded as he looked at the flame. Finally, he widened his mouth and once again sucked the flame into his body.
Xiao Yan"s heart ultimately contained the greatest fear for the so-called Central Plains. This place, that gathered the top experts from the Dou Qi continent, was the grandest stage on the entire continent. The strong there were as numerous as the clouds. If one did not have some ability, one would only become other people"s stepping stone if one wanted to do well in that place. Although Xiao Yan had currently advanced to a five star Dou Huang and could enter the level of the experts, he clearly understood that this strength would be considered nothing in the Central Plains. If this were the case, he must have some trump cards to protect his life. This kind of "Extermination Fire Lotus," formed from the merger of four kinds of flames, possessed the greatest strength. It was this thing that would be Xiao Yan"s final trump card in the future.
Being faced with the choice of immediately raising his strength and leaving behind a trump card, Xiao Yan ended up choosing the latter. He had promised Xin Lan to help her clan re-enter the so-called "Pill-Tower" Elder"s seat. Although he was still uncertain what degree of difficulty this involved, he could vaguely guess that it would definitely not be relaxing. If this were the case, he would need another guarantee on his life…
Therefore, Xiao Yan"s felt confident in the "Extermination Fire Lotus," that was merged from four kinds of flame. With this thing protecting him, he would be able to feel some confidence even while walking the Central Plains, a place where tigers and dragons hid…
Numerous thoughts churned in his heart like floodwater as Xiao Yan gradually made his decision. He placed the "Life Transforming Flame" in his body as a contingency plan.
The interior of this "Life Transforming Flame" had gathered the powerful Dou Qi of Fang Yan and the other two Demon Flame Valley"s Elders. If it was stored with an ordinary method, it would definitely gradually disappear with the flow of time. However, Xiao Yan was able to wrap it in a "Heavenly Flame" and store it within his body. Thus, he would not need to worry about even the slightest leakage of Dou Qi, and he would able to store it in his body for a long period of time…
Xiao Yan sighed in relief after he carefully stored the "Life Transforming Flame" in his body. He immediately descended into deep thought. After the big battle today, he had also gradually sensed that with his current strength, it was becoming gradually tougher on him to deal with his increasingly stronger opponents. It seemed that he needed to train properly before heading to the Central Plains. He needed to try his best to use the shortest amount of time to raise his strength without affecting the equilibrium of his foundation. This would really benefit him when he ended up walking the Central Plains in the future.
These two requirements might seem simple but they were actually quite harsh. He wanted to obtain both training speed and maintain his steadiness. These two factors were opposing each other. If one wanted to achieve both of them, one would have to find an excellent training ground that was very suitable to train. The conditions that needed to be met were actually not that difficult if he were to think about it. He only required a place where a ma.s.sive amount of pure fire energy was gathered. Of course, if this place were serene and quiet and could not be disturbed by outsiders, it would be even more perfect…
These conditions appeared quite simple, but finding the required spot would be difficult. The surroundings of the Inner Academy were mostly deep mountains and old forest. It was not difficult to find a quiet spot. However, the natural energy was quite mottled with many affinity energy gathered together, and Xiao Yan required only the fire affinity energy. Other than areas near a volcano, such places were extremely rare. The Inner Academy"s surrounding also seemed to be void of any volcanic veins…
Xiao Yan frowned and mused for a long time, but was still unable to think of a suitable place near the Inner Academy. He could only shake his head and wave his hand. A flame-like scroll appeared on his palm. There were two paths to raising one"s strength. One was to increase one"s body strength while the other was to practice a Dou Qi with extraordinary strength. Since the first condition was difficult to meet, Xiao Yan could only choose the second approach. Coincidentally, he had yet to find the time to practice the "Six Joint Body Flowing Ruler" that he had obtained from the auction.
This so-called "Six Joint Body Flowing Ruler" was of an even higher cla.s.s than the "Flame Splitting Tsunami." It was likely that its strength would be extremely extraordinary. Otherwise, it would not have been worth it to purchase it.
The scroll was completely crimson, appearing like a gorgeous, red-colored crystal. Xiao Yan"s hand slowly pushed open the scroll. His eyes were slightly shut as Spiritual Strength surged from between his brows before finally invading the scroll.
Following the contact of Xiao Yan"s spiritual strength on the scroll, a faint-red light radiated out and fiery-red words appeared in Xiao Yan"s spiritual sight…
This was a magma lake. Hot bubbles repeatedly boiled on the surface of the lake. Each time it parted, a faint, hot fog would rise. Xiao Yan"s heart clearly understood that the creator had used his Spiritual Strength to engrave this scroll. It was specifically used to record some high cla.s.s Dou Skill. This kind of scroll, that was recorded using Spiritual Strength, contained some of the owner"s comprehension of the Dou Skill. The people who practiced it after would be imparted with some experience. It would also be somewhat easier for them to practice it.
A yellow-colored figure slowly appeared on the surface of the magma lake following the entrance of Xiao Yan"s spiritual strength. This human figure stood on the empty air above the magma. His hand carried a five-foot-long red-colored metal ruler.
This red-colored metal ruler was not as heavy as the Heavy Xuan Ruler, but there was an additional agility to it. Xiao Yan also knew that the vague human figure was a little spiritual imprint of the creator.
The vague human figure had just appeared when it began to move. One could see that its feet violently stomped down and a powerful energy shook the magma lake until a monstrous fire wave appeared. His body suddenly moved and the red ruler drew numerous mysterious locuses…
The yellow figure"s dancing ruler"s speed was not quick. However, it gave Xiao Yan a kind of smooth feeling as natural as the floating clouds and flowing water. One ruler technique followed another with the beginning connecting to the end. Numerous red figures surrounded his body. The dense magma that came churning over was received by the ruler"s figure as it whistled past. Not a drop of magma penetrated the ruler"s defense to land on the yellow figure"s body.
Xiao Yan"s spirit was somewhat shocked as he watched the willfulness of the yellow-colored figure, dancing as he pleased on the magma lake. With his eyesight, he naturally knew that this yellow figure did not use Dou Qi to isolate his body. Instead, he had relied completely on the profoundness of the ruler technique to wrap himself within a layer of ruler defenses where even air could not penetrate. One did not even need to talk about whether this ruler technique had a strong offensive strength or not. Just this defensive technique alone had interested Xiao Yan.
"Six Joint Body Flowing Ruler, attacking and defending as one. It can attack when one advances and defend when one withdraws. It is the top Dou Skill that this Venerate (Dou Zun) has created. The ruler technique is separated into three levels: Splitting Fire, Body Flowing Fire, and Six Joint Fire. One can find a magma lake to train, lifting the magma wave and penetrating it. If one were to be able to pa.s.s through magma field as one pleases without relying on one"s Dou Qi with not even the slightest magma liquid touching oneself, then one could be considered to have gained a foothold in this skill. If one were to be sufficiently hard working, one would be able to achieve complete mastery over time, able to attack and defend together. No one of the same cla.s.s or below would be able to approach one"s body!"
"Next is some of the essence of training the "Six Joint Body Flowing Ruler." Successors should listen properly."
An old voice slowly resounded over this spiritual s.p.a.ce while Xiao Yan was feeling shocked from the display of the mysterious ruler technique by the yellow figure. It likely belonged to the creator of this ruler technique.
Xiao Yan hurriedly braced his attention when he heard this old voice. After which, he absorbed all the explanations of the "Six Joint Body Flowing Ruler" into his mind…
Xiao Yan gradually recovered when the final word of the old voice sounded. When his eyes once again looked to the yellow figure that was displaying the ruler technique tirelessly, some understanding slowly surged into his eyes. He also had gained an initial understanding of the ruler technique that had seemed flawless in his eyes earlier.
After quietly watching the yellow figure dance for over a hundred times, Xiao Yan finally let out a long breath. A smile as though he had been unladen of a heavy burden appeared on his face. It was indeed worthy of a Dou Skill which he had spent a high price to purchase. Not only did it possess a spiritual imprint, but there was actually a remnant Spiritual Strength to explain the ruler technique. The explanation earlier did not last for long but it was a great help to Xiao Yan, allowing him to practice the Six Joint Body Flowing Ruler. Simply put, with that explanation, Xiao Yan would at least save half the time he needed to read and study the scroll.
Xiao Yan"s mind moved slightly and his spirit slowly withdrew from the scroll. After which, he carefully put away the scroll and softly muttered, "It is best that I successfully master this "Six Joint Body Flowing Ruler" before I leave. However, where would I go and find a magma lake?"
Xiao Yan knit his brows slightly. His finger slowly tapped on the bed"s headboard. A moment later, he seemed to have thought of something and his finger came to a sudden stop. A joy that was difficult to hide surfaced in his dark-black eyes.
"Under the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower… isn"t it a magma world…"
When he thought of the underground world in where Xiao Yan had slumbered for nearly two years, his eyes began to flicker. The fire affinity energy there was large and pure. It would likely enable his strength to soar within a short period of time if he were to use it to train!
"I nearly forgot about that place…"
[a]If I recall correctly, it should be 2 years