Xiao Yan lowered the hood of his Soul Robe and tried his best to remain hidden and undetected.
To describe his situation in game terms, it was as though he had been stuck at the same level for over a month.
However, the past month had not been without its gains, as he had managed to ascertain some details about the lair of the Amethyst Winged Lion King.
First, in addition to the Rank 6 Amethyst Winged Lion King itself, there was also a Rank 3, younger Amethyst Winged Lion King residing in the lair. Because of this, there were no Rank 4 magical beasts within several kilometers of the lair, ironically making it a safe haven for him.
The Amethyst Winged Lion King only allowed Rank 3 or lower magical beasts to roam around its lair.
Furthermore, just as the spiritual information had suggested, the Ten Thousand Beast Flame was likely within the lair.
Xiao Yan had once seized an opportunity, sneaking close to the lair while the Amethyst Winged Lion King was out hunting, and used his spiritual perception to investigate.
He could sense a very dense fire attribute energy within.
Moreover, this source of fire attribute energy was not scattered but concentrated, which was most likely a Heavenly Flame!
After all, a Rank 6 magical beast had the strength to possess a Heavenly Flame if given the right opportunity!
'Is it truly necessary to spend soul points to hire a Dou Emperor from the Hall of Souls?' Xiao Yan's expression turned grave as he pondered his options.
Hiring a Dou Emperor would cost around 3,000 soul points, which could alternatively be exchanged for a decent 6th-tier medicinal pill, also sufficient to hire a Dou Emperor.
After deducting the soul points spent on information about the Ten Thousand Beast Flame and the Ice Spirit Cold Fountain, he was left with just over 4,000 soul points, indeed enough to hire a low-star Dou Emperor.
However, the issue lay in his complete lack of trust in the Soul Envoys and the Protectors of the Hall of Souls.
If the Ten Thousand Beast Flame was indeed within the cave, Xiao Yan was certain that he would likely be silenced in the end.
Talk of trust with the Hall of Souls? Impossible!
In the end, Xiao Yan shook his head. Cultivation was a long journey, and he could not let impatience and eagerness cloud his judgment.
'Let's head back for now. If I don't find a suitable opportunity to enter the cave of the Amethyst Winged Lion King soon, I'll just have to wait until I reach the Dou King realm.'
Xiao Yan slowly stood up and dragged the body of a giant python along the ground as he walked back to his cliffside cave. The python's soul had been dissipated, and its body bore multiple gashes as if it had been slashed by sharp claws.
It was a Rank 3 Earth White Python. Indeed, Xiao Yan could already kill a Rank 3 magical beast with his current strength!
He walked to a waterfall near the cave and jumped into the water to wash away the bloodstains left from the fight. After cleaning himself and changing into clean clothes, he lay down on a rock and let out a long sigh of relief.
His body felt much lighter now. So far, Xiao Yan had cultivated the Mad Lion Chant to a great extent and was about to reach a major level of mastery.
Having cultivated the Octane Blast before cultivating the Mad Lion Chant had greatly improved his progress. Moreover, the past four months of constant training and battling magical beasts in the Magic Beast Mountain Range had further honed his combat skills.
The training of Dou Techniques was always inseparable from actual combat.
Xiao Yan sat on a rock by the waterfall, basking in the sun for a while before retrieving the medicinal cauldron he had purchased in Wu Tan City from his storage ring. He then arranged a large array of various medicinal ingredients on the surface of a rock.
Having just received a Rank 3 Monster Core from the Earth White Python, his hands were itching, and he couldn't resist the urge to refine pills once more.
Rubbing his hands together, Xiao Yan looked at the medicinal cauldron before him. With a gentle touch of his left hand on the cauldron's opening and a slight focus of his mind, a muffled 'puff' sounded as the pitch-black Nihility Devouring Flame slowly began to rise within.
Currently, at the strength of a Dou Master, he could generally only refine 2nd-tier medicinal pills. To refine beyond his realm, he needed to use the Nihility Devouring Flame to successfully process the medicinal ingredients and the monster core.
Xiao Yan smiled with satisfaction as he watched the dark flames. His control over the Nihility Devouring Flame had become increasingly perfect. This was not only due to the continuous alchemy experience he had gained over the past few months, but more importantly, his Spiritual Strength had increased significantly.
'I got some Fire Rising Fruits the other day, today It's time to refine a 3rd-tier Fire Rising Pill.' Xiao Yan selected a branch laden with small red fruits from a large pile of medicinal ingredients and spiritual fruits.
Then he quickly prepared the other ingredients after recalling the recipe for the Fire Rising Pill in his mind.
The Fire Rising Pill was a relatively high-grade, 3rd-tier medicinal pill that temporarily increased the intensity of the fire attribute Dou Qi within the body, although it only worked for cultivators below the low-star Dou Grandmaster realm.
Once the black flame had heated the cauldron, Xiao Yan first tossed the Fire Rising Fruit into it. After that, he used his Spiritual Strength to skillfully control the flames. The powerful burning ability of the Nihility Devouring Flame even incinerated the residues, quickly drying out the moisture in the Fire Rising Fruit and turning it into a red powder.
He then threw in all the other medicinal ingredients, and soon, seven to eight differently colored powders merged together.
After which, he picked up the Monster Core of the Earth White Python and flicked it into the medicinal cauldron with a snap of his fingers.
Shortly after, a powerful energy burst forth from the cauldron as the resentment of a giant python tried to break out and kill him.
"Mao Wu," Xiao Yan said in an indifferent tone as he watched the giant python's resentment emerge from the monster core.
Suddenly, a small distortion point appeared in the cauldron, and a little cat stepped out of the
Mao Wu opened its little mouth wide, and with a powerful inhale, a black hole vortex appeared. The resentment hidden within the monster core was completely devoured by the Seed Flame of Nihility Devouring Flame as if it were a noodle being slurped up.
This was something Xiao Yan had discovered over the past few months of alchemy; the Nihility Devouring Flame could actually swallow the remnants of magical beast resentment within the monster cores. Moreover, the Nihility Devouring Flame seemed particularly fond of this type of resentment. As the months passed, the Nihility Devouring Flame had actually grown a bit by feeding on these resentments within the monster cores.
What had once been the most troublesome aspect for alchemists had unexpectedly become food for the Nihility Devouring Flame!
As Xiao Yan watched Mao Wu lying contentedly in the medicinal cauldron after having its fill, he once again marveled at the wonders of the Heavenly Flames, these natural creations of the
With a gentle pull, Xiao Yan drew out a white line of fire from the cauldron after the magical beast's resentment disappeared. As he pulled, all the essence of the medicinal ingredients slowly moved toward the energy of the monster core.
With a whoosh, all the black flames suddenly gathered, merging all the medicinal powders and energies together. Five dark red colored pills appeared within the cauldron, which he then
stored in a pill bottle.
'Phew, that's a pretty good result. I should have the strength of a 3rd-tier alchemist now,' Xiao Yan nodded to himself as he inspected the rounded pills in the bottle, quite satisfied
with his alchemy skills.
Slowly standing up, he looked toward the direction of the Amethyst Winged Lion King's cave
and muttered to himself, "I'll wait another month. If there's still no way in, I'll have to wait until my strength reaches the Dou Spirit realm, refine the Blood Lotus Essence Pill, and come back after assimilating the Bone Chilling Flame."
Xiao Yan no longer needed to absorb the energy emitted by the Bone Chilling Flame; that
small amount of energy was no longer of any use to him. He was now waiting to refine the Blood Lotus Essence Pill and increase his strength to the Dou Spirit realm, after which he would directly devour the Bone Chilling Flame!
By then, he would possess his first true, fully-formed Heavenly Flame!
With the Nihility Devouring Flame in his left hand and the Bone Chilling Flame in his right
hand, he, Xiao Yan, would be invincible!
Little did he expect the turn of events to come so quickly; just three days later, an opportunity
Roar roar roar! A furious roar thundered from the sky.
"Human woman, you are courting death!" The colossal Amethyst Winged Lion King
astonishingly spoke in the human tongue as it roared.
Xiao Yan hurriedly hid behind a rock not far from the cave, lowering the hood of his Soul Robe
to reveal only a small gap through which he could peer into the sky.
'A Dou Emperor has come to challenge the Amethyst Winged Lion King?!' Xiao Yan observed a
female Dou Emperor facing off against the Amethyst Winged Lion King in the opposite
She was wearing a plain dress that hugged her voluptuous figure as she wielded a strange- looking long sword that emitted a green-colored light. Her black hair was held in place by a noble-looking phoenix accessory. The beautiful and moving face of hers wore a calm expression. A pair of Dou Qi wings with wind attributes fluttered behind her.
The fact that she was still calm in the face of a Rank 6 magical beast spoke volumes about her
Xiao Yan's eyebrows furrowed when he saw this dignified and elegant woman, as he thought The recognized who this woman was.
The mountain range where he was located still lay within the borders of the Jia Ma Empire. Among the Ten Strong of the Jia Ma Empire, only three were Dou Emperors, and among them, only one was a female Dou Emperor with the wind attribute Dou Qi. Even in the neighboring
Chu Yun Empire, there was no such person.
The identity of this Dou Emperor was almost apparent.
"She is the current Sect Leader of the Misty Cloud Sect and Nalan Yanran's Master, Yun Yun!"