Chapter 131: Technique Evolution Again!

"Ahhhhhh!!!!"

Scorpion Bi Yan felt as if his heart had stopped, letting out a roar like a rabid dog.

His life-forfeiting attack had actually allowed the bastard who destroyed his sect to break through rapidly, saving him years of secluded cultivation.

But even knowing this, Scorpion Bi Yan could do nothing.

His violent movements only accelerated his body's collapse. A light breeze swept past, and his decaying form crumbled into sand-like particles, scattering with the wind.

Compared to Scorpion Bi Yan's final expression of venomous hatred, Xiao Yan's face was now brimming with satisfaction.

This harvest had been substantial—not only saving him long years of secluded cultivation, but also making the Netherworld Poison Flame the first of his Heavenly Flames to break through its original ranking.

On the Dou Qi Continent, only two Heavenly Flames had achieved this before: Tuoshe Ancient Emperor and the Void Devouring Flame.

The former had relied on the Flame Mantra, absorbing over twenty Heavenly Flames before ultimately fusing them into one, completely transforming its original form.

The latter had unique properties allowing it to devour all things, coupled with the backing of the Soul Clan, taking millennia to achieve significant evolution—hardly comparable to ordinary cases.

Though Jia Nan Academy later cultivated a Fallen Heart Flame seed, that flame never broke through its ranking limit, making it fundamentally different from the previous two examples.

With the Netherworld Poison Flame becoming the first successfully evolved Heavenly Flame, Xiao Yan gained more confidence in nurturing all his flames.

Apart from the Emperor Flame, the other twenty-two Heavenly Flames each possessed unique abilities. With proper cultivation methods, if all were raised to the same level, they might not be much inferior to the Emperor Flame.

Xiao Yan raised a hand to rub his nose, carefully sensing the surging Dou Qi flowing like tidal waves within his body, and felt another surge of joy.

With the evolution of the Netherworld Poison Flame, the final deficiency had been filled, elevating his technique to Quasi-Earth Tier High Level.

The technique he cultivated was unique—it required devouring Heavenly Flames to evolve. Restricted by this principle, advancing beyond Earth Tier had become extremely difficult.

Not only did it demand increasingly powerful Heavenly Flames, but even with his comprehension, substantial time was needed for thorough refinement.

If it were an ordinary technique, given Xiao Yan's talent and Elder Yao's collection, creating a Heaven Tier technique wouldn't have been difficult.

Just as Xiao Yan was contemplating his next steps in cultivation, a gust of wind rushed toward the back of his head.

Xiao Yan instinctively tried to dodge, but was struck squarely.

Pa!

A crisp sound rang out, followed by Elder Yao's voice.

"So you were using that old fool all along! You even fooled your teacher—had me worried for nothing!"

Xiao Yan scratched his head. "Even if I had truly been struck by the Demon Poison Spot, with Master's methods, resolving it would've been effortless."

Elder Yao smiled faintly, clearly pleased by the flattery.

A few breaths later, the Little Fairy Doctor stepped through the air to Xiao Yan's side and asked, "Now that the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate is destroyed, what's our next move?"

"We do need a proper plan." Elder Yao's smile faded as he nodded solemnly. "I never expected the Soul Palace's claws to reach even here."

The Soul Palace was a Central Plains faction. Compared to the Central Plains, the northwestern regions—the Chu Yun Empire and the Jia Ma Empire—were practically backwaters.

To encounter one of their members here, and a Dou Zong-level one at that, left Elder Yao somewhat alarmed at the Soul Palace's expansion speed.

What exactly was their purpose in collecting so many souls?

Mention of the Soul Palace also darkened the Little Fairy Doctor's expression. Though she hadn't found the Iron Protector difficult to handle, his method of devouring souls to boost his strength was bizarre. Had she faced him earlier, she wouldn't have subdued him as effortlessly as Xiao Yan had.

Xiao Yan, however, seemed unperturbed. Instead, he looked down at the ravaged Ten Thousand Scorpion Mountain and chuckled. "The Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate was an established power in the Chu Yun Empire—their collection must be impressive. Let's sweep this place clean first."

"Also, that Six-Star Magic Beast, the Four-Winged Sky Demon Scorpion—if properly nurtured, it could become a formidable guardian beast for a sect."

Elder Yao couldn't help but smile wryly at Xiao Yan's practicality. With the Soul Palace expanding so rapidly, were there even stronger entities lurking in this northwestern region?

Shaking his head slightly to dismiss the thought, Elder Yao's sharp gaze fell upon the giant scorpion lying on the ground.

Who would've thought that the taming technique which had once struggled to subdue even Two-Star Magic Beasts could now effortlessly control a Six-Star one?

Had he known it would be this effective, he might have learned it himself.

The Little Fairy Doctor smiled faintly, raising her slender jade-like hand. "I already had the Blue Butterflies collect the storage rings from the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate. The butterflies have a keen sense for treasures—they also located the sect's hidden vault."

As she spoke, a swarm of blue butterflies emerged from Ten Thousand Scorpion Mountain, fluttering like a ribbon of azure silk.

The butterflies were tiny, nearly invisible when dispersed across the mountain range—only when gathered like this did they become conspicuous.

Seeing the storage rings clutched in the butterflies' grasp, Xiao Yan's eyes gleamed with barely concealed excitement.

A massive energy source like Scorpion Bi Yan was one of a kind in the entire Chu Yun Empire.

Now that his strength had reached the Dou Huang level and his Heavenly Flames had grown, his future resource demands would only increase—this haul couldn't have come at a better time.

The Little Fairy Doctor gently pressed her palms together. The sigil between her brows faded, revealing flawless skin, and her snow-white hair returned to its original ink-black hue.

Exhaling softly, she felt the fatigue from her first use of the Heavenly Poison Sigil—the drain had been considerable.

"The Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate must have been extremely confident—their treasure vault had no restrictions. The Blue Butterflies retrieved everything into these storage rings."

She extended her hand, and two butterflies holding scarlet rings alighted on her palm.

"Aside from the sect's collection, this other ring belonged to Scorpion Bi Yan. These two should be the most valuable." She handed them to Xiao Yan.

Seeing how thoroughly everything had been handled, Elder Yao nodded approvingly. "Reaching Dou Zong at such a young age is already rare on the continent. Coupled with such meticulousness, she's truly a priceless partner."

"I've long advised you to annul that engagement with the Nalan family—they haven't visited your home in over a decade. Though this girl's background might be slightly inferior to yours, she's an excellent choice."

The Little Fairy Doctor's face flushed red at first, but upon hearing the latter part of Elder Yao's words, her heart tightened. Her beautiful eyes turned to Xiao Yan with a trace of confusion—how had she never heard of this before?

(End of Chapter)

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