Refining Magic Cores, Fireballs

Of Dou Qi, physical strength, and Soul Force, Xiao Yan's Dou Qi was the weakest, but his Soul Force was the strongest.

The Blazing Fire Leopard, even after advancing to a Rank 2 magical beast, found it difficult to evade Xiao Yan's perception.

His powerful soul perception gave Xiao Yan the ability to anticipate his enemy's moves.

Xiao Yan's strength was comparable to the Blazing Fire Leopard's, especially while being suppressed by the Black Heavy Ruler. However, Xiao Yan could see through its attacks, creating a significant advantage.

Hidden Force

converged into a single point, and a yellowish-brown light surged from the Blazing Fire Leopard's body. With a resounding boom, the beast's body exploded completely, scattering flesh, blood, and broken bones everywhere.

Only a fiery red Magic Core remained, spinning on the grass.

"This is!" Yao Lao suddenly burst out of the Bone Flame Ring, shocked to see the once-peaceful forest now filled with a layer of blood.

If Xiao Yan were not just a Two-Star Dou Zhe, with limited Dou Qi, it was hard to imagine how devastating that attack could have been!

Xiao Yan plopped down on the grass, panting heavily. "Eight Extremes Soaring Cannon...linking the Hidden Force of the Eight Extremes Collapse into a single line, negating the time gap between the Hidden Forces."

Xiao Yan was also shocked, staring at the blood and gore where the beast had been. "The power is truly terrifying. This magic beast's skin, bones, and flesh are all gone, leaving only a Magic Core."

Pressing down on the spinning Magic Core, Xiao Yan held it in his hand. The warm sensation felt quite comfortable against his slightly numb palm.

The execution of this move not only demanded strict requirements for Dou Qi, but also placed even higher demands on physical strength than the Eight Extremes Collapse itself.

"To think he could cultivate the Eight Extremes Collapse to this level so quickly...what a terrifying little fellow!" Yao Lao was stunned.

This was a Heaven-Class High-Level Dou Technique. The Eight Extremes Collapse had extremely high demands on the body, and most people would find it difficult to meet its cultivation requirements.

Although the Dou Qi requirement wasn't high, that was only for the most basic execution of the Eight Extremes Collapse. To use Hidden Force, to use the complete Eight Extremes Collapse, required a significant amount of Dou Qi.

"Not high" was only in comparison to other powerful Dou Techniques.

Otherwise, a high-level Xuan class Dou Technique, comparable to a Di class, would be as common as roadside sweet potatoes, available for anyone to cultivate and use.

In such a short time, Xiao Yan had not only mastered the extremely difficult Hidden Force, but also made breakthroughs and innovations. Yao Lao had never seen such a genius before.

Generally, geniuses could at most quickly cultivate their existing techniques and Dou Techniques. Those who could innovate and break new ground in their learned abilities were all existences whose strength had advanced to a terrifying degree.

Xiao Yan was only at the Dou Zhe level, yet he had innovated within a day of starting his cultivation. His comprehension was truly heaven-defying!

As a teacher, Yao Lao was delighted for him, but also solemnly warned, "The consumption of your Dou Qi will be greater. After using it, you will have no Dou Qi left."

Xiao Yan blinked, even if he reached the Dou Shi level, without advancing his cultivation technique, he would probably struggle to perfectly unleash the Eight Extremes Soaring Cannon, where eight strands of Hidden Force converged into a single line.

He should know, that he had only managed to barely condense three strands just now.

If he wanted to add more Hidden Force on that basis, the Dou Qi needed would increase exponentially.

Xiao Yan softly acknowledged, stowing away the two medicinal herbs. He then took the first-tier Fire Attribute Magic Core and quickly left the area.

The thick smell of blood here would undoubtedly attract numerous magical beasts, and he currently had no Dou Qi to fight them off.

After walking for more than twenty minutes, Xiao Yan found a hidden spot and began circulating the Burning诀 to recover his Dou Qi.

This time, it was a proper cultivation session. Observing Xiao Yan absorbing the energy of the heavens and earth, Yao Lao confirmed that the speed was comparable to that of a high-grade Yellow tier technique. Yao Lao couldn't help but be shocked again at Xiao Yan's terrifying talent.

If it weren't for the drag of the Burning诀 technique, and if he were to switch to a random Xuan tier technique, Xiao Yan's cultivation speed would be even more terrifying, given his natural talent.

Quickly replenishing his Dou Qi to its peak, Xiao Yan felt a clear improvement in his strength after the battle.

It seemed that combat was not only a way to hone one's techniques, but also of immense benefit to cultivation. The so-called "break before standing" was, perhaps, a way to stimulate cultivation in the face of life-and-death crises.

Xiao Yan slowly opened his dark eyes and took out one of his spoils of war from the battle: the Fire Attribute Magic Core of the Blazing Fire Leopard.

Xiao Yan was no stranger to things like Magic Cores; he had practically grown up playing with them.

Even when he was a child, he had already created Magic Core puppets to amuse Xuner and the others.

Unfortunately, at that time, he only possessed Dou Zhi Qi, and the Xiao clan's resources were limited. This meant he couldn't access higher-grade materials, and his research hit a bottleneck.

Comprehension and resources were both indispensable for cultivation.

[You, leveraging years of experience researching puppets and using Magic Cores, and your Fire Attribute Dou Qi, have had an epiphany. You have comprehended the Fireball creation method.] [Fireball creation method: Activate Fire Attribute Dou Qi to connect with the energy within a Fire Attribute Magic Core, draw runic symbols, and guide the volatile energy. Creating this Fireball requires extremely high Soul Power, otherwise, there is a risk of backfiring and harming yourself. Once activated, the completed Fireball will detonate violently after a short delay.]

Xiao Yan knew that his Dou Qi was currently too scarce due to his cultivation technique, so the more trump cards he had, the better.

Slowly closing his eyes, Xiao Yan cautiously sensed the energy within the Magic Core with his Soul Power, a wisp of pale yellow Dou Qi slowly flowing out.

The process of drawing the energy-connecting lines he had done many times as a child on the puppet's body. Now, doing it on the Magic Core, it wasn't too unfamiliar, thanks to his enhanced strength.

After a period of time equivalent to a meal, the intense concentration caused beads of sweat to form on Xiao Yan's forehead.

Yao Lao watched Xiao Yan, who seemed quite tense, and murmured in confusion, "What is this kid doing, not cultivating?"

However, Yao Lao did not disturb him.

When all the lines on the Magic Core were connected, the smooth Magic Core emitted a dazzling red light. Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of air.

Glancing at the glowing Magic Core in his hand, Xiao Yan smiled with satisfaction. Killing a Dou Shi with it might be difficult, but a Dou Zhe would be finished for sure.

Yao Lao spoke at this moment, "Don't think about using the Magic Core for cultivation; its energy is very violent, unless you have the skills of an Alchemist."

"Teacher, just wait and watch the show." Xiao Yan stood up with a smile, pulling out the Black Heavy Ruler beside him. "Let's keep searching for medicinal ingredients. We've only found two so far."

Xiao Yan was highly perceptive. Yao Lao didn't say much, instead pointing out the location of the nearest usable medicinal ingredient. "You're quite fortunate this time. It's unclaimed, so you won't need to fight, which will speed up the gathering process."