Breaking the Masked Man

Weakness is the original sin. In the Dou Qi Continent, if you are too weak, even magical beasts can bully you.

Yao Yan knew very well that he couldn't hide in the cave forever. If too much time passed, the intelligent third-tier Frost Wolf King would definitely come to test him. At that point, Huan Jin Huo wouldn't be able to easily drive it away. Thinking of this, he looked at the rock wall on one side. He planned to dig through the rock wall and escape from the other side.

He had no desire to remain here and continue to outwit and outfight a group of low-level magical beasts.

Think of this.

He raised his palm and condensed a ball of illusory golden fire to begin refining the mountain wall. Alchemists can easily refine all kinds of rare and precious materials, so refining this kind of rock wall is naturally not difficult. However, the workload is relatively large and consumes a lot of battle qi. He needs to keep taking Qi-restoring pills to maintain it.

Furthermore, the final product is worthless; it is a type of gray rock that is more solid. This type of gray rock can be further refined, but it is obviously pointless.

This scene naturally made the herbalist's mouth twitch. He hadn't expected Yao Yan to do such a thing, and he was speechless for a moment because of his actions.

Refining the mountain range is clearly a time-consuming and labor-intensive project.

It took Yao Yan three days and three nights to burn through the mountain. He emerged covered in soot and dirt, wiped his face, looked behind him, and thinking about the past few days, he couldn't help but clench his fist, feeling his strength as a two-star Dou Zhe. He grinned and said, "Frost Wolf King, you'd better wait for me to come back!"

He smiled broadly, because since coming into this world, apart from Hun Xuzi, this was the first time he had been made so disheveled.

A top-tier third-grade alchemist was actually bullied by a third-order magical beast! How could he tolerate this?!

He planned to break through to the Dou Shi level and then come back to cause trouble for this Frost Wolf King, and then refine its teeth into a pendant as a souvenir!

He immediately stopped hesitating.

He turned and fled forward. He had to leave this area as soon as possible because the valley had been occupied by the Frost Wolf King's pack, and there was nowhere for him to hide. At his current level as a two-star warrior, he did not have the strength to confront them head-on.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 13 The Promise of the Soul Void

"Pfft~"

In the dense mountain forest, a golden, flaming blade silently swept through the thick thorns, cutting down all obstacles in its path before disappearing into a shadow. Blood splattered everywhere, and a three-meter-long green snake emerged, writhing its severed body. Moments later, it was lifeless.

"brush!"

A nimble figure darted through the forest, the dense bushes along the way posing no obstacle to him, and after a moment, he landed steadily in front of the green snake.

"A first-tier earth snake, highly venomous, adept at using surrounding plants to conceal its form. Unfortunately, you are facing an alchemist."

Yao Yan muttered to himself, raised his hand to condense a blazing fire blade, and skillfully cleaved open the head of the earth snake, just in case it wasn't completely dead.

In the past three months, he has dealt with many magical beasts and knows very well how strong their vitality is. Some of them can even fake death and launch a counterattack before you get close. Therefore, the best way is to finish them off. In fact, this applies not only to magical beasts but also to humans.

"No magic core..."

Yao Yan dissected the earth snake but found nothing of value on it. He then took a few pieces of meat from its body and put them into his storage ring. Afterward, he circulated his battle qi and used the movement technique "Soaring Dragon's Roar" to dash away into the distance.

In such a monster-infested mountain range, the worst thing to do is to stay put and process the harvest, because the smell of blood can easily attract powerful carnivorous monsters. He has suffered from this many times in the past three months. If it weren't for his own battle qi being stronger than that of ordinary warriors, plus his soul power's preemptive perception, he might have already asked the herbalist for help.

However, after three months of training, he has also gained a lot. First of all, his fighting spirit has been successfully restored to the level of a six-star Dou Zhe.

This cultivation speed is much faster than in Dan Ding City. The reason for this is naturally related to the large amount of battle qi consumed. The process of consumption and recovery will increase the cultivation speed and make one more adept at using battle qi.

It wasn't without reason that Hun Xuzi asked him to come to the Shennong Mountains to cultivate.

Compared to the Qi-building stage, which focuses on strengthening the body and bones, the Fighter stage is more about using Qi. However, simply staying in seclusion is not beneficial for beginners like Yao Yan. Furthermore, how to skillfully use Qi to fight enemies cannot be learned through instruction from others; one must experience it for oneself.

Putting everything else aside, just learning the three combat techniques alone would obviously not have been possible in three months if one only practiced in seclusion.

……

Yao Yan arrived at a waterfall, sensed his surroundings with his soul power, and then disappeared into the waterfall. Since he had suffered a loss at the hands of the wolf pack last time, he had moved his residence here, using the impact of the water to conceal his aura and traces, and even the energy fluctuations of his cultivation.

He dug the cave behind the waterfall himself. It is quite spacious and he expanded it several times. It has all the necessary facilities, including a bathtub.

He skillfully took out several bottles of medicinal powder from his storage ring, poured them into the bathtub, and then drew water from the nearby waterfall. After doing all this, he leaped into the tub, his body surrounded by illusory golden fire. The powerful fire instantly boiled the medicinal liquid in the bathtub. The dark red liquid emitted a pungent odor, and streams of medicinal power that made his muscles and bones tingle surged into his limbs and bones after being tempered by the illusory golden fire.

This medicinal powder was prepared by the herbalist for Yao Yan. It can treat physical injuries and accelerate cultivation. Many of the medicinal herbs contained in it are rare and precious.

The proverb "the poor should be scholars, the rich should be warriors" has been a timeless truth.

Even in the Dou Qi Continent, this is the case.

Without sufficient elixirs, how could Yao Yan maintain such a cultivation speed? Moreover, he was cultivating the Three Flowers Gathering Fire Technique, a foundation-building technique that few in the Yao Clan dared to attempt. But for the sake of his future path, he had to persevere.

Given his current talent, there's no way that Yao Chen could fail on the path he could take in the original story.

He closed his eyes and immersed himself in cultivation.

As the energy of heaven and earth converged, Yao Yan could clearly feel his battle qi vortex strengthening, its color becoming increasingly thick and seemingly about to liquefy. At the same time, wisps of spiritual energy from heaven and earth also surged into his body, nourishing his body and soul. Compared to the strengthening of his battle qi, this feeling of absorbing spiritual energy was even more wondrous.

He could even sense the restless bloodline of the Devouring Spirit Clan, as if spiritual energy and it were of the same origin, but the two energies were incompatible.

"Om~"

Suddenly, a faint light flashed from the storage ring on Yao Yan's fingertip, and a jade tablet floated up, enveloped in black flames. Accompanied by the black flames, a figure devoid of energy appeared in mid-air, its eyes flashing red, with black flames swirling within, exuding an indescribable eeriness and gloom.

The newcomer was naturally a wisp of Hun Xuzi's soul. He did not interrupt Yao Yan's cultivation, but simply watched him calmly. With his soul power, he could clearly sense the changes in Yao Yan's body.

"Is this spiritual energy?"

Hun Xuzi seemed to sense something, raised his hand and black flames rolled, instantly intercepting a wisp of spiritual energy. He glanced at Yao Yan with some surprise, after all, spiritual energy was a field that only a seventh-grade alchemist could access. He did not expect that Yao Yan could attract spiritual energy into his body at such a young age, and seemed to be extremely compatible with spiritual energy.

Is it because of the Dou Di bloodline, or the Devouring Spirit Clan bloodline...?

"It seems this little guy has quite a talent for alchemy."

Hun Xuzi muttered to himself. He originally valued Yao Yan's talent for the Soul Devouring Spirit Clan's bloodline the most, but now he had some other ideas. Perhaps he could train Yao Yan's alchemy skills. If he could train a ninth-grade alchemy master in the future, it would be helpful for the Soul Clan to carry out its final plan.

When it comes to alchemy, the Soul Clan is ultimately no match for the exceptionally talented members of the Medicine Clan, a fact that even Soul Void Master has to admit.

After all, the Soul Clan has only produced one ninth-grade alchemy master in thousands of years.

Over the years, he has also tried to train other Soul Clan disciples, but most of them are not up to the task. Reaching the eighth rank is already the limit, and as for the ninth rank, they don't even have the qualifications to make contact.

After absorbing all the medicinal power from the liquid, Yao Yan stopped cultivating and opened his eyes.

Even while in the Shennong Mountains, he dared not immerse himself too much in cultivation, for fear of any unexpected events.

However, there was a pleasant surprise when I opened my eyes today.

"teacher."

Upon seeing the familiar black flame ghost before him, Yao Yan's face lit up with surprise, and he quickly called out.

Once you've worn a mask for a long time, it really becomes difficult to take it off.

These days, speaking about medicine has almost become a conditioned reflex.

Hun Xuzi nodded, showing great approval of Yao Yan's performance over the past few days. He said in a gentle tone, "Not bad, you've made rapid progress. The Yao Clan's Three Flowers Gathering Fire Technique is indeed very suitable for you at your current level. As for cultivation techniques, I will prepare them for you once you reach the Dou Wang level. The Hun Clan is not lacking in Heaven-rank cultivation techniques."

Yao Yan naturally believed this statement. In terms of wealth and power, the Soul Clan was undoubtedly the best in the world. After all, the Soul Clan had a bandit den like the Soul Palace, where they could simply rob whatever they wanted!

"In addition, I will also prepare a different kind of flame for you. I believe you have already noticed that this flame is the Void Devouring Flame, which ranks second on the list of different flames. Although it is not the original flame, but only the earth fire of the Void Devouring Flame, its power is enough to rank it among the top five. Even if it is just an ordinary fire, it is far more powerful than ordinary different flames. And its special characteristics are extremely compatible with the bloodline of your Devouring Spirit Clan."

"Thank you teacher!"

Yao Yan quickly stood up and bowed, his eyes filled with excitement, but his heart remained calm. He knew very well that the Void Devouring Flame was a trap. Without the Burning Technique, it was best not to even touch it. Otherwise, when facing the Void Devouring Flame's true form, you wouldn't even have the thought of resisting, and you might even be directly refined into a puppet.

In the original story, Void Devouring Flame did just that. Many high-ranking members of the Soul Clan were implanted with Void Devouring Flame's offspring and became puppets under his control.

This method is exactly the same as the Pure Lotus Demon Flame.

It can only be said that they are indeed brothers who escaped from the Dou Di Cave together, both skilled at turning people into puppets.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 14 Spiritual Crystal

Hun Xuzi floated in mid-air, his transparent body filled and surrounded by black flames, like a ghost seeking death. His eyes flashed red, which looked slightly terrifying against the backdrop of the black flames.

He wasn't surprised by Yao Yan's expression. No alchemist in the world could resist the temptation of a strange fire, let alone a powerful strange fire like the Void Devouring Flame, which was ranked among the top. Even a wisp of its flame was more powerful than ordinary strange fires, and many of the top ten strange fires were not as powerful as it.

For example, the fifth-ranked Flame of Life, in terms of sheer power, is far inferior to the sub-flame of the Void Devouring Flame, and its contribution to combat strength is even less than that of some special beast flames.

The reason it ranks fifth is its uniqueness. It contains powerful vitality that can catalyze the growth of various medicinal herbs. As long as one possesses this fire, one can have a continuous supply of medicinal herbs. Its value to alchemists is immeasurable. In addition, it is also a fire of longevity. Those who refine it can have a lifespan comparable to some magical beasts.

In other words, lifespan doubles, or even increases several times.

In terms of practical value alone, the Flame of Life is undoubtedly the number one exotic flame for alchemists.

Unfortunately, the Flame of Life has not appeared for a thousand years.

"Those things are still quite far away for you. It's better to be down-to-earth in the path of cultivation. True strong people are not created by pills. The kind of cultivation method used by the Medicine Clan only produces useless people in the end."

Hun Xuzi continued, then seemed to have thought of something, his tone becoming somewhat disdainful.

Of the eight ancient families, apart from the Xiao family which has disappeared, many of the other families used vast resources to cultivate geniuses, even forcibly producing Dou Sheng level experts. Most of these experts only reached their limit at two or three stars, and had no future whatsoever.

This is also one of the reasons why the Soul Clan looks down on other races; true geniuses are not cultivated in this way.

Just like Hun Xuzi.

He infiltrated the Pill Tower and became the master of the Pill Tower. He didn't rely on the Soul Clan's help during that time; he made his way up step by step.

That's because they're taking drugs the wrong way... Yao Yan muttered to himself. Taking drugs is obviously a waste of time, but if you take drugs and refine a strange fire, that's an infinite cheat mode. Some of the side effects of taking drugs will be eliminated by refining a strange fire. The body reshaping effect of refining a strange fire can be described as an infinite accumulation of talent.

The Xiao Yan in the original novel followed this extraordinary path, completing in less than thirty years what others take a lifetime to achieve. Who can you complain to about that?

Hun Xuzi, unaware of Yao Yan's rebellious nature, continued, "Your talent is exceptional, and you have refined the unique bloodline of the Devouring Spirit Clan. Your future peak should be the pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent. Do not let yourself be blinded by small gains."

"The disciple understands."