Breaking the Masked Man

"Is the young master alright, sister?"

Looking at Yao Yan, whose entire body was enveloped by the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, Cai Die's eyes revealed worry and reluctance. She couldn't help but look at Cai Lin and ask, "I can feel the terrifying destructive power contained in the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame. If it were me, I would probably have been burned to nothing by now."

Having swallowed the strange fire... what kind of pain is Yao Yan enduring at this moment?!

Butterfly couldn't help but bite her lower lip, feeling a sharp pain in her heart.

Cai Lin glanced at her younger sister with complicated emotions. She could naturally sense her sister's feelings; her sister truly cared about him. Feeling somewhat helpless, she could only feign calmness and soothe her, saying, "He deliberately severed the protection of the Ice Spirit Cold Spring because he wanted to use the power of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame to strengthen his physical body, including his internal organs and meridians. If it were anyone else, I would think he was courting death, but for him... his aura is growing stronger, so he should be close to success!"

As she spoke, a touch of emotion appeared in her eyes.

She had witnessed Yao Yan's abnormal growth in strength throughout the entire process, but only someone like her could pull it off. No one else would dare to play like this. It had nothing to do with luck anymore; it required strong physical talent and a huge amount of resources. Otherwise, they simply couldn't withstand such training.

Cai Die nodded. She wasn't particularly keen on pursuing strength; she only hoped that Yao Yan would be safe and sound.

Just as Cai Lin said.

With his powerful soul force, Yao Yan guided the primordial fire of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame to circulate throughout his body, allowing the opponent's power to scorch his body. He continuously strengthened himself through destruction and rebirth, and relying on the bloodline of the Spirit Clan and the Stone Clan, he recklessly stimulated the potential within his body.

As the Burning Technique completed a cycle, the violent aura of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame suddenly became somewhat docile, and a dazzling azure halo instantly enveloped its entire body, blocking the view of Cai Lin and the others.

At this moment, Yao Yan could feel a connection between himself and the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, as if a part of his body had been extended outwards.

"It's easier than I thought..."

Yao Yan felt the gentleness of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame and thought to himself, but considering that he had refined so many Earth Fire Lotus Seeds and had previously used the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame to strengthen his physical body, it seemed reasonable that things were going so smoothly now.

Sensing this, he no longer hesitated and directed the mostly refined Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame toward the Spirit Absorption point in his dantian.

Only a slight, instinctive tremor of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame caused it to obediently flow into the Soul Absorbing Vessel, allowing Yao Yan to imprint its own soul mark upon it.

With the refining process successfully completed.

The azure aura surrounding Yao Yan vanished instantly, revealing his robust physique. He sat naked on a lotus, and the moment he opened his eyes, azure flames swirled around them, making his extremely handsome face appear somewhat eerie.

At the same time, his aura suddenly surged by one star, reaching the peak of the nine-star Dou Ling level, but he was still quite far from becoming a Dou Wang.

Yao Yan was not surprised at all. He had only refined the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, rather than using the Burning Technique to devour it and make it a part of himself. The two were fundamentally different. His breakthrough to the next level was merely a benefit he gained from the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame's body tempering and reshaping.

"Wow~"

Yao Yan raised his hand and summoned the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame. The azure flames instantly spewed out from his palm and adhered to his arm, burning fiercely with golden battle qi as fuel. With his other hand, he summoned the Illusionary Golden Flame. The Illusionary Golden Flame, which had been devoured by the Burning Technique, did not disappear because he refined the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame. It had already merged with Yao Yan's battle qi and become a part of his body.

However, it is unknown whether this state of coexistence will disappear because the Burning Technique devours the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame.

Compared to rare and wondrous things like strange fire, the Illusionary Gold Fire is ultimately of a much lower grade.

"Young master, you succeeded?!"

The joyful voice of the colorful butterfly came from afar. The silly girl's eyes were full of medicine. With her enchanting snake tail swaying, she came closer. Her peach blossom eyes blinked and her tone was full of concern.

"We're only halfway there; the next step is the most crucial."

Yao Yan shook his head slightly, his face showing no joy whatsoever. Instead, his gaze became even more serious. He looked at Cai Die for a moment, then looked at Cai Lin beside him and whispered, "The next step is the most crucial one. No matter what happens, you don't need to pay any attention to it!"

After saying that, he put the Black Demon Cauldron into his storage ring, and sat cross-legged to adjust his breathing and stabilize his mind, because he knew that he could only rely on himself to devour the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame with the Burning Technique. There was no shortcut.

After all, Cai Lin had not transformed into the Devouring Python and could not help him devour the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame!

Sensing the seriousness in Yao Yan's tone, Cai Die couldn't help but hug Ling'er tightly in her arms, her heart suddenly tightening with a fluctuating unease.

With his mind absorbed in his body, Yao Yan watched the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame slowly burning in his dantian. After pondering for a while, he once again controlled it to swim out of his spiritual energy storage, transforming it into a small azure magma snake that slithered through his meridians. Its behavior was extremely obedient, cooperating with Yao Yan to absorb the energy of heaven and earth, transforming it into streams of pure battle qi that surged into his body.

It wasn't until Yao Yan guided it into the operating path of the Burning Technique that it showed a slight resistance, seemingly unwilling to be devoured and become a part of Yao Yan. However, this resistance was of little use under Yao Yan's suppression. As the Burning Technique was operating, the primordial power contained in the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame began to be devoured by Yao Yan's battle qi!

Unlike refining, this kind of devouring is to completely transform it into one's own part, rather than the alchemist borrowing fire!

In an instant, an indescribable pain swept through his body, as if every cell in his body had been forcibly stuffed with something that did not belong to him. The feeling was completely different from the previous body tempering with strange fire!

However, Yao Yan found this feeling strangely familiar, similar to when he devoured the bloodline of the Devouring Spirit Clan, as if his body was undergoing changes!

"Humph!"

This time, Yao Yan finally couldn't hold back and let out a muffled groan. His brows furrowed, revealing a look of pain. Fortunately, this wasn't the first time he had experienced such pain, and he managed to endure it. He forcefully activated the Burning Technique and continued to devour the seeds of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, wanting to completely transform them into a part of himself!

"Chichi!"

The raging Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame erupted completely. At this moment, Yao Yan was like a fire-breathing child, with Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame spewing from every pore of his body. The terrifying high temperature even distorted the surrounding space.

The only thing that could withstand this temperature was the blue lotus beneath them, which slowly rotated, absorbing the surrounding fire-attribute energy.

This scene is utterly terrifying.

Even Cai Lin's eyes widened in disbelief. She couldn't understand why the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame had suddenly erupted. Could it be that Yao Yan was about to detonate the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame that had just been successfully refined? Otherwise, there was no way to explain the sudden rage of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame.

The words the other party used to deceive Cai Die were clearly not enough to fool her. She was certain that Yao Yan had already refined the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame before!

"What exactly is he trying to do?!"

Cai Lin couldn't understand it. She just frowned as she looked at the increasingly violent Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame around the other party. If it weren't for the fact that she could see the human figure, the other party would be almost indistinguishable from the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame at this moment. It was as if they had merged into one, and there was no longer any difference between a person and a strange flame.

The butterfly hugged Ling'er even tighter, while Ling'er could only frantically pry at it with her claws, her emerald green eyes fixed on Yao Yan.

The speed at which it was being devoured... Yao Yan felt a chill run down his spine. Compared to the speed at which it had devoured the Illusionary Golden Flame, the speed at which it was devouring the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame was like that of a snail, like licking a super-sized lollipop. It was like being able to eat only a little bit each time, and having to endure the indescribable pain every moment.

Time seemed to become meaningless at this moment; he could only rely on his willpower to slowly grind away the flames and gradually transform the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame into his own power.

Fortunately, the refining speed is gradually increasing over time, so it is not impossible to devour!

However, this process was extremely painful.

An ordinary person might faint from the pain in an instant, but Yao Yan would definitely not have been able to endure it if he hadn't been played by Hun Xuzi before.

Fortunately, people are very resistant to habit. Once you've done it the first time, it's much easier to tolerate the second time!

At this moment, Yao Yan almost merged with the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, sitting cross-legged on the Azure Lotus and slowly burning, with his aura growing stronger and stronger. The gap between the Dou Ling and Dou Wang was gradually filled in during this process, and at the same time, the excruciating pain that swept through his whole body was gradually weakening.

It was as if the body was adapting to this pain and sensation.

……

……

I don’t know how long it took.

Yao Yan felt numb and could only instinctively circulate the Burning Technique. The golden fighting spirit in his body had turned into cyan at some point, with only a few golden halos lingering around it from time to time. The position of the main family member had obviously been completely occupied by the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, while the Illusionary Golden Flame had become a mere decoration.

Some time passed.

The pain in his body suddenly disappeared, replaced by a feeling of fullness, like a thirsty person finding a clear spring. The incomparably comfortable feeling nourished Yao Yan's tired mind, and his soul power was sublimated at this moment, as if the bitterness had come to an end and the sweetness had returned. In an instant, it increased by a lot, and the mental energy that had been previously depleted became full again.

"Kacha~"

The spiritual crystal deep within his soul shattered completely at this moment, turning into starlight that merged into various parts of his soul. An even more powerful soul force instantly rippled outwards, like invisible waves sweeping outwards from between Yao Yan's brows, creating faint ripples in the space. An invisible pressure enveloped Cai Lin and the others.

The feeling of being completely suppressed by soul power made Cai Lin's chest feel slightly tight, and she had some difficulty breathing. She stared at Yao Yan in surprise: "This power..."

She had heard that alchemists' souls also had different levels of power, and that powerful souls could even rival those of a Dou Zong level expert.

Has Yao Yan's soul power also advanced?!

This power even made Cai Lin feel powerless, as if it were above her own strength. Even when facing Xie Biyan earlier, she did not feel anything!

As Yao Yan opened his eyes, which had been closed for a long time, a powerful battle aura erupted. Compared to his previous nine-star battle spirit, his aura had increased more than tenfold. The battle crystal in his dantian had disappeared at some point, replaced by a powerful battle aura that flowed through his limbs and bones, continuously surging out from his body.

At this moment, Yao Yan could even feel the resonance between his body and the energy of heaven and earth. It was as if the energy of heaven and earth could flow into his body with every breath, so smooth that he wanted to look up at the sky and roar.

"Brush~"

At the same time, two streams of battle aura appeared on his back, and the next moment, a pair of cyan battle aura wings with a slight golden halo unfolded on his back.

The powerful aura belonging to a Battle King was unmistakably revealed.

"Boom~"

Yao Yan's wings of battle qi trembled slightly, and his figure suddenly disappeared from the spot, reappearing high in the sky. His violent power directly shook the surroundings, and his eyes were surrounded by blue flames, which were both eerie and perfect. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and an indescribable feeling of exhilaration flowed through his body. At this moment, the speed of his battle qi circulation also increased several times.

"High-level Xuan Rank... Haha!"

He paused for a moment, a smile appeared on his lips, and finally, unable to suppress it, he let out a hearty laugh that echoed across the island.

The Burning Technique has evolved from the advanced Yellow Rank to the advanced Profound Rank!

His battle qi has progressed from a nine-star Dou Ling to a three-star Dou Wang!

Soul power has officially entered the spiritual realm!

His physical strength has also completely entered the second level of the Vajra Indestructible Body!

At this moment, he has truly entered the ranks of the strong in the Dou Qi Continent, rather than relying on the power of his physical body to show off his strength with the help of the Dou Di bloodline.

If Yao Yan were to face Xie Biyan again at this moment, he would be confident that he could beat him to a pulp. With the blessing of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, he would have an absolute advantage against a poison fighting qi cultivator. Moreover, his soul realm had already entered the Spirit Realm, and his soul power alone would be enough to kill Xie Biyan.

With all these factors combined, his strength increased significantly.

However, his smile soon faded as Yao Yan realized he was walking his birds again. Below, Cai Die was covering Ling'er's eyes, blinking her big eyes and staring at him, while Cai Lin and Hua She'er turned their gazes to the side, seemingly too lazy to look.

Whether the two women glanced at each other or not, only they themselves know the answer.

Yao Yan took out a black robe from his storage ring and quickly put it on. Then he landed and said to the three women with a smile, "It's a success!"

"congratulations!"

Cai Lin said in a somewhat complicated tone. How could she not see that Yao Yan's strength had undergone a tremendous change? It wasn't just that he had successfully refined the strange fire; his fighting spirit, physical body, and soul power had all undergone a transformation. At this moment, she could no longer understand this little monster, Yao Yan.

Perhaps siding with the snake people will be the best decision she ever made in her life.

"I'll rest for a day, and tomorrow I'll refine a Breakthrough Pill for you!"