Battle Through the Heavens: Who put Laozi in my storage ring?

"The Tao gives birth to One, which transforms into Yin and Yang. Yang governs growth and manifests as form; Yin governs return and concealment, remaining hidden as a shadow..."

The sound was like a resounding bell, or a voice from beyond the heavens, making Ling Ying feel as if she had rediscovered this world.

After an unknown amount of time, he slowly opened his eyes and looked excitedly at the spot where the old man had been. It was now empty. He took a deep breath, knelt on the ground, and kowtowed three times.

He glanced at Xiao Yan, who was still dazed, with one side of his body leaning against the edge of the pool.

With just a few words, he understood the profound truth of the universe, gaining a deeper understanding of his own battle qi. He was even just one step away from breaking through to the third level and becoming a Dou Zong. It was as if his former talent had been reset, and the realms that were once unattainable in this life, such as Dou Zun and even Dou Sheng, were now within reach...

With a teacher like that, Young Master Xiao Yan's future achievements are bound to be extraordinary.

Miss Xun'er, you can rest assured.

……

Although he was asleep, Xiao Yan was not idle. Instead, he was absorbing the cultivation techniques taught by Laozi.

The Eight-Nine Mysterious Techniques.

The largest yin number is eight, and the largest yang number is nine. The product of eight and nine is the largest number in Taoism, and it also symbolizes the ultimate evolution of the laws of heaven and earth.

To achieve mastery, one must progress from the first stage to the eighth stage, which involves refining the form into Qi, refining Qi into spirit, and refining spirit into the Dao.

Then, through eight transformations and nine cycles, pure Yang is achieved.

Finally, when the three flowers gather at the top and the five energies converge, one achieves great success.

As for the supernatural powers, Laozi only gave him the Vajra Technique, a method for refining the body, and a set of Xuan Tie Cudgel Techniques that he had never heard of. Apart from that, he didn't receive the Heaven and Earth Transformation Technique, Samadhi True Fire, or Seventy-Two Transformations that he coveted the most.

It's like a censored version of the Eight-Nine Arcane Arts.

Although it's a bit of a pity, for Xiao Yan at this moment, it can indeed be described as divine assistance.

"Pfft~"

Xiao Yan spat out a mouthful of water from the pool, sat up abruptly, and as he gradually recovered, he hurriedly reached for his storage ring, where his Xuan Staff and Golden Core were located. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Teacher, teacher?"

"Don't bother me with cultivation unless it's urgent. Wait until you reach the first stage of cultivation, or become a Fighter, then come to me to teach you the art of alchemy..."

The lazy voice of Laozi came from within his body.

"Got it!"

Xiao Yan smiled, swallowed the Marrow Cleansing Pill, and began cultivating the first stage of the Eight-Nine Arcane Technique in the pool.

Chapter 6 Fighter, One Star!

Under the shade of trees.

Between the mountain pools.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged, a gentle breeze blowing around him. After an unknown amount of time, when he opened his eyes again, a sharp light shot out from within, as if it were dazzling golden light, causing ripples to spread across the surrounding pool.

"Huff~ The Eight-Nine Arcane Technique, first stage, I've finally mastered it!"

Xiao Yan was overjoyed. With the help of the Marrow Cleansing Pill, he directly broke through the threshold of the Eight-Nine Arcane Technique. Congratulations!

The effects of the Marrow Cleansing Pill eventually subsided within the body.

The most basic effect of cleansing the marrow and rejuvenating the essence is evident from the layer of black mud that oozes from his skin and is washed away by the pool water. This tells us that his natural talent has undergone a complete transformation.

It's not some former prodigy who's returned; rather, it's... a super genius with the hidden bloodline of the ancient Xiao clan, whose talent rivals that of the younger generation of the eight ancient clans!

Xiao Yan clenched his fists, and the outline of his abs was faintly visible on his lower abdomen.

He exhaled a breath of stale air, his eyes gleaming with indescribable excitement and exhilaration.

"Fighter, one star!"

That's right, improving cultivation level is the most inconspicuous effect of the Marrow Cleansing Pill, but it directly made him leap from a useless third-stage Dou Qi to a one-star Dou Zhe.

Nalan Yanran has already pursued more than half of it.

I wonder how big the gap will be between the two of them three years from now...

Returning to the peak isn't like this. Shouldn't you first cultivate the Burning Technique, huff and puff your way to the Monster Mountain Range to cultivate, while applying a mysterious potion, and finally carry a Xuan Heavy Ruler to cultivate diligently under the waterfall in the Monster Mountain Range, and then break through to the Dou Zhe level a year later?

"Tsk..."

A smile flashed in Xiao Yan's eyes. He gently clenched his fist, and the Xuan Staff materialized in his hand. He swung it around powerfully a couple of times, trying to emulate the Great Sage, but almost hit his own eye with it.

He reluctantly put it away, knowing he still needed to learn the stick techniques first.

"Yan'er, what are you doing here?"

Not far away, Xiao Zhan rushed over with a look of worry. After examining Xiao Yan's entire body and finding no injuries, he breathed a sigh of relief: "I haven't seen you for three whole days. I searched the entire Xiao family, and it was Xun'er who told me you were cultivating in the back mountain..."

"Don't worry, Father, I've grown up," Xiao Yan said with a smile.

"Hahaha, as expected of my son, Xiao Zhan!" Xiao Zhan's voice boomed like thunder. He patted Xiao Yan's strong shoulder and said, "Alright, I knew you weren't affected by the so-called annulment of the engagement. At worst, I'll find you another marriage. Let that girl go."

"No need, I still think cultivation is the most important thing. And Father, I suddenly realized that I can cultivate..." Xiao Yan revealed a bright smile, and the aura of a one-star Dou Zhe around him was no longer concealed.

"..." Xiao Zhan's face was blank.

After a long silence, tears streamed down his face. "Good, good! Heaven hasn't forsaken the Xiao family. Yan'er, it's good that you're back..."

As a five-star Grand Dou Master, he naturally felt this aura very deeply.

He had waited for this day for far too long.

……

The Xiao family council hall.

Many clan elders gathered here, and dark clouds loomed over their heads.

After all, a first-grade alchemist is like a fish out of water in the otherwise mediocre Wutan City, not to mention that he seems to have a teacher who is suspected to be a third-grade alchemist.

After all, in the eyes of the empire, the entire city of Wutan was a barren land, and even alchemists who had reached a certain rank were extremely rare.

The original conflict between the "three giants" of Wutan City was over the healing pills sold in various markets. Since these pills were sold to mercenaries who lived on the edge of death every day, they were cheap and had similar effects. This alone was like a devastating blow to the Xiao family.

The Xiao family's pharmacists were all left looking disheveled by this incident.

"Elder, the Rejuvenation Powder that guy concocts is far more potent than the pills made by the pharmacists in our shop. Business is terrible now, dropping by 50% in just a few days! The Jia Lie family has taken all the customers away."

"If this continues, I'm afraid..." the Third Elder said with great distress.

"If all else fails, I'll assassinate him." A ruthless glint flashed in the Second Elder's eyes.

"No!"

Xiao Zhan led Xiao Yan into the hall and sat down at the head of the table with a solemn expression: "Behind that first-grade alchemist, there must be other forces involved, and perhaps even his teacher is a third-grade alchemist."

Alchemists hold a very high status on this continent. Offending one is like stirring up a hornet's nest, causing endless trouble. Not to mention the social circle of a third-grade alchemist; a few friends could easily wipe out the Xiao family.

While Xiao Yan's return to his talent brought him joy, the troubles that the Xiao family currently faces have not yet been eliminated.

After Nalan Yanran broke off the engagement, it seemed that many forces noticed the Xiao family's decline and wanted to take a bite out of them.

This is only because Nalan Yanran restrained herself and did not announce the matter to the outside world, yet she is already in such a dangerous situation.

"Brother Xiao Yan, where have you been these days? Xun'er is waiting for you to keep our appointment."

Beside Xiao Yan, a pretty girl in a pale yellow dress came closer with a grin and whispered something.

"To keep the appointment..." Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment.

"Brother Xiao Yan, you haven't forgotten, have you?" Xiao Xun'er narrowed her beautiful eyes, her pretty face coming closer, looking incredibly cute, yet she insisted on pretending to be fierce.

Xiao Yan couldn't resist and simply pinched her cheek.

"..."

It was rather quiet around us.

Many of the Xiao family elders looked at the childhood sweethearts speechlessly, and finally, with Xiao Zhan's words "Get lost!", they were simply kicked out.

"How could I forget? I'll take Xun'er out for a stroll tomorrow." Xiao Yan said contentedly, holding his head and chewing on a twig he had casually picked from a nearby locust tree.

"So Brother Xiao Yan hasn't forgotten..." Xiao Xun'er said with a smile.

"However, Xun'er noticed that Brother Xiao Yan doesn't seem very interested in this crisis within the clan."

"Because this isn't a crisis," Xiao Yan said with a smile.

“I could ask you to take care of that first-grade alchemist, but in my eyes, killing is the worst method, and it will only cause more trouble later.”

"The best course of action would be to crush him ruthlessly in his area of ​​expertise: alchemy."

"..."

Xiao Xun'er was stunned for a moment, then looked at the spirited Xiao Yan beside her, her beautiful eyes reflecting the stars: "Brother Xiao Yan..."

It's really getting more and more mysterious.

But he is still the same Xiao Yan from back then.

Ling Ying naturally reported the events of three days ago to her word for word. The mysterious old man in the storage ring was no ordinary person. He could make Ling Ying break through his cultivation level and even change his talent in just a few words.

According to Ling Ying's own account, the so-called bottleneck of Dou Zong has long been shattered, and the realm that had once been stagnant has once again surged wildly, even... to the point of being able to reach Dou Zun!

With the help of such an old monster, Brother Xiao Yan will definitely be able to protect Xun'er in the future, right?