Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

Yao Chen paused, looked at Xiao Jin, and his eyes flashed with a complicated light: "You little guy are really lucky. Besides luck, only the legendary Emperor Realm soul can find this thing!"

Su Baichen stroked the warm, purple rock wall, then turned to look at Little Jin, who was wagging its tail proudly, and then at Yao Chen, and suddenly laughed.

"It seems our little guy has done a great job."

Little Jin seemed to understand its owner's praise, proudly raising its head and letting out a low, satisfied purr.

Yao Chen had already drifted to the rock wall and begun to carefully study the Hidden Spirit Crystal, since he had only seen this strange thing in books.

Su Baichen clenched his fist, looked at the deep purple, and a burning flame ignited in his eyes.

Chapter 111 Unexpected Discovery

Watching his old friend painstakingly hacking at the rock wall, Yao Chen suddenly spoke up, "The Hidden Spirit Crystal is very hard; we need to use a different kind of fire to speed things up!"

Upon hearing this, Su Baichen, who was working hard and violently mining, suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned his head to look at Yao Chen with a dark expression, and his eyes flashed with a dangerous cold light: "Why didn't you say so earlier? I've been mining like an idiot for so long!"

He did indeed look rather disheveled at the moment—fine beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, his robes were covered in purple rock dust, and his once flowing long hair was slightly disheveled from the vigorous movements. Thinking about how he had just been bombarding the rock wall like a groundhog, Su Baichen wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Seeing the resentful look in the other person's eyes, Yao Chen scratched his head awkwardly and chuckled dryly, "Don't you usually read a lot of miscellaneous books? I thought you knew."

Upon hearing this, Su Baichen became even more furious. He gritted his teeth and glared at Yao Chen: "Damn it! If I knew him, would I have failed to recognize the Hidden Spirit Crystal in the first place?" He took a deep breath, trying to calm the anger in his chest.

"You old rascal, you're really wicked!"

Yao Chen awkwardly touched his nose and didn't dare to say anything more. He was indeed somewhat in the wrong, after all, he had secretly gloated for a while when he saw Su Baichen's disheveled appearance.

Su Baichen snorted coldly, ignoring Yao Chen. He took a deep breath, calmed himself, and his fighting spirit surged within him.

In an instant, wisps of purple flame rose from his palm, as clear and translucent as flowing glass, radiating terrifyingly high temperatures.

"The Celestial Blaze of Glazed Glass!"

With a low shout from Su Baichen, the purple flames transformed into a fire dragon, roaring as it rushed towards the purple rock wall.

As soon as the flames touched the rock wall, the hard, hidden spirit crystals began to melt at a visible speed, turning into purple liquid that dripped onto the ground with a hissing sound.

"It worked!" Both of them exclaimed with joy upon seeing this.

As the cave entrance widened, Su Baichen controlled the Glazed Heaven-Burning Flame to continue burning forward. Wherever the flames passed, the hard rock walls were easily sliced ​​open like tofu, revealing a deep passage behind. After traveling about several dozen meters, several purplish-black stones appeared before the two of them.

The stones had surfaces as smooth as mirrors, gleaming with an eerie purplish-black light under the illumination of the strange fire, as if they could devour all light. The two men extended their soul power forward, but as they approached the stones, they vanished without a trace, like mud oxen sinking into the sea.

"It really is a good thing!" Yao Chen said excitedly.

Su Baichen nodded, his eyes also gleaming with excitement. He carefully controlled the strange fire, peeling the stones off the rock wall. The moment he removed the last stone, their soul power suddenly became unimpeded, spreading out wildly like untamed horses.

In an instant, everything within a radius of several kilometers became clearly visible to the two. Even more astonishing was the sight behind the rock wall, which completely exceeded their expectations!

"This is......"

Su Baichen and Yao Chen stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with disbelief. In their perception, the opposite side of the rock wall was a huge valley, filled with life energy so dense it was almost liquefied.

Even more astonishing is that countless high-grade medicinal herbs grow in the valley, including some rare varieties that have long been extinct.

Su Baichen turned to look at Yao Chen and found that Yao Chen was also looking at him, and the shock in Yao Chen's eyes was no less than his own.

"You noticed it too," they both said in unison.

After a brief silence, the two exchanged a knowing smile. At that moment, they both knew they had truly struck gold!

"Let's go! Let's go in and take a look!" Su Baichen said, unable to hide his excitement.

He once again activated the Glazed Sky-Burning Flame, expanding the passage to a size large enough for someone to easily pass through. As the flames advanced, the passage grew deeper and deeper, eventually completely opening up the path to the valley.

The moment the two stepped out of the passage, an extremely rich life energy rushed towards them, as refreshing as a spring breeze.

Su Baichen felt a sense of lightness throughout his body, and the fatigue from the past few days of travel was instantly swept away. His fighting spirit also became more active, as if he could break through his bottleneck at any moment.

"Such abundant life energy!" Yao Chen exclaimed. "Only the legendary Fountain of Life can rival this concentration of life energy!"

Su Baichen nodded in deep agreement. He looked around and found that the valley was very large and full of life.

In the center of the valley lies a clear lake, its water a pale green that exudes a rich life force. Around the lake grow various rare medicinal herbs, each radiating powerful energy fluctuations.

Little Jin, following behind Su Baichen, seemed particularly excited. As soon as it entered the valley, it jumped around happily, running about everywhere and occasionally letting out joyful cries.

As an auspicious beast, it has a natural affinity for places full of life energy.

"Yao Chen, let's check the surroundings." Although excited, Su Baichen remained vigilant. After all, who knew what dangers might be lurking inside such an undiscovered blessed land?

Yao Chen didn't refute this, and the two of them simultaneously released their powerful soul forces, carefully examining every corner of the valley. After a thorough inspection, they confirmed that this was indeed a large, enclosed valley, with no trace of any living creatures in the surrounding area.

However, during their deeper investigation, they discovered something even more astonishing—strange flames! And two different strange flames at that!

Deep within the valley, there were two strange flames!

"Blazing Flames of Life! Netherworld Poisonous Flames!" Yao Chen's voice trembled slightly.

The two strange flames were located in two different directions in the valley.

Where the Flame of Life resides, life energy permeates the air, and countless rare medicinal herbs grow around it, each radiating powerful energy fluctuations. In contrast, the Netherworld Poison Fire is surrounded by poisonous gas, with various highly toxic plants growing nearby, and the air thick with suffocating toxic fumes.

Looking at all this, Yao Chen said tremblingly, "Phew, Old Chen, it seems we've struck it rich."

Upon hearing this, Su Baichen took a deep breath, trying to calm his excited emotions: "Really, this isn't just any kind of wealth, it's a huge fortune! Moreover, those two strange flames haven't even developed sentience yet, it's simply a godsend!"

After speaking, Su Baichen looked at the three-eyed golden lion that was hopping around in the valley, his eyes filled with emotion.

That auspicious beast truly lives up to its name! Without Xiao Jin leading the way, they probably would never have found this place in their entire lives. It's practically like the heavens are feeding them; it's impossible not to get rich!

"Xiao Jin, we really owe you a lot this time!" Su Baichen said with a smile.

Little Jin seemed to understand his words, proudly raised its head, and let out a joyful cry, as if to say, "Of course, this auspicious beast's luck is no joke!"

Su Baichen and Yao Chen exchanged a smile, their eyes gleaming with excitement. With these two strange flames and the rare medicinal herbs in the valley, it was truly a great harvest!

Chapter 112 Refining the Body

Su Baichen carefully placed the Netherworld Poison Fire and the highly poisonous herbs into a specially made jade box.

The poisonous fire still thrashed restlessly inside the jade box, its eerie green flames licking the box walls and hissing softly, like a venomous snake with life.

Those poisonous plants of various shapes, some like twisted ghost hands, others like blood-dripping pupils, were all wrapped in a thin layer of white fighting energy, which isolated them from the deadly aura they emitted.

After doing all this, Su Baichen reached out and drew in a ball of emerald-like flame—the Flame of Life.

This flame was completely different from the poisonous flames of the underworld; it was warm and vigorous, radiating a life force that revived all things. The flame danced slowly in his palm, each leap causing the surrounding vegetation to sway gently, as if paying homage to the source of life.

"Only by using this flame as the core of the formation can we harmonize life and death and reverse yin and yang," Su Baichen murmured to himself, his eyes focused.

He moved swiftly through the open space, his fingers like brushes, using his battle qi as ink to draw intricate array patterns in the air.

Emerald-green flame threads flowed from his fingertips, landing on the ground, in the air, and even merging into the surrounding trees and rocks. Each array pattern that landed caused the energy of heaven and earth to tremble slightly, emitting a melodious sound like a flowing spring.

The deployment of the formation lasted for a full half day. As the sun began to set, a complex formation with a diameter of over ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) was finally completed.

The array patterns are nested in layers. The outer ring is outlined with silver-white battle aura to gather spirit energy, the middle ring is made of light gold defensive and concealment runes, and the innermost ring is centered on the flame of life, forming an emerald-colored life conversion hub.

The entire formation emitted a soft glow in the twilight, like a star fallen to earth.

"It's done." Su Baichen let out a soft breath, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead. He used his battle qi to suspend the high-level Dou Zun skeleton in the center of the formation.

The skeleton was as smooth as jade, and even after the passage of time, one could still discern the formidable cultivation it possessed in its lifetime. The surface of the bones bore pale golden patterns, a symbol of a Dou Zun expert who had cultivated Dou Qi to the very marrow of their bones.

"This skeleton is quite impressive, isn't it!" Su Baichen said with no small amount of pride, his fingers lightly tracing the arm bone of the skeleton. "Back in those ancient battlefield ruins in the Northwest Region, this old fellow who called himself 'Venerable Cangmu' saw someone obtain a high-level Earth-rank combat technique and wanted to kill him to steal the treasure. Unfortunately, he didn't expect that there was another group of people hiding deep within the ruins..."

Yao Chen drifted over, his illusory hand patting Su Baichen's shoulder, his eyes full of satisfaction: "Hmm, indeed, you've prepared quite well. This skeleton was at least an eight-star Dou Zun in life, and the wood-attribute Dou Qi remaining in the bones is extremely pure, making it an excellent material for refining the body. What's even more remarkable is that it's so well preserved, even the soul imprint within the skull has naturally dissipated, saving the trouble of erasing the remnant soul."

Su Baichen smiled and recalled that thrilling encounter: "Back then, the two Dou Zun were fighting fiercely deep in the ruins for a high-grade Earth-rank artifact, which ended in mutual destruction. I watched the battle from a hundred miles away using my soul power, and only dared to approach after the dust settled. As a result, I stumbled upon such a great bargain - not only did I get this complete skeleton, but I also found three Earth-rank Dou Techniques and seven kinds of precious medicinal herbs in his shattered storage ring."

"Your luck is no less than mine when I was exploring the ruins back then," Yao Chen stroked his beard and laughed, then said seriously, "Let's begin. The crafting of the Heavenly Demon Puppet must be done in one go. If there is any mistake along the way, this precious skeleton will be destroyed."

Su Baichen nodded, his expression solemn. He formed a hand seal and uttered a low shout: "Activate the formation!"

hum-

The emerald-green array suddenly lit up, like a sleeping giant opening its eyes. The outer ring of the spirit-gathering array activated first, and the energy of heaven and earth within a hundred miles surged in like a tide, forming a huge energy vortex above the valley.

The concealment array in the middle circle was activated simultaneously, completely masking all anomalies and energy fluctuations. From the outside, the valley appeared as calm as ever.

In the innermost circle, the Flame of Life suddenly expanded, transforming into a blooming emerald fire lotus. The surging energy of heaven and earth, tempered by the fire lotus, was purified of impurities and transformed into the purest life energy, which fell like a gentle rain upon the bones of the Dou Zun.

The skeleton began to emit a faint white light, and the pale golden patterns on its surface gradually lit up, as if spring water was flowing again from a dried-up riverbed.

The bones become moist at a visible rate, and even translucent fascia begins to form at the joints.

"Activate the essence of the skeleton with the life force, and then temper its hardness with the Glazed Heaven-Burning Fire..." Su Baichen controlled the formation with complete concentration, each step as precise as the gears of a clock.

"If successful, you will be able to recover to at least the combat strength of a six-star Dou Zun."

Yao Chen stood quietly by, his soul power spreading out and enveloping the entire valley.

……

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of miles away in Wutan City, the Su family courtyard presented a completely different and tranquil scene.

Cao Ying was standing in the alchemy area in the east corner of the courtyard, intently controlling the flames in the cauldron.

She was refining a batch of Grade 3 elixirs, the "Heart-Clearing Pill," her movements fluid and graceful, displaying a skill far beyond what one would expect from someone her age. Under her precise control, the azure flames were sometimes as docile as a rabbit, sometimes as fierce as a tiger, meticulously removing impurities from the medicinal herbs.

A faint medicinal fragrance filled the air, mingling with the scent of several late-blooming night-blooming jasmine plants in the courtyard.

Little Fairy Doctor sat cross-legged under an old locust tree, her purple battle aura swirling around her like a thin mist. A trace of light green medicinal powder clung to the corner of her mouth—a remnant from when she tested the newly concocted poison formula, "Tranquilizing Powder." During breaks in her cultivation, she would open her eyes to observe Cao Ying's alchemy techniques, a thoughtful glint in her purple eyes, and occasionally she would jot something down in the small notebook on her lap.

Xiao Xun'er sat atop the Myriad Fire Azure Lotus (borrowed by Cao Ying) in the center of the courtyard. This cultivation treasure, personally crafted by Su Baichen, was slowly rotating, absorbing the purest energy in the world and transforming it into gentle fire-attribute battle qi to nourish the young girl.

Xun'er's eyes were slightly closed, and the phantom of golden flames appeared and disappeared behind her. It was the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame merging with her battle qi. Her breathing was steady and long, and each breath was in harmony with some mysterious rhythm.

Yun Yun stood beneath the corridor, sword in hand, dressed in a simple white gown, her black hair neatly tied up. She had just broken through to the Dou Huang realm a few days prior, and her aura was still somewhat unstable, requiring constant nurturing.

At this moment, she wasn't cultivating, but quietly watching the three girls in the courtyard, a gentle smile on her lips. This peaceful time of guarding was a strange yet reassuring experience for her, who had once been a young master of a sect.

Before the window of the main house, Cai Lin leaned against the soft couch, looking at the harmonious scene in the courtyard through the half-open window. The setting sun outlined her beautiful profile with a soft contour, and her usually cold purple eyes were now filled with tenderness.

"This kind of life...is so good." She murmured to herself, her slender fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the edge of the tatami mat.

Chapter 113 Happiness and Pain

Then, Cai Lin thought of her hometown, the Snake-People tribe. Her willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly, and a trace of worry crept onto her brows: "Alas, I wonder how the Snake-People tribe is doing? The Great Elder led his people to search for a new habitat, and they have been gone for half a month, but there has been no news from them yet."

She got up and walked to the window, gazing at the setting sun on the horizon, as if she could see the figures of her people struggling to trek under the scorching sun in the distant desert.