The Red Emperor Fire Emperor Qi circulated wildly. The surrounding purple-black flames were actually being refined by him. An invisible wave formed a spherical shield that enveloped the Three Thousand Blazing Flames.
Trapped within, it stared at Xiao Yan with intense hatred, then its entire body suddenly expanded, releasing all the flames it had absorbed over countless years. It was equivalent to self-destruction.
A section of its body exploded, and terrifying flames swept through the void. But it was useless. Even the violent power of different flames fusing could be suppressed by the Red Emperor Fire Emperor Qi, let alone the power of a single Heavenly Flame.
Upon encountering the Red Emperor Fire Emperor Qi, its violent power instantly became as docile as a kitten, directly refined by Xiao Yan.
"Despicable human, what have you done to me?" Realizing even its self-destruction was useless, the flame became agitated. It could feel its power continuously weakening while Xiao Yan's was constantly increasing. The stronger the power it activated, the faster Xiao Yan grew.
One increasing, one decreasing. It was life-threatening. At this rate, it would be completely drained in less than a day. It had no way to deal with this. Its own flames immediately submitted to Xiao Yan upon encountering him.
Xiao Yan stood amidst the sea of fire like a god. A smile slowly appeared on his face as he gently raised his palm. All the purple-black flames on the Three Thousand Blazing Flames surged uncontrollably towards him.
In just a few breaths, more than half of its flames were lost. It was terrified, struggling, and roaring, but all in vain.
Its body rapidly shrank, finally transforming into a streak of purple-black flame, completely absorbed into Xiao Yan's palm.
He closed his eyes. A moment later, they opened, a purple-black fiery glint flashing within. He extended a hand, and a small purple-black fire dragon condensed on it. The eyes of this dragon, however, had lost their luster.
This was the origin flame. Unfortunately, the intelligence born from it was unwilling to submit, so he could only erase it. This was a life-and-death battle; there was no third path.
"This Three Thousand Blazing Flames is truly excellent." Purple-brown flames seeped from his pores, refining his skin, muscles, and bones in a unique way. Under this tempering, his fair skin took on a hint of bronze. This was the "Star Body Refining" effect.
He looked at the small dragon in his palm, and with a thought, his other flames coiled towards it. The purple-black dragon instantly gained a few more layers of depth and mystery. Its body swelled, and it let out an earth-shattering roar.
Xiao Yan's aura surged at this moment.
Dou Zun One Star.
Dou Zun Two Stars.
Dou Zun Three Stars.
Dou Zun Four Stars.
Dou Zun Five Stars.
His aura surged to a jaw-dropping extent, a goal that took others decades to achieve, he reached in minutes. His cultivation only slowly stopped after breaking through to the Dou Zun Five Stars realm. He had instantly gone from just entering Dou Zun to its middle stage.
"Awesome!" Xiao Yan groaned, feeling the surging Dou Qi flowing through his meridians. The feeling of promotion was too exhilarating.
He estimated he should now possess Saint-Grade combat power. He hadn't fought a true Dou Saint, but the gap was vast. When he first broke through to Dou Zun, he could barely contend with a Half-Saint. Now, he should be able to stably defeat one.
"Dou Zun Five Stars—terrifying!" Yao Lao's soul body emerged, his expression complex. "Your advancement speed is unprecedented, but it will inevitably have hidden dangers. I will teach you a method called the Fire Thunder Orb."
"It can condense different flames into orbs for long-term preservation. Manufacturing them requires extremely strict soul control. You can use this to stabilize your cultivation and train your soul," he said, handing an ancient scroll to Xiao Yan. "Don't use the Red Emperor Fire Emperor Qi."
Xiao Yan nodded. This thing was peculiar. It was equivalent to a weakened version of the Buddha's Angry Fire Lotus, but it could be prepared in advance.
He clasped his palm, and the purple-black flames in his hand began to rotate, spinning like a vortex. It suddenly shrunk, and after a flash of light, a purple-black orb the size of a baby's fist appeared in his palm.
"Fire Thunder Orb, interesting." Xiao Yan took out a wooden box and put the orb inside. He then tried creating orbs from his other flames.
Various colorful Fire Thunder Orbs were generated in his hand. If so many were thrown out at once, even a Half-Saint would probably be blasted into dust.
"Hehe," Xiao Yan laughed, looking at the hundreds of Fire Thunder Orbs. "Isn't this a hand grenade?" He put the jade box on his body. "From now on, please call me the Jade-faced Fire Thunder King!"
…
After adapting to his surging strength, Xiao Yan headed towards the Star Domain's exit. At this moment, the powerhouses of the Pill Tower had all moved out, their gazes fixed on the void. Xuan Kong Zi and the other two giants had solemn expressions.
Terrifying high temperatures permeated from the area. If the flames were to erupt, the entire Holy Pill City would be reduced to ruins.
"Did they fail?" people discussed in hushed tones.
"Those below Dou Huang, retreat immediately! The rest, form a formation!" Xuan Kong Zi commanded, preparing for the worst.
Just as they formed up, the space at the exit fluctuated, and a crack slowly appeared. A monstrous purple-black flame swept out like a storm. The entire city instantly fell into panic.
"He failed?" Xuan Kong Zi's face turned ashen.
"Why is there still Three Thousand Blazing Flames at the entrance?" a grumbling voice came from within the flames. A figure emerged. It was Xiao Yan.
The moment he appeared, the sea of fire that had caused the city to panic dramatically vanished. Everyone stared dumbfounded.
"Who is this? The flames that even the Pill Tower giants couldn't handle are so obedient to him?"
"My goodness, could it be that he subdued the different flame?"
The originally tense Xuan Kong Zi and the other two finally breathed a sigh of relief. "It seems you really succeeded. I thought you failed, thankfully!"
However, when their gazes swept over Xiao Yan again, they were suddenly shocked. His aura was completely different from when he entered.
"Your aura…" Xuan Kong Zi spoke in astonishment.
"Hehe... I lived up to expectations. Luckily broke through to Dou Zun Five Stars," Xiao Yan smiled and said.
Dou Zun Five Stars? He broke through from just entering Dou Zun to Dou Zun Five Stars in just a few days? This advancement speed was truly unreasonable. With such cultivation, plus the Three Thousand Blazing Flames, even a slightly weaker Dou Saint would find it difficult to gain any advantage against him.
"With your cultivation speed, breaking through to Dou Saint probably won't be difficult," Xuan Kong Zi said meaningfully. "Perhaps you can truly contend against the Soul Hall."
Xiao Yan remained silent, only showing an honest smile.
Xuan Kong Zi led him back into the Pill Tower. Upon reaching their private hall, Yao Lao's figure also reappeared.
"What the Soul Hall is plotting is too grand. Relying solely on the Pill Tower will be difficult," Xuan Kong Zi said with a solemn expression. "It's best to inform other forces and form an alliance. That is the righteous path."
This was exactly what Yao Lao wanted.
"I can represent the Starfall Pavilion and form an alliance with the Pill Tower and contact the Flower Sect," Yao Lao said in a deep voice. "But even if we combine our strength, it may still be difficult. After all, behind the Soul Hall is the Soul Clan."
"The best solution now is to bring forth an existence that can contend against them. Xiao Yan is the most suitable choice."
[Inorin Note:
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