blogombal 781. Three months of asceticism
781. Three months of asceticism
As Xiao Yan watched the Fire Essence Ginseng being continuously burned and refined by the Crimson Lotus Star Flame, the strange fire was helping him refine the Fire Essence Ginseng to a level that could be directly consumed. Xiao Yan knew very well that this was probably the last time.
Xiao Yan has been in this place for three months. Three months ago, he learned about the Xiao Clan from the Fire Cloud Ancestor. He eventually gave up the Nine Dragons Thunderfire and instead obtained the Heaven-Rank Battle Technique created by the Fire Cloud Ancestor. After that, he entered this forbidden land to cultivate.
During this period, Xiao Yan also discovered that this region was greatly beneficial to his cultivation. So, for the past three months, he cultivated both Heaven-Rank Dou Techniques and made good use of this environment for training. Both his Dou Techniques and his own strength were improving at a rate far exceeding the norm.
During this cultivation process, Xiao Yan also learned about the unique herb in the magma—the Fire Essence Ginseng.
Because the most prominent characteristic of the Fire Spirit Ginseng is its intractable demonic nature, even alchemists know very little about it. If Wei Jiangyuan hadn't pointed it out, Xiao Yan truly wouldn't have thought of it.
After personally capturing a few plants, he discovered that apart from the difficulty in overcoming the demonic nature of these herbs, they were almost perfect cultivation materials. However, the demonic nature was so deeply rooted that even with Xiao Yan's alchemy skills, he simply could not refine them.
Xiao Yan had already planned to give up, but just for the firsthand experience, he didn't want to create any hidden dangers for Yao Lao's resurrection. Xiao Yan still tried to swallow a Fire Essence Ginseng. As a result, during the process of swallowing it, the original demonic nature was accidentally devoured by the black flames, and the remaining pure flame energy was all swallowed by Xiao Yan.
Ultimately, the benefits Xiao Yan received far exceeded his expectations; a vast amount of energy directly entered his body. A single Fire Spirit Ginseng gave Xiao Yan the power equivalent to nearly a month of arduous cultivation, and upon learning this, Xiao Yan was overjoyed.
He then began searching for Fire Spirit Ginseng. This strange herb was abundant in this magma area, with groups of five to ten plants usually clustered together, typically at the core of the magma. Thanks to the wondrous effects of his Heavenly Realm Soul, Xiao Yan's hunting speed was remarkably fast.
In the past three months, Xiao Yan has been almost constantly hunting Fire Spirit Ginseng, absorbing its power, and finally using the surge in Dou Qi to begin cultivating Dou Techniques. Today, Xiao Yan has consumed over twenty Fire Spirit Ginseng and successfully reached the peak of the Nine-Star Dou Zun realm, only one step away from the so-called Half-Saint realm.
Despite his rapid increase in strength, Xiao Yan remained completely unfazed by this remarkable leap, constantly and cautiously monitoring his physical condition. After all, aside from arduous training, other methods naturally carried many hidden dangers. If his Dou Qi became unstable, it would inevitably affect his cultivation foundation, resulting in more harm than good.
Even Xiao Yan, who cultivated like an ascetic, felt his body had reached its limit. After absorbing these two Fire Essence Ginsengs, it would be his last chance to break through to the Half-Saint realm. Whether he succeeded or not, he could not continue absorbing them.
Xiao Yan did indeed want to reach the Half-Saint realm before reaching the Heavenly Tomb. The strength of the ancient clans was already extremely terrifying, and Xiao Yan dared not underestimate them under their deliberate targeting. If he reached the Half-Saint realm, it would greatly increase the chances of success for this trip. Whether he could succeed or not depended on this final breakthrough!
As Xiao Yan's thoughts shifted, the Fire Essence Ginseng had already been refined, leaving only a ball of pure crimson liquid. A surge of powerful and violent energy continuously emanated from it. Xiao Yan was already quite familiar with how to absorb it, so he opened his mouth and swallowed it whole in one gulp, then sat cross-legged in the area.
A torrent of scalding, boundless energy exploded within Xiao Yan's body in an instant!
Black flames appeared instantly, releasing a powerful devouring ability, targeting the demonic nature within this energy that was extremely difficult to eliminate.
Xiao Yan then quickly activated his Burning Technique, absorbing this energy into the core of his body.
Xiao Yan's body was like a vortex, greedily absorbing the hot fire-attribute battle qi energy in the air. Fortunately, this place lacked everything except the power that Xiao Yan needed. Streams of energy were constantly being injected into Xiao Yan's body, and Xiao Yan's aura continued to rise.
The Dou Sheng realm is a crucial watershed for families descended from Dou Di, signifying whether a so-called genius can fully realize their potential. Even for Xiao Yan, reaching the Dou Sheng realm is an immense hurdle, but he possesses two major advantages over ordinary people.
Firstly, there's the realm of the soul. Soul cultivation is more difficult than Dou Qi cultivation until reaching the Spirit Realm. Therefore, most people can only advance to the Heavenly Realm soul after reaching the Dou Sheng realm in Dou Qi. However, Xiao Yan already possessed a Heavenly Realm soul during his Dou Zun period, giving him far greater control over himself than most.
Another point is that the power of a Dou Sheng level is truly extraordinary. Before one can possess it, one must have a personal experience of it. Ordinary people need a long period of comprehension to perceive the difference.
Of all the people Xiao Yan knew, only Qing Lin claimed that she didn't encounter much trouble when she crossed the Dou Zun to Dou Sheng realm. This was because Qing Lin's treatment was unparalleled even among the descendants of Dou Di families. The necessary preparations for Qing Lin's advancement had already been made, and the Dou Sheng realm was indeed not difficult for her. In fact, even earlier, Qing Lin's combat strength had always been extremely formidable; on the night of the Pill Tower incident, she was able to contend with the renowned half-saint powerhouse, Tianming Laoyao, from Zhongzhou.
In this respect, Xiao Yan's advantage is probably only slightly less than Qing Lin's. This is because he truly experienced the terror of a Dou Sheng expert firsthand; it wasn't a simulation, but a direct confrontation!
At that time, the furious attack from the Spirit Clan's Dou Sheng almost killed Xiao Yan on the spot. Among so many people present, apart from those who blindly believed in Xiao Yan, everyone else thought he had already perished.
As for himself, Xiao Yan had already memorized the terrifying power of a Dou Sheng's attack, which could unleash the power of heaven and earth. This effect was something that no matter how many times a Dou Sheng demonstrated it, they could never achieve. The Dou Sheng realm was not mysterious to Xiao Yan.
Under Xiao Yan's repeated attacks, two days passed in the blink of an eye, and the unfathomable barrier between Dou Zun and Half-Saint gradually began to crumble. Xiao Yan was certain that he was getting closer and closer to becoming a Half-Saint!
An opportunity for a breakthrough could arise at any time!