Chapter 37: Devouring the Beast Flame

"Before you begin the devouring process, you'll need to prepare some things," Yao Lao said with a smile.

Xiao Yan thought to himself, "Could it be something like Meridian Protection Pill or Ice Heart Pill, those second-tier pills?"

This was merely a gentle fifth-tier beast flame, not the beast flame cultivated by the sixth-tier magical beast, the Amethyst Winged Lion King, using its Amethyst Essence.

If supplementary pills were needed for this, then all his years of training in the Dou Qi realm, refining his tendons and expanding his meridians to build a strong foundation, would be a joke.

"What else do I need to prepare?" Xiao Yan asked hesitantly.

"Don't worry, it's not the items needed for refining pills. What I am talking about is something you cannot acquire at your current level," Yao Lao chuckled. With a flick of his finger, a faint gray light slowly rose from his fingertip.

The gray light swirled in mid-air before gently falling onto the stone surface. As the light dissipated, it revealed the object hidden within.

It was a small gray stone the size of a thumb. Its surface was smooth as jade, without a single flaw. At the core of the stone, a faint blue light pulsed slowly, resembling a tiny, lifelike insect.

Gazing at the inconspicuous little stone, Xiao Yan couldn't help but ask, "What is this?"

Yao Lao did not explain directly but instead spoke slowly, "Your fire-attributed Dou Qi has reached the level of the Xuanhuang Flame. If you directly devour the beast flame, it's highly likely that the two flames will clash, which could either damage your body or forcefully fuse into one flame. Neither outcome would be as we intend."

Xiao Yan pondered and nodded. If this gentle Peach Blossom Flame were to be directly devoured, it would most likely become nourishment for the Xuanhuang Flame.

If that happened, it would be a waste of this Peach Blossom Flame.

The Flame Mantra had already evolved under his comprehension.

Fire-attributed Dou Qi could evolve into a more powerful flame.

Right now, the greatest value of this Peach Blossom Flame was to experience the process of devouring and evolving a flame firsthand, thereby gaining new insights.

The Flame Mantra pointed to a path of evolution, which was indeed miraculous.

However, this did not mean that only the Flame Mantra could evolve.

With deeper cultivation and greater insight, one could develop new understandings.

Most people would consider it excellent to practice the techniques passed down by their predecessors and ensure the continuation of their heritage, let alone attempt to modify or upgrade the techniques.

Thus, even Yao Lao had a misconception that the Flame Mantra, being an evolving technique, was incredibly magical.

But for Xiao Yan, this misconception simply did not exist.

Since he started cultivating in his mother's womb, Xiao Yan had already modified his cultivation method multiple times.

This was the power of his heaven-defying comprehension.

With experience as his support, he could comprehend even more powerful techniques.

There was nothing that couldn't be altered or tampered with.

At this point, Yao Lao finally introduced, "This item is called the Spirit Nucleus. In a way, it's related to Storage Rings. It can only be found at the center of the highest-quality Storage Stones. You should know that high-grade Storage Stones are essential for making high-grade Storage Rings, so you can imagine how rare they are. And the chances of finding a Spirit Nucleus in a high-grade Storage Stone are not high. Now, you can probably grasp the rarity of a Spirit Nucleus."

"So it's a Spirit Nucleus," Xiao Yan muttered, stunned.

Even a low-grade Storage Ring cost several thousand gold coins. A mid-grade Storage Ring would cost at least ten times more, while a high-grade Storage Ring could be a treasured heirloom of a powerful clan.

Compared to high-grade Storage Rings, the Spirit Nucleus was undoubtedly even rarer. Calling it 'as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns' would not be an exaggeration.

Not to mention Xiao Yan, even Xun Er would have difficulty obtaining such a rare item in a short period.

Yao Lao, seeing Xiao Yan's stunned expression, finally felt a sense of triumph and chuckled, "This item can create a special small space within your body. This space was originally designed specifically for storing Heavenly Flames.

"After all, with the destructive nature of Heavenly Flames, if you don't completely refine them, they would instantly burn through anything except this void space, including your Qi vortex and body.

"But given your unique situation, storing a beast flame may be a bit of a downgrade, yet if you manage to create a myriad of beast flames in the future, it will be worth the effort."

Xiao Yan smiled slightly. "Having an elder in the house is truly a blessing."

"Alright, now you can begin to devour the Peach Blossom Flame. I am curious to see how much the Flame Mantra can evolve with this beast flame," Yao Lao said expectantly, exhaling deeply.

"It's already the new version of the Flame Mantra," Xiao Yan reminded him. He opened the jade bottle and swallowed the Peach Blossom Flame.

At that moment, Yao Lao flicked his finger. The small Spirit Nucleus on the ground transformed into a gray light and shot straight into Xiao Yan's body.

Simultaneously, the Peach Blossom Flame rushed into Xiao Yan's meridians, its gentle flame flowing slowly, seemingly curious about this new environment.

Directly swallowing this fifth-tier beast flame, Xiao Yan felt no pain aside from a slight increase in body temperature.

This was due not only to the gentleness of the Peach Blossom Flame but also to Xiao Yan's robust meridians, forged by years of training using Dou Qi cultivation methods far superior to those commonly spread across the continent.

Seeing that Xiao Yan's face only reddened slightly, Yao Lao nodded approvingly. "With three more years of cultivation, coupled with careful preparation, the risk of merging with the Falling Heart Flame from the Jia Nan Academy in the future will be greatly reduced."

In the Dou Qi vortex, the surging Xuanhuang Dou Qi suddenly gushed out, surrounding the Peach Blossom Flame.

Under Xiao Yan's powerful soul control, it began guiding the flame along the paths of the Flame Mantra.

When the Dou Qi encased the Peach Blossom Flame, it sensed danger and began to lash out against the surrounding energy.

However, Xiao Yan's Dou Qi was no ordinary Dou Qi.

Under the scorching heat of the Xuanhuang Flame, the Peach Blossom Flame had no choice but to flow obediently through his meridians.

As the technique operated at high speed, Xiao Yan keenly noticed that the Peach Blossom Flame and his Dou Qi had already begun to merge in a strange manner!

To be precise, the Peach Blossom Flame was being gradually devoured by the Dou Qi of the Flame Mantra 2.0!

Seeing this, Xiao Yan grew anxious.

In this situation, he was certain of one thing.

If he didn't quickly push the Peach Blossom Flame into the Spirit Nucleus, the beast flame would be completely absorbed by the Xuanhuang Flame.

The Flame Mantra accelerated further, guiding the Dou Qi carrying the Peach Blossom Flame towards a tiny gray dot at the center of the Qi vortex.

At the center of the vortex, the small gray dot floated there, its interior a deep, boundless darkness, as if concealing another space, looking extremely mysterious.

The moment it made contact, the light within the gray dot rapidly extinguished, and a terrifying suction force erupted, quickly absorbing the Peach Blossom Flame.

As the Flame Mantra 2.0 began to evolve, Xiao Yan, under the influence of his heaven-defying comprehension, gained new insights into the cultivation of the technique.

(End of Chapter)