Chapter 5: Alchemy? Refining People!

The blood wrapped in black flames showed no energy fluctuations, feeling more like jelly. Even the black flames themselves carried no warmth. Swallowing it was effortless for Yao Yan.

But before Yao Yan could ponder further, an indescribable agony surged from his abdomen, spreading throughout his body. The cyclone of Dou Qi he had cultivated for nearly a decade was torn apart in an instant. Every bone in his body felt as though it was being hammered, the intense pain causing him to black out momentarily. His face, once flushed with blood, turned pale as paper, covered in cold sweat.

He could barely maintain consciousness, feeling the Dou Qi in his body dissipating completely, while the blood he had swallowed began to devour the power within his blood vessels.

The excruciating pain was beyond words.

"Well done. You've seized this opportunity. Life and death, strength and weakness, are determined through choices. If you endure, you'll become stronger," Hun Xuzi praised Yao Yan's decisiveness. He appreciated Yao Yan's swift action despite the high risk. Over the years, he had seen too many people who were afraid of death yet desired strength.

In this world, to gain something, one must inevitably give something up.

To become stronger, you must be more ruthless, more willing to risk it all, and seize opportunities to grasp at the faintest glimmer of hope.

Yao Yan was now unable to speak, curled up on the ground like a boiled shrimp, enduring waves of pain. His special spiritual power allowed him to remain conscious, vividly sensing all the changes and Hun Xuzi's murmurs.

Yao Yan cursed inwardly, expressing his panic and unwillingness by cursing Hun Xuzi and his entire family, as well as his unknown mother.

He had always known the cruelty of the fantasy world but never expected it to come so quickly.

He had not been prepared at all.

He wasn't given a chance to develop.

Hun Xuzi floated in the air, his smile faded. With his spiritual power, he was aware of every change in Yao Yan's body. This fusion was just the first step. If Yao Yan couldn't endure this, there was no point in continuing.

The bloodline of the Swallowing Spirit Clan was extremely domineering, unbearable for ordinary people. If Yao Yan didn't possess the bloodline of the Dou Emperor and a strong vitality, he would have died by now.

The Swallowing Spirit Clan's bloodline was intriguing.

Ordinary people couldn't bear it, as the bloodline power was too strong to accommodate. Finding a balance between the two required continuous experimentation.

As the black flames enveloping the blood gradually dissipated, the blood Yao Yan had swallowed unleashed its power, greedily devouring everything within him—vitality, bloodline power, Dou Qi... It was like a ravenous beast consuming everything around it.

This was somewhat similar to the Void Flame of Devouring Fire, except one was a naturally nurtured exotic fire, while the other was a living being!

Soon, Yao Yan had no strength left to curse Hun Xuzi's mother. As a six-star fighter, how much could his body withstand being devoured by the blood of the Devouring Spirit Clan? In just a few breaths, his body shriveled up like a deflated balloon, and his consciousness began to blur.

"The bloodline of the Yao Clan does indeed possess stronger vitality. Compared to the Dou Emperor bloodline of the Soul Clan, it contains more life energy and can withstand more torment..." Hun Xuzi observed Yao Yan's desiccated body, murmuring to himself. This was something he had long been aware of.

He had conducted many such experiments, not sparing even his own people.

Soon, Yao Yan's youthful body turned into a dry corpse, even his hair losing its luster, devoid of any shine.

"The first step is done. It seems this kid has good willpower," Hun Xuzi muttered as the blood slowly calmed down. Then, a terrifying soul power, shrouded by the Void Flame of Devouring Fire, covered Yao Yan. The illusory black flames instantly covered his desiccated body.

The black flames burned fiercely, emitting no temperature or aura, intangible and invisible.

As Hun Xuzi flipped his palm, the black flames on it surged, causing the space in his palm to distort, revealing a jade bottle shrouded in black flames. As it opened, a rich bloodline power emerged, causing the surrounding heavens and earth to tremble slightly, instinctively converging towards it.

If not for the Void Flame of Devouring Fire enveloping the space around, perhaps the entire Yao Clan would have rioted at this moment.

Because what the bottle contained was none other than the Dou Emperor bloodline of the Yao Clan. It was a special essence extracted by Hun Xuzi from the remains of a Yao Clan Dou Emperor, its volatile energy already tempered and devoured by the Void Flame of Devouring Fire, leaving behind only the purest bloodline power.

Only the Void Flame of Devouring Fire, which could devour the bloodline power of the Swallowing Spirit Clan, could achieve this.

The Soul Clan could maintain their bloodline power by extracting it from the bodies of deceased clan members and bestowing it upon their descendants.

Hun Xuzi gazed at the now calm blood, murmuring softly, "The first step is complete. It seems this little guy has good willpower."

Even the bloodline power of other clans can be extracted...

Yao Yan's Dou Emperor bloodline density was ultimately too low to withstand the devouring of this drop of essence blood. Because this drop of essence blood came from the last Swallowing King of the Swallowing Spirit Clan, it must be tempered with bloodline power of the same level to maintain balance. Perhaps this could make the two merge perfectly.

Hun Xuzi felt no remorse and directly poured this precious essence blood onto Yao Yan's body.

Even if he failed, he was confident he could extract it from Yao Yan's body. As a ninth-grade master alchemist, he had this confidence. This kind of experiment didn't entail any loss for him. As for Yao Yan's life... what this world lacked the least was the lives of the weak.

Drops of blood, resembling jade stones, fell. Under the refining of the Void Flame of Devouring Fire, they turned into threads of misty qi, surging into Yao Yan's body.

As they entered, Yao Yan's previously calmed body began to convulse again. However, under the strong bloodline power, his consciousness, which should have been unconscious, became clear again. Even his spiritual power became stronger, allowing him to vividly sense everything around him.

At the same time, the excruciating pain swept through the depths of his soul, driving him crazy.

His already desiccated body cracked open, and if not for the envelopment of the Void Flame of Devouring Fire, Yao Yan's body would have been unable to maintain its human form.

Neither the Dou Emperor bloodline nor the Swallowing King's essence blood was something Yao Yan could withstand at this moment.

Hun Xuzi paid no attention to this. His focus was on the clash between the two bloodlines. He needed to find a balance between them and incorporate them into Yao Yan's body. This method was similar to alchemy, essentially reshaping Yao Yan's body.

Many of the cases where Hun Xuzi had failed before were due to the inability to endure the pain, leading to voluntary abandonment. As for the consequences of abandonment, they would naturally be devoured and re-refined by the Void Flame of Devouring Fire. As a master alchemist, he had plenty of patience and wasn't afraid of failure at all.

Time passed slowly. Yao Yan was in unbearable pain, unable to even curse, only passively enduring.

Each breath was extremely long.

After an unknown amount of time, Yao Yan was almost numb from the pain, and his consciousness began to blur. However, his body continued to withstand the onslaught of the two domineering bloodline powers, and unexpectedly, his body gradually began to adapt to them. Especially the power of the Yao Clan's Dou Emperor bloodline began to actively harmonize with the other, unexpectedly fitting together without any rejection, a surprising coincidence.

"Hmm?"

Hun Xuzi keenly noticed this and couldn't help but mutter to himself, "Indeed, only one's own clan members are truly compatible."

Over the past thousand years, the Soul Clan had devoured many ancient clans with the help of the Void Flame of Devouring Fire and the offspring of the Swallowing Spirit Clan. The bloodline power obtained was far less harmonious than what Yao Yan was currently merging. It took a lot of effort and sometimes even needed to start from the fetal stage.

As this huge bloodline power merged into Yao Yan's body, the powerful bloodline power quickly repaired his shattered body, nourishing his soul, gradually awakening his consciousness. At the same time, the deep-seated pain surged again, but this time, he endured it!

Because he didn't want to die, at least not in such an unclear way!

"The second step is complete. The next is the final step. Whether it succeeds or not depends on your luck."

Hun Xuzi's tone was calm, because even he wasn't sure about this last step. He could only take a gamble.

With his words, the mighty soul power manipulated the Void Flame of Devouring Fire to shatter the Swallowing King's essence blood into countless strands, then forcibly incorporated each strand of bloodline power into Yao Yan's body.

At this moment, Yao Yan was merging with his clan's Dou Emperor bloodline power. With the unique properties of the Void Flame of Devouring Fire, he could completely take advantage of the opportunity to refine the Swallowing King's essence blood.

This wasn't the first time Hun Xuzi had done this.

Almost instantly, Yao Yan's will was shattered, and his body underwent a transformation. A violent, bloodthirsty aura surged, his eyes turned bloodshot and crazy, losing all rationality. He roared like a mad beast, wildly twisting his body.

To this, Hun Xuzi's eyes gleamed with excitement. Instead of stopping, he increased the speed of refinement because he found that Yao Yan's body didn't collapse directly with the incorporation of the Swallowing King's essence blood. This was the first instance in a hundred years!

As the essence blood completely merged, the eerie and violent aura emanating from Yao Yan's body became even stronger. Eventually, Yao Yan's forehead cracked open, revealing a dark red vertical eye.

The cold and emotionless blood-red vertical pupil exuded an indescribable aura, as if it could devour everything.

The soul power shrouding Yao Yan's body trembled, as if it was being observed by some higher being. However, this situation lasted only a moment because Yao Yan was too weak to cause any trouble.

"Is it done?!"

Hun Xuzi looked at the figure in front of him, resembling a member of the Swallowing Spirit Clan, with a hint of surprise in his tone.

However, he quickly noticed a problem—Yao Yan had lost his rationality and was only acting crazy. It was obvious that this couldn't be considered a success. He didn't want a madman; after a brief hesitation, he directly distorted space with the Void Devouring Fire and took out an eighth-grade pill, the Soul Purification Pill.

This pill was prepared by him for the Sovereigns of the Soul Hall who liked to devour others' souls. It could purify the soul and eliminate any hidden dangers from devouring other people's souls.

This was also a means by which the Soul Hall cultivated its subordinates.

Without hesitation, he controlled the pill to float into Yao Yan's mouth, then used the Void Devouring Fire to assist in its refinement, to prevent any mishaps with Yao Yan's body.

For Hun Xuzi now, Yao Yan was a rare treasure, whose value definitely surpassed that of a ninth-grade treasure pill.

He didn't want anything to happen to Yao Yan in the final step.

Meanwhile, Yao Yan felt himself immersed in chaotic memories. Countless urges for killing and bloodthirst constantly surged into his mind, drowning his consciousness, until a cool sensation swept over his soul, pulling him out.