Chapter 22: The Flame Seal

The Magic Beast Mountain Range was filled with dense forests and complex terrain. Xiao Yan fled at full speed, and in just a short time, the mercenaries of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group completely lost sight of him.

However, they were quite familiar with the outskirts of the mountain range, so they roughly estimated the area where Xiao Yan could hide and did not give up their pursuit.

As night fell, Xiao Yan found a concealed cave, ate a bit of food, and sat down cross-legged to cultivate.

Peering into his Dou Qi Cyclone, which resembled a nebula, Xiao Yan finally had the time to quietly contemplate a solution to the problem of his limited Dou Qi.

In this matter, Xiao Yan had a very clear train of thought.

Since his low-level Huang-rank cultivation method could only allow a minimal amount of Dou Qi to be stored in his cyclone, he just needed to find another place to store the Dou Qi.

Simply put, it meant creating a second storage space similar to a Dou Qi Cyclone.

If his Dou Qi was double that of others, he could deplete his opponents through sheer exhaustion.

Following this thought, Xiao Yan then recalled the clan marks of the Dou Qi Continent.

Clan marks were far more formidable than a mere secondary Dou Qi Cyclone.

They could provide an explosive increase in strength, enabling a weaker individual to reverse their fate against a stronger opponent.

Combining these two concepts, Xiao Yan devised a plan.

The secret technique he created would initially function as a secondary Dou Qi Cyclone, allowing him to store additional Dou Qi. In the mid-stage, it could enhance his strength in a manner similar to a clan mark. When fully developed, it could rival or even surpass ancient clan marks.

Ancient clan marks activated the bloodline power within the bodies of ancient families. In comparison, his bloodline was almost negligible.

Thus, there were numerous problems to address.

However, Xiao Yan wasn't overly concerned about these issues.

The cultivation in the Dou Qi Continent had already reached a stage of decline.

Ancient soul cultivation methods and soul attack techniques were now only passed down through the Alchemy Tower and a few ancient clans. As for how to break through to the Dou Di level, fewer than ten people on the entire Dou Qi Continent knew.

Things created by the sages of ancient times had not been further developed by their descendants; rather, many techniques were nearly lost.

With his unparalleled talent, Xiao Yan had a deep understanding of the cultivation environment he found himself in.

From his birth, he had been capable of accomplishing things that others could not. After years of cultivation, his future held even greater promise.

A Dou Di is not born solely from bloodline power!

"Thirty years to the east of the river, thirty years to the west—never look down on a young man in poverty!"

As midnight approached, the surroundings grew silent, with only a gentle breeze rustling the treetops.

*[With your experience in condensing the Dou Qi Cyclone, you gain enlightenment and comprehend the secret technique: "Flame Seal"!]*

*["Flame Seal" is a secret technique that stores Dou Qi in the center of your forehead, which can be unleashed in critical moments. The amount of Dou Qi stored is influenced by your physical constitution and the strength of your soul.]*

With the completion of his initial plan, Xiao Yan ceased his cultivation, slowly opened his eyes, and felt slightly fatigued.

After all, he had spent less than a day from conceptualizing to creating this secret technique, which could be considered a heaven-defying achievement.

Taking a deep breath of the cool air, Xiao Yan formed a hand seal and closed his eyes again.

The Flame Mantra cultivation method began to operate once more. However, this time, instead of channeling the absorbed Dou Qi into his Dou Qi Cyclone, he reversed the flow.

As Dou Qi gathered, a yellow dot of light appeared at the center of his forehead.

At the moment the yellow dot appeared, the cultivation of the "Flame Seal" entered the right path.

A terrifying devouring force erupted from the center of his forehead, and the surrounding energy of heaven and earth surged wildly. Immediately, countless energy threads condensed and slowly merged into the yellow dot.

The energy of heaven and earth then flowed into Xiao Yan's body, operating along the route of the Flame Mantra cultivation method, refining into pure Dou Qi, and finally feeding back into this spot.

Under the continuous influx of Dou Qi, the originally faint yellow dot gradually transformed into a mysterious flame mark.

This flame mark seemed to contain infinite mysteries. It looked like a raging flame, yet appeared to hold boundless wisdom.

Each line of the mark resembled an ancient array, glimmering with profound light, exuding an aura of otherworldly mystery and majesty.

The continuous influx of heaven and earth energy into the cave soon caught the attention of Yao Lao.

He emerged from the Bone Flame Ring and watched Xiao Yan, who had begun to absorb the energy of heaven and earth through his forehead. Even with his vast experience, Yao Lao scratched his head in bewilderment.

Geniuses always had moments that left him puzzled.

This had been the case since Xiao Yan was in his mother's womb. As Xiao Yan grew older, he became increasingly enigmatic.

As day turned to night and the rising sun dispelled the darkness before dawn, the soft sunlight felt warm and comfortable.

After absorbing an enormous amount of heaven and earth energy, the flame mark, originally yellow, turned a vivid crimson, as striking as blood.

Seeing the flame mark that seemed to ignite, Yao Lao finally considered an almost impossible possibility—a clan mark!

It was the only explanation Yao Lao could think of.

Yao Lao himself hailed from an ancient family. Although of humble origin, he had known of the existence of ancient clans from the beginning.

Later, as he became an eighth-grade alchemist, he learned far more secrets than ordinary people.

But Yao Lao also understood that creating a clan mark was not so simple.

First, it required an extremely dense bloodline of an ancient family, and secondly, it needed a rather complex process.

As for Xiao Yan…

"Surname Xiao!" Yao Lao's eyes suddenly widened, and a flash of realization crossed his aged eyes.

Some of the puzzles he couldn't solve before now began to make sense.

Among the ancient clans, there was once a Xiao Clan, which later fell into decline and seemed to disappear overnight.

"If that faction is indeed targeting him, it's likely the truth." Looking at his disciple, Yao Lao couldn't help but sigh.

With such a background, even if he was now in a remote area, his future was bound to be fraught with troubles. Increasing his strength as much as possible was the best course of action.

After a night's cultivation, Xiao Yan had stored a full double his usual Dou Qi within the Flame Seal.

Although it wasn't a lot, the Flame Seal still had considerable storage space.

He could fill it up later, roughly equating to the capacity of a one-star Dou Shi warrior using a Huang-rank cultivation method.

"Teacher, you woke up quite early," Xiao Yan chuckled as he saw Yao Lao floating mid-air.

Having mastered the "Flame Seal," Xiao Yan felt as if he had opened the door to a new world.

For now, he had only discovered its most basic use, and even the later stages of enhancing his strength had vast room for development.

Yao Lao, who had stayed up all night, was in no mood to speak with Xiao Yan.

With a flick of his finger, a bone-white light appeared before Xiao Yan, condensing into a mirror as white as jade.

In the mirror, his originally handsome face now bore a flame mark that looked like a real flame.

*(End of Chapter)*