Apart from his soul, Lin Yuan had also made considerable progress in his physical body after breaking through to the Dou Ancestor realm.
After being tempered by his Natal Blood Pill and dragon qi, coupled with the strengthening effect of his Dou Qi on his physical body, his physique was now no weaker than that of an ordinary Seventh-Grade Magical Beast.
"However, it is time to take another step forward in body-refining techniques. The Hundred Beasts Refining Spirit Art alone is ultimately not enough."
Standing in the void, Lin Yuan lightly tapped his temple while pondering the direction of his future cultivation.
The Hundred Beasts Refining Spirit Art, a low-level Earth-Class body-refining Dou Technique, had played an extremely significant role throughout his growth. Ever since he cultivated it, Lin Yuan's physique and strength had always held an absolute advantage over those of cultivators at the same level.
However, even with Zi Yan's dragon qi raising its potential, the Hundred Beasts Refining Spirit Art was ultimately limited by its rank. If he wanted to maintain this advantage, he would have to advance further.
There were two ways to solve this problem.
Should he cultivate another body-refining Dou Technique that could coexist with his Natal Blood Pill?
Or should he perfect the Hundred Beasts Refining Spirit Art himself?
"Heh, as an adult, I want both!"
Lin Yuan chuckled softly and thought to himself, "As for a higher-grade body-refining Dou Technique, I can make use of Medicine Elder and Gu Xun'er as two channels to obtain one."
"As for improving my Natal Blood Pill through the Pill Dao, I already have some ideas, but they still need to be further deduced and perfected."
Thinking about the heavy research workload awaiting him, even Lin Yuan could not help shaking his head.
If he had not created the Shadow Clone Technique, a secret technique that could help him save time while studying and researching knowledge, even Lin Yuan would have found it impossible to handle so many aspects simultaneously.
"Forget it. There is no point in thinking too much. None of these things can be accomplished overnight."
"For now, I should focus on what is in front of me. I need to prepare the puppets for the upcoming transaction first. Whether I can break through into the Spirit Realm in a short period will depend on this transaction."
With that thought, Lin Yuan calmed his mind and descended back onto the Green Lotus Platform.
"I'll refine the Dou Emperor-level puppets first!"
With that thought, he flicked his finger.
Two figures, one gold and one silver, appeared suspended in the air before him.
They were none other than the Gold and Silver Elders.
As azure flames climbed over the two corpses, Lin Yuan began the refinement.
Inner Academy, Elder Pavilion.
At this moment, two figures stood facing each other, engaged in conversation.
"Venerable Yao, the conditions you proposed are indeed generous, but I cannot agree to this transaction."
Su Qian looked at the illusory figure before him with determination and said, "The Fallen Heart Flame is the foundation of the Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy. It is impossible for us to give it away."
Yao Chen fell silent for a moment before saying solemnly, "This old man knows that the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower relies on the Fallen Heart Flame to function, but there should still be some room for negotiation, right?"
"Oh? Room for negotiation?"
Su Qian narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Hehe. When it comes to perception, this old man still has some confidence in himself."
Yao Chen smiled faintly and said, "If my perception is correct, the one maintaining the operation of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower right now is that little fellow Lin Yuan's sub-flame of the Fallen Heart Flame, correct?"
"If that is the case, then the Fallen Heart Flame itself cannot be considered indispensable, can it?"
During this period, Yao Chen had confirmed that Lin Yuan's sub-flame was maintaining the operation of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, and his thoughts had consequently become active again.
However, he had no intention of secretly seizing it. Instead, he chose to make a legitimate transaction.
After all, setting aside the terrifying combat strength of Jia Nan Academy, he did not even know where the main body of the Fallen Heart Flame was or what its current condition was.
How could he possibly talk about seizing it?
"Indeed worthy of being Yao Venerable. Your perception is truly sharp."
Su Qian sighed with admiration before changing the subject.
"At present, the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower indeed no longer relies on the main body of the Fallen Heart Flame. However, the Academy has other uses for the Fallen Heart Flame. This is confidential information, so forgive me for being unable to disclose it."
The Fallen Heart Flame was already under Lin Yuan's control. How could Su Qian possibly hand it over to someone else?
Compared with Lin Yuan, someone who represented the future of Jia Nan Academy, the rewards Yao Chen had offered were simply insignificant.
After a brief pause, Su Qian said meaningfully, "Besides, the Fallen Heart Flame was captured by the Dean himself. As merely the First Elder, I do not have the authority to trade it away."
"Old Man Mang Tian Chi?"
Yao Chen helplessly muttered.
He knew Mang Tian Chi and understood his personality. That man wandered around the continent all year round, and it was not unusual for him to disappear from Jia Nan Academy for several decades.
Finding him was no easier than searching for a needle in a haystack, let alone obtaining his approval.
Su Qian's words meant that his request to trade for the Fallen Heart Flame had been politely yet decisively rejected.
"There is no hope for the transaction."
Yao Chen sighed inwardly.
"Little Yan, this old man has already done everything he could. Unfortunately."
With this thought, Yao Chen's desire to resurrect himself grew even stronger.
In his current neither-human-nor-ghost state, he could only display the strength of a Dou Ancestor, and even his words carried little weight.
Fortunately, Jia Nan Academy was still trustworthy. If another major faction discovered his current condition, there was a high probability that a high-level Dou Ancestor or even a Dou Venerable would immediately suppress him and happily loot everything he possessed.
Even some of his former friends might not be exceptions.
Wealth could move the heart.
Compared with the friendship of the past, the benefits Yao Chen currently possessed were far more tempting.
The people he could trust were already few, and the only person he could absolutely trust was Venerable Feng.
This was also why he needed to make thorough preparations before taking Xiao Yan to Central Plains.
Xiao Yan possessed a Heavenly Flame while his cultivation was still relatively weak. A high-level Dou Ancestor could easily see that he possessed a Heavenly Flame.
The temptation this presented was simply too great.
If they were careless, Xiao Yan could easily become prey on someone else's chopping block.
Furthermore, with Yao Chen's current strength, the possibility of encountering an enemy in Central Plains whom he could not deal with was simply too high.
After all, almost every city in Central Plains had at least one Dou Ancestor guarding it.
"I must restore my physical body as soon as possible."
Having made up his mind, a sharp glint flashed through Yao Chen's eyes.
"First, prepare the basic resurrection materials as a safety net. If something better becomes available, we can replace them later. The Bone Melting Blood Fusion Pill, Lin Yuan should be able to refine it after breaking through."
With this thought, Yao Chen bid farewell.
"Since that is the case, this old man will not force the matter. Farewell."
After saying this, Yao Chen or rather, his soul clone, turned around and flew toward Pan's Gate.
After Yao Chen left, space rippled slightly.
An elderly figure radiating the aura of a Dou Ancestor appeared before Su Qian.
"Oh, Old Man Huo!"
Su Qian greeted the newcomer with a smile.
"Have you stabilized your cultivation?"
"Finally, I have stabilized my Dou Ancestor realm."
Elder Huo nodded.
He looked at the direction in which Yao Chen had departed and sighed.
"Things are truly unpredictable. I never thought that the legendary Yao Venerable would actually come to our Jia Nan Academy."
Su Qian nodded slightly.
"Indeed, things are unpredictable. By the way, this is for you. You should be able to make use of it."
As he spoke, he took out a scroll from his Storage Ring and handed it to Elder Huo.
"What is this?"
With a hint of confusion, Elder Huo unfolded the scroll.
The moment he saw its contents, an expression of wild joy flashed through his eyes.
"This is the True Flame Manipulation Art improved by the Earth Demon Old Ghost?"
"Exactly!"
Su Qian chuckled.
"Before Lin Yuan entered seclusion, he entrusted me with giving it to you."
"Little Lin?"
Elder Huo was stunned before a complicated expression appeared in his eyes.
"I really have to thank him properly this time. I never imagined that in just a few short years, he would grow to the point where even I have to look up to him."
In the magma world beneath the tower, half a month passed in the blink of an eye.
"Fire Formation, disperse!"
With a soft shout, Lin Yuan's hand seals changed slightly.
Immediately, the fiery disc before him trembled violently before dissipating.
The three Fire Spirits formed from the flames of a wolf, leopard, and lion separated from one another and floated in midair.
At the same time, a puppet forged through countless rounds of tempering, its body interwoven with silver and copper hues, appeared before Lin Yuan.
"Four-Star Dou Ancestor-level combat strength."
After sensing the puppet's aura, a satisfied smile appeared on Lin Yuan's face.
"With this, everything I need for the transaction with Gu Xun'er is ready."
Lin Yuan took a deep breath and stored the puppet inside his Storage Ring.
His gaze then fell upon the several Fire Spirits.
"The Five Ring Expelling Fire Technique truly lives up to its reputation!"
The Five Ring Expelling Fire Technique was extremely difficult to cultivate and was divided into five stages. Each time one mastered a stage, they would gain the method to condense a corresponding Fire Spirit.
However, because Lin Yuan possessed extremely powerful flame-control abilities and soul power, his cultivation of the technique had progressed smoothly.
During this half-month, he cultivated this flame-control technique while simultaneously applying it to puppet refinement.
Under this approach, Lin Yuan's progress was extremely rapid.
At present, he could already condense three different Fire Spirits, which meant that he had successfully cultivated the third stage of the Five Ring Expelling Fire Technique.
The more Lin Yuan comprehended this Five Ring Expelling Fire Technique, the more he could appreciate its ingenuity.
It incorporated formations into Dou Techniques and cleverly transformed the conflicting relationship between different flames into one of mutual reinforcement, further amplifying their respective powers.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Yuan waved his sleeve lightly.
The three Fire Spirit beasts transformed into pure flames.
Immediately afterward, he withdrew the Green Lotus Core Flame back into his body.
His gaze then fixed upon the Sea Heart Flame and the young Fallen Heart Flame.
A trace of determination flashed through his deep eyes.
"The matter I have been contemplating for so long should finally be completed here."
Having made up his mind, Lin Yuan no longer hesitated.
A violet light flashed through his eyes as the hand seals in his hands rapidly changed.
"Space Lock!"
As Lin Yuan's hand seals created countless afterimages, the empty space between the magma sea and the spatial barrier above began to ripple strangely.
After a moment, this entire area of space became severely distorted.
"Condense!"
With a deep shout, a spatial ripple resembling a wave spread outward.
The writhing space instantly solidified, and a layer of sturdy spatial barrier condensed into existence.
Lin Yuan raised his eyes and glanced at the barrier he had created, muttering, "It isn't enough. To be safe, I should set up several more layers."
Immediately afterward, he sat cross-legged and began recovering the Dou Qi he had just expended.
Several hours later.
Looking at the multiple layers of spatial barriers he had established, Lin Yuan nodded in satisfaction.
"This should be enough. With the seven layers of barriers I established, combined with the two layers set up by the Elders, they should be sufficient to isolate all disturbances and auras. No matter what happens here, the outside world should be unable to sense it. Next."
With that thought, Lin Yuan lowered his gaze toward the Sea Heart Flame floating in midair.
"Now that the Flame Mantra has been reverse-engineered and completed to this extent, it is finally time to test the devouring, fusion, and evolution of Heavenly Flames."
Lin Yuan had obtained half of Han Feng's Flame Mantra and the fragment of the Flame Mantra that had evolved through the Sea Heart Flame nearly a year ago.
As for the Flame Mantra that Xiao Yan had evolved through the Wind and Thunder Fury Dragon Flame, Lin Yuan had also obtained most of its cultivation route half a year ago.
After obtaining these materials, Lin Yuan had assigned one of his clones to specifically study and reverse-engineer them, attempting to reconstruct the original Flame Mantra.
Now, the results were already considerable.
The half-volume of the Flame Mantra had been completed to eighty percent by Lin Yuan. This was also the limit that could be achieved with the information currently available to him.
In order to make it usable, Lin Yuan had used the eighty-percent-complete Flame Mantra as a foundation and incorporated knowledge from the numerous high-grade cultivation techniques and secret techniques he had studied.
After countless deductions, he had finally created a cultivation technique named Flame Mantra: Modified — Experimental Version.
This technique retained many of the characteristics of the original Flame Mantra.
However, Lin Yuan himself had no intention of cultivating the Flame Mantra: Modified Experimental Version.
The one who would cultivate it was the Sea Heart Flame's Fire Spirit, whose mind was connected to his own.
For this reason, when completing the technique, Lin Yuan had deliberately modified it to make it more compatible with Heavenly Flames, focusing primarily on the devouring and evolution of flames, as well as the fusion between different flames.
And now that he had obtained two Fallen Heart Flames, it was finally time to test the effectiveness of this technique.
With two identical Heavenly Flames available, even if the experiment failed and one of the Heavenly Flames was lost, the resulting loss would still be within a range Lin Yuan could accept.
With a thought from Lin Yuan, the Sea Heart Flame, which had been burning quietly, suddenly expanded.
A blue flood dragon emerged from within the flames and began swimming around the young Fallen Heart Flame.
A hint of instinctive greed flickered within its eyes.
At the same time, an extremely mysterious fluctuation spread outward.
If Xiao Yan and Yao Chen were here, they would certainly be stunned speechless, because this fluctuation was remarkably similar to the fluctuation of the Flame Mantra.
Upon coming into contact with this fluctuation, the flame seed of the young Fallen Heart Flame instinctively developed a trace of unease.
However, its intelligence was already under Lin Yuan's control.
In an instant, it suppressed that unease and quietly waited for the moment to arrive.
"The time has come!"
Sitting cross-legged on the Green Lotus Platform, Lin Yuan closed his eyes and projected his consciousness outward.
His consciousness split into two.
One portion entered the Sea Heart Flame's Fire Spirit, while the other entered the young Fallen Heart Flame's Fire Spirit.
"Roar—!"
A clear dragon roar resounded.
The azure flame flood dragon shot forward, opening its enormous mouth and swallowing the milky-white flame seed in a single gulp.
After the milky-white flame seed was swallowed by the azure flame flood dragon, the two Fire Spirits began instinctively stirring despite Lin Yuan's suppression.
Instinct drove them to devour each other as quickly as possible.
After all, by devouring the other, they would become even stronger.
"The instinct of Heavenly Flames to devour one another?"
Lin Yuan understood immediately.
Driven by that difficult-to-suppress instinct, the blue and white flames finally came into direct contact without any barrier between them.
A low explosion suddenly erupted from within the flame flood dragon.
Lin Yuan's consciousness tightened instantly.
He calmed his mind and peered inward.
At this moment, energy was surging violently within the flame flood dragon, while the point where the two Origin Flame Seeds came into contact was filled with chaotic energy.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Yuan controlled the Sea Heart Flame and activated the Flame Mantra: Modified Experimental Version with all his strength.
Before long, a peculiar energy produced by the circulation of the technique, which Lin Yuan called Flame Mantra Energy, surged toward the point where the Sea Heart Flame and Fallen Heart Flame came into contact.
As this mysterious Flame Mantra Energy poured into the two flames, the explosion at the point where their flame seeds touched quickly subsided.
"The power of the Flame Mantra truly is extraordinary."
"If I want to achieve fusion between Heavenly Flames rather than simply having one Heavenly Flame devour another, it seems that the 'Flame Mantra Energy' is needed to act as a mediator. Then…"
Having grasped the key point, Lin Yuan's thoughts shifted, and he controlled the two flame seeds to separate slightly.
The two flame seeds remained suspended at positions where they could touch without fully coming into contact, maintaining only a tentative connection.
Lin Yuan extracted a large amount of soul energy from his main body and infused it into the Sea Heart Flame's Fire Spirit.
This allowed the Fire Spirit to maintain contact with the milky-white flame seed while simultaneously circulating the Flame Mantra: Modified Experimental Version at high speed, continuously producing Flame Mantra Energy.
Using the Flame Mantra Energy as a mediator, the flame seeds of the Sea Heart Flame and the young Fallen Heart Flame began gradually coming into contact.
This would be a prolonged battle.
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