Ten days later.
Inner Academy, Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
Above the sea of magma, after ten days of harmonization by Lin Yuan, the two flames that had originally been as incompatible as water and fire, one blue and one white, were now intertwined with each other, making contact to the greatest extent possible as they awaited the appearance of the first wisp of fused flame.
At one corner of the intertwined blue-and-white mass of flames, a cluster of blue-and-white fire was rotating and intertwining in the shape of a Taiji symbol.
At a certain moment, a faint radiance suddenly emerged from the center of the blue-white Taiji.
Under the illumination of that radiance, the blue and white flames slowly wriggled before gradually merging completely into one.
A small cluster of ice-blue flames, possessing a faintly translucent quality, was born.
"This is beginning to fuse..."
Sensing the change, Lin Yuan slowly opened his tightly shut eyes, and a sharp glint flashed through them.
Looking at the cluster of ice-blue flames and sensing the powerful strength contained within it, the corners of Lin Yuan's mouth curved upward.
Although this cluster of flame was tiny, it proved that his direction and approach were correct. What remained was merely a matter of time.
Lin Yuan closed his eyes once again, and time once again began to flow slowly through this crimson world of magma.
Mulan Empire, Emerald Ring Mountain Range.
Within the deep valley, a massive energy vortex continued to revolve in the sky, constantly drawing in the surrounding Heaven and Earth energy.
Under the nourishment of this immense energy, the weeds grew luxuriantly. If nothing unexpected happened, they would soon occupy the entire valley.
Today, however, this otherwise monotonous deep valley finally experienced a disturbance unlike anything before.
The enormous energy vortex in the sky suddenly began to slow down before gradually coming to a halt.
Immediately afterward, the vast energy poured downward like a torrential rain before finally transforming into two enormous streams of energy, each as imposing as a mountain flood, shooting straight toward the ground.
One surged into the cave dwelling buried beneath the weeds.
The other descended into the seven-colored cocoon deep within the secluded valley.
As the two streams of energy poured in, the two auras seemed to reach a state of saturation.
Within the cave dwelling, that powerful aura and imposing pressure began to accumulate amid a series of long breaths.
Deep within the valley, the colors of the seven-colored cocoon became increasingly brilliant, while the mysterious runes on its surface continuously flickered with faint radiance.
A mysterious aura, seemingly connected to both sides, circulated and resonated between the cocoon and the cave dwelling.
At a certain moment, within this desolate valley, two pairs of exquisite eyes that had remained closed for more than half a year slowly opened at the same time, trembling slightly.
Two mighty auras simultaneously erupted from the cave dwelling and the seven-colored cocoon, sweeping outward with the momentum of annihilating everything in their path.
The crimson world remained as silent as a dead domain, with only the occasional sounds of flowing magma breaking the stillness.
When Lin Yuan opened his eyes once again, the intertwined mass of blue-and-white flames before him had already disappeared.
In its place was a cluster of ice-blue flames resembling liquid jade, possessing a faintly translucent quality as it quietly burned before him.
"Hehe!"
Looking at the newly formed flame created from the fusion of the Fallen Heart Flame and the Sea Heart Flame, Lin Yuan chuckled softly.
"It took a full month from beginning to end, but the fusion is finally complete!"
"Although this fusion took quite a bit of time, I now understand all the key principles behind fusing Heavenly Flames. Next time, there won't be any need for such trouble."
He gently raised his palm.
The ice-blue flame obediently landed upon his fingertip.
With a slight movement of his mind, the ice-blue flame instantly flowed around his fingertip like water, moving with astonishing flexibility.
This clearly demonstrated Lin Yuan's absolute control over this newly born Heavenly Flame.
Lin Yuan played with the ice-blue flame with great interest and began experimenting with its characteristics.
After a while, a satisfied smile slowly spread across his face.
This newly born Heavenly Flame was even somewhat stronger than Yao Lao's Bone Chilling Flame. It should possess power comparable to the top ten Heavenly Flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking.
What pleasantly surprised Lin Yuan was that when the Fallen Heart Flame's ability to destroy the soul and temper Dou Qi combined with the Sea Heart Flame's ability to nourish and heal through its water-element properties, the two actually produced a kind of miraculous reaction.
They had given birth to a power capable of tempering and nourishing the soul.
Although this power was subtle, it was extremely gentle, continuous, and long-lasting.
Suppressing the impulse to fuse the Green Lotus Core Flame with it as well and then replace his Blood Soul's current main flame with the resulting fusion, Lin Yuan sealed the newly born Heavenly Flame back into the Blood Soul.
It was not yet time.
A newly born Heavenly Flame comparable to the top ten flames on the Heavenly Flame Ranking would inevitably attract enormous greed.
It was a treasure valuable enough for the Hall of Souls to organize an operation specifically to seize it.
Revealing such a treasure without possessing sufficient strength would only invite disaster upon oneself.
Especially now that Yao Lao and his disciple, as well as Gu Xun'er, were still in Jia Nan Academy.
A single Green Lotus Core Flame was not enough to make them disregard everything and take action.
But if they faced a fusion of three Heavenly Flames, what actions they might take would be difficult to predict.
Lin Yuan would never entrust his own safety and circumstances to the conscience of others, nor to uncontrollable luck.
Gently rubbing his temple, Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Breaking through to the Dou Ancestor realm, refining the puppet, and fusing the Heavenly Flames all three matters have been completed."
"Now that I possess both the cultivation of a Dou Ancestor and the fused Heavenly Flame, all the conditions are finally in place."
"Next, it's time to deal with you the Demonic Poison Spot!"
With that thought, Lin Yuan slowly lowered his hand and pressed it against the black poison spot on his chest through his clothes.
Because his foundation was excessively profound, when Lin Yuan broke through to the Dou Ancestor realm, not only had the Flame Pearl been completely depleted, but even some of the energy within the Demonic Poison Spot had been consumed.
However, the energy contained within the Demonic Poison Spot was still enormous.
According to Lin Yuan's own estimation, if he completely absorbed it, breaking through to the five-star Dou Ancestor realm would not be a problem. He might even be able to set his sights on the six-star realm.
At this thought, a burning fervor flashed through his eyes.
He formed several hand seals, and the ice-blue flame was released from the Blood Soul, rapidly intertwining and gathering in his palm.
A terrifying refining force surged forth.
Lin Yuan suddenly clenched his hand.
The ice-blue flame in his palm melted into his hand like flowing water and surged along his arm toward his chest.
Before long, the ice-blue flame had gathered around his chest, completely sealing off the Demonic Poison Spot.
Gritting his teeth, Lin Yuan focused his mind.
The ice-blue flame collided with the rune seal Little Fairy Doctor had placed upon the Demonic Poison Spot.
In merely a moment, the seal was torn open by the erosion of the Heavenly Flame, leaving behind a tiny crack.
The crack was precisely controlled.
It was not large enough to trigger an eruption of the Demonic Poison Spot, yet it was sufficient to actively draw out a portion of its power.
As the crack appeared, the Demonic Poison Spot violently pulsed.
Nine black strands shot out from the crack.
Seeing this, Lin Yuan nodded confidently.
With a thought, the ice-blue flames instantly divided into nine fire dragons.
Amid low dragon roars, they surged toward the black strands and swallowed them one by one.
Immediately afterward, Lin Yuan changed his hand seals.
The nine fire dragons spiraled and converged, forming an ice-blue lotus.
Nine pitch-black, highly poisonous "lotus seeds" were enclosed within the lotus platform.
A powerful refining force surged through them, causing the entire flame lotus to resemble a burning pill cauldron.
Faced with the refining process, the energy of the Demonic Poison Spot began to resist violently.
Streams of highly corrosive black mist continuously surged out from within, crazily crashing toward the surrounding flames.
However, how could a Heavenly Flame comparable to the top ten on the Heavenly Flame Ranking be ordinary?
Under Lin Yuan's control, supported by his vast soul power and pure Dou Qi, the ice-blue flame lotus remained as immovable as a mountain, easily resisting the assault of the poisonous energy.
At this moment, the newly born Heavenly Flame completely released its powerful refining ability, slowly refining the poisonous "lotus seeds."
As time passed, the pitch-black poisonous "lotus seeds" gradually faded in color.
In merely an hour, all the black poison within them had been burned into nothingness, leaving behind only an extremely pure and incomparably vigorous mass of Dou Qi that seemed almost tangible.
This Dou Qi possessed not the slightest trace of consciousness.
It was like a number of Dou Qi lotus seeds, simply remaining motionless within the flame lotus.
Feeling the purity of this Dou Qi, a satisfied expression appeared on Lin Yuan's face.
"In terms of energy, this thing is no weaker than most seventh-grade medicinal pills."
Taking a deep breath, Lin Yuan's mind moved.
He calmly controlled this mass of Dou Qi and circulated it according to the cultivation route of the Heavenly Capital Flame Canon, attempting to completely make it his own.
"Ahh..."
When the nine Dou Qi lotus seeds were completely absorbed, Lin Yuan could not help but let out a comfortable sigh, a feeling of satisfaction filling his heart.
At the same time, his aura completely stabilized at the middle stage of One-Star Dou Ancestor.
"Still not enough. Continue refining!"
A trace of excitement flashed through Lin Yuan's eyes. His hands shifted through a series of hand seals as he continued drawing energy from the Demonic Poison Spot, refining and absorbing it.
As this process continued, his cultivation began to rise slowly but steadily.
In this completely selfless state of refinement, an entire day passed in the blink of an eye.
"Crack…"
A faint sound that seemed not to exist rang out from the depths of his soul.
Lin Yuan, who was sitting cross-legged on the Green Lotus Seat, suddenly stiffened. An indescribable sense of comfort spread throughout his body.
"Two-Star Dou Ancestor."
Lin Yuan's slightly closed eyes slowly opened at this moment. A scorching glint flashed through his deep eyes.
After exhaling a breath of stale air, Lin Yuan slowly lowered his head and looked at the Demonic Poison Spot on his chest.
The sinister-looking poison mark still remained firmly embedded there, but its size was slightly smaller than before.
"For now, let's stop here. Increasing my cultivation too much in such a short period isn't necessarily a wise choice. There's still plenty of time in the future."
"Besides, this thing can no longer pose a threat to me. I have plenty of time."
With Lin Yuan's current strength, he was already capable of completely resolving the Demonic Poison Spot within his body.
However, the Dou Qi contained within the Demonic Poison Spot was simply too powerful. Absorbing it all at once could bring unknown risks. Refining it gradually was undoubtedly the better choice.
With that thought, his mind sank into his body and he placed another layer of sealing energy over the gap in the seal surrounding the Demonic Poison Spot.
Afterward, he dispersed his cultivation hand seal and ended this round of cultivation.
Lin Yuan slowly stood up and stretched his body.
His bones immediately crackled throughout his body, and a wonderful sensation brought about by his newfound strength instantly spread through every part of him, causing him to let out a soft groan.
"The feeling of this power is truly wonderful."
After rolling his neck, Lin Yuan raised his head and looked toward the passage above.
"All my goals have been successfully accomplished. It's time to end my seclusion."
With that, his mind stirred, and he stored the Blood Soul inside the Nether sea Ring.
However, the Nether sea Ring might now be more appropriately called the Nether sea Soul Ring.
During the fusion of the Heavenly Flames, Lin Yuan had completed the modification of the Nether sea Ring. It now possessed an additional soul-storage function similar to the Bone Flame Ring.
After storing everything away, a spatial ripple spread from beneath his toes.
Lin Yuan's figure disappeared from this magma world.
At the bottom of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
Five Inner Academy Elders sat cross-legged.
The Fire-Gathering Pot floated in the center of the five men. Several streams of Fire-attribute Dou Qi of varying shades continuously poured into the Fire-Gathering Pot before surging into the Fallen Heart Flame's child flame within.
Circles of invisible fluctuations spread out from the Fire-Gathering Pot and rose toward the upper levels.
The invisible waves wound upward like wisps of smoke, penetrating layer after layer of the tower until they enveloped the entire Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
Not far away, Su Qian stood before the entrance leading to the magma world, a probing look flashing in his eyes.
Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and a hint of delight appeared in them as he stared intently into the depths of the passage.
"Whoosh!"
A faint sound of something cutting through the air suddenly came from the deep passage.
Immediately afterward, a green figure abruptly flashed out and lightly landed beside Su Qian.
"It's been a while, Great Elder."
Lin Yuan's clear voice rang out. He smiled and cupped his hands toward Su Qian before asking curiously,
"Why are you here?"
"To stop Zi Yan, of course!"
Su Qian rubbed his temples helplessly.
"The medicinal pills you gave that girl are all gone. She even said that you clearly broke through a long time ago but still hadn't come back up, so you must have found something fun down there. She kept making a fuss about going down to look for you."
"But this place is dangerous enough that even the Dean personally warned us about it. How could I possibly let her go down? So I had no choice but to guard this place."
"I see."
Lin Yuan nodded. A strange look flashed through his eyes as he secretly pondered,
"Half a year's supply, and she already finished it this quickly? That girl's ability to digest energy and medicinal ingredients is getting stronger and stronger."
"At this rate, it's not impossible for Zi Yan to break through to the seventh rank before heading to the Central Plains. I need to increase her supply."
While Lin Yuan was thinking, Su Qian also examined him for a while.
Feeling the immense aura that Lin Yuan was making no effort to conceal, Su Qian could not help but show a hint of astonishment.
"Lin boy, I'm not surprised that you broke through, but judging from your appearance, you don't look like someone who has just broken through!"
Lin Yuan nodded and explained,
"I came across a small opportunity. After breaking through to the Dou Ancestor realm, I took advantage of the momentum and advanced another star. I'm currently a Two-Star Dou Ancestor."
"Hiss!"
Su Qian sucked in a cold breath and stared at Lin Yuan with a complicated expression.
"You brat, Your cultivation speed is far too monstrous. I've painstakingly cultivated for so many years, yet I'm only barely a Two-Star Dou Ancestor. The moment you advanced a realm, you caught up with me."
By the end, Su Qian could only helplessly shake his head.
This fellow's cultivation speed was indeed somewhat discouraging.
However, he quickly adjusted his mood and looked at Lin Yuan with satisfaction.
"Now that you've done this, you've become the most outstanding student in the entire history of Jia Nan Academy."
"A nineteen-year-old Dou Ancestor. Even among those ancient clans filled with countless geniuses, there are very few who can compare with such a level."
"Hehe, the most outstanding student in Jia Nan Academy's history appeared during my tenure as Great Elder."
As he said this, a hint of pride appeared on Su Qian's face.
At the same time, he secretly thought,
"This point in time isn't far from that grand gathering. At his age, Lin boy already possesses the cultivation of a Dou Ancestor. Perhaps he can participate in it. I need to contact the Dean."
Hearing Su Qian's praise, Lin Yuan did not bother being modest. He merely smiled faintly before asking about another matter.
"Great Elder, how is the collection of the ingredients for the Ancestor Origin Pill and the Beginning Venerable Pill coming along?"
Once the conversation turned to serious business, Su Qian immediately straightened his expression, and his voice became solemn.
"The collection of the ingredients went more smoothly than expected."
"After you entered seclusion, Elder Qian personally made a trip to the Central Plains and brought back quite a number of medicinal ingredients."
"Combined with the ingredients you provided and those stored by the Academy, we have now gathered enough ingredients for four sets of Bignning Venerable Pills and six sets of Ancestor Origin Pills."
Lin Yuan's eyes immediately lit up upon hearing this.
"Good. I'll spend some time adjusting my condition, and then I'll begin refining the pills."
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