Even Su Qian, a Dou Zong (Battle Ancestor) expert, was secretly astonished by the immense energy within the purple light cocoon.
He knew that Zi Yan was breaking through to the Fifth Rank, which was the Dou Wang (Battle King) realm for humans. Although in the Dou Qi Continent, the Dou Wang (Battle King) realm was the first major watershed.
Only by stepping into Dou Wang (Battle King) could one be considered to have entered the ranks of 'experts' on the continent. In the Black-Corner Region, Dou Zong (Battle Ancestor) was uncommon, Dou Huang (Battle Emperor) was a regional overlord, and Dou Wang (Battle King) represented the top combat power of various major forces.
Even the elders of Jia Nan Academy were mostly composed of Dou Wang (Battle King) experts, which showed how precious the Dou Wang (Battle King) realm was.
Su Qian himself had experienced the Dou Wang (Battle King) stage, and he knew how terrifying the energy Zi Yan was currently unleashing truly was.
What kind of race is she?
At this moment, a deep question lingered in Su Qian's mind, refusing to dissipate.
Just then, as the rhythmically pulsating light cocoon pulsed, the surrounding world would experience a slight ripple, and then the wandering energy in the world would be completely absorbed into the light cocoon.
Each pulse made the cocoon's light brighter, and as time passed, this suction became increasingly terrifying.
After a moment of contemplation, Su Qian quickly formed a hand seal with one hand. Jiang Yun could sense that the surrounding space seemed to be connected in some way.
As Su Qian's palm slammed down, it seemed as if the air in the entire space was forcefully pressed down. Invisible threads, like a spiderweb, tightly enveloped the room.
"Zi Yan's advancement is causing too much of a stir. To avoid causing a commotion, I've already placed a seal on this room."
After doing all this, Su Qian turned to look at the pensive Jiang Yun and slowly spoke.
Su Qian looked at Jiang Yun, who had come back to his senses, with a strange expression. He didn't suspect anything, only assuming that the child was inspired by seeing such advanced techniques, sparking a reverence for power.
"Zi Yan's advancement is also an opportunity for you. Work hard, and don't make this old man wait too long in the Inner Court!" Su Qian patted Jiang Yun's shoulder encouragingly, and then slowly disappeared from the room.
Jiang Yun looked down at his palm at this moment, and saw that his hand quickly began to form seals. If Su Qian were still there, he would have noticed that this was a simple spatial lock that he had just performed.
This was a Dou Zong (Battle Ancestor)'s technique, but Jiang Yun, a mere seven-stage Dou Qi, had learned it perfectly just by watching once. Su Qian would surely question life if he knew.
As he formed the seals, Jiang Yun's movements became slower and slower, until at a certain moment, Jiang Yun pressed down with one hand, and immediately felt as if something had changed in this space.
"It seems… it's not very difficult!" A murmuring voice, filled with doubt, echoed in the quiet room. If anyone had heard it, Jiang Yun would have been ambushed and beaten, it was simply too infuriating.
Dispelling the spatial lock, Jiang Yun wiped the sweat from his forehead. Studying spatial power at the Dou Qi stage was still too strenuous.
"At this stage, cultivation is still the priority. These can only be used as means of combat; cultivation is the key." Jiang Yun looked down at his palm and said softly.
Afterward, Jiang Yun slowly walked into the room. He had already reached the seven-stage Dou Qi, only two steps away from Dou Zhe. Only after breaking through to Dou Zhe could he learn various techniques.
Now was a good time to cultivate properly, taking advantage of Zi Yan's advancement and the rich energy of heaven and earth.
Sitting cross-legged in the room, feeling the more than doubled richness of the surrounding heaven and earth energy, Jiang Yun formed hand seals and began his Dou Qi cultivation.
As Jiang Yun entered cultivation, the room suddenly fell silent, with only two heartbeats, one large and one small, echoing. The powerful pulsations indicated the extraordinary nature of their owners.
Half a year later!
Inside the room, Jiang Yun, who had his eyes tightly shut, slowly opened his bright eyes. At this moment, feeling the abundant Dou Qi (Battle Energy) within his body, he had clearly reached the pinnacle of nine-stage Dou Qi. The Dou Qi (Battle Energy) stored in his Dantian could no longer increase by even a single trace, and he was ready to break through to Dou Zhe at any moment.
"It's time to advance to Dou Zhe!" Feeling the abundant power within his body, Jiang Yun said with a solemn expression. Sensing the increasingly active aura next to him, Jiang Yun knew that Zi Yan was probably about to succeed. If he couldn't break through to Dou Zhe and gain the ability to refine medicinal ingredients before she emerged from seclusion, there would be another commotion.
Although there was a chance of failure when advancing to Dou Zhe, with severe cases even leading to a reversal of cultivation, at this time, the Qi Gathering Powder came into being.
However, Jiang Yun, as a born Nine Divine Meridians, possessed exceptional talent and extremely condensed Dou Qi (Battle Energy), making failure virtually impossible. Moreover, he had terrifying soul power as a backup.
Therefore, Jiang Yun had absolute confidence in this advancement!
Immediately, Jiang Yun formed hand seals, and the Dou Qi (Battle Energy) within his body moved according to his will, beginning to circulate rapidly. Traces of faint white Dou Qi (Battle Energy) gathered from the outside towards Jiang Yun, flowing like an endless stream for a time.
The most crucial step in advancing from nine-stage Dou Qi (Battle Energy) to Dou Zhe was the condensation of the Dou Qi (Battle Energy) vortex. As long as the Dou Qi (Battle Energy) vortex was successfully condensed, it meant becoming a true Dou Zhe.
As Jiang Yun unleashed the Dou Qi (Battle Energy) he had been suppressing and frantically absorbed the surrounding Dou Qi (Battle Energy), the Dou Qi (Battle Energy) within his body began to rapidly expand, flowing swiftly through his meridians.
He himself was like a funnel, frantically devouring the surrounding Dou Qi (Battle Energy).
Under the continuous compression of soul power, the amount of Dou Qi (Battle Energy) became less and less, but its quality continuously increased, becoming thicker and thicker. At this point, the absorbed Dou Qi (Battle Energy) was a bit unable to keep up with the compression speed.
Jiang Yun sensed that the absorption of Dou Qi (Battle Energy) had slowed down, so he once again separated a portion of his soul power, which surged into his meridians, swiftly carrying the Dou Qi (Battle Energy) to his Dantian. At the same time, he used his soul power to keep the compressing Dou Qi (Battle Energy) in constant motion, like a vortex, to strengthen its absorption capacity.
He had to thank Zi Yan for this; if she hadn't been in the process of advancing, leading to an extremely dense surrounding heaven and earth energy, at Jiang Yun's speed, he would likely have been in a dilemma due to insufficient heaven and earth energy.
The Dou Qi (Battle Energy) expanded, quickly filling most of Jiang Yun's meridians, reaching its limit.
"That's enough." With a thought, Jiang Yun quickly formed hand seals.
As the hand seals changed, the Dou Qi (Battle Energy) within Jiang Yun's body seemed to receive an order and rapidly surged towards his lower abdomen.
The faint white Dou Qi (Battle Energy) condensed in his lower abdomen, eventually transforming into a peculiar black and white color.
Jiang Yun focused his mind, and his soul power began to wildly spread, forcefully compressing the black and white interwoven Dou Qi (Battle Energy) vortex in his lower abdomen.
The black and white Dou Qi (Battle Energy) vortex offered strong resistance, but it was fiercely suppressed by Jiang Yun's soul power with an absolutely unyielding stance.
When the mass of Dou Qi (Battle Energy) contracted to only the size of a palm, it suddenly solidified and began to rotate rapidly and rhythmically in a predetermined direction.
At the same time, a powerful energy erupted from Jiang Yun's body.
Dou Zhe realm, achieved!
After a moment of dizziness.
Jiang Yun once again arrived in the Qing Ming Pagoda. Having experienced it once, Jiang Yun was quite familiar with the process and quietly waited in place.
After a short while, he saw the Pagoda Spirit's body gradually solidify.
"Senior Qing Ming!" Jiang Yun obediently called out. Upon seeing Qing Ming's appearance, Jiang Yun couldn't help but think of his grandfather, who was still in the Demonic Spirit Clan, and wondered how he was doing now.
"Hehe, half a year later, Yun'er, you've grown taller and stronger."
"In half a year, Yun'er, you've broken through to Dou Zhe. Not bad, not bad." Qing Ming carefully observed Jiang Yun, his smile never fading since Jiang Yun appeared.
As Jiang Hong's weapon for his entire life, from the moment it gained sentience, Qing Ming also possessed all of Jiang Hong's memories. He had watched Jiang Yun grow up, in a sense.
Coupled with Jiang Hong's influence, he was particularly fond of Jiang Yun.
"The attribute of Dou Qi (Battle Energy) is more violent than spiritual energy, and it has the effect of tempering the body. In the past six months, I have tempered my body to the limit for my age."
Jiang Yun was also very happy, not only because he was about to begin refining the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame, but also because he felt the care of an elder from Qing Ming.
"Very good, to reach the peak, no detail can be overlooked!" Qing Ming looked at Jiang Yun with admiration. To have such insight at such a young age, his future is promising!
"Grandpa Qing Ming, I am already a Dou Zhe. Can I start absorbing the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame now?"
"You can try, but Yun'er, you're still missing a crucial item!"
"Cultivation method!"
Hearing Qing Ming's words, Jiang Yun nodded. "During this time, I also read a few Dou Qi Continent cultivation methods. Although they were only of the Yellow Rank, giving me a glimpse, the Dou Qi Continent cultivation methods and the Great Thousand World spiritual techniques have similarities. I assume spiritual techniques can also be cultivated here, it's just that the energy has changed!"
"You are right, the purpose of cultivation methods is to harness the energy of heaven and earth for one's own use, and this is common in any world." Qing Ming affirmed Jiang Yun's statement, but still reminded him: "However, now that you have just entered the Dou Zhe realm, it is best not to choose a cultivation method that is too high-ranked."
Jiang Yun nodded at the words. Each stage has suitable cultivation methods and Dou Skills. It's not to say that cultivating a Heaven Rank cultivation method at the Dou Zhe stage will necessarily make you strong.
How profound and complex are the mysteries of a Heaven Rank cultivation method? How could a mere Dou Zhe comprehend them? The energy required for a Heaven Rank Dou Skill is barely enough even for a Dou Zun (Battle Venerate). For ranks below that, using Dou Skills beyond one's capability would be more harmful than beneficial.
Otherwise, members of those imperial clans would all be holding Earth Rank and Heaven Rank cultivation methods, and Xiao Yan probably wouldn't even have passed the Ling Quan stage.
According to Jiang Yun's estimation, for the Dou Zhe stage, Xuan Rank and low-level Earth Rank cultivation methods were optimal, with Xuan Rank Dou Skills as his trump cards.
Therefore...
Jiang Yun slowly sat cross-legged and began to cultivate a spiritual technique he had found in his mind. It was a divine-level spiritual technique, equivalent to an Earth Rank cultivation method in the Dou Qi Continent, named...
Crimson Fire Treasure Mirror!
The first Dou Qi (Battle Energy) transformation would not take too long, so, after just an hour, Jiang Yun, who was sitting cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes.
After cultivating the method, Jiang Yun looked more energetic than before. His tender face glowed with a warm, jade-like luster, appearing lively and refreshed.
"Bang—"
A black and white swirling vortex of Qi (Energy) remained at the acupoint in his palm. According to the rules of the Dou Qi Continent, the higher the rank of the Dou Qi (Battle Energy) cultivation method, the deeper the color of the Dou Qi (Battle Energy).
So... was his Dou Qi (Battle Energy), which was both pale white and deep black, considered high-ranked? Or low-ranked?
"Holy Heavenly Demon Flame, truly overbearing!" Qing Ming had now also understood the basic knowledge of the Dou Qi Continent, and upon seeing Jiang Yun's Dou Qi (Battle Energy), he couldn't help but exclaim.
Jiang Yun retracted his Dou Qi (Battle Energy) and looked up at Qing Ming.
Qing Ming nodded and said solemnly, "Although that Holy Heavenly Demon Flame is just a sub-flame of its main body, it is enough to severely injure a Heavenly Sovereign. At that time, it was jointly suppressed by me and Jiang Ya. Although its origin was damaged, we can never be too cautious with it!"
"If you are not careful, you could lose your life at any time. Do you still want to try?"
Jiang Yun took a deep breath, thinking of Jiang Hong, of the despairing faces of his clansmen who died before his eyes, and even more so of Zi Yan. His face was filled with determination: "This junior understands, but this junior has reasons to become stronger that he cannot ignore! And the determination to succeed!"
"Follow me!"
Jiang Yun stood up and followed Qing Ming towards the bottom of the pagoda.
As they slowly approached their destination, Jiang Yun felt the surrounding air begin to grow hot, as if it could turn a person into a dried corpse at any moment.
However, Qing Ming's footsteps did not stop; he continued along the passage towards the bottom of the pagoda.
Sweating profusely, Jiang Yun's breathing had become rapid. Large beads of sweat slowly trickled down his tender young face. Looking at the departing Qing Ming, Jiang Yun gritted his teeth and slowly followed his footsteps.
Jiang Yun didn't know how far he had walked, only that his clothes were completely soaked, as if he had been submerged in water.
"Alright, you've passed my test!" Just then, a gentle voice came, and Jiang Yun felt a hand on his head. The next moment, a cool energy cleansed his entire body, and Jiang Yun suddenly felt as if he had come back to life.
Looking up, he saw a huge sealed stone platform in the distance, where a black and white intertwined flame was locked by dozens of thick energy chains.
Countless tiny flames covered the entire bottom layer, and the terrifying heat affected the upper four floors of the pagoda.
"Do you see it? That is the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame. If you can't even withstand that bit of heat, I wouldn't let you try to refine it!"
As Qing Ming spoke, he raised his hand and grabbed it. Countless flames in the space were immediately pulled out by him, burning gently in his hand.
"Let's go, this is your goal!" After retrieving the flame, Qing Ming pulled Jiang Yun and returned the way they came.
Jiang Yun looked back at the flickering Holy Heavenly Demon Flame, secretly vowing in his heart that one day, he would definitely refine it.
Jiang Yun looked at the small flickering flame in front of him. If the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame sealed at the bottom of the pagoda was a large stone sphere, then the flame in front of him was a grain of rice.
The difference was stark!
However, for the young Dou Zhe Jiang Yun, it was just right!
"I'm starting!" Jiang Yun, having finished his meditation, glanced at Qing Ming, then no longer hesitated, grabbing the flame and throwing it into his mouth.
As the flame entered his body, Jiang Yun immediately felt an unbearable pain throughout his entire being, almost causing him to convulse in agony.
The flame was scorching Jiang Yun's internal organs, meridians, and so on.
Just as Jiang Yun was in immense pain, at a certain moment, the Nine Divine Meridians within his body suddenly erupted with terrifying power.
Jiang Yun seized the opportunity and violently sent the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame towards his Dantian.
Upon entering the Dantian, the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame no longer had the right to resist. Jiang Yun's Dou Qi (Battle Energy) circulated, accelerating its movement.
With continuous refining, Jiang Yun's Dou Qi (Battle Energy) became even more condensed. At this moment, the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame occupied the center of his Dantian, surrounded by black and white Dou Qi (Battle Energy) slowly circulating around it.
Every time the Dou Qi (Battle Energy) from the surrounding heaven and earth entered the Dantian, it would be scorched once by the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame, becoming even purer. Jiang Yun also continuously improved his compatibility with the Holy Heavenly Demon Flame during this process.