Chapter 27: Anomaly!
Jiang Yun continued walking forward. The colossal scale of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower was somewhat beyond imagination. From a distance, only its spire was visible, but upon drawing near, one discovered that this spire alone was a full three stories tall.
Jiang Yun's gaze drifted around. Quite a few people had arrived in groups. Some among them wore distinct emblems, clearly belonging to certain factions. This also indicated that the Inner Academy was rife with numerous powers and forces.
At this moment, the batch of students from Xiao Yan's cohort in his memory had yet to enter the Inner Academy. The current Inner Academy factions and those on the Strong Ranking were entirely different people. Yet they were by no means weaklings.
Jiang Yun found a spot with an excellent vantage point and quietly observed the crowd below. In any case, he was in no rush. He possessed a Cyan Fire Crystal Card and could enter the fifth and sixth floors to cultivate. There was completely no need to hurry.
In the open area nearest to the black tower, a large group of people sat, meticulously and distinctly divided into several zones. In each zone, a large crowd was seated cross-legged. These people all bore distinctive emblems on their persons, clearly marking them as belonging to some of the Inner Academy's more formidable powers.
"Dong..."
An ancient, resonant bell chime echoed mightily across the area. As the chime rang out, every old student present ceased their clamor, eagerly eyeing the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower.
"Open the tower!"
As the bell's echo faded, an aged voice seemed to drift out from within the tower. The originally tightly shut, pitch-black great door at the top floor of the black tower slowly creaked open. A faint, scorching aura seeped out, causing the temperature of the surrounding area to rise slightly.
"Those who wish to enter the tower may now enter!"
That aged voice rang out once more, and it was as if the entire plaza had been ignited. The sound of tearing wind erupted. One figure after another, previously seated cross-legged, shot toward the tower door. The vast tide of people also surged toward the black tower.
Jiang Yun followed the flow of people into the black tower. The moment he approached the tower entrance, he felt his heart begin to beat abnormally, and the Saint Demon Flame stored within his dantian abruptly began pulsing fiercely.
A flush of crimson surfaced on Jiang Yun's face, and faint wisps of white mist wafted out from his body.
An old student noticed Jiang Yun's condition. Surprised by Jiang Yun's age, he remarked in astonishment, "Who's this kid? Could he be some genius brought in by an elder? He actually dares to have absolutely no defenses the first time he enters the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower?"
"Don't know. Maybe some elder's grandson, brought in to experience the Inner Academy life early?"
"Stop spouting nonsense, you guys. He's Jiang Yun, the famously notorious one from this year's batch of new students—the ruthless freak who defeated the Black Fiend and White Fiend Teams in the Fire Energy Hunt."
"..."
Among the crowd, someone who recognized Jiang Yun spread the word. Everyone then learned Jiang Yun's identity—that newly arisen, monstrously talented genius. Immediately, the gazes they directed at Jiang Yun were full of astonishment and wariness.
Of course, mixed within were also certain unreadable expressions. Having rampaged and looted all the way here... just how rich was this Jiang Yun right now?
Jiang Yun remained unaware that people were already setting their sights on him. At this moment, he was inwardly observing that cluster of formless flame within his body. Formless and substanceless, merely carrying a high heat that faintly distorted the surrounding space—one couldn't see the slightest semblance of flame at all.
Yet the scorching sensation in his meridians and organs, bringing wave after wave of sharp, stabbing pain, nonetheless testified to the terror of the Fallen Heart Flame.
"The Fallen Heart Flame is renowned as a cultivation cheat device. It can temper Dou Qi, making it even purer, thereby saving the time one would otherwise spend excessively refining external Dou Qi. It can massively boost cultivation speed. I wonder... can my Dou Qi still be tempered?"
He cultivated the Crimson Fire Treasure Tome. Placed within the Dou Qi Continent, this cultivation art was equivalent to an Earth Class Low-tier art. Coupled with the fact that he had been absorbing the Saint Demon Flame since childhood, the Dou Qi within his body had long since been tempered to an extraordinarily pure state. This mere projected wisp of the Fallen Heart Flame—Jiang Yun could not guarantee it would have any effect on him.
As he pondered, Jiang Yun drew several strands of his black and white Dou Qi through the Heart Flame. His Dou Qi was already incomparably condensed to begin with. Having passed through this Heart Flame, it seemed to have grown even more condensed. Yet the change was far too subtle to perceive clearly.
"The effect is still there. Before Dou Wang, the projected Fallen Heart Flame within the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower should still hold some use for me. After reaching Dou Wang, I'm afraid only the Fallen Heart Flame's true body will be of any use."
Having completed his investigation, with a mere thought from Jiang Yun, the Saint Demon Flame instantly transformed into a ravenous wolf, furiously pouncing upon the formless flame within his body.
Opening his eyes, Jiang Yun immediately saw a group of people staring at him with expressions of shock and bewilderment.
"You broke free from the Heart Flame's searing on your own?" The old man at the lead widened his eyes, his tone carrying a trace of stark disbelief. In all these years, this was the first time he had encountered someone capable of actively breaking free from the Heart Flame's scorching torment.
"Is this thing the extraordinary feature of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower? Quite interesting!" Jiang Yun asked despite already knowing the answer.
The old man nodded, his eyes shining as he looked at Jiang Yun. "Excellent lad! So you're that monstrous genius new student from this batch! You truly have some skill. I am the tower-guarding elder of the first floor of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. You may simply call me Elder Liu."
Elder Liu looked kindly upon Jiang Yun, his gaze full of high hopes for this youth.
Jiang Yun did not put on airs. Within Jia Nan Academy, the elders all held extremely high status—at minimum, one had to be a Dou Wang expert to serve as one.
In the Inner Academy, only a few exceptionally outstanding individuals could earn an elder's special regard, because these people might reach—or even surpass—the elders' level before graduation. Even the Inner Academy elders would seek to win over such individuals.
Where there were people, there was conflict—whether for power or for profit. Jia Nan Academy was, after all, a major power. Neither the Inner nor Outer Academy was entirely a single, unified faction.
"Jiang Yun pays respects to Elder!" Jiang Yun cupped his fists neither obsequiously nor arrogantly, then asked, "Elder, I possess a Cyan Fire Crystal Card. I should be able to go down below, correct?"
Elder Liu looked at the Cyan Fire Crystal Card in Jiang Yun's hand. A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes. He then admonished, "A Cyan Fire Crystal Card theoretically allows cultivation on the fifth and sixth floors. But you're only an 8-star Da Dou Shi. That's still a bit early."
"Elder Liu, rest assured. I am confident," Jiang Yun replied with a calm smile. Ordinary people cultivating in the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower inevitably encountered Fire Poison, which was also why they couldn't remain here for extended periods.
Yet he possessed a flame as powerful as the Saint Demon Flame and was, furthermore, a bearer of the Nine Divine Meridians. The Fire Poison of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower was utterly inconsequential to him.
"Very well! The thoughts of you monstrous talents are always so unconventional!"
After considering briefly, Elder Liu nodded. He didn't have much doubt regarding Jiang Yun's strength. Although less than a day had passed since the Fire Energy Hunt, Jiang Yun's strength had already become well-known to elders like himself.
An 8-star Da Dou Shi defeating two 5-star Dou Ling, suspected of having cultivated an Earth Class Dou Technique (or cultivation art?)—very few among them, Dou Wangs, had ever successfully cultivated such a thing. That Jiang Yun could succeed clearly indicated he had his own extraordinary qualities.
Jiang Yun followed Elder Liu all the way down to the sixth floor. The fiery energy permeating the air here was practically condensed into tangible substance. Ring after ring of nearly colorless, scorching-hot air circles seemed to give the formless Heart Flame an actual physical shape.
The number of people on the sixth floor was clearly far fewer. Those capable of reaching the fifth floor and below were mostly students at the Dou Ling level.
Even the Inner Academy didn't have many students of this caliber. Thus, one could hardly see any students casually strolling about here. Without exception, they were all seizing every moment to cultivate, striving furiously to raise their own cultivation.
Jiang Yun took out his Fire Crystal Card and swiped it before the door of a cultivation chamber. Instantly, the door fully opened.
Though this Dou Qi Continent bore no traces of artifact refiners, these extraordinary little objects clearly demonstrated that artifact refining had once flourished here in the distant past. Perhaps they were products left behind from that era—or perhaps they had been destroyed in that great war.
Jiang Yun smoothly entered the high-tier cultivation chamber. After inserting his Cyan Fire Crystal Card into the card slot, he seated himself upon a black obsidian meditation mat.
The very moment he sat, a formless flame abruptly materialized within his body. The density of this flame was far greater than the strand of Heart Flame he had encountered not long before.
With a single thought from Jiang Yun, the Dou Qi within his body rapidly circulated and burrowed toward the formless flame. Hissing sounds erupted as Jiang Yun began his journey of Dou Qi condensation.
As Jiang Yun operated his cultivation art, the inside of the chamber abruptly churned and fluctuated. Surge after surge of Heart Flame energy was drawn over from all directions, eventually coalescing into streams of faintly tangible, pale-red energy.
These nearly substantial, pale-red streams of energy howled and circled outside Jiang Yun's body, finally, as if drawn by some irresistible force, madly slamming into Jiang Yun's body and completely vanishing into him.
Jiang Yun's body was akin to a black hole—accepting all comers without exception. Countless streams of energy were absorbed by him, and even more energy was drawn over.
At this moment, Jiang Yun was like a bottomless pit emitting an infinite suction force, devouring and drawing in all the supremely dense Heart Flame energy within the cultivation chamber.
Such a nearly terrifying degree of absorption—were anyone else to witness it, they would likely be stunned into slack-jawed gaping, especially those who were always cautious and careful when cultivating.
And just as Jiang Yun was wholeheartedly immersed in his training, at the very center of the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, within a dark, deep well, an anomalous ripple suddenly stirred.
A pitch-black, gloomy darkness stretched all the way to the end of one's line of sight. That sort of eerie darkness, practically devoid of any trace of light, made one's head feel slightly dizzy.
Within that darkness, there unmistakably hovered a colossal, formless fiery python, a full ten meters thick, yet its length impossible to determine.
This was precisely the manifestation of the Fallen Heart Flame. Its strength had unmistakably already reached the point where it could condense a flame spirit possessing emotions and intelligence.
At this moment, even a Dou Zong would be unable to gain any advantage against it.
The fire python's entire body was wreathed in somewhat distorted flames. From its pair of enormous, triangular eyes, formless fire continuously shot forth. Now, the fire python seemed to have detected something. It abruptly raised its head. Those eyes, even larger than Jiang Yun himself, seemed to pierce straight through layer upon layer of seals and see the very cultivation chamber where Jiang Yun sat.
The Fallen Heart Flame darted out from the darkness with a furious roar. Yet, just as it was about to reach a point five meters above the pitch-black, deep hole, the surrounding space violently fluctuated. The space around the hole's opening twisted in an extraordinarily bizarre manner, constructing a spatial prison.
And the assault of the fire python formed by the Fallen Heart Flame, though grand and imposing in force, when it collided with that spatial prison, merely caused the prison to ripple for a brief moment—producing no other effect whatsoever.
Discovering that breaking through was hopeless, the Fallen Heart Flame couldn't help but grow somewhat frenzied. Formless flames spewed out from its giant maw in a sky-blanketing torrent, continuously searing the spatial prison. Pity, no matter how it burned and blazed, the spatial prison still stood firmly and unshakably in place!
After struggling madly for a long while, the Fallen Heart Flame was finally somewhat exhausted. Raising its head, it let out a hissing roar brimming with violent fury. Then, one could only see the space twisting and warping continuously. The fire python once again transformed into formless flame and burrowed back down into the dark, deep abyss.
As the Fallen Heart Flame vanished, the spatial prison slowly faded, until it finally disappeared completely.
Just as the Fallen Heart Flame disappeared and sank back into silence, a faint, barely audible murmur echoed within the tower. Strangely, however, it was as if no one sensed anything out of the ordinary.
"Strange... is this the aura of the Myriad Flames Imperishable Body?"
As the voice faded away, Jiang Yun, immersed in quiet cultivation, briefly and fleetingly furrowed his brows.
"Not bad. Already at the peak of 9-star Da Dou Shi. After a bit more settling and consolidation, I can break through to Dou Ling."
Inside the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, Jiang Yun slowly opened his eyes. The vortex of flames around him began to gradually dissipate with his awakening. Although his cultivation hadn't changed drastically, he had still essentially placed one foot into the domain of Dou Ling.
This was a good twenty percent faster than cultivating on his own—this trip had certainly not been in vain.
And he had also reaped other gains...
As if thinking of something, a strange glint flickered through Jiang Yun's pitch-black eyes, quickly returning to their usual calm, unruffled state.
Feeling the surging, vigorous power within his body, a smile surfaced at the corner of Jiang Yun's mouth. He slowly rose. After tidying up his belongings, he stepped out of this high-tier cultivation chamber that had been tightly shut for so long.
"You little brat, for your very first cultivation session, you went at it for a full half month! I was starting to think something had happened to you. Never imagined you'd still be bouncing around full of life. Judging by your appearance, your cultivation has also advanced. It seems this publicly recognized monster truly does have some skill!"
Within the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower, Elder Liu chatted with Jiang Yun, smiling broadly, an unconcealable curiosity shining in his eyes.
Everyone knew the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower's cultivation effects were superb, but no student could remain inside for extended periods.
This was because no one below the Dou Wang level could endure continuous cultivation lasting more than ten days. As beneficial as this Heart Flame was, it also carried Fire Poison. Cultivating for too long easily led to Fire Poison invading the body. Thus, practically no one would remain inside without pause.
Yet Jiang Yun, of all people—as a new student, and on his very first encounter with the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower—could stay inside for a full half month! This was a record even the old students couldn't achieve, but it had appeared in a new student—inherently the stuff of legends.
Yet thinking of the other's proud battle achievements, Elder Liu again felt it seemed only natural. If Jiang Yun were as 'ordinary' as the other students, he wouldn't deserve the title of monster.
"Merely some minor tricks, that's all!"
Jiang Yun chuckled lightly as he spoke to Elder Liu, his eyes brimming with utter calm, as if this matter—enough to stir major waves across the Inner Academy—was, in his eyes, nothing more than this.
Elder Liu gazed at Jiang Yun with some envy, envious of his talent. He sighed, "A youth should have the vigor and vitality of youth. Don't put on that old, wizened demeanor all the time. You must know how swiftly time flies by. Don't wait until you're old and full of regrets."
Hearing this, a strange glint flashed through Jiang Yun's eyes. He chuckled lightly, "Thank you for your guidance, Elder Liu."
"Go on out now. Over these past few days, a little girl has been coming by every single day looking for you. You lucky brat!" Elder Liu nodded with satisfaction, then lowered his voice and said to Jiang Yun with a tone full of teasing amusement.
(End of Chapter)