Those students who are qualified to train in the fourth level of the Heavenly Flame Training Tower are basically already considered as the cream of the crop in the Inner Academy. At this level, Xiao Yan, who is not as dominant as he was on the third level, chooses to secure a meal first before selecting a mid-level training room to continue his cultivation. Although the mid-level training rooms in the fourth level are not as effective for cultivation as the high-level ones, the strength of the Heart Flame here is much stronger than that in the high-level rooms of the third level. This is just right for Xiao Yan, and he won’t be frequently interrupted by others competing for high-level training rooms.
After finding an unoccupied training room, Xiao Yan took out his medicine cauldron again to refine some Green Lingzhi Fire Essence and Wind Speed Spirit Pills. The previous batch, made during his week-long seclusion, had been completely consumed, so now he needed to refine them once more. With the experience from the last time, Xiao Yan was naturally more proficient this time. Not only did it take less time, but the quality of the medicines he refined was also better than the first time.
After successfully refining the two required pills, Xiao Yan began his seclusion and breakthrough plan once again. This time, perhaps due to some other reason, no one disturbed him midway, giving him the smoothest and most uninterrupted cultivation time…
Days passed without a sense of time, and in the blink of an eye, nearly half a month had gone by. During this secluded cultivation, although Xiao Yan occasionally left the training room, he spent almost ninety-five percent of his time in the mid-level training room, persistently working towards breaking through to the eight-star level.
Through such intensive cultivation, after half a month, Xiao Yan, who had already reached the peak of a seven-star Great Fighter, finally began to faintly touch the boundary of the eight-star level. After another two or three days of cultivation, the fighting energy within his body finally reached a state of fullness. It was like a water barrel filled to the brim; Xiao Yan’s internal fighting energy was like the water that was about to overflow, and with just a little more, it could break through the bounds of the barrel and enter a wider realm!
This crucial moment finally arrived during one of Xiao Yan’s hazy cultivations… In the tranquil training room, Xiao Yan, bare-chested, sat cross-legged on a black stone platform, his hands forming cultivation seals. Around him, thick strands of energy visible to the naked eye were continuously flowing into his body, thanks to the Green Lingzhi Fire Essence applied to his skin.
The quiet atmosphere lasted for a long time, and then, suddenly, a very faint but deep and resonant sound, like a drum beating near the ear, rang out. On closer listening, the sound was coming from within Xiao Yan’s body!
Shortly after this strange, deep sound appeared, Xiao Yan’s still body, which was as steady as a log, suddenly trembled as if struck by lightning. His face flushed an unusual red. Of course, the changes were not just external; great changes were happening inside his body, starting with the sudden increase in suction power!
Under this powerful, unmatched suction, the dark red, hot energy swirling around him, which had been sequentially entering his body, now surged in wildly, like a panicked herd of wild bulls, disregarding all order.
At this point, Xiao Yan’s body became like a bottomless pit, absorbing all the energy regardless of its size, and this momentum showed no sign of slowing down. Instead, the suction grew stronger, causing the energy in the entire training room to stir like a calm lake when a large rock is thrown in, churning up all the energy within.
This phenomenon in the training room lasted for about ten minutes before gradually fading… After the eerie sound of cracking bones, the large vortex of energy in the training room gradually dissipated…
As the energy vortex disappeared, the figure sitting in the center reappeared. Xiao Yan’s black robe, which had been almost torn to shreds by the previous surge of energy, lay in tatters. The Green Lingzhi Fire Essence that had covered his skin was completely evaporated. His still-slender body, save for the multicolored little snake coiled around his arm, was not much different from before.
His closed eyes slowly opened, and a green flame rose mysteriously, eventually surrounding his pitch-black eyes. After a while, it slowly faded away.
As the flame receded, the black eyes seemed even deeper and darker. A long, murky breath was exhaled, with a hint of black mist.
Seeing the black mist in the breath, Xiao Yan’s brows immediately furrowed. He remembered something he had almost forgotten: “The Seal Poison.”
That mutated toxin, deeply buried in his body, was like a pestilence, difficult to cure.
“I didn’t expect that I managed to expel a bit of the ‘Seal Poison’ with this breakthrough. This damned thing, lurking in my body, really makes me feel uncomfortable.” Xiao Yan shook his head with a bitter smile. Although the Seal Poison, due to the protection of the Azure Lotus Groundfire, did not show any harm, this thing was always a thorn in his heart. After all, he had seen its power firsthand, nearly killing Nalan Jie, a Dou Wang level expert. Let alone him, a small seven-star—oh, no, now an eight-star Great Fighter.
He sighed, setting aside his worries about the Seal Poison for now, and slowly stood up, twisting his body. Immediately, the sound of cracking bones echoed in the training room like fireworks.
With the sound, Xiao Yan felt a profound sense of ease and fullness. After more than twenty days of seclusion, he had finally achieved his goal of breaking through to the eight-star Great Fighter. This rich reward was worth the hard work of these past twenty days.
“Eight stars, looks like the level of a Dou Spirit isn’t far off…”
Smiling, Xiao Yan looked down at the multicolored snake, whose body was slightly cold, coiled around his arm, and couldn’t help but chuckle, “This little guy is getting lazier and lazier. Even this big commotion can’t wake her up…”
Though he was joking, Xiao Yan’s heart was heavy. The long sleep of the Heavenly Devouring Snake was clearly unreasonable. By logic, a growing Heavenly Devouring Snake should be very lively, but now, it was drowsy all day long, showing no signs of vitality…
Xiao Yan suspected what was happening, and his heart became anxious.
“It seems that the soul of the Heavenly Devouring Snake is being suppressed by Queen Medusa. According to this situation, it’s likely that within a year, Queen Medusa will successfully occupy the body of the Heavenly Devouring Snake. When that happens, her soul and body will perfectly merge, and she will truly become a super-strong Battle Sect…”
As he stroked the somewhat cold body of the Heavenly Devouring Snake, Xiao Yan’s brows knitted together, and he muttered to himself.
“Don’t worry. Before she gets the Spirit Fusion Pill, she won’t do anything to you. Soul and body, they don’t merge that easily. She needs the Spirit Fusion Pill to first devour the soul of the Heavenly Devouring Snake, and only then can she possibly merge with its body. Otherwise, she won’t be able to fully control it, and the body will only become a burden to her.”
A hoarse laugh suddenly echoed in Xiao Yan’s mind, soothing his anxious heart.
“Teacher!”
Hearing the voice in his mind, Xiao Yan’s face lit up. After hearing the words of the Pharmacist Elder, he breathed a sigh of relief, nodding and saying, “That’s good. As long as she still needs the Spirit Fusion Pill, there’s a bargaining chip. If we can recruit a Battle Sect, it would be the best.”
“Yes, the potential of Queen Medusa, who has broken through the Battle Emperor boundary, is truly limitless. There was once an evolved Medusa on the Dou Qi Continent, but her true form was not a multicolored Heavenly Devouring Snake, but another ancient beast: the Seven-Winged Purple-Gold Snake. Although it was a bit weaker than the Heavenly Devouring Snake, it took three Dou Zun experts to finally kill her.”
The Pharmacist Elder smiled, his voice tinged with nostalgia.
“Three Dou Zun?”
Xiao Yan’s mouth gaped at the title, feeling an immense pressure. He stared at the Heavenly Devouring Snake coiled around his arm, muttering, “Is this old lady going to be so fierce in the future? Then I’ll be in trouble… Sigh… Heavenly Devouring Snake, you have to hold on, don’t let that woman devour you, or we’ll both be in a bad way…”
Thinking of the hidden coldness and killing intent that Queen Medusa displayed whenever she appeared, Xiao Yan shivered. Being targeted by such a terrifying woman was certainly not good news.
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