When Xiao Yan arrived in the Heavenly Tomb, he discovered that Xiao Qing was also there.
The latter, with a smiling face, waved her fair arms and called out in a clear voice, "Cousin, Cousin, over here!"
Just like that little girl from the past.
A smile appeared on Xiao Yan's face. He walked over and saw that besides the five different flames Xiao Qing had, there were also three other different flames: black, silver, and brown, in addition to those obtained from the Yan Clan.
He recognized them at a glance: Nine Nether Wind Flame, Nine Dragons Thunder Flame, and Tortoise Spirit Earth Flame…
Xiao Yan asked, "Shouldn't these three different flames be in the Yao Clan and Blazing Flame Valley? How did they get here?"
Xiao Qing replied without hesitation, "The Nine Dragons Thunder Flame was snatched by Cousin Xiao Li. Hmm, although compensation was given, it should still count as snatching…"
"The other two were sent by your master. He said that the Yao Clan no longer has much strength and cannot be of use on the front battlefield, so they can only use this to help you."
"Additionally, he gathered another set of medicinal ingredients and refined a Nine-Rank Mysterious Pill for you."
Xiao Yan was moved. He stepped forward and said softly, "I know… you should go out. At a time like this, it's best not to waste the time you can spend in the Heavenly Tomb. If you are rejected by the Heavenly Tomb later, you won't be able to enter in an emergency."
Xiao Qing asked, "Don't you need me to protect you?"
Xiao Yan shook his head, "The Heavenly Tomb is very safe, and those soul bodies don't dare to resist me."
"Alright then, Cousin, good luck! You are the last hope of our family!" Xiao Qing clenched her fist and made a cheering gesture.
After Xiao Qing left, Xiao Yan began to refine the different flames.
At his current level, even a single step forward was extremely difficult. Even with so many different flames and a Nine-Rank Mysterious Pill, the extent of their effect was still unknown.
Volcanic Rock Flame, Fire Cloud Water Flame, Tortoise Spirit Earth Flame, Nine Dragons Thunder Flame, Nine Nether Wind Flame, Red Lotus Karmic Fire, Nine Nether Golden Ancestral Fire, Eight Desolation Destructive Flame… as the eight different flames were refined one by one, Xiao Yan felt his bottleneck loosen slightly. He was still a little bit short…
He took a deep breath, swallowed the Nine-Rank Mysterious Pill, and made a final push. If even this didn't work, then breaking through to Nine-Star Dou Saint before the decisive battle would likely be impossible.
As the Nine-Rank Mysterious Pill entered his stomach, surging energy coursed through his meridians. Qing Meng also helped Xiao Yan fully activate his cultivation method, absorbing the energy from the Heavenly Tomb in an almost plundering manner.
The energy from tens of thousands of miles around rapidly converged, forming an energy storm resembling a funnel.
Qing Meng utilized the purifying power of the Nether Lotus Demon Flame to remove impurities, continuously supplying the purest energy to Xiao Yan's body.
"Still a little short…" Xiao Yan glanced at Qing Meng, his eyes flickering.
He opened his storage ring and took out all the medicinal ingredients and pills inside.
"Qing Meng."
"Meng!" Qing Meng understood, swallowing the medicinal ingredients and pills to extract the energy within them.
Xiao Yan's entire body turned crimson due to the massive absorption of energy, and his body began to swell.
He gritted his teeth and roared, "Break for me!"
Faint starlight permeated every corner of the Heavenly Tomb. Using the Dou Emperor rank, the Amons hidden in the spatial rifts whispered.
"Is this what they mean by output relying on shouting?"
"Tsk tsk tsk, it seems quite effective."
"It's breaking, it's about to break!"
"He actually broke through!"
Xiao Yan vaguely heard the sound of something shattering. He suddenly felt a sense of relief. The energy within his body subsided. Although it was much more powerful than before, it flowed peacefully along his meridians, not bringing any burden to his body.
A hint of joy appeared on his face… he had finally broken through to Nine-Star Dou Saint. Although it was only the initial stage, relying on the profundity of the Flame Mantra and the power that the "Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus" could unleash after the fusion of different flames, which surpassed Heavenly Rank Dou Technique, he was not unable to fight even against Hun Tiandi.
After two days of familiarizing himself with his power, Xiao Yan left the Heavenly Tomb and headed towards the Black-Corner Region.
With his current strength, even though the Black-Corner Region was very far from the Central Plains, it wouldn't take much time.
Upon arriving at Jia Nan Academy, he found that the fire energy hunting competition was underway. Watching the new students flee through the forest under the pursuit of the older students, Xiao Yan's face showed a nostalgic expression.
He recalled the young girl who accompanied him, who liked to wear green dresses and was as elegant as a lotus; he recalled the black-dressed girl who waited for him at the finish line, smiling, with a hint of mystery and temptation…
The smile on his face faded…
They were all gone.
Xiao Yan reined in his emotions, took a step, and appeared behind Elder Su Qian.
"How have you been, Elder Su Qian?"
"Who?"
Su Qian, who was standing high in the sky observing every move of the new students in the forest, was startled and suddenly turned his head.
The Nine Nether Wind Flame was black, and Xiao Yan had also changed back to black hair because of it. His appearance hadn't changed much from many years ago, only becoming more mature.
Looking at the young man in front of him, Su Qian immediately connected him with the astonishing young man from back then:
"Xiao Yan!"
He laughed heartily, "What wind blew you here? I've also heard some news about you in the Central Plains. It's said that you are now a Nine-Rank Alchemist Master! The Dean even sent a letter, praising me for teaching such an outstanding student."
Mentioning Mang Tianchi, Xiao Yan's expression became a bit awkward, and a bitter smile couldn't help but appear on his face.
The Dean probably hated him to death, after all, he led people to attack the Lei Clan and even forced their Patriarch to commit suicide.
If possible, he didn't want to go this far, but he also couldn't fail the expectations of his ancestors, family, and father.
He was Xiao Yan of the Xiao Clan, no longer the young man who could act on his impulses from the past.
Su Qian scrutinized Xiao Yan for a moment, then asked with a hint of inquiry, "What realm are you in now? I can't see through you at all."
Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head, "It's just Dou Saint, still a bit short."
Su Qian's expression froze. He didn't know the word 'Versailles,' but he just felt that this kid was being Versailles!
What did he mean by 'just Dou Saint'? What did he mean by 'still a bit short'?
How could this make those who had toiled for most of their lives just to barely see the hope of Dou Venerate feel?
Xiao Yan chatted with Su Qian for a while, then his expression became serious, getting straight to the point:
"Elder Su Qian, I hope you can lead the students to evacuate the Black-Corner Region, the further the better. You can have the Xiao Men people escort them and go to the Gama Empire together."
Seeing Xiao Yan's serious expression, Su Qian was startled and asked, "What happened?"
"I can't go into too much detail, but in short, this place might become a huge battlefield. At that time, in this war, Dou Ancestor will be nothing, Dou Venerate will not be able to protect themselves, and even Dou Saint will have a very high probability of falling." Xiao Yan replied.
"Even Dou Saint have a very high probability of falling?" Su Qian gasped, looking at Xiao Yan in horror.
Xiao Yan nodded solemnly, "Absolutely no false words. This will be a battle that determines the fate of the Dou Qi Continent. The victor will become the overlord of the entire Dou Qi Continent."
Su Qian looked at him deeply, took a deep breath, "This reminds me that before, someone also warned us to leave here, the further the better."
"At that time, we left for a month under the guise of organizing a collective training for students, but after finding no abnormalities, we thought it was a prank by some senior and came back."
Xiao Yan was startled… Could it be that someone else knew that the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave was beneath Jia Nan Academy?
His tone carried a hint of solemnity, "Who was it?"
Su Qian answered without thinking, "According to the student, it seemed to be a young man wearing a pointed soft hat and a monocle over his right eye."
"Amon?" Xiao Yan blurted out.
Amon also knew that the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Cave was beneath Jia Nan Academy? It should be Ape Gong Amon, not someone from the Patriarch Amon's lineage.
If it was him, it wouldn't be strange. He had lived in the forest behind Jia Nan Academy for quite some time in the identity of Ape Elder, and he was fully capable of diving into the depths of the Magma World… There probably aren't many places in this World that can stop him.
"You know him?"
"He's like my teacher… In short, it's very dangerous here. At that time, perhaps the entire Black-Corner Region won't be safe."
Su Qian nodded, "Thank you for informing me. I will organize the students to evacuate now."
"Also, please help me notify the Xiao Men. Although I haven't managed them, they are at least nominally my subordinates."
Su Qian shook his head, "You, if I hadn't passed some news about you to them, and if The Gold and Silver Elders hadn't been so diligent, your Xiao Men would probably have disbanded long ago."
Xiao Yan smiled, "Then Xiao Yan thanks Elder for your care all these years."
He originally wanted to offer pills as thanks, but when his index finger touched his storage ring, he remembered that all his pills and medicinal ingredients had been used up during his breakthrough.
After a brief thought, his spirit power surged out, and dozens of streams of light instantly flew over.
When the light stopped, Su Qian realized that these were all medicinal ingredients.
Xiao Yan waved his sleeve, and a flame surged out, enveloping all the medicinal ingredients. In just a few minutes, a perfectly round pill was formed.
Dark clouds gathered in the sky, and a strong pressure came, making Su Qian feel a tremor in his soul.
The pill Xiao Yan refined in a few minutes was definitely not of low rank.
Looking at the dark clouds beginning to gather in the sky, Xiao Yan simply uttered one word, "Disperse."
And the dark clouds dispersed.
Su Qian and the other Elders of Jia Nan Academy behind him watched with bulging eyes… Could alchemy be done like this?
"Can he really show off like this?"
The Amons observing Xiao Yan's every move all showed surprise.
"Learned, learned. I'll try this trick too in the future."
"As expected of Xiao Yan, I truly feel inferior." An Amon sighed.
Xiao Yan handed the pill to Su Qian, "This pill can increase Elder's probability of breaking through to Dou Venerate. Consider it my thanks for your care all those years."
Su Qian did not decline and thanked him.
"I still have matters to attend to, so I won't chat much longer." Xiao Yan bid farewell to Su Qian, arrived at the bottom of the Heavenly Burning Training Qi Tower, nodded to Qian Lie and Bai Mu who were guarding there, then passed through the Sealed Artifact and entered the Magma World.
"Is this… that little fellow from back then?"
"Young Pavilion Master Xiao Yan of Starfall Pavilion?"
"Indeed, his reputation is well-deserved. He has probably already reached that realm, hasn't he?"
"The younger generation is formidable, formidable indeed…"
Qian Lie and Bai Mu sighed repeatedly.
Xiao Yan arrived in the underground Magma World and, without any hesitation, plunged into the Magma.