Breaking the Masked Man

It's clear that Yi Chen hadn't fully mastered this fighting technique before; otherwise, he wouldn't have been crippled by Yao Yan's slap, and he could have held on for a while.

"It's quite suitable for my cultivation." Yao Yan chuckled to himself, putting the cultivation techniques and combat skills into his storage ring. Then his gaze fell on the scroll that Binghe had given him, a secret method that could condense the Calamity Poison Body.

Compared to the Evil Blood Technique, the contents of Ice River's secret technique are much more extensive, covering all aspects of physical constitution, and even demonstrating considerable expertise in blood vessels and acupoints.

As Yao Yan read, he gradually became engrossed, his eyes sparkling as he compared the contents with some of his own conjectures.

The so-called constitution, in essence, is the body nourished by one's own bloodline. Everyone is formed from a strand of bloodline given by their parents. After innate gestation, a constitution unique to oneself is born. To cultivate it later, one needs a strand of such bloodline to transplant into oneself, and then replace one's own bloodline until the acquired becomes innate.

Besides this, there is another possible path for this secret method, which is to turn everything of the old body into nourishment, using bloodline as a guide, to nurture a new body!

However, the process of gestation is extremely dangerous. The slightest carelessness can cause the body to collapse and lead to death. Therefore, Ice River Valley Master Ice River did not choose this path of reversing the innate from the acquired. Instead, he directly chose to exchange blood and condense the acquired Calamity Poison Body.

Yao Yan found it increasingly amusing, and couldn't help but quip to himself, "They're even doing scientific research in a fantasy world... This physical adaptability is probably related to blood type~"

Immediately, Yao Yan began to analyze its possibilities.

The bloodline of the Devouring Spirit Clan gives Yao Yan's body extremely high plasticity, with almost no rejection reaction. This may be related to evil energy, since the essence of evil energy is the power born from the innate gods of a world. Such power is extremely inclusive and contains the rules of a world. Different worlds ultimately share the same source of power, which is why different worlds can erode and occupy each other.

"It seems I need to collect the essence and blood of various physiques..." Yao Yan looked at the secret technique in his hand. Such a secret technique would be useless in the hands of ordinary people. Even if they tried their best, they could only condense one kind of acquired physique. If they wanted to return to the innate physique, they didn't know how long it would take to nurture it. It was even possible that the body would collapse during this time.

Yao Yan clearly had no such worries. He could collect a large amount of essence blood and use this secret method to condense strands of unique bloodline. Then, with the talent of the Devouring Spirit Clan, he could integrate them all into one and condense a divine embryo. Perhaps he could even condense a 'Chaotic Body' in the Great Thousand Worlds version.

But when Yao Yan thought of the word "physical constitution," he realized that physical constitutions were extremely rare on the Dou Qi Continent. Apart from the major imperial clans, there were only the Calamity Poison Physique and the Azure Eyes Three-Flower Pupil; no other physical constitutions had ever appeared.

"This matter still depends on the Soul Palace," Yao Yan thought to himself, his eyes flickering slightly.

Compared to collecting information on his own, it is obviously more convenient and faster to have the Soul Hall take action. Moreover, the Soul Hall is spread throughout the entire Dou Qi Continent, and their information network is definitely more advanced than his own. However, if he wants to achieve great success, he still has to look to the Great Thousand World!

The Dou Qi Continent has too little nourishment!

He hesitated for a moment.

Yao Yan then looked at Binghe's cultivation experience. He thought he wouldn't gain anything, but after reading it, he couldn't help but admire Binghe's talent and ruthlessness. He could even come up with such a method. No wonder he could condense the Acquired Calamity Poison Body.

According to this secret method for cultivating a physique, the cultivator needs to prepare a wisp of the essence blood of someone who possesses that physique, and the more the better. If it can directly replace the blood of the entire body, that would be ideal, or even replace the bones of the entire body... However, Binghe had obviously never encountered a possessor of the Calamity Poison Physique. He had only obtained a skeleton, and then took a different approach, using the method of raising Gu, using thousands of poisonous insects to devour each other, supplemented with highly toxic substances to feed them. In the end, he used them to devour the skeleton of the Calamity Poison Physique, and then planted the Gu King that was conceived into his body, thereby generating a physique similar to the Calamity Poison Physique!

The Gu King was already bound to Binghe by life and death, and could devour highly poisonous substances at will, turning them into nutrients to nourish Binghe's fighting spirit!

It must be said that there are indeed many geniuses on the Dou Qi Continent. They can even come up with such an extreme method and even succeed in it... As for how many test subjects died during the process, Yao Yan has no idea. However, this Gu worm method is indeed interesting, reminding him of a book he read in his previous life.

Indeed, although the power systems of different worlds are different, they are all based on the same principle. Different paths still have similarities with each other. What is lacking is simply people to develop them.

Moreover, the power system of the Dou Qi Continent is extremely inclusive.

“This Binghe is also a ruthless person. If he is driven to the brink of despair, he can sacrifice everything he has to the Gu King in his body. Perhaps a terrifying creature can be born…” Yao Yan’s eyes flickered, and he had a guess.

However, he quickly suppressed these thoughts; what happened to Hyoga was none of his business.

Yao Yan sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing, and then began to try to activate the secret technique. With his talent, he easily mastered the basics of this technique. The powerful bloodline energy within his body began to surge and converge towards the various acupoints in his body...

Time flies, and two days later it was already past.

On this day, Yao Yan slowly opened his eyes. Looking at his unchanged body, he twitched his lips. He realized that he had done something stupid. The purpose of this secret technique was to transform a mortal body into a special physique. However, Yao Yan did not need to go through this process at all. His physique was already perfectly compatible with the bloodline he had devoured and could transform into the corresponding physique on its own.

In other words, this secret method was like a chicken rib to Yao Yan. Of course, it cannot be said to be completely worthless. At least many of its contents broadened Yao Yan's horizons and opened his eyes, especially the research on acupoints in the body, which was quite interesting.

He did not choose to continue his seclusion because the time he had agreed upon with Mo Yu and the others had come.

……

Not long after stepping out of the secret chamber, Yao Yan saw Mo Yu and Bing He waiting outside the door. These two, who were considered important figures by outsiders, were now like two servants, respectfully guarding the door until they saw him come out.

"Young Master." Mo Yu stepped forward and handed a jet-black storage ring to Yao Yan, saying, "The cultivation techniques and combat skills that you need are all inside, including some techniques and combat skills from the Soul Palace. If you are interested, you can take a look, but most of them are Yellow Rank and Profound Rank, and very few reach Earth Rank... If you need them, I can ask the Palace Master to prepare them for you."

Yao Yan accepted the storage ring, which had no soul imprint on it. As his soul power entered into it, nearly ten thousand scrolls of cultivation techniques and fighting skills appeared, a terrifying number. However, as Mo Yu had said, most of them were of the Yellow Rank and the Profound Rank, with only a few dozen of them being of the Earth Rank.

"That's enough for now. Thank you, Nine Heavens Venerable. I'll remember this favor." Yao Yan put away the storage ring with satisfaction, then smiled at Mo Yu.

"I dare not. It is my honor to serve you, young master." Upon hearing this, Mo Yu's smile grew even warmer.

"You're too kind, Ninth Heavenly Venerable." Yao Yan chuckled, then continued, "I plan to return to Saint Pill City. I'll probably be in seclusion there for a while, and we'll meet again when we're in the Soul Clan's territory."

"I look forward to meeting you again, young master." Mo Yu's eyes flickered slightly as she nodded in response.

Yao Yan glanced at Mo Yu, the space around him slightly distorted, and he disappeared from the spot. With his soul power, he easily found Venerable Feng and the others. After joining up with them, he directly broke through space and flew towards the location of the Pill Tower.

Binghe and Moyu watched the group leave before Binghe whispered inquiring about Yaoyan's identity: "My lord, who is this young master...?"

"Don't pry into things you shouldn't know."

Mo Yu glanced indifferently at Binghe, then disappeared from Binghe's sight.

……

……

A small boat traversed the void, a faint silver barrier isolating it from everything outside.

Venerable Wind and Venerable Iron Sword stared at Yao Yan as if he were a monster, their eyes filled with curiosity and incomprehension. If it weren't for their status, the two of them would probably have pounced on Yao Yan already.

"Elder Feng, please ask whatever you want," Yao Yan said with a hint of helplessness, looking at the two men's gazes.

"Ahem, I'm just curious about Ice River Valley's attitude... Did you really help him condense the Calamity Poison Body?!" Venerable Wind coughed lightly, then adjusted his tone and asked with some curiosity.

"No, that's not it. It's just giving each other a way out. The Valley Master of Ice River Valley can't do anything to me, and I can't do anything to him either. But after the three of you appeared, he obviously didn't dare to continue fighting me, so he bowed his head to me." Yao Yan said half-truthfully, coaxing the three Dou Zun without any psychological pressure.

After all, he's a professional when it comes to deceiving people, and he's been trained in it since childhood.

Yao Yan's words undoubtedly startled Venerable Feng, but he quickly realized there was some truth to it, and Yao Yan had no reason to lie to him. He nodded in agreement, saying, "The Valley Master of Ice River Valley actually bowed down to a junior like you. It's a pity I wasn't there at the time."

He sighed deeply, as if he had missed a great show.

The Iron Sword Venerable frowned and asked, "Then why have you been staying in the Ice River Valley these past few days?"

"If you're going to put on an act, go all the way," Yao Yan chuckled.

Upon hearing this, the Iron Sword Venerable fell silent, while the Heavenly Fire Venerable beside him laughed and said, "To force a four-star Dou Zun to bow down with the strength of a nine-star Dou Zong, if this were to get out, your name would probably resound throughout the entire Dou Qi Continent."

"As expected of that old man's chosen junior, your talent is extraordinary... I estimate it won't be long before your strength catches up with us old guys." Venerable Feng said with a sigh.

During the year he spent with Yao Yan, he watched as Yao Yan's strength improved day by day, and the speed of his progress could only be described as terrifying.

Whose Dou Zong has improved so rapidly?

Upon hearing Venerable Feng's words, Yao Yan immediately nodded and replied, "Then this junior will try my best to break through to the Dou Zun level within the next year or two!"

Those light, airy words silenced the three Dou Zun present. When did breaking through to Dou Zun become so easy? Yet Yao Yan could actually do it, which was quite frustrating.

……

Traveling by spaceship was extremely tedious, with no scenery along the way, just pitch black. Only the occasional spatial storms added some strange colors to the void. Fortunately, this journey did not last indefinitely. After about a month and a half, the group arrived at the territory of Saint Dan City.

With three Dou Zun in charge, plus Yao Yan, a rising star of the Pill Tower, the group entered the airspace of Saint Pill City almost without any checks.

"It's been over a decade since I last came here," Venerable Wind sighed as he looked at the familiar city. He remembered that he had come here to find the whereabouts of Elder Yao, but unfortunately, he found nothing and almost got into a fight with some old men.

Back in the day, Yao Lao was incredibly successful, and he made enemies with quite a few old bastards.

"Then you can have a good look around. I will prepare for alchemy in the next few days, and I will also refine a few pills to enhance the strength of the three seniors." Yao Yan looked at the Iron Sword Venerable and promised. He still needed the other party to weaken the power of the Three Thousand Burning Flames and force out the true form of the Three Thousand Burning Flames.

Upon hearing this, the Iron Sword Venerable's eyes flickered with emotion. As a rogue cultivator, he had not consumed an eighth-grade pill for many years, and he also disliked associating with unfamiliar eighth-grade alchemists, which resulted in his slow progress in strength.

As for Venerable Feng, he has been searching for Elder Yao all these years and has no time to attend to anything else.

"The great formation above is terrifying!" Venerable Tianhuo looked up at the sky and said with a serious expression. With his strength, it was not difficult for him to sense the great formation above. The great formation almost covered the entire Saint Pill City and was extremely oppressive.

“The Three Thousand Burning Flames were sealed within it,” Yao Yan said directly, knowing the Heavenly Fire Venerable’s temperament.

Venerable Tianhuo's gaze warmed slightly as he looked at Yao Yan and asked, "Is there a way to get inside?"

"can!"

Yao Yan nodded in agreement. (End of Chapter)

Chapter 246 First Encounter with the Three Thousand Burning Flames

"Boom~"

Inside the Small Pill Tower, five-colored thunderclouds gathered in the sky, thunderous roars resounded throughout the heavens and earth, and oppressive power raged. But before it could fully take shape, a dark golden figure soared into the sky, its violent fist force tearing through space and ripping away the dark clouds covering the sky.

"Om~"

The cauldron roared, and a golden pill burst forth from the sky, only to be firmly grasped by an invisible hand. The immense spiritual power directly shattered the wisp of consciousness that the golden pill had nurtured.

Yao Yan opened the jade bottle, and the golden core that had not yet escaped was swallowed up by it. In addition to the jade bottle in his hand, there were two other identical jade bottles in front of him, each containing a five-colored golden core. The formula for this golden core was something he had obtained from Xuan Yi. The golden core was called the Five Qi Gathering Origin Pill, which was a relatively high-grade pill among the eighth-rank pills. Its medicinal effect could greatly improve the quality of battle qi and increase the chance of breaking through the current bottleneck.

Venerable Wind and Venerable Iron Sword have both remained at this level for decades. All they lack is an opportunity, and this elixir can completely help them break through to their current level.

The Heavenly Fire Venerable's accumulation is even more terrifying. Thousands of years of tempering the soul body is not as simple as it is said. In addition, this period of time has allowed him to fully adapt to this body. Next, there will definitely be a period of rapid improvement in strength.

Yao Yan turned to look at Venerable Feng and the others, handed them three bottles of pills, and said with a smile, "The three of you, one for each of you. These pills can help you break through. With your accumulated experience, breaking through to your current level should not be difficult."

Venerable Feng accepted the pill, a hint of amazement flashing in his eyes. He felt that Yao Yan's alchemy skills were almost catching up with Elder Yao's; his efficiency in refining eighth-grade pills was nearly comparable to those veteran alchemists. Despite his感慨 (feelings of admiration), he couldn't help but jokingly say, "Finally, I have another eighth-grade pill to eat. I really miss it~"

Back when Yao Lao was still alive, he could have as many Grade 8 pills as he wanted, as long as the medicinal materials were sufficient, there was almost no limit. This allowed his strength to improve rapidly. In just over ten years, he rose from a one-star Dou Zun to a four-star Dou Zun. Everything changed when Yao Lao adopted Han Feng, that rebellious son.

Love doesn't disappear; it just moves on.

"Thank you." The Iron Sword Venerable's stern face relaxed slightly. He cupped his hands to thank Yao Yan and said in a deep voice, "If you need anything in the future, just let me know."

"I won't stand on ceremony with you, kid~" Venerable Tianhuo chuckled as he put the pill into his storage ring, intending to go into seclusion for a while to improve his strength as much as possible. He couldn't let Yao Yan catch up with him.

Although that day will come sooner or later, we'll postpone it as long as possible; the old man also has his pride.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with the three elders, they went into seclusion one after another.