Battle Through the Heavens: Oh no, I've become the succubus Xiao Yan!

Cultivating the Burning Technique is simple in some ways, but difficult in others.

The simplicity lies in the fact that he had never practiced any cultivation techniques before; the circulation of his internal fighting energy was entirely driven by instinct, eliminating any issue of conversion. The Burning Technique was the first cultivation technique he formally began practicing, allowing him to start directly from scratch and thus saving him the most painful step of converting techniques.

The difficulty lies in the extremely complex meridian pathways of the Burning Technique.

"Before you had any cultivation techniques, your battle qi circulated naturally within your body, which was very inefficient," Yao Lao explained. "The Burning Technique will re-plan the circulation route of your battle qi, allowing every strand of battle qi to exert its maximum effect."

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and focused his mind on his body.

Upon internal observation, a palm-sized, milky-white vortex was slowly rotating in the lower abdomen, surrounded by a nebula-like layer of energy gas.

"First, let the battle qi stop its natural flow and return to its original vortex. Okay, now open the Burning Technique scroll and look at the first page."

Xiao Yan opened his eyes and picked up the scroll. The first page depicted a complex meridian circulation diagram—starting from the Qi vortex, passing through the perineum, Mingmen, and Baihui, flowing into the limbs and bones, and finally returning to the Qi vortex. Unlike ordinary cultivation techniques, the Burning Flame Technique had many additional branches, which were the channels for devouring different flames. The low-level Yellow Rank Burning Flame Technique only opened the main channels; the branches would gradually activate after the flames were devoured and the technique evolved.

"See clearly? Good, separate a wisp of battle qi and guide its circulation along the route."

Xiao Yan took a deep breath, and a wisp of milky white Dou Qi separated from the vortex and slowly moved forward along the route of the Burning Technique.

The flow was sluggish, like water being poured into a pipe that had been dry for many years. Xiao Yan, who was practicing for the first time, was not familiar with the Burning Technique... He tried again and again, and it wasn't until the sixth time that his fighting spirit completed its first full cycle.

"The first cycle of Qi circulation took half an hour," said the old doctor. "For an ordinary person starting out, the first cycle of Qi circulation would take at least a day. You completed it in half an hour. This is thanks to the wide meridians of the Fire God Body, which reduces the resistance to the flow of Qi, giving you a significant advantage."

The second time was much faster, the third time even faster, and by the tenth time, the fighting spirit flowed smoothly and unimpeded through the Burning Technique route, like mercury spilling onto the ground.

Xiao Yan opened his eyes and looked down at his palm.

The milky-white battle aura in his palm had turned pale yellow.

"This is normal," the old doctor explained. "After practicing a cultivation technique, the milky-white battle qi in your body, which has no attribute, will transform into the attribute battle qi of the technique. Pale yellow is the color of a low-level yellow-rank fire attribute technique. The higher the level of the technique, the darker the color of the battle qi."

Xiao Yan frowned as he looked at the faint yellow light in his palm: "This color... is too pale, isn't it?"

"It's low-level Yellow Rank," Yao Lao shrugged. "The Burning Technique is currently at this level, so it's normal for its battle aura to be pale. However..."

He then changed the subject: "Although the Burning Technique has a low initial level, its power is no weaker than a mid-level Yellow Rank technique. Moreover, the technique's level is only temporary; after it absorbs the strange fire and evolves, the color and quality of its battle qi will greatly improve."

He paused, then added, "The stronger the strange fire that is devoured, the stronger the cultivation technique will be, and the deeper the color of the battle qi will be, the higher its quality will be."

Xiao Yan withdrew his Dou Qi and felt the changes within his body.

The battle qi changed from milky white to pale yellow. Although the color was lighter, its circulation efficiency was significantly higher than when it flowed naturally before. The meridian routes of the Burning Technique were like a carefully planned river channel, and the battle qi flowed within it much more smoothly than before when it flowed aimlessly.

"However," Yao Lao frowned slightly as he looked at the Dou Qi within Xiao Yan's body, "your Dou Qi... is a bit off."

"What's wrong?"

"Color," Yao Lao pointed at Xiao Yan's aura, "A normal low-level Yellow Rank fire attribute cultivation technique produces pure pale yellow Dou Qi. But your Dou Qi... seems to have a trace of another color mixed in."

Xiao Yan examined his inner energy and indeed found that within the pale yellow fighting spirit, there was a faint trace of crimson, like a drop of red ink mixed into yellow paint. It was almost invisible, but it was definitely there.

"That must be because of your Fire God Body," Yao Lao pondered. "The flames of the Fire God Body are inherently crimson red. When the Burning Technique was used to transform battle qi, a portion of the Fire God Body's characteristics seeped in."

He stared at the crimson hue, his gaze gradually sharpening.

"This means that there is some kind of resonance and connection between the Fire God Body and the Burning Technique. The fire attribute of the Burning Technique and the fire attribute of the Fire God Body may not be a simple superposition, but rather amplification of each other."

  

"To what extent can it be amplified?" Xiao Yan asked.

"It's not clear yet," Yao Lao shook his head. "That trace of crimson is too faint; the effect isn't obvious. But as the Burning Technique evolves and your physique becomes stronger, the effect should become more and more apparent. At that time, the power of your Burning Technique might truly reach a level that no one can imagine."

He took a deep breath.

"Moreover, when others cultivate the Burning Technique, they forcibly devour the strange fire using their techniques. But when you cultivate the Burning Technique, your techniques and physique devour the strange fire together, making the speed and effect unmatched by others. Moreover, your physique has also been strengthened after cultivating the Burning Technique."

Xiao Yan silently did some calculations in his mind.

In other words, the faster the Burning Technique evolves, the faster my physique evolves, and the greater the amplification of the Burning Technique becomes. I can also absorb more and faster different flames. In addition, the flames of the Fire God Body will also feed back into the Burning Technique.

This is a positive cycle.

This move was truly a case of stepping on one foot with the other, spiraling upwards.

The stronger and faster, the faster and stronger.

"There's one more thing," Xiao Yan said, "When I circulate the Burning Technique, I can feel the fire-attribute energy in the world surging towards me. It's much more than when I usually cultivate."

"This is also a characteristic of the Burning Technique," Yao Lao nodded. "When the Burning Technique is activated, it automatically attracts fire-attribute energy from heaven and earth. The higher the level of the technique, the more energy it attracts, and the purer the quality. The attraction effect is not very obvious at the low-level Yellow Rank Burning Technique, but it will become more noticeable after you devour the strange fire and evolve."

He smiled and said, "When you activate the Burning Technique, all the fire-attribute energy within a hundred miles will rush towards you. Others cultivate by actively absorbing the energy of heaven and earth, but when you cultivate, the energy of heaven and earth will come to you."

Xiao Yan: "...A succubus of strange fire, it doesn't even spare the energy of heaven and earth?"

The old doctor's lips twitched: "You can understand it that way."

---

"Master," Xiao Yan suddenly asked, "the Burning Technique initially starts as a low-level Yellow Rank, evolving after absorbing a different kind of flame. Since I'm currently a Dou Zhe, with a very low cultivation level, when will I encounter my first different kind of flame?"

The old doctor pondered for a moment: "Strange Flames are extremely rare; there are only twenty-three known types across the entire Dou Qi Continent. With your current cultivation level, searching for a Strange Flame would be tantamount to suicide. But—"

He looked at Xiao Yan, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"You don't need to go looking for the strange fire. The strange fire will come to you."

Xiao Yan: "..."

"A succubus of strange fire, huh?" Old Yao said matter-of-factly. "You just need to get stronger and then wait. Of course, before that, you need to solidify the foundation of the Burning Technique. Although a low-level Yellow Rank Burning Technique is weak, if the foundation is unstable, you'll run into big problems when devouring strange fire."

"Understood." Xiao Yan nodded.

"From today onwards, practice the Burning Technique for at least eight hours every day," said the old medicine master. "Four in the morning and four in the afternoon. During the day, continue your usual Qi cultivation. In the evenings, I will teach you the basics of medicine refining."

"Alchemy?"

"You think being my disciple, Yao Chen, is just about learning cultivation?" Yao Lao snorted. "Alchemy is my specialty. Since you possess the Fire God Physique, it would be a waste not to learn alchemy properly."

Xiao Yan smiled and said, "Yes, Master."

Looking at his smile, the old apothecary paused for a moment, then said softly, "Yan'er, do you know why I'm in such a hurry to teach you alchemy?"

Xiao Yan thought for a moment: "Because alchemy can help you restore your soul power?"

The old doctor was taken aback, then gave a wry smile.

"You can guess everything," he shook his head. "Yes. Some of the pills made by alchemists can nourish the soul. Although the effect is limited, it's better than me just wasting my time like this."

He paused, then his voice softened.

"Furthermore... in my current state, I can't stray too far from the ring. If one day, my soul can recover to the point where I can move freely..."

He didn't continue.

But Xiao Yan understood.

The old apothecary is now like a person trapped in a cage. The ring is his cage, and his soul is his chain. He can see the outside world, but he can't get out.

"Master," Xiao Yan said earnestly, "one day, I will give you a physical body again."

The old doctor's illusory figure trembled slightly.

He looked at Xiao Yan, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded.

"it is good."

Just one word. But Xiao Yan sensed the weight in that word.