Battle Through the Heavens

After he gradually recovered his body back to its peak condition, Xiao Yan finally began to calm down. He lifted his head and stared at the crescent moon in the sky for a long time. Then he let out a soft laugh, carried the Green Lotus Seat in his hand and stood up.

“Let’s find a safer place first.” Yao Lao said softly.

“Haha, alright.” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded his head. He scanned the terrain around him. This was the only mountain at the edge of the desert. By being able to block the desert to the foot of the mountain, the size of the mountain would not be very small.

On the mountain, there was the occasional sound from the howling wolves and the roaring of tigers. It appeared as though they were announcing to everyone that the territory here already had an owner.

Carrying the Green Lotus Seat tightly in his hands, the tip of Xiao Yan’s feet stepped heavily on the ground. An energy explosion sounded and his body abruptly ascended and swiftly landed on top of a huge tree beside him. His body swayed with the tree branches as his gaze swept across the surrounding fresh green mountain forest. Following which, he gently pressed against the tree branch and his body quickly flashed across the dense forest like an eagle in the night sky as he swiftly headed toward the top of the mountain.

Xiao Yan turned into a black shadow that moved around the top of the mountain, inspecting it a few times. Finally, he chose a place which he was quite pleased with; a naturally formed mountain cave. The position of the cave was near the middle of the cliff while the cliff wall was so precipitous that it was almost vertical and it did not have any spots for one to place one’s foot on. Thus, it was obviously impossible to climb to the mountain cave. However, this mountain cave which appeared difficult for others to climb to was undoubtedly much easier and almost effortless to Xiao Yan who possessed the Purple Cloud Wings.

Standing on the top of the cliff, Xiao Yan glanced down at the extremely deep and almost bottomless valley below the mountain. It was covered by a faint fog. This place, which was neither open to the sky nor at the bottom was the most ideal training location in his heart.

Nodding his head with satisfaction, Xiao Yan did not show any hesitation as he leaped off the cliff. An intense wind sounded past his ears. His back trembled slightly and the Purple Cloud Wings extended out. The wings flapped causing Xiao Yan’s quickly descending body to slow down. A moment later, his body was already smoothly suspended outside the mountain cave. His gaze carefully swept across the cave. Only after he did not discover any trace of a Magic Beast staying within the cave did he carry the Green Lotus Seat over and flew into the cave.

Although the cave was not very big, it was sufficiently large for Xiao Yan to use. After putting the Green Lotus Seat on a huge rock, Xiao Yan took out a few Moonlight Stones from his storage ring which he hung on the stone walls. Immediately, a somewhat dim light began to shine.

With the help of the light, Xiao Yan began to sweep his gaze within the cave in an alert manner. Any little tiny corner was swept over by Xiao Yan’s gaze a few times…

One could not blame Xiao Yan for being so alert and careful. His intention of swallowing the ‘Heavenly Flame’ was so difficult that even the swallowing of the ‘Purple Flame’ could not compare with it. During such a time, any interruption from the surroundings would cause his efforts to fall short. Moreover, he would also likely receive a backlash from the ‘Heavenly Flame’ and turn into a pile of ashes in an instant.

Xiao Yan took nearly an hour before he completely scanned the not very spacious mountain cave. During his scan, he found a few small Magic Beast dung hidden by a few huge rocks. These should have been left behind by some flying type Magic Beast from the occasional times they came here to rest.

After clearing the dung from the cave, Xiao Yan moved huge rocks from the inner part of the cave and completely blocked the entrance. He only left a few small gaps to allow air to enter.

Once he completed these troublesome tasks, Xiao Yan exhaled a long breath. He then came to the middle of the cave where he sat cross-legged in front of a huge rock. A hot flame was dancing within his black eyes as he stared at the green-colored lotus seat in front of him.

“Teacher. what should I do… next?” There was some perspiration within his palm as Xiao Yan swallowed his saliva and asked softly in his heart.

“First take out all the things that you will require.” Yao Lao floated out from the ring. A seriousness that had never been there before was on his old face.

Xiao Yan nodded his head. His finger tapped the storage ring and took out a small transparent jade bottle. Within it, there was a blood-colored medicinal pill the size of a dragon’s eye which was lying without a sound. Through the reflection of the bottle’s surface, the blood-colored medicinal pill appeared somewhat shady. When the bottle shook slightly, it seemed that there was an invisible liquid shaking within it.

This round blood-colored medicinal pill was one of the essential things prepared in order to swallow the ‘Heavenly Flame’: the ‘Blood Lotus Pill’! After taking out the ‘Blood Lotus Pill’, Xiao Yan took out another small jade box from within the storage ring which he gently placed on the clean rock surface. Instantly, a faint cold air began to condensate and form a thin ice layer. When the jade box was opened, a snow white jade bottle was found carefully placed within it. A faint white-colored cold fog shrouded the jade bottle, giving it the faint appearance of being misty and mysterious.

The thing that was stored in this snow white jade bottle was the ‘Icy Spirit Cold Fountain’ that Xiao Yan had used all his effort in order to obtain it from Gu Te’s hands.

Yao Lao nodded his head as his gaze glanced past these two things that were known as unique treasures. He flicked his finger and a faint grey-colored light suddenly rose slowly from the tip of his finger. The grey-colored light spiraled once in the air before gently landing on the rock’s surface. The glow then disappeared, exposing the thing that was hidden in it.

It was a grey-colored stone that was around the size of a thumb. The stone was as smooth as jade and did not have the slightest flaw. In the middle of the stone, there was a pale-blue glow that was slowly wiggling, much like a small worm that possessed a life force.

“Is this the so called Acceptance Soul?” Xiao Yan could not help but ask in a somewhat stunned manner as he eyed this somewhat humble looking small stone.

“Ah, this is indeed an Acceptance Soul, an extremely rare natural and strange material. Only in the high-grade storage rings would one have a tiny chance to dig it out. It may appear to be only a small little bit but its value far exceeds that of the ‘Blood Lotus Pill’ and the ‘Icy Spirit Cold Fountain’. If I had not luckily obtained it back then, I’m afraid that even if you already had obtained the ‘Heavenly Flame’, you could only stare dazedly at it…” Yao Lao softly said with a smile.

Nodding his head, Xiao Yan glanced at the storage ring on his hand. This was a low-grade storage ring but it was worth tens of thousands of gold coins. If it were a middle-grade storage ring, its value would at least grow by over ten times that amount. As for high-grade storage rings… the storage rings of this grade basically belonged to the category of having no market price. Some big clans even used the high-grade storage ring as a keepsake or symbol of their wealth. In the Dou Qi continent, only the strong people or leaders of powerful groups would have the qualification to obtain a high-grade storage ring. From this explanation, the extent of the rarity of such a thing could be understood…

When compared to a high-grade storage ring, this Acceptance Soul was undoubtedly much rarer; almost to the point of being pitiful. Describing it as the feather of a phoenix or the horn of a dragon may not be going overboard.

Xiao Yan cautiously and carefully checked all the three items before he moved his gaze to the Green Lotus. His gaze stared intently at the green-colored flame in the middle of the lotus and gently licked his mouth. Yearning and desire covered his entire face.

“Release it.” Yao Lao gravely said.

“Yes.” Xiao Yan nodded his head and held the bottom of the Green Lotus Seat with his palm. His Spiritual Perception swiftly intruded into it, separating the lotus seat and the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’. After which, he carefully pulled away the Green Lotus Seat.

Having lost the bonds of the Green Lotus Seat, that originally tiny green-colored flame suddenly grew by a few times. In just the blink of an eye, the green-colored flame seedling turned into a cluster of flame which was suspended in midair.

As the size of the flame grew, the temperature in the mountain cave also rose extremely quickly. At the top of the mountain cave, the rock wall had already melted quietly, forming a hole the size of one’s head.

After extending his hand to wipe the perspiration off of his forehead, Xiao Yan took two small steps back and raised his head. His face was filled with seriousness as he stared at the rising green-colored flame. Although his heart had already done its best to calm down, his palms still trembled involuntarily,

“What do I do next?” Xiao Yan forcefully pretended to be calm as his shaking voice asked.

“The power created from swallowing the ‘Heavenly Flame’ will be extremely strong. Thus, I will use my Spiritual Strength to surround the entire cave. Otherwise, over half of this mountain may be incinerated by the ‘Heavenly Flame’ before you can completely swallow it.” Yao Lao said deeply as he patted Xiao Yan’s shoulders, comforting him.

“Yes.” Xiao Yan hurriedly nodded his head.

“Although saying this might sound inauspicious but as an insurance, you better sit on top of the green lotus. If anything were to happen, the green lotus can protect your life. Otherwise, even if it’s me, it would be difficult to rescue you in the instant that is required to save your life. After all, you have to swallow the ‘Heavenly Flame’ into your body. That is an extremely dangerous act.” Yao Lao hesitated for a moment before saying helplessly.

Xiao Yan smiled bitterly and nodded his head. The tip of his feet tapped on the ground and his body gently floated onto the Green Lotus Seat. After which, he tilted his head to face Yao Lao.

“Consume the ‘Blood Lotus Pill’ first. Without the protection of the blood film that forms, it would be impossible to come into close contact with the ‘Heavenly Flame’ with your strength.” Yao Lao said seriously.

Xiao Yan nodded his head. He bent his palm slightly and sucked the small jade bottle to his hand. After tilting the jade bottle, a dragon eye sized medicinal pill that was faintly emitting a healthy luster, rolled into his hand.

Holding the ‘Blood Lotus Pill’ in his hand, Xiao Yan placed it under his nose and sniffed. A strange scent shrouded the tip of his nose while a type of icy feeling almost caused his spirit to tremble a couple of times.

Xiao Yan focused his gaze on this tier five medicinal pill. He curled his fist abruptly, closed his eyes and stuffed it into his mouth.

The moment the ‘Blood Lotus Pill’ entered Xiao Yan mouth, it transformed into a somewhat dark and cold energy that swiftly entered all of the Qi Paths in Xiao Yan’s body. Finally, layers of a blood like film, slowly penetrated his Qi Paths and even his bones.

Following the penetration of the blood film, Xiao Yan’s body suddenly trembled intensely. Threads of fresh blood started to soar out from his pores. In just the blink of an eye, a layer of bright red fresh blood covered his body, giving him a terrifying appearance.

Not long after this fresh blood appeared, it swiftly coagulated and finally formed a blood-colored cuticle. These cuticles covered Xiao Yan’s hands and legs. Even his eyes were completely covered within it.

The blood-colored cuticle appeared to have formed an extremely dense blood-colored armor that was impervious to the wind, tightly protecting Xiao Yan within it.

Xiao Yan slowly extended his hand that was covered by the blood-colored cuticle and aimed at the ‘Heavenly Flame’ in midair. A suction force suddenly surged forth.

Following the appearance of the suction force, the green-colored flame in midair suddenly inflated. In the blink of an eye, a terrifying destructive strength slowly spread out from within the green-colored flame as though it had been awoken.

Xiao Yan focused his gaze intently on the cluster of green-colored flame that was growing larger. He knew that the swallowing of the ‘Heavenly Flame’ had begun!