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--- Chapter 208 ---
Wu Tan City - Market.
After promising to bring Xiao Yixian for some treasure hunting, Han Yuan went to the market to buy some spices and food. Afterward, they might wander around the Magical Beast Forest for a while.
Finding the inheritance of the Poison Master won't be easy.
"Oh, Xiao Yuan, you're buying so much today? Are you going to hold a party or anything?" The butcher, who handled Han Yuan's mass order, said with a little laugh.
Han Yuan smiled helplessly, "Well, we are short on good quality meat, uncle."
"Oh, then I will trim the silver skin and fat off for you. So, you don't have to later," said the butcher while playing with his knife. "I will also throw an extra bone or two. I heard your sister likes bone broth."
"Thanks." Han Yuan's eyes lit up.
The butcher waved his hand, "Haha, it's fine, you're our loyal customer. A bone or two wouldn't make me bankrupt."
Many vendors and locals in Wu Tan City had learned of Han Yuan's past and pitied him. On top of that, his good nature endeared him to them, leading them to treat him better, as he was just a kid who wanted to support his only sister.
The guards had spread the story that bandits had attacked Han Yuan's family, which, while somewhat beneficial, was a situation he felt helpless to change.
Now, Han Yuan didn't bother to resolve the misunderstanding. Like, who doesn't want to be treated better like this?
After receiving his order, Han Yuan paid for it and then visited the herbal store. He was specifically looking for a rare herb known as Skyhorn Grass, which could enhance the metal attribute of Dou Qi. He needed this herb for his training.
"Auntie, do you get my Skyhorn Grass?" Upon entering the herbal store, Han Yuan greeted the aging woman behind the counter with a friendly smile on his face.
"Ah, Xiao Yuan, you're here." The owner of the herbal store is a mature woman who bears signs of aging, but her connections are vast. Although her shop may not rival the three clans or the Primer Clan's merchants, it is still one of the best in Wu Tan City.
The store also didn't ask much about their customers' background, as long as they had enough money.
"Heh, of course, Skyhorn Grass might be rare here, but I have a few channels outside the Jia Ma Empire to get my hand on it." She pulled a box and placed it on the counter, opening it for Han Yuan to see.
Han Yuan blinked in amazement because the Skyhorn Grass looked like a white rhino's horn with a golden gleam, and in the box, eleven of them were 'neatly' arranged inside.
Although faint, Han Yuan could sense the highly concentrated Metal Dou Qi from the herbs.
"Auntie, you outdone yourself!" Han Yuan praised her solemnly. "You even got more than I asked."
The woman behind the counter waved her hand, "These things barely put a dent in my store. More importantly, Xiao Yuan, I need those creams that can erase wrinkles."
"You still have them, don't you?" Her eyes narrowed with hopeful light.
"Yes." Han Yuan gave her a knowing look before placing a box of skin care products he had made on the counter.
The herbal store's owner smiled as she clutched the box, treating it like her most prized possession. After all, these items are quite magical; they can make her skin as radiant as a young girl's while making her feel no different than one.
At the end of the day, no woman doesn't want to stay beautiful.
Han Yuan put the Skyhorn Grass aside and said, "Auntie, those skincare products should last for a couple of months. You can ask for more later if it wasn't enough."
"Mm, thank you, Xiao Yuan!" The herbal store's owner winked at Han Yuan playfully. She was curious about how a young boy like him obtained such precious medicine, but her intuition advised her not to dig too deep, or she would regret it.
"Well, then, see you in a month or two, Auntie!" Han Yuan waved his hand as he exited the store.
Not long after Han Yuan had gone, a charming young girl in red entered the store cautiously. "Sister Jing, do you still have that face wash cream and soap? My skin feels much better after using it the last time."
The herbal store's lady giggled, "Of course."
"Come, come, let's try them together!" She dragged the charming girl inside.
The girl pouted, "Where did you get these products exactly? They are much more effective than the ones made by our shop."
"Yafei, that's a secret. You know how my business works." The herbal store's lady retorted casually.
"Hmph, I will find out eventually..." The girl confidently stated.
"Heh, I'm not sure about that..." The herbal store's lady responded with a playful expression as she initially didn't believe that a boy like Han Yuan could bring such things. There must be someone strong behind him.
...
...
Han Yuan didn't know he had just dodged a bullet. Well, even he knew, he wouldn't care much because escaping Wu Tan City was easy.
He returned home promptly, unpacking all the butchered meat into the Sky Poison Pearl.
Then, he used the Sky Poison Pearl to refine the Skyhorn Grasses into a pure medicinal essence before solidifying it into a golden-colored pill with horn-like patterns.
Alchemists would go crazy if they saw how Han Yuan refines a pill.
"Finally, I got my hand on a metal Dou Qi sample. A high-quality one at that. Breaking through to the Dou Master Realm shouldn't be a problem now."
It might come as a surprise, but after one year of staying in the Dou Qi Continent, Han Yuan is still a 9-Star Dou Practitioner or Dou Zhe.
It's hard to believe someone who could come up with something like Nine Yin Mysterious Force and Frigid Ice Jade Body Forging Art only reaches such a realm compared to Xiao Yixian, who already surpassed him by reaching the Dou Master Realm.
Of course, this is mainly because of the cultivation technique Han Yuan created and devised for himself. After all, this body is different than the main one. He couldn't possibly replicate everything his Douluo Self had attained in the Dou Qi Plane, right?
And it's not like all things in the Douluo Continent are applicable here.
Ordinary Dou Techniques were insufficient for him. He could effortlessly master low-level techniques with a glance, thanks to his perfect body control and skillful application of energy in his meridians.
And the more Han Yuan nourished his body with the energy of heaven and earth, the higher the need for a cultivation technique is. A low-level Dou Technique would waste his potential and talents.
Thus, for the first four months of his arrival in the Dou Qi Plane, Han Yuan focused on creating an ultimate cultivation technique that suited him in this world.
Han Yuan succeeded by paying a 'massive' price of experimenting with his body, blowing his meridian several times, and even close to crippling himself a few times in a row, but nothing the energy of heaven and earth can't fix.
Even by breaking his meridian apart, he actually made them sturdier. In exchange, a Dou Qi wouldn't flow easily. He needed a dense and pure Dou Qi to cultivate.
Yet, all that sacrifice was worth it.
On the last day of the fourth month, Han Yuan created it—the ultimate Dou Technique only for him.
It wasn't flawless by this world's standard, but for Han Yuan? It was nothing but a perfect fit!
Han Yuan named this inner cultivation technique Monochromic Inner Star Sutra!
This inner cultivation technique harnesses the surrounding energies of heaven and earth, elemental powers, radiations, and even particles of space-time. It refines these energies into a pure form that accumulates within one's body, resembling a burning star.
The process follows the Dou Qi cultivation method, where Dou Qi evolves from gas to liquid, and to solid, similar to the formation of a star. Then, the practitioner's body will act as a world that nurtures this growing star, vice versa, which eventually develops into an inner world.
He got inspired by the "void" that can encompass many worlds.
Anyway, back to the technique.
The first stage of the Monochromic Inner Star Sutra (MISS) - Balance and Imbalance, requires Han Yuan to harmonize the elements of Yin and Yang, using moonlight and sunlight as the primary sources of energy.
He completed this stage in three months, strengthening his body with Yin-Yang attribute Dou Qi.
The second stage is called Five Elemental Chaos. It originated from the concepts of Balance and Imbalance, creating both negative and positive energies—represented as Yin and Yang—within Han Yuan's body. This stage allows him to merge the surrounding elemental energies into his newly formed Dou Qi cyclone.
Han Yuan has absorbed four types of elemental Dou Qi: Earth, Fire, Water, and Wood, leaving him with Metal.
And today, he will complete them!
"Yixian, can you guard the area for me?" Han Yuan asked the girl who had been watching all this time.
Xiao Yixian was stunned before nodding. "Okay, leave it to me."
Truthfully, Han Yuan didn't have to warn Xiao Yixian, as his spiritual power is always active and protects their house 24/7. Nevertheless, it's better to have another pair of eyes watching.
Han Yuan smiled at the girl before entering an optimal state for cultivating and popped the freshly made pill into his mouth. A strong aftertaste filled his mouth, but he gritted his teeth through it and coursed the medicinal property into the revolving cyclone in his dantian.
Four-colored dust is circling the gaseous, milky-colored Dou Qi cyclone, and with the addition of golden-colored dust, chaos has occurred!
Kacha! BOOM!
Storms raging inside Han Yuan's body.
It was a Big-Bang Explosion!
The Five Elemental Chaos is the stage where all five basic elements of the universe converge, clash, and ultimately harmonize with each other.
A new beginning of something bigger.
...
...
Three gruesome hours.
Xiao Yixian felt her heart bleed watching Han Yuan's body spasming and releasing bone-breaking noise every five seconds. She couldn't imagine the pain her brother went through right now.
Even then, Xiao Yixian believed he could succeed.
"Huff..." Han Yuan spat some blood before finally opening his eyes.
"Finally, it settled down."
Within Han Yuan's Dou Qi cyclone, five-elemental Dou Qi lives in harmony, and a new stage begins as faint breeze and thunderous sounds follow.
Han Yuan's body quickly recovered under Xiao Yixian's shocked gaze as the bone mended, muscle tissue repaired, and even torn skin became as smooth as a baby's.
"T-This..." Xiao Yixian doesn't know what to say.
"Oh? I finally unlocked the Purple Silver Grass's blessing." Han Yuan said in surprise. Before going to the Dou Qi Plane, Douluo-Han Yuan's martial souls blessed him.
However, all those blessings are 'naturally' sealed. Han Yuan didn't expect to unlock one as soon as he entered the 1-Star Dou Master Realm.
Purple Silver Grass's Blessing, the Affinity of Ultimate Life, and Ultimate Lightning-Thunder.
On top of that, Everlasting Vitality. It can regenerate lost limbs, though at a slower rate compared to Douluo-Han Yuan.
Han Yuan raised his right and experimented with his now liquid-like Dou Qi, watching the energy cloak his hand like a glove. Interestingly, the color of his Dou Qi isn't the five colors based on the five elemental attributes.
Instead, it's Silverish-Gray.
"Interesting." A faint smile appeared on Han Yuan's face.