Chapter 297: The Ghostly Toxic Flame
Cai Die's strength was not as strong as Cai Lin's, not because she was lazy, but because her talent was not much weaker than Cai Lin's. However, her personality made her less inclined to engage in battles, and lacking experience in combat, her cultivation speed naturally slowed down. Additionally, for the past few years, she had been searching for the heavenly flame.
As everyone knew, the heavenly flame was an extremely rare resource, with very strict birth conditions. It often appeared in extreme environments, and these places were usually filled with danger.
Some places were even so perilous that even a Dou Zun might not make it out unscathed.
Searching for the heavenly flame in these places was risky and could lead to being trapped or even injured.
The lack of any heavenly flame news from the Hun Hall over the years was clearly related to this. Beings at the level of respected elders in the Hun Hall could not afford to search the world for heavenly flames. Weaker beings could not even enter certain places, and the primary business of the Hun Hall was collecting souls, not searching for heavenly flames.
Instead of wasting time, they would rather go after powers that possessed heavenly flames and take them by force.
Only Cai Die, this foolish girl, would remember that Yao Yan needed heavenly flames. She spent ten years searching for them on the Northwestern Continent, delving into dangerous places.
Luckily, her hard work paid off, and she found some clues and traces.
"Tomorrow, I'll have Cai Die take you to get the heavenly flame. One of the heavenly flames is in the Outyun Empire, but finding it is difficult. It depends on luck. The last time we found it, it was actually discovered by the little fox you gave to Cai Die."
Cai Lin nodded slightly, her cold, glamorous eyes locked onto Yao Yan. She paused before continuing, "What exactly is that little fox?"
She hadn't suspected anything before, but as her strength grew and as she spent more time with Ling Er, she gradually noticed that the little fox was unusual. Cai Die often fed it pills, even sixth-grade pills, yet the little second-grade Qingmu Fox didn't show any changes. Its body and strength remained ordinary, and it continued to lazily lay in Cai Die's arms.
But in recent years, Cai Die had accidentally discovered that Ling Er could sense the aura of heavenly flames. Without this ability, even if they gave her another hundred years, they might not be able to find the heavenly flame on the Northwestern Continent, especially the one in the Outyun Empire, which had already formed a Fire Spirit. This heavenly flame was adept at hiding its aura and concealing itself in deep, poison-filled mountains.
"Ling Er's true form should be the Flame of Living Beings!" Yao Yan thought for a moment before speaking slowly.
"The Flame of Living Beings, ranked fifth on the heavenly flame list?!" Cai Lin frowned slightly and spoke in a low voice. As Cai Die searched for heavenly flames, she had become increasingly familiar with the heavenly flame list. Apart from the first-ranked heavenly flame, whose name was unknown, she could inquire about the others.
"I accidentally encountered it many years ago… But at that time, my strength was too weak to refine it. Over time, I grew close to it and began to treat it like family, so I no longer had the desire to refine it," Yao Yan nodded, recounting the events briefly.
Cai Lin naturally understood what Yao Yan meant. On the heavenly flame list, the Flame of Living Beings might not rank highly in terms of power, and it didn't even make it into the top ten. But in terms of its usefulness in alchemy, its value surpassed many other flames.
In fact, to some alchemists, it might even rank first.
After all, the top three flames were too elusive, and those who once possessed them were often not even alchemists!
"With your current strength, you can protect it now," Cai Lin's red lips parted, her voice soft as she spoke.
"Not necessarily… I plan to refine it into my body to help it grow further and become a true Flame of Living Beings!" Yao Yan raised his hand, and five sources of heavenly flames appeared at his fingertips, each with a different color. He looked at the sources of heavenly flames in his palm and continued, "If I let it grow naturally, even if another ten thousand years pass, it might never reach its full potential... But if it enters my body, it can grow in the source of many heavenly flames!"
"…What exactly are you in a rush for?" Cai Lin stared at Yao Yan with cold eyes, her voice low as she asked. She didn't believe that Yao Yan would go to such lengths for the sake of strength. Since he had referred to the little fox as family, it was clear that the fox held an important place in his heart.
"My strength is too weak," Yao Yan sighed as he stored the heavenly flame source in his body.
A high-level Dou Sheng was nothing. Even if he entered the Dou Sheng realm, he would still be just a slightly larger ant. Without reaching the Nine-Star Dou Sheng level, he wouldn't even be qualified to scheme against Hun Heaven Emperor. Right now, in the eyes of others, he was just a useful chess piece.
Only Gu Yuan could make him take him seriously, but only in the sense of acknowledging him, not as an opponent.
"You're almost at Dou Sheng…" Cai Lin was confused and didn't understand. Was Dou Sheng weak?
"The world is vast. If you haven't reached this level, you naturally think it's very strong. But once you enter it, you realize you're just another slightly bigger ant." Yao Yan suddenly remembered a saying, "Like a mayfly seeing the heavens!"
Dou Sheng was indeed strong, but compared to Hun Heaven Emperor, it was really no different from a Dou Zhe. Even if he advanced to Seven-Star Dou Sheng, he still wouldn't be able to block a single move!
The character Xiao Yan in the original story perfectly demonstrated this.
Even though Yao Yan's foundation was several times stronger than Xiao Yan's now, he still couldn't change the fundamental gap.
Cai Lin couldn't understand Yao Yan's current mindset and wouldn't offer any comforting words. She was silent for a moment before speaking with conviction, "So what? You're still young. The future you will inevitably stand at the peak of this world!"
Her eyes no longer showed confusion but only trust in Yao Yan.
"I believe that too!" Yao Yan paused, then chuckled.
After a pause, he looked at the now-setting sun and said, "It's getting late."
"?!" Cai Lin didn't understand.
"It's time to rest~" Yao Yan invited.
"Go away!" Cai Lin's beautiful eyes grew cold, and she immediately rejected him. The sun had just set, and he wanted to do this? Did he think she was easy?
"I once heard that when a woman says no, she usually means yes," Yao Yan said to himself, then reached out and grabbed Cai Lin's wrist, suppressing her strength. He then flew toward the back hall with her.
"You dare!" Cai Lin's eyes flickered with panic as she threatened.
"Cai Die is waiting for us~ Don't make her wait too long~"
"You two…"
...
...
After two days of rest.
On the third day, Yao Yan, led by Cai Die, headed to the Wan Du Mountains of the Outyun Empire. This was a mountain range shrouded in poisonous mist year-round, stretching nearly a thousand miles. It was home to many highly toxic creatures, some so terrifying that even Dou Zong experts wouldn't dare to provoke them.
However, for the Outyun Empire, it was a treasure trove. The poisonous creatures it produced were highly sought after by Poison Masters, but no one dared to venture deep into the Wan Du Mountains. It was said that several Dou Zong had perished there, and countless Dou Huang had met the same fate.
Most of them were Poison Masters who overestimated their abilities and sought to find "treasures."
"Swish~"
Space rippled, and the next moment, two figures appeared above the Wan Du Mountains—Yao Yan and Cai Die.
Cai Die pointed toward the center of the Wan Du Mountains and said softly, "There is a poisonous marsh that stretches for several miles deep in the mountains. When I was weaker, I couldn't go further. But in recent years, I've discovered that unique poisonous marsh, though it's mostly thanks to Ling Er, that little fellow!"
She looked up at Yao Yan's shoulder, where Ling Er, her fluffy ears twitching, was interacting with Cai Die. The little fox playfully wiggled its ears in response.
"But whether we find it again depends on luck. That little fellow's speed is extraordinary. It's my fault for not realizing its uniqueness earlier," Cai Die said, a bit regretfully.
"No worries, now that we know the location, we can just refine it directly," Yao Yan smiled lightly and said casually.
At his level of strength, other than the top three heavenly flames, none of the other heavenly flames could trouble him. He could simply crush them directly.
"Mm." Cai Die nodded.
The two flew deeper into the Wan Du Mountains. With their strength, the outer poisonous mists didn't affect them at all. As for the dangers hidden within the poisonous mists, they turned into nothingness the moment they got close.
With no obstacles in their way, they quickly arrived at a very strange small world, guided by Cai Die.
This small world seemed to exist independently from the Wan Du Mountains. It was filled with all kinds of unusual flowers and plants, with countless beautiful blossoms blooming vibrantly, contrasting sharply with the poisonous mist around it.
It was like the difference between a dead zone and a living zone.
It was hard to imagine such a beautiful small world existed within the Wan Du Mountains.
But if one observed with Hun power, they would find that behind this beautiful world was endless death. The strange flowers and plants grew in a ghostly green poisonous marsh, nourished by the toxic and ghostly energy.
The surrounding poisonous mist didn't avoid this place; rather, it had been absorbed by the strange flowers and plants.
Like the eye of a storm.
"Yi yi~"
As soon as they entered the small world, Ling Er on Yao Yan's shoulder shuddered. Her fluffy ears stood up, and her bright green eyes locked onto a sea of flowers below. They soon fixed on a light purple butterfly, and she let out a warning-like cry, "Yi yi!"
The cute cry held no threat but broke the peace of the small world.
Suddenly, the sea of flowers below seemed to stir, and multicolored butterflies emerged. The strange flowers and plants transformed into butterflies, which then became a ghostly green flame storm, wreaking havoc. In an instant, the beautiful flowers turned into stinking poisonous mist, rapidly approaching Yao Yan and the others.
Among them, a light purple butterfly fluttered its wings, its ghostly green eyes coldly staring at the unexpected visitors.
"It's really it!" Yao Yan smiled as he saw this, "The Ghostly Toxic Flame, ranked twentieth on the heavenly flame list!"
He had been eyeing this heavenly flame, but he never expected to actually find it in the Outyun Empire. Fortunately, it was thanks to Cai Die's search. If it had been up to him, it would have taken a lot more effort to locate it.
"Boom!"
The Ghostly Toxic Flame's attack was fierce, carrying immense power as it crashed into the space in front of Yao Yan, but it was blocked by an invisible force.
"Hiss! Hiss!"
The ghostly green flames continued to rise, emitting an indescribable stench. They flowed like liquid, constantly sliding down.
"Dou Huang level power... but this poison..." Yao Yan observed the space in front of him, which was slowly being corroded by the deadly toxin. He was surprised that there was a poison so strong it could corrode space. Though the Ghostly Toxic Flame had the power of a Dou Huang, its toxicity made even Dou Zong hesitate to approach it.
What a shame, it was still just a "little cutie"!
Yao Yan raised his hand, and an invisible force instantly crushed the ghostly green flame storm, revealing the core of the Ghostly Toxic Flame. It was a beautiful light purple butterfly, its wings adorned with eerie ghostly green patterns. Though only the size of a palm, it contained immense power. Each time it flapped its wings, large amounts of ghostly green flames burned everything around it. These flames, like liquid, were viscous and corrosive, making it hard for even space to resist.
It desperately tried to break free from the invisible cage, but it was useless.
Yao Yan gently clenched his hand, destroying its spiritual consciousness and reducing it to its core.
A ball of ghostly green flames rose in the air.
Then, under Yao Yan's control, it flew into his palm. Now, it burned quietly, without any trace of its previous fury, exuding an indescribable depth and beauty.
"It's such a beautiful heavenly flame." Cai Die looked at the heavenly flame with great interest.
Yao Yan smiled, then opened his mouth. Under Cai Die's watchful eyes, he absorbed the Ghostly Toxic Flame into his body. With his current strength, there was no need to be cautious in refining these lower-ranked heavenly flames. He could easily absorb them using the special nature of the Burning Decision.
However, the core power of the Ghostly Toxic Flame could no longer help the Burning Decision evolve further, nor could it significantly increase Yao Yan's power.
Yao Yan knew this very well.
His power had been able to increase rapidly before because the heavenly flames contained such immense energy, and his strength was too weak. But now, things had reversed. Heavenly flames like the Ghostly Toxic Flame were no longer capable of bringing him a significant increase in power.
What mattered now wasn't the Ghostly Toxic Flame itself, but its unique property—the ability to burn and consume poison!
With Yao Yan's unique body and the Burning Decision, he could completely refine it into a perfect postnatal Toxic Body, which would be the first step in evolving his technique, to experience some of the amazing effects of the Toxic Body!
If this step succeeded, the road ahead would be much easier!
(END CHAPTER)
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