Word Count: 3,117 Words
******
Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed, quiet amusement flickering within them. That little phoenix hadn't been entirely honest. She had claimed the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe's finest secret realm was the Heaven Phoenix Blood Pool, yet now an entirely different name had surfaced.
Currently, Xiao Yan needed to refine both the Bodhisattva Heart and the Yellow Spring Demon Saint's Essence Blood. Much like Cai Lin, the best approach would be to find a cultivation ground perfectly suited to his attributes. A compatible environment would not only smooth the refinement process but also maximize his cultivation gains.
The Nine Serene Yellow Spring, however, was thoroughly unsuitable for him. He required a fire-attribute secret realm, while the Yellow Spring was water-attribute and steeped in bone-chilling yin-cold power, the very opposite of his nature.
Cai Lin, on the other hand, possessed the Heavenly Flame Serpent Body, and her true bloodline was that of the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python. She carried both the legendary power to swallow heaven and earth and the supreme heritage of the serpent tribes. For such a bloodline, the Nine Serene Yellow Spring was practically tailor-made.
By contrast, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe's ancestors, the Ancient Heaven Phoenixes, were fire-attribute magical beasts through and through. Xiao Yan recalled how he had once obtained Beast Flame from the Amethyst Winged Lion King, but since he already possessed a Heavenly Flame at the time, he hadn't thought much of it.
In a sense, the Ten Thousand Beast Flame was also a type of Beast Flame. The crucial difference lay in its origin: it had been born from heaven and earth rather than within a magical beast's body. Where ordinary Beast Flames merely possessed high temperatures, the Ten Thousand Beast Flame also carried special powers and the vast primordial energy of the natural world.
'If I refine the Bodhisattva Heart and the Yellow Spring Demon Saint's Essence Blood the normal way, it'll likely take over two years... but there are only two and a half years left before the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame emerges.'
Xiao Yan felt a rare sense of helplessness. He had abundant resources but was woefully short on time. He still needed to refine the Nine Yin Yellow Spring Pill to suppress the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, visit the Small Pill Tower in Holy Pill City to obtain the pill recipe, and then travel to the Hall of Souls to exchange for the complete Emperor Soul Technique.
Laying it all out, his schedule was packed to the brim.
He needed a place where he could accelerate the refinement. There was simply no other option.
Across the entire Dou Qi Continent, he was probably the only oddity of his kind: someone who possessed a peak Dou Saint's Essence Blood and a Bodhisattva Heart, treasures that countless Dou Saints could only dream of, along with the complete ancient map of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, yet couldn't find the time to use any of them!
For Dou Saints, time was typically their most abundant asset. Their lifespans stretched to a thousand years, sometimes even ten thousand. A normal mortal's entire life spanned roughly thirty thousand days. For someone of Xiao Yan's cultivation, two or three years amounted to barely a week in mortal terms.
Yet he couldn't even spare that single 'week'!
He had no choice but to find a shortcut.
Of course, he had no intention of 'startling the phoenix' by moving too hastily. Before anything else, he needed to gather intelligence on this Azure Skies Heaven Realm. After all, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe's leader, Huang Tian, was one of the three strongest existences on the Dou Qi Continent.
Only recently had Xiao Yan learned that the ancient Dou God Clans shared a standing agreement: any expert at 5-star Dou Saint or above was forbidden from interfering in the mundane affairs of the Dou Qi Continent.
The stated reason was to prevent the continent from being crushed beneath their overwhelming power, stifling its growth and development. With no Dou Gods left walking the earth, the Dou God Clans would inevitably decline into ordinary clans over time. This rule was their way of securing a future for later generations.
Under this agreement, the most powerful figure in the Hall of Souls, Hall Chief Hun Mie Sheng, maintained cultivation infinitely close to 5-star Dou Saint without ever crossing the threshold. Huang Tian of the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe, on the other hand, sat squarely at 5-star Dou Saint. The third of these elite experts was the current guardian of the Pill Tower.
As for the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe in their present state... they truly were like a man fanning himself while his wife shivered beside him. Desolate beyond words.
…
After seeing off the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe's envoys, Cai Lin and Xiao Yan made their way to the banks of the Nine Serene Yellow Spring.
"The yin-cold power within the Nine Serene Yellow Spring is lethal poison to ordinary humans and magical beasts alike. But for you Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Pythons, it's a rare treasure, which is precisely why you can absorb its energy without the slightest restraint." Xiao Yan gazed at the mist-wreathed waters, then turned to Cai Lin with a smile.
"The yin-cold power here is indeed extraordinary. Even the Nine Serene Deep Ground Python Tribe's ancestral Ancient Heaven Serpents never dared venture too deep. For me, however, it poses no great problem." Cai Lin smiled faintly, pride evident in her voice. She was one of the very few Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Pythons in existence. That alone gave her every right to look down upon all other serpent-type magical beasts.
After all, the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python's most formidable ability wasn't merely its control over Heavenly Lightning; it was that legendary power to swallow heaven and earth.
Because the Heaven Swallowing Python Tribe's inheritance had been lost, even Cai Lin, after experiencing enlightenment beneath the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree, had failed to fully comprehend that heaven-devouring technique. She had grasped only a thin sliver of its surface.
Yet from that fragment alone, she had created a devastatingly powerful Secret Technique to swallow Heavenly Flames and strengthen her bloodline. The technique shared certain principles with the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change, yet it was not entirely the same.
Even Xiao Yan found it difficult to imagine what heights the Heaven Swallowing Python's so-called 'Heaven Swallowing' could truly reach, or how terrifying a fully realized Heaven Swallowing Python would be!
Xiao Yan smiled warmly. He trusted Cai Lin implicitly, of course. He had been the sole witness to her entire journey and knew better than anyone how many times this peerlessly beautiful, soul-captivating woman had walked the line between life and death to reach where she stood today.
He closed his hand, and a jade bottle materialized in his palm. Pill mist coiled lazily above its mouth, and an extremely potent energy fluctuation pulsed from within.
"This is the Bodhisattva Great Restoration Pill, a Tier 9 Treasure Pill. It can increase the success rate of advancing to Half-Saint by fifty to sixty percent. With its help, your breakthrough to Dou Saint will be smooth and unobstructed." Xiao Yan caught Cai Lin's cool hand, its jade-smooth skin soft and supple beneath his fingers, and gently placed the bottle into her palm.
Cai Lin glanced down at the Bodhisattva Great Restoration Pill and didn't refuse. Her slender fingers closed lightly around the cool jade.
"And here is some of the Yellow Spring Demon Saint's Essence Blood. It should enhance your bloodline strength and compensate for the congenital flaws of the Nine-Colored Origin Stone."
"These as well... take them with you."
Xiao Yan opened his right hand. Three clusters of flame rose slowly from his palm.
The blood-red Ten Thousand Beast Flame.
The colorless, transparent Fallen Heart Flame.
And the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, flickering with brilliant arcs of lightning.
Three different Heavenly Flames!
With a thought, Xiao Yan sent the three flames drifting over to hover beside Cai Lin. "The Ten Thousand Beast Flame can no longer raise your bloodline rank, but it will help you refine the Nine-Colored Origin Stone much more smoothly."
"The Fallen Heart Flame can temper Dou Qi and will accelerate your cultivation speed. As for the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, it carries dual lightning-fire attributes. You possess the Heavenly Flame Serpent Body and can control Heavenly Lightning, so this flame suits you perfectly. It will help you better master the Heaven Swallowing Python Tribe's Heavenly Lightning Beast Techniques."
"This cultivation retreat won't necessarily go smoothly, and the time required likely won't be short. I'll have Qing Lin remain here in the Yellow Springs Mountain Range to guard your safety. With her and the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent watching over things, you can cultivate without worry."
Even Cai Lin was momentarily at a loss when Xiao Yan handed over so many treasures in one breath, going so far as to offer three of his precious Heavenly Flames.
"Take the Heavenly Flames back. You need them as well." She shook her head and lifted those enchanting eyes to him, her gaze softened with gentle warmth. She knew the power of his Angry Buddha Lotus Flame depended entirely on the number of Heavenly Flames he possessed.
Its might was originally at the High Tian Class level. If he 'lent' her three, wouldn't it drop all the way to Intermediate Tian Class!
"Rest assured. Even with only eight Heavenly Flames, I'm still invincible among those of the same realm." Xiao Yan arched his brows with unshakable pride.
His confidence wasn't without foundation. He was no ordinary Dou Saint. Between the Flame God Seal, the Asura Soul Reaping Technique, and the newly acquired Yellow Spring Divine Anger, he possessed two High Tian Class Dou Techniques, one High Tian Class Soul Technique, and a High Tian Class Qi Method!
Until he obtained the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame, the Angry Buddha Lotus Flame could no longer obliterate everything in its path as it once had, but his overall combat strength far surpassed what it had been before.
Cai Lin's gaze lingered on his face. The pride there, and the deep concern hidden beneath his casual tone, stirred something soft in the depths of her heart.
A faint smile, beautiful enough to topple cities, curved the corners of her lips. She stepped forward, her slender fingers sliding up his chest to curl lightly around the back of his neck. Those long, narrow eyes, always carrying a trace of natural seduction, lifted to meet his as she slowly rose on tiptoes. Her red lips pressed softly against his.
"Mmph...?!"
The sudden velvety warmth made Xiao Yan's mind go blank. That familiar, intoxicating fragrance flooded his senses, and he slowly closed his eyes, accepting this Queen's rare initiative and tenderness.
His arms moved of their own accord, wrapping around Cai Lin's willowy waist and pulling her firmly against him. That soft, seeming boneless waist, ever so slightly cool to the touch, arched beneath his hands. With each subtle shift, her serpentine grace exuded an allure capable of bewitching all living beings.
Just as he was being drawn utterly into that softness, the beauty in his arms tightened her embrace, pressing her body flush against his. She tilted her head, and her lips brushed the shell of his ear as a faint whisper slipped in.
"With me not by your side, you must be careful. Remember, your life belongs to this Queen. If you dare die without permission, even if you flee to the Nine Serene Underworld, I will drag you back."
The overbearing declaration, edged with unmistakable threat, stunned Xiao Yan for a heartbeat. He turned his head, only to find the corners of Cai Lin's enchanting lips lifted into a faint arc. That subtle curve was like the finishing stroke upon a dragon painting, bringing it to life. In an instant, the gentle woman radiating maternal warmth transformed back into the cold, arrogant, stubborn Queen.
A trace of menace glimmered in those beautiful eyes. Xiao Yan could only stare, momentarily speechless. The instant he opened his mouth to respond, Cai Lin flashed him a brilliant, mischievous smile. Her delicate body blurred, and in the space of a breath, she transformed into the impossibly massive Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python. That colossal tail flicked once, and without a backward glance, she plunged headlong into the Nine Serene Yellow Spring, sending waves crashing toward the sky.
She never gave him the chance to say a single word.
Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...
The moment Cai Lin entered the Nine Serene Yellow Spring, the entire lake seemed to boil. Countless bubbles surged from the depths, and Xiao Yan could clearly sense the energy of the whole spring roiling in response, as if roused from an ancient slumber.
He stood at the water's edge, dazed. Only after a long moment did he finally shake himself free with a bitter laugh. His fingers brushed lightly over his lips, still tingling faintly, and his gaze settled on the turbulent surface with a complicated expression. A helpless shake of his head followed.
'It seems Her Majesty the Queen, whose fearsome name once shook the entire Jia Ma Empire, will soon have that reputation echoing across the Dou Qi Continent.'
As for Xiao Xiao and Xiao Cai, they remained in the Yellow Springs Mountain Range rather than returning to the Yan Alliance. With Qing Lin and the Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent standing guard, this place was even safer than the Yan Alliance headquarters itself.
…
One day later, in a small city on the border of the Yellow Springs Mountain Range, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe delegation had settled into an inn.
"Heh, I didn't expect the talks to go this smoothly."
Inside a private room, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe members drank and laughed freely, downing cup after cup of fine liquor distilled from premium sorghum while gorging themselves on sweet spirit fruits.
Ying Huang, the 1-star Dou Saint, took a measured sip of wine and remarked coolly, "There's nothing strange about it. The Yan Alliance may have Xiao Yan, the Pill Gathering Champion, but he's merely an 8th-tier alchemist. Without reaching tier 9, one can never truly step onto the grand stage."
"In the Central Plains under human control, the Pill Tower's Pill Gathering Champion might carry some clout. But here in the Beast Region, it's we magical beasts who have the final say."
Alchemists held incomparable status in the Central Plains, their position exalted beyond measure. In the Beast Region, however, that standing was far less inflated. The reason was simple: no Alchemist Association existed there.
Barring specialized pills like the Body Transformation Pill and the Desolate Beast Heaven Spirit Pill, most medicinal pills weren't designed for magical beasts at all. Magical beasts generally followed Zi Yan's approach and simply consumed raw medicinal herbs.
More importantly, it was exceedingly difficult for magical beasts to become alchemists themselves. This alone bred a natural resentment and deep psychological imbalance toward human alchemists.
The Beast Region's attitude toward alchemists was strangely contradictory. On the surface, magical beasts scoffed at them. Deep down, every single one craved the pills they produced. That peculiar hypocrisy ran bone-deep.
"Supreme Elder Ying Huang thinks too highly of alchemists. Setting aside the fact that he isn't even tier 9 yet, even if he were, how many Dou Saints would truly dare oppose our Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe?"
"Huang He speaks the truth. Why should we fear one alchemist and a half-dead Nine-Headed Heaven Serpent? Once Tribe Leader Huang Tian exits seclusion, even the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe won't be our match. The entire Beast Region will belong to our Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe!"
"Hahaha, exactly!"
Ying Huang merely shook his head at his subordinates' drunken bluster but didn't bother to rebuke them.
With the Dou God Clans declining to intervene, only the Hall of Souls and the Pill Tower could still contend with the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe, and those two were mortal enemies locked in perpetual conflict. That dynamic had allowed the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe to flourish unchecked for a thousand years, ultimately rising to become the absolute overlord of the Beast Region.
The Ancient Void Dragon Tribe had been mired in internal strife for a millennium. The damage went far beyond mere fragmentation; the ceaseless infighting had consumed them from within. A tribe that once stood above the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe had actually been surpassed. Compounding the decline, the Dragon Emperor hadn't appeared for a thousand years and his whereabouts remained unknown. The Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe grew only more unrestrained in their arrogance, while the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe weakened steadily, their development grinding almost to a halt.
Were it not for the fear that openly attacking the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe would force them to unify, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe would likely have already set their sights on the Dragon Islands themselves.
Viewed in full: the Pill Tower and Hall of Souls were locked in enmity, the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe was crippled by civil war, and the Dou God Clans refused to involve themselves in worldly affairs. Under such conditions, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Tribe truly stood at the very pinnacle. Their domineering attitude had solid foundations.
"Hehe, speaking of which, Young Tribe Leader Jiu Feng has been inside the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree for nearly a full year now. Is the Young Tribe Leader position going to stay vacant all this time?" Huang He, the same tribesman who had just scoffed at tier 9 alchemists, asked with undisguised curiosity, voicing what many had clearly been thinking.
"Supreme Elder Ying Huang, share a bit of inside information with us. What's going to happen with the Young Tribe Leader seat?" Another Heaven Demon Phoenix disciple poured a cup of wine for Ying Huang as he posed the question.
Ying Huang cast a glance at the men around him. How could he not know they all coveted that very position?
"A few months ago, Qing Er returned. According to her account, they encountered a Half-Saint Puppet at the Bodhisattva Ancient Tree. In order to deal with it, the strong experts from our tribe suffered devastating casualties, nearly wiped out entirely. She herself was badly wounded and unable to enter the tree. Only the strongest among them, Jiu Feng, managed to make it inside. It's highly likely he's in the midst of inheriting the Bodhisattva Heart."
"From the looks of it, he won't be returning any time soon. A new acting Young Tribe Leader may need to be selected in Jiu Feng's stead."
At those words, every person in the room sucked in a sharp breath. The news was truly 'shocking.'