"This Flame Mantra is truly extraordinary."
The girls sighed inwardly.
…
Huo Zhi increasingly wanted to cultivate this technique, but rationally decided to give up.
The rarer a technique was, the harder it became to cultivate to a high level. The number of successful cultivators could be counted on one's fingers.
Moreover, the Flame Mantra required continuously devouring Heavenly Flames—or even higher-level flames—to evolve and succeed.
If many people cultivated this technique at the same time, there would naturally be competition for resources.
Xiao Yan was clearly cultivating the Flame Mantra now, and if Gu Xun Er had a copy of the Journal, she would definitely cultivate it too.
Given the relationship between those two and Xiao Ting, they would definitely receive his full support. And there happened to be exactly two opportunities to become Dou God inside the Tou She Ancient God Mansion.
If she stubbornly entered this lane, she would only narrow her own path.
"I only need to become friends with Xiao Ting. With a copy of the Journal in hand, success in the future is guaranteed. There's no need to fixate on the Flame Mantra." Huo Zhi successfully convinced herself.
…
Tang Huo Er and Yao Ling had similar thoughts. At first, they had also considered cultivating the Flame Mantra.
But after realizing the Journal copy was not exclusively theirs, they rationally decided to take another path.
Compared to the Flame Mantra, Xiao Ting himself was the greatest opportunity they could grasp—and without the risk of offending Xun Er.
As for Cao Ying, she was simply waiting for Xiao Ting to come find her.
…
Time flew like a white colt passing through a gap. In the blink of an eye, seven days had passed.
Plane Blessing: [Seven days of cultivating the Thunder-Flame Body Tempering Art effect]
Plane Blessing: [Seven days of visualizing the Purple Beast Flame effect]
Plane Blessing: [Seven days of alchemy experience effect]
Plane Blessing: ...
Accompanied by these messages, although Xiao Ting had taken pills to steadily raise his strength to the peak of Dou Grandmaster before directly breaking through to Dou Spirit, and had remained in a cultivation stance the whole time, his daily improvements in all aspects were quite significant.
On this day, he received another plane blessing.
Plane Blessing: [One small Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy empowerment]
With this blessing, above the Xiao family's rear mountain, inside the secret chamber that had been built, Heavenly energy gathered under some will and turned into visible liquid of Heavenly and Earthly energy, enveloping Xiao Ting.
Every cell and acupoint in his body began to devour this energy, channeling it into his meridians. It circulated according to the Thunder-Flame Body Tempering Art's path and continuously gathered at his dantian.
This also blocked his pores, preventing any Battle Qi from leaking. All of it was sealed inside his body.
As the technique operated, the roughly fist-sized Dou Crystal in his Qi vortex emitted a thunder-like dazzling light. Countless strands of Battle Qi surged out, causing the Qi vortex itself to change.
After these Battle Qi entered the meridians and traveled along specific routes, they quietly transformed Xiao Ting's body.
As time passed, the rhombus-shaped Dou Crystal in his body suddenly trembled. Then, like a heartbeat, it began to pulse rhythmically.
As the Qi vortex accelerated, his breathing also gained rhythm. Every piece of flesh and blood in his body followed this rhythm and underwent some kind of transformation.
The greatest change occurred on the rhombus Dou Crystal in his dantian. Thunder-like light struck it repeatedly like axes and chisels. The Dou Crystal flickered between strong and weak, bright and dim.
Through inner vision, Xiao Ting saw that the originally irregular Dou Crystal gradually became round and smooth, while its edges, nourished by some power, strangely began to protrude.
After an unknown amount of time, nine long sharp spikes grew on the Dou Crystal. Its overall shape now looked like a sea urchin.
At that moment, the rhythm of light and dark changes on the Dou Crystal perfectly synchronized with the heartbeat sound. A certain connection was finally achieved.
Inside the Qi vortex, the sea-urchin-shaped Dou Crystal trembled violently. The Battle Qi within became even more refined and spread outward.
Guided by the Qi vortex, this Battle Qi entered the meridians, flowed into the limbs and bones, and finally passed through the skin. A Battle Qi armor naturally formed and became increasingly dense.
At the same time, the Battle Qi gathered in Xiao Ting's palm. According to his will, it turned into a long halberd, then changed into a long sword.
The Purple Beast Flame emerged from his body and attached itself to the long sword, emitting a terrifying aura.
"Dou Spirit… achieved!"
Xiao Ting revealed a satisfied smile.
He had diligently written in the Journal every day and received plane blessings, building a foundation several times more solid than those who cultivated on their own.
Even so, his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. Not long after turning fifteen, he had successfully broken through to the Dou Spirit level, standing at the very top of the bottom tier of the Battle Qi Continent's cultivation pyramid.
…
[Successfully broke through to Dou Spirit, reaching the final step of the first major stage for Battle Qi Continent cultivators.]
[Fifteen years old and only one-star Dou Spirit. In Yao Lao's words, it's still far behind the geniuses of Central Plains. I still need to work hard.]
…
Cao Ying, Tang Huo Er, and the others who came from top forces in Central Plains: "..."
The young cultivators of this generation in Central Plains were definitely going to be screwed over by Yao Lao.
…
"Big Brother Xiao Ting is finally coming out of seclusion. Qing Lin, get ready." Xun Er smiled sweetly, two lovely dimples appearing on her face.
"I understand, Sister Xun Er." Qing Lin nodded seriously and turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Xun Er was slightly stunned.
"Miss, didn't you ask me to prepare food?" Qing Lin turned her head in confusion.
"Heh." Medusa chuckled lightly and looked at Qing Lin. "If you make food now, Xiao Ting will be able to eat it the moment he comes out. Wouldn't that tell him you already knew he was coming out of seclusion?"
"What kind of problem is that?" Qing Lin felt she wasn't stupid. "I'll make some pastries and say they're for the three sisters. When Young Master Xiao Ting arrives, he'll just happen to eat some."
That was indeed a valid reason. Medusa was momentarily speechless. She restrained her smile and changed the subject. "What Xun Er meant is for you to mentally prepare yourself. You need to tell Xiao Ting about your awakening of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils."
"Oh, so that's what it was." Qing Lin blinked her cute big eyes. "I'll just tell the truth. When I was preparing to cook the Two-Headed Huo Ling Snake into snake soup, the snake woke up and tried to intimidate me. I got startled and awakened the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils."
Xiao Ting had been in seclusion for so many days, giving the girls plenty of time to perfect their script.
…
"Xun Er."
Two hours later, Xiao Ting had washed up, changed into a brand-new set of clothes, and strode into Xun Er's small courtyard.
Passing through the rockery area, he suddenly stopped. He stared in shock at the open space in the middle of the courtyard.
Qing Lin was sitting on the head of the Huo Ling Snake, directing it to swim around.
"What's going on!?" Xiao Ting walked into the courtyard. His long hair fluttered in the wind, and his aura was otherworldly like an immortal.
"Big Brother Xiao Ting, you've come out of seclusion~" Xun Er's face, as pure and beautiful as a lotus emerging from water, bloomed into a smile. She stood up to welcome him. "Let me tell you some good news. Qing Lin has awakened a top-tier cultivation talent—she possesses the extremely rare Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils."
"What?" Xiao Ting's face showed extremely natural shock. "Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils!?"
If the girls hadn't already known that Xiao Ting was in on it, they would have thought he was genuinely stunned by the news.
"Tsk." Medusa whispered to Little Fairy Doctor beside her, "This acting skill… he should join the Southern Opera Troupe and sing."
…