LRAB 547. Digesting essence and blood
547. Digesting essence and blood
The distorted face formed from black flames opened its gaping maw like a thousand venomous snakes, coiling around Lingluo's mangled body. Lingluo's skin peeled away inch by inch as it burned, her bones emitting a teeth-grinding cracking sound. After the black flames completely devoured Lingluo, they didn't return to Xiao Yan's arm, nor did they continue to attack Xiao Yan and his companions. Unexpectedly, they simply fell silent. Xiao Yan, after all, had a subtle connection with the black flames and knew that their stillness indicated they were digesting something.
This sudden change immediately alerted Xiao Yan. Based on his experience, the Black Flame's devouring speed was extremely rapid; even a fire lotus formed from the fusion of different flames could be completely consumed in the blink of an eye. But now, the Black Flame was unusually calmly digesting its contents—this was very strange!
As Xiao Yan probed the information he sensed, he discovered that there was a core at the center of the black flames, and the black flames seemed to be absorbing that thing.
Xiao Yan instinctively wanted to find out more. He knew too little about the Black Flame, and this might be a good opportunity.
"Give it to me!"
Xiao Yan didn't expect Hei Yan to obey. As soon as he finished speaking, the devouring power in his right arm activated instantly, pulling Hei Yan's body. Hei Yan completely ignored Xiao Yan's command at this moment, but Xiao Yan's strength was not weak at the moment. With the devouring power in his arm, he still managed to pull Hei Yan away.
He revealed what he was absorbing—a small clump of blood. From the outside, the blood seemed no different from normal blood, but upon closer inspection, Xiao Yan noticed that it had a faint golden hue.
This blood could only be that of Lingluo, the Spirit Clan member who had just been devoured by the Black Flame. Information about the Dou Di descendants also surfaced in Xiao Yan's mind. Based on Xun'er's fragmented words and Lei Jingxiao's explanation, Xiao Yan had basically learned that the greatest inheritance of the Dou Di family wasn't their internal fighting techniques, cultivation methods, or secret skills, but rather the Dou Di bloodline originating from their ancestor! The Dou Di bloodline allowed its possessor to cultivate at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people, so the young people of every clan far surpassed the other geniuses of the Pill Tower in strength. The fact that Cao Ying and Dan Chen were able to become eighth-grade alchemists at such an extreme speed also had the influence of the Spirit Clan bloodline.
Ling Luo possessed formidable combat power and diverse abilities, leading Xiao Yan to suspect that he was a backup plan for the Spirit Clan and the most important protector accompanying Ling Zhuo to the Pill Gathering. Now that he was being devoured by the black flames, leaking out this strange essence blood, Xiao Yan naturally couldn't abandon him.
With a surge of Dou Qi, the power of devouring was amplified once more. Most other methods were merely nourishment for the black flames that possessed the ability to devour. As for devouring against devouring, it was a method that Xiao Yan had already tested and knew would work.
Feeling the immense pressure emanating from Xiao Yan, the black flame split into two flames once more. The smaller one rushed directly towards Xiao Yan, and finally, under Xiao Yan's suspicious gaze, it plunged into his right arm.
As the black flames entered his body, pure battle qi suddenly began to be released from Xiao Yan's right arm. This pure energy, enough to make any ascetic cultivator envious, poured out of Xiao Yan's arm as if it were free.
In the battle just now, all of Ling Zhuo's attacks were eventually devoured by the black flames, and in the end, the six-star Dou Zun Ling Luo was also completely consumed by the black flames. Xiao Yan didn't dare to judge how much energy it absorbed, but this energy must have been enormous.
Now, a torrent of energy surged through Xiao Yan's meridians. The physical enhancement brought by his advancement to Dou Zun allowed him to ignore the impact of this energy. However, such a large amount of Dou Qi rushing into his body would inevitably have some effect.
The barrier of the three-star Dou Zun was teetering on the brink of collapse under the impact of the energy torrent, and his realm even showed signs of forcibly breaking through—but Xiao Yan was not pleased but alarmed, because Xiao Yan knew very well that this kind of advancement built up by external force would only cause his foundation to collapse!
He had only been a three-star Dou Zun for less than a month, and his foundation was not solid at all. At this time, a rash breakthrough would definitely do more harm than good.
Xiao Yan also hurriedly released all the Dou Qi that had surged into his body. Yao Qingyu, who was standing to the side, was very curious about this scene. She really couldn't understand what Xiao Yan was doing at this moment.
Xiao Yan was extremely anxious, since only he himself knew the true state of his body.
"The emissions aren't coming fast enough!"
Xiao Yan immediately took to the air, using the Red Lotus Heart Flame to condense a giant flame ruler, continuously releasing fighting techniques into the air: Flame Dividing Wave Ruler, Heavenly Desolation Ruler, Emperor Seal Technique, and a series of energy-consuming attacks emerged from his hands.
Looking at the fighting skill fireworks released by Xiao Yan above his head, Yao Qingyu was also quite surprised: Xiao Yan's strength might be even stronger than she had imagined. Most importantly, Xiao Yan's methods were really diverse. Those mysterious and strange black flames didn't seem like normal or benign methods at all, but in Xiao Yan's hands, they were chasing Ling Zhuo around everywhere.
Looking at Xiao Yan in front of her, Yao Qingyu couldn't help but wonder what the person who had taught Xiao Yan step by step must look like.
It wasn't until two weak coughs escaped her lips that Yao Qingyu realized she seemed to have forgotten someone because of Xiao Yan.
Wei Jiangyuan had just taken a full-force blow from Ling Luo and was sent flying. Yao Qingyu immediately rushed to the mound of earth where Wei Jiangyuan was hiding and helped him up. However, before Yao Qingyu could even express her concern for Wei Jiangyuan, the latter sighed with regret:
"The alchemist's body is still too fragile. We must find a way to improve it after the Pill Gathering."
Seeing Wei Jiangyuan's defiant expression, Yao Qingyu chuckled, "You should really think about your own health!"
Wei Jiangyuan also noticed Xiao Yan in the sky and asked curiously, "Old Xiao, what's wrong with you acting crazy in broad daylight?"
Yao Qingyu looked at Xiao Yan, still not understanding his change, so she could only say truthfully, "I don't know the specifics either. It happened shortly after the Spirit Clan left."
"Oh, right, some of the black flames entered his body."
Following Yao Qingyu's reminder, Wei Jiangyuan looked over and, upon seeing the black flames, even the unreliable Wei Jiangyuan instinctively felt a sense of fear.
"Old Xiao is already quite flamboyant, but his methods are also so strange. If it weren't for the fact that the Medicine Venerable's identity is beyond question, I would even suspect that he is a member of the Soul Palace."
Upon hearing this, Yao Qingyu was extremely grateful for Xiao Yan's help and nodded in agreement. Xiao Yan's methods had truly exceeded her expectations. No wonder her mother, Xuan Yi, insisted that Xiao Yan protect her before entering the Pill Gathering; now it seemed that Xiao Yan had both the intention and the ability.
During the time the two were talking, Xiao Yan finally exhausted all the surging fighting spirit within him.