Three months passed in the blink of an eye.
It was a snowy spring morning. The sky had just begun to lighten, the eastern horizon turning a pale, fish-belly white, with clouds forming grey, scale-like patterns that gradually bleached into white. The fiery sun had only just crested the mountains, its morning glow painting half the sky red. Radiant light spilled forth, driving the darkness from the vast mountain forests.
A vast, misty sea of trees stretched for ten thousand miles, with solitary peaks piercing the clouds a thousand fathoms high. At the summit of Jueya Peak, surrounded by swirling mist, the ground along the cliff’s edge was slick and treacherous; one false step meant a plummet into the abyss below.
Xiao Yue was practicing her arts in this very environment.
She stood at the edge, feet together, then shifted her weight to her right leg, lifting her left foot and stepping out into a wide stance. Both arms rotated inward, palms sweeping out to her sides and angled downward, palms facing back. As her knees slightly bent, she rotated her arms outward and swept them forward, wrapping them into a circle in front of her abdomen.
She was completely relaxed, calming her mind and steadying her spirit. She stretched her neck and tucked her chin, shoulders sinking and elbows dropping, her focus entirely on her Dantian.
Her hands circled before her chest as if embracing the earth. With knees slightly bent, she thrust her palms forward, then slowly straightened her legs. She rotated her hands inward and lifted them to her chest, palms facing upward.
Breathing.
It is an instinct born in everyone, but ordinary people only breathe in the air and impurities of the world. Martial artists who have mastered internal arts are different; they have created various wondrous breathing methods that allow them to draw in the diverse energies of the heavens and earth, thereby attaining incredible supernatural abilities.
As Xiao Yue practiced, her breathing fell into a rhythmic cadence. From within her body came a faint, thunderous resonance, like the roar of a dragon or the howl of a tiger. Her spine, her "great dragon," began to undulate, and her blood and Qi surged with newfound vitality.
At this moment, every blood vessel in her body was expanding. Her blood flowed like a great river, emitting a low rumble. Her bones, pure and flawless, clicked and snapped as if being forged. Her internal organs vibrated gently, as if playing a melody, emitting that strange, thunderous sound.
"Hah!"
Suddenly, Xiao Yue ceased her movements. Her hands shot up to the center of her forehead before slowly pressing down to her abdomen. She tapped her left foot lightly against the ground and exhaled a long breath.
The breath was white, three feet long, and did not dissipate—it was as sharp and focused as a sword!
The display did not end there. The three-foot-long white mist struck an ancient pine several yards away like a flying blade, slicing through it as easily as tofu. The pine crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar.
She had reached the intermediate stage of Dark Force. Her four limbs had been completely tempered by the thunderous resonance of the Dark Force; the next steps were her internal organs and her spinal "great dragon."
"It is time to seek revenge on that 'Four-Armed Demonic Ape'."
Xiao Yue murmured to herself. With that, she grabbed her crimson dragon spear and leaped from the peak.
As she plummeted, her red robes fluttered, making her look like a blood-red phoenix spreading its wings. She glided through the mountain walls with ease, the howling wind whipping the surrounding mists into a frenzy.
Branches and strange rocks jutted out from the cliff face, yet she moved with the agility of a bluebird, effortlessly dodging obstacles. From time to time, she tapped lightly against the rock wall to gain momentum, as if walking on air. In the blink of an eye, she had traveled nearly a hundred fathoms.
As the saying goes:
*The void is like a sea, the body like a roaming dragon; like a Kunpeng fighting the waves, riding the wind unseen!*
This was her unique movement technique—the Carefree Roam.
***
At the foot of the mountain, Xiao Yan had just looked up when he caught a glimpse of a red-clad figure riding the wind, crossing the entire valley in the blink of an eye.
"Holy crap! Teacher, someone just jumped off the cliff, and they were flying!" Xiao Yan said, his face full of shock, unable to believe his eyes.
"That's your sister!"
Elder Yao rolled his eyes, looking at his disciple with a hint of disdain for his lack of worldly experience.
"Don't give me that. My sister doesn't have wings. How could she fly?"
Xiao Yan retorted with a look of utter contempt.
Elder Yao: "..."
"Forget it, there's no point in explaining things to a hopeless student like you. Let's talk business. You've been learning alchemy from me for three months now. How about it? Have you given any thought to the matter of the technique?" Elder Yao asked.
"Cough... you mean that thing... that thing even more bizarre than a Heaven-tier Technique, the one that... that can evolve?" Xiao Yan scratched his head, smiling awkwardly.
Hearing this, a strange expression flickered across Elder Yao's face, and he fell unexpectedly silent.
"Don't tell me that the part about the technique being able to evolve was just you bluffing me?" Seeing Elder Yao’s expression, Xiao Yan’s mouth twitched as he asked.
"Sigh, that technique truly can evolve. I wasn't lying to you about that..." Elder Yao sighed.
Seeing Elder Yao confirm it again, Xiao Yan’s face lit up. He rubbed his hands together and asked cautiously, "Then... can you let me cultivate it?"
"This technique is extremely bizarre. It's true that it can evolve, but the danger... is incredibly high!" After another long silence, Elder Yao sighed.
Unsettled by Elder Yao’s sighing, Xiao Yan slowly withdrew his hands and asked timidly:
"How high?"
Elder Yao shook his head helplessly. "Ever since I obtained this technique, I have never seen or heard of anyone else cultivating it. So, I don't know the real answer. However, based on my experience after living for so long, the success rate of reaching the pinnacle of this bizarre technique is... almost non-existent."
"Almost non-existent?"
Xiao Yan’s face stiffened. He let out a dry laugh. "It... it couldn't be that low, could it?"
Elder Yao nodded with a sigh, bitterness in his tone. "I'm afraid it really is that low."
"Can you tell me the general method of practicing this technique?" Xiao Yan asked hesitantly, unwilling to give up. The temptation of a technique that could evolve into a Heaven-tier Technique was simply too great for him.
Elder Yao rubbed his withered palms together for a moment before saying softly, "The conditions for this technique's evolution are related to the Heavenly Flame I told you about a few days ago."
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, keeping silent, and leaned in to listen.
"Sigh, I obtained this technique by chance. It was nameless, but I gave it a name: 'Fenjue Formula'." As he said this, a complex look flashed across Elder Yao’s face; it seemed the process of obtaining this technique hadn't been as simple as he made it sound.
"The Fenjue Formula can indeed evolve, but the prerequisite for its evolution is the need for Heavenly Flame!"
Elder Yao’s voice was slightly hoarse. "You must know that Heavenly Flame is, by nature, a violent, destructive force. Not only is it rare to see one in a hundred years, but even if you do encounter one, who can guarantee the ability to successfully swallow it? When I tried to get the Bone Chilling Flame, I was nearly burned into nothingness!"
"Just one Heavenly Flame is enough to make a person suffer. I can't imagine what would happen if someone had two, or even more, Heavenly Flames in their body..." Elder Yao sighed.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan stiffened. Evolution by swallowing Heavenly Flame? Damn it! Who swallows whom is anyone’s guess! The guy who created this technique must have been a lunatic!
"Although the danger of this technique is shockingly high, I do not doubt its potential. If it is successfully cultivated... in the entire Dou Qi Continent, aside from the few who stand at the very top... I'm afraid there will be almost no one who can stand against you!" Elder Yao said with conviction.
Xiao Yan nodded in empathy. Integrating several Heavenly Flames into one's body—even the legendary Dou Sheng warriors wouldn't dare attempt such a thing lightly.
Looking at Xiao Yan, Elder Yao hesitated for a moment before asking, "Now, do you still want to learn it?"
Xiao Yan fell silent.
"Old man, you seem very eager for me to cultivate the Fenjue Formula," Xiao Yan noted. He wasn't stupid; he could see that much.
Elder Yao was silent for a moment before nodding in admission. "Yes."
"Why?" Xiao Yan was puzzled.
"You should know that I am currently only in a soul state, right?" Elder Yao spread his hands.
Xiao Yan nodded.
"In this state, logically speaking, I should be dead. However, because my soul strength is much stronger than an ordinary person's, I have survived in this strange form..." Elder Yao laughed at himself, a hint of bitterness in his smile.
"So... Teacher wants to be resurrected?"
Xiao Yan blinked, stunned.
"You guessed right. Under normal circumstances, the dead cannot return to life. However, according to some obscure descriptions in the Fenjue Formula, if successfully cultivated, it seems possible to use several compatible Heavenly Flames to forge a body capable of housing a soul. Once I have a new body, it could be considered a form of rebirth!"
"I have endured for so many years in the pitch-black darkness of that ring, all for the hope of meeting someone with the required soul strength one day. I was lucky; I finally met you..." As he said this, Elder Yao sighed, a hint of deep, hidden sorrow on his withered old face.
Watching Xiao Yan, who stared at him with his dark, deep eyes, Elder Yao laughed bitterly again. "Haha, just treat these words as the ramblings of an old man!"
With that, Elder Yao extended his withered palms. As his hands wavered, two scrolls—one black and one red—appeared in his hands, looking somewhat illusory.
"The red scroll is the Fire-attribute Earth-tier high-grade technique 'Great Sun Burning Heaven Formula', and the black scroll is the 'Fenjue Formula'. Choose for yourself..."