Battle Through the Heavens: Heavenly comprehension

Time flowed steadily as silence filled the cave. Yao Lao hovered mid-air, seated cross-legged, his gaze firmly fixed on Xiao Yan.

"Judging by the time, it should be about done," Yao Lao murmured.

Shortly after Yao Lao spoke, the searing heat within the cave began to subside, slowly retracting into Xiao Yan's body.

The once-scorching cave suddenly turned refreshingly cool.

Yao Lao smiled faintly. "It worked! I wonder to what extent the Dou Technique has advanced."

Talking to himself, Yao Lao speculated, "It's unlikely to jump directly to the Profound Rank. Advancing through each rank of a Dou Technique is as vast as the difference between heaven and earth. While the Peach Blossom Flame might elevate the Dou Technique's grade, advancing its rank..."

Yao Lao chuckled, shaking his head as he stopped mid-sentence. "That's unrealistic."

Beast Flames and Heavenly Flames are both peculiar forms of fire, but Heavenly Flames are far older and contain energy that surpasses Beast Flames by a great margin.

A mere Fifth-Rank Peach Blossom Flame doesn't hold a candle to the naturally-born might of Heavenly Flames.

The danger in cultivating the Dou Technique lies in its need to devour the most violent Heavenly Flames, harnessing their immense energy to evolve.

This is something the Peach Blossom Flame inherently lacks and why even Xiao Yan's newly formed Xuanhuang Flame can't directly upgrade the Dou Technique.

Even among Heavenly Flames, distinctions exist between mature and nascent flames.

Naturally, the Dou Technique seeks to devour the fully developed, immensely powerful flames ranked on the Heavenly Flame Index.

Having witnessed the cultivation process of the Dou Technique, Yao Lao gained a deeper understanding of it.

After fusing with the Peach Blossom Flame, Xiao Yan directed his focus inward.

The vast, swirling Xuanhuang Dou Qi within his body continued its rotation. At the center of the Dou Qi Cyclone, a faint pink light flickered softly.

Focusing on his own cyclone, Xiao Yan willed a strand of Dou Qi tinged with yellow and pink to flow out. It began coursing along the path outlined by the Dou Technique, rushing forward.

As the Dou Qi flowed through specific meridians, Xiao Yan noticed faint traces of fire-attribute energy seeping in from the surrounding space. These energies penetrated his skin, entered his meridians, and were carried along by the purple Dou Qi, completing a perfect cycle of the technique.

Upon completing a single cycle, Xiao Yan sensed that the strand of Dou Qi extracted from his cyclone had grown significantly more potent and abundant than it had been mere minutes ago.

Watching Xiao Yan's cultivation, Yao Lao, despite the unique nature of Xiao Yan's physique that defies conventional logic, calculated and assessed the Dou Technique's level.

"Mid Yellow Rank—only one rank higher," Yao Lao chuckled, unsurprised.

The advancement of a Dou Technique demands the overwhelming energy of a Heavenly Flame. The fact that the Peach Blossom Flame managed to elevate the technique by even one rank was already quite an achievement.

Yao Lao had initially overestimated the Peach Blossom Flame's power. Without Xiao Yan's modifications, which upgraded the Dou Technique to version 2.0, the Peach Blossom Flame alone would hardly have sufficed to complete a single advancement.

As the refined Dou Technique 2.0 continued its operation, Xiao Yan's understanding of the technique deepened further, his clarity and control sharpening with every passing moment.

[You have achieved an epiphany through your experience with the Dou Technique cultivation. You have comprehended the Great Dou Technique.]

[Great Dou Technique: Derived from Dou Technique 2.0, it retains the advantage of upgrading fire-attribute Dou Qi and the characteristic of evolving through the devouring of Heavenly Flames. Its initial rank is Low Profound Rank.]

**[Note: The initial Low Profound Rank is based on the host's comprehension of the Xuanhuang Flame and fusion with the Peach Blossom Flame.

If cultivated without the host's fortuitous opportunities, the technique's rank would range from High Yellow Rank to near Low Profound Rank.]**

"This is the way!"

"If someone could create the original Dou Technique at the Low Yellow Rank, then it's only natural that I can comprehend a more advanced technique."

"The Great Dou Technique is just the beginning. The evolution of techniques doesn't have to rely solely on Beast Flames or Heavenly Flames; my unrivaled comprehension will also play a key role."

Breaking new ground is the only way for cultivation to thrive. Relying solely on the past will eventually lead to stagnation and the end of progress.

Having comprehended the Great Dou Technique, Xiao Yan immediately began cultivating it.

Dou Qi rapidly flowed along the more intricate meridian pathways of the new technique. Xiao Yan's body once again seemed to transform into a massive black hole, frantically absorbing the energy of heaven and earth.

"Of course, here we go again!" Yao Lao's expression instantly turned grim. Xiao Yan's cultivation had resulted in abnormalities so frequently that Yao Lao was almost used to it.

The terrifying energy of heaven and earth formed a swirling vortex, causing the weather to shift dramatically.

The Xuanhuang Flame surged out in waves, each flame seemingly erupting from Xiao Yan's very pores.

The scorching heat, which burned through muscle, bone, and cells, forced Xiao Yan to rapidly refine and absorb the dense energy of heaven and earth. His Dou Qi increased at a visibly astounding rate.

However, Xiao Yan's overall strength did not advance.

Instead, the newly accumulated Dou Qi, entering the Dou Qi cyclone, caused the nebula-like structure to release waves of energy ripples in all directions.

The two palm-sized Dou Qi cyclones began to expand, and the quality of the deep yellow Dou Qi flowing within far surpassed its previous state.

In the Dou Qi Continent, the disparity between cultivation techniques is determined by four factors:

Capacity of the Cyclone to Hold Dou Qi: At the same level, a person cultivating a Profound Rank technique will have far greater endurance in battle compared to someone using a Yellow Rank technique.

Quality of Dou Qi: At the same level, a person with a Profound Rank technique will require a fraction of the Dou Qi to achieve the same effect, whereas a Yellow Rank practitioner may need to expend tenfold or more.

Efficiency of Energy Absorption: A Profound Rank technique allows for greater absorption and refinement of heaven and earth energy in a short time. In contrast, a Yellow Rank technique may require hours, if not longer, to achieve the same result.

Combat Fluidity: A practitioner of a Yellow Rank technique cannot manipulate Dou Qi with the same speed and smoothness as someone using a Profound Rank technique.

Considering all these advantages, the higher the rank of a cultivation technique, the more profound its benefits.

After frantically absorbing heaven and earth energy for some time, everything eventually returned to calm. Xiao Yan quietly observed his now-expansive Dou Qi cyclone, which resembled a small lake. Only after a long moment did he refocus his thoughts.

With a slight mental command, a strand of Xuanhuang Dou Qi emerged from the cyclone and swiftly flowed along his meridians.

As the Dou Qi coursed through his body, Xiao Yan could distinctly feel the surging strength within him climbing to an unprecedented peak.

Focusing intently on the Dou Qi's circulation route, Xiao Yan noticed that while the newly evolved technique's pathways were noticeably more intricate than before, the time required to complete a full cycle had become significantly shorter.

(End of Chapter)

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