NOVEL NEXT Chapter 391 The Price of Becoming Stronger
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Seeing Xiao Yan's attempt succeed, Yao Chen was stunned, his expression one of surprise: "It actually works?"
Yao Chen clearly understood what a cultivation technique that could cultivate on its own meant.
From now on, Xiao Yan wouldn't have to deliberately cultivate; the Fire Spirit would automatically help him improve his Dou Qi cultivation.
Even if Flame Mantra didn't upgrade further, this characteristic alone made it comparable to most Earth-rank cultivation techniques!
"Flame Mantra actually has such a hidden use… This is simply a cheat for cultivation," Yao Chen exclaimed in admiration.
"Hahahahaha…" Xiao Yan laughed triumphantly, hands on his hips, feeling as if a bright future was beckoning him.
Yao Chen's smile also deepened a few shades, "It seems the day for a certain someone to propose to the Yunlan Sect isn't far off."
"Sigh… that's still a bit far off. I'd at least have to become a Dou Emperor or a Six-Rank Alchemist to be qualified… And there's also Xun Er and Xiao Meng…"
Xiao Yan habitually rubbed the back of his head, then his body suddenly stiffened, and the smile on his face gradually froze.
He trembled with his right hand, rubbing from the back of his head all the way to his forehead.
It's gone, all gone…
His hair, not a single strand remained!
Xiao Yan quickly took out a mirror from his space ring and saw a bald head, like a boiled egg, without hair or eyebrows.
This was done by Qing Meng; before his intelligence was eroded, he used the Heavenly Flame to burn off Xiao Yan's hair.
Xiao Yan stared blankly at his bald head in the mirror, somewhat unable to believe it was himself.
He said in a trembling voice, "Tea… Teacher…"
Yao Chen said with a smile, "It probably burned off when you were absorbing the Heavenly Flame… You've gained such great benefits, so consider this a small price for becoming stronger."
Xiao Yan felt that made sense; thinking this way, he felt much better.
Anyway, it was just temporarily unsightly; it would be fine once it grew back.
Compared to the benefits he gained from refining the Heavenly Flame, this small price was negligible.
Just as Xiao Yan caught his breath, he heard Yao Chen leisurely say,
"It seems there are only about three months left until you go to Yunlan Sect for that three-year agreement."
"Three months… it should grow back," Xiao Yan muttered softly, touching the top of his head.
"Hmm, there seems to be a layer of fire-attribute energy crystals condensed on your scalp. Your hair probably won't grow back until those energy crystals disappear," Yao Chen said with a hint of schadenfreude.
Xiao Yan's breath hitched, and he widened his eyes: "No… no way? Do I have to go to Yunlan Sect looking like this?"
He pulled a long face; looking like this, even if he won, he would still lose.
The thought that Yun Zhi might also see him like this made him feel a sense of overwhelming despair.
Xiao Yan tried to refine these crystals, but found that they were all composed of Heavenly Flames, and due to some unknown mutation, they were extremely difficult to refine.
"Teacher, do you have any ideas?" Xiao Yan asked for help.
Yao Chen shook his head and replied, "This is your Heavenly Flame energy. If I forcefully use Bone Spirit Cold Flame to melt it, it will only cause a violent conflict between the two Heavenly Flames, leading to an explosion… Perhaps you can ask the little fellow on your shoulder; maybe it has a solution."
"Oh, right, Qing Meng is a Fire Spirit; he should be able to solve this problem." Xiao Yan turned to look at Qing Meng, pointing at his bald head with his index finger:
"Little fellow, can you help me get rid of these things?"
"Meng ya…" Qing Meng stared at Xiao Yan's head for a long time before pinching the monocle over his right eye with his chubby little short hand.
This action made Xiao Yan raise his non-existent eyebrows.
Qing Meng slowly extended his hand and stroked Xiao Yan's head.
Then…
The energy crystals became thicker.
"Meng ya!" Qing Meng showed a big smile and cheered.
Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Bastard, I told you to get rid of this, not to make it thicker!"
Qing Meng seemed to be startled by his appearance, showing a frightened expression and turning into a flame that disappeared from his shoulder.
The Heavenly Flame crystals on Xiao Yan's head had become very thick, even visible to the naked eye, emitting a faint green glow.
The Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python's eyes lit up as it looked at the energy crystals. As a fire-attribute strange beast, it was very interested in things rich in fire-attribute energy. It coiled on Xiao Yan's head, comfortably closing its eyes and beginning to rest.
Xiao Yan: "…"
Unable to do anything about these two fellows, he could only sigh, planning to buy a wig to wear at that time.
"Teacher, where's Ya Xiong?"
"He flew away after you finished evolving Flame Mantra."
…
In the vast and boundless desert, the night was very quiet, this expansive land seemed to be draped in a tranquil black veil.
The sand, scorching hot from the sun during the day, had already cooled.
A gust of wind blew, creating ripples on the sand's surface, like a flowing scroll.
A bright moon hung high in the sky, casting down a cold, clear glow.
Under the pure light, amidst scattered rubble, a slender youth dressed in a black classical robe and wearing a pointed soft hat sat on a weathered and pitted rock pillar, appearing as if it could break at any moment, gazing at the sky.
His right leg was bent, resting on a protruding part of the rock pillar, while his left leg hung naturally.
His eyes were closed, seemingly napping, or perhaps deep in thought.
After a long while, he opened his eyes, raised his right hand, and stroked the monocle over his right eye, revealing a faint smile.
Hua She'er created a false impression in front of the Snake-People Elder that she had ties to a certain barbarian force in the Northern Continent, which made them initially believe that Queen Medusa had some contact with this force.
The Elder, half-believing, decided to await Queen Medusa's return; six or seven years was not a long wait.
Two main factors led her to initially believe Hua She'er's words: first, the other party was Queen Medusa's personal guard captain, and second, Hua She'er's final attitude was very unusual.
Even if she bore some responsibility for Queen Medusa's evolution, the punishment would not be fatal, so there was no need to tell a lie that could be easily exposed.
Moreover, if Queen Medusa had truly failed her evolution and died, then a new Medusa would inevitably need to be cultivated.
The cultivation of a new generation of Medusa would involve selecting the most talented female Snake-People in the Snake-People Tribe as the gestator, using secret techniques to enhance her child's potential before it was even born.
Before their child reached adulthood and the new Medusa grew up, the gestator would act as Queen Medusa's proxy.
As one of the two most talented female Snake-People in the Snake-People, besides the current Queen, she and Yue Mei both had a high probability of being chosen as gestators, and in such a situation, she would certainly not be heavily punished.
Therefore, the Elders were more inclined to believe Hua She'er's words were true, and they hoped her words were true.
However, Hua She'er could not provide more evidence, so to be safe, the Elder sealed her cultivation and placed her under house arrest.
In exchange, during this period, the Elders would try their best to satisfy some of Hua She'er's small, not-too-excessive requests…
If her words were true and the successfully evolved Medusa returned, she would still be the personal guard captain, so there was no need to make things too tense.
Amon's lie couldn't withstand too much scrutiny, but their hope for the "Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python" clan leader made them subconsciously overlook the suspicious points and willing to wait for a few years.
Amon obtained more intelligence about the Northern Continent and the barbarians through Hua She'er. The Snake-People Tribe's records were much more detailed than the Mo Clan's.
…
A hoarse crow's cry broke the silence of the night.
The crow with red eyes and white rings around its eyes flapped its wings and descended from the air.
It landed on Amon's shoulder and reported, "Xiao Yan has absorbed the Azure Lotus Core Flame. Flame Mantra has the effect of improving the practitioner's fundamental strength. Qing Meng judges it to have research value."
He transmitted the insights Qing Meng had passed to him at the time to Amon's main body through a spiritual connection.
Amon was silent for two seconds, then a stream of light separated from his body, transforming into another Amon dressed identically, but without a monocle over his right eye.
The newly appeared Amon only had the strength of a Dou Master. He pinched his eye socket and looked at his main body, asking,
"Speak, what dirty, tiring, or suicidal tasks do you have for me now?"
Amon had a gentle smile on his face: "It's not that dangerous. Try cultivating Flame Mantra; Amon judged it to have research value."
A faint green flame emerged from the palm of the main body Amon.
He waved his hand, throwing out the separated Azure Lotus Core Flame.
The clone Amon immediately sat cross-legged on the ground and began refining the flame Amon. This process was smooth and uneventful.
After all, the Heavenly Flame he was refining was originally a clone of Amon, so it naturally wouldn't resist at all.
Subsequently, the clone Amon began to circulate Flame Mantra, preparing to devour the flame Amon and evolve the cultivation technique.
This process was also very smooth.
After Flame Mantra advanced, the main body, which maintained a certain spiritual connection with the clone, immediately noticed the difference.
The circulation route of Flame Mantra was not fixed as Qing Meng had said; instead, it would change as the cultivation technique evolved!
However, when he severed his spiritual connection with the clone, he strangely found that what he could remember in his mind was only the cultivation route map of Flame Mantra before its advancement, while the advanced cultivation technique seemed to be restricted by something, and only the Flame Mantra practitioners and the Heavenly Flames they refined could remember it.
Amon stroked his monocle, revealing an intrigued smile:
"Interesting… It seems that using Flame Mantra to devour Heavenly Flames not only enhances the fundamental essence of Dou Qi attributes but also provides special, restricted knowledge… Heh, a strange cultivation technique, with a hint of the rules of heaven and earth within it."
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