Chapter 252: Hun Devouring!
Hun Miesheng and Hun Xuzi's plot was something Yao Yan was unaware of. Even if he knew, he likely wouldn't care because becoming the Young Clan Leader of the Hun Clan brought no harm to him. On the contrary, it would grant him access to vast amounts of cultivation resources, which was reason enough for him not to refuse.
In a world like this, one must strive with all their might to increase their strength. Only strength provides the power to protect what one cares about and the means to speak their mind, instead of being obliterated with a single slap.
Apart from that, nothing else matters.
Throughout history, the victor is always the last person standing. Only those who make it to the end can be called true winners!
...
In the secret chamber.
Yao Yan was seated in the center, his body fully engulfed in heavenly blue flames. These flames were suppressing the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven, which constantly leaked out of his pores. At this moment, he resembled a human-shaped cage, holding the essence fire of the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven within, while his Hun and the 'soul' of the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven fought for dominance over his body.
Within the purple-black flame space, the wind howled, and a massive dragon slowly rose from the sea of flames, coiling in the sky. It glared coldly at Yao Yan, letting out a deafening roar: "Foolish human, do you think you can refine me?!"
Although Yao Yan had no idea how he was pulled into this consciousness space, his body's instincts told him that he could not lose. If he did, he might lose his freedom forever.
"Let's see if you can," Yao Yan said calmly, his expression not changing as he looked at the massive dragon body of the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven.
In terms of raw strength, he was no match for the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven. Even though it had discarded the power of the stars accumulated over nearly a thousand years, the essence fire within it was still too powerful for Yao Yan to contend with. But at this moment, relying on the Dragon Seal, it was not a battle of strength, but a test of Hun and will.
Whoever could endure the longest would be the true victor.
The Three Thousand Flame of Heaven coiled its immense dragon body, its eyes burning with fury as it stared at Yao Yan. Without saying another word, it roared and unleashed a massive wave of purple-black flames, surging toward Yao Yan like a tsunami. The terrifying force of the flames would make anyone quiver in fear.
Yet, Yao Yan remained calm. He even sat down cross-legged as the heavenly blue flames around his feet surged up, forming a lotus that protected him. The Three Thousand Flame of Heaven's fiery onslaught washed over him, but he stood firm and unmoving.
"Roar!"
Seeing that its flames had no effect on Yao Yan, the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven roared angrily. Its massive body then rushed at Yao Yan, using the most brutal method to try and crush this human and expel him from its consciousness sea.
"Boom!"
A loud crash reverberated through the consciousness sea, shaking the purple-black sea of flames as though an earthquake had hit the ocean.
Yao Yan, hit by the violent blow, merely furrowed his brow before relaxing once again. He even had the mood to glance at the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven and said lightly, "Nice power. Keep going, I'm curious how many more times you can hit me."
Hearing the mocking words from the tiny human, the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven went completely berserk. Like a tireless battering ram, it relentlessly pounded Yao Yan, and the flame lotus around him shook violently, as if it would break apart at any moment. This only made the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven attack even more frenziedly, with no sign of slowing down.
It was truly just a force of a heavenly flame. Though it possessed considerable intelligence, it was no match for human cunning... how foolish.
Yao Yan internally assessed the situation before closing his eyes, waiting for the right moment. A battle of souls was not the same as a contest of strength. When strength was insufficient, it could be compensated with the energy of the world, but a Hun could not be so easily supplemented. The more it was consumed, the harder it would be to replenish, and once it reached a certain threshold, the Hun could even fall into permanent slumber.
This was exactly what had happened to Old Yao.
At this moment, the spirit of the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven clearly didn't know this fact, and it recklessly squandered its own Hun power. Once that power was exhausted, it would be left to Yao Yan's mercy!
Yao Yan even found time to use the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven's attacks to hone his own soul. While the process was painful, the noticeable increase in his strength made it all worthwhile. He even felt a perverse sense of enjoyment, eagerly anticipating more ferocious attacks.
As his consciousness delved deeper into himself, the Tai Xuan Jing began to operate, and the threads of the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven seemed to transform into nutrients, flowing into Yao Yan's body and enhancing his Hun power.
A Hun clash was very similar to body snatching, but most would choose to annihilate the other's soul.
However, Yao Yan's body was special. Even his Hun power had developed a devouring attribute through repeated exposure to dark energy, allowing him to convert others' Hun power into his own nourishment. Realizing this, his eyes snapped open, and a trace of surprise appeared deep in his gaze.
The Three Thousand Flame of Heaven thought that Yao Yan was afraid, and immediately, it redoubled its attacks, its massive dragon tail furiously battering Yao Yan's flame barrier without the slightest hint of weariness.
"It's not corruption, just a mutation caused by the body nurturing the soul. Essence, qi, and spirit are inherently one; they complement each other..." Yao Yan's gaze flickered as he realized the changes in his soul. The body's essence, qi, and spirit complement one another and are inseparable. How could changes in the body not affect the soul?
As his cultivation progressed, Yao Yan's understanding of the Three Flames Gathering Fire Technique deepened. This foundational technique he had used as a child for foundation-building was far from a simple transitional step!
The Dao is simple; the simpler the technique, the closer it is to the Dao.
Unfortunately, this concept meant nothing to those new to cultivation. As for the more advanced practitioners, their paths had long been set and were hard to change. Perhaps this was why the major imperial families had foundation-building techniques.
Having come to this realization, Yao Yan's gaze toward the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven shifted. Initially, he planned to slowly wear it down until it was weak, but now that he had discovered the changes in his soul, there was no need for such a slow process. With a slight mental shift, his Hun avatar began to undergo strange changes. His hair visibly turned a blood-red hue, and a sinister vertical pupil appeared in the center of his forehead, glowing with a purple-black light.
The moment the vertical pupil opened, the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven, which had been frenziedly attacking, suddenly froze. Its massive body trembled as if, like a human encountering a primordial beast, it instinctively feared what it saw.
The Three Thousand Flame of Heaven glared angrily at the tiny human below, momentarily halting its attacks. It didn't know what fear was, but that sudden pull had made it wary.
"So this is how it is. The Outer Evil Clan is truly monstrous..." Yao Yan, feeling the changes in his soul, suddenly understood why the evil demons of the outer realms were so hard to eliminate. Even a trace of a remnant Hun could quickly recover to its peak, like an indestructible cockroach.
This was because the essence, qi, and spirit of this race were naturally one, with no stronger or weaker aspects—they had fused into one!
Yao Yan was not yet at that level, but for now, he could still make use of part of the body's power through the soul. In comparison, the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven could only rely on its Hun power to resist him, and in terms of soul, it had no advantage at all.
After all, the strongest power of a heavenly flame had never been its Hun power!
"If I devour you, my Hun power should grow considerably..." A greedy glint flickered in Yao Yan's eyes. Though his body was tiny, he resembled a predator, locking onto the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven as if it were prey.
The Three Thousand Flame of Heaven undoubtedly sensed this and roared in fury, "Human, you seek death!"
The roar shook the consciousness sea, and its enormous dragon body once again lunged at Yao Yan. Compared to its massive body, Yao Yan seemed as small as an ant, but this tiny body calmly raised a hand to catch the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven's attack.
In the next moment, an invisible devouring force surged from his palm, and the massive dragon body of the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven immediately turned into a flood of purple-black flames, rushing toward Yao Yan's body, causing him to expand rapidly.
The Hun of the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven was incredibly hot, like lava, making the devouring painful, but this minor discomfort was nothing compared to the increase in his soul's core.
"Let go, human!" The Three Thousand Flame of Heaven twisted and thrashed its dragon body, trying to break free.
But at this moment, Yao Yan firmly clung to it, treating it like food, relentlessly devouring its dragon body and converting its Hun origin into his own. The scene was so bizarre it drove the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven mad—it had never seen a human act this way!
The two began to wrestle, and the entire consciousness space shook violently.
...
Outside.
Hun Miesheng, who had been sitting beside Yao Yan, suddenly opened his eyes. A deep black flame flickered within them as he stared at Yao Yan. At that moment, the heavenly blue flames around Yao Yan had grown exceptionally intense, now constantly attacking the surrounding purple-black flames. These heavenly blue flames had developed a strange devouring power, consuming the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven and turning it into his nourishment. This sight was nothing short of eerie!
"...Could this kid have refined a Void Devouring Flame?" Hun Miesheng muttered in surprise. Yao Yan hadn't activated any technique; he was simply using his innate ability to begin devouring the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven's essence, which was eerily similar to the Void Devouring Flame.
No, wait, this wasn't exactly the same. The fusion was even more domineering, like a superior devouring an inferior being.
Soon, Hun Miesheng felt Yao Yan's Hun power rapidly increasing. The process was obvious, and he couldn't help but narrow his eyes. He began to suspect whether Hun Xuzi had taught Yao Yan some secret method for devouring others' Hun origins.
Such methods could enhance one's Hun origin in the short term, but the aftereffects were numerous. For example, the Hun origin and the devoured Hun origin couldn't be merged!
The price for eliminating it was also tremendous!
"However, it seems that devouring the Hun of a heavenly flame has no such worries..." Hun Miesheng suddenly thought of something and mused to himself. He had never considered this before. Who would go around looking for a heavenly flame with a Hun to devour its essence?
Hun clashes were far more dangerous than refining heavenly flames. Even Dou Shengs wouldn't take such a risk, as the danger far outweighed the benefits.
As he watched, Yao Yan's Hun origin was visibly increasing, and his aura surged violently. The originally heavenly blue flames around him began to take on a purple hue as they fused with the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven. Yao Yan's Dou Qi was also rapidly advancing toward the Dou Zun level!
In less than three months, Yao Yan's aura had surged from a Nine-Star Dou Zong to a One-Star Dou Zun, and his entire body emitted a powerful Hun pressure.
With Hun Miesheng's sharp perception, he could even see Yao Yan's enormous Hun form, wrapped in purple-blue flames.
"He's about to reach the mid-tier of the Celestial level..." Hun Miesheng said, his gaze flashing. He suddenly regretted his previous words. This kid's talent had already surpassed his understanding. Even the Hun Clan's acknowledged number one genius couldn't compare.
At least he had never heard of anyone advancing so rapidly in Hun cultivation at the Celestial level. Everyone knew that increasing one's Hun realm was far more difficult than cultivating Dou Qi!
Moreover, this kid was also an Eight-Rank Senior Alchemist!
After waiting for another couple of months.
Yao Yan's aura had completely condensed, appearing normal to an outsider. But to Hun Miesheng's eyes, something unimaginable was happening within Yao Yan. His transformation had become so profound that, toward the end, even Hun Miesheng couldn't see through it completely. The purple-blue flames, now increasingly fused with the Three Thousand Flame of Heaven, had grown incredibly deep and restrained, their strength now rivaling some of the highest-ranked heavenly flames!
"This kid's body is wrong!" Hun Miesheng's eyes gleamed with black flames as he made a judgment in his mind.
After nearly half a year of observation, he had gained some understanding of Yao Yan's body. Yao Yan's bloodline was definitely not from the Hun Clan, and his physical body was unnaturally strong, especially those jade bones... They could only belong to a Dou Sheng!
Where on earth did Hun Xuzi find this freak?!
He was so strong it was almost unbelievable, and his foundation was so solid that it gave the illusion that breaking through to Dou Sheng was a simple task.
"Whoosh~"
At that moment, after months of stillness, Yao Yan's body finally stirred. A terrifying, volcano-like aura erupted from within him, and a terrifying devouring force surged from his body, beginning to devour all the surrounding energy, as if he were starving.
Hun Miesheng's gaze flashed as he waved his hand, distorting space, and moved Yao Yan and himself outside the secret chamber.
Almost as soon as they landed, the sky darkened, and numerous brilliant fire clouds appeared out of nowhere. After a moment, terrifying lightning intermingled, and even Black Demon Thunder appeared. The sight was truly horrifying... Simultaneously, immense energy began to gather, forming energy tides that surged into Yao Yan's body, completely engulfing the mountain where he stood.
Hun Miesheng watched the scene and murmured, "Celestial-level technique..."
He was familiar with the Hun Clan's Celestial-level techniques, and the technique Yao Yan was using clearly wasn't any of theirs. The terrifying phenomenon... seemed to indicate the birth of a Celestial-level technique!
(END CHAPTER)
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