BTTH: Demon Emperor Xiao Yan

To increase one's strength, there were generally two main paths: one could cultivate Dou Qi to raise their rank, or train in powerful Dou Techniques—or better yet, switch to a higher-tier cultivation method.

However, neither of those options was currently feasible for Xiao Yan. Raising his Dou Qi rank wasn't something that could be achieved overnight. It required either the long-term accumulation of cultivation or the consumption of rare medicinal pills or natural treasures. He was about to search for traces of the Heavenly Flame—there was no time to seclude himself for extended training, and he certainly couldn't afford to go hunting for rare ingredients either. Furthermore, overreliance on external aids would only hamper his future cultivation.

As for switching cultivation methods, it was completely unrealistic for someone like him, who practiced Flame Mantra. And training a more powerful Dou Technique? He was already using Emperor's Seal Art, the strongest technique in his arsenal. That was an Earth Rank high-tier technique, and any step beyond that would lead into Heaven Rank territory—something well beyond what a Dou Wang could handle.

Normally, even Earth Rank high-tier techniques were only practiced by high-level Dou Huangs or Dou Zongs. If not for the unique properties of the Emperor's Seal Art, Xiao Yan wouldn't have been able to cultivate it at his level, let alone display its power in actual combat.

With those two paths blocked, Xiao Yan considered a third possibility—enhancing his Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Change. If he could successfully activate the second change, his battle strength would soar. However, his current body couldn't withstand the backlash from the second transformation.

But what if he strengthened his physical body?

That might allow him to fully use the second transformation without collapse. Normally, enhancing the body's durability could only be achieved through rare treasures or lucky encounters. But Xiao Yan, as a former Wrath Flame Saint, naturally had other options.

On the Dou Qi continent, Dou Techniques weren't only categorized by rank but also by function. The most common types were offensive, followed by defensive and movement-based techniques. There were also rarer support-type techniques, such as the interrogation skill Xiao Yan often used.

Even more uncommon were flying and soul-based Dou Techniques—most of them long-lost or only preserved within ancient ruins or ancient clans.

But the rarest category of all were Body Tempering Dou Techniques. As the name suggested, these specialized in refining the fleshly body. They were notoriously painful to cultivate, but those who succeeded would gain enhancements that far surpassed ordinary techniques.

These techniques were incredibly rare. But in his previous life, Xiao Yan had acquired a few—not low-tier ones either. He had once looked down on them, but out of curiosity, he had studied them. And from that study, he had found inspiration and created his own technique: the Void Demon Body of Endless Ember.

This body-refining Dou Technique couldn't match the legendary Dou Di Physique, but it was powerful enough to rival the physique of the most terrifying Magic Beasts, like the ancient Taixu Dragon. It was later classified as one of the nine supreme Wrath Flame techniques—Wrath Flame Nine Secrets.

However, for Xiao Yan in his current state, cultivating such a monstrous technique would be no different than suicide. So, he had to settle for something a little more modest.

That choice was a technique called Diamond Glazed Body, which Xiao Yan had obtained during his peak Dou Zun days. It was a Heaven Rank low-tier body-refining Dou Technique.

Of course, for his current Dou Wang level, training a Heaven Rank technique was asking for death. Unfortunately, it was the lowest-ranked body-refining technique he possessed. But thanks to his past experiences and immense knowledge, Xiao Yan reworked and simplified it, lowering its difficulty and effects.

The simplified version was named Little Glazed Golden Body. Its rank had been dropped from Heaven Rank low-tier to Earth Rank mid-tier. Though it no longer carried the overwhelming power of the original, it had become much more manageable. With his current strength, Xiao Yan could reasonably hope to succeed in cultivating it.

The original Diamond Glazed Body, when trained to perfection, could transform the user into a nine-zhang-tall Diamond Giant. The Little Glazed Golden Body had no such feature. It merely converted one's physical body into a golden, glazed state of supreme defense. Though not as terrifying as the original, its defensive capabilities were still formidable.

If Xiao Yan could successfully master this technique, not only would he be able to handle the second transformation of the Heavenly Flame Three Mysterious Change, but his overall strength would also rise to a new level. Should he encounter Queen Medusa again, the battle would no longer be so taxing.

The training method for the Little Glazed Golden Body was the same as that of the original. It involved channeling Dou Qi along a specific path into one's bones, flesh, and even skin. This integration placed extreme demands on the physical body. At his current level, Xiao Yan barely met the minimum requirements.

Thus, he would need external assistance.

To put it simply, he needed to temper his body with the power of nature—thunder, wind, waterfalls, or fire. By enduring these forces and forcing Dou Qi to integrate into his body, he could succeed. But here in the desert, most of those natural forces were impossible to find.

That left him with one option: fire.

Fire wasn't hard to find, but due to his Heavenly Flame body protection, normal flames couldn't even approach him—let alone temper his body. Unless the flame could rival his own Heavenly Flame, or he could find a way to immerse himself in it, like… lava.

But would there be lava in the desert?

Xiao Yan pulled out the map given to him by Hai Bodong and studied it closely. Still, there was no sign of any lava flow. He frowned and sat down cross-legged. Closing his eyes, he spread out his vast spiritual perception—not around, but downward, into the depths of the earth.

He wasn't scanning the surface—he was probing deep beneath.

As his soul force extended further, a wave of intense heat finally appeared within his senses. His soul told him that beneath a certain location, there was indeed a magma chamber. Cross-referencing this with the map, he was startled to discover it coincided exactly with a flame symbol marked by Hai Bodong.

"Could it be… that the Heavenly Flame is hidden within that magma?"

(End of Chapter)

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