BTTH: Demon Emperor Xiao Yan

After successfully creating the Bloodfiend Flame, Xiao Yan did not allow himself to rest. Instead, he dove straight into another form of cultivation. This time, however, it had nothing to do with Dou Qi—it was focused entirely on the soul.

Currently, his soul had already reached the peak of the Mortal Rank. Just one more step, and he would officially break through into the Spiritual Rank. But that final step was a hurdle that had blocked countless seventh-tier alchemists, leaving them stranded for the rest of their lives.

Generally speaking, there were only a few ways to strengthen one's soul. One could simply wait for time to pass and grow stronger naturally, which would slowly nourish the soul. Alternatively, one could use rare heavenly treasures to improve the soul directly. However, both methods offered limited results. For those seeking to ascend into the Spiritual Rank, relying on these alone was virtually impossible.

This was because the key difference between a Mortal Rank and a Spiritual Rank soul lay not just in the quantity of soul power but in its spirituality—its innate presence and refinement. To reach that state, it was necessary to purify and enrich the essence within the soul. Excluding some incredible fortuitous encounters, this level could only be reached through a specialized soul cultivation method.

Xiao Yan had been using an unnamed chant to absorb soul energy until now, but it was merely a fragmented technique. With his current strength, the effects were almost negligible. It could still draw in some spiritual energy, but the rate was excruciatingly slow. Using it to reach the Spiritual Rank would take years, if not decades. It was simply not worth the time investment anymore.

For most people, this would have been their only path. But Xiao Yan was different. In his previous life, he had cultivated his soul all the way to the Emperor Rank. He had access to true, advanced soul cultivation methods, far beyond the fragment he had used as a foundation in his early days.

'Nine Revolutions Spirit Refinement…' The name echoed in his mind, bringing a faint gleam of reminiscence to his eyes. It was not a stolen technique, nor was it something inherited. This was a soul cultivation method that Xiao Yan himself had created. Across the entire Dou Qi Continent, no one else possessed it.

Back then, Xiao Yan had once acquired a soul technique known as the Soul Devouring Method. As its name suggested, it enabled him to devour the souls of others, forcibly increasing his own soul power. Initially, he had used this dark method to break through into the Spiritual Rank.

However, while his soul power grew rapidly, the countless souls he had devoured carried immense resentment and negative emotions. These dark thoughts polluted his mind and damaged his soul, leaving it fragmented and unstable. At one point, he had nearly lost himself completely, teetering on the brink of madness.

In that life-or-death moment, a sudden inspiration struck him. If Dou Qi could be refined into flames, could one not do the same with soul power? Could it be tempered into something tangible—a soul flame—that could then purify his corrupted soul?

With that idea, he began his experiments. Thousands of failures later, he finally succeeded in creating a mysterious flame formed purely from soul power. This soul flame could cleanse and purify his corrupted soul, and what's more, it actually strengthened his soul power as well.

Once he discovered its potential, Xiao Yan decisively abandoned the Soul Devouring Method and began focusing on cultivating this soul flame. Over time, he verified that it could extract spiritual essence from ambient energy, just like a Heavenly Flame could refine the elements in the world.

Using this soul flame as the foundation, he created the Nine Revolutions Spirit Refinement Technique. He spent countless years refining and perfecting it. With its help, he had broken through the Spiritual Rank, ascended to the Heaven Rank, and eventually reached the peak of soul cultivation—Emperor Rank.

Snapping back from his memories, Xiao Yan took a deep breath and began cultivating. His target this time wasn't to reach the next realm in one leap—it was simply to generate a bit of soul flame as a precaution. While he currently reigned supreme within the Dou Huang class and could even battle a Dou Zong, he understood that one should never lack for backup methods.

He had just finished condensing a thread of soul flame when he stepped out of his room for a breath of fresh air—and immediately froze.

Marching through the courtyard, lugging a massive bluish-gray rock over her shoulder, was none other than Zi Yan. Behind her, Qinglin followed closely, her delicate face filled with anxiety. She seemed terrified that Zi Yan might trip and get crushed under the weight of the stone.

"What did you two get yourselves into this time?" Xiao Yan asked, raising a brow as his gaze fell upon the oddly colored rock. "Don't tell me you robbed someone."

"How could we?" Zi Yan placed the giant rock down with a soft thud. "We bought this through legitimate means! A few days ago, someone sent us an invitation to an auction. They said there would be several treasures from the Fallen Grounds, so we went to check it out. We wanted to bring you, but you were still in seclusion."

"Let me guess…" Xiao Yan chuckled as he rubbed his chin. "Once you got there, some young master started pestering you, got rejected, and then tried to bid against you out of spite when you picked something. Am I close?"

Zi Yan blinked. "How did you know? You were there too?"

"No. But I've seen that sort of thing enough times to guess with my toes." Xiao Yan's eyes swept toward the stone. "So this is what you bought? How much did it cost?"

"Not much. Just over ten million gold coins," Zi Yan said casually.

Xiao Yan's expression twitched.

Ten million?

Even with his wealth, that amount wasn't trivial. More importantly, Zi Yan didn't carry money on her—it must have come from the Xiao Gate's treasury. That amount could buy an Earth Rank Dou Technique… and she had spent it on a rock.

If Hai Bodong had been here, he would've spat blood from anger.

"You spent ten million gold coins on something that was worth ten thousand?" Xiao Yan exhaled slowly. "Zi Yan, I'm an alchemist, not a bank. If someone wants it that badly, let them have it. You don't need to compete over face."

"What do you know?" Zi Yan pouted. "I just know this rock is special! I just don't know why yet…"

Xiao Yan was left speechless. He glanced at the large stone again. Its surface was covered in natural pockmarks, likely formed after years of erosion by seawater. It didn't look like any heavenly treasure or weapon material he recognized. He doubted even his heavy Xuan ruler could be forged from this kind of stone.

That said… as his eyes lingered, he noticed a faint swirl of rich water-elemental energy coiling within the rock.

'This thing has absorbed a lot of water-attribute energy…' he thought. 'If someone with water affinity trained atop it, the results might not be bad. Kind of like my Green Lotus Platform. But I use fire-attribute Dou Qi, so this is useless to me.'

He was about to dismiss it when Zi Yan shoved a few medicinal herbs into his arms. "Forget the rock. I'm out of energy pills again. Make me some more!"

"You little glutton…" Xiao Yan sighed. He was about to summon his pill cauldron when his gaze flicked back to the stone.

He paused.

Something about its shape… it looked familiar.

And then it hit him.

The contours… the structure… the stone wasn't just randomly shaped. It resembled a pill cauldron!

A natural cauldron?

Xiao Yan's heart skipped a beat. He remembered the legendary Heavenly Cauldron Rankings, a list as revered in the alchemy world as the Heavenly Flame Ranking was among elementalists. Each cauldron on that list was one-of-a-kind, with incredible origins and capabilities. And there were only thirteen of them.

In his previous life, Xiao Yan had only seen one—at the Flame Pill Valley.

His Black Demon Cauldron, stored in Yao Lao's ring, was ranked eighth.

But this rock… its form matched something else.

The "Spirit of the Deep Sea."

Ranked tenth on the Heavenly Cauldron Rankings.

(End of Chapter)

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