Battle Through the Heavens

A black figure flew over the vast mountain forest in a lightning-like manner. The pressure that was brought about by his high-speed flying caused a long gully to form over the sea of trees below. It was a long while later before the gully slowly disappeared.

The black figure was naturally the one who had helped the Bloody Battle Mercenary Company settle some trouble. It was Xiao Yan. He was not worried that He Gan would secretly use any underhanded tactics. This was because he knew that all tactics were useless in front of absolute strength. The small He clan might possess some reputation within the northwestern part of the empire, but from the point of view of the Yan Alliance, it was merely a faction that could barely catch the eye of the alliance. It would not require too much effort to eliminate the He clan.

Hence, Xiao Yan calmly left after having resolved the trouble. He did not leave anything behind when he left this time around. Ultimately, he did not have a deep friendship with Ka Gang and the others. The favor of providing Xiao Yan shelter back then was already repaid after Xiao Yan rescued them twice.

Many thoughts flashed through Xiao Yan’s heart as his flying speed suddenly rose. His speed was finally reduced after around ten plus minutes. The fire wings on his back were flapped and his body charged into the mountain valley hidden between some mountain peaks.

Xiao Yan sensed an ice-cold gaze sweeping over the moment his body entered the valley. The gaze only became a little warmer after sweeping over Xiao Yan’s face.

That gaze was naturally Medusa’s, who had remained guard in this place. Hence, Xiao Yan did not mind it. His body moved and the next time he appeared, he was already beside that enormous purple-colored light cocoon.

“Have you settled your matters?” Medusa raised her eyes and randomly inquired when she saw Xiao Yan appear.

Xiao Yan smiled and nodded. He roughly mentioned the matter from earlier. However, Medusa did not display much interest in this matter. It was merely one Dou Wang and a mediocre mercenary company; therefore, it had difficulty causing her to feel any curiosity.

“The fluctuation of your aura is becoming increasingly greater. The Dou Qi in your body is also repeatedly seeping out. From the looks of it, you need to hurry and undertake a retreat…” Medusa clearly paid more attention to the situation of Xiao Yan’s body compared to the matter. She frowned as she spoke. From the looks of her eyesight, the current Xiao Yan was just like a sieve that was full of holes. Dou Qi was repeatedly seeping out from these holes.

Xiao Yan bitterly smiled and nodded. The aura that he had unleashed earlier caused the Dou Qi within his body to become increasingly more out of control. Moreover, the most problematic thing was that the natural energy had started to pour unceasingly into his body. This caused the interior of his body to become more and more chaotic.

“I am pressed for time and plan to begin a deep retreat now. During my retreat, I will seal off the mountain cave. I will leave Zi Yan up to you.” Xiao Yan mused for a moment before immediately speaking.

“Yes.” Medusa nodded slightly. She immediately hesitated for a moment and said, “I have yet to return to the Snake-People race during this trip back to the Jia Ma Empire. I might return to the tribe once you exit your retreat.”

Xiao Yan was startled when he heard this. He hesitated for a moment before probing, “Do you need me to return with you?”

“There is no need to. Humans aren’t welcomed by our Snake-People Race. It is unavoidable that there would be some unnecessary trouble if you came along.” Medusa expression moved before her mouth uttered a faint rejection.

Xiao Yan rubbed his head in embarrassment when he saw this. He said, “In that case, let’s forget about it. That… I will first pack up the mountain cave and will begin the retreat in awhile. I will leave Zi Yan to you.”

Medusa lowered her chin.

Xiao Yan did not delay any longer when he saw her nodding. The chaotic Dou Qi within his body caused him to feel a great discomfort. Hence, his body flashed and he rushed into the mountain cave. After which, he tidied this place where he would undertake a long retreat amid a low explosive sound.

Medusa sent Xiao Yan into the mountain cave with her eyes. She involuntarily clenched her hand and her eyes changed rapidly. A moment later, she let out a helpless sigh. This fellow seemed to be a little afraid to follow her to the Snake-People Tribe…

The tidying of the mountain cave lasted for around ten plus minutes before ending. After which, Xiao Yan, who was covered with rock dust, coughed and walked out. He arrived at the spot where the enormous purple-colored cocoon was and gently patted it. He laughed, “Little girl, I will also be undertaking a retreat and will invite your Cai Ling jie to look after you during this period of time. I hope that you will have completed your evolution when I exit my retreat. Otherwise, I will leave you in this wilderness and allow other Magical Beasts to consume you like a tonic.

That light cocoon suddenly became a little brighter when Xiao Yan’s voice sounded. It was as though that little fellow within it was opposing him.

Xiao Yan involuntarily laughed when he saw this. Medusa by the side also helplessly shook her head. This fellow still had the mood to joke even at this moment.

Xiao Yan patted the light cocoon once more. He turned his head to Medusa and said with a slight smile, “I’m afraid that it will be hard on you this time around. I am also unaware just how long I will take during this breakthrough. If I guess correctly, it will require at least half a year.”

“Relax, it is only half a year…” Medusa pushed aside the black hair on her forehead with her hand and spoke faintly, “As long as no special situation occurs, I will guard the both of you until you successfully come out.”

Xiao Yan nodded quietly when he heard this. He inhaled a deep breath of air and cupped his hands respectfully to Medusa. He suddenly turned around and strode to the mountain cave. A moment later, his body entered the darkness in the cave. Following the disappearance of his body, the mountain cave abruptly emitted loud banging noises. Immediately, a pile of huge rocks rolled and fell, firmly blocking the entrance to the cave.

Medusa’s indifferent expression finally revealed a loneliness as she looked at the cave entrance which had turned into a pile of rubble. No one knew just when Xiao Yan would be able to leave after undertaking this retreat. Medusa was silent for a moment before sighing quietly. She softly muttered, “Hopefully, you will be able to breakthrough successfully…”

The mountain cave was not as dark as one would imagine. A couple of moonlight stones had been placed on the cave walls. The faint gentle light scattered throughout the cave. It was neither too glaring nor did it appear too dark.

Xiao Yan sat cross-legged on a green rock. This green rock clearly contained some jade fragments and it felt cool when he sat on it. It contained a certain benefit in ensuring one’s alertness.

Xiao Yan glanced at this green rock before he suddenly recalled the green-colored fire lotus back then. Training atop it could not only enable one to increase one’s absorption speed but it also possessed the benefits of an initial refinement. It was really an ultimate helper in training. Unfortunately, it had been destroyed by the ‘Fallen Heart Flame’ while he was underground.

Xiao Yan let out a bitter laugh. He let out a long sigh before his hands immediately formed a seal. In merely the time one took to breathe, he had entered his training state without any obstacles.

The situation within his body appeared in his mind once he entered the training condition. He looked at the torrent-like Dou Qi that was galloping within his veins in a chaotic manner. He helplessly shook his head. It was fortunate that this body of his had undergone the refinement of spiritual medicines and ‘Heavenly Flames’ many times. Otherwise, a Dou Qi uprising of this degree would at the very least cause him to feel a pain deep within his bones.

Xiao Yan slowly tossed the distractions from his mind as his mind began to manage the uprising of Dou Qi within his body. With the help of his powerful Spiritual Strength, this Dou Qi, that was surging about randomly, was chased into a couple of Qi Paths within a short period of time. The Dou Qi followed the route of the ‘Flame Mantra’ and was swiftly circulated. While it was circulating, a strange feeling, that appeared to exist within his spirit, slowly appeared in Xiao Yan’s heart.

The surrounding natural energy outside of the cave began to surge wildly when this unique feeling had invaded Xiao Yan’s heart. It swiftly rotated before forming a small spiraling funnel in the air above Xiao Yan’s head. The smaller side was connected to Xiao Yan’s temple as it poured that enormous wild and violent energy into Xiao Yan’s body.

Xiao Yan immediately frowned within his heart following the pouring in of such an enormous amount of energy. The density of the energy within the valley had somewhat exceeded his expectations. It was unexpected that it was this strong at the start.

Xiao Yan inhaled a deep breath of air. His mind moved, and a jade-green flame suddenly appeared without any forewarning, completely wrapping around his body. After the jade-green flame appeared, it did not have the time to emit its temperature when it began to wiggle slowly under Xiao Yan’s command. Finally, the jade-green flame gradually transformed into an invisible flame. It was surprisingly the ‘Fallen Heart Flame’.

The ‘Fallen Heart Flame’ completely wrapped around Xiao Yan’s body, appearing like a layer of fire clothes. The speed of the wild, violent energy from the surroundings, which had been pouring wildly into Xiao Yan’s body, immediately paused. Under the protection of the ‘Fallen Heart Flame’, that somewhat mottled natural energy would be refined once by the special effect of the ‘Fallen Heart Flame’ after passing through it. In this way, the pressure within Xiao Yan’s body was immediately greatly reduced.

Energy whistled within the mountain cave. Colorful mottled energy strands intertwined with each other. Bright, beautiful colors radiated within the cave, allowing it to appear exceptionally beautiful. At the edge of the countless energy light was Xiao Yan, who was sitting cross-legged.

The advancement from a Dou Wang to a Dou Huang was not an ordinary matter. The advancement to this class required an unusually great amount of energy, just like Zi Yan. Such a majestic amount of energy was naturally not something that could be achieved within a short period of time. Hence, one could only rely on accumulating energy for a long time in order to complete the transformation process.

The current Xiao Yan already possessed the qualifications to advance to the Dou Huang class. Hence, the current him only required sufficient energy for him to advance. Once he had completed the gathering of energy, advancing to the Dou Huang was a matter that was easy to achieve!

The only drawback was that this advancement would require quite a long period of time…