Yan Qingshan entered the mysterious light halo, and a faint, hazy white light came into view. He cautiously scanned his surroundings and finally stopped at the mysterious floating skeleton in the center.
This place was clearly different from what he saw outside. Perhaps it was due to a visual effect, but it now seemed much more spacious. He could see everything with a single glance.
Yan Qingshan casually glanced at the fiery lizardmen that were slowly dispersing outside the halo, then stepped closer to the snow-white skeleton.
Upon this skeleton, an invisible flame was floating. This Fallen Heart Flame was only the size of a head, and the temperature it emitted was far less than that of the invisible fire serpent outside. If the invisible fire serpent was a mature form, then this one was at most in its infantile stage.
Of course, whether it was infantile or mature, this thing was a Heavenly Flame after all. Its value would not be too low. While its power might be slightly inferior, this Fallen Heart Flame was easier to subdue and cultivate.
"Come out now!"
Yan Qingshan suddenly stopped and spoke coldly. As soon as he finished speaking, a brilliant white light suddenly erupted from within the skeleton, and a massive force solidified his body in place.
The white light slowly writhed and finally transformed into an illusory, ancient figure. The figure wore a white robe, and his hair and beard were both snow-white. His face was old, and his calm eyes flickered with a faint brilliance. As soon as he appeared, he gave people a sense of oppression.
"The heart flame essence of the Fallen Heart Flame... was it subdued by someone?"
The illusory figure looked at the wisp of heart flame that was hovering around Yan Qingshan's body. There was an unexplainable meaning in the old man's slow voice.
Yan Qingshan shook his head and looked at the phantom. "Not yet, but I have some ideas about the Fallen Heart Flame outside, so I need the help of its original owner, Sir."
"Oh! You actually know..."
The illusory figure was clearly surprised. Before his soul was trapped, he had set the Fallen Heart Flame free. Furthermore, it had been an extremely long time since his demise. How could anyone still know that he was the owner of the Fallen Heart Flame?
The old man shook his head and said faintly, "You're probably going to be disappointed. Strictly speaking, I've already died. After all these years, my soul has long been worn away. What you see now is just a trace of a remaining soul imprint.
In this state, as long as the Fallen Heart Flame has a shred of resistance, I will be easily and completely wiped out. I dare not take that gamble."
"Don't worry, Sir. Since I came here, of course, I came prepared. The Soul Cultivating Saliva may only be a Tier 5 medicinal pill, but it is an excellent product for nurturing the soul. And this source of souls should be enough for you to recover to a considerable degree."
Yan Qingshan took out two things from his storage ring. One was the Soul Cultivating Saliva he had once traded with Old Yao, a Tier 5 medicinal pill specifically for nourishing the soul. The other was a strange ball of light floating in mid-air, emitting a crystal-like glow and waves of soul fluctuations.
This ball of soul source was condensed from the living souls of many powerful individuals. It was pure and easy to absorb. It had taken Yan Qingshan a lot of effort to collect it.
In the Battle of the Black Mountain Fortress, the experts of the three empires were mostly wiped out in one fell swoop. The three Hall of Souls protectors used a soul-luring technique to attract and capture the souls of these experts, which were then all captured by Yan Qingshan.
These living souls naturally included those of Yan Luotian and Xie Bi Yan. However, Yan Luotian's soul was too weak. Using it to refine a puppet would only lower its grade. As for Xie Bi Yan, his use of the Demon Poison Spot also affected his soul, and its quality was not high either.
Most importantly, these two were just living souls, not evil spirits. Their malevolent nature had not yet been fully condensed, and their power was not at its maximum. They were not the best choice for refining a Heaven Demon Puppet. They were, however, suitable to be refined into this ball of soul source along with the other living souls captured at the Black Mountain Fortress.
The souls that had just died had a seven-day period of confusion. Their resentment and death aura had not yet fully condensed. Their combat power and self-preservation abilities were at their weakest, making it easiest to erase everything and obtain their soul source.
The one Yan Qingshan took out was a soul source refined using the secret techniques of the Hall of Souls. He had also considered using the fierce soul refining method to refine Yan Luotian and Xie Bi Yan into fierce souls like gu worms. The materials he had on hand were barely enough to refine both.
Unfortunately, this fierce soul refining was full of danger. Although both were Dou Ancestors, their souls each had problems, and he couldn't guarantee that their consciousness would be the dominant one after the refining process.
And even if he did succeed, because of the other soul auras mixed in, there would still be compatibility issues with the original body.
With so much trouble and a high chance of error, Yan Qingshan simply decided against it. He refined the living souls that had been lured in at the Black Mountain Fortress into this ball of soul source while they were still 'fresh'.
However, it was a bit of a pity that some of the girls who had died had decent aptitude. He had ruthlessly 'wasted' a few of them.
"Little friend, such a generous gift is a bit overwhelming for this old man!"
The white-robed elder smiled. The smile contained a sense of pride that radiated from his bones. Then, with a hint of reserve, he said, "This old man is Yao Tianhuo, and others also call me Venerable Tian Huo. Little friend, as for the matter of the Fallen Heart Flame, I am willing to contribute."
Venerable Tianhuo's phantom waved his hand. A snow-white storage ring flew up from the side of the skeleton, and a pale white scroll appeared in front of him. On the scroll, some fire-breathing birds were drawn.
Yao Tianhuo sent the Dou Skill scroll to Yan Qingshan. "This is the famous Dou Skill of this old man back in the day, the Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique. It is an excellent fire control technique. It should be of some use to you."
"There's no need to be so polite, Elder Yao. In this space, with the help of this Fallen Heart Flame, I'm sure your recovery will be faster!"
Yan Qingshan did not hesitate. After putting away the scroll, he threw both items over. A look of joy flashed in Yao Tianhuo's eyes, but he remained cautious. He used his soul power to hold them in place and carefully inspected them. A look of ecstasy flashed in his eyes.
The jade bottle was opened, and a large amount of Soul Cultivating Saliva was drawn out. It was then completely absorbed into Yao Tianhuo's body along with the soul source.
"Hahaha, how invigorating!"
After Yao Tianhuo absorbed the soul source and Soul Cultivating Saliva, his body began to radiate a halo, and his phantom also became much more solid.
On the Dou Qi Continent, when a practitioner's strength reaches the Dou Venerate level, as long as their soul has not completely dissipated, there is still a chance for resurrection.
For example, the deceased Yao Lao. As long as a body that can contain a soul is successfully refined for him, he can be resurrected and return to his peak.
However, Yao Lao's soul was preserved quite well. In the original story, if he hadn't had to "clean up messes" for Xiao Yan so many times, which led to a great loss of his source and a coma, after he recovered his Dou Ancestor strength, that Protector Wu would not have been his match.
However, the soul of Venerable Tianhuo in front of him was very thin. He would have been completely wiped out in a few more years. Therefore, his recovery was more difficult and troublesome. He needed to use the soul source to recover his strength in the shortest amount of time.
Yao Tianhuo went into his transformation. Yan Qingshan, on the other hand, observed the space here. The spatial power here was perfectly integrated, concealing this place in the lava. The pure spatial power gave Yan Qingshan some insights.
Blue light shot from his eyes, scanning the walls of the space. Streams of interwoven information were obtained and added to his database. With his AI assistant, he could get unusual results when collecting and analyzing various information without having to worry too much. In simple terms, he had an excellent comprehension ability.
"Fallen Heart Flame!"
Yan Qingshan tried to get closer to the other Fallen Heart Flame. This Fallen Heart Flame, which had just entered its growth stage, did not have much consciousness. It only had some instincts. The power it erupted was not too strong and would not injure him, which also made it easier for him to get firsthand data about this Heavenly Flame.
"The Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique, a fire control technique. The method is divided into five stages, based on beast forms: wolf, leopard, lion, tiger, and dragon. Each stage has its own fire spirit. When the technique is perfected, the five beasts will gather to form the Five Ring Flame Expelling Formation, which has the immense power to boil the seas and incinerate the heavens."
After wandering around, Yan Qingshan had collected most of the data. With nothing else to do, he took out the Five Ring Flame Expelling Technique scroll that Yao Tianhuo had given him.
He had a Heavenly Flame in his possession, so practicing fire-attribute Dou Skills was not a problem for him. This powerful fire-control Dou Skill, which was comparable to a Di-tier, would be of great use to him.
Of course, he did not lose out on this deal with Yao Tianhuo. The Soul Cultivating Saliva was only a Tier 5 medicinal pill, though he had a large quantity of it. The soul source was truly precious. If he had absorbed it, he might have had a chance to reach the peak of the Mortal Realm of the soul state and become a Tier 7 alchemist.
However, Yan Qingshan did not intend to use this external force to make a breakthrough. For one, he was not too far from Tier 7, and he did not need to use external force yet. Secondly, if this kind of external soul power was not handled well, it could easily affect his own soul and lead to problems.
Venerable Tianhuo had the Fallen Heart Flame. This Heavenly Flame had a miraculous effect on the soul and could refine the soul source into the purest soul power. This kind of soul power, after being absorbed, had no side effects. Yan Qingshan, however, did not have this Heavenly Flame to help him.
"Hahahaha... I never thought I would see the light of day again..."
After an unknown amount of time, Yan Qingshan grew tired of looking at the fiery red lava. He was considering whether he should go back and report the situation when a powerful soul fluctuation accompanied by a hearty laugh spread out.
Yan Qingshan turned his head. The solidified soul of Venerable Tianhuo was laughing heartily. His aura was no less than that of his strongest Earth Demon Puppet, and with his experience as a former Dou Venerate, an ordinary high-level Dou Ancestor would probably not be his match.
"Congratulations, Elder Yao."
Yan Qingshan walked up to Venerable Tianhuo, smiled, and cupped his hands. "Now that you have recovered your soul, it is time to fulfill our previous agreement and help me subdue the Fallen Heart Flame outside!"