Chapter 2: Jie Jie
Yao Yan's home was in the southern part of Danding City.
It was a moderately sized courtyard, complete with all necessary amenities, including an alchemy room. If desired, several beautiful maids could be arranged to serve him at any time. As a direct descendant carrying the Yao Clan's Dou Emperor bloodline, Yao Yan was still somewhat favored even among the branch families.
Even if his talent wasn't outstanding, he could still be used as a stud. His parents' bloodline wasn't very strong, but what if one of his offspring turned out to be a genius?
In other words—
Yao Yan would never lack beautiful wives; the clan would arrange them.
Of course, that was assuming the Yao Clan still existed.
Unfortunately, the Soul Clan was too ruthless, and Hun Tiandi too powerful. Otherwise, Yao Yan really would've wanted to shout: I am irreconcilable with the Soul Clan!
…
Yao Yan pushed open the door to his house and paused briefly as he looked at the quiet courtyard. Then, he walked toward the alchemy room. Ever since his mother passed away, he had lived alone. Though some had tried to adopt him, he refused. He simply couldn't bring himself to call anyone else father or mother.
In comparison, living alone was far more comfortable. Especially since he had Dou Qi, his adult soul didn't require care from others.
The alchemy room was extremely spacious and empty.
At the center stood a man-sized pill cauldron, entirely dark yellow, with a meditation cushion placed nearby.
This was where Yao Yan spent most of his time.
In the twelve years since he transmigrated, he had either been cultivating or obsessed with alchemy. He rarely interacted with his peers in the clan's academy. Compared to playing in the dirt with kids, cultivating and refining pills was obviously more interesting. That was also why he ranked at the top of his class.
Effort always yields reward.
Yao Yan flipped his palm, and as Dou Qi surged, a flash of light came from the storage ring on his index finger. Two pill bottles appeared in his hand—Tier 2 Vitality-Nurturing Pills and Tier 1 Tranquil Heart Pills. The former nourished the body and Dou Qi and could be used in tandem with the clan's heritage technique, the Three-Flower Gathering Flame Art, to build a solid foundation.
According to the Yao Clan elders, the realm below Dou King was considered the foundation-building stage. Only after reaching Dou King would one truly embark on the path of the strong.
The strength of one's foundation determined their future.
Some people rushed to break through early and barely made it to Dou King, exhausting their potential in the process. From there, they could only rely on external aids like pills, and even then progress was slow. Dou Emperor was the limit, while Dou Sect or Dou Venerate could only be admired from afar. That was the importance of a solid foundation.
It was said that the core descendants of the clan would often stay at the Dou Qi stage for a long time, using heavenly treasures to deepen their potential until reaching near-perfect levels of talent.
They didn't care about how fast they advanced in the beginning.
Of course, that was how core descendants operated. Yao Yan had no such privilege, though the Yao Clan's heritage techniques did include options with similar effects. Chief among them was the Three-Flower Gathering Flame Art. While it lacked the speed and early strength of the other two open-cultivation techniques, its advantages in foundation building were unparalleled.
It was said this was due to Yao Chen's influence.
The Yao Clan had three open-access foundation techniques passed down through generations: Flame Condensation Art, Wildfire Spreading Art, and the Three-Flower Gathering Flame Art.
The first two techniques easily cultivated powerful alchemy flames, but the third was different. Every stage of its training was exceptionally difficult. Some disciples got stuck for years without progress, leading most to abandon it—until Yao Chen appeared a century ago and changed everything.
Though its cultivation was slow and the resulting flames weak, it was incredibly stable. It didn't require heavenly treasures and still provided a perfect foundation. Once mastered, its benefits in Dou Qi density, physical strength, and soul power surpassed the other two.
Initially, Yao Yan was skeptical. But after practicing it himself, he noticed its uniqueness. He even suspected the technique was related to the Yao Clan's Medicine Emperor.
Despite being a low-grade Yellow-rank technique, it could absorb trace spiritual energy from the world, nourishing body, mind, and spirit—functioning similarly to a soul cultivation method. But unlike typical soul arts that only nurtured the soul, the Three-Flower Gathering Flame Art nurtured the full essence of body, mind, and spirit.
Spiritual energy differed from the Dou Qi continent's ambient energy.
Dou Qi in this world was formed by absorbing and converting environmental energy. But spiritual energy was a higher form of power, belonging to the Great Thousand World beyond Dou Po.
No one in the current Dou Po world understood this, nor the uniqueness of spiritual energy.
Yao Yan only discovered it by accident. It was likely due to his abnormally strong soul—or the fact that his soul had transmigrated. He could sense the slightest fluctuations in the surrounding energy, and combined with the knowledge he possessed, he inferred all of this.
Maybe this technique was something the Medicine Emperor left behind after reaching the Great Thousand World.
Unfortunately, it was still just a basic Yellow-rank technique. Reaching the Dou Spirit level was its limit, and who knew how long that would take. If not for Yao Yan being part of the Yao Clan, residing in the energy-rich Shennong Mountain Range and aided by many pills…
In the outside world—like the Jia Ma Empire—there would be no way to manage it.
Cultivation itself was a struggle against heaven, earth, and time. Who would have the patience to slowly practice a low-grade Yellow technique?
That's also why, even after the Yao Chen incident, few people chose the Three-Flower Gathering Flame Art.
Yao Yan swallowed both pills, and as Dou Qi circulated through his body, he quickly entered cultivation. With each breath, spiritual energy from the world poured into his body. At the same time, rich natural energy wrapped around him, as if he were bathed in white mist.
Time passed quickly, and soon night fell.
When Yao Yan opened his eyes again, the sky outside was full of stars, with a crescent moon hanging overhead.
"After reaching Six-Star Dou Practitioner, cultivation speed has really slowed down."
Yao Yan couldn't help but frown. Even knowing this technique was special and built strength slowly, the snail-like pace was hard to endure. What young person wasn't full of energy? Who enjoyed inching forward like a turtle, watching peers surpass them one by one?
Just imagining others breaking through to Dou Disciple or even Great Dou Disciple while he was still stuck at Dou Practitioner was a bitter pill to swallow.
The worst part—
He had no idea how long this phase would last.
"If only there was a progress bar…"
Yao Yan shook his head helplessly. He wasn't an old man—this young body naturally gave him a youthful mentality. Everyone compared themselves to others. He couldn't help it either, and couldn't remain cold and emotionless toward everything.
"Maybe I should start looking for some heavenly treasures…"
A trace of hesitation flashed in Yao Yan's eyes. While he didn't lack low-grade herbs and pills as a member of the Yao Clan, heavenly treasures that nourished the body were beyond his reach. Such items were always in demand and practically unavailable, especially within the Yao Clan. Any rare treasures were monopolized by the core descendants.
Dou Sect and Dou Venerate-level cultivators swept the lands in search of such things—how much leftovers could there be?
Unless he ventured far away… but the danger wasn't something his little arms could handle. He didn't have anyone to help him gather such resources either.
For a moment, Yao Yan was torn.
"Jie jie, little fellow, feeling a bit unwilling, are we?"
Just then, a strange laugh echoed in Yao Yan's ears. That eerie laughter made his face freeze instantly, and he almost blurted out a curse.
What the hell?!
This was the heart of the Yao Clan!!
How did they dare?!
(END CHAPTER)
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 30 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Kira1997