Starting as a supporting character in Doupo

Page 341

"Boy, be careful. This strange flame is something I've never seen before, even before. I've tried to probe it with my soul power, but I haven't found anything."

The solemn voice of Venerable Heavenly Fire resounded in Xiao Yan's mind, further raising Xiao Yan's vigilance to the maximum.

Xiao Yan looked at the dark flames burning silently in front of him and found that the flames were exactly the same as the flames used by his senior brother, but the characteristics they emitted were completely different from those of his senior brother's flames.

Senior Brother's flames were violent and swift, their scorching heat seemingly capable of burning through the sky, while this pitch-black flame burned quietly. No matter how one investigated, it seemed as if it did not exist in the world. If Xiao Yan had not seen it with his own eyes, he would not have believed that such a peculiar flame existed in this world.

"Strange, I've never heard of such a peculiar flame on the list of strange flames..."

Xiao Yan kept reviewing the descriptions of the various strange flames on the Strange Flame Ranking in his mind, but none of them matched the flame in front of him. Then, a sense of excitement rose in Xiao Yan's heart.

"Could it be... a strange fire that has not yet been discovered?"

Thinking of this, a burning desire gradually rose in Xiao Yan's heart. If this truly was a strange fire yet to be discovered on the Dou Qi Continent...

Thinking of this, Xiao Yan felt his mouth go dry.

Meanwhile, Xiao Fan, lost in thought within the Chaos Flame, was unable to use his Battle Qi or Soul Power and was completely unaware that outside the Chaos Flame, a junior brother was eyeing him covetously and had designs on the Chaos Flame surrounding him.

After refining the Dragon Extreme Battle Dance in his mind for two days, Xiao Fan was now extremely tired. Relying solely on his own strength, it would be very difficult to leave this magma. Therefore, Xiao Fan decided to give up. Anyway, the lizardmen wouldn't come up here, and with the Chaos Fire covering him, no one else could detect him. He would first recover his energy and leave after his injuries had improved a bit.

Just as Xiao Fan was about to go to sleep, he suddenly felt a strange energy appear in the Chaos Fire. As soon as this battle qi came into contact with the Chaos Fire, it was devoured and burned by the Chaos Fire and turned into nourishment.

The sudden change made Xiao Fan wary.

"Could it be that some lizardmen have tracked us here? Is it really necessary...?"

The sudden change made Xiao Fan wary, and he sat up straight, carefully on guard.

Within the magma, Xiao Yan felt the wisp of energy he casually released being easily refined by the flames without any reaction, and he remained cautiously on guard against the flames' counterattack.

Looking at the completely still, pitch-black flames, Xiao Yan frowned slightly.

"Could it be that this flame is an inert flame? I wonder if absorbing and refining it could advance my Burning Technique to another level."

Xiao Yan's Burning Technique has now evolved to the mid-level Earth Rank. He devoured the Fallen Heart Flame embryo, but it did not improve at all. After all, the energy in the embryo was too scarce. To evolve the Burning Technique again, the amount of energy required would be considerable.

Seeing that the dark flames remained completely still, a sense of doubt flashed through Xiao Yan's mind.

"This flame is so strange. Even when attacked, it doesn't react at all."

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, Venerable Tianhuo's tone revealed a hint of melancholy.

"Having traveled the continent for so many years, I have visited almost every place in the world that can be called a wonder. There are countless strange things in the world, but I have mostly come into contact with or heard of them. This is a strange flame, and even if I rack my brains, I have absolutely no recollection of it..."

"Young man, judging from the feeling, this flame light has extraordinary characteristics. If you want to subdue it, you should probably make more preparations and be careful."

Upon hearing Venerable Tianhuo's advice, Xiao Yan nodded and echoed, "I will."

Then, they cautiously approached the dark flames.

Within the chaotic fire, Xiao Fan also felt the flow of magma and sensed someone approaching him, his heart leaping into his throat.

"Damn it, looks like we're going to run into them again..."

Sensing the approaching fluctuations, Xiao Fan's eyes gradually sharpened. Judging from the movements, the newcomer's strength shouldn't be too great, otherwise they wouldn't be so cautious. If he forcibly mobilized the Chaos Fire and caught them off guard, he should be able to kill them.

However, this was a last resort, since his body was like a sieve, and forcibly using the Chaos Fire would only worsen his injuries.

"I thought I wouldn't encounter any lizardmen in this shallow lava, but I never expected they'd find me even hiding here..."

Xiao Fan's face showed a hint of helplessness, but there was no other way. He couldn't use his battle qi or soul power, and relying solely on his physical strength, he estimated that it would take him quite a while to squeeze out of this magma. Staying here was the only option he had.

Chapter 66 Leaving the Tower Base [Third Update]

Inside and outside the Chaos Flame, Xiao Fan and Xiao Yan were each making careful preparations, guarding against the movements of "the other side".

They were afraid that the strange fire (the lizardman) would suddenly attack and catch them off guard.

Finally, when Xiao Yan approached within three zhang of the Chaos Flame, his brows furrowed as he examined the burning Chaos Flame ahead, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

Meanwhile, in the snow-white storage ring on Xiao Yan's hand, the white-haired and white-bearded Venerable Tianhuo was looking at Xiao Yan with the same eyes, staring at the pitch-black flames in front of him. Venerable Tianhuo then turned his gaze to Xiao Yan, and then his expression gradually became strange.

In his eyes, the dark flames ahead were exactly the same as Xiao Yan's current state.

However, Xiao Yan was completely enveloped in cyan flames, making him appear as if he were a walking humanoid cyan flame.

The dark flames opposite him, apart from their color, were clearly no different from Xiao Yan's.

As they drew closer, Xiao Yan felt the dark figure ahead looked somewhat familiar. Hearing the description from Venerable Tianhuo, Xiao Yan realized who it was, a look of surprise crossing his face. He stopped in his tracks, staring at the black flames before him, and tentatively asked, "Senior...Brother?"

Xiao Fan, enveloped in chaotic fire, was stunned for a moment upon hearing the familiar voice, then his face suddenly lit up with wild joy.

"Ha ha ha ha......."

Hearing that familiar laughter, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief and approached Xiao Fan, asking, "Senior brother, what are you doing?"

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's familiar words, Xiao Fan did not react. The sense of crisis subsided, but the dual torment of body and mind resurfaced. Xiao Fan said weakly, "Never mind that, just take me up first."

"Shall I take you up?"

Xiao Yan walked up to Xiao Fan's side. Hearing Xiao Fan's words, a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes. However, when he reached out and helped Xiao Fan up, Xiao Yan's expression changed drastically.

In Xiao Yan's perception, Xiao Fan's body was like a broken bottle riddled with holes, as if it would shatter at the slightest touch.

Having known each other for so long, Xiao Yan had almost never seen Xiao Fan in such a disheveled state. When had Xiao Fan ever not been nonchalant and carefree?

The time Xiao Yan saw him at his most disheveled was back in the inner courtyard, when Xun'er was taken away by the Black Annihilation Army commander. To stand up for him, his senior brother forcibly fought against Ling Quan, who had just entered the Dou Huang realm, despite only being a Dou Ling level cultivator, causing him to be unconscious for several days.

But even then, Xiao Fan's injuries were not this severe.

Thinking of this, Xiao Yan's eyes instantly reddened, and without saying a word, he took Xiao Fan and flew towards the top of the lava.

After a while, they finally left the magma world and appeared at the bottom of the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower.

"Finally out......."

Looking at the familiar scenery, Xiao Fan finally showed a hint of relief. He then stretched his body and looked at Xiao Yan, who seemed hesitant to speak. He patted Xiao Yan's shoulder and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just encountered some troublesome opponents and used a secret technique, which took a lot of energy. My injuries will gradually heal, but it will take some time."

After hearing Xiao Fan's words, Xiao Yan's expression improved considerably.

On the way out of the lava, Xiao Yan had already checked on his senior brother. Although it was slow, his body was indeed recovering steadily. Apart from not being able to use his fighting spirit for the time being, he had no other injuries.

"Alright, stop looking so gloomy."

Xiao Fan reached out and patted Xiao Yan, saying calmly, "Don't worry. By the way, I have a few things prepared for you in my storage ring."

With Xiao Yan present, although Xiao Fan couldn't use his soul power, he could still open the storage ring by borrowing Xiao Yan's soul power.

Xiao Fan took out several items from his storage ring, including the golden smiling wings, whose light shimmered and looked exceptionally dazzling.

"This is a flying combat technique I made for you using the bone wings of the Heavenly Demon Phoenix. With it, your speed should be able to increase even more. At that time, even a high-level Dou Zong should not be able to catch up with you. As long as you don't court death by provoking a Dou Zun, you should be able to go anywhere in the world."

Xiao Fan handed the flying combat technique in his hand to Xiao Yan with a faint smile on his face. Xiao Yan did not refuse, after all, his senior brother had said that this flying combat technique was specially prepared for him.

Reaching out to take the golden wings from Xiao Fan, Xiao Yan smiled faintly, a warm feeling flowing through his heart.

He neither said thank you nor pretended to refuse, but generously accepted the flying combat technique, and secretly memorized it in his heart.

Seeing that Xiao Yan had accepted the flying combat technique, Xiao Fan took out a bag containing hundreds of fire beads from his storage ring and handed it to Xiao Yan.

"open to take a look."

Feeling the sudden commotion in the air, Xiao Yan had some guesses about what this thing was. He took the bag, opened it, and saw that the densely packed fire beads made his mouth dry.

In particular, several of the fire beads were far purer than the fire beads he had obtained, and the energy they contained was probably extremely terrifying.

"so much!"

Looking at so many fire beads, Xiao Yan looked up in surprise at Xiao Fan, who had a calm expression. He had thought that with the map given to him by his senior brother, his gains in this magma world were already quite considerable, but now, in comparison, Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel ashamed.

Of course, this was only because Xiao Yan didn't know that Xiao Fan had already advanced to the eight-star Dou Zong realm; otherwise, Xiao Yan would probably have become even more withdrawn.

In the original novel, it took Xiao Yan a month to raise his level by one star in the magma world, largely because he had difficulty encountering suitable fire lizard people.

He couldn't defeat the powerful fire lizardmen, let alone kill them to obtain their fire pearls. On the other hand, the fire pearls of the weaker fire lizardmen were of limited use to Xiao Yan. This is why Xiao Yan's strength hasn't improved much.

But things are different now. Xiao Yan obtained a map of the Fire Lizardman tribe's settlement from Xiao Fan. Based on this map, Xiao Yan directly chose a small to medium-sized settlement that suited him and that he was capable of handling. The amount of Fire Pearls he obtained was naturally considerable. Therefore, in just half a month, Xiao Yan raised his strength from a six-star Dou Huang to a seven-star Dou Huang.

Looking at the densely packed fire beads inside the bag, including several fire beads from lizardmen at the Dou Zong realm, Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel a little excited.

Seeing Xiao Yan so happy, Xiao Fan didn't say much. With a wave of his hand, a tall, silver-white figure instantly appeared behind Xiao Fan, blocking out much of the light.

"This is... a Heavenly Demon Puppet?"

Looking at the figure behind Xiao Fan, Xiao Yan spoke with some uncertainty. Because Xiao Fan had killed the Earth Demon Old Ghost, Xiao Yan had never even seen the Earth Demon Old Ghost's face, so he didn't know that this was the Earth Demon Old Ghost. However, recalling the gains in the Demon Flame Valley and the lifeless puppet, with its body emitting a faint silver light, Xiao Yan guessed the origin of this thing.

"Yes."

Xiao Fan nodded at Xiao Yan, then said, "This was made from the corpse of the Earth Demon Old Ghost, and now it has the strength of a six-star Dou Zong."

Upon hearing Xiao Fan's words, Xiao Yan's face showed surprise. Looking at the silver light emanating from the Earth Demon Puppet, he couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, you've refined it to the level of an Earth Demon Puppet, haven't you?"

Xiao Yan's eyes held a hint of surprise as he reached out and touched the Earth Demon Puppet from left to right, clicking his tongue in admiration.

"That's good. With the Earth Demon Puppet, even if you can't use your strength for the time being, you won't be in any danger."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Fan smiled and nodded. Then, his gaze swept over Xiao Yan and he said, "Let's stay in the inner courtyard for a while longer. You should hurry up and finish refining these fire beads to try to improve your strength. Also, remember to familiarize yourself with the new flying combat techniques."

"it is good."

Xiao Yan nodded as he listened to Xiao Fan's arrangements, a hint of excitement flashing in his eyes.

The reason for choosing to stay in the inner courtyard for a while longer is because Xiao Fan is currently injured and cannot use his internal fighting spirit. The journey to Zhongzhou is long and fraught with the risk of accidents. Waiting until he recovers before setting off is also for safety reasons.

Moreover, Xiao Fan did not forget to send a pill to You Ruo. Previously, his level in alchemy was not high enough, but now he has reached the seventh-grade alchemist realm and is fully capable of refining it.

Moreover, Xiao Fan also planned to use this time to help Xiao Yan improve his strength. After absorbing the fire pearl, Xiao Yan's strength would probably be able to break through to the eight-star Dou Huang level.