After leaving the underground cave, Han Feng returned to the desert surface.
He did not plan to return to Desert City immediately. Refining a sixth-grade pill had already alarmed the entire city, and now, refining a Heavenly Flame might cause an even greater commotion.
Most importantly, he could not control the process of refining a Heavenly Flame, and the level of danger was difficult to estimate.
If he accidentally leaked his aura and burned down his own house, that would be a true disaster.
Therefore, Han Feng decided to find a secluded spot in the desert to begin the refinement. In any case, everything was already prepared.
Flying high in the sky, Han Feng looked down at the sandy plains and found quite a few Snake-People patrolling nearby.
Fortunately, he had concealed the area in advance; otherwise, there might have been more complications.
Han Feng arrived at a hidden cave he had discovered during his previous explorations. He cautiously checked the surroundings, then set up a barrier formation before walking into the cave.
The inside of the cave was dark and damp, completely different from the dryness outside. Han Feng had once found drinkable water here, as well as a tier-four medicinal herb, the Earthly Profound Grass.
If this place were turned into a desert supply station, it would surely be an excellent thing.
Han Feng found a clean place to sit down and placed the Green Lotus Core Flame, along with its green lotus platform, in front of him.
He had just fought a battle with the Green Lotus Core Flame, and the Dou Qi in his body was not yet full. He first took out a pill, swallowed it to recover some Dou Qi, and then sat quietly in meditation, raising his condition to its peak.
An hour later, Han Feng opened his bright eyes and slowly exhaled a long breath.
"Let's begin."
The Green Lotus Core Flame was currently curled up in its lotus platform, looking very listless.
Han Feng showed no mercy, his gaze fixed on the timid flame.
It seemed this Green Lotus Core Flame had also just been born. It had some spirituality, but not much.
Han Feng thought to himself.
Compared to the Mysterious Yellow Flame from his previous life, the current Green Lotus Core Flame was as gentle as the little maid at home.
Although the Green Lotus Core Flame was ranked higher, the Mysterious Yellow Flame had already achieved great spirituality. It was not only powerful but also very cunning.
Remembering the arduous experience of subduing the Mysterious Yellow Flame in his previous life, Han Feng couldn't help but sigh.
Although obtaining the Green Lotus Core Flame this time was a bit tedious, it was already the fastest and easiest way.
Han Feng cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, took out the sixth-grade Guiyuan Vein Condensing Pill, and swallowed it in one gulp.
The sixth-grade pill dissolved in his abdomen, and its powerful medicinal energy swept through his entire body. A circle of bright yellow light vibrated out from Han Feng's body.
The medicinal power autonomously condensed origin veins in his body, protecting the fragile meridians.
After the medicinal power took effect, Han Feng took out another jug of Ice Spirit Cold Spring and drank it all.
Gulp, gulp.
The extremely cold spiritual liquid turned into pure yin-cold energy upon entering his mouth and quickly spread throughout Han Feng's body, freezing a layer of white frost on the surface.
"Hah!"
His breath turned to frost, white like a smoke dragon. Han Feng's eyes shot open, and he grabbed at the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Perhaps his move was too sudden. Caught off guard, the Green Lotus Core Flame's core was directly seized by Han Feng, without even having time to play a game of hide-and-seek.
Giving it no chance to react, Han Feng swallowed the flame core in one gulp.
Gulp.
In an instant, a green flame erupted from Han Feng's body. A large amount of cold air rose, and the cave turned into a misty wonderland in the blink of an eye.
A pained and suppressed groan came from within the mist. Time passed bit by bit.
Thump, thump, thump.
About two days later, the sound of a heartbeat echoed in the cave, strong and powerful.
In the dreamlike sea of mist, a ball of green flickered in and out of view, sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes bright, sometimes dark.
Suddenly, Han Feng's voice sounded.
"Green Lotus Core Flame, return to your place!"
Buzz!
The green flame, as if an extension of his own arm, directly sent out a ripple of energy, dispersing all the mist in the cave.
In the center of the cave, Han Feng sat properly. A blue and a green flame rotated around his body, finally merging into one, becoming an icy-green flame.
Han Feng looked at the icy-green lotus flame before him. At the center of the lotus floated a Heart of the Ocean formed from the Sea Heart Flame. This was his new Heavenly Flame.
The Green Lotus Sea Heart Flame.
The effect of the Flame Mantra did not disappoint Han Feng. He had really done it, merging two different Heavenly Flames into one.
The Green Lotus Core Flame was born in the earth's core and possessed a portion of the power to manipulate the earth, capable of awakening the magma hidden deep within.
The Sea Heart Flame was born in the depths of the sea and possessed the divine power to control the great ocean. In terms of strength alone, the Sea Heart Flame was superior to the Green Lotus Core Flame.
But there was a reason why the Green Lotus Core Flame was ranked nineteenth.
First, the Green Lotus Core Flame was very stable. The shape of the lotus gave it considerable defensive power.
Second, after absorbing the Green Lotus Core Flame, Han Feng not only felt that his life source had grown much stronger, but even his cultivation aptitude was slowly recovering.
Stability, defense, life, and self-healing—this was the true value of the Green Lotus Core Flame.
Han Feng absorbed the Heavenly Flame into his body and sent a jolt of Dou Qi through his hands.
"The quality of my Dou Qi has been greatly enhanced, and my cultivation has even broken through two stars in a row, reaching the nine-star Dou Emperor realm."
Han Feng was very satisfied in his heart.
After absorbing the Green Lotus Core Flame, the Flame Mantra had successfully advanced to a low-level Earth-rank cultivation technique and had also provided a large amount of feedback energy, helping Han Feng break through to the peak of the Dou Emperor realm.
Originally, in Han Feng's plan, it would have taken at least a year of hard cultivation to reach the peak of the Dou Emperor realm. Now that he had saved so much time, he could properly plan how to advance to Dou Ancestor.
Having been reborn, Han Feng understood very well how important the Dou Ancestor realm was.
It was not only a watershed for cultivators on the Dou Qi Continent but also an opportunity for humans to defy heaven and change their fate.
An ordinary Dou Emperor, even with high-grade life-extending pills, would have a lifespan of only two to three hundred years.
But once one broke through to Dou Ancestor, one could change their own constitution, regain their youth, and greatly extend their lifespan. Living to be five hundred years old was not a problem.
What Han Feng valued was not regaining his youth or greatly extending his lifespan, but the opportunity to change his own constitution.
There were thousands of constitutions on the Dou Qi Continent, some congenital, some acquired.
Some cultivators with average aptitude and constitution would wait for the opportunity to break through to Dou Ancestor to reshape their physical bodies.
Of course, not everyone knew this method. Only the major clans and factions had the resources to do so. For rogue Dou Ancestors, just being able to break through was a blessing; they didn't care about their constitution.
In his previous life, Han Feng had top-tier aptitude and constitution, but when he broke through to Dou Ancestor, Yao Chen had still taken him to a blessed land, had him consume top-grade treasures, and used the great power of heaven and earth to reshape his physical body.
Although this method was expensive and very troublesome, the benefits were great. After Han Feng broke through to Dou Ancestor, he still did not encounter any bottlenecks. He broke through to Dou Venerate within five years, preserving his full potential to strive for Dou Saint.
Therefore, Han Feng had long been planning how he should break through to Dou Ancestor.
A blessed land was a must, and top-grade treasures were also indispensable, at least at the eighth-grade level.
As for the constitution, it would depend on fate. If he couldn't find any good materials, then he would just condense a Fire Spirit Body like in his previous life.
Circulating the Flame Mantra in the cave, Han Feng cultivated for a short half-hour. Now in his peak state, he finally stood up.