Chapter 11: Wolf Pack Attack
Cultivating Dou Qi was a fascinating process—especially before reaching Dou King.
The Dou Qi Gathering stage was a nurturing phase. Most Dou Qi cultivated during this time simply nourished the bones and muscles, strengthening the body. It was also the foundation that determined how far one could go in the future. Most youths lacked the patience to slowly temper themselves during this phase and instead blindly pursued breakthroughs, exhausting their potential early.
A Dou Practitioner condenses a vortex and begins to wield Dou Qi. Though it can't be projected outward yet, it can be infused into attacks, significantly enhancing strength, defense, and speed—similar to internal force in martial arts.
A Dou Master liquefies their Dou Qi and can begin projecting it. They can form Dou Qi veils, greatly enhancing their body, and begin learning more advanced control techniques.
A Great Dou Master solidifies that liquid Dou Qi into crystal form—like forming a golden core in cultivation systems. Their Dou Qi increases significantly, allowing them to form Dou Qi armor. At this level, one could establish influence in a remote town.
Dou Spirit is the final step before Dou King—a stage of refining and solidifying one's Dou Qi into tangible, weaponizable form.
Just like how Yao Yan, right now, was using the High-Tier Xuan Rank Dou Technique Blazing Flame Blade to condense a golden flame blade. He had achieved something that should only be possible for Dou Spirits. This was only possible because he was using the Illusory Gold Flame, a beast flame. Otherwise, it would be far beyond his current ability.
Manifesting Dou Qi into form!
Of course, this was also thanks to Yao Yan's current monstrous physical aptitude. His former self, with a Tier 3 bloodline, couldn't have pulled this off.
After a moment of contemplation, Yao Yan willed the golden flame blade in his hand to melt down into flowing lava-like flame. In the blink of an eye, it spread across his body, coating him entirely. When he closed his eyes to sense it, the flame suddenly solidified into a hardened layer, identical in quality to the flame blade.
He opened his eyes and tapped his arm. A metallic clang echoed—proof of its solid defense.
"This is starting to feel like a Golden Light Incantation…"
Yao Yan muttered in surprise.
But maintaining this state consumed a lot of soul power, since it required him to constantly circulate the Dou Technique.
After a moment of thought—
He dismissed the technique. Though neat, this trick wasn't very practical.
He understood the essence of Dou Qi well. The cultivation system on the Dou Qi continent strengthened every aspect of the body simultaneously. Once your level rose, strength, defense, and speed all improved in kind. Dou Techniques were just tools to supplement gaps.
Like at the Dou Saint level, even a single-star difference could mean absolute domination.
"I'll study this more later. For now, I should scout the area. I need to make sure it's safe."
Yao Yan channeled his Dou Qi and leapt into the surrounding forest, bounding from tree to tree. He needed to get a good grasp of the terrain—he'd likely be living here for a while.
…
Just how big the Shennong Mountain Range was, Yao Yan had no idea. He only knew it was vast beyond imagination—perhaps only Dou Venerates could barely measure it. For him, a single valley took hours to explore.
It was already evening by the time Yao Yan returned to his cave. In his hand, he carried a freshly hunted first-rank magic rabbit. He expertly skinned and prepared it over a fire.
His storage ring contained no shortage of cultivation resources, but food was something he had to get on his own.
While the rabbit roasted, Yao Yan went to the cave entrance and used vines to conceal it. Then, from his ring, he took out a bottle of powder and scattered it. The powder mimicked the scent of high-rank magical beasts. It wasn't expensive but was highly effective in repelling low-rank beasts—a trick he learned from the Yao Clan's Iron Guards.
As for high-rank beasts, anything fifth rank and above had intelligence on par with humans. A bit of scent wouldn't fool them.
But beasts of that level weren't his problem. He trusted that Yao Nong wouldn't place him in a zone where such creatures roamed. His afternoon search confirmed that—the area lacked even signs of human activity. It was a barren zone, devoid of valuable resources. The highest-ranked beasts he encountered were only Tier 2.
Against those, he could hold his own.
In fact, once he used the Illusory Gold Flame, even Tier 2 beasts wouldn't dare confront him directly.
After eating and drinking, Yao Yan extinguished the fire and entered a meditative state. The natural energy in this valley was thinner than back in Danding City, but it was still barely enough to support cultivation. With pills, he could make do.
As always, time in cultivation passed swiftly. At some point, moonlight filtered in through the cracks in the vines above the cave entrance.
And then came the sound of wolves howling—one after another.
At first, Yao Yan ignored it. But as the howls drew closer, he sensed something was wrong. He exited his meditative state, golden flame flickering in his eyes. Being interrupted during cultivation always irritated him—but the creeping howls from outside made it impossible to resume.
This wasn't Danding City—it was the Shennong Mountain Range. Danger was real.
"What the hell…"
Yao Yan glanced toward the powder he'd scattered earlier and frowned. He didn't believe the Iron Guards would joke about something like this. Besides, he had a good relationship with them and had even refined some Tier 2 Qi Recovery Pills for them.
He closed his eyes and extended his soul sense. Thanks to his Dou Emperor bloodline, his soul force had become much stronger over the past few years. If not for his current level limitation, he'd have tried refining Tier 4 pills already.
Within moments, he sensed movement within several hundred meters.
A dozen or so wolf-shaped beasts were creeping toward the cave.
"Tier 2 Frost Wolves?"
Yao Yan's gaze flicked toward the powder by the cave entrance again. With how effective the scent was, Tier 2 beasts should never have approached. Maybe some rare Tier 4 species might not be deterred, but this…
He had no interest in wasting time fighting wolves in the middle of the night.
After thinking for a moment—
Yao Yan raised his hand and released the Illusory Gold Flame. This time, he didn't suppress its temperature or aura. Instead, he let its natural energy signature radiate outward, sending a clear warning to the Frost Wolves: "This place is dangerous."
Woo-woo~
As soon as the flame appeared, the wolves' howls turned fearful. Magical beasts were extremely sensitive to aura.
The Illusory Gold Flame originated from a seventh-rank magical beast: the Fire Scorpion Dragon Beast. With traces of dragon blood in its lineage, its aura naturally overwhelmed lower-ranked beasts.
Howl!
Suddenly, a fierce roar drowned out the frightened howls.
Yao Yan's eyes narrowed. His soul sense had detected a much stronger presence among the wolves—a Tier 3 Frost Wolf King.
"Well, aren't I lucky…"
Yao Yan chuckled bitterly. No wonder those Tier 2 Frost Wolves dared to approach. The issue wasn't the powder—it was that a pack leader had arrived. A Tier 3 beast like that had intelligence rivaling humans. It may have sensed energy fluctuations or something else, and now it had brought its underlings to encircle the cave.
Wolf-type beasts were infamous for their pack-hunting strategies.
(END CHAPTER)
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