In the dark forest, a cluster of embers radiated a soft glow, casting a gentle red hue over the trees within a hundred meters. Seated beside the fire, Xiao Yan was meditating, the firelight falling upon his face as if draped in a delicate layer of red silk. His eyes were closed, and the mark of flame at the center of his brow subtly emitted a faint glow. This stillness lasted for a while, then suddenly, Xiao Yan's eyes snapped open. An invisible energy surged forth from the center of his brow and swiftly flowed around him, soon coalescing into a figure—identical in appearance to Xiao Yan himself. Xiao Yan turned his head, gazing at the duplicate, and through the figure's form, he could faintly see the firelight emanating from the hearth. "This duplicate's strength is likely still at the Spirit Realm level, and its formation has been too brief. A keen observer would easily discern its true nature," Xiao Yan murmured, his brow slightly furrowed. According to the cultivation method envisioned in his mind, the first step is to consolidate a duplicate body. Once such a duplicate is successfully formed, the next task is to refine it until it reaches a level equal in strength to the true self. Of course, while this may sound straightforward, in practice it proves exceedingly difficult. With Feitian's immense capabilities, it has taken many years of refinement merely to bring the duplicate to the threshold of mastery—still far from full accomplishment. And now, having just completed the first step, the gap between the current state and the ultimate goal is even more vast. "If it's indeed the case, then the lightning glow on Feitan's body at that time should be exactly as described, and this wind-and-lightning power has even become his attack technique—quite potent. Yet... yet I have no wind-and-lightning power within myself. The trace of it I absorbed during my cultivation of the 'Three Thousand Lightning Strikes' is far from sufficient to refine or strengthen his body. What shall I do?" As he thought this, Xiao Yan's brows furrowed tightly. Should Feitan's body lack this wind-and-lightning protection, he would surely suffer greatly when encountering other forces—such as the Soul-Weakening Flame—that directly damage the soul. Feitan's own fate served as the perfect example. "But where, then, can I obtain this wind-and-lightning power?" Back then, after enduring such great hardship, he had only managed to draw upon a mere enough amount of wind and thunder energy to cultivate the Three Thousand Thunder Phantoms—just enough for the cultivation. "With this single bamboo stick, I've unconsciously crushed it into powder under my grip," he murmured, a wry smile tugging at his lips. How difficult the Three Thousand Thunder Phantoms had been to master! "Stupid boy—why must it be wind and thunder energy? That's merely a method of refinement. Other energies work just as well. Your unique fire, far surpassing that wind and thunder energy, is vastly superior—especially the Fallen Heart Flame. If you can integrate it into your phantom bodies, then even when encountering energies that specifically target the soul, you'll remain unshaken. Thus, the only limitation of your soul-based phantom bodies will be fully resolved. In that case, your power would surpass that of Tian's phantom bodies by a long stretch," the voice of the Heavenly Fire Sovereign suddenly resonated from within the storage amulet, as if speaking directly to Xiao Yan, while he still struggled with his thoughts. Hearing this, Xiao Yan was momentarily stunned, stammering, "But the cultivation method specifically mentions using the power of wind and thunder to refine the body. If other forms of energy were used, wouldn't that destroy the duplicate body entirely? Especially the Fallen Heart Flame—its very presence could directly harm the soul. As soon as the soul duplicate comes into contact with it, wouldn't it be completely absorbed and dissolved?" "Life itself is often full of risks and uncertainties when seeking prosperity. As for the Fallen Heart Flame, it has already been fully refined and absorbed by you. Have you ever seen it cause any reverse damage to your soul? As long as you maintain the right balance in the refining process, patience and steady progress will eventually lead to the full maturity of your duplicate body," the Heavenly Fire Patriarch calmly replied. Xiao Yan was no dull-witted person either. With the reminder from Tianhuo Master, he felt a sudden clarity of understanding. After a moment, he took a deep breath. Indeed, it was difficult to gather substantial wind and thunder power. If so, why not try the more potent hetero-flame power instead? Should the attempt fail, there would be no loss. But if successful, this soul fragment could completely eliminate even the final flaw—becoming a tremendous asset in future battles. "Then it's settled—let's give it a try!" With his mind made up, the hesitation in Xiao Yan's eyes quickly faded. Less than twenty days remained until the energy tides of the Tianmu Mountain Range began, and according to the distance, in another five or six days he should be able to cross the mountain range. Then he could fully rush toward Tianmu Mountain. Therefore, during these five or six days, progress on the issue of his spiritual duplicate would be essential—otherwise, a mere Dao Ling-level soul duplicate would offer him no real advantage at all. He gently reached out to his nearby duplicate, who instantly trembled and dissolved into intangible light, flowing into the center of Xiao Yan's brow. Xiao Yan then waved his hand, and the Earth Spirit Puppet materialized beside him, serving as guard. Only then did he slowly close his eyes, and with a subtle mental effort, he directly descended into the soul realm within his brow. Above the sea of souls, Xiao Yan's ethereal form gradually emerged. A subtle ripple of soul energy danced before him, and a faint glow appeared at a delicate point, soon followed by a surge of soul energy beneath, causing his duplicate to reappear. The soul energy settled as he sat cross-legged, and his duplicate swiftly followed suit. Seeing this, Xiao Yan gently inhaled, then extended his hand, and a cluster of fallen heart flames materialized in his palm. As the cluster appeared, the sea of soul energy beneath it rippled—though this entity had been subdued by Xiao Yan, its soul-suppressing effect still maintained a considerable distance between the soul energy and itself. Unperturbed by the fluctuations in the soul sea, Xiao Yan simply raised his palm, and the fallen heart flames drifted upward, swiftly enveloping his duplicate. As the flames touched the duplicate, the latter immediately trembled, and his already translucent form rapidly faded. "Lower the temperature... keep the flame beneath a certain specific temperature. As long as you remain calm and undisturbed, with your flame-control abilities, you should be able to achieve this..." The deep voice of Tian Huo Master resonated throughout the Soul Sea. Xiao Yan's fingers subtly moved, and the flame encasing his duplicate gradually dimmed, then slowly cooled. As the temperature of Yun Luo Xin Yan dropped, the trembling of the duplicate eased slightly, though it still exhibited subtle tremors. Xiao Yan’s mind remained utterly focused, steadily regulating the temperature of the flame. As the flame cooled, various subtle responses transmitted from the duplicate were relayed into his consciousness, where he instantly assessed and determined the most optimal temperature. This was an exceptionally demanding task, requiring an extremely precise control over the flame. Under the refining influence of the Fallen Heart Flame, the duplicate was gradually strengthening, and Xiao Yan had to continuously adjust the flame’s temperature in sync with the duplicate’s growing capacity. Thus, he needed to constantly fine-tune the temperature of the Fallen Heart Flame to achieve the desired refinement effect. Such efficient control was extremely mentally taxing, even for Xiao Yan's resolute nature, as he could clearly feel a growing sense of fatigue seeping out from the depths of his soul, spreading gradually... Although it demanded immense energy, it must be said that Xiao Yan's mastery over the Fallen Heart Flame had reached a remarkably perfect level. The originally ethereal duplicate was gradually becoming more tangible under the refining influence of the Flame, though this process was exceedingly slow. Should Fei Tian or the Wind-Thunder Pavilion cultivators—those who had trained in the Three-Thousand-Thunder-Phantom Body technique—witness this, they would undoubtedly be left speechless, perhaps even dropping their chins in astonishment. While the pace appeared slow, it was already astonishing; in comparison, the speed at which they themselves refined their duplicates using Wind-Thunder power seemed almost as sluggish as a tortoise crawling. Seeing Xiao Yan seamlessly enter his rhythm after only a slight adjustment, Tianhuo Master smiled warmly and then gradually faded into invisibility. Within the soul space, two figures sat facing each other in meditation. One maintained a solemn expression, while the other was enveloped in an intangible flame. The ethereal form within the flame subtly shimmered, and as the flame continuously refined it, faint tendrils of fire gradually seeped into the duplicate, infusing the ethereal body with an ever-growing presence of invisible flame... "The refinement of this duplicate has indeed proven difficult. At this pace, it will likely take at least two months to reach the hall-level mastery, and to truly achieve peak perfection—well, that remains uncertain. The Three-Thousand-Thunder-Phantom Form truly is the most challenging technique known at Fenglei Pavilion..." Standing up from the ground, Xiao Yan sighed lightly and murmured. "You're still not satisfied, are you? Though I'm not particularly familiar with this technique, judging from Tian Tian's duplicate, he must have spent at least five years refining it. In just two months, you've reached a comparable level—how can you still be dissatisfied?" A tone of patient resignation came through from the Tian Fire Sovereign, emanating from within the storage amulet. Hearing this, Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel a touch of embarrassment. Indeed, he had been far from content. He cleared his throat, stored the Earth Spirit Puppet back into the amulet, and then stepped forward, heading northward through the forest. "Let's go. By the time we arrive, the Tianmu Mountain range is likely already crowded with people. I wonder if we'll be able to secure a spot among those ten."