In the spacious hall, the herbal elder sat in the foremost seat, his eyes slightly closed, his vast spiritual energy rippling around him, causing subtle distortions in the surrounding space. Though his spiritual strength had not grown significantly, the gentle ripple conveyed a vibrant, lively energy—more dynamic and full of life than it had been in the past. "Master, has the original spiritual essence been restored?" Upon receiving the news, Xiao Yan hurried into the hall and immediately spotted the elder. With his abilities, he could clearly sense the change in the elder's spiritual energy, and thus expressed his delight. The elder slowly opened his eyes, gazing warmly at Xiao Yan who had come swiftly, and nodded in agreement. "The effect of the Golden-Rank Spiritual Infant Fruit has exceeded expectations—the original spiritual essence has returned to its peak." "Then, should we be able to begin crafting the body now?" Xiao Yan asked, eager to proceed. "Refining the body requires several materials..." the herbal elder smiled. "Rest assured, over the years, the disciple has already gathered all these materials," Xiao Yan chuckled, then flicked his finger—immediately, a jade vial appeared in his hand. Inside, a pill the size of a dragon's eye spun steadily, releasing an exceptionally rich and intoxicating aroma that instantly invigorated the atmosphere. "This... an eighth-rank pill?" the Wind Patriarch, who had just arrived, stared at the pill, his eyes widening in astonishment. "Indeed," the herbal elder nodded slowly, revealing the specific hues of the five-colored pill-making lightning that the pill had endured. "And your alchemical skills have not declined at all over the years," he added, with a satisfied gaze toward Xiao Yan. "Haha, old man, you needn't worry—Xiao Yan is no less than a champion of the Alchemy Guild, and certainly no weaker than you were in your younger days," the Wind Patriarch chuckled, stroking his beard. "Master, this is the Sheng-Gu Rong-Xue Pill." Xiao Yan lightly tapped the jade vial with his finger, and it gently floated before the elderly physician. Then he produced another transparent vial, within which several drops of pale green and deep red blood shimmered, radiating an astonishingly pure and potent energy. "These are the refined essences of the Celestial Phoenix, though in small quantity, they are truly invaluable," Xiao Yan smiled. Naturally, these had been extracted from the celestial phoenix's skeletal remains back then. "As for the bones themselves, I do have one from a peak of the Battle Sect—well, actually, a peak-level Battle Sect cultivator." With a simple gesture, Xiao Yan summoned a frozen corpse into the hall. Among the three materials, the bones were the only one that slightly disappointed him. In the past, such bones from a peak Battle Sect cultivator might have been a source of genuine delight. But now, with his standards raised, bones of this caliber no longer stirred much interest in him. "Heh, I do have a four-star Battle Sovereign's remains here..." The Wind Sovereign smiled slightly, waving his sleeve, and a stone coffin crashed to the ground. Inside lay a pale gray skeleton, with a gentle glow subtly pulsing along its body. "This was a former enemy of mine. After he died at my hands, I was worried no one would take care of his remains, so I simply arranged for it myself." "Hard…" The medicine elder shook his head. The realm of Dou Zun and that of Dou Sheng were entirely different. Dou Zun-level warriors were truly among the elite across the continent, while Dou Sheng-level warriors stood at the very apex—like the pinnacle of a pyramid. With the central region's strength, Dou Zun-level warriors were indeed rare, though not exceptionally so. In contrast, Dou Sheng-level warriors were quite exceptional. Take Xiao Yan, for instance—over the years since he arrived in the central region, he had never truly encountered a single Dou Sheng-level warrior. Of course, this excludes the Dou Sheng remains he saw in ancient ruins, which only carried a fragment of the warrior's soul and thus did not qualify as a true powerhouse. Even so, that lifeless skeleton had left Xiao Yan and the old ghost of Zhai Xing—both of whom were formidable—deeply embarrassed, nearly causing them to stumble in the final stretch. And now, from this partial glimpse, one could begin to sense the true, overwhelming might of a genuine Dou Sheng-level master. That realm possessed true power capable of destroying heaven and earth. "Since all materials are in place, let us begin tomorrow. With Yao Chen recovering his peak strength early, the Starfall Pavilion will no longer have to fear the Xun Palace's retaliation. The Xun Palace has already lost one of its branch pavilions to you, and was further outmaneuvered within the ancient ruins—by their nature, they will certainly not easily swallow such a significant loss." Master Feng mused. "Hmm…" Both Xiao Yan and Master Yao nodded. Though everything was currently calm, it was clearly only the prelude to a storm. … After finalizing the timing for the body's crafting with Master Yao, due to the time of day, Xiao Yan returned to his residence first. Upon entering his room, he settled onto the bed, paused to reflect, then flipped his hands—three pale jade ribs appeared in his palms. Three ribs—naturally, these were the ones that Xiao Yan had forcibly pulled from the skeletal remains. Within them lay the secret of the celestial-tier combat technique, though since returning to the Starfall Pavilion, he had been busy attending to the detoxification of Qinglin and had not yet thoroughly studied them. Today, upon hearing Master Feng's account of the Huadeng Palace's retaliatory actions, Xiao Yan felt a certain sense of pressure. Facing such a powerful force, he knew he must continuously enhance his combat prowess. The most effective way to do so was to refine higher-tier combat techniques, especially the legendary celestial-tier ones—so potent that even now, Xiao Yan could still recall the terrifying power unleashed when the Bone Saint’s remains had employed that technique. Upon the ribs, fine, strange characters were scattered, intricate and profound, evoking a sense of obscurity. Xiao Yan carefully examined each of the three ribs in detail, memorizing every singular character, yet remained unable to decipher their meaning. "It seems that ordinary methods cannot unlock these ribs..." Xiao Yan furrowed his brows, pondering for a while, then gently pressed the ribs against his forehead. His soul energy spread out, only to be immediately repelled upon contact, leaving him momentarily stunned before he exhaled in relief. "Ah, there must be a seal on the surface of the bones..." With this realization, Xiao Yan clenched his hands, and a deep purple-brown flame rose gently from his palms, swiftly enveloping the three rib-like bones that resembled white jade. The intense heat rapidly dried out the air within the room. Crackling! The terrifying flame fiercely seared the bones, yet this seemingly fragile structure remained utterly still, its color unchanged in the slightest. Xiang Yan did not find this at all surprising. If a Supreme Battle Saint's seal were so easily breakable, it would indeed seem rather trivial. Maintaining a calm composure, Xiang Yan remained composed and unhurried, allowing the three thousand lotus-heart flames to continuously sear the three ribs. Then, he slowly closed his eyes and directly entered a state of cultivation. Inside the room, the deep purple and brown flames burned fiercely, and the three ribs within them subtly emitted a faint glow... This process of intense heating lasted from late afternoon through the night, nearly ten hours. Under the relentless furnace heat of the three thousand lotus-heart flames, the three ribs gradually underwent transformation—the previously pale white hue slowly faded, replaced by a deep, rich golden tone. Upon closer inspection, the golden light shimmered subtly, with an unusual ripple, spreading out gently. "Ssshh!" Suddenly, an odd sound of liquid flowing emerged within the quiet room, and at that moment, Xiao Yan's tightly closed eyes slowly opened. His gaze settled upon the flames before him, and he was instantly taken aback. Within the current blaze, there were no longer any traces of human ribs—only a strange, deep golden liquid, flowing slowly within the flames as though endowed with its own intelligence, occasionally coalescing into various odd shapes. "This... must be what it looks like after the seal has been broken," Xiao Yan murmured softly, hesitating slightly before drawing a deep breath of the slightly dry air. He then gently extended his hand and dipped it into the flame, pausing briefly before finally inserting a finger into the pool of the dark golden liquid. "Plip-plip!" As the finger entered the liquid, a sudden transformation occurred—the liquid surged violently, immediately tightening its grip around Xiao Yan's finger and swiftly wrapping around his entire palm within an instant. "Ah—" A deep golden liquid enveloped the entire right palm, and a sudden, unbearable pain surged from the center of the palm, distorting Xiang Yan's facial features. Under the liquid's embrace, the palm began to move in an eerie, writhing manner, even emitting faint sounds of bone compression. "My hand is ruined!" The pressure intensified, and as Xiang Yan thought his palm would be crushed and shattered, the pain abruptly ceased. The deep golden liquid then flowed like a tide into his palm, swiftly vanishing. A strange phenomenon unfolded—before he could even react in astonishment, his mind suddenly surged with a thunderous shock, his pupils shimmering with faint golden light, and a soft murmuring sound emerged from his lips. "This... is the Great Heavenly Transformation Palm!"