Crossing Over: The Strongest Mage

**"Ah!! Yes, immediately move all the wine and meat from the warehouse!"** Though scolded, the skinny-faced shopkeeper still greeted them with a smile. The saying goes, "A fool doesn't earn money," and the shopkeeper knew better than to turn down a customer willing to spend so much.

**"No need. I'll go to the warehouse myself,"** Yan Huo said, not wanting to use his space ring in front of everyone.

**"He'll go himself!? How is he going to do that?"** the shopkeeper wondered in his mind. Yan Huo went down to the tavern's warehouse and took a quick look around before coming back out. When he emerged, Fox White threw a thousand taels of silver onto the shopkeeper's counter.

**"A thousand taels. Count it yourself."**

**"Senior! Let's go,"** Yan Huo asked, looking back.

**"Coming!"** Fox White shook his head helplessly but followed Yan Huo out of the tavern, heading toward the city gates. The shopkeeper and several of the tavern staff stood there, exchanging glances.

**"Are these two crazy? They said they wanted to buy something, then went to the warehouse and just looked around, before throwing down a thousand taels of silver without taking anything."** The shopkeeper didn't care. The silver was theirs to keep, so he happily started counting the easy money. As he counted, he muttered, **"Two lunatics!"**

**"Shopkeeper, not good!"** A staff member rushed out from the backroom, panicked. **"The… everything in the warehouse… it's gone!"**

**"What!"** The shopkeeper froze, his eyes bulging in shock. Yan Huo was in a hurry and didn't bother calculating what to take, so he just emptied the entire warehouse into his space ring. He hadn't realized that the rare, hundred-year-old wine in the back of the warehouse was worth a fortune. Of course, Yan Huo had no concept of the value of money, so it didn't cross his mind.

**In the Mountain Cavern, Inside the Stone Tower**

What Fox White said was true. Time inside the stone tower could indeed be controlled freely. The position of Master Chongyang's statue was the key to controlling the flow of time. By rotating the statue, the time inside the tower could be adjusted. Turning the statue one way made one day inside equal to only one hour outside.

**"I didn't expect that Master Chongyang's cultivation had reached such a level of supernatural power,"** Yan Huo exclaimed in awe.

**"Hmph! What's so surprising? The old man said he spent a thousand years studying formations to create this array that can control the speed of time by a factor of several tens. But immortals can control time by a hundredfold, or even a thousandfold."** Fox White said disdainfully.

**"A thousand years of research? Immortal powers can control time by a hundred times, or even a thousand times!?"** Yan Huo was shocked.

**"Controlling time by a thousand times? What kind of concept is that? Immortal powers are truly unimaginable. If I ever become an immortal…"** Yan Huo couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement at the thought. Fox White's words once again stoked the fire of Yan Huo's desire for strength.

**"Cultivation, studying formations…"**

**"Alright, I'm starting my meditation now. Senior, would you like to join me?"** Yan Huo asked.

**"Hmph! I don't have time to indulge in your madness. I'm not seeking revenge. Meditation should be about going with the flow. I'll wait outside. I'm not going to waste time in here with you."** Fox White thought about the piles of meat and alcohol outside the tower and started drooling. He added, **"I'll wait for you out there."**

**"Fine, I'll be more focused if I'm alone."** Yan Huo nodded. He knew that his understanding of the "Hidden" formation was only the surface of the true **'Escape the Heavens Five Elements Formation.'**

The **'Escape the Heavens Five Elements Formation'** is divided into two main categories: **'Confining Arrays'** and **'Killing Arrays'**, each consisting of five hundred volumes. The **'Confining Arrays'** are further divided into five types: **'Hidden'**, **'Illusion'**, **'Mysterious'**, **'Fantasy'**, and **'Separation'**. The **'Killing Arrays'** are divided into four types: **Wind**, **Fire**, **Thunder**, and **Lightning**. As the formation progresses, the difficulty increases exponentially. Each time an array is formed, true energy must be used in conjunction with a large number of hand seals. To accurately add hundreds, or even thousands, of hand seals to the formation, the power of the soul is required. Therefore, this array also serves as a way for Yan Huo to train his soul strength.

Master Chongyang's spiritual elixirs have seven remaining, three of which are top-quality, and four are mid-grade.

Yan Huo decided to use the elixirs to help him increase his cultivation level, while the gap between soul strength and cultivation level would be bridged by understanding the **'Escape the Heavens Five Elements Formation'**.

**"My current cultivation is at the peak of the Dao Foundation Stage. I'm just one step away from the early stage of the Golden Core. This final step doesn't require using any more elixirs."** Yan Huo thought about his cultivation method. It was quite simple—consume a spiritual elixir, absorb its effect, and when progress stagnates, consume another elixir. This process would be repeated until all six elixirs were used. He would save the last top-quality elixir for emergencies.

Once he had completed his personal cultivation, he would begin training in the formation techniques to enhance his soul power.

**"Let me first reach the early stage of the Golden Core."**

Yan Huo began his meditation. Inside the cave, the mountain's soul energy pulsed with immense strength. The earth's spiritual energy began to gather toward the stone tower as Yan Huo guided it. A ball of spiritual energy formed in his dantian, spinning rapidly. But what spun faster than the ball of energy was a small golden sphere inside it.

This golden ball, with strands of red threads swirling around it, emitted a soft glow as it spun.

**"What is this ball? Could it really have formed from my Nine-Five Qi? Why does it always give me a feeling of comfort whenever I circulate my energy? It feels like all the spiritual energy in my body is drawn toward it. Could it be the reason Fox White can't see through my cultivation? Well, whatever! It's my own body's energy, and there's no harm in it."**

Yan Huo interrupted his thoughts and continued his meditation, absorbing the powerful spiritual energy from the mountain range.

Since learning about **'The History of Medicine'**, Yan Huo had become very familiar with the meridians in his body. He no longer wasted any of the spiritual energy he absorbed. Instead, he controlled the flow, allowing it to move slowly through his body, carefully refining his meridians.

Yan Huo didn't know how long his meditation would last, nor did he care about the passing of time. What mattered was his improvement. Day after day, year after year passed. While the strength of spiritual power didn't necessarily correlate with realm progression, without insight, one couldn't improve their cultivation.

Thanks to the elixirs and his innate talent, Yan Huo's cultivation surged. In just ten years, his cultivation jumped from the late Dao Foundation stage directly to the early stage of the Golden Core. For ordinary cultivators, it would take hundreds of years to advance four realms, but for Yan Huo, it took only a decade.