Chapter 231: Xiao Yan’s First Origin Heavenly Flame: Green Lotus Core Flame!
In the spacious mountain cave, Yao Lao was suspended in midair as he eyed the green-colored flame light cover. His finger gently tapped into space as he waited. A moment later, he pressed his eyebrows slightly together and softly asked, “Why does he need so much time? Don’t tell me a problem occurred?”
After waiting for a while longer, Yao Lao deepened his frowned when he saw that the green-colored flame light cover still did not possess any intention of disappearing. He mused for a moment before deciding to forcefully break the green-colored light cover.
Just as Yao Lao was about to act, wave after wave of energy ripples suddenly and swiftly surfaced from the surface of the green-colored light cover which had been quiet. Following closely behind it, a powerful Qi suddenly spread out from the interior of the flame light cover.
Sensing this breath, Yao Lao was slightly startled. He was a little stunned as he reasoned, “This Qi, why has it suddenly become much stronger than before? Although refining the ‘Heavenly Flame’ can raise one’s fighting strength, it does not possess the ability to raise one’s level…” Yao Lao was at a loss as he shook his head. He sighed gently and whispered, “Although it is a little strange, fortunately, the refining of the ‘Heavenly Flame’ seems to have succeeded.”
Smiling gently, Yao Lao shifted his gaze towards the green-colored flame cover where the waves of ripples had appeared on the surface. His hands were inserted into his sleeves as he waited quietly.
On the surface of the round light cover, threads of cracks were eventually and abruptly formed following the increasing intensity of the energy ripple oscillation. The crack lines slowly spread open. Finally, the entire light cover was covered within those lines. At a glance, it was like a green-colored chicken egg that was covered with cracks about to hatch.
“Ka Cha…” A clear noise quietly reverberated throughout the inside of the mountain cave. A piece of energy sheet on the green-colored light cover suddenly fell, landing on a rock. The high temperature that it possessed immediately melted a small indent into the rock.
“Ka… Ka…”
After the first energy fragment fell, the green-colored energy light cover suddenly began to tremble intensely. The trembling progressed for a moment and finally, the green-colored light cover blast opened with a ‘bang’.
Following this loud banging sound, countless amounts of tiny energy fragments shot out in all directions. Immediately, an uncountable number of small melted holes were formed on the surrounding mountain cave.
Suspended in midair, Yao Lao narrowed his old eyes. Any energy fragment that shot in his direction would be turned into a wisp of green smoke when it arrived anywhere within half a foot radius of his body and did not cause him any harm.
The bursting of the energy fragments in all directions within the cave continued for quite a while before they gradually began to completely disappear.
As the energy fragments that were shot out disappeared, a pale-green glow slowly rose from the spot where the fragments burst from. A perfect green-colored lotus seat gradually rose and finally stopped, suspended at a spot level to where Yao Lao was.
On the green-colored lotus seat, the completely naked young man was seated cross legged. His tight eyebrows shook slightly. A moment later, he slowly opened his eyes.
Xiao Yan’s black eyes that were like ink were shrouded by a faint green-colored flame. A while later, the flame suddenly surged and actually covered his entire eyes. In a moment, Xiao Yan’s eyes were of a green color, with a faint demon like feeling to them.
The green-colored flame in Xiao Yan’s eyes did not last for very long before it gradually retreated. When the green flame completely disappeared, his eyes once again returned to their dark color. However, his eyes appeared much clearer compared to before. Evidently, Xiao Yan’s eyes seemed to have obtained a secret benefit from being calcined by the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’.
After opening his eyes, Xiao Yan stretched his neck slightly. An extremely smooth bone popping sound was instantly created from the rubbing of the bone. Hearing this clear sound, Xiao Yan inhaled a deep breath and his face with filled with comfort and intoxication.
Lowering his head, a helpless expression appeared on XiaoYyan’s face as he eyed the white skin on his body. The healthy looking bronze skin that he took much effort in forming had once again returned to its original form.
“Little boy, do you think it is very interesting to be naked in front of me?” Eyeing Xiao Yan who was repeatedly weighing the changes all over his body, Yao Lao rolled his eyes and teasingly laughed.
“Uh…” Xiao Yan hurriedly recovered his mind after being reminded by Yao Lao. He looked at his totally naked body and smiled with embarrassment before he hurriedly took out a set of clothes from within the storage ring and scrambled to put it on.
“It looks like… you appear to have become much stronger? It feels as if you had been born again.” After circling Xiao Yan’s twice, Yao Lao saw that Xiao Yan did not have any scars on his body and involuntarily said in an astonished manner, “You have recovered from all your injuries?”
“Yes…” Xiao Yan put on his clothes properly and stood on the green lotus seat. He tightly gripped his hand and threw a few punches which were accompanied by a vigorous wind. He replied with a smile,“I have an incredibly good feeling that I have never felt before.”
“Use all your effort to release your Qi, Let me sense how many stars you have reached now.” Yao Lao voiced his thoughts.
Xiao Yan nodded his head. He tensed his body and a moment later, a Qi that was a few times stronger than before suddenly surged from his body.
“What…?” After narrowing his eyes and sensing the Qi that Xiao Yan had emitted, Yao Lao twitched his eyebrows in shock. He said in a surprised voice, “Strange… Sensing this Qi of yours, it seems like your body’s strength should have at least reached the level of a four star Dou Shi. What did you do?”
“Four star Dou Shi?” Hearing Yao Lao’s words, Xiao Yan was also at a loss. A joy immediately rushed up onto his face. It was really unexpected that refining the ‘Heavenly Flame’ would have such a benefit. With his training speed, jumping from a two star Dou Shi to a four star Dou Shi should require at least three to four months. But now, this ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’ had given him this additional surprise.
Xiao Yan rubbed his hands together and parted his mouth to laugh. After which, he spoke in detail about his unconscious state and some of the actions of the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’.
“Tsk tsk… so it was like that. What a lucky guy…” After he heard what Xiao Yan had to say, Yao Lao’s face was completely dumbfounded. It was a long while later before he clicked his tongue and emitted his startled voice.
This kind of good fortune was something that was definitely very seldom seen. Forgetting about all the list of good things that were brought about by the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’ to the body, just the part where the foolish fellow ran to the side of the Acceptance Spirit and hung around had caused Yao Lao to sigh at Xiao Yan’s good luck.
This last step was originally the most important and difficult part of the refining process but actually completed without posing the slightest danger to Xiao Yan. All he did was merely use his mind to violently knock at the flame. Besides feeling an intense pain in his head as a result, he did not pay any other price. This kind of unequal comparison between the benefit he reaped and the price he paid was the part where Yao Lao felt unsure if he should laugh or cry.
Back then, in order to chase the ‘Bone Chilling Flame’ into the Acceptance Spirit, he had paid an incomprehensible large price. Was it not for a little luck at the end, he might have been turned into ashes by the ‘Heavenly Flame’ at this last step.
“Doesn’t my level automatically rise because of the refining of the ‘Heavenly Flame’?” Seeing Yao Lao’s startled manner which was almost to the point of a somewhat disbelieving manner, Xiao Yan rubbed his head and asked in a stunned voice.
“Dream on…” Yao Lao gave Xiao Yan a look of disdain. When he saw the latter’s innocent expression, he could only sigh quietly, reminding himself that if people were to compare with each other, they would die of anger and jealousy. Yao Lao then curled his lips and said, “The benefits brought about by refining a ‘Heavenly Flame’ is a long term and tacit one. In the future, as one’s control over it become increasingly practiced, the benefit one would get would become greater… In other words, during the short period of time after you just refined it, your strength would not show any strange signs of suddenly rising sharply just because you swallowed the ‘Heavenly Flame’. Therefore, in the short term, the ‘Heavenly Flame’ would not directly raise your strength. A situation that is similar to yours would be considered extremely lucky. It’s a pity though. If your strength was now that of a Dou Ling or a Dou Wang and your strength was to fiercely increase by a few stars, you would have really hit the jackpot…”
“Hehe, this is enough. I am already very satisfied that I have soared to this extent. If it goes any higher, my body may not be able to adapt to the increase of strength. After all, if one did not gain step by step, the stairs later would not be too steady. It might be possible that one day I would suddenly fall from it. That kind of decline is something that would cause people to have difficulty accepting.” Xiao Yan said with a grin. The satisfaction on his face was not something that was faked.
“Hei, little boy actually knows when enough is enough. Not bad.” Hearing this, Yao Lao raised his eyebrows and laughed in a surprised voice. Clearly, he was a little surprise by Xiao Yan’s words. After all, raising one’s strength by a large degree was something that many people dreamed about.
“It is merely the truth.” Xiao Yan shrugged his shoulders and said with another smile.
“Ke ke, alright. Try using your Origin Flame Seed. This is your first ‘Heavenly Flame’…” Yao Lao also smiled and nodded. He was somewhat curious.
“Okay .” Hearing Yao Lao’s suggestion, an excitement and curiosity that was difficult to hide surfaced on Xiao Yan’s face. He rubbed his hands together before slowly extending his right hand. After which, he gradually closed his eyes. His mind quickly flashed through the interior of his body and sent out an order.
After the order had been sent out, the interior of his body instantly had a response. From the middle of the Dou Qi vortex, the grey-colored tiny light spot shook. It was quiet for an instant before a wisp of green-colored flame suddenly surged out.
The green-colored flame passed through the vortex and flowed quickly along the Qi Paths inside his body. In the blink of an eye, it had entered into the Qi Paths in his arm.
Within the interior of the mountain cave, Xiao Yan, who had his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A pale-green-colored flame once again flashed through his eyes. His fist was suddenly unclenched and his palm faced upwards. An excitement appeared on his face as he called softly, “‘Green Lotus Core Flame’, appear!”
As Xiao Yan’s cry fell, his right palm trembled slightly. Following closely, the raging green-colored flame instantly rose and swiftly wrapped around his palm.
In the mountain cave, the young man stood on the green lotus suspended in the air. A demonic like green-colored flame rose from his slightly opened hand. This scene faintly had a shocking visual feel to it.
A shallow angle surfaced on the corner of Xiao Yan’s mouth as his eyes stared intently at the green-colored flame on his palm. A moment later, the angle gradually became wider. A soft chuckle was emitted from his throat. After a while longer, the soft laughter had finally and completely transformed into an unrestrained loud bawl.
“Ha ha. I, Xiao Yan, finally have a ‘Heavenly Flame’! Ha ha!”
Chapter 232: Evolving the Qi Method
Within the mountain cave, Yao Lao smiled slightly when he saw Xiao Yan who was so excited that he had forgot himself. He did not open his mouth to stop him. After searching with great pains for a few years, Xiao Yan had finally obtained what he wanted today. It would be good to let him express his feelings.
The high pitched unrestrained laughter continued for a long time in the mountain cave before it gradually died down.
With the corner of his mouth still carrying a smile, Xiao Yan lowered his head to watch the green-colored flame that was slowly writhing in his repeatedly opening and closing palm. Due to him having completely refined the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’, the current flame did not cause Xiao Yan to feel unwell or extremely hot. Moreover, as long as he were to undergo a prolonged practice with the flame, Xiao Yan believed that he would sooner or later be able to reach Yao Lao’s level of perfect control over the ‘Bone Chilling Flame’.
The ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’ was like a naughty spirit that danced on the tip of Xiao Yan’s finger. Occasionally, the flame seedlings that managed to escape into the air would immediately display the terrifying power that belonged to them. The air half a foot from his palm was actually directly burnt by the hot temperature until it was distorted. Waves of hot air rose in the air, causing Xiao Yan’s vision to gradually turn blurry.
Xiao Yan tightly held his fist that was covered by the green-colored flame and sighed gently. His body was quiet for an instant before his feet suddenly stepped off the green lotus. Like an arrow that was released from a bow, his body swiftly shot toward the mountain wall. Accompanied by a hot breeze, his fist violently smashed the wall.
“Bang!”
When his fist barely touched the tough mountain rock, the high temperature of the green-colored flame immediately melted the mountain rock until a hole appeared. His fist moved along the hole and violently smashed into the inside of the mountain rock. Instantly, a muffled noise sounded from within and strips of crack lines swiftly spread from that hole. In only a moment, it had spread all over the mountain wall.
“Hu…”Xiao Yan slowly inhaled a breath of air. He eyed this mountain wall that was about to be broken into pieces. A surprise surfaced on his face as he parted his mouth to laugh, withdrew his fist and stepped back.
The instant when Xiao Yan stepped back, that mountain wall which had already been completely covered by crack lines immediately collapsed with a banging sound and rock pieces were scattered everywhere.
Waving his hand carelessly to release a breeze, Xiao Yan blew away the dust that was headed toward him. He then eyed the mountain wall which had already become a pile of broken rocks, bent his neck and laughed with some surprise, “Not bad. My body’s strength and speed is much better than what it was before. If it was before, the strike I just released is comparable to my uses of the ‘Octane Blast’ from before.”
“The ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’ is indeed exceptional…” Xiao Yan let out a few praises as he randomly waved his hand. The green-colored flame covering it slowly began to withdraw. After he kept the green-colored flame on his hand, Xiao Yan briefly checked the inside of his body. He immediately frowned slightly and said in a soft and helpless voice, “As expected. This ‘Heavenly Flame’ also consumes a lot of Dou Qi quickly. After only using it for this short period of time, I have exhausted around ten percent of my Dou Qi. Had I not raise my strength by two stars just now, I’m afraid that the consumption might have been even greater.”
“Ha ha, your current strength is too weak and you don’t possess the ability to completely display the ‘Heavenly Flame’s’ strength. Moreover, the ‘Flame Mantra’ Qi Method is currently only the Middle Huang Class. With the upper limit of Dou Qi from this kind of Qi Method, naturally you cannot allow the ‘Heavenly Flame’ to randomly squander Dou Qi.” Yao Lao said with a smile.
“Oh yes… the Qi Method!” Hearing Yao Lao’s words, Xiao Yan’s eyes immediately widened. This was the most important step, yet he had almost forgotten about it after letting himself revel in unrestrained joy from refining the ‘Heavenly Flame’.
“Don’t rush. Now that you have completely refined the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’, swallowing it to evolve your Qi Method is only a matter of time. The amount of work you have done today is already large enough. Rest for a day first… Something like swallowing the ‘Heavenly Flame’ stresses on maintaining the equilibrium in your body. If you are in too much of a hurry, it might have a backlash.” Yao Lao shook his head and dissuaded him.
“Uh… alright.” Hearing this, Xiao Yan was at a loss. When he saw Yao Lao’s serious expression, he could only helplessly nod his head despite the unwillingness in his heart.
“We will start late at night tomorrow. That is the time of day when the temperature is the lowest. Although this will only give you a tiny bit of help with your attempt of digesting the ‘Heavenly Flame’, we cannot abandon it. This tiny little increase in your chances of success may end up determining whether the evolution will succeed.” Yao Lao gravely pronounced.
“Ok, We will start late in the night tomorrow…” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded.
Seeing that Xiao Yan had agreed, Yao Lao also let out a sigh of relief. His body shook slightly, transforming into a flowing light that entered into the ring. As he did so, he left a faint laughter that reverberated in the cave, “Since it’s like this, you’ll be responsible for yourself until then. I will come out again tomorrow.”
Nodding his head, Xiao Yan gently rubbed the black-colored ring on his finger. He laughed softly and waved his hand to store the green lotus into the storage ring. After which, his toes pressed on the rock wall and his body gently floated out of the mountain cave like a free floating dandylion.
One day slowly passed by with Xiao Yan’s mood being extremely eager. When the second day’s night sky gradually covered the land, Xiao Yan, who was seated cross legged on a protruding rock on the mountain peak, began to slowly open his eyes. He extended his hand and sensed the air between the sky and the land gradually turning cold. Immediately, a satisfied smile appeared on his face.
Standing up, Xiao Yan raised his head to eye the dark sky. Perhaps it was because a storm was imminent but a pressing force was covering the space between the land and the sky.
After observing the weather, Xiao Yan’s toes pressed on the rock surface and his body briskly leapt toward a mountain cave below. He walked into the middle of the cave and slowly sat with his legs crossed.
Seeming to have sensed the weather outside, Yao Lao once again floated out from within the ring at this moment. He extended his hand and made a few imaginary grabs. He quickly nodded his head and softly said, “Not bad. Perhaps it is because of the weather but the heat in the air has now been suppressed to its lowest level. These are the most suitable climatic conditions to digest the ‘Heavenly Flame’ in.”
“Shall we start now?” Xiao Yan anxiously rubbed his hands together as he raised his head to ask.
“Wait a little longer. Midnight is the time within the day where the cold air is most dense. We will start then!” Yao Lao shook his head, floated to the cave entrance to look at the dark night sky as he said. Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om
Xiao Yan nodded his head and did not open his mouth again. He sat cross-legged on the huge rock and his eyes gradually closed as he began to calm his excited heart which was beating continuously.
In the black sky, a gentle breeze carrying some cool air blew past, causing waves of ‘hua hua’ noises to sound in the mountain forest. Within the heavy black clouds, the muffled sound of thunder suddenly roared and reverberated throughout the mountain forest. Not long after the thunder roared, an enormous silver-colored bolt of lightning suddenly passed through the clouds. The bright silver-colored glow appeared to have split the sky and the land, instantly lighting up the dark black mountain forest.
Standing by the side of the mountain cave, Yao Lao eyed the sky where the lightning suddenly flashed and the thunder rumbled. He extended his hand and raindrops the size of beans came spilling down, emitting crackling sound as they fell. In an instant, the ‘pa pa’ sound of raindrops smashing against tree leaves resounded throughout the entire mountain forest.
“Begin…”
A wave of cold wind blew toward Yao Lao. He slowly exhaled, tilted his head and faced the young man in the mountain cave before whispering.
Hearing this, the closed eyed Xiao Yan opened his eyes and swept his gaze toward the mountain forest outside that had become lit up from the glow of a lightning bolt flashing across the sky. He took in a deep breath and nodded his head seriously.
“I hope you will succeed. I cannot give you any help during the process of the digesting of the ‘Heavenly Flame’ and evolving the Qi Method. Therefore, you can only rely on yourself…” Yao Lao placed his hands on his back and lifted his head to watch the silver snake like lightning in the sky. He was quiet for a long while before his deep voice accompanied by waves of thunder drifted within the mountain cave, “Here, I want to say something… you may have swallowed the ‘Purple Flame’ and successfully evolved the Qi Method once but according to the scroll, only by repeatedly swallowing the ‘Heavenly Flame’ will it be possible to evolve the Qi Method to a really high class. However, whether a destructive object like the ‘Heavenly Flame’ can really be consumed by someone… There are not many people in this Dou Qi continent who can guide you, including me…”
“You are the only one who practices ‘Flame Mantra’. Thus, you must be the one who measures whether or not it possesses the potential and the qualifications to become a Tian Class Qi Method.” While he said what he said up to this point, Yao Lao’s eyebrows had been tightly pressed together. A long while later, he said blandly, “If the evolution were to fail, then this ‘Flame Mantra’ Qi Method may indeed really have some problems. When that time comes… Give up this Qi Method . The ‘Flame Mantra’ without it’s evolving ability is at most of similar worth to a scroll of a Xuan Class Qi Method.”
Xiao Yan lowered his head slightly. No one could clearly see his expression but the fists under his sleeves were tightly clenched.
“Bang!” A thunderbolt flashed across the skyline and its rumbling thunder reverberated through the mountain forest.
When the thunder roared, Xiao Yan’s body trembled slightly. He gradually lifted his head and eyed the old back standing by the entrance of the mountain cave. After a few years of accompanying him like a shadow, Yao Lao’s figure seemed to have become increasingly hunched.
Eyeing the old man whose body appeared extremely small and thin under the lightning, Xiao Yan suddenly laughed softly. The warm sound echoed within the interior of the cave.
“Ke ke, Teacher, we have already reached this step so why are you saying these disheartening words? Even if the evolution of the Qi Method were to fail this time around, I think that I may not give it up. You have said before that the Qi Method is the essential item for me to step to the peak of the strong. Moreover… teacher, your body requires the flame created from the evolution of ‘Flame Mantra’ to be created. If I were to give up practicing ‘Flame Mantra’, then it is equivalent to giving up your hope of reviving…”
The warm laughter behind him caused Yao Lao’s body to suddenly tense up. He inhaled a few deep breath and slowly turned his head. Under the reflection of the silver-colored lightning, his muddy old eyes were both vaguely touched and pleased.
“Since you are so persistent, then… My good disciple, set your mind at ease and practice. I believe that you will succeed…” Yao Lao’s palm wiped the corner of his eyes and smiled. After which, he lifted his hand and watched the endless dark black sky. He was quiet for a moment before he muttered softly, “Moreover, even if this Qi Method really cannot swallow the ‘Heavenly Flame’, Teacher will think of every possible method to let you become a strong person standing at the peak…”
A shrivelled hand lightly hit against the side of the entrance after Yao Lao had exited the cave. A crack line spread out from it and a huge rock suddenly and immediately smashed down. In an instant, it completely blocked the entrance to the cave.
After tilting his head to glance at the completely blocked cave entrance, Yao Lao’s body floated onto a mountain rock nearby. He allowed the raindrops to pass through his illusionary body and quietly stood under the silver snakes that filled the sky, waiting for the young man to succeed.
Chapter 233: Tormenting Pain
In the dark stormy night, majestic heavy rain struck the mountain forest. The wild wind carried a howling sound that made ‘hua hua’ noises in the forest. Occasionally, thunder would roar in the sky. Its rumbling loud sound would ripple endlessly through the mountain where the rament sound lingered.
The silver snake flashed in the oppressive dark sky where the ‘chi la’ noises sounded repeatedly. Every once in awhile, a piercing silver light would illuminate the dark black mountain forest as though it was day time.
On the cliff of the steep mountain, an old human figure had his hands behind him as he stood on a sharp mountain rock. His old face was expressionless as he stared at the flashing lightning and rolling thunder. His slightly hunched body was like an old pine, standing steadily on top of the cliff. He had an indifferent and imposing manner that suggested he would not move regardless of the brutal weather around him.
However, if one were to observe carefully, one would be able to notice that each time the old man’s gaze drifted towards the entrance of a mountain cave that was covered by a pile of broken rocks, his eagle claw like hands would involuntarily and suddenly tighten. It was a long while later before they recovered recovered and once again relaxed.
The old man stood under the lightning without opening his mouth to speak. He merely watched the sky quietly. Occasionally, his gaze would sweep toward the mountain cave. However, he merely paused for a moment before he quietly shifted it away. That careful manner was as though he was afraid that by glancing at it for a long time, he would disturb the young man training within it.
The dark black night slowly passed under the dance of the lightning and thunder. The mountain forest was mercilessly ravaged by the storm for an entire night. When the black night gradually disappeared, a thread of bright sunlight slowly shot out from the eastern skyline: dawn. The entire mountain forest immediately revealed it’s wretched manner with plenty of gaps now visible within the treeline.
A round sun slowly rose from the eastern horizon. Its faint warm light spilled all over the land, bringing some vigor and vitality to the lightning ravaged mountain forest.
Standing on the mountain rock, Yao Lao tilted his head slightly to see the slowly raising round sun. The corner of his eye glanced at the mountain cave which was still quiet and without the slightest reaction. The pair of hands under his sleeves immediately and abruptly tightened.
The corner of his eye involuntarily twitched a couple of times gently. Yao Lao inhaled a deep breath of fresh early morning air. He tried his best to get himself to calm down. However, the lingering anxiety in his heart made it difficult for him to regain his usual indifference.
His somewhat dry and thin fingers tapped on his arms. Despite the elapse of time, there was still no movement within the mountain cave. Immediately, the tapping which had somewhat of a rhythm, became as messy as Yao Lao’s current state of mind.
The sun which had just risen slowly moved through nearly half the sky. The warm sunlight had at the moment become a little hot. Under this kind of environment, the anxiety in Yao Lao’s heart also quietly became much richer.
After quietly waiting once again for a while, the ten fingers Yao Lao used to tap his arm suddenly stopped. His muddy eyes gradually released a relentless aura. Clearly, the current him did not intend to continue waiting aimlessly after having waited for an entire night.
As Yao Lao’s fingers paused, a forceful and powerful Qi breath began to slowly rise from within his body. The pressure caused by the forceful Qi caused a few flying Magic Beasts that were circling high in the air to let out a terrified scream and flee this place that they were now extremely terrified of.
Just as Yao Lao was prepared to forcefully enter and explore what happened, an unusual movement finally appeared within the quiet mountain cave for the first time since last night. nove(l)bi(n.)com
“Bang!”
A fierce energy ripple suddenly spread out from within the mountain cave which was quickly blocked by the mountain wall. Instantly, numerous huge crack lines swiftly extended all over the mountain wall.
Standing on the mountain rock, Yao Lao eyed the crack lines which had suddenly extended out. His cramped face relaxed slightly. Since there was still movement, the person within should at least be safe.
Not long after the energy ripple was released, another few even fiercer energy ripples were scattered. Under the impact of these energy ripples, the tough and firm mountain wall clearly became somewhat shaky.
“Just what has happened?” Seeing that mountain cave which was on the verge of collapsing, Yao Lao’s eyebrows once again knit together as he muttered uncertainly.
“Bang!”
During the time that Yao Lao was at a loss, an explosion whose volume was comparable to that of the angry thunder last night suddenly sounded from within the mountain cave. Following the energy ripple attack this time around, the cave which had already entered a collapsing state began to suddenly bend inwards as waves of rumbling loud noises sounded. Piles of huge rocks violently smashed downwards. In the blink of an eye, they piled onto the mountain cave until nothing was left but a heap of rocks.
Seeing the sudden scene that occurred, Yao Lao’s face changed slightly. His toes pressed gently onto the mountain rock and his body hurriedly flew toward the collapsed cave entrance.
Just as Yao Lao was about to land on the heap of rocks, a green-colored flame suddenly burst out from below the disorderly rocks. Immediately, the piles of enormous rocks were swiftly turned into lava…
Yao Lao’s toes stepped gently in the air and forcefully stopped his descending body, dodging the green-colored flame that had fallen into a wild and violent state. He quickly stared at the black interior of the mountain cave with a lost and serious face.
“Ah!”
From within the mountain cave, a shrill cry that was a little hoarse suddenly roared loudly, much like a wounded wild wolf.
As this roar sounded, a portion of green-colored flame that was even more frightening than before suddenly swept from within the cave. Anything in front of this overbearing green-colored flame was incinerated into liquid.
“Something has indeed gone wrong…” Hearing the roar that contained pain, Yao Lao’s face immediately became extremely ugly. He cursed softly as the thick white-colored ‘Bone Chilling Flame’ covered his body. After which, he forcefully passed through the green-colored flame and in a lightning like manner, rushed into the mountain cave which had already been destroyed until it was a complete mess.
After landing, Yao Lao’s gaze hurriedly swept across the inside of the mountain cave. His eyes finally shrunk as it stopped at the young man’s body whose legs were kneeling on the ground and his head lowered. His fist were being repeatedly used to smash against the rock surface.
Over half of the clothes on the current Xiao Yan was incinerated. Perhaps due to his skin being strengthened significantly but Xiao Yan had only received some small injuries despite having many blood scars all over him.
Seeming to have sensed Yao Lao entering, Xiao Yan lifted his head with much difficulty. His face which was originally filled with energy had almost completely turned pale. His twisted face appeared extremely terrifying. An eye-piercing bloodstain surfaced at the corner of his mouth. Between his clenched teeth, threads of fresh blood seeped out. The tough and hard rock under him already had spider web like crack lines that were formed from the smashing of his fists.
Yao Lao’s gaze swiftly swept across Xiao Yan’s face which was twisted because he was bearing an intense pain. The dry skin on Yao Lao’s face twitched slightly. It was difficult to imagine what kind of terrible and intense pain Xiao Yan was enduring was in order to turn Xiao Yan, who had outstanding self-control and endurance, into this state…
“Give up this damn thing!” Seeing Xiao Yan’s increasingly pale face, Yao Lao’s heart trembled as he quickly shouted. He did not expect that the digesting of the ‘Heavenly Flame’ using ‘Flame Mantra’ would cause this kind of torment that could make one crazy.
“No… no problem… I, I can still withstand it!” Xiao Yan’s eyes stared angrily while he clenched his teeth tightly. Those vague words that were emitted from the gaps between his clenched teeth. His fist once again violently smashed against the rock surface. Immediately, the enormous rock burst apart with a bang.
Xiao Yan’s blood covered fist was trembling as his palm tightly fastened onto the edge of a piece of rock. The slightly sharp edge of the rock cut a hole on Xiao Yan’s palm. Fresh blood flowed out from his hand and dyed the rock into an eye-piercingly bright red color.
“I said that it is enough!”
Eyeing Xiao Yan’s blood drenched palm, Yao Lao’s face was slightly angry. He shouted furiously and his feet stomped heavily onto the ground. Instantly, his body shot abruptly toward Xiao Yan.
“Bang!”
Just as Yao Lao was rushing towards Xiao Yan, the latter’s body, who was kneeling on the ground, suddenly trembled. A green-colored flame from within his body surged out and was shot in all directions. After which, it spiraled towards Yao Lao, using its huge numbers to block Yao Lao.
“Ah!”
When the green-colored flame surged out, those wisps of flames seemed to have charged its way out from all of Xiao Yan’s pores. The intense pain caused by his muscles, bone and cells being incinerated caused Xiao Yan to grab his head and violently knock it against the rock by his side. Luckily, the green-colored flame protected Xiao Yan’s body despite bringing him a pain that was unmatchable. Otherwise, Xiao Yan might have fainted and died from the impact on his head.
More and more green-colored flame spurt out from Xiao Yan’s pores. At the end, Xiao Yan actually became something like a living flame-thrower. At a glance, it would have caused others to be struck with terror.
“The ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’s’ energy is really far too strong. With just Xiao Yan’s Dou Shi strength, it is impossible for him to successfully digest it. I must suppress it. Dammit. The only thing I can use now is my ‘Heavenly Flame’. But using it to save him is equivalent to adding fuel to the fire!” Yao Lao’s experienced gaze swept across Xiao Yan’s situation and immediately understood the source of the problem. However, even if he knew the crux of the problem, he did not have any means to solve it. At the moment, he could only circle around anxiously.
However, just as Yao Lao was somewhat helpless, a soft cry suddenly sounded from within the mountain cave.
As the cry fell, a seven-colored figure suddenly shot out of Xiao Yan’s sleeve. Its pale-purple eyes stared at the green-colored flame on Xiao Yan’s body. Instantly, an unknown glow in its eyes soared.
The Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python swiftly circled around Xiao Yan. After which, it could not wait any longer and opened its mouth. A terrifying suction force instantly surged in…
With the suction force, the green-colored flame that was shrouding Xiao Yan’s body was immediately and swiftly pulled into the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python’s stomach…
As more and more green-colored flame was swallowed by the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python, the green-colored flame on Xiao Yan’s body also gradually decreased. After a while, the last wisp of green-colored flame had finally and completely left his body…
After the last wisp of green-colored flame left his body, Xiao Yan’s body suddenly shook intensely. His entire body immediately collapsed weakly, lying on the ice-cold rock surface. Xiao Yan lifted his head to eye the extremely excited small seven-colored snake that was circling up and down. The corner of his mouth slowly overflowed with a shallow smile as his eyelids trembled slightly. After some time, his gaze finally became completely dark…
Chapter 234: Flame Mantra Evolved
In the dark space of Xiao Yan’s conscience, a drowsy mind slowly floated. In this dark black environment, it appeared that there was no concept of time. The mind wandered around as though it was a homeless, lonely soul, appearing extremely desolate.
At a certain moment, an eye-catching green-colored flame suddenly curled upward and surfaced within the dark black space. The light emitted by the green-colored flame expelled all the pitch-black darkness around it. The flame moved slightly and a moment later, transformed into a green-colored lotus seat.
After the green-colored lotus seat was formed, it suddenly shot through the dark space. In the blink of an eye, it arrived beside the drowsy mind. A warm glow extended out and wrapped the mind within it…
Once the mind was completely wrapped, the green-colored lotus seat suddenly began to flash past at high speed and the darkness began to swiftly retreat and shrink. A while later, a little white light appeared at the end of the darkness. The lotus seat carried the groggy mind and charged out of this boundaryless space of one’s conscience.
……
Under a huge tree in the mountain forest, Xiao Yan leaned again the tree trunk with his eyes tightly closed. His slightly pale face appeared to be swiftly recovering its rosy color.
Beside him, Yao Lao, who had been attentively taking care of him, sighed in relief when he saw Xiao Yan’s change.
After a moment passed in this manner, Xiao Yan’s eyelids trembled slightly and he finally began the slow struggle to open his eyes. Immediately, a large amount of piercing sunlight shining down from the sky once again caused him to shrink his eyes slightly.
“Have you woken up?” Yao Lao’s faint laughter sounded by the side of his ear.
Lifting his head slightly and seeing the smiling Yao Lao by his side, Xiao Yan also smiled and nodded. His palm gently rubbed against his face, with some hesitation he asked, “That, has the evolution of the Qi Method succeeded?”
“Ke ke, take a look for yourself.” Yao Lao did not answer him directly as he laughed.
Xiao Yan nodded his head and crossed his legs which were still sore. He calmed his mind and swiftly entered into the training posture.
His mind gradually sank into his body. Instantly, the cumbersome to the point of terrifying map of Qi Paths once again surfaced in his heart.
Xiao Yan’s mind quickly passed through a few Qi Paths before he swiftly arrived at the top of the vortex in his lower abdomen. His mind swept passed it vaguely. He took in a deep breath of non-existent air. At this moment, an excited feeling that left him weak filled his entire body.
The Dou Qi vortex that appeared under the observation of his mind’s eye was more spacious with an accommodating capacity of over ten times the amount before. The dark green-colored Dou Qi flowing in it was obviously of a quality that was far from what the purple-colored Dou Qi could compare with. It might have been because he had completely digested the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’, but above the dark green-colored Dou Qi, there were some green-colored flames. With the adhesion of these flames, the fighting strength of the green-colored Dou Qi was clearly more frightening.
In the Dou Qi continent, the difference in the Qi Method was dependent on a few factors. The first was the accommodating capacity of the vortex holding Dou Qi. Consider two people of the same level, if one of them were to practice a Huang Class Qi Method while the other practiced a Xuan Class Qi Method, then the one practicing the Xuan Class Qi Method would definitely have a far greater battle endurance compared to the former.
The second factor was the difference in the Dou Qi quality. Under the assumption that both parties had the same level, if the one practicing the Xuan Class Qi Method had to use one unit of Dou Qi, then the one practicing Huang Class Qi Method would have to use ten times or even more than that amount of Dou Qi in order to obtain the same result as the former.
The third factor was the effectiveness in absorbing the natural energy and refining it into Dou Qi during training. This was similar to the previous point. If two people wanted to absorb the same amount of Dou Qi energy in the air, the one who practiced the Xuan Class Qi Method may only require ten minutes while the Huang Class Qi Method would require a hundred minutes…
The fourth factor was that in battle, the person practicing the Huang Class Qi Method would never be able to drive the Dou Qi as quickly or smoothly as the person practicing a Xuan Class Qi Method.
By summarizing the various reasons above, it clearly showed the reason for why countless of people on the Dou Qi continent would view a good Qi Method as the most important thing over any and all other things. The higher the class of the Qi Method one practices, the larger the amount of benefits that it would bring. Therefore, in order to obtain those high class Qi Methods, countless numbers of strong people would come wave after wave. Sometimes, they clearly knew that they were like moths jumping into the fire, yet they were still willing to be swallowed by the flame…
Xiao Yan was at a loss as he watched the vortex that was as spacious as a small lake. A long while later, he finally gradually began to recover. His mind moved gently and a thread of green-colored Dou Qi immediately flowed out from within the vortex. It then swiftly flowed along some Qi Paths. Following the start of the flow of the Dou Qi, Xiao Yan could clearly feel that a strong force in his body was rising to a peak that he had never been able to achieve in the past.
As his mind focused intently on the route that the Dou Qi flowed, Xiao Yan realized that the Qi Method route after the evolution had clearly become more cumbersome than before. Strangely, however, the time needed for the Qi Method to complete one circulation had become increasingly shorter despite the route becoming more complex. Moreover, after a circulation had completed, the strong force in his body would be ready to go. At any moment it was available for its owner to drive it and violently unleash that gushing energy…
“Have I really succeeded?” Feeling that his body was filled with energy, Xiao Yan inhaled a deep breath, because he felt that it was a little unbelievable. Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes, raised his head and eyed Yao Lao by the side who was full of smiles. He then parted his mouth and muttered, “Have I succeeded?”
“Yes…” Seeing Xiao Yan’s somewhat comical expression, Yao Lao smiled and nodded his head. He sighed with great emotion before patting Xiao Yan’s shoulder gently with his palm and said with a smile, “Congratulations. You have successfully proven that this ‘Flame Mantra’ can really swallow the ‘Heavenly Flame’! In other words, its potential is limitless…”
Yao Lao’s words lingered in Xiao Yan’s ear. The latter was smashed by this sudden bliss until he felt his headache. His body weakly leaned against the tree trunk but the unrestrained joy on his face was difficult to hide.
After being immersed in an unrestrained joy for a long while, Xiao Yan began to recover his frame of mind. He gradually stood up and closed his eyes. A moment later, a green-colored Dou Qi rose from within his body and formed a perfect green-colored Dou Qi cloak on his body in the blink of an eye. On top of the Dou Qi cloak, green-colored flames would occasionally flare about. The hot temperature heated the air until it became slightly distorted.
When the Dou Qi cloak was completely summoned, a ferocious Qi suddenly erupted from Xiao Yan’s body. Following the eruption of this Qi, the green-colored Dou Qi on Xiao Yan’s body immediately soared skyward. It soared to a height of ten feet in the air before it ceased continuing to rise. nove(l)bi(n.)com
Raising his head slowly, Xiao Yan eyed the green-colored flame Dou Qi that tightly covered his body. He smiled slightly, tightened his fist suddenly and violently smashed the enormous tree behind him.
“Bang!” Following a clear muffled sound, Xiao Yan’s fist tore into the tree trunk without any resistance. His palm shook slightly and a veiled force was released. Immediately, a clear ‘Ka Cha’ sound was emitted. Numerous tiny crack lines swiftly spread over the tree trunk. An instant later, the crack lines suddenly expanded. The enormous tree trunk let out a bang as it broke into pieces and collapsed.
“Bang…”
Tilting his head to glance at the fallen huge tree not far away, Xiao Yan let out a soft laugh. He once again closed his eyes and felt the Dou Qi flow quickly through his body and its efficiency in fabricating Dou Qi. A moment later, he opened his eyes, eyed Yao Lao and inhaled a deep breath. A brilliant smile appeared on his face. “Xuan Class Middle Level.”
The Xuan Class Middle Level that Xiao Yan said naturally referred to the level that the ‘Flame Mantra’ advanced to after swallowing the ‘Heavenly Flame’ and evolving the technique. If one were to calculate, it appeared that the Qi Method had jumped from Huang Class Middle Level to Xuan Class Middle level. Between them, it had increased by an entire class.
Hearing Xiao Yan’s words, Yao Lao was momentarily stupefied. He was immediately relieved as he nodded his head. The weight in his heart slowly fell. At the same time, his tight chest was also completely relaxed. He smiled and praised, “Not bad. It really is worthy of being called the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’. Although it requires an enormous amount of energy to increase the class of the Qi Method, this appears to not be something difficult for a ‘Heavenly Flame’ to achieve…”
After letting out a long breath, the Dou Qi flame in Xiao Yan’s body gradually withdrew into his body. He tensed his fist slightly and said with a grin, “Teacher, it looks like your worries from before were unnecessary…”
“Che, if the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python had not aided you yesterday, I do not believe that you would have successfully been able to withstand the backlash from the ‘Heavenly Flame’…” Seeing Xiao Yan’s complacent manner, Yao Lao rolled his eyes and curled his lips as he said.
“Uh…” Recalling the intense pain caused by the swallowing of the ‘Heavenly Flame’, Xiao Yan’s smiling face stiffened. His rosy face once again became slightly pale. He swallowed his saliva and nodded his head with a bitter smile. He was a little scared as he sighed, “That kind of pain was really terrifying. If the backlash from the ‘Heavenly Flame’ succeeded. I’m afraid that even my spirit would have been incinerated into nothingness.
“This ‘Flame Mantra’ is indeed somewhat strange… I really don’t know what kind of insane person created it. Back then, those people and I put in so much effort in order to find this thing from that damn place…” After speaking until this point, Yao Lao suddenly ceased saying anything more. Clearly, there seemed to be some taboo.
Unconcerned that Yao Lao had stopped speaking, Xiao Yan shrugged his shoulders and reached his palm into his sleeves, fishing out the Heaven Swallowing Serpent that had curled its body. Currently, she seemed to have descended into a deep sleep perhaps as a result of swallowing quite a bit of the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’. A faint green-colored glow shrouded its body, giving it a strange appearance.
“The ‘Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python possesses several different stages. Larvae, Growing, Matured, Peak… The evolution between each stage requires an extremely large amount of energy. The previous her was only at the Larvae stage. Perhaps it was because of the ‘Green Lotus Core Flame’, but she is currently using this large amount of energy to undergo a transformation.” Yao Lao eyed the small seven-colored snake and said with a smile.
“After the transformation, how strong will she become?” Hearing this, Xiao Yan asked in a somewhat curious manner.
“Perhaps she will be of the Dou Wang class…” Yao Lao smiled and said, “Once she enters the peak stage, even a Dou Zhong would not dare underestimate her.”
“She really lives up to the name of being a natural spiritual being. How envious.” Xiao Yan clicked his tongue in amazement as he sighed emotionally.
“Ke ke. This kind of living creature is very rare. This Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python in your hand may well be the only one in the entire Dou Qi continent.” Yao Lao said with a smile.
“If that is the case, it is naturally good.” Xiao Yan parted his mouth and laughed. He then carefully placed the Seven-Colored Heaven Swallowing Python into his sleeve, raised his head and eyed the mountain cliff in front of him. His eyes stared at the floating clouds as he lazily stretched his neck. After being silent for awhile, he said softly, “Teacher, how much time remains till the ‘Three Year Agreement’?”
“Two months.” Yao Lao said faintly.
“Two months huh…” Xiao Yan laughed softly. His finger gently tapped on his storage ring and the huge Heavy Xuan Ruler once again appeared. Holding the ruler’s hilt tightly, Xiao Yan violently hacked it downwards. The huge rock under his feet immediately burst apart.
“Nalan Yanran, it’s the last two months. Have you prepared yourself?”
In the distant mountain forest, a baby eagle that was attempting to fly was trying its best to flap its wings at the peak of a tree. It gave a sharp eagle cry in its efforts. Immediately after, its struggling wings straightened as it suddenly shot up into the sky…
Chapter 235: Meeting the Ice Emperor Again
At the meeting point between the desert and the field, a few green-colored leaves were occasionally decorated across the desert. The bits and pieces of the leaves may have been extremely rare, but compared to the monotonous golden-colored yellow sand within the desert, it was undoubtedly much more soothing to the eye.
As this place was close to the desert’s edge, one would occasionally see people coming and going, along with small groups of mercenary that had returned after hunting for Magic Beasts in the desert.
A black-clothed human figure walked at an even pace at the intersection between the desert and the land. The human figure was carrying a black ruler that was comparable to his height on his back. This somewhat strange combination of person and ruler caused the passerbys to throw him surprised glances.
However, the black-clothed young man simply ignored the surprised gazes shot from around him. His footsteps slowly fell on the firm road. Although his pace did not appear to be very fast, if one were to observe carefully, one would realize that each step that the young man took appeared to have been meticulously measured; the distance between each step was approximately the same.
The hot sun that hung high in the sky did not cause even the slightest drop of perspiration to surface on the young man’s forehead. His leisurely walking manner did not appear to be someone in a hurry. Instead, he appeared to be admiring the scenery along the way…
The slow travelling of the young man persisted for nearly an entire day. When the hot sun gradually descended beyond the horizon of the desert, he finally came to a slow stop. He raised his head and eyed the huge city that appeared at the edge of his sight. A faint smile surfaced on his delicate and handsome face. Xiao Yan lazily stretched his waist. When he heard the brittle sound between the bones, he laughed softly and reached his hand into his sleeves. He smiled and said, “Desert City. I’ve finally arrived.”
“Teacher, are we really going to refine the medicinal pill for that guy?” Standing on a sand dune, Xiao Yan stared at the distant city entrance where people were moving in and out as he whispered with a slight frown. The ‘guy’ whom he was referring to was naturally the hermit that Xiao Yan had coincidentally met back then in the ‘Desert City’, one of the former ten strong of the Jia Ma Empire, Ice Emperor, Hai Bodong.
“Ke ke, why not? Since we are already here, we should grab a favor from a Dou Huang along the way.” Yao Lao’s old laughter was emitted from within the ring, “Moreover, do you not wish to obtain the remaining map fragment? Although you have already obtained a ‘Heavenly Flame’ now, the upgrading of the Qi Method in the future will be even harder. Additionally, the ‘Purifying Demon Lotus Flame’ is quite an incredible thing. If you are able to obtain it, there won’t be many people who dare to easily look down on you in this Dou Qi continent.”
“But I keep getting the feeling that the guy is not a simple honest person.” Xiao Yan waved his hand and said.
“Hee hee, so what if he is not simple and honest? Even if he recovers his strength, he is only but a Dou Huang. What can he do to us?” Yao Lao laughed faintly, “But we should always be cautious of others even if we are also not some soft persimmon. In order to be safe, we should take some defensive precaution… I have told you before that when refining the medicinal pill, we can add some additional ingredient in it. If he does not have any ill will, everything can be discussed. But if he has some wicked ideas, then we will naturally not show any mercy.”
TL: Soft persimmon = weak
Hearing this, Xiao Yan parted his mouth and smiled. He nodded his head and said softly, “It’s just as well. Let’s do as Teacher has said. If we can really obtain a favor from a Dou Huang, that would be quite beneficial. This is especially true for the trip to the Misty Cloud Sect two months from now. Although I am not worried about fighting to the death with Nalan Yanran, those old fellows from the Misty Cloud Sect might want to attack me out of anger and humiliation if I were to win. This Ice Emepror might not be a bad bodyguard.”
“Hee hee, the specialty of an alchemist is their network. Did you not see the snatching of the ‘Heavenly Flame’ this time around? With just Gu He’s strength alone, he would not have been able to barge into the inner regions of the desert. However, that guy managed to invite so many strong people to help him. In the end, he even created a mess in the Snake-People race.” Yao Lao said with a smile.
“Yes.” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded his head. He patted his Heavy Xuan Ruler and began to slowly walk toward the huge city located at the edge of the desert.
After successfully entering the city, Xiao Yan stood on the street and looked around him. He then followed the route from his memory and walked toward the end of the street. A long while later, he stopped at the entrance of an old fashioned map shop located at the end of the street.
At the moment, the door of the shop had already been closed perhaps due to the sky being dark. A faint light was shooting out from the gap in the door, shining onto Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan stood at the door of the shop and eyed the unlatched door. His heart could not help but think back to his luck. He did not expect that by randomly running around back then, he would meet a hermit Dou Huang. This kind of result had really exceeded his expectations.
After tilting his head and sweeping his gaze across the street which had very few people, Xiao Yan quietly pushed open the main door. After which, he entered, turned his hand around and shut the building’s door tightly.
Within the shop, a Moonlight Stone was emitting a faint glow. The warm and not eye-piercing glow shined upon the entire room until it was quite bright.
The room still had the same decorations as in the past. The damage caused by the fight from the last time had already been completely repaired. Behind the platform that was piled with maps, an old man was lowering his head and meticulously creating a map in his hand. As he was too engrossed, he did not sense Xiao Yan who had quietly entered.
Within the shop, there were another four people choosing maps. Three were male and one was a female. Their clothes were also extremely gorgeous. Behind the four of them, there were a few large men with strongly build bodies standing by them respectfully. When Xiao Yan entered, the four tilted their heads over and took a glance. However, when they saw Xiao Yan’s dusty look, they turned their heads back and lazily chose the maps in front of them.
When the four people turned around, Xiao Yan’s gaze jumped across their faces. The three men had quite good appearances but their eyes carried a faint haughtiness that greatly discounted the impression people had for them. The other person, the lady, was wearing a tight red-colored long dress. Her appearance was extremely pretty. With her figure being wrapped in the red dress, it appeared exquisite and orderly. The three men beside her would occasionally sweep their gaze over the attractive back of the lady in the red dress. An adoration and yearning would flash in their eyes. However, under this adoration, there appeared to be a hidden fear toward this lady in the red dress.
Xiao Yan ignored this group of people whose actions appeared a little strange. His gaze swept across the old man and slowly walked toward the counter. He randomly picked up a map scroll and lazily flipped through it.
Hearing the sound of the map being flipped, the old man’s ink pen which was moving like flowing water paused. However, like the first time he and Xiao Yan met, he did not lift his head. He simply said indifferently, “I’m sorry. This store has already closed for the day. If you need to buy a map, please come again tomorrow.” Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om
Hearing the old man’s usual cold and indifferent words, Xiao Yan could not help shaking his head. This old man…
Just as Xiao Yan was about to speak, two large men moved agilely and blocked Xiao Yan’s path. Their hands were holding their weapons on their waist as they stared at him with fierce faces.
“Uh?” The sudden scene before him caused Xiao Yan to be at a loss. Did he offend someone without even saying a word? Immediately, he shook his head, confused. Xiao Yan then tilted his head toward the lady in a red dress who appeared to have quite a high position in the Desert City.
“When Grandmaster Bing is making maps, he does not like to be disturbed. Therefore, I would like to trouble you to leave for now.” The lady in a red dress who had a pretty appearance slowly walked forward and said faintly.
Although the lady’s voice was gentle, it was not difficult to hear the overbearing and unreasonable tone within it. “…Don’t tell me that these people know of his identity?” When he saw that this lady was so thoughtful for Hai Bo Dong, Xiao Yan was immediately at a loss as he said with surprise in his heart.
Compared to Xiao Yan’s surprise, the red dress lady in front of him was a little dispirited in her heart. Her father had always told her that the old man in this map shop was a strong person with extremely great strength. Thus, each time she had some free time, he would instruct his precious daughter to come here to greet and inquire about the old man and use all his authority to provide him with the best care. However, the old man was not appreciative of his care. Each time she came, she would receive a cold shoulder for her feverous effort. The lady of haughty character had difficulty accepting the old man’s actions.
Although she had always received a cold shoulder, the red dress lady held great trust in her father. Moreover, on one instance, she had faintly sensed the frightening Qi that the old man did not easily reveal. Under that Qi, she realized that she only had the right to tremble…
Thus, for a long time, she had still treated the old man with great respect despite his indifferent attitude. Her submissive and docile manner frequently caused some of her companions to be in disbelief. Was this obedient girl the same person as the spoiled demon girl who had once caused the Desert City great havoc?
Today, she had come to the shop to support the old man as usual. Naturally, the old man’s attitude towards her was as indifferent as it usually was. Other than glancing at her when she came in, his attention was poured over his map and was too lazy to bother with them.
With the haughty character of the red dress lady, her heart naturally had some resentment that she had difficulty expressing when faced with such treatment. However, this resentment was something that she could not express to the old man. Therefore, Xiao Yan, who had barged in at this time coincidentally became the target of her anger.
Xiao Yan ignored the spoiled cry by the lady and simply glanced at her carelessly. He randomly threw the map in his hand onto the counter, leaned his body to one side and side-stepped the blockade of the two large men.
Seeing that Xiao Yan not only did not obey her words and leave, but instead became overbearing and moved closer, the eyebrows of the red dress lady became vertical. A dangerous glint flashed across her eyes and she raised her snow white chin slightly. The surrounding few large men carried a fierceness on their faces as the began to surround Xiao Yan.
The red dress lady folded her hands in front of her chest as she stared at Xiao Yan with mocking eyes. However, just as she was prepared to see the latter begging for mercy, Xiao Yan performed an action that caused her to be totally stunned.
Xiao Yan pulled over a map with his hand and violently threw it at the old man who held an extremely distinguished position in the lady’s heart. At the same time he threw it over, his mouth grumbled, “Old Man, are you still pretending to be indifferent? Do you still want me to refine that medicine?”
Chapter 236: Conversation
Just as the scroll was about to hit Hai Bo Dong’s body, it was frozen solid by a sudden surge of cold air. Immediately, it fell weakly to the old man’s side.
Eyeing the scroll that was suddenly frozen, the pretty eyes of the lady in the red dress glowed. This was another time that she had seen the old man’s lofty strength.
“This guy is really reckless. He actually dares to be so rude to Grandmaster Bing. He really is someone who has the short sight of a rat.” The gaze of the lady was somewhat mocking as she stared at Xiao Yan. Clearly, the red dressed woman did not think that the old man would easily let off this foolhardy guy who had offended him.
TL: Short sight of a rat = No foresight/planning
Naturally, all of these thoughts were the wishful thinking of the lady. The old man did indeed shift his focus up from the map as she had expected but when the ice like dry face swept across the black-dressed young man in front of him, his face revealed an extremely rare smile. This smile was something the red dressed lady, who had respectfully been a servant here for a long time, had never seen before.
“Ke ke, little brother, you are finally back. You really made me wait.” Hai Bo Dong placed the ink pen in his hand down. His gaze swept around Xiao Yan’s body and a bizarre glint flashed swiftly within his eyes. After having not met for a few months, the young man in front of him had actually become much stronger. Moreover, on the young man’s body, Hai Bo Dong could faintly sense something that he feared.
“Don’t tell me it is a ‘Heavenly Flame’? God. Has he really found the ‘Heavenly Flame’?” This thought that swiftly flashed across his heart caused astonishment to surface on Hai Bo Dong’s face. The gaze that he used to look at Xiao Yan again had an emotion that was difficult to describe.
“I have no choice. Old Sir has something that I need still in your possession. Naturally, I had to hurry back. And if I did not have the help from Old Sir’s map during this journey, I might have had difficulty achieving my aim even if I roamed around the desert for a year.” Xiao Yan laughed.
“Ke ke. It’s just that we take what we require.” Hai Bo Dong’s nose twitched slightly as he smiled and waved his hand. The dry facial expression changed slightly as he stared at Xiao Yan in a somewhat startled manner. With a shocked voice, he said, “You… you made contact with Queen Medusa?”
Within the shop, the face of the lady in the red dress was immediately dumfounded when she saw that Hai Bo Dong not only did not attack Xiao Yan but instead began happily conversing with him. A moment later, her eyebrows were knit slightly together. The corner of her eyes secretly glanced at the black-dressed young man whom appeared to be slightly younger than her. Her heart could not resist feeling somewhat jealous. She had been helping Hai Bo Dong here for a long time but he had never treated her with such gentleness…
“This guy…” The lady in the red dress thought indignantly in her heart. When she was planning to send someone to investigate Xiao Yan’s background, the words that Hai Bo Dong had suddenly spilled from his mouth caused her to instantly still as though she had been struck by lightning.
Of course, it was not only her. The three young people and those few strong large men in the shop also stilled their bodies abruptly when Hai Bo Dong mentioned Queen Medusa from his mouth. In the vicinity of the desert, the fierce name of Queen Medusa was sufficient to cause any human to feel fear. During the big war back then, this Queen Medusa had once turned a few cities into bloodbaths by herself. Her fierce name almost reached the point where it could cause a baby to cease crying.
“This… this guy. He actually came into contact with Queen Medusa? And he is not dead?” Within the shop, numerous gazes that were filled with shock and disbelief stared at the young man carrying a huge black ruler. Their minds had difficulty recovering. There may be a few people in the cities located within the vicinity of the desert who had survived after being in contact with Queen Medusa but those people were all strong people who were well known. However, this young man in front of them who was not even twenty… how could it be possible?
“Ke ke. I was really unlucky to make slight contact with her. But fortunately, I was lucky in keeping my life. Otherwise, Old Sir would not be able to see me.” Xiao Yan shrugged his shoulders and joked.
“Tsk tsk. Outstanding. To actually escape alive from that woman’s hand and yet not to suffer any injuries. More heroes really appear in the younger generations. I think that little brother is definitely the pinnacle person among the younger generation in the Jia Ma Empire.” Hearing this, Hai Bo Dong immediately pursed up his lips and said with great astonishment.
Xiao Yan smiled faintly. Regarding the thing about the pinnacle person, he neither agreed nor disagreed.
“Oh. Ke ke. oh yes… little brother, I wonder, about the the thing I entrusted you with?” Rubbing his dry hands together, Hai Bo Dong suddenly asked with a smile.
“Yes. This is the Sand’s Datura that you need. It was not easy to find. Luckily, I came across it in the sacred city of the Snake-People race.” Xiao Yan’s finger gently tapped on his storage ring and a pale-yellow vegetation appeared in his palm. This plant’s outer appearance was extremely strange. It wrapped and wrapped around like a yellow-colored long snake. At its top was a snake head that was raised highly. There was a fist size tumor that protruded on the top of the snake head. This was where the essence of this unique vegetation was richest.
“Ke ke. I have really troubled little brother.” Hai Bo Dong received the vegetation in surprise as he opened his mouth to thank him with a smile.
“It is just that we have what the other needs.” Xiao Yan waved his hand and learned from Hai Bo Dong’s speaking manner as he replied with a smile.
Within the shop, the spoiled lovely face of the red dress lady gradually began to withdraw as she watched Xiao Yan and Hai Bo Dong chatting by the side as though no one was around. Although she was pampered and spoiled, she was no fool. By looking at the attitude of the mysterious old man towards Xiao Yan and the contents of their conversation, she clearly knew in her heart that this young man who appeared even younger than her definitely possessed a terrifying strength that did not match his age…
“God. Where has this abnormal being come from? Why have I not heard of such a young strong person appearing in the Jia Ma Empire?” The lady in the red dress mused in her heart as a bitter smile surfaced on her face.
“Grandmaster Bing…” The lady in the red dress who was left alone by the side hesitated for a moment before speaking timidly.
Having his conversation interrupted, Hai Bo Dong pressed his eyebrows together slightly. He glanced at the red dress lady and said blandly, “You can go back. In the future, there is no need for you to return. Tell your father that his ploy is a little lousy.”
Hearing Hai Bo Dong’s rude words of banishment, the lady in the red dress was at a slight loss. Her eyes suddenly reddened and her teeth bit her lips. Her original intention was to have Hai Bo Dong take her as a disciple. However, when these words of Hai Bo Dong were said, it clearly severed her hope. Immediately, her heart felt much grief. Treads of mist caused her long eyelashes to become wet. The current her obviously did not possess the arrogance that she had treated Xiao Yan with just a few moments before.
Seeing Hai Bo Dong’s indifferent attitude, Xiao Yan could not help but shake his head. This old man’s heart was really too harsh. Although the arrogant attitude of this lady a moment ago resulted in Xiao Yan having a poor impression of her, she was after all working for Hai Bo Dong. It was just that despite trying very hard to get Hai Bo Dong to like her, this stubborn and indifferent old man still did not have any feelings for her. It appeared that the feelings of this old man were a little thin. In the future he needed to be a little careful when working with him…
“Old Sir, with your status, treating a lady like this would somewhat cheapen it…” Not used to seeing a lady cry in a beautiful manner, Xiao Yan shook his head slightly. He played with a piece of map on the counter as he jokingly mentioned with a smile.
Hearing this, Hai Bo Dong was momentarily distracted. He eyed Xiao Yan’s smiling face and a moment later, also smiled and nodded his head. His finger rubbed a yellow-colored storage ring on his finger and a scroll appeared in a flash. His finger tapped on the scroll and shot it towards the lady in the red dress. He said in a somewhat helpless manner, “This is a Low Xuan Dou Technique. Seeing that you have helped me for so long, I will give it to you. I know that you hope for me to take you as a disciple, but I really don’t have that kind of intention. Therefore, take this as my compensation to you.”
The lady in the red dress was at a loss as she received the scroll. A moment later, she gratefully bowed to Xiao Yan and with a gloomy face, softly left the shop.
After the red dress lady left, the other people in the shop closely followed. In a moment, the shop once again became empty.
“Ke ke, by nature, I prefer to be free and don’t really like teaching students. If she followed me, she wouldn’t have much of a future.” Hai Bo Dong patted Xiao Yan’s shoulders and explained.
Xiao Yan smiled and extended his hand towards Hai Bo Dong as he replied with a smile. “Old Sir, I have already brought the thing back for you. Should you not hand me that piece of map fragment?”
“Uh…” Hearing this, Hai Bo Dong laughed dryly. He rubbed his palms together and laughed awkwardly. “Little Brother, back then we had agreed. As long as you help me refine the medicinal pill for undoing the seal, I will hand over the last map fragment to you. Additionally, I will owe you one favor in the future.”
“Alright…” Xiao Yan’s eyes stared at Hai Bo Dong for a moment until he was a little uneasy before he nodded his head in a nonchalant manner. He withdrew his hand and smiled faintly, “I hope that Old Sir will not use any other excuses after obtaining the medicinal pill. As a person, I… may have a good temper, but I am also unable to withstand being fooled like a monkey.”
“Ke ke, Little Brother, what are you saying. Is there a false promise between strong people?” Hai Bo Dong smiled awkwardly as he shook his head. He patted his chest and said with certainty: “As long as Little Brother is able to refine the medicinal pill that I need, old me will not break my word.”
“Haha, that is the best.” Xiao Yan smiled and nodded his head. He then scratched his chin as he faced Hai Bo Dong and asked with a smile,“Since it’s like this, shall we start working?”
“Now?” Hai Bo Dong was at a loss. He then hurriedly nodded his head. “Yes, yes, please!” As he said, he quickly pushed open the counter and lead Xiao Yan into the back of the building.
After entering the room, Xiao Yan randomly sat on a chair. His eyes glanced at Hai Bo Dong while the corner of his mouth was lifted into a smile. He said softly, “Medicinal Formula, medicinal ingredients…”
“Sometimes, I realize that you alchemists really cause people to be envious… Ah, this medicinal formula to break the seal is something that I went through great pains to obtain. Now that you are going to take a look, its surname would change…” Hai Bo Dong helplessly dug out many medicinal ingredients from his storage ring. He then held a piece of ancient goatskin parchment. The pain on his face was not an act. In order to obtain this medicinal formula, he had put in a lot of effort.
TL: Surname would change: Meaning changing ownership
While maintaining a warm smile on his face, Xiao Yan rejoiced in his heart. Yao Lao had told him before that some medicinal formulas that can break seals have a value that was difficult to appraise. Although the map fragment was the thing he wanted the most, being able to scoop up a medicinal formula for a tier six medicinal pill along the way was naturally even more perfect…
Xiao Yan smiled as he received the old-looking medicinal formula that Hai Bo Dong had, with an extreme unwillingness, passed to him. His gaze swept over it and the smile on his face immediately became more brilliant.
Chapter 237: Heavenly Cauldron Ranking
“Breaking Adversity Pill”, the three pale black-colored words were written on the quaint skin parchment that faintly gave off the scent of old age.
Xiao Yan’s gaze slowly swept across the skin parchment with a smile in his eyes, When his gaze was sweeping across the effect of the medicinal pill that was recorded on the skin parchment, the smile on his face grew even more dense.
“The pill is tier six. It possesses the unique ability of being able to break most seals. After using it, it can also form a resistance toward that particular seal within the body. In the future, if one were to meet such a seal again, one would gain some chance of nullifying the seal.”
“Tsk tsk, it is really quite a good thing…” Xiao Yan’s eyes swept up and down across the quaint skin parchment and could not help but click his tongue. He did not expect that this thing could not only break a seal, but also cause the human body that was struck by the seal, to have an increased resistance to that seal in the future. With just this particular point, it lived up to its reputation as a tier six medicinal pill.
“It is naturally quite good. Back then, in order to obtain this medicinal formula, I paid a price that still causes my heart to ache when I recall what I did… “ Hai Bo Dong smiled bitterly as he eagerly watched Xiao Yan.
“Haha, regardless of what the price is, it’s not worth mentioning compared to allowing you to recover your Dou Huang strength.” Xiao Yan comforted. Immediately, he unceremoniously stored this quaint medicinal formula into his storage ring in front of Hai Bo Dong’s face.
In the alchemist world, there was an unofficial rule. Anyone who wanted an alchemist to help them refine medicinal pills that used special formulas not only had to prepare the medicinal formula by oneself, but also had to prepare medicinal ingredients. Moreover, these medicinal formulas were to be handled as the alchemist pleased including the chance where the alchemist took possession of the formula; these actions from alchemists were also common occurrences.
In the alchemist world, the creation of medicinal formulas was not a simple thing. Nothing like picking up a pen and recording a recipe down as one would imagine. During the process of creating the medicinal formula, the alchemist must use his own Spiritual Strength as ink and then use a pen to draw with Spiritual Strength in order to successfully create a qualified medicinal formula…
When using the medicinal formula, the alchemist needed to use his Spiritual Strength and intrude into the medicinal formula in order to obtain the essential refining data hidden within the medicinal formula. For example, the quantity of the medicinal ingredients needed, the flame temperature, etc… These things were things that an alchemist had to pay extreme attention to when refining a medicinal pill. Regardless of how outstanding the refining ability of an alchemist was, if he did not have all this information, he would require quite a number of tests before it was possible to successfully refine the medicinal pill recorded in the medicinal formula. However… during the experimental process, he would likely destroy many rare medicinal ingredients, which would be an enormous loss.
Thus, Hai Bo Dong was unable to reproduce the medicinal formula despite having obtained it for quite some time. When he saw Xiao Yan’s action, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. A long while later, he could only shake his head dispiritedly and allow Xiao Yan to seize this thing that he had obtained with great difficulty for free.
After storing the ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ formula with a smile, Xiao Yan placed his gaze on the large pile of medicinal ingredients that were sitting on the table. These medicinal ingredients could all be considered rare items. A number among them may fetch at least five hundred thousand gold coins if they were placed on the auction block. Even though their price was extremely high, these items still were rarely seen. After all, as long as it was someone who knew a little about his goods, he would not take these rare medicinal herbs out to be auctioned. This was because he might one day meet an alchemist who needed these kinds of rare medicinal ingredients. If that were the case, he might be able to obtain an exchange that he would be extremely satisfied with.
Perhaps it was because he was afraid of failure, but most of the medicinal ingredients that Hai Bo Dong prepared, had two to three portions. They were filled the table in front of the two.
Xiao Yan checked all the many different medicinal ingredients once in great detail. When he did not discover anything missing, he nodded his head. He then raised it, eyed Hai Bo Dong who was watching him intently and said, “Old Sir, I think that you should know that there is some chances of failure when refining a medicinal pill. Before I refine the medicine, I will say something that isn’t nice to listen to, I have some confidence in refining a tier six medicinal pill but I dare not to guarantee. Therefore, if for some reason this results in a failure, this responsibility…”
“I know, you will not take responsibility… You alchemists are all like that. Don’t tell me that I can forcefully hold you here if you fail?” Hearing the words, Hai Bo Dong waved his hand and smiled bitterly.
“Haha, since Old Sir can understand, that is the best… I wonder if you can prepare a quiet room for me? During the time before I come out, you cannot let anyone disturb me, including yourself, Old Sir.” Xiao Yan stored all the ingredients into his storage ring and said with a smile.
“Follow me.” Hai Bo Dong nodded his head and headed for a side door. Xiao Yan followed closely behind him.
After entering the side door, a corridor which was slightly dark appeared. Xiao Yan followed behind Hai Bo Dong for some distance before stopping outside a door along the corridor.
The door was pushed open and a faint lamp light shined out. The interior of the room appeared extremely clean, perhaps as a result of frequent cleaning. It was quite a good place to temporarily stay while refining medicine.
Xiao Yan entered the room, glanced in all directions and nodded his head with a smile.
“Little Brother, is this place alright?” Hai Bo Dong asked with a smile. When he saw Xiao Yan nod, he continued, “Since it is alright, then please refine the medicinal pill here. I will guard the corridor outside. During this period of time, you will have the quiet atmosphere that you require. There will definitely be no one who will interrupt you.”
“Okay.” Xiao Yan, while smiling nodded his head. He eyed Hai Bo Dong as he took his leave and gently locked the room’s door with both his hands. He turned around and watched the room. Instead of rushing to start immediately, he slowly crossed his steps and walked once around the entire room. Every tiny corner was thoroughly examined by him. A long while later, he completed his examination and walked to the side of a table at the middle of the of the room. His finger tapped the storage ring and quietly asked in his heart, “Teacher, is there anything wrong here?”
“No, I have checked. It looks like that guy did not try anything funny here.” Yao Lao’s voice laughed in Xiao Yan’s heart.
Hearing this, Xiao Yan nodded his head and replied with a grin, “Since it is like this, Teacher, it is time to do it… “ As he was talking to Yao Lao, Xiao Yan’s finger gently rubbed his storage ring. Immediately, the pile of medicinal ingredients from before completely filled the table before him.
“Ugh… I knew that you would call these old bones of mine out to perform the hard work.” The ring trembled slightly and Yao Lao slowly floated out.. He eyed the many ingredients on the table and helplessly shook his head.
“Hehe, I want to do it myself but this is a tier six medicinal pill. Even though I currently possess a ‘Heavenly Flame’, it would still be impossible for me to refine it. Xiao Yan waved his hand and smiled innocently.
With regards to Xiao Yan’s words, Yao Lao simply rolled his eyes and lamented. He then descended beside the table and carelessly rearranged the medicinal ingredients on top of it. After which, he waved his palm at Xiao Yan. Instantly, the black-colored ancient looking ring on Xiao Yan’s finger landed in Yao Lao’s hand.
After Yao Lao carefully place the black-colored ring in his hand, he flicked his finger. A solid black-colored medicinal cauldron the size of the table surface suddenly appeared.
The black-colored medicinal cauldron had a sturdy body. Its entire body was faintly shrouded in a calm atmosphere. Life like flame pictures were drawn on the surface of the medicinal cauldron. These flame drawings even seemed to be physically real. Xiao Yan could even faintly sense flame energy starting to circle around the medicinal cauldron.
“Good Cauldron!”
Xiao Yan’s eyes stared at the black-colored medicinal cauldron with an extraordinarily imposing aura and could not help but let out a praise. The cauldron that he used was undoubtedly shabby compared to Yao Lao’s. Moreover, this black-colored medicinal cauldron clearly did not only have a gorgeous appearance. From the fire energy that agglomerated around it automatically, it was clear that it was a great help for the refining of medicine.
“A medicinal cauldron is the most important thing that an alchemist possesses. A good medicinal cauldron would be able to increase the chances of successfully refining a pill by a large amount… This medicinal cauldron of mine has an extremely domineering name. Others calls it ‘Black Demon’ … Ke ke, back then, I paid a great price in order to obtain it.” Eyeing the black-colored cauldron that was suspended in midair, Yao Lao sighed with a smile somewhat emotionally.
“‘Black Demon’? It really is domineering…” Xiao Yan clicked his tongue as he praised and shook his head. Having not had much interaction with the alchemist world, he naturally did not know what kind of fanatic attraction this name possessed to an alchemist.
Just like the ‘Heavenly Flame’ Ranking, in the alchemist world, there was also a similar ‘Heavenly Cauldron’ Ranking. As the name suggest, the ‘Cauldron Ranking’ records the most perfect and outstanding medicinal cauldrons. There were a total of thirteen cauldrons on the ‘Cauldron Ranking’. Each of the medicinal cauldrons on it had a bewitchment that caused countless alchemists to pursue them with greed. The eighth rank on the ‘Cauldron Ranking’ was called, ‘Black Demon’…
Seeing Xiao Yan’s slightly shocked manner, Yao Lao simply smiled. However, he did not open his mouth to explain the origin of the black cauldron in front of him. His palm trembled slightly and a thick white-colored flame swiftly shrouded his palm. Yao Lao slowly placed his palm onto a diamond-shaped fire outlet on the black cauldron. He gently flicked his finger and the thick white flame shrouded the interior of the cauldron.
“Hehe, it looks like teacher has attached much importance to this medicinal refinement. Otherwise, he would not taken out his medicinal cauldron.” Xiao Yan said with a smile as he eyed the soaring flame within the black cauldron. When Yao Lao had refined medicinal pills in the past, he would directly refine it on his palm.
“The probability of failure of a tier six medicinal pill is quite high. Moreover, I am currently only in a spirit state and my strength is weaker than in the past. I naturally require the help of the medicinal cauldron in order to refine this kind of medicinal pill.” Yao Lao said blandly. His palm swiftly waved above the table and numerous medicinal ingredients were picked up by his hand. After which, he threw all of them into the medicinal cauldron all at once.
Yao Lao’s face was impassive as his palm left the medicinal cauldron. His dry palm suddenly and swiftly waved as though he was penetrating flowers and picking the leaves. Following the flicking of his finger, the hot thick white flames within the black cauldron had, with extreme obedience, turned into ten plus tiny flames, wrapping around the medicinal ingredients that had been thrown in.
Eyeing Yao Lao’s extremely smooth actions, Xiao Yan’s face was filled with envy. When would he be able to reach the stage where he could do such difficult things with ease?
Xiao Yan let out an emotional sigh as he quietly sat on a chair by the side. He meticulously observed Yao Lao’s refining. When one reached the stage Yao Lao was at, almost any tiny step r movement could allow Xiao Yan to feel suddenly enlightened.
In the quiet secret chamber, the thick white flame danced enchantingly. A faint medicinal fragrance permeated the air within…
Chapter 238: Hiding One’s Ability
TL: Title: 深藏不露 – Hiding One’s Ability – idiom meaning that one usually hides one’s skill so that others are ignorant of their strength (only using one’s strength when necessary for max impact)
Perhaps, it was because it was the first time Yao Lao refined the ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’, but Yao Lao, despite his outstanding alchemy skills, failed the first refining attempt due to an imbalance in the proportions of the prepared medicinal ingredients.
However, the first failed attempt did not cause Yao Lao to show a different expression. Failing during refining was so common in the alchemy world that it could be compared with eating and drinking. Even though Yao Lao was very adept at refining, he could not guarantee that he would maintain a hundred percent success for refining any medicinal pills.
Although the first attempt resulted in a failure, it was fortunate that only a small portion of the medicinal ingredients were lost and thus would not affect the refining that was to follow. As Yao Lao, who had a warm-up experience, once again raised the flames to refine the pill. He methodically, perfectly, and successfully completed all the remaining medicinal refining process.
In the neat and clean room, the black-colored medicinal cauldron slowly rotated in midair. The thick white flame writhed intensely within it. As the black cauldron rotated, the surrounding air also repeatedly released waves of unceasing tiny energy ripples. These energy ripples were circular in shape with the medicinal cauldron at its center and they gradually began expanding out in all directions. When they were about to make contact with the walls, they quietly vanished…
The flame writhed in the medicinal cauldron. A thumb sized pale purple-colored medicinal pill rudiment was slowly being formed in the burning flame. Finally, the dark purple-colored pill’s scent was suddenly emitted from within the cauldron and filled the inside of the room. This scent was thick and stayed within the room for quite a while.
“Is it going to be formed into a pill?” Sniffing the pill’s scent that was accompanied by a purple color, Xiao Yan rubbed his tired eyes and raised his spirit as he asked with a smile. He had personally witnessed Yao Lao refine a tier five medicinal pill the last time. Thus, he also knew that the drifting of pill scent was basically the omen before the formation of a high tier medicinal pill.
“Yes, although this ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ has a strange and unique medicinal effect, the difficulty involved in order to refine it is not very great. Additionally, I have the help from the ‘Black Demon’ so the time needed for refining it was reduced by at least half.” Yao Lao smiled as he nodded his head and replied.
“Haha, no wonder. The last time you took over two days when you refined the ‘Blood Lotus Pill’. This time you actually only used a day to refine a tier six medicinal pill. It looks like this medicinal cauldron of Teacher’s is really extraordinary.” Xiao Yan said with a grin. His gaze carried some shock as he observed the black-colored medicinal cauldron in midair. An ordinary medicinal cauldron may give a boost to an alchemist but the effect was extremely tiny. If a cauldron could reduce the time needed to refine a medicinal pill that would normally require a day by two hours, it could be considered top grade amongst medicinal cauldrons. By using the dark red medicinal cauldron that Xiao Yan had used, it could at most save an hour of refining time. By comparing the two, Xiao Yan could increasingly see how the black-colored medicinal cauldron was extraordinary.
Yao Lao smiled and nodded his head. As his shriveled palm tensed and relaxed, the thick white flame in the medicinal cauldron also became much richer.
“*Cough*, Teacher… don’t forget to add something extra…” Seeing the medicinal pill gradually become round, Xiao Yan let out a dry cough and hurriedly reminded.
“I know.” Yao Lao gave Xiao Yan a somewhat irritated glance before nodding his head. He flipped his left hand and a thick white-colored flame suddenly surfaced. After which, he began to swiftly compress it and the thick white flame, which was originally the size of a person’s head became the size of one’s thumb in an instant.
The ‘Bone Chilling Flame’ which was compressed to this extent had already escaped it’s base flame nature. It had instead transformed into a tiny white-colored crystal. At one glance, the interior of the crystal seemed to have a demonic thick white flame that writhed faintly.
Yao Lao molded the white-colored crystals with the tip of his finger before flicking his finger gently. The crystal immediately turned into a white light that was shot into the medicinal cauldron. After which, it directly went into the medicinal pill.
Once the crystal entered the medicinal pill, it suddenly transformed into drops of extremely tiny white glow that were distributed into every part of the medicinal pill.
Yao Lao watched the small holes formed on the medicinal pill rudiment gradually being refilled and nodded his head. After musing for a moment, he waved his palm and the thick white flame in the medicinal cauldron suddenly surged. In an instant, it covered the entire purple-colored medicinal pill rudiment and began the final intense burning.
The thick white flame only soared for a moment before it was swiftly extinguished. Following the disappearance of the flame, a thumb sized, pale purple round medicinal pill that was emitting a faint luster rolled and rotated as it appeared in the medicinal cauldron.
The moment the purple-colored medicinal pill appeared, a ferocious energy fluctuation ripple suddenly surged from within the medicinal pill. When this energy ripple passed through the black cauldron, a portion of it was blocked but the remainder still seeped out. It then violently shot in all directions. From observing its stance, if it was allowed to spread as it pleased, this room would immediately collapse.
Yao Lao glanced indifferently at the swiftly spreading energy ripple. His shriveled hand waved randomly and a shapeless Spiritual Energy formed a transparent energy cover within the interior of the room in the blink of an eye.
When the energy ripple came into contact with the Spiritual Cover, the two collided with each other. Instantly, waves of energy ripples began to appear on the shapeless energy cover much like a rock being thrown into a lake surface.
The ripples gradually transformed from intense to subtle. A moment later, they finally completely disappeared.
When the last energy ripple finally disappeared, Yao Lao removed the Spiritual Cover. His palm beckoned at the black cauldron. The pale purple-colored medicinal pill was thrown out by the black cauldron and obediently landed on Yao Lao’s palm.
Yao Lao held this pale purple-colored medicinal pill. He looked it over repeatedly and nodded his head. After giving an indifferent appraisal that it was not bad, he carelessly threw it towards Xiao Yan by the side.
Xiao Yan received the medicinal pill and curiously observed this purple-colored medicinal pill in his hand. This was the first time he had seen a tier six medicinal pill.
The surface of this medicinal pill was a pale purple color. Its body was round and had a great amount of luster. Moreover, on the surface of the medicinal pill, there appeared to be some strange lines, that were not man-made, drawn onto it. These lines went around one after another, appearing like a special drawing that had an abstract meaning. Observing this ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ at close distance, Xiao Yan could even roughly sense the strange energy contained within it. Perhaps these lines werethe main ingredient that could break a seal…
“I added some ‘Bone Chilling Flame’ into the medicinal pill. This kind of crystal body will conceal itself deep within a human body once it is consumed by someone. Usually, it will not have even the slightest unusual action. However, if I, who possesses the ‘Bone Chilling Flame’ was to activate it, these icy bodies would swiftly transform into an extremely destructive ‘Bone Chilling Flame’. When that time comes, if the other party has any ill intentions, I’m afraid that he or she will suffer terribly.” Yao Lao stored the black cauldron into the ring, turned around, and laughed while facing Xiao Yan. New n𝙤vel chapters are published on
“Won’t he discover it?” Xiao Yan played with the ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ as he asked cautiously.
“He shouldn’t, of course… I cannot guarantee it. After all, there is nothing absolute in this world. I can only guarantee that the chances of it being discovered are very tiny.” Yao Lao shook his head and replied with a smile.
Xiao Yan nodded his head slightly and took out a jade bottle which was of quite a good grade from his storage ring. He then put the ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ within it. After which, he glanced at the large amount of remaining medicinal ingredients, parted his mouth slightly and unceremoniously swept all these rare medicinal plants into his storage ring.
“Hehe. This will be the extra reward for refining the pill.” Xiao Yan did not intend to return these rare herbs, which could easily fetch over a million gold coins through an auction, to Hai Bo Dong.
“I’ve finally finished it…” Xiao Yan kept everything and patted his storage ring with satisfaction. He faced Yao Lao and said, “Hehe, now we should see whether the guy outside will keep his word.”
“I hope he will not disappoint us.” Yao Lao laughed softly. His body swayed slightly and immediately turned into a flowing light which entered into the black-colored ring.
Xiao Yan placed the black-colored ring that was suspended in front of him onto his finger and tossed the jade bottle in his hand. After arranging his clothes properly, he walked toward the door leading outside of the room.
In a bend of the corridor that was slightly dark, Hai Bo Dong leaned against the wall. His old face may appear rather calm but his finger which was knocking on the wall repeatedly revealed just how anxious and impatient he was in his heart.
Feeling the time slowly flowing, Hai Bo Dong eyed the room that was tightly shut at the end of the corridor. His eyebrows involuntarily knit together. A moment later, he sighed. The medicinal ingredients needed to refine ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ were not easy to find. He had spent a few years in order to gather all these medicinal ingredients. If Xiao Yan was to fail in the refinement, his hope of regaining his strength might have to be delayed…
Hai Bo Dong rubbed his palm. The calmness on his face finally began to reveal some anxiety. He softly muttered, “Don’t tell me he failed? Hmm, looks like I was a little reckless. That guy’s strength may be something that I cannot see through but he is far too young after all… Even if he started practicing his alchemy skills while he was still in his mother’s womb, that would merely be over ten years worth of time… In just ten years, how great of an accomplishment can he attain in alchemy skills?”
With his fist and palm heavily smashing into each other, Hai Bo Dong’s expression fluctuated. A moment later, he shook his head despondently and smiled bitterly. “Having reached this point, I can only hope that this guy can bring some miracle. After all, he possesses that extremely terrifying ‘Heavenly Flame’…”
Time ticked by. The atmosphere in the corridor had a layer of impatience gradually lingering over it as time flowed by.
A finger impatiently tapped against the wall. At one instance, Dou Qi shrouded the finger and it pressed down violently, creating a hole within the wall.
“I’ll go and take a look!” Hai Bo Dong shriveled face twitched. He was finally unable to withstand the torment of waiting like this. Taking in a violent breath, he suddenly turned his body and had a desire to walk into the corridor.
At the moment when Hai Bo Dong turned around, his body suddenly stilled. A stunned expression appeared on his face as he stared blankly at the corridor. A young man in black clothes was leaning on the wall and smiling at him. A moment later, he swallowed his saliva and hurriedly took a few steps forward as he anxiously asked, “Little Brother, did you succeed?”
Xiao Yan spread his hand and faced Hai Bo Dong who was slowly walking over with an anxious face. He then waved it and threw a jade bottle towards Hai Bo Dong. “I was a little lucky and barely succeeded.”
Eyeing the jade bottle that was thrown over, Hai Bo Dong seemed to awkwardly use both his hands and feet to try to catch it. He carefully caught it in his palms as though it was his son. When his eyes saw the purple-colored medicinal pill in the jade bottle, an unrestrained expression of joy and shock appeared on his old face simultaneously.
The unrestrained joy was naturally because he received his wish of obtaining this ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’. The shock on the other hand was because he still had difficulty believing that within a short day, this little boy in front of him who was not even over twenty had actually managed to perfectly create this tier six medicinal pill that even Pill-King Gu He couldn’t refine…
“He really hid his ability…” At this moment, an evaluating phrase for Xiao Yan surfaced in Hai Bo Dong’s heart.
TL: Refer to title for – He really hid his ability
Chapter 239: Breaking The Seal
Eyeing Hai Bo Dong who was tightly holding the jade bottle with a face that was filled with unrestrained joy, Xiao Yan laughed softly before smiling slightly as he said, “Mister Hai Bo Dong. The thing has been successfully refined. What about the map fragment?”
Hearing this, Hai Bo Dong was at a momentary loss. He immediately and quickly pulled himself back from his unrestrained joy. His eyeballs rotated and he licked his lips as an embarassed look appeared on his face. He said, “Uhh, Little Brother!”
“You can call me Xiao Yan.” Seeing Hai Bo Dong’s manner, Xiao Yan frowned slightly as he said blandly.
“Haha, alright. Little Brother Xiao Yan.” Hai Bo Dong hurriedly nodded his head. He then waved the jade bottle in his hand and said with an awkward smile, “Little Brother, don’t blame old me for having something more to do! *Cough*, it is not that old me doesn’t believe you, but the main reason is that I have also never seen what a ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ looks like. I only know from the medicinal formula that it is entirely purple in color. Therefore, I wonder if Little Brother Xiao Yan would allow me to consume the medicinal pill and test if it can really help me break the seal?Haha, if the seal can really be broken, old me would definitely give the map fragment to you! I will also apologize to you!”
“Old Sir, the way to repeatedly find excuses to put the matter off does not show the demeanor of someone who was once the Ten Strong of the Jia Ma Empire.” Xiao Yan’s long finger gently flicked off a speck of dust from the tip of his sleeve. He was expressionless as he said, “The small me has used all my effort in order to help Old Sir! But your actions really caused me to be disheartened.”
“Ugh, Little Brother Xiao Yan, back then we indeed agreed that as long as you could help me refine the ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’, I would hand the map fragment to you, but you should at least let me test if this medicinal pill is real or not. I will say something annoying. If this is some other medicinal pill that you randomly gave me as a stiffler, won’t I suffer a great loss if I don’t check it?” Hai Bo Dong’s old face was much thicker than Xiao Yan had imagined. The manner in which he smiled bitterly made it appear like he was the greatest victim.
Seeing Hai Bo Dong’s bitter face, Xiao Yan knit his eyebrows tightly together and said blandly, “Od Sir. I have to remind you something. This ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ medicinal formula is something that you gave me. I have also completely followed its instruction to refine the medicinal pill. But whether this medicinal pill possesses the effect of breaking a seal is something that only a ghost would know!”
“Therefore, if you were to consume the ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ and still be unable to undo the seal because of the medicinal formula, won’t that be blamed on me? Then won’t my effort to hurry over a long distance to the desert, braving the danger of being killed by Queen Medusa in order to help you look for the Sand’s Datura, as well as spending a large amount of effort in order to refine the medicinal pill be totally disregarded?” Xiao Yan crossed his ten fingers in front of him as he said softly with a cold smile, “After doing so much, all that I have obtained is only a map fragment and a favor, verbally agreed by a Dou Huang. You tell me, have I made a loss or have I profited?”
“Uh!” Hearing this, Hai Bo Dong’s face appeared slightly embarrassed. A moment later, he finally laughed dryly, “The old me also knows that my request is a little overboard, but Little Brother Xiao Yan can be reassured that I will naturally not do anything ungrateful! How about this. As long as the ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ can show a little effect, I will definitely keep my word! Moreover, this ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ is a medicinal pill personally refined by Little Brother Xiao Yan. Don’t tell me that you don’t have confidence in it? Ha ha.”
“Hu!” Xiao Yan let out a deep breath. He raised his eyes to look at Hai Bo Dong laughing dryly and knit his eyebrows tightly together. A long while later, he finally waved his hand somewhat unhappily and said faintly, “Then we’ll do what you say. I will remind Old Sir one more time. This is the last time that I will give in.”
“Haha, thank you Little Brother Xiao Yan for being able to understand old me’s difficulty.” Hearing Xiao Yan’s reply, a joyful smile immediately surfaced on Hai Bo Dong’s face. He placed the jade bottle carefully into the storage ring, faced Xiao Yan and said, “Little Brother, follow me to the basement. If I really break the seal later, this basement will ensure that my Qi will not leak out. At the same time, it can avoid some unnecessary troubles.”
Xiao Yan nodded his head but was too lazy to even say anything extra to Hai Bo Dong. His face was icy as he raised his chin at the Hai Bo Dong, signalling for the latter to lead the way.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s expression, Hai Bo Dong also knew that Xiao Yan was currently in a bad mood. He could only laugh awkwardly and hurriedly focus on leading the way in front.
As he followed behind Hai Bo Dong, Xiao Yan eyed the old figure in front of him whose pace was brisk. He was silent for a long time before an indifferent, faint smile was suddenly lifted on his expressionless face. The fist under his sleeves was clenched tightly and a wisp of green-colored flame was naughtily leaping on his long finger!
Xiao Yan pursed up his lips and narrowed his eyes as he muttered in his heart, “Old fellow, I hope that you really won’t disappoint me. Otherwise, I won’t care whether you were once called Ice Emperor. Today, I will force you to suffer a terrible regret!”
Although the corridor was not very big, the amounts of twists and turns would have exceeded anyone’s expectations. Xiao Yan followed behind Hai Bo Dong and made a number of turns. The surrounding monotonous and similar environment caused people’s minds to feel somewhat tired. Luckily, Xiao Yan’s mental strength was quite good, so it did not reach the extent of feeling any difficulty in enduring. It was just that his heart felt a little oppressed.
Within the corridor, the lights were not very strong. There would only be a lamp that emitted a faint glow every ten plus meters apart. In this kind of dark environment, the two people maintained silence. Only the soft sound of footsteps slowly reverberated in the long corridor and echoed for a long time. Hearing these sounds, anyone would be creeped out.
The corridor may have seemed level, but Xiao Yan was able to feel that they seemed to be walking down an inclined route. After walking in this depressing manner for nearly twenty minutes, Hai Bo Dong, who was in front of him, suddenly came to a stop. He turned around and said with a smile to Xiao Yan, “We’re here.”
Xiao Yan’s gaze leapt pass Hai Bo Dong and swept the place in front of him. He could only see a thick metal door that appeared from the edge of his vision under the faint light from the lamps. The metal door was profound and dark black, emitting a solid and thick feeling.
As he eyed the metal door, Hai Bo Dong’s footsteps clearly became faster. A moment later, he arrived in front of the door. His palm pulled at a black metal lion head in front of him. Following a ‘Ka Cha’ sound, the metal door instantly began to slowly open by itself. A bright glow was also transmitted from within.
“Welcome!” Hai Bo Dong waved exhaustedly at Xiao Yan as he walked in first with a smile still on his face.
Xiao Yan stood at the door and hesitated for a moment. His gaze swept the surroundings around the large door before stepping into the basement room.
Entering the room in the basement, Xiao Yan found the surrounding temperature had suddenly dropped a lot. A faint cold feeling shrouded his entire body as he looked around him. He was somewhat stunned to realize that this room underground was an ice cellar. On the ice cellar’s ceiling and surrounding thick walls, there was a layer of snow white ice stuck from them. Above his head, numerous sharp icicles appeared like sharp longswords that hung inversely from the ceiling.
A faint cold fog was emitted, shrouding the interior of the underground room and possibly lingering for years. It was not known just how much time and effort Hai Bo Dong spent on this somewhat huge underground room.
“Haha, the Dou Qi Method that I practice is more attuned with the dark and cold. Thus, training in this kind of place would have a better effect. This place is also a distance from the surface. The ice and the soil above will be able to cover my Qi here, causing other strong people to be unable to sense it.” Appearing to be clear of the doubt in Xiao Yan’s mind, Hai Bo Dong, who was in front, explained.
“Ah.” Xiao Yan nodded his head and unceremoniously sat down on a chair in the middle of the underground room. He raised his head to face Hai Bo Dong and calmly said, “Hurry up. I don’t really like the environment here.”
“Ke ke, alright.”
Hai Bo Dong smiled and nodded. He then took out the ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ from within the storage ring and placed it carefully on his palm to look at it. The careful manner once again caused Xiao Yan’s eyebrow to press together.
After inspecting it for a long while and failing to find anything unusual, Hai Bo Dong finally let out a soft sigh. The current him had also learned to be smarter; he knew that his action just now would definitely cause Xiao Yan to be greatly discontented. Therefore, he simply did not tilt his head to look at Xiao Yan’s ugly expression. His toes pressed lightly on the ground and his body leaped onto a sitting platform that was completely formed from the agglomeration of cold ice. He sat crossed-legged and stuffed the ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ from his hand into his mouth. He throat rolled slightly and swallowed the pill into his stomach.
Seated on the chair, Xiao Yan lowered his head and picked at his finger. The moment that Hai Bo Dong swallowed the ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’, a sudden faint gloating smile was lifted on his face that was lowered.
In the icy cold underground room, the atmosphere gradually became quiet following Hai Bo Dong entering into his the training mode. Xiao Yan simply sat on the chair staring only at his palm. It appeared that he was not the slightest bit concerned as to whether Hai Bo Dong’s seal breaking was proceeding successfully.
The quiet atmosphere lasted for nearly half an hour or so before it was broken by a circle of ferocious energy ripples.
On the ice platform, Hai Bo Dong, who had descended into a stillness, suddenly began to tremble intensely. Waves of ferocious energy ripples were swiftly emitted from within his body. Anywhere the energy ripple passed by, the surrounding table or ice pillars would pop and break into pieces with a ‘Pa La’ sound.
Xiao Yan slowly raised his head and eyed the swiftly arriving energy ripples. Moving as his heart intended, a faint green-colored flame Dou Qi cloak quickly surfaced on the surface of his body. The hot green-colored flame incinerated all the energy ripples that spread toward him into nothingness.
On the ice platform, Hai Bo Dong appeared not to have sensed the destruction that he had created. His body trembled intensely for a moment as the old face suddenly tensed tightly. A quiet green-colored strange energy was swiftly gathered at his forehead. A moment later, it actually formed a quiet green tiny energy snake print! The snake print lingered on Hai Bo Dong’s forehead and stubbornly suppressed the surge of Dou Qi in his body.
The moment the snake print surfaced, a pale-purple energy slowly shrouded upward from Hai Bo Dong’s neck. In the blink of an eye, it began to come into contact with the quiet green small snake.
As the two ferocious energies came into contact, the appearance of the waves of energy ripples like earlier ones also occurred.
The purple-colored energy and the snake print were at a continuous stalemate on Hai Bo Dong’s forehead with one on top and one below. The faint glow that the two types of energy emitted caused Hai Bo Dong’s face to be painted strangely. Adding this to the distorted face of Hai Bo Dong which was caused by the intense pain created from the two types of energies struggling at such an important place like his head, it gave him a faint savage look when one glanced at him.
Xiao Yan’s ten fingers crossed in front of his body as he lifted his head. He stared intently at the two-colored glow emitted from Hai Bo Dong’s face. His heart was also slightly curious as to whether this ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ would have the energy to break the seal that Queen Medusa had placed.
The purple-colored and green-colored energy continued to move up and down in a deadlock in this manner. However, when the deadlock had occurred for over half an hour, the quiet green snake print finally dimmed slightly. Clearly, this ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ seemed to really possess the unique effect of restraining this kind of seal.
“Tsk tsk, this ‘Breaking Adversity Pill’ is really not bad! If I have the chance in the future, I will prepare some for myself. If I were to be sealed by someone one day, it would be good to have something prepared.” Eyeing that green-colored glow becoming increasingly dim under the purple glow, Xiao Yan’s eyes became bright as he laughed softly.
“Be careful. That guy is about to break the seal.” Yao Lao’s reminder suddenly sounded in Xiao Yan’s heart.
Xiao Yan nodded his head and the Dou Qi in his body began to slowly flow, preparing for any sudden occurrences.
The purple-colored energy borrowed the effect of restraining to slowly banish the territory that the snake print occupied. It then gradually expelled the latter from Hai Bo Dong’s forehead before purple-colored energy abruptly surged and a ferocious force totally removed the snake print from Hai Bo Dong’s head.
Just after the snake print left Hai Bo Dong’s head, the print shook intensely and immediately transformed into green smoke that curled upward and disappeared.
The moment that the snake print left his body, Hai Bo Dong’s tightly closed eyes suddenly opened. An almost solid light shot out from his eyes. A fierce force, much like that of a lion waking up, surged out from the interior of the body where it had been deeply suppressed for decades.
Under this strong force, the ice crystal layer within the underground room actually began to crack.
“Ha ha, that damn seal has finally gone to hell! I have once again become a Dou Huang!” With his feet stepping off the ice platform, Hai Bo Dong’s body was quickly suspended in midair. His face was filled with an unrestrained joy as he lifted his head to laugh wildly.
The intense sound wave was carried by Dou Qi, shaking the surrounding cracked ice layer until it burst open.
After laughing wildly for a long while, Hai Bo Dong, who was suspended in midair suddenly shifted his gaze which carried a refined glow toward Xiao Yan, who was seated on the chair below without moving. His muddy old eyes narrowed!
Seeming to have sensed the aggressive gaze shot from midair, Xiao Yan lifted the corner of his mouth slightly. He slowly lifted his head. His face was as calm as an extremely deep well of water as he faintly watched the Dou Huang in mid air who had recovered his strength.
In midair, two gazes crossed each other, faintly projecting some chillness.
Chapter 240: Obtaining The Map Fragment, Hiring A Bodyguard
The two gazes intertwined in midair with both of them emitting some indecipherable meaning. A faint chill was formed in midair and the atmosphere suddenly became somewhat tense.
A pair of dark black eyes calmly watched Hai Bo Dong in midair, who appeared to have become more fierce and overbearing following the recovery of his strength. Xiao Yan’s body bent slightly backward and leaned against the back of the chair. His ten fingers were placed in front of his body. His calm expression similar did not change even the slightest bit because of the fierce Dou Huang Qi he was feeling in the underground room.
In midair, Hai Bo Dong’s gaze carried a little aggression as he stared intently at the black-clothed young man below. A faint force of cold air hovered over his palm. Following the recovery of his strength, the emotions that had been suppressed in Hai Bo Dong for decades had finally once again began to be released in a slow and soothing manner. The Ice Emperor back then was cold and overbearing. There had never been anyone who dared to take anything from his hand. Xiao Yan, however, had broken this taboo.
In the past, Hai Bo Dong did not reveal any enmity because he could not see through Xiao Yan’s strength due to the seal. However, now that the seal had been broken, the extremely powerful Ice Emperor back then had finally and completely returned. The sudden skyrocketing strength had also caused Hai Bo Dong’s heart to quietly start thinking of ways of taking back the map fragments that were Xiao Yan’s hands.
Although Hai Bo Dong did not know what use the map fragments had, he was still able to realize that the secret hidden within the map fragment would definitely not be small. After all, this map fragment was something that had attracted a strong person around Queen Medusa’s level to travel a great distance to chase after him with the intention to kill.
With his body floating in midair, an icy cold air shrouded Hai Bo Dong’s body as his eyes stared at Xiao Yan who had a calm filled face. The young man’s quiet and inscrutable posture finally caused Hai Bo Dong, whose confidence had inflated greatly, to become a little sober.
Narrowing his eyes to tiny slits, Hai Bo Dong recalled the big fight with Xiao Yan a few months ago. His face became grave. When the image of the young man controlling the strange thick white flame back then flashed in his mind, a chill suddenly surfaced in Hai Bo Dong’s heart without warning. Back then, after being in contact with the thick white flame, Hai Bo Dong had a deep understanding of its terror.
As the chill in Hai Bo Dong’s heart rose, his body also shivered slightly. The coldness on his face also gradually disappeared. A smile that seemed gentle was hung on that slightly stiff old face.
After repeated deep thoughts, Hai Bo Dong’s confidence, that had surged excessively because of his soaring strength, was finally suppressed by his rationality and gradually disappeared. He roughly calculated a little and after a few palpitations he realized that even though he had gradually recovered his strength from before, he was still unable to see through this young man’s true strength.
Sensing Xiao Yan’s Qi, it was clearly only that of a Dou Shi. However, after having once fought with him, Hai Bo Dong knew that if anyone really treated the young man in front of him as a Dou Shi and tried to deal with him, he would likely receive a bloody lesson…
“Temporarily it is inappropriate to be enemies with him.”
As this thought flashed in his heart, a gentle smile surfaced on Hai Bo Dong’s old face. He faced Xiao Yan and gave a seemingly friendly smile as he nodded. The cold air shrouding him also gradually withdrew into his body.
With a mocking glint in his eyes, Xiao Yan eyed Hai Bo Dong who, after a deep thought in midair, suddenly took the initiative to withdraw his fierce and imposing manner and began to express kind intentions. Xiao Yan played with the ring on his finger as he smiled playfully and said, “Old Mister Hai, I thought that after recovering your strength, you were planning on eating your words and attacking me… Your manner just now, really could make someone afraid.”
“Ke ke, Little Brother Xiao Yan, what are you saying. How could old me forget the help you have given me? That kind of ungrateful thing is not something that I, Hai Bo Dong, would be able to do.” Hai Bo Dong hurriedly waved his hand and gradually descended. He faced Xiao Yan and explained, “I’m really sorry. Just now, I had temporary difficulty controlling my strength because I suddenly recovered it, startling Little Brother.”
Xiao Yan smiled as he was seated on the chair. His long hand patted his sleeves as he smiled and said in a soft and somewhat regretful manner, “It really is a pity. The little me had originally planned to experience the true strength of Ice Emperor who had once shook the entire Jia Ma Empire. Looking at things now, it looks like I won’t have this kind of chance. How regretful…”
Hearing this, the corner of Hai Bo Dong’s eyebrows twitched slightly without anyone noticing. His sharp gaze stared stubbornly at the face of Xiao Yan who did not appear to be joking. A moment later, he let out a laugh and swiftly shifted his gaze away. At the same time, he quietly rejoiced in his heart. Looking at Xiao Yan’s display, it seemed that Xiao Yan did not possess much fear for the him who had recovered his strength… Luckily, he had not turned against this guy just now. Otherwise, if they were to really fight, it would be difficult to say just who would win or lose. Moreover, offending an alchemist who could refine a tier six medicinal pill was obviously an extremely foolish thing to do. If Hai Bo Dong possessed the ability to kill Xiao Yan on the spot, that choice could still have been considered, but once he allowed Xiao Yan to escape, then the troubles in his future would persist continuously. The well informed Hai Bo Dong was even more aware than Xiao Yan about how terrifying a high tier alchemist’s ability to gather people was.
“Ke ke, what is Little Brother Xiao Yan saying. These old bones of mine do not have the vigor of you young people.” Hao Bo Dong laughed dryly as he waved his hand.
Xiao Yan was noncommittal as he smiled. He slowly stood up from the chair, extended his palm and stared intently at the old person in front of him. With a faint smile, he said, “Old Sir. The seal has already been broken and my task can be considered to have been completed. The map fragment…”
Once the two words ‘map fragment’ entered his ears, the shriveled face of Hai Bo Dong twitched slightly. However, this time around, he did not find any other excuses. This was because he could clearly sense that during the short time he was silent, the Dou Qi in the young man’s body had already begun to flow turbulently. Within those dark black eyes, an icy cold feeling was also gradually hovering over them. Clearly, if he said anything to postpone things, the young man in front of him might well immediately turn against him and attack.
Hai Bo Dong smiled bitterly and sighed. His finger rubbed on a storage ring and a small piece of yellow skin parchment, which appeared extremely old, appeared in his palm. He was extremely sad to give it up as he stroked this ancient map fragment while he sighed, “I have made maps for decades, but have never seen a map that was as complicated as this. Not long after I obtained it, I attempted to make a copy of this map fragment. However, the map that I finally made was strangely very different from the original map. After experiencing this a few times, I could only give up this idea. Perhaps this had something to do with the map being only a fragment.”
Xiao Yan’s gaze focused intently on the piece of map fragment and then glanced at the expression of Hai Bo Dong. Although he vaguely knew some reason for it, he did not open his mouth to answer his doubt. Back then after obtaining the first map fragment at the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Yao Lao found that there was an extremely large Spiritual Energy hidden within these map fragments. This kind of spiritual energy was extremely obscured. Unless one was an alchemist, a job where one’s Spiritual Strength exceeded ordinary people, it was very difficult for other people to sense it. These Spiritual Energies would not directly cause any harm to people but if anyone wanted to copy the routes and lines on the map, these Spiritual Energies would unknowingly erode one’s sanity, causing the map that you finally reproduced to be completely different from the original one!
Hai Bo Dong rubbed the map fragment for a long while, unwilling to part with it. Finally, he shook his head despondently and handed it to Xiao Yan. He smiled bitterly and said, “Ugh, take it. Looking at it from my experience, these map fragments should have been divided into a few portions. It is not very useful having only this one portion in my hand. Moreover, wanting to find the other map fragments in this vast continent is undoubtedly harder than finding a needle in the sea.”
Xiao Yan smiled, extended his hand and received this extremely smooth map fragment. He sized it up as a faint vicissitude and ancient flavor rushed at him. It appeared that the time this map fragment had undergone was not likely to be short.
As he held this small map fragment, Xiao Yan took out the other small map fragment that he obtained from Hai Bo Dong the last time from the storage ring. After which, he put them together. When he saw that the points where the two came into contact did not have the slightest gap, he sighed in relief.
“Hee hee, Little Brother Xiao Yan, you seem to be extremely interested in these map fragment?” Seeing Xiao Yan’s manner, Hai Bo Dong’s eyes rotated as he asked with a laugh.
“I have quite a great interest in all these strange and unique things.” Xiao Yan smiled slightly and gave a very vague reply.
“Little Brother, the map fragments in my hand have all entered into your pocket. Hee hee… I wonder if you can tell me what exactly is the use of this thing? Once you put all the map fragments together, what will you be able to obtain?” Hai Bo Dong rubbed his hands together. He was unable to contain the curiosity in his heart as he asked with an awkward smile.
“Old Mister Hai, I have already told you that other than seeing this kind of map fragment once during that auction, this is the first time that I have obtained a map fragment. Therefore, I am also not too certain what kind of things it is hiding.” Xiao Yan waved his hand and replied with a smile.
Hearing this, the corner of Hai Bo Dong’s mouth parted. He laughed along twice but he mumbled in his heart, “You don’t know? It would be strange if you didn’t know. Only a fool would risk his life to enter the desert for a piece of a map fragment which he does not know the details of. Seeing your shrewd manner, do you look like a fool?”
After hearing Xiao Yan’s words, Hai Bo Dong also understood in his heart that the former did not wish to share the secret of the map fragments. At the moment, he could only shake his head helplessly. After all, the map fragments had recently fallen into Xiao Yan’s hand. Attempting to snatch it forcefully was not possible. Therefore, he could only forcefully extinguish the curiosity in his heart.
After carefully placing the map fragment into an exquisite box and storing them into the storage ring, Xiao Yan let out a relief sigh in his heart. This thing had finally reached his hands after a few twist and turns.
“Old Mister Hai, now that you have already recovered your strength, I don’t think that you will continue to stay here to be a shop owner, will you?” Xiao Yan inserted his hands into his sleeves as he suddenly asked with a smile directed toward Hai Bo Dong.
“Back then the main reason for me staying here was to study the map fragments and to search for a method to break the seal. Now that the seal has been broken, there is naturally no reason for me to continue staying here.” Hai Bo Dong nodded his head, glanced at the smiling Xiao Yan and involuntarily asked, “Do you have something?”
“Haha, I indeed have something that I would like to request Old Mister Hai’s help.” The ten fingers in Xiao Yan’s sleeves gently flicked as he laughed softly.
“Hee hee, you are going to use a favor from a Dou Huang so soon?” Hai Bo Dong laughed, “I have said before. You have helped me once so I owe you a favor. However, if you want me to help you now, this favor… will be gonet.”
“I believe that Old Mister Hai might well owe me even more favors in the future. Not for any other reason, but just because I am an alchemist and an alchemist who can refine a tier six medicinal pill.” Xiao Yan smiled faintly as he replied.
“Ah, although your words are a little arrogant, they are true. An alchemist who can refine a tier six medicinal pill is someone whom even a Dou Huang would be willing to befriend. Of course, I am no exception.” Hai Bo Dong sighed and nodded his head while sharing the same feeling. No matter how one put it, an alchemist, especially a high tier alchemist, will forever be a companion or a friend that every strong person would like to have in this continent.
“Tell me, what do you want me to do? As long as it is within my capabilities, I will not refuse.” Hai Bo Dong stroked the short beard on his chin as he smiled and asked.
“Two months later, I will head to the Misty Cloud Sect. When that time comes, I might have some conflict with them. All Old Mister Hai needs to do is to show your face when that time comes.” Xiao Yan let out a gentle sigh and was silent for a while before saying.
“Misty Cloud Sect? What did you provoke them for? That’s a really big player.” Hearing this, Hai Bo Dong was at a momentary loss before he immediately replied in surprise.
“I am only going to settle some scores.” Xiao Yan carelessly said without explaining any details. After all, it was not something overtly glorious.
“The Misty Cloud Sect is very strong. There are many strong people in it. It looks like this request of yours is quite difficult.” Hai Bo Dong fondled his chin and said with some hesitation.
Seeing that Hai Bo Dong was a little hesitant, Xiao Yan smiled and said, “Old Mister Hai, you can be rest assured that I am not asking you to be enemies with the Misty Cloud Sect. If they use their large numbers to bully me or use their strength to bully the weak, Old Mister Hai just needs to show your face.
“Use their strength to bully the weak? You are really humorous. With your strength, other than the Misty Cloud Sect Leader, who else can contend with you?”
“Due to some reason, I do not wish to reveal my strength. When that time comes, I will only use my strength on the surface.” Xiao Yan waved his hand and replied with a smile.
“Huh? What a baffling decision.” Hearing this, Hai Bo Dong was as a loss. He mused for a moment before nodding his head and helplessly saying, “Alright, I do owe you a favor. I will accompany you to the Misty Cloud Sect. Although I dare not say that I can turn the Misty Cloud Sect upside down now but if it is only to ensure your safety, it should not be too difficult.”
Seeing that Hai Bo Dong nodded his head, Xiao Yan laughed softly. With a Dou Huang bodyguard, some of those antiquated and stubborn fellows at the Misty Cloud Sect should know how to exercise restraint.
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