Word Count: 3,343 Words
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Xiao Yan burst out of the blood pool, stepped into the empty space, and appeared outside the Heaven Eye Mountain Range in a few swift flashes. His immense Spiritual Strength swept across the entire blood pool, and he quickly discovered eight figures cultivating within.
'Exactly enough for eight people.' Xiao Yan shrugged. One among these eight should count themselves lucky he had broken through to the Dou Ancestor realm; otherwise, their luck would have run out.
His gaze shifted to a stone pavilion near the volcanic crater, where Jin Shi and a Gold Swallowing Mouse Tribe expert named Jin Gu awaited him, having prepared a vast array of medicinal ingredients.
Xiao Yan smiled faintly. His feet moved as he stepped through the air with measured strides, gradually descending from the sky and landing inside the stone pavilion.
"Hehe, Grandmaster Xiao Yan, we've prepared all the medicinal ingredients," Patriarch Jin Shi said with a welcoming smile.
Elder Jin Gu also revealed a smile upon seeing Xiao Yan land in the stone pavilion. After all, Xiao Yan was a peak 7th-tier alchemist, a status so noble that even Jin Shi, the patriarch of the Gold Swallowing Mouse Tribe, could not compare.
"You two need not be so formal. I, Xiao Yan, am neither a pedantic nor an arrogant person. Since this is a transaction, I will certainly do my utmost. Jin Shi's fire poison and hidden injuries are on me," Xiao Yan cupped his fists at the two and said with a smile.
He, Xiao Yan, was a man of integrity. If you could afford his price, then he would provide the finest medicinal pills without fail.
Jin Shi and Jin Gu's smiles widened at his words. They had heard of his renowned alchemy skills, but they knew little of his character.
Some alchemists carried themselves with insufferable pride, looking down on everyone, but Xiao Yan clearly wasn't one of them.
"Grandmaster Xiao Yan, the quiet room for alchemy is ready. Please follow me," Jin Gu said respectfully.
"No need. This is a minor matter. We can handle it right here." Xiao Yan wasted no words. The fire poison and hidden injuries might pose a challenge to others, but for him, it was as simple as lifting a finger.
With a wave of his hand, the Ten Thousand Beast Cauldron appeared in the pavilion. Unfazed by any onlookers, he flicked his finger, sending a cluster of blood-red flame into the cauldron.
The blood-red Ten Thousand Beast Flame whooshed loudly as it rapidly heated the medicinal cauldron.
"Could that be the Ten Thousand Beast Flame!" Jin Shi exclaimed, sensing its distinct power.
Jin Gu's eyes widened with astonishment. "The Ten Thousand Beast Flame emerges in lands teeming with the vitality of countless beasts, born from their combined strength and infused with their spirits, its color reflecting all beasts. It is a flame that guards the vitality and prosperity of magical beasts."
"Alas, it's a pity that my Heaven Eye Mountain Range never gave birth to a Ten Thousand Beast Flame."
Having a mountain range full of magical beasts wasn't enough for the Ten Thousand Beast Flame to form. The beasts had to live in harmony, with their souls remaining pure and untainted even after death.
No matter which kind of Heavenly Flame, the conditions for its birth were incredibly stringent!
Xiao Yan ignored the pair's awe. Once he entered his alchemist state, he transformed completely, becoming steady and composed, a different person altogether.
His Spiritual Strength surged outward. With a flick of his finger, a portion of the herbs on the table transformed into a rushing torrent, pouring into the cauldron with a cascading rustle.
"He's refining so many medicinal ingredients at once!"
"Such incredible Spiritual Strength and fire control!"
Under their stunned gazes, Xiao Yan's fingers danced with precision, manipulating the Ten Thousand Beast Flame's temperature. He locked onto the medicinal properties of each ingredient with his exceptional Spiritual Strength.
Lines of fire extracted every trace of medicinal essence with unerring accuracy, wasting nothing.
Xiao Yan resembled a pianist amid Heavenly Flames, his ten fingers weaving elegance with every motion.
In truth, he hadn't overcharged Jin Shi. For most 7th-tier alchemists, purging fire poison and hidden injuries was a daunting task.
After a day and night of refining, a mass of fiery red medicinal liquid hovered within the cauldron. Xiao Yan swiftly produced several medicine bottles and filled seven with the liquid.
"This is a seven-day supply of medicinal liquid. Take it each morning for seven consecutive days. Remember, do not cultivate during this period. After seven days, the fire poison in your body will be eliminated. Once the poison is cleared, I'll address your hidden injuries," Xiao Yan instructed as he handed the bottles to Jin Shi.
"I understand, Grandmaster Xiao Yan," Jin Shi replied, accepting the bottles with utmost care and nodding firmly.
Delivering the medicinal liquid was only the first step. Xiao Yan tossed the remaining herbs into the cauldron once more. The earlier liquid tackled the fire poison; now, he would harness the Ten Thousand Beast Flame's power to heal Jin Shi's hidden injuries.
Just as he had once helped the Serene Sea Scaly Beast, he needed to refine a specialized pill for magical beasts, then activate it with the Ten Thousand Beast Flame to mend the wounds.
In his hands, the Ten Thousand Beast Flame was a panacea for magical beasts. As long as it involved magical beasts, combined with his alchemy skills, there was nothing it could not achieve!
This time, the refining process took longer, a full four days and four nights. After all, he was refining a middle-grade tier 7 medicinal pill, which required significant effort even for him.
And during these four days of alchemy, those who had entered the Heavenly Mountain Blood Pool emerged one after another. The weaker ones, unable to breakthrough to Dou Ancestor, could not withstand the blood pool's energy and were forced to exit by the third day.
On the fifth and final day, surges of Dou Ancestor aura erupted from the mouth of the blood pool. Xiao Yan did not need to look to know who they were.
Elder Jin Gu, standing guard beside Xiao Yan, gazed enviously at the blood pool's entrance. "The Four Pavilion successors truly have talent, breaking through to Dou Ancestor at such a young age."
He then turned toward Xiao Yan, who continued refining pills in the pavilion. Speaking of being abnormal, this man was truly the epitome. Not only had his cultivation reached 3-star Dou Ancestor, but his alchemy skills were even more astounding.
Just then, a phoenix's cry pierced the air. A beam of seven-colored divine light surged from the blood pool, within which a graceful phoenix seemed to faintly take form.
Sensing an aura stronger than that of a typical 1-star Dou Ancestor, Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes to observe the seven-colored woman in the sky.
Among the four representatives of the Four Pavilions, Feng Qing Er undeniably possessed the strongest aura. The wind and lightning power surrounding her even triggered changes in the sky.
Lightning crackled and thunder roared as storms whipped through the air, bending nearby trees sideways!
A smirk curled at the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth. He suddenly struck the cauldron with force and shouted in a deep voice, "Pill formed!"
Boom!
The fragrance of the pill instantly filled the entire blood pool area, and a colored pillar of medicinal energy shot straight into the sky. The terrifying aura of this pill even overshadowed Feng Qing Er's breakthrough phenomenon.
Rumble rumble rumble!!!
A massive thundercloud gathered above Xiao Yan's head. The lightning surrounding Feng Qing Er seemed to encounter a greater force and visibly weakened.
Feng Qing Er, bathed in seven-colored radiance, slowly opened her eyes. Her violet pupils locked onto Xiao Yan with fierce intensity, her beautiful face frosted with cold anger.
As for the Pill Lightning, it was naturally Xing Tian's delight. Xiao Yan tossed him out to absorb the strike.
"Is that a puppet?"
"Good grief, does he really have a puppet specifically for absorbing Pill Lightning?!"
Wang Chen and Tang Ying stood dumbfounded. A puppet dedicated to handling Pill Lightning! Wasn't that incredibly extravagant?
Since it was merely a middle-grade tier 7 medicinal pill, only one bolt of Pill Lightning descended, which Xing Tian absorbed with ease.
After storing the pill, Xiao Yan first glanced at Feng Qing Er in the sky, then turned to the other three. He smiled and said, "Truly worthy of being the Four Pavilion successors. Each of you broke through to Dou Ancestor. Congratulations."
Wang Chen showed no joy at Xiao Yan's words and let out a cold snort. Who didn't know Xiao Yan was already a 3-star Dou Ancestor?
Mu Qing Luan, however, chuckled lightly and replied, "Hehe, it seems this Four Pavilion Grand Meeting will be quite interesting."
At the mention of the Four Pavilion Grand Meeting, the group exchanged looks. In truth, this event was a gathering of factions on the Central Plains' periphery, hosted by the Four Pavilions. Yet, its purpose wasn't to unify the region but to offer a stage for the younger generation of the Four Pavilions and other factions to spar and exchange skills.
It served as a measure of the Four Pavilions' younger generation's strength.
Tang Ying, with a sword strapped to his back, asked in a low voice, "Your Yan Alliance will attend the Four Pavilion Grand Meeting, correct?"
Xiao Yan nodded. "Naturally."
Hearing that the Yan Alliance would attend, their expressions shifted subtly. The 'cake' in the periphery of the Central Plains was only so large, with all rules set by the Four Pavilions. Now, the Yan Alliance emerged as a challenger to their established order!
Feng Qing Er remained as haughty as ever. Her eyes, sharp with killing intent, fixed on Xiao Yan as she declared coldly, "You secretly learned my Wind Lightning Pavilion's Three Thousand Lightning Movement. I will reclaim that agility technique. If you dare show up at the Grand Meeting, I, Feng Qing Er, will surely cut you down!"
It was no wonder Feng Qing Er harbored such hostility toward Xiao Yan. Not only were there constant frictions between the Yan Alliance and the Wind Lightning Pavilion, but it was also because Xiao Yan had indeed learned the Three Thousand Lightning Movement. If this matter wasn't handled properly, without resorting to thunderous means...
It was possible that more and more people would attack disciples of the Wind Lightning Pavilion to steal the Three Thousand Lightning Movement, which would affect the entire Wind Lightning Pavilion!
Xiao Yan just smiled and didn't offer any taunts. A mayfly attempting to shake a mighty tree was, in its own way, respectable.
"I'll be waiting for you in the Wind Lightning Mountain Range!" Feng Qing Er left these challenging words before transforming into a streak of multicolored light and vanishing.
She couldn't possibly make a move here. This was the territory of the Gold Swallowing Mouse Tribe, and it was clear Xiao Yan was refining pills for them.
The other three cast deep, lingering looks at Xiao Yan before departing.
"That girl has quite the temper. Acting like that will only lead her to suffer losses." Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head. There was once a little girl who was just as impulsive, and then she suffered a loss, even having her fingers broken.
"Grandmaster Yan, you should be especially careful with that Feng Qing Er. Her talent and strength surpass the other three," Patriarch Jin Shi approached and reminded him.
"Hahaha, I'm actually hoping that Feng Qing Er turns out to be even stronger." Xiao Yan handed the medicinal pill to Jin Shi as he spoke.
Xiao Yan didn't immediately leave the Heaven Eye Mountain Range. That girl, Nalan Yanran, was still cultivating at the bottom of the blood pool.
Having just broken through to 3-star Dou Ancestor, Xiao Yan would need several months to reach 4-star, even with his Flame Mantra evolved to Intermediate Tian Class.
Thus, he decided to use this time to cultivate and develop new Dou Techniques atop the mountain range.
Now, Xiao Yan needed to advance his Heavenly Flame Dou Techniques further. He wanted to create a new technique that merged multiple Heavenly Flames. When facing Mo Ya, he had used a merged Heavenly Flame ability, but it hadn't yet become a formal Dou Technique.
There was also the God Seal Technique. Xun Er had given him all five seals. Having mastered the third seal, the Overturning Land Seal, he could now attempt the fourth, the Sky Burying Seal.
If he could also cultivate the Ancient God Seal, connecting all five seals as one, their combined mastery would grant him power to overturn rivers and seas, even to swallow the sky and devour the earth! Full mastery of all five would rival the might of a Low Tian Class Dou Technique!
What Xiao Yan hadn't anticipated was that Nalan Yanran would cultivate for a full two months! Had the Life Flame not been guarding her, he might have worried something had gone wrong.
…
At this moment, within the spatial barrier at the bottom of the blood pool, an exquisitely beautiful body was slowly taking shape.
The Life Flame was still a Heavenly Flame. Continuously using the Life Flame's power to protect the body, how could clothes withstand two months of burning?
Her clothes had long since been burned to ash. Such a beautiful sight before one's eyes was difficult to describe fully with words.
Nalan Yanran had been born a pampered young lady. While her figure wasn't as striking as Cai Lin's, she possessed perfect proportions—full where fullness was desired, slender where slenderness was prized.
Her skin resembled smooth jade with a silken texture. When her hair ribbon snapped and her black hair cascaded over her shoulders, she radiated an indescribable beauty that filled the space with quiet allure.
Her allure wasn't just in her face. Due to years of cultivating the way of the sword, her figure could also be called impeccable: shoulders like they were sculpted, a willowy waist, and a pair of long, rounded legs that further accentuated that sword-like beauty.
It was just a pity that no one had the good fortune to appreciate this boundless scenery.
Suddenly, Nalan Yanran's eyes snapped open as a burst of Dou Ancestor aura erupted from within her.
"I've reached Dou Ancestor. This blood pool can even strengthen both soul and physique."
This was something even Xiao Yan hadn't expected. This Heavenly Mountain Blood Pool actually had the ability to nourish the soul. Although she was still very far from the Soul State, she had already reached the Perfected Mortal State.
Nalan Yanran quickly realized her nakedness. Fortunately, her storage ring contained spare clothes.
After thinking for a moment, a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth, and she actually put on the silver robe of the Misty Cloud Sect's Little Sect Leader.
This was the very silver robe she had worn during her three-year agreement with Xiao Yan!
After tidying her appearance and retying her hair, Nalan Yanran looked at the Life Flame and asked, "Is your master still here?"
The Life Flame wagged its tail excitedly and nodded with a soft 'gu gu!' sound. Its master wasn't one to abandon others.
Nalan Yanran gently cradled the Life Flame in her hands and smiled sweetly. "Then I'll head out now. Let's not keep him waiting too long."
She stepped on the empty space with a thunderous boom. Green wind energy swirled around her like a sharp blade as she shot upward.
At that moment, Xiao Yan, already sensing Nalan Yanran's breakthrough, was playing with the Psychic White Fox nearby.
"No fire poison entered your body, did it?" Xiao Yan tossed the white fox toward Nalan Yanran. With such unique abilities, this fox was worth keeping.
Nalan Yanran caught the fox in her arms and opened her palm. The Life Flame returned to Xiao Yan's body.
"No, everything went smoothly with the Life Flame's protection," she replied, shaking her head gently.
"Is that so? Good. Let's go then. The Four Pavilion Grand Meeting will be held at the Wind Lightning Mountain Range. It should start in about half a month. The others from the Yan Alliance should already be there. We'll meet up with them," Xiao Yan said.
A subtle flicker of disappointment crossed Nalan Yanran's eyes, quickly replaced by rising determination. She nodded firmly. "I won't bring shame to the Misty Cloud Sect or the Yan Alliance."
Without question, Nalan Yanran was among the Yan Alliance's promising younger generation. Having broken through to Dou Ancestor, she was an ideal representative.
After bidding farewell to Jin Shi, Xiao Yan set off with Nalan Yanran toward the Wind Lightning Mountain Range.
Though also in the Northern Region, the Wind Lightning Mountain Range, headquarters of the Wind Lightning Pavilion, lay far from the Heaven Eye Mountain Range. Even for a Dou Ancestor, the journey took several days.
After traveling non-stop, they finally arrived at Wind Lightning City, governed by the Wind Lightning Pavilion. This city vastly exceeded smaller cities like Hua Gu City or Tian Bei City in size.
To call it merely a city was an understatement; it rivaled an entire nation in scale.
In a lavish inn room, Nalan Yanran spoke up, "I'll go look for the Yan Alliance's lodging point."
Xiao Yan nodded. This Nalan Yanran was becoming increasingly conscious of her role, almost like a personal attendant. It seemed she was truly someone who kept her promises.
Once she left, Xiao Yan planned to cultivate for a while, but suddenly, the Life Flame emerged from his Acceptance Soul.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
With a whoosh, the Life Flame enveloped the entire room. This was reminiscent of the Heavenly Flame space within the Gate of Life and Death back then.
"Tell me... if I hadn't broken off the engagement back then, would things have turned out differently…" A pleasant voice drifted through. Xiao Yan looked up to see an image of Nalan Yanran, similar to the Heavenly Flame projection his ancestor had left behind.
'Personally' hearing Nalan Yanran's suggestive words, Xiao Yan could only shake his head with a wry smile. Even hearing this, what could he do? He could simply act as though he hadn't.
"You really... this is someone's privacy."
Just as Xiao Yan was about to retract the Life Flame, suddenly, his sharp eyes narrowed. His eyes, as precise as a microscope, discovered, how come there was a small scorched hole in the clothes?
"Could it be!"
"No, no, no, this won't do. This is someone's privacy."
"But that's not right. The Life Flame must have its reasons for doing this. Could it be that something went wrong with Nalan Yanran's cultivation at the bottom of the blood pool, something even she herself isn't aware of, and the Life Flame is seeking help?"
"Mm, it must be like this."
Xiao Yan immediately felt justified and even began to 'fast-forward' using his Spiritual Strength. Nalan Yanran probably never dreamed that someone would 'see' that alluring scene beneath the blood pool!
The Life Flame behind Xiao Yan swam and swam, looking happy as it gurgled out bubbles: I promised you back at the Gate of Life and Death that I would help you rise to prominence.
This Life Flame truly harbored such devoted intentions; it was enough to move one to tears.
Roughly two hours later, a knock sounded at the door, and Nalan Yanran's voice came through, "Xiao Yan, I've located the Yan Alliance's main camp. Shall we head over?"
With a faint creak, Xiao Yan slowly opened the door and studied Nalan Yanran from head to toe. He thought to himself, 'Tsk tsk, this silver robe really does conceal quite a lot.'
Nalan Yanran tilted her head, a puzzled expression crossing her face, unable to decipher the meaning behind his gaze. Is this robe really that striking?