Xiao Yan turned his head, forcing a smile, and looked at Gu Xun'er, who was wearing a yellow dress, arms crossed, her beautiful eyes filled with worry as she stared intently at him.
"It's Xun'er, why are you here?" he asked
. Gu Xun'er didn't answer immediately. Instead, she took his bloodied hand in hers, took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the blood from it. Then she softly asked,
"Brother Xiao Yan, does it hurt?"
Looking at Gu Xun'er, he thought of how she had killed Jialeo like a demon god because of his injury
, how she had brought him medicine after his injury, how she hadn't stopped him from his frantic cultivation when he was trapped in his inner turmoil, and how she had silently stood behind him, wiping away his blood as he bled.
All of this constantly pounded against the softest part of his heart. For the past three years, except when he was sleeping, he had been subjected to ridicule and humiliation almost constantly.
He gradually got used to it, and his heart became incredibly resolute. But now, facing this girl who had never abandoned him for the past three years, he even felt an urge to cry.
Forcing back his tears, Xiao Yan tightly grasped the small, white hand that was wiping his blood, and said in a hoarse voice,
"Xun'er... thank you! Thank you for everything you've done for me these past three years! I will definitely become strong, I will definitely protect you!" "
Brother Xiao Yan..."
Gu Xun'er was startled when she saw Xiao Yan holding her hand, feeling the warmth of his large hand.
Hearing Xiao Yan's words, she trembled, tears welling in her eyes, and a breathtakingly beautiful smile appeared on her face as she wept with joy.
"Brother Xiao Yan, I believe in you! I believe you will definitely become strong! I believe Brother Xiao Yan will definitely be the most powerful! Xun'er will also help you, Xun'er will always stand behind Brother Xiao Yan and support you!"
Gu Xun'er also tightly grasped Xiao Yan's large hand and said.
Just then, the boulder that Xiao Yan had been striking for a month suddenly emitted a faint white light.
This unexpected anomaly drew their attention, shattering the previous romantic atmosphere between them.
"Xun'er, be careful!"
Xiao Yan instinctively pulled Gu Xun'er behind him, warily watching the strange boulder.
The white light on the boulder condensed into tiny, dense characters, imprinted on its surface.
Seeing this strange sight, Xiao Yan and Gu Xun'er hurriedly stepped forward, curiously examining the characters that had suddenly appeared on the boulder.
"Burning Technique... Strange Fire... A cultivation technique surpassing the Heavenly Rank..."
The two were stunned after reading the characters on the boulder. They hadn't expected that the characters on the boulder would actually be a cultivation technique!
It turned out that when Hun Changqing took Yao Chen away that day, Yao Chen thought it was the Soul Palace that had come to capture him, believing he was doomed.
He wasn't afraid of death, but he felt extremely guilty towards Xiao Yan, whom he had wronged and humiliated.
So, when she was taken away, she exhausted her soul power to imprint this cultivation technique with endless potential onto this boulder, hoping to compensate Xiao Yan.
"This... is there really such a miraculous cultivation technique?" Xiao Yan asked in disbelief.
"It should be true," Gu Xun'er said from the side, a guess forming in her mind. "Father said that the former patriarch of the Xiao clan, Xiao Xuan, possessed three kinds of strange flames, making him incredibly powerful, even stronger than Father and the Soul Emperor. Could this cultivation technique be the one Xiao Xuan practiced?
If so, then it's no wonder Xiao Xuan was so strong. I never imagined that Xiao Xuan's cultivation technique would be passed down and hidden in this boulder in the back mountain."
Gu Xun'er thought to herself, then memorized the technique on the stone.
"Brother Xiao Yan, have you memorized this technique?"
Gu Xun'er asked Xiao Yan, who was intently staring at the boulder.
"Yes, I've memorized it."
Xiao Yan nodded.
Hearing Xiao Yan's answer, Gu Xun'er gathered her battle qi in her palm and slapped the boulder. Instantly, the boulder turned into dust and vanished with the wind.
Xiao Yan was stunned by Gu Xun'er's sudden action.
"Xun'er, what are you doing..."
"Brother Xiao Yan, do you know what strange flames are?"
Xiao Yan shook his head; it was the first time he had ever heard of strange flames.
Seeing Xiao Yan shake his head, Gu Xun'er smiled and said,
"In this vast world, there exist some strange flames. Perhaps they are the flames carried by meteorites, or perhaps they are the lava fire that has been tempered for thousands of years deep in a volcano..."
"Many people have searched for strange flames their whole lives, but in the end, they have never succeeded. Therefore, only a very few lucky people can refine a small cluster of strange flames by chance and cultivate it into their own fire seed. Without exception, these people are all terrifyingly powerful experts."
Xiao Yan listened, somewhat dazzled, and after a long while, he licked his lips and said.
"So this Burning Flame Technique is..."
"That's right, this Burning Flame Technique is a cultivation method that can devour these strange flames of heaven and earth to evolve. Someone on the Dou Qi Continent compiled a 'Strange Flame Ranking' of the known strange flames, listing twenty-three different kinds.
If Brother Xiao Yan wants to cultivate this technique, he'll need to find many strange flames. If this technique is leaked, Brother Xiao Yan's search for strange flames might be very difficult. So, Xun'er took it upon herself to destroy this stone."
Xun'er playfully stuck out her tongue after saying this.
"Oh, hahaha, I didn't think of that much. Xun'er is so thoughtful! Thank you, Xun'er."
Xiao Yan scratched his head and laughed heartily.
His father, Xiao Zhan, had warned him that Xun'er's background was not simple. Xun'er often offered him extremely precious cultivation resources, so Xiao Yan wasn't surprised that Xun'er knew about the strange flames. On the contrary, he was very grateful to Gu Xun'er for telling him this, and his feelings for her deepened.