As Xiao Yan walked out from the underground cave, a beam of dazzling sunlight shone upon him. He could see that the entire Beast Tomb Canyon had turned into an ice valley.
The freezing effect of the Bone Chilling Flame relied on sunlight. Without any external forces, this solid ice would likely take one to two years to melt.
"Surprisingly no magical beasts came to investigate?" Xiao Yan looked around at the empty surroundings and asked curiously.
"Those Beast Emperors heard that the alchemist Yao Ao from back then had been revived, and all this ice was caused by a Heavenly Flame. They were so frightened that they all retreated. Who would dare to come in now?"
"And what about the matter of the Ten Thousand Beast Flame?"
"They don't know yet. But once that Rank 7 magical beast awakens, it will likely enter the underground and discover that the Ten Thousand Beast Flame is missing."
Xiao Yan shrugged his shoulders. Whatever happens, happens. In any case, the Ten Thousand Beast Flame was in his hands now. There was no need to worry excessively. After determining the direction, he flew straight toward the small valley.
Having obtained the Ten Thousand Beast Flame and upgraded the Flame Mantra to the High Xuan Class, Xiao Yan's Dou Qi consumption when using the Eagle Wings had decreased significantly. Moreover, even if he used the Ten Thousand Beast Flame to accelerate, he was able to sustain it for a good while.
Xiao Yan followed behind the Amethyst Winged Lion King. With a flip of his hand, a ball of black and red flames appeared in his palm. This flame was neither the Ten Thousand Beast Flame nor the Seed Flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame, but a special flame formed by the merging of the two.
With a swipe of his finger, the black and red flame in his palm split into two, separating the black flame and the Ten Thousand Beast Flame.
To be precise, he now possessed three kinds of flames. The weakest one at the moment was the Seed Flame of the Nihility Devouring Flame, followed by the Ten Thousand Beast Flame. Finally, there was the new Heavenly Flame formed by the merging of the two.
"Who on earth invented the Flame Mantra? Originally, those Heavenly Flames were so volatile that they would erupt upon contact. Now they can actually merge together." Xiao Yan hadn't forgotten the eruption of the Bone Chilling Flame, yet the Flame Mantra could actually merge allow Heavenly Flames to merge and separate at any time!
It was just that using this merged Heavenly Flame required a terrifying amount of Dou Qi.
Soon, Xiao Yan and the Amethyst Winged Lion King returned to the small valley. When the Little Fairy Doctor saw Xiao Yan safe and sound, she was finally completely relieved.
Two days ago, the Amethyst Winged Lion King had come back and briefly explained the situation to her, mentioning that Xiao Yan was cultivating and would return in a few days. But only when she truly saw him did she feel at ease.
A ball of blood-red flames burst out from Xiao Yan's palm with a whoosh. It seemed as if ten thousand beasts were stampeding within the flames, emitting roars that resounded in the surroundings.
"Mission accomplished. We're one step closer now." Xiao Yan walked over to Little Fairy Doctor, grinning as he showed off his gains from this trip.
Now, only one of the three kinds of Heavenly Flames required for the Poison Pill remained. Once he gathered the Monster Core and the main ingredients, he could start refining the Poison Pill after reaching the 7th-tier alchemist.
Despite Xiao Yan's bright smile, Little Fairy Doctor couldn't bring herself to smile back. Because two days ago, she had already heard a rough account from the Amethyst Winged Lion King about what had happened.
Even though it was described in very general terms with just a few sentences, Little Fairy Doctor broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing it. A 7-star Dou Emperor, the soul body of a 7th-tier alchemist, refining a Heavenly Flame! For a Dou Master, encountering any one of these would result in instant death!
"I'm not in a hurry. I haven't consumed any poison these past few days. You can wait until you reach the 7th-tier before going to find the Heavenly Flame. It won't be too late," Little Fairy Doctor said worriedly.
Regardless of whether Xiao Yan was obtaining the Heavenly Flames for himself or for the promise of the Poison Pill, this favor was so immense that she didn't know how to repay it.
"Hahaha, it's fine. I need the Heavenly Flames for myself too. Have you cooked? It's been a while since I had your herbal soup. Here are some medicinal ingredients. See if there are any you need." Xiao Yan took out a storage ring. It was Yao Li's ring. Although all the pills had been used up, there were still quite a few precious medicinal ingredients inside.
Killing the enemy and not looting their treasures was against the laws of heaven.
The moment Little Fairy Doctor saw the precious medicinal ingredients, her inner physician's heart lit up with excitement. She hurriedly walked over and began identifying and selecting them.
Three days passed very quickly. During this time, aside from cultivating, Xiao Yan focused on refining 4th-tier pills and familiarizing himself with the Dou Grandmaster realm
During this time, Xiao Yan focused on refining 4th-tier pills and familiarizing himself with the Dou Grandmaster realm. After cultivation, he would enjoy the meals and herbal soups prepared by Little Fairy Doctor, which had become one of his greatest pleasures.
"That magical beast has awakened. It's time for us to leave. If it discovers that the Ten Thousand Beast Flame has fallen into your hands, I'm afraid it will cause unnecessary trouble," the Amethyst Winged Lion King suddenly raised its head and looked in the direction of the Beast Tomb, its voice solemn.
Xiao Yan understood that there was no way to explain having taken the sacred treasure of the Beast Tomb. The Eight-Winged Flame Demon Tiger had already died, so even the Amethyst Winged Lion King would likely face trouble.
Both Xiao Yan and the Little Fairy Doctor had long made preparations to leave. They had picked many medicinal herbs in the small valley, and Xiao Yan even gave Yao Li's storage ring to her.
"I will accompany her to the Chu Yun Empire," the Amethyst Winged Lion King suddenly said in a deep voice.
! ! ?
Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed, and with a hint of displeasure, he said, "Lion King, what do you mean by this?"
Having witnessed Xiao Yan's capabilities, the Amethyst Winged Lion King's attitude was no longer as unyielding as before, but it didn't back down either. "You've already obtained the Ten Thousand Beast Flame. There must be some guarantee for our agreement."
Little Fairy Doctor waved her hand with a smile and said, "The Lion King probably can't stay in the Magic Beast Mountain Range because of the Ten Thousand Beast Flame matter. I've also agreed to let it come along. Besides, I believe you will definitely become a 7th-tier alchemist."
Xiao Yan sighed and said with a helpless expression, "Lion King, you should know that Little Fairy Doctor is not a hostage."
"I won't let any harm come to her."
Xiao Yan nodded after hearing the Amethyst Winged Lion King's promise. He took out three pill bottles from his storage ring, two of which were for Little Fairy Doctor. "These contain a 4th-tier healing pill and a poison pill, just in case you need them."
Little Fairy Doctor understood Xiao Yan's intentions and accepted them without any pretense.
"Lion King, this bottle contains a pill refined using the Ten Thousand Beast Flame. It has some refined Ten Thousand Beast Flame inside, which can help Little Lion King break through to Rank 5 more easily."
The Amethyst Winged Lion King was stunned for a moment. It didn't expect Xiao Yan to have prepared such a pill!
Xiao Yan had anticipated that the Amethyst Winged Lion King would follow Little Fairy Doctor to prevent him from going back on his word.
After receiving the pill, the Amethyst Winged Lion King said solemnly, "I understand your meaning. You can rest assured."
Xiao Yan said nothing more. With the Amethyst Winged Lion King around, Little Fairy Doctor's personal safety would at least have some guarantee. Moreover, as long as he didn't die and could refine the Body Transformation Pill, the Amethyst Winged Lion King wouldn't make a move against her.
"If anything happens, you can find me at the Xiao Clan in Wu Tan City or at Jia Nan Academy."
Little Fairy Doctor nodded and sat on Xiao Lan's back. With a clear eagle cry, they soared into the sky toward the west.
Sitting on Xiao Lan's back, Little Fairy Doctor turned her head and waved at Xiao Yan, shouting loudly, "If you want to find me, come back to this small valley."
Xiao Yan watched as Little Fairy Doctor left first, merely seeing her off.
After she was completely out of sight, his gaze suddenly changed as he said in a deep voice, "Sir, you've been following me for some time now. I wonder what your purpose is?"
Xiao Yan stared at a patch of shadow in the small valley. If his Spiritual Strength hadn't reached the late stage of the Mortal State after cultivating the Spirit Heart Gathering Soul Technique, he wouldn't have discovered that someone had been following him all along!
When he had first exited the Beast Tomb, he had already noticed someone tailing him.
With a buzzing sound, an old man emerged from the shadows and sighed, "It is true that heroes are born from the young. No wonder the Young Miss has taken a liking to you."
"Young Miss? Who are you?" Xiao Yan had a guess in his heart.
"My name is Ling Ying. I was sent by Young Miss Xun Er to secretly protect you, Young Master Xiao Yan," the old man said respectfully.
Xiao Yan's heart trembled. Xun Er's identity was truly not simple, to send such a person to protect him!
He waved his hand and said, "Alright, you can go back and protect Xun Er. I don't want anyone following me."
Xiao Yan had come to train and gain experience. If he had a powerful expert following him, he would develop a reliance mentality.
Ling Ying felt like crying. Not long ago, Xun Er had used a flimsy excuse to send him on a wild goose chase through the Jia Ma Empire, supposedly looking for traces of a Dou God's ruins. It was obvious that she didn't want to return to the clan. Then, after not finding anything, she sent him to protect Xiao Yan.
If you don't want to go back to the clan, don't drag me into it!
As a result, he had just found Xiao Yan's whereabouts and followed him for a few days before being discovered! This old face of his was lost.
He still couldn't understand how Xiao Yan's Spiritual Perception was so strong. He was only eighteen years old!
Ling Ying wanted to say something more, but after seeing the look in Xiao Yan's eyes, he ultimately swallowed his words and raised his hand, "Understood, I'll go back and report to Miss Xun Er right away."
"Ahem, also… don't talk too much about what happened in this small valley," Xiao Yan said while rubbing his nose.
"Uh... I'll try to keep it brief."
=================
Xiao Yan shook his head to clear his mind of any distracting thoughts after Ling Ying left. Once he was focused again, he spread his Eagle Wings and flew in the opposite direction.
Because of Xiao Yan's arrival and the matter of the Ten Thousand Beast Flame, Little Fairy Doctor's journey to the Chu Yun Empire had completely changed from its original purpose.
Unforeseen events were slowly converging on her, and the storm caused by the butterfly effect was gradually expanding.
...
...
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END OF VOLUME 1