"Is this... a box?" Xiao Se was slightly stunned, then a bright smile appeared on his face as he murmured, "It seems that the person who came here before me only took away the superficial things, and the real treasures are stored under the stone platform."
Xiao Se took out the treasure chest and opened it with almost no effort.
Inside the treasure chest, there were three scrolls—one red, one white, and one black—lying neatly inside, with an envelope placed above them.
There were five large characters written on the front of the envelope: "Autobiography of Luo Han."
"Gulp." Xiao Se swallowed hard, his black eyes flashing with excitement. "These are fighting skills."
Resisting the urge to take out the fighting scrolls, Xiao Se opened the envelope and began to read.
[I am Luo Han, the Pill Emperor of the Jia Ma Empire.
I began practicing at the age of four, reached the ninth level of Dou Qi at fifteen, and broke through to the tenth level at sixteen, condensing the Dou Qi vortex. In the same year, I became a disciple of Old Gu and started practicing alchemy. At eighteen, I officially became a first-class alchemist.
I broke through to the level of Dou Shi at twenty and was promoted to a second-grade alchemist in the same year.
I achieved a breakthrough to Da Dou Shi at twenty-five.
I was promoted to a third-rank alchemist at thirty and reached the Dou Ling realm in the same year.
At fifty, I broke through to the Dou Huang level and became a sixth-grade alchemist.
At seventy, I reached the peak of Dou Huang cultivation, but my fortune was limited, and I couldn't break through to Dou Zong, so I secluded myself here.
If a destined person finds this, press the switch on the back of the treasure chest before taking the fighting skills. In the secret compartment at the bottom of the treasure chest is a fifth-level magical beast flame from the Fire-Devouring Dragon, as well as my lifelong experience as a pharmacist.
Otherwise, when the beast flame erupts, the chance of survival for those below the Dou King level is zero.
I hope you take good care of yourself.
—Left by Pill Emperor Luo Han.]
After reading the letter, Xiao Se took a deep breath and wiped nonexistent cold sweat from his forehead.
"Goodness, if I had taken out the fighting skills without reading the letter first, the beast flame hidden in the secret compartment would have exploded. Not only would I not get the fighting skills, but I'd also lose my life. It seems this Pill Emperor didn't want unworthy successors! And this treasure chest seems to have the function of isolating soul power. No wonder those who came before didn't notice it."
After putting away the letter, Xiao Se walked to the back of the treasure chest and observed it carefully. As expected, he saw a button the size of a fingernail. He gently pressed it, and the treasure chest automatically moved horizontally in the middle.
Instantly, the temperature in the entire cave suddenly rose.
On the left side of the treasure chest's secret compartment, a dark green jade bottle lay quietly. Through it, Xiao Se could vaguely see a bluish-white flame flickering inside.
"This is the beast flame of the fifth-level magical beast, the Fire-Devouring Dragon. When it fully erupts, it's enough to kill any strong person below the Dou Wang level."
Xiao Se didn't overestimate his abilities by touching it. For him, as a beginner fighter without practicing any skills, touching it would be suicidal.
Resisting the temptation of the beast flame, Xiao Se moved his gaze to the right side of the secret compartment.
There lay a shiny black ring with a dazzling dark blue gem embedded on its surface. The Chinese character "中" could be vaguely seen on the inside.
"This is a mid-grade storage ring," Xiao Se exclaimed, joy evident on his face.
Taking out the ring, Xiao Se put it on the thumb of his left hand.
After inputting his dou qi, Xiao Se discovered a wide space inside. Roughly estimated, the internal space was at least one hundred cubic meters.
Xiao Se took out the letter left by Luo Han from his arms and tried to store it in the ring.
A faint light shot out from the gem, enveloping the envelope, which was instantly stored away.
The next second, the dark blue gem projected a transparent human figure with only the upper body. The figure was blurry and unstable, as if it could disappear at any time.
Before Xiao Se could react, it turned into a stream of light and penetrated into his mind through the center of his forehead.
As the light entered his mind, Xiao Se felt as if his head was about to explode. A large amount of alchemist knowledge—such as fire control, soul perception, material identification, and pill recipes—poured into his mind.
At the same time, a majestic and calm voice echoed in his mind:
"Congratulations, my destined one. You have passed my final assessment. Choosing to store the letter I left behind in your ring immediately shows that you are a grateful person. This remnant soul contains all my lifelong alchemy experience. You meet the requirements of an alchemist. Go forth and carry on my alchemy legacy."
After a while, when Xiao Se had completely absorbed the alchemist's memory, he came to his senses. He felt the world became much clearer, and his heart was no longer confused.
Now, he had the lifetime refining experience of a peak sixth-grade alchemist in his mind. With medicinal materials and practice, and as his strength improved, he could become a true sixth-grade alchemist.
"It seems I've struck gold this time. To leave behind a remnant soul with the strength of a peak Dou Huang, this Pill Emperor Luo Han soul strength isn't much inferior to Han Feng, the peak sixth-grade alchemist in the original novel."
[ Ding, patch installation complete. ]
[ Ding, system personal panel opening automatically. ]
[Host]: Xiao Se
[Gender]: Male
[Age]: 11 years old
[Cultivation]: One-star Dou Zhe
[Dou Qi Attribute]: Fire (with a hint of Wood attribute)
[Skill]: None
[Dou Skill]: "Stone Breaking Palm" - Yellow Rank Intermediate
[Number of Exchanges]: 1
[System Warehouse]: None (one cubic meter)
Looking at the translucent light screen in front of him, Xiao Se was slightly stunned. This system update added two functions: dou qi attribute display and a system warehouse.
Xiao Se took out the Heaven Controlling Vial from his storage belt. He didn't want to carry such an important treasure with him at all times. He immediately shouted in his mind, "System, store the Heaven Controlling Vial in the system warehouse."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Heaven Controlling Vial in his hand disappeared. Checking the system panel again, Xiao Se found that the warehouse now contained the item "Heaven Controlling Bottle."
A satisfied smile appeared on Xiao Se's face. "With the Heaven Controlling Vial, I won't have to worry about refining medicines in the future. There will be all kinds of medicinal materials."
He then took out the three fighting skill scrolls from the treasure chest, closed it, and stored the chest, the beast flame, and the scrolls into the ring.
Finally, he took out the Flame Mantra from the storage belt.
"From Luo Han's memory, I know how to refine the Fire-Devouring Dragon's beast flame. Now, let's practice the Flame Mantra! After devouring the beast flame, I should be able to upgrade the Flame Mantra to the middle level of the Yellow Rank."
With this in mind, Xiao Se cleaned the stone chamber, then sat down cross-legged. He opened the Flame Mantra scroll, input his dou qi into it, and the scroll transformed into a hot stream of information that poured into his mind.
The transformation of dou qi officially began.