Breaking the Masked Man

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea has passed.

Inside the medicine cauldron, the grayish-brown pill floating and spinning in the illusory golden fire suddenly stopped. Then, a fierce energy wave suddenly rippled out from the flames, crashing into the medicine cauldron like ripples, making several loud booming sounds. At the same time, a rich medicinal fragrance spread out, like a light white mist, filling the cave.

Its medicinal aroma is extremely sweet; just one sip is enough to invigorate the spirit and make the body feel as if it is being soaked in a hot spring, receiving nourishment.

This is an unusual phenomenon that occurs after a fifth-grade elixir is successfully formed.

Yao Yan was fully aware of this, but remained neither sad nor happy. He continued to control the Illusionary Gold Fire for the final nurturing, as this was related to the final quality of the pill. He did not want the Grade 5 Deer Essence Strengthening Pill he had refined to be a low-quality product.

About the time it takes to drink a cup of tea has passed.

A grayish-brown pill floated out of the cauldron and landed steadily in front of Yao Yan.

"It's done!"

Yao Yan's face turned slightly pale, but a joyful smile appeared on her lips.

Before he could even feel happy for a moment, a green shadow silently darted out from his side and snatched the freshly made Grade 5 Deer Essence Strengthening Pill in one bite.

"Holy crap! Shut up!!"

A scream of terror and fury suddenly erupted from inside the cave.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 32 Three Flowers Gather at the Top

It was too late after all; you can't expect a foodie to show mercy.

Yao Yan gripped Ling'er's neck, looking into her large, watery eyes. The girl was looking at her innocently, clearly unaware of what she had done, let alone how precious the Grade 5 Deer Essence Strengthening Pill was.

Why would someone with a strange fire take medicine? Yao Yan was both amused and exasperated, and finally stared helplessly at Ling'er.

The fifth-grade pill that he had painstakingly refined was swallowed up by this little guy before he could even admire it. He was truly speechless. It was his own fault for focusing on the cauldron and not noticing the little guy lurking nearby.

"Is it tasty?"

Yao Yan reached out and tugged at the corner of her mouth, saying in an annoyed tone.

Ling'er realized she had done something wrong, and her previously perked-up ears drooped. She stared at him cautiously and whispered, "Eek~"

"Since you're so good at whining, if you ever take human form, you absolutely have to become a fox-eared girl, you hear me!"

Yao Yan pinched her big, furry ears and gave her some instructions.

"嘤嘤......"

Ling'er naturally couldn't understand Yao Yan's words, so she could only blink her big eyes and look at him pitifully, as if she were looking at a strange uncle who was abducting girls.

Yao Yan had regained his composure by now. He held her in his arms, patted her head reassuringly, and instructed, "See this medicine cauldron? In the future, don't swallow the pills I refine in it directly. You can eat the ones in the medicine bottles as you like, okay?"

He pointed to the medicine cauldron, then to the pile of medicine bottles on one side, many of which were already empty, the low-grade pills inside having been consumed by Ling'er.

I really don't know why someone with a different kind of fire is so fond of taking drugs.

Perhaps it is related to Ling'er's own wood attribute. The Flame of Life was born in a vibrant primeval forest, and its growth must be related to the essence of plants. As for the deeper connection, only Yao Yan can figure it out after refining it.

Thinking of this, Yao Yan felt a little guilty. Ling'er, that little foodie, was just greedy, but he was worried about her health.

However, this feeling of remorse quickly disappeared.

Because this is the Dou Qi Continent, even if Ling'er doesn't refine it herself, others will still target her. The Flame of Life is the most coveted exotic fire for alchemists, followed by the path of Dou Di. If she wants to follow the path of the Ancient Emperor Tuoshe, devouring exotic fire is inevitable.

By refining it himself, he can at least preserve Ling'er's nature and even help her grow to the level of Emperor Flame, becoming a sentient being instead of a clueless strange flame.

"嘤嘤~"

Ling'er glanced at the medicine cauldron, then at Yao Yan, and finally at the pills casually placed in the corner, before obediently nodding.

She understood what Yao Yan meant.

Yao Yan looked at the little fox in her arms and said softly, "Don't be greedy in the future. You can tell me what you want to eat. I'll give you anything I can give you."

Ling'er tilted her head back, revealing a bright, smiling expression that was incredibly lively.

Yao Yan smiled when he saw this, then put her down and sat cross-legged to recover his battle qi. He planned to refine another one after his battle qi recovered. Practice makes perfect, and refining a fifth-grade item was not too difficult for him. The only thing he needed to pay attention to was his battle qi, but this problem could be solved once he broke through to the Great Battle Master level.

His previously somewhat weak battle qi has gradually stabilized during this month's alchemy process, and perhaps in a few days he can consider breaking through to the Seven-Star Battle Master level.

At the same time, this month of frantic alchemy also gave him a new understanding of battle qi, soul power, and blood qi.

This is related to his practice of the Three Flowers Gathering Fire Technique.

This technique was used by the Medicine Clan to help their young members establish their foundation. Although it is a low-level Yellow Rank technique, its effects are extremely unique. It can absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to nourish the body's essence, energy, and spirit. As he cultivated it more deeply, he felt its special nature more and more.

"Gather the power of heaven and earth, refine the essence, energy, and spirit of the human body, condense the three flowers at the top of the head, and nurture the seed of primordial chaos..."

This sentence is the general outline of the Three Flowers Gathering Fire Technique. The first two sentences are easy to understand, but the latter is a bit hard to understand. To this day, no one has cultivated to the point of Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, so naturally no one knows what the Primordial Seed is.

"Perhaps only by reaching the state of Three Flowers Gathering at the Top can one understand the meaning of the last sentence."

Yao Yan circulated his cultivation technique while pondering these matters. With his current soul realm, multitasking was not a major problem for him.

However, some questions don't have answers just because you think about them.

Soon, Yao Yan suppressed these thoughts, because with his current cultivation level, thinking about these things was meaningless. Some questions did not need to be deliberately sought out; when your cultivation level was sufficient, the answers to these questions would naturally come to you.

"Om~"

As an invisible spiritual force spread, Yao Yan felt a strange tug at his heart. He instinctively stopped cultivating, opened his eyes, and instantly saw the eerie black flames floating on his storage ring.

It is formless and shapeless, without any ripples, as if it has merged with space, even swallowing up the slightest ripples.

If you didn't see it with your eyes, you wouldn't be able to perceive it at all.

After a while.

A jade tablet, enveloped in black flames, flew out of the storage ring. Accompanied by a surge of vast soul power, Hun Xuzi's figure appeared in Yao Yan's field of vision. Surrounded by ethereal flames, he resembled a messenger from hell, sinister and terrifying, unlike a good person.

When Ling'er saw the person who came, she immediately bristled and hid in the corner. Her body trembled slightly, and her bright eyes cautiously stared at Hun Xuzi.

A typical example of someone who is both incompetent and brave.

Hun Xuzi naturally wouldn't care about a second-tier Green Wood Fox. He glanced around the cave, his eyes flashing with black flames, and said with a hint of surprise, "You refined a fifth-grade Deer Essence Strengthening Pill? This pill is considered a high-grade among fifth-grade pills. For someone your age to reach the level of a fifth-grade alchemist is extremely rare, even among the Medicine Clan."

Rare? Well, such people do exist.

Upon hearing this, Yao Yan showed no sign of pride, and stood up to bow, saying, "Teacher, you flatter me."

"Your talent in alchemy is indeed extremely high, but if you didn't have this talent, I wouldn't have chosen you in the first place!"

Hun Xuzi chuckled, clearly quite satisfied with Yao Yan.

No teacher likes a fool.

Yao Yan smiled shyly, feigning a well-behaved demeanor.

Hun Xuzi's smile faded, and after a moment of contemplation, he slowly said, "I originally planned to find the essence blood of the Dou Di from the Yan Clan and the Lei Clan for you, but my previous actions against the Shi Clan and the Ling Clan were too drastic, which aroused the vigilance of all the clans. I guess it's not going to be possible for the next few years."

After a pause, he continued:

"As for the essence blood of magical beasts, its compatibility with you is not very high, so it is not the first choice. After all, you are a human. However, when your cultivation level is higher in the future, you can consider devouring some to try it out. The three major families of magical beasts can be considered as good food."

A decent ration?!

If the Taixu Ancient Dragon Clan, the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan, and the Nine Nether Earth Python Clan heard this... they wouldn't seem to have any right to resist. Food is just food after all. If it weren't for the fear of the reactions of other imperial clans, the Soul Clan could really treat the three great demon beast clans as poultry.

The Soul Clan is truly too powerful… Yao Yan recalled the description of the Soul Clan in the original work and couldn’t help but sigh.

A thousand years of planning, coupled with the power of the bloodline enhanced by the Void Devouring Flame, has brought the Soul Clan to over a dozen high-level Battle Saints and dozens of low-level Battle Saints—a truly astonishing number.

If it weren't for the ancient clan having Gu Yuan supporting them, the Soul Clan might have already begun slaughtering the entire Dou Qi Continent.

Suppressing his inner turmoil, Yao Yan thanked him respectfully:

"Thank you for your hard work, teacher."

Hun Xuzi waved his hand and said gently, "There's no need for that. You are my only disciple, and it's my duty as a teacher to train you."

"teacher……"

Yao Yan looked at Hun Xuzi with eyes full of filial piety and exclaimed in emotion.

Who isn't an actor?

If you want it, I'll give you what you want.

Seeing Yao Yan's expression, Hun Xuzi was quite satisfied. It was worth all the lies he had fabricated. Yao Yan had indeed fallen for them and was bound by this teacher-student relationship. His choice was correct. It was obviously better to manipulate human nature than to use force to coerce him. It could make the other party willingly become his disciple.

But he seems to have forgotten.

Those who manipulate human nature will ultimately be manipulated by human nature themselves.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 33 The Goal of Cultivation

The old man wanted to be his teacher, so Yao Yan would naturally oblige.

Before he has enough strength, he will obediently be a well-behaved and intelligent disciple.

Hun Xuzi was quite satisfied with Yao Yan's performance during this period. Whether it was talent or temperament, he was impeccable in his eyes. In particular, Yao Yan was a perfect creation of his own, and he was also very interested in seeing how far Yao Yan could ultimately go.

Thinking of this, Hun Xuzi used his soul power to examine Yao Yan's body and said with considerable surprise, "The Vajra Indestructible Body has broken through to the second level?"