Breaking the Masked Man

Queen Medusa, upon hearing this, followed Yao Yan's gaze and looked at him before slowly saying, "The Longevity Fruit? I don't know. It originally grew near the source of the Ice Spirit Cold Spring and was placed here after it ripened. No one has recognized it all these years."

"What a waste of resources..." Yao Yan thought to himself. He finally understood why there were so few strong people in the Northwest region. It wasn't just because of the lack of natural resources, but also because of the limited perspective of the people here. Even if the most precious items were placed in front of them, they might not recognize them. This lack of understanding meant that even if they possessed a treasure trove, they wouldn't know how to use it.

If this single Longevity Fruit were auctioned in the Central Plains, the resources it would bring would be enough to create several Dou Zong-level powerhouses for the Snake-People race.

Unfortunately, knowledge is monopolized, and no one will impart knowledge to others for no reason. Especially for alchemists, the records of prescriptions and medicinal materials are the most precious resources within the clan, and it is difficult for outsiders to obtain such a systematic inheritance as the Medicine Clan.

This is one of the reasons why the Medicine Clan has been able to continue to this day.

If Yao Yan hadn't been born into the Medicine Clan, he wouldn't have been able to recognize such a rare and precious herb at a glance. Divine objects often conceal their true nature; many rare medicinal herbs have rather ordinary appearances, or even conceal their extraordinary properties, making it impossible for people to discern their true nature.

"It can be used to refine a longevity-enhancing elixir, which is extremely precious."

Yao Yan commented, his gaze not changing much. Lifespan may be extremely precious for the elderly, but for a young man, longevity pills are not very attractive. However, this item is quite precious, and it would be a waste to keep it in the snake-people clan.

"I want this too. I can refine a few more Royal Extreme Pills for the Snake People."

Queen Medusa was no fool; she could see how much Yao Yan valued the Longevity Fruit and knew its worth to him. She asked, "Don't you have any pills that can extend lifespan?"

"Do you need it? If so, I can make it for you."

Yao Yan passed the ball to the other side and asked softly.

Queen Medusa shook her head slightly, her cold and beautiful eyes carrying a faint hint of sullenness, and slowly said, "I naturally don't need it, but if you want to persuade those old fogies to acknowledge your relationship, having a few longevity pills might make it easier."

"Wouldn't the Breakthrough Pill be even more attractive? Breaking through from Dou Huang to Dou Zong will increase lifespan by a significant amount."

Yao Yan said with a smile.

Compared to Dou Huang, Dou Zong's lifespan will increase significantly. At this stage, their own energy and fighting spirit will become more compatible, and their bodies will undergo tremendous transformation. In essence, their bodies have gradually broken away from the realm of human beings and are evolving into a more advanced life form.

The lifespan of a Dou Huang is only two or three hundred years, and some even suffer a sharp reduction in lifespan due to injuries, with many having less than two hundred years. Dou Zong, on the other hand, has a lifespan of at least four hundred years and more, and their physical functions are much stronger. Even if their heart is shattered, they can remain alive for a short period of time, which is something that a Dou Huang cannot do.

The Dou Zun is further enhanced.

As for the Battle Saint, they have already transcended the mortal realm and entered sainthood, so losing a heart wouldn't have much of an impact.

"Those old fogies don't have that talent."

Queen Medusa said firmly that she did not want to see a few old fogies break through to the Dou Zong level and continue to stand on her head and swagger around. They were old and still alive, living their lives in the graveyard and still trying to give orders to the snake people.

Upon hearing this, Yao Yan instantly understood her meaning, nodded slightly, and said nothing more.

Queen Medusa stared at Yao Yan and continued, "What exactly is the clue related to the strange fire you mentioned earlier, and is it connected to that fragment of the map?"

"We have some leads now. Once Hai Bodong retrieves the remaining map, I should be able to pinpoint the exact location of the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame."

Yao Yan was spouting nonsense in a serious manner.

Fortunately, a group of people from the Jia Ma Empire were clueless and didn't understand the difference between the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame and the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, so it was easy to fool them. Otherwise, if Queen Medusa knew that the fragment was related to the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, which ranked third on the Strange Flame Ranking, she might have raised the price on the spot.

Queen Medusa is no naive or innocent girl. Even if she's love-struck, you'd have to be able to get to the depths of her soul for it to work.

Since everyone is still in the 'acquaintance' stage, Yao Yan naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to reveal everything.

"The Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame, ranked nineteenth on the Strange Flame Ranking... Are you confident in its power?"

Queen Medusa muttered something, then looked Yao Yan up and down with a look of considerable doubt. She said, “A little guy whose fighting spirit is only at the ‘Dou Ling’ level actually dares to try to subdue a wild flame like the Strange Fire, which was born from heaven and earth. It seems like a joke.”

She even doubted that Yao Yanjie could get close to the Green Lotus Earth Core Flame, so even if she gave him the Ice Spirit Cold Spring, it would be useless.

Strange fire.

These two words alone are enough to crush a person.

Even Queen Medusa, who possessed the peak strength of a nine-star Dou Huang, did not believe that she could subdue such a rare and wondrous object as the Strange Fire. In fact, she felt that if she were to truly face such a Strange Fire, she would most likely be burned to ashes. After all, to refine a Strange Fire, the first thing one needs to do is to extract the source of the Strange Fire and then swallow it.

This one step is enough to kill most people in the world instantly; those who lack the strength can't even get close to it.

What makes Yao Yan so skilled in fighting spirit?

"I will refine a few pills to help, I'm about 90% sure."

Yao Yan smiled slightly, giving Queen Medusa an extremely confident answer.

Seeing the confident smile on Yao Yan's face, Queen Medusa fell silent and did not choose to speak again. She even had a secret thought in her mind: if Yao Yan failed to refine the strange fire, would she no longer need to worry about him and her sister?

However, this thought quickly passed her by. She felt that if something really happened to Yao Yan, her sister would be heartbroken.

This was clearly not what she wanted to see.

This was also the most distressing thing for Queen Medusa.

……

Not long after leaving the treasure vault, Hai Bodong and Mobas returned. At the same time, Hai Bodong handed a fragment of a map to Yao Yan. It was one of the fragments of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame map. Ling'er didn't even need to identify it; the same style made it extremely easy to recognize.

Now only the last piece is missing... Yao Yan carefully put away the remaining map, suppressed his excitement, looked at the people present, and said softly, "I need some time to refine the pills. During this time, I will trouble you to help guard it. If the elders of the Snake-People Clan have any objections to the return of the Rainbow Butterfly, Her Majesty should know how to respond."

His gaze met Medusa Queen's cold and beautiful eyes, and there was an inexplicable collision of souls.

In a more poetic way: love at first sight.

To put it bluntly: lust at first sight.

Medusa clearly didn't feel much for Yao Yan. She had never been one to be attracted to good looks, and she was completely unmoved by Yao Yan's appearance. Her gaze remained cold, and her voice was still soft and seductive enough to make one's bones melt: "I know how to say it. You don't need to be distracted. As long as you can refine the pill you promised, our agreement can continue. If you fail..."

"That's not possible."

Yao Yan smiled and walked towards the secret room next to him. As for Hai Bodong, he would be responsible for guarding the door until Yao Yan came out of seclusion. Cai Die was left behind by Queen Medusa. She was a little worried that Yao Yan might do something to her younger sister again. At such a close distance, the feeling would undoubtedly be stronger, and there would even be a sense of being there.

Queen Medusa felt an indescribable awkwardness whenever she thought of such a scene.

Ling'er ran off with Yao Yan. She wasn't very interested in Cai Die and knew who her benefactors were.

soon.

Yao Yan then went to the center of the secret room, raised his hand and took out a pitch-black medicine cauldron, which was the Black Demon Cauldron, ranked eighth on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking.

The dark-colored cauldron is robust in size and exudes a calm aura. Its surface is painted with lifelike flame totems, which seem almost real as it slowly rotates. In the shadows, the fire-attribute energies around it are gathering towards it.

"What a fine medicine cauldron!"

Yao Yan couldn't help but let out a word of praise. Compared to the medicine cauldron he had used before, this medicine cauldron was the one a true alchemist should use. He rubbed his hands together and couldn't wait to ignite the medicine cauldron with the Illusionary Gold Fire and start refining pills.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 100 Temple

It must be said that a top-grade medicine cauldron provides a considerable boost to an alchemist. It can perfectly isolate the high temperature inside the cauldron and even perfectly deflect the energy shocks during the pill synthesis process, allowing the alchemist to focus wholeheartedly on the alchemy without being disturbed by external factors.

"Om~"

As a visible purple energy ripple spread outwards, a rich medicinal fragrance filled the entire secret chamber, vibrating outwards in concentric circles.

Upon seeing this, Ling'er happily circled around the Black Demon Cauldron, clearly quite interested in the pills inside.

"Whoosh~"

As Yao Yan activated the Black Demon Cauldron, a deep purple pill floated out and was caught steadily by Yao Yan. This pill was none other than the Purple Crystal Source-Stabilizing Pill that he had previously refined for the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King. It was a pill that could barely be classified as a sixth-grade pill. Its greatest function was to maximize the efficacy of the accompanying Purple Crystal Source, which could, to a certain extent, compensate for the source energy consumed by Queen Medusa.

"Its appearance is excellent, and the time required for alchemy has been greatly reduced. It truly lives up to its reputation as the Black Demon Cauldron, which is listed on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking."

Yao Yan examined the pill in his hand, made a comment, and then put the pill into a medicine bottle. He looked down at Ling'er, who was tugging at his clothes, reached out and rubbed her head, and took out a bottle of herbal essence from his storage ring and handed it to her.

As for the pills, it would be too wasteful to give them to Ling'er; he wouldn't make the same mistake.

Ling'er, having obtained the essence of the herbs, happily ran to the side, grabbed the bottle, and started munching on it. She was a typical little glutton, always looking for someone who would feed her. Her big, fluffy ears drooped lazily on either side of her head, and she swayed her tail listlessly.

Yao Yan glanced at the little foodie, then sat cross-legged to meditate for a while, recovering his depleted battle qi and soul power. With his current battle qi, refining the Purple Crystal Solidifying Pill was still somewhat difficult. Only when he truly stepped into the Battle Spirit level could he refine sixth-grade pills with ease.

Of course, this is also related to Yao Yan's talent. Others at the Dou Ling level would not have his level of Dou Qi. And this is only because his Burning Technique is at the high level of the Yellow Rank. Once he advances to the Xuan Rank, his Dou Qi will obviously continue to surge.

Unless someone can cultivate a level-one technique at the Douling level, they might barely reach his level.

However, the higher the level of the cultivation technique, the more demanding the cultivation conditions become. Not everyone can possess such physical talent. The vast majority of cultivators in the world will only choose the Yellow Rank and the Profound Rank.

"Let's continue refining the pills!"

Yao Yan glanced at the accompanying amethyst source in his storage ring and decided to refine most of it into amethyst source-stabilizing pills. Compared to directly swallowing the accompanying amethyst source, amethyst source-stabilizing pills were obviously more suitable for humans, and he could also use them to refine the surging battle qi in his body.

For alchemists, the best training is through repeated pill refining.

Each alchemy session is a refined application of one's own battle qi and soul power. Those with weak battle qi cannot refine high-grade pills.

……

Yao Yan's alchemy process this time was obviously quite long, lasting more than a month, before the tightly closed stone door slowly opened, immediately attracting Hai Bodong's attention. He had been guarding this place all this time and had not gone to other parts of the Snake-People's Royal Palace. After all, this was Snake-People's territory, and it was always better to be cautious.

Looking somewhat tired, Yao Yan carried Ling'er and slowly walked out of the secret chamber. Seeing that only Hai Bodong was there, a hint of surprise appeared in his eyes: "Where's Cai Die?"

"She's been taken into custody by the Snake-People's guards. Those old fogies of the Snake-People's clan, upon learning of her return, had a huge fight with Queen Medusa. The outcome of the negotiations is unknown, but Butterfly has temporarily lost her freedom, while I will continue to guard this place."

Hai Bodong explained the situation clearly in a few words, while giving Yao Yan a helpless look.

These are matters within the Serpent People's clan, and it's obviously inappropriate for an outsider like him to interfere.

Besides, someone needs to guard Yao Yan's side.

As a seasoned veteran, he would naturally choose to wait for Yao Yan to emerge from seclusion. Once Yao Yan came out and refined the pills, many problems would be easily solved. Those old fogies of the Snake-People were not unreasonable people; as long as the benefits were sufficient, there was nothing in this world that couldn't be discussed.

Yao Yan nodded and looked outside. He could already sense Queen Medusa's aura. This was her secluded chamber where she was cultivating. With the stone door open, she could naturally sense it.

A moment later, Queen Medusa's alluring figure came into Yao Yan's sight. Her cold and beautiful eyes looked at Yao Yan with a hint of seriousness. Her red lips parted slightly, and she asked with a hint of urgency, "The pills you promised are ready?"

Yao Yan didn't speak, but simply tossed a bottle of pills over. After the other party caught it, she began to introduce it: "Purple Crystal Source-Stabilizing Pill, a sixth-grade pill. There are two pills in total, enough to restore your depleted source. The excess medicinal power can even nourish your body. As for the other pills, I will send them over after our agreement is fulfilled."