Battle Through the Heavens: Reap the Red Lotus Karmic Flame at the Start

Saint Dan City, Dan Tower Headquarters.

Since Xiao Yan achieved perfect scores in two consecutive trials, the previously decadent atmosphere of the Pill Tower has changed. Many people have begun to re-examine the Pill Tower, this behemoth that has stood in the Central Continent for over ten thousand years, and have discovered that the Pill Tower is definitely not so vulnerable, even when facing the descendants of Dou Di families.

Meanwhile, Xiao Yan, at the heart of the matter, remained unusually low-key. Not only did he rest for a full month after attempting the Nine Dragons Trial, but he also completely disappeared after achieving his second perfect score. Xiao Yan's silence left many interested parties quite helpless, while Xiao Yan himself was currently troubled.

Xiao Yan held a list on the table, a helpless look in his eyes. He had had the list for an hour, but still had no clue what to do. Just as Xiao Yan was pondering, a knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Come in."

At that moment, Little Fairy Doctor entered carrying a jade cup. Seeing Xiao Yan's current state, she asked, "What's wrong? Still worried about the materials for upgrading the Xuan Heavy Ruler?"

Xiao Yan placed the papers on the table, nodded, and said, "Master Haika is indeed amazing. I just mentioned it casually that day, and he actually came up with a solution. I would be more than happy to upgrade the Xuanzhong Ruler, but these materials are indeed quite difficult to find."

The list prominently featured materials such as Molten Flame Steel, Starry Black Iron, and Fiery Iron Plate. Xiao Yan knew a little about the materials required for the Sea Card, so he was aware of the exorbitant prices behind them. If it were just the high price, that would be one thing, but the key issue was that some of the items on the list were extremely rare and completely unavailable.

Xiao Yan casually took the jade cup from Little Fairy Doctor's hand and drank several mouthfuls of its juice without any hesitation. The juice, made entirely from spiritual fruits, tasted quite wonderful. Little Fairy Doctor then picked up the list, her eyebrows furrowing as she looked at it. There were several items on it that she had never even heard of. After reading it, she said to Xiao Yan, "I'll make a copy later and have Elder Fei look for them."

Xiao Yan nodded in agreement. Although everyone in his group possessed extraordinary strength, their experience was severely limited due to their age. Experience and knowledge couldn't be gained quickly; they only accumulated over time. This was where the importance of having a powerful force became apparent. If he were to handle this personally, he would waste countless hours. However, by entrusting it to the Starfall Pavilion and the Heavenly Phoenix Clan through Fei Tian, ​​the chances of finding the item would undoubtedly be much greater.

"If all else fails, we can think of another way later. After all, Master Haika can't escape either." Xiao Yan then asked, "Is there anything else happening outside?"

"Xuan Kongzi wants you to come over today when you're free; he must be in a hurry for you to attempt the third level."

Then, as if casually remarking, "He's getting a little anxious; he didn't realize you haven't been feeling well lately."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's hand holding the cup trembled slightly, but he forced himself to remain calm: "I'm fine. The pressure on the Pill Tower is immense. It's common for them to be impatient after I get two perfect scores."

"That's good then." After watching Xiao Yan finish drinking, Little Fairy Doctor casually picked up her cup and got up to leave.

The more composed Little Fairy Doctor appeared, the more guilty Xiao Yan felt. He and Qing Lin hadn't discussed what happened that night; in fact, Qing Lin had gone into seclusion afterward. This avoidance actually gave Xiao Yan a moment of relief; he needed time to reflect on his relationship with Qing Lin. Little Fairy Doctor, however, seemed to have sensed something, yet remained silent, leaving Xiao Yan somewhat helpless.

However, Little Fairy Doctor was right about one thing: after that night, Xiao Yan felt that his condition had not recovered for a long time.

The crimson lotus flame leaped onto Xiao Yan's fingertips. He could clearly feel the weakening of his strange fire. Recalling the dual experience of ice and fire that night, Xiao Yan roughly guessed that the chilling, century-old mystic ice from Qing Lin's mouth had affected his strange fire. However, he felt his strange fire was constantly recovering, and at the current rate, it definitely wouldn't affect the Pill Gathering, so he wasn't too worried.

Having thought everything through, Xiao Yan's soul power stirred slightly, and the door reopened. After the Nine Dragons Trial, Xiao Yan rested for a month. Although his strange fire was affected, he continued to practice his soul skills diligently. He had barely mastered the Soul Flow Black Vortex, and his control over his soul power became increasingly proficient.

However, Xiao Yan still couldn't grasp the stealthy, elusive nature of the Hidden Shadow Needle, and hadn't yet made any progress. After all, it was a Heaven-rank soul skill, and Xiao Yan wasn't in a hurry to master it all at once. The more difficult the Hidden Shadow Needle was to cultivate, the more he believed in its considerable power, and that it would become a ruthless trump card in his future battles.

Afterwards, Xiao Yan went to the higher levels of the Pill Tower again. Now that he was inside the Pill Tower, he was naturally very safe and no longer needed to worry about the safety of his group.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to arrive, a figure suddenly appeared in the darkness and blocked his way.

Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed immediately upon seeing the figure. The reason was simple: he remembered this person in black robes; when he had a conflict with Song Qing, this person had tried to make him a scapegoat. Now that this person had suddenly appeared, even within the Pill Tower, Xiao Yan immediately became cautious.

Who are you?

"Don't be nervous." A flippant voice rang out, and then the man in black robes took off his hood, looked at Xiao Yan with a nonchalant smile, and his prominent canine teeth were very noticeable.

"We've met several times, and you haven't introduced yourself yet. How rude of you." The man in black robes walked up to Xiao Yan with an air of nonchalance, seemingly unconcerned about Xiao Yan's caution, and extended his hand to him.

"Wei Jiangyuan".

"Who exactly are you?" Xiao Yan never let his guard down around this strange person.

"Hiss... Well, how should I put it?" Wei Jiangyuan scratched his head, seemingly a little embarrassed.

"A future ninth-grade alchemist, the chief disciple of the number one alchemist on the continent, a celestial star descended upon the alchemist path, and a savior from the Pill Tower—none of these seem sufficient to encompass my identity..."

Listening to the person in front of him boasting so arrogantly, Xiao Yan began to get impatient and wanted to step aside.

"It seems you're not interested in any of these things. How about I tell you something you are?"

Xiao Yan had just walked past Wei Jiangyuan when he suddenly couldn't take another step, because Wei Jiangyuan had indeed said something that Xiao Yan found extremely interesting.

"For example, what methods did the Spirit Clan use to subdue the five major affiliated families of the Pill Tower?"