Battle Through the Heavens: Xiao Yan, who was kidnapped to another world

Almost instantly after Hua Zong raised his bid, Xiao Yan immediately offered a new price. After all, this strange futon could even repel the spiritual power of a Celestial Talisman Master. Not to mention that the transaction was only using Pure Yuan Pills, even Nirvana Pills would be completely worthwhile.

Upon hearing the new price, Hua Zong finally couldn't hold back any longer. He slowly shook his head and leaned back in his chair. If the futon were replaced with a high-grade spiritual treasure, he would have continued to raise the price. But this was just a futon whose function he had no idea about. Even for someone of his status, spending over 100,000 Pure Yuan Pills to acquire it would be too extravagant.

The price of 100,000 also deterred many people who were interested in the futon. After a long while, no one raised the price. Finally, this strange treasure fell into the hands of Xiao Yan and Lin Shou for 100,000 Pure Yuan Pills.

After acquiring the futon, no other auction items interested Xiao Yan and Lin Dong appeared. Even the high-level defensive spiritual treasure that fetched the highest price only caught their attention briefly.

After the auction ended, the two went inside the auction hall and took the antique yellow futon.

Standing in the quiet little room, Xiao Yan looked at the futon in his hand. It was cool to the touch and covered with many mysterious runes. They looked obscure and complicated at first glance. After looking at it for a few moments, Xiao Yan reluctantly handed the futon to Lin Dong.

"My mental energy can't detect anything. It's just like something that's as ordinary as it gets," Lin Dong said helplessly after using his mental energy to investigate. "If I didn't have some confidence in my mental energy, I might have really thought that the obscure runes were just a decoy."

"Let's find another place to take another look later," Xiao Yan said with a helpless smile. "Maybe it's just that my current level of mental energy isn't enough."

After all, the Great Puppet City stands deep within the Great Wilderness County, only two days' journey from the Great Wilderness Ancient Stele. Perhaps this futon is a treasure left behind by an ancient sect within the Great Wilderness Ancient Stele, and that ancient sect has even produced beings at the Reincarnation Realm. With only their two Immortal Talisman Master level spiritual power, they might not be able to see anything.

Let's try to find out something after we merge them again.

With this in mind, the two left the small room provided by the auction. Just then, a woman in a black dress walked out of the treasure room next door. It was Mu Qianqian from the Great Demon Sect.

When the two saw Mu Qianqian, she also noticed Xiao Yan and Lin Dong. Mu Qianqian's beautiful eyes sparkled, and then she gracefully walked over with small steps, smiling sweetly, "You two must be Mr. Xiao Yan and Mr. Lin Dong, right?"

Sensing the allure emanating from Mu Qianqian, Xiao Yan frowned slightly, "Put away your seductive arts!"

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, Mu Qianqian's expression stiffened. Although she didn't think she could influence powerful experts like Xiao Yan and Lin Dong who had reached the Great Perfection of the Creation Realm, this was the first time she had been so mercilessly rebuked...

But ultimately, she was still outmatched, and Mu Qianqian could only try her best to restrain the allure emanating from her naturally seductive body.

"Your brother is ruthless," Little Marten chuckled, having also heard Xiao Yan's reprimand. "Even a natural beauty like him, whose every smile and frown could captivate, couldn't affect him at all."

'It would be problematic if it could even have an effect,' Lin Dong thought to himself, rolling his eyes. 'He's not some lecherous monster; this level of charm wouldn't affect Xiao Yan even without using mental power, would it?'

'That's hard to say...' Little Mink chuckled strangely.

Unaware of Xiao Mink's perverse sense of humor, Xiao Yan spoke calmly after Mu Qianqian withdrew her seductive aura, "I know you, Mu Qianqian of the Great Demon Sect. Are you here to make a deal with me on behalf of the Great Demon Sect?"

"I suppose so," Mu Qianqian nodded upon hearing this. "The Great Demon Sect doesn't have any of the four medicinal herbs that you two are looking for that meet the age requirement... I wonder if we could exchange them for other items?"

If it were merely a creation-based martial art or cultivation technique, it wouldn't warrant such a great deal of effort from the Great Demon Sect. However, the information released by these two individuals recently also included information about spiritual martial arts...

“Sure,” Xiao Yan said without refusing, “100,000 Nirvana Pills for a Spiritual Martial Arts Manual.”

"Nirvana Pill..." Upon hearing these three words, Mu Qianqian's expression stiffened slightly.

Given the size of the Great Demon Sect, they could easily afford to spend tens or hundreds of thousands of Nirvana Pills. However, no one knew what type of martial art they would obtain in exchange for those pills. If it was something that most people could cultivate, that would be fine, but if it was a martial art that was limited to only a few dozen or even a handful of people, it wouldn't be worth it.

"Hehe, Miss Qianqian, so you've been here all along."

As Mu Qianqian spoke in a low voice, a voice that Xiao Yan and Lin Dong found somewhat familiar rang out from behind. Turning around, they saw Hua Zong of the Yin Kui Sect walking over with a smile.

As Xiao Yan and Lin Dong turned around, Hua Zong noticed them as well. His smile deepened, but beneath it lay a chilling undertone. After all, Xiao Yan and Lin Dong had recently snatched the Spirit Nourishing Futon from him, and even earlier, they had killed an elder of the Yin Puppet Sect.

Ignoring Hua Zong's cold gaze, Xiao Yan turned his attention back to Mu Qianqian. "Miss Mu, you've been thinking about this for a long time. Are you willing to make the exchange?"

Upon hearing this, Mu Qianqian gave a bitter smile: "The decision of 100,000 Nirvana Pills is not something I can make on my own. I need to go back and discuss it with the sect leader."

“We will remain in Da Kui City for the time being,” Xiao Yan said calmly. “If we are still unable to provide an answer before the Great Wilderness Ancient Stele is opened, then I can only apologize.”

"Of course." Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Mu Qianqian also breathed a sigh of relief. There was still some time before the Great Wilderness Ancient Stele was opened, which was enough time for the Great Demon Sect to carefully consider the matter.

After leaving those words, Xiao Yan and Lin Dong bypassed Mu Qianqian and Hua Zong and headed out of the auction house.

After randomly finding an inn in the Great Puppet City, Xiao Yan and Lin Dong took out the futon again and placed it on the table.

The futon was an antique yellow color, and looked quite old. A wisp of slightly cool energy seeped out from the futon. This energy did not react to Yuan Power, but when it touched one's mental power, it was like touching ice water, making one's mind clear.

"Can you understand the runes on it?" Xiao Yan, who still hadn't found any clues, looked at Lin Dong.

“Uh…” Lin Dong hesitated for a moment, then asked in his mind, ‘What does the rune on it mean?’

The little ferret inside the stone talisman rubbed its paws awkwardly. Although it usually acted like it knew everything, it really couldn't understand the runes on the futon.

"How about we try using fire?" the little ferret asked cautiously.

Lin Dong, equally clueless, repeated Xiao Diao's words.

"Fire?" Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment. "Which kind?" He slightly opened his right hand, and three kinds of strange fire, a beast fire, and a spiritual fire appeared on his fingers in turn.

Looking at the flames of different colors on Xiao Yan's right hand, Lin Dong's expression was a little strange. He knew that Xiao Yan had a strong interest in all kinds of flames, but he did not expect that Xiao Yan would collect so many flames.

"Honestly, those three flames really do feel like the Flame Ancestral Symbol..." Little Marten muttered, looking at the three strange flames on Xiao Yan's fingers. "Could it be that the ruthless person who controlled the Flame Ancestral Symbol has already perished?"

"Never mind what happens to that person," Lin Dong sighed. "Which kind of flame should we use?"

"Use the strongest!"

"...Are you sure?" Hearing Lin Dong's words, Xiao Yan's expression became even stranger. The strongest flame he could use right now was undoubtedly the original flame after using the fusion technique.

Before arriving at the Tianxuan Continent, that primordial flame was already a threat to Dou Zun... that is, a powerhouse at the Reincarnation Mirror level. Even if this futon was made by the Reincarnation Realm expert, it might not be able to withstand it.

"I'm sure!" Lin Dong nodded firmly. "It's just 100,000 Pure Yuan Pills anyway."

Indeed, that is, 100,000 Pure Yuan Pills.

Xiao Yan nodded in agreement, then his aura suddenly surged, condensing into a wisp of greenish-blue flame less than a finger's thickness before the inn was destroyed by his power. This flame, under Xiao Yan's control, made contact with the futon—

Suddenly, a dazzling light emanated from the futon, and a strange fluctuation that sent chills down their spines seeped out from the light. Then, a special energy about the size of a fist, with an extremely chaotic color, slowly condensed.

"what is this?"

Xiao Yan and Lin Dong stared at the chaotic energy in utter confusion. They could sense fluctuations of Yuan Power and spiritual power within it, but without a doubt, this thing was definitely not Yuan Power or spiritual power.

"Damn! The power of fusion?!" The little ferret inside the stone talisman cursed upon sensing the energy. "This thing can actually fuse elemental power and spiritual power together? Even at my peak, I couldn't do that. Who made this thing? How could they achieve this?"

'Is this power very strong?' Lin Dong asked subconsciously.

"Very strong!" Little Mink nodded vigorously. "Did you notice the greenish-blue flames your brother just created? If the power of that flame were to be fully unleashed, even a powerful expert at the peak of the Death Profound Realm would be doomed, but it would only pose a certain threat to a Revolving Mirror Realm expert."

However, the energy refined on this futon, once unleashed, will likely result in severe injury unless a powerful expert of the Wheel Mirror realm responds with their full strength!

'That's outrageous!'

"No, it's mainly because your brother's performance was ridiculously exaggerated," Xiao Diao shook his head. "His previous state... was probably due to the Martial Soul Fusion technique he learned on that Douluo Continent? In that state, when he went all out, he was already no weaker than a powerhouse who had just entered the Reincarnation Mirror realm. That futon could only be said to have increased his combat power by a little bit."

If it were you...

Hey, guess how long it will take you now, since you failed to achieve Martial Soul Fusion back then, to completely balance your Yuan Power and Spiritual Power and inject them into this futon, and condense this chaotic energy?

Lin Dong's expression froze. Xiao Yan had mentioned the effects of spirit fusion before, but Lin Dong was focused on ring fusion, which meant completely fusing the split natal spirit talismans, so he hadn't tried it.

Currently, his Yuan Power level is only at the Great Perfection of the Creation Realm, but his Spiritual Power has already reached the level of a Celestial Talisman Master. The time required to adjust these two abilities to a completely balanced state...

Perhaps it's no less than having him forge a Heaven-grade spiritual treasure himself, starting from collecting materials?

While Lin Dong was struggling with his question, Xiao Yan finally gleaned some clues from the chaotic energy. "Teacher, this thing... isn't that much different from the array formation mentioned in the 'Comprehensive Explanation of Array Formations' book that Xun'er's father gave me, the one that the Soul Clan uses to perfectly blend Dou Qi and soul power?"

"It seems...yes." The old apothecary nodded slowly.

Before Gu Yuan left, he gave Xiao Yan a book on array formations. Although it did not record many powerful array formations, it did mention various strange array formations, including but not limited to those that erase the intelligence of high-level pills, those that use blood to break through level restrictions, and those that use blood to improve the energy missing from high-level pills.

What impressed Xiao Yan the most was the formation that could perfectly mix battle qi and soul power. After all, in Xiao Yan's opinion, that formation was not much different from the martial soul fusion he had learned.

Today, looking at the chaotic energy extracted from this futon, Xiao Yan finally discovered the difference between his 'fusion' and that formation—

His fusion was simply mixing "sand" and "stone" together, while this formation involved grinding "stone" into the size of "sand" and then stirring them evenly until the sand and stone were indistinguishable.

"I think I know what this futon is for!"

"I know what's inside this futon!"

Without any particular order, Lin Dong and Xiao Yan looked at each other and said the above words.

"You go first," Xiao Yan said with a smile, stepping aside.

"Alright, I'll go first!"

Lin Dong didn't stand on ceremony and nodded before recounting everything that Xiao Diao had told him.

Chapter 237 Interlude

A few days later, Mu Qianqian, accompanied by a powerful expert at the Great Perfection of the Qi Creation Realm, visited Xiao Yan and Lin Dong again. Whether a deal was reached during the visit remains unknown.

Even after Hua Zong inquired multiple times, Mu Qianqian shook her head helplessly, indicating that no deal had been reached. She also said that when the Great Wilderness Ancient Stele was opened, the leader of the Great Demon Sect would come in person to try to reach a deal with Xiao Yan and Mu Qianqian.

"Do you believe it?" Hua Zong sipped his tea and looked at the young man in black across the table.

"Me? What does this have to do with me?" The young man in black, Wu Ci, the strongest of the younger generation in the Martial Alliance, curled his lip. "You didn't come to me just for something like this, did you?"

Although they are all considered to be among the younger generation of the three major powers in the Great Wilderness Prefecture, Wuci would naturally not accept Huazong's invitation under normal circumstances. If Huazong hadn't said that the matter to be discussed was related to the "Lingwu Duo", Wuci wouldn't have even come.

Incidentally, the "Spiritual Martial Duo" was the title Xiao Yan and Lin Dong held in the Great Wilderness County some time ago.

"How could it not be related?" Hua Zong laughed. "That's Lingwu Technique..."

"100,000 Nirvana Pills, it's not like my Martial Alliance can't afford that," Wu Ci said, standing up without hesitation as Hua Zong still wanted to continue the topic. "If your Yin Kui Sect wants the Spiritual Martial Arts manual in the hands of the Spiritual Martial Duo, you can contact them directly. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving now."

After speaking, without waiting for Hua Zong to reply, he pushed open the door and walked out of the inn.

Seeing Wu Ci's utterly disrespectful behavior, Hua Zong's face turned ashen, yet he was helpless. Putting aside the fact that his strength was far inferior to Wu Ci's, just considering their status... one was a future successor of the Martial Alliance, while the other was the son of an elder of the Yin Kui Sect, making them completely incomparable.

Just then, a figure entered the house.

"Mu Qianqian and the others have disguised themselves and headed out of the city." The figure knelt on the ground and reported in a deep voice.

"Disguise? Ha, so the deal has already been completed?" Hua Zong sneered, showing no surprise at the scout's report. "The three of you will have to follow that woman for now." Hua Zong looked at the other three people in the room.

"Us?" The hook-nosed expert, a master of the Shaping Realm, had a slightly strange expression. "Protector Hua, the Great Demonic Sect has sent an elder who has reached the Qi Creation Realm!"

“I know,” Hua Zong nodded. “So, Father is already waiting outside the Great Wilderness Plains. He will make his move as soon as he finds out the location of those people from the Great Demon Sect.”

"Elder Hua Gu?" Another powerful expert at the peak of the Shaping Realm had a slight glimmer of hope. "The elder has come this time..."

"Make a deal with those two," Hua Zong naturally knew what his subordinate was thinking, "but if I have time, I will help you refine talisman puppets."

"Thank you in advance, Protector Hua!" The hook-nosed man also showed a happy expression.

Subsequently, two Great Completion Realm cultivators and one Lesser Completion Realm cultivator quietly blended into the crowd on the street and moved towards the gate of Great Puppet City.

*

After disguising themselves, Mu Qianqian and the powerful Qi Creation Realm expert from the Great Demon Sect left the city with great ease. However, this ease did not put their minds at ease; on the contrary, they became even more vigilant. Nevertheless, they did not slow down their pace as they traversed the dense forest.

Suddenly, the expert who had reached the Great Perfection of the Qi Creation Realm was startled. He stopped abruptly and shot backward dozens of meters like a spring, not forgetting to pull Mu Qianqian along the way.

Just as the two were retreating, a gray bone spear suddenly pierced through the spot where they had been standing.