Chapter 24: Deterrence!

"Heh, so that's how it is. You're looking to pick and choose your targets, aren't you?" Xiao Yan sneered.

"You can't put it that way. This old man is merely a bit curious about what kind of background the two of you have, so that I might pay a visit to express my thanks in the future." Hai Bo Dong did not mind the sarcasm in Xiao Yan's tone, still wishing to pry into the "background" behind Xiao Yan.

The cold air, which was already raging, became even more terrifying without anyone noticing. Even Xiao Yan's Heavenly Flame could no longer fully defend against it, and wisps of frost condensed on the tops of Xiao Yan's feet.

To be honest, the things Xiao Yan had displayed so far were simply too many. Whether it was that powerful flame—which might or might not be a Heavenly Flame—or that cultivation level far exceeding his peers, or the potentially powerful cultivation technique he possessed, all of it signaled that either Xiao Yan had a shocking major power behind him, or he had obtained an astonishing inheritance.

At the mere thought of the latter possibility, even Hai Bo Dong's state of mind could not help but become somewhat heated, and his breathing grew heavy. As for ingratitude or treachery? Heh, since when did such things exist in the cultivation world?

The Little Fairy Doctor squeezed behind Xiao Yan, her Woe Poison Body's essence blood already primed and ready. Even a Dou Huang could not ignore a desperate strike from the Woe Poison Body; at the very least, it could stall for some time and create an opportunity for Xiao Yan to escape.

Xiao Yan also secretly mobilized his final trump card, ready to use it the moment Hai Bo Dong made a move. With the corner of his eye, he gauged the position of the door and planned his escape route.

Watching the small movements of the two, Hai Bo Dong could basically conclude that they had no major power behind them. Otherwise, even if they couldn't bring them out, they should have at least dropped a name to make him wary of the consequences!

Hai Bo Dong narrowed his eyes. The two before him were only at the Fighter and Master Fighter cultivation levels. No matter how heaven-defying they were, it was impossible for them to escape from an Emperor-level in this secret chamber. At the thought of the treasures that surely existed on them, a greedy heart rapidly swelled within him, and a greedy green hue seemed to appear in his eyes.

He touched his Storage Ring with one hand, and a pale yellow scroll radiating an ancient aura appeared in Hai Bo Dong's hand. Gently stroking this pale yellow remnant map, a trace of reluctance flashed in Hai Bo Dong's eyes, but in the end, he flicked his finger, shooting it toward Xiao Yan.

"Fine, since the two of you do not wish to stay any longer, this old man will not force you. Keep this remnant map, and from this day forward, we are even." In the end, Hai Bo Dong chose not to plunder the treasures on the two, perhaps feeling that even if he robbed them, he wouldn't have a use for them, or perhaps he simply disdained doing so. In any case, he did indeed let Xiao Yan and the other go.

Xiao Yan and the Little Fairy Doctor were slightly stunned, not knowing why Hai Bo Dong's attitude had suddenly done a 180-degree turn, nor why he had withdrawn his whistling aura. However, they quickly accepted the remnant map Hai Bo Dong handed over. Xiao Yan opened it to check, even taking out the other half to compare, and only nodded after confirming it was a match.

The corners of Hai Bo Dong's mouth twitched as he watched Xiao Yan's actions. He really wanted to walk over, grab Xiao Yan by the ear, and ask how he had the guts to take out a treasure to compare in front of an Emperor-level who had just been hostile toward them—was he not afraid this Emperor-level would go back on his word? Besides, even if he found a problem, could he really make an Emperor-level exchange it for them?

"Enough, would this old man try to swindle you at a time like this? Hurry up and put them away; stop waving them around in front of me."

"Haha, of course. Old Hai is a man of his word and possesses great integrity; naturally, you wouldn't do such petty things. It was just me, this youngster, measuring a gentleman's stature with a petty man's yardstick." Xiao Yan quickly put away the remnant map, changing his previously icy expression to a smiling one.

"That's a decent thing to say." Hai Bo Dong was clearly satisfied with Xiao Yan's flattery, so he decided to add a few more words: "You two juniors, it's not that I want to lecture you, but you underestimate the sinister nature of the human heart. It's only because you met me this time; if you had met someone else, they would have eaten you two little dolls alive! Remember to be more vigilant when you go out next time, got it?"

*Ugh*—Xiao Yan was speechless inside, thinking to himself: *Do you really think your greed from just a moment ago wasn't exposed at all? * Of course, as long as one didn't act on it, it didn't count for much; after all, no one in this world is perfect.

Looking at the prattling Hai Bo Dong who was busy playing the mentor, he thought about how he would likely run into this guy again at the Imperial Capital, so he decided to leave him with a deep, pit-like impression before he left.

"Old Hai is right; we will definitely be careful in the future," Xiao Yan said, cupping his hands.

"Mm. Very well. It's getting late; this old man will see the two of you out." Hai Bo Dong also saw that the two were impatient to leave and didn't act tactlessly by continuing to lecture. After all, they weren't his own nephews or nieces, so there was no need for him to care so much.

"No need, we can leave on our own," Xiao Yan said, taking the Little Fairy Doctor's hand and walking toward the door.

"Hey, why are you two in such a rush? That door is specially made; it requires this old man to open it personally—" Hai Bo Dong had intended to say more, but suddenly stopped like a duck whose throat had been pinched.

He saw a terrifying power, not inferior to the current Hai Bo Dong and perhaps even stronger, suddenly surge from within Xiao Yan's body.

Boom!!!

Xiao Yan threw a punch, directly blasting a hole in the door large enough for two people to walk out side-by-side!

"Old Master Hai, we shall meet again in the mountains and rivers; until we meet again!" With that, Xiao Yan took the Little Fairy Doctor and left the shop.

Looking at the destroyed door—which even a Spirit-level would find difficult to break—Hai Bo Dong was stunned for a long while before shouting, "What the #!"

"Why did you have to throw that punch at the end?" Walking on the streets of Desert City, looking at the "Ancient Map" shop that had already disappeared behind them, the Little Fairy Doctor asked Xiao Yan.

When he had refined the Green Lotus Core Flame previously, the excess Heavenly Flame energy had been stored by Xiao Yan in the Heavenly Flame seal left behind by Gu Yuan. Besides taking it out as a resource during cultivation, it could also be used when facing enemies, temporarily raising Xiao Yan's strength to the Dou Huang level. The drawback, however, was that every use would consume a significant amount of the remaining Heavenly Flame power.

Just like this time, in a mere few dozen seconds, with just one move, about one-fiftieth had already been consumed. Thus, Xiao Yan had always intended to use it only when fleeing for his life.

Therefore, the Little Fairy Doctor did not understand why Xiao Yan had thrown that punch after the crisis had been resolved.

"We are both people of the Jia Ma Empire; we will inevitably run into Old Hai again sooner or later. We can't gamble every time that he won't harbor greed. Besides, if we ever need a Dou Huang's help in the future, wouldn't Old Hai be the best candidate? By revealing a bit of my trump card, I don't have to worry about him harboring other thoughts later on," Xiao Yan explained.

————

The Little Fairy Doctor looked at Xiao Yan with some suspicion, feeling that he was still hiding something: "Are you already thinking about using other people?"

"Cough, cough, how could that be? How could you think of me like that?" Xiao Yan wanted to defend himself, but in the end, he couldn't withstand the Little Fairy Doctor's questioning gaze: "Alright, I do have a small idea, but this can't be considered using him; it's just borrowing his influence."

"Cough, cough, alright, let's go quickly. Helping Hai Bo Dong break the seal this time took a full five days. Big Brother and Second Brother must be getting anxious; let's go." After saying this, Xiao Yan pulled the Little Fairy Doctor and quickly walked toward the city gates.

The Little Fairy Doctor looked at Xiao Yan with suspicion, wondering what exactly he was hiding from her, but she didn't continue to press him; after all, since she was always following him, she would find out sooner or later.

Actually, it wasn't that Xiao Yan was unwilling to tell her, but that he couldn't explain it. He planned to go to the Nalan family in a few months to get that Seven-Colored Spirit-Cleansing Saliva, and incidentally help Old Master Nalan expel his Brand Poison. Although the original work only mentioned that the Seven-Colored Spirit-Cleansing Saliva had the effect of restoring the soul's origin, such a powerful heaven-and-earth treasure likely also possessed the effect of enhancing the soul's origin. Even if it didn't, it wouldn't be a loss to keep it in his hands.

But there was simply no way to tell the Little Fairy Doctor about such things; after all, how would he know that the Nalan family's treasury contained something like the Seven-Colored Spirit-Cleansing Saliva?

Taking the Little Fairy Doctor, he left the city through the North Gate and walked forward for about half a day before stopping.

Although he felt that Hai Bo Dong had likely been intimidated, just to be safe, Xiao Yan still took a detour to prevent Hai Bo Dong from discovering their connection to the Desert Iron Mercenary Group in Shi Mo City.

Looking around to confirm that no one was following them, Xiao Yan picked up the Little Fairy Doctor and flew toward the southeast.

It had to be said that flying was indeed much faster than walking; Xiao Yan flew to the destination that same evening, a journey that would have originally taken ten days.

Although the city gates were already closed, Shi Mo City was not Desert City; this was the territory ruled by his three brothers. Xiao Yan greeted the guards and entered. This left those spending the night in the sand dunes outside the gate filled with envy, jealousy, and hatred.

After greeting his Big Brother and Second Brother and pinching Qing Lian's little cheeks, Xiao Yan used the excuse that he had sweated too much from being roasted by the Heavenly Flame over the past few days to carry the struggling Little Fairy Doctor into the bathroom. This caused Qing Lian, who had originally wanted to step forward to serve them, to blush instantly; she quickly put down their bathing supplies and ran back.

After entering the bathroom, Xiao Yan stated that the cold air Hai Bo Dong had released at the end might have had an undetectable effect on the Little Fairy Doctor's body, and that he needed to perform a comprehensive and meticulous examination.

Although the Little Fairy Doctor tried her best to prove her innocence, it was to no avail. She was forced to accept Xiao Yan's comprehensive, reciprocating examination from head to toe, front to back, and top to bottom.

It was not until the next day when Qing Lian came back to take her shift that the commotion of the examination finally ceased.

After coming out of the bathroom, under the Little Fairy Doctor's shy, angry, and soft gaze, Xiao Yan gave the blushing Qing Lian instructions to further expand the bathroom and improve its soundproofing measures.

Looking back at the Little Fairy Doctor, who was having difficulty walking, Xiao Yan felt proud, but still rubbed his nose in embarrassment.

"How about... I help you?" Xiao Yan tentatively asked.

"You... get lost," the Little Fairy Doctor said, her voice somewhat hoarse.

"What? You said you'll come? Alright, I'm coming right over."

Although the Little Fairy Doctor had clearly refused, Xiao Yan felt that a man who didn't step forward to support his woman when she was having trouble walking was simply not a man, so he pretended not to hear clearly and stepped forward to help the Little Fairy Doctor back to their room.

For the next few days, Xiao Yan continued to live a life of nightly revelry—of course not!

Whether it was Xiao Yan or the Little Fairy Doctor, cultivation was the main theme of their lives at this time; how could they possibly spend all their time on such things?

Xiao Yan agreed with this and was determined to study the General Outline of Dou Techniques diligently, striving to create a dual-cultivation Dou Technique as soon as possible. From the third day after Xiao Yan and the Little Fairy Doctor returned, the Little Fairy Doctor found an independent cultivation room to go into seclusion. Before her seclusion, she collected quite a few poisons unique to the Tagor Desert, such as snake venom and scorpion venom, through the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's channels, intending to make a one-shot breakthrough to the peak of Dou Shi.

As for the Da Dou Shi realm, it wasn't that she couldn't attempt it, but Xiao Yan planned to leave the Tagor Desert and return to Wu Tan City in a while. After all, the business in the Tagor Desert was already concluded. As for Queen Medusa, Xiao Yan planned to wait until he was a Dou Huang before coming back. Thus, the Little Fairy Doctor put her breakthrough to Da Dou Shi on hold until after they went to the Xiao Clan, which would also give her time to settle down just like Xiao Yan.

As for Xiao Yan, since his cultivation had already reached the peak of Da Dou Shi, he was in no hurry to break through. He spent his days leading the team out of the city to hunt magical beasts in his capacity as the Third Commander of the Desert Iron Mercenary Group. Poor Luo Bu had been demoted another notch.

At night, he used the herbs collected by the Desert Iron Mercenary Group to practice alchemy while simultaneously guiding Qing Lian's cultivation.

As the possessor of the cheat-level talent known as the Green Snake Three-Flower Pupils, Qing Lian naturally possessed the ability to cultivate in a normal state; under Xiao Yan's guidance, she reached the third stage of Fighting Energy that very night, shocking everyone in the mercenary group who learned of this.

Afterwards, when going out to hunt magical beasts, Xiao Yan specifically caught a third-rank Great Dou Master level sand python and brought it back.

Perhaps due to the lack of the stimulation of a life-or-death crisis, Qing Lian did not immediately trigger the ability of her Green Snake Three-Flower Pupils the moment she saw the sand python, and Xiao Yan naturally could not bear to throw Qing Lian into a bloody battle against a third-rank sand python, so he turned his attention to the medicinal pills he excelled at.

After much thought, Xiao Yan decided to use the Blood-Coagulation Pill as a prototype to design a medicinal pill that could help Qing Lian trigger the Green Snake Three-Flower Pupils. The original Blood-Coagulation Pill had the ability to stimulate the human body's potential and instantly produce a large amount of blood; Xiao Yan hoped to guide its effects more toward the direction of stimulating potential.

Since it was merely the modification of a second-rank medicinal pill, it was not too difficult for Xiao Yan, who could already refine fourth-rank medicinal pills; after failing only two or three times, in the span of a single night, Xiao Yan refined the modified Blood-Stimulation Pill, and during the refining process, he even added a bit of the essence blood obtained from hunting the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake earlier.

However, to tell the truth, Xiao Yan had added the essence blood at the beginning to improve the pill's effect, but he felt a bit of regret after finishing the refinement.

It seems, apparently, possibly—could the effect have been achieved just by feeding the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake's essence blood directly to Qing Lian?

Xiao Yan looked at the red medicinal pill in his hand, his expression somewhat strange as he thought this.

He shook his head vigorously to cast this thought out of his mind, put the medicinal pill away, and ordered someone to call Qing Lian over.

After the servant in attendance received the order, a look of envy and jealousy could not help but flash in the depths of their eyes; they truly did not know how that half-breed had caught the Third Commander's eye, to be cared for so much that he even specially refined medicinal pills for her! Could it be that she had climbed into the Third Commander's bed? Heh, come to think of it, that shameless snake-spirit might really be capable of that.

The servant went through every filthy word they could think of in their mind, but they still dared not do anything to frame Qing Lian; when they saw Qing Lian, they hid the jealousy in their heart well, put on a brilliant, ingratiating smile, and fawned, "Miss Qing Lian, the Young Master invites you over."

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