Chapter 61: Make the Illusory Real—Do Not Judge by Ordinary Reason

He didn’t know what the Infinite Fire Realm was, but he understood Ye Xuan’s meaning clearly: he might have many romantic interests, but only two true wives.

One was Medusa; who was the other?

“I’ve wronged Xun’er.”

He had no doubt Xun’er was one of them; if she weren’t, he’d pick up Xuan Zhong Chi and cut himself right now.

He didn’t care what his future self would be like; but right now—no, he meant at any time—in his heart, Xun’er was always the most important.

“You’ve wronged plenty of people.”

“Xiao Yixian went through so much with you; why didn’t you bring her to the Infinite Fire Realm?”

“Enough. Get on with the pill refining.”

“After you’re done, I’ll show you your anime.”

“Forget it, I’ll show you the novel instead; the anime made some changes to your story, even though you’re technically a character from it.”

We’ve talked enough; if we keep chatting, will you even finish refining this pill?

If Xiao Yan is curious about his future, let him read the novel after he finishes refining the pill.

Although the anime and novel differ somewhat in plot, the overall storyline remains the same; and the early anime’s modeling was truly awful—Ye Xuan didn’t even finish watching it back then.

“Then it’s settled.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan’s eyes lit up; even though seeing his future wouldn’t affect his original world’s self, satisfying his curiosity was still worthwhile.

Besides, the pill had to be refined anyway; now there’s an extra reward—better still.

He turned back to study the mutated Zangma Bear and the mammoth corpse—originally a mutated antelope, transformed by a Devil Fruit ability—his gaze utterly focused.

Without a demon core, essence blood could substitute.

He released a burst of fighting qi from his palm, precisely slicing open the mutated Zangma Bear’s chest cavity, revealing its still faintly pulsing heart; even dead, the heart retained a strange vitality, its blood shimmering with a faint icy blue glow.

“The heart could work too, but its energy is too mixed—not suitable for pills; good for practice though.”

Xiao Yan said, turning toward the pile of herbs.

He idly picked up a ginseng, squeezed its roots, then brought it to his nose and sniffed—his face immediately twisted in distaste:

“Artificially grown? Its medicinal potency is as weak as water.”

“Since I crossed over, I’ve never encountered herbs this weak.”

After flipping through several more, he sighed:

"It's barely usable; only those dozen or so vials of medicine are worth anything."

“Modern extraction techniques are still decent.”

A flash of blue light from his storage ring—the pill cauldron slammed to the ground, shaking the earth slightly; Xiao Yan patted the cauldron and nodded in satisfaction.

“Good the cauldron still works; otherwise, I couldn’t refine at all.”

He looked up at Ye Xuan’s mouse talisman:

“By the way, what exactly is this thing? My storage ring works, and I can retrieve herbs and pills from it—but only the cauldron isn’t restricted.”

“Make the illusory real, but with restrictions on consumables.”

The mouse talisman’s limitations sometimes even confused Ye Xuan himself.

Items like pills and herbs that could be directly ingested were absolutely ineffective; even if they worked temporarily, once the mouse talisman’s power faded from Xiao Yan, they’d be erased.

Xiao Yan nodded thoughtfully and didn’t ask further; he flipped his palm, and a cluster of green flame erupted instantly, raising the surrounding temperature sharply.

“Begin.”

While Xiao Yan focused entirely on pill refining, a notification flashed in Su Mengyao’s office:

【Kunlun Branch is accessing S-class confidential file—Ye Xuan】

Su Mengyao frowned, her mouse swiftly scrolling across the screen.

Due to Ye Xuan’s uniqueness, his file was protected by the highest-level security; any unauthorized access triggered dual alerts.

The requester received a system alert, and she, as the supervising officer, received it simultaneously.

Three alerts total; exceeding that triggered a full alarm.

“Why is Kunlun Branch accessing Ye Xuan’s information?”

Su Mengyao was puzzled; only personnel from the Capital Tian Shu Headquarters had clearance to view Ye Xuan’s file. Kunlun Branch probably didn’t even know who Ye Xuan was—his name didn’t appear on their supernatural roster. Why were they checking his file?

Not just her—Kunlun Branch personnel were equally baffled.

【Permission Denied】

【Warning: Your permission level (A-class) is insufficient to access this file】

【This operation has been logged. Remaining warnings: 2/3】

【Exceeding limit will automatically trigger Headquarters investigation protocol】

“Are you certain he’s a resident near the Kunlun Mountains?”

Mo Tianxiong stared at the system alert, glancing skeptically at Qin Yue and the others.

These five had returned immediately, insisting they’d encountered a person of explosive strength on Kunlun Mountain—almost certainly a holder of a Celestial Artifact—and urged them to find and recruit him while Qin Yue still remembered his appearance.

Though he didn’t know the details, he’d ordered a sketch based on Qin Yue’s description; after Qin Yue confirmed “That’s him,” he immediately searched the Tian Shu system’s database.

And then received this alert.

“Even A-class permission can’t access it—his file is clearly S-class encrypted.”

“A normal person’s data wouldn’t be this heavily encrypted.”

“Our system shares the same infrastructure as Kunlun Branch, so we can rule out another Kunlun Branch officer encrypting it.”

“So he’s most likely a member of another Tian Shu branch.”

Mo Tianxiong shook his head.

He’d thought they’d finally gained a powerful Celestial Artifact holder—only to find he’d already been claimed by another Tian Shu branch. All for nothing.

“But if he’s from another city’s Tian Shu branch, why did he come here? We received no notification.”

Bai Xiao asked, puzzled.

“Most likely, his own city’s Tian Shu branch doesn’t even know about him.”

“After all—he rides a sword.”

Lin Rui now guessed the answer.

He’d underestimated the man’s strength; instinctively, he thought the distance between cities would take too long to cross by sword-riding alone.

He’d forgotten: for Celestial Artifact holders, any logical assumption might be wrong.

“What a pity.”

Qin Yue sighed in regret—he truly hoped their branch could recruit a genius with immense strength and potential; Mo Tianxiong merely shook his head, speaking calmly:

“No need to regret it. Strength matters only in service to Great Xia.”

“It’s the same wherever he is.”

(End of Chapter)