Chapter 145: Six-Grade Soul Force!

Suppressing the inner excitement, Xiao Yan licked his lips—this thing was truly useful to him.

"Hehe, Young Master Yan, since you cured Old Master's Luo Du, this thing belongs to you." Nalan Su had noticed Xiao Yan's gaze and smiled warmly.

"Then thank you—I do need Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Dew to enhance my Soul Force." Xiao Yan didn't refuse; though he hadn't expected any reward, if offered, he'd gladly accept.

Bowing to Nalan Su, Xiao Yan said no more, stepped forward two paces, and placed the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Dew into his storage ring.

"Though the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Dew can be stored in a storage ring, you must expose it to sunlight for one hour each day, or it will wither automatically—remember that." Nalan Su warned.

"Mm, I understand." Xiao Yan nodded.

Nalan Yanran watched Xiao Yan take the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Dew, utterly baffled. Soul Force offered significant aid in battle—now her chances of victory had diminished further.

So frustrating!

Xiao Yan wandered through the herb room, took some medicinal materials meant for Nalan Jie's elixir refining, then left without further trouble, stepping out to find a courtyard, pulling out his alchemy furnace to begin spirit refining.

"You're going to refine pills here?!" Nalan Yanran stared in shock—alchemists always sought quiet, undisturbed places to refine elixirs; you're doing it right here in this bustling courtyard?!

Aren't you afraid someone will spy on your technique?!

Puff—the sound of Xiao Yan tossing a clump of Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame into the alchemy furnace, he added medicinal materials as he spoke: "It's not some high-grade elixir—just one Second-Rank Water-Replenishing Pill and one Third-Rank Blood-Replenishing Pill."

!!?

"T-T-Third-Rank?! That's not high?!" Nalan Yanran's face was filled with astonishment—she knew two Third-Rank Alchemists.

One was Xiao Princess Yue, the Imperial Family's daughter and apprentice to the Deputy Head of the Alchemist Guild, an extraordinary talent who'd been exposed to alchemy since childhood, yet still only reached Third-Rank.

The other was Liu Ling, Gu He's Qin Zi Chuan Di Zi, who'd trained under Gu He since childhood, also a Third-Rank Alchemist.

Both were top favorites to win the Alchemist Convention!

Yet even they needed to treat refining Third-Rank elixirs with utmost seriousness, and their success rate wasn't guaranteed.

As Xiao Yan began refining, many servants of the Nalan Clan gathered curiously to watch.

"Huh? Are Old Master and Miss here too?"

"Wow, who's this handsome guy refining pills right in the courtyard?"

"Why does this boy look so familiar?"

"Anyone who's worked here ten years knows—he's the son-in-law-to-be, Nalan Miss's betrothed, Xiao Clan's Young Master Yan."

Several long-term staff recognized Xiao Yan's face and began gossiping.

Hearing servants call Xiao Yan "son-in-law-to-be," Nalan Yanran felt strangely uneasy, her whole body tense.

"What? Still regretful? It's not too late." Nalan Su teased, glancing at his daughter's expression.

"I will never acknowledge this betrothal, and I won't lose to him!" Nalan Yanran shot Nalan Su a glare, then stared sternly at Xiao Yan's back as he refined.

"Sigh… you… sigh." Nalan Su could only sigh—he'd spent three years trying to reason with her, said everything possible, yet to no avail.

Quickly, under the awe-struck gaze of Nalan Yanran and Nalan Su, Xiao Yan smoothly completed refining the two elixirs, placed them in a brocade box, and handed it to Nalan Su.

Looking at the two elixirs inside the brocade box, Nalan Su regarded Xiao Yan seriously: "You truly won't enter the Alchemist Convention? With your refining skill, your chances of winning aren't small."

Xiao Yan shrugged, noncommittal: "I've trained alchemy abroad all along—I've never even tested at the Alchemist Guild. I'm too lazy to bother."

"If you wish to enter, the Nalan Clan can guarantee you direct entry, skipping the preliminary rounds," Nalan Su waved his hand decisively.

"Thank you, Uncle Nalan, for your kindness—I'll consider it. The convention doesn't interest me much. I prefer solitary cultivation." Xiao Yan bowed and smiled: "I'll return to my guest room to cultivate—don't want to fall behind others."

Xiao Yan waved goodbye and walked straight toward the guest room, leaving only a graceful back view.

Nalan Su looked at Nalan Yanran, who clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, and said: "Daughter, if you lose, you truly will become a servant? I think your chances are slim."

Though Nalan Su had never witnessed Xiao Yan's true strength, the fact he'd easily killed Mo Cheng proved Xiao Yan's actual power far exceeded his apparent cultivation realm.

"Though I am a woman, I am a woman of my word—and I will not surrender!"

Xiao Yan naturally had no idea what Nalan Yanran was thinking—he treated the idea of becoming a servant as mere jest. His mind now held only two words: Soul Hall.

"I truly give up on that old man Hun Xu Zi—Jia Ma Sheng Cheng is so vast, how am I supposed to find where the Soul Hall hides?!" Xiao Yan stared at the Soul Token on the table, utterly drained.

He'd expected that upon arriving in Jia Ma Sheng Cheng, the Soul Token would react as it had in Peace Town, guiding him to the Soul Hall.

But nothing happened!

The Soul Hall hadn't even shown a shadow yet.

"Forget it—there's still time. I'll search the entire Jia Ma Empire eventually."

Xiao Yan stopped worrying—he was already in Jia Ma Sheng Cheng; could the Soul Hall possibly run away?

Slowly closing his eyes, he activated the Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering Method. He didn't immediately use the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Dew—he needed to reach a bottleneck in his cultivation of the Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering Method, then use the dew to break through in one go!

These past few days, Xiao Yan had rare leisure—except once, when Ya Fei brought him a batch of precious medicinal materials to practice with, he spent every day solely in cultivation.

The power of the Earth-Class cultivation method allowed Xiao Yan to advance his Battle Qi rapidly; he'd only recently broken through to Four-Star Great Battle Master, and he estimated he'd gain another star within one or two months.

In a year, he might even reach Battle Spirit! A Battle Spirit at nineteen—never seen in Jia Ma Empire's history.

And this was without elixirs, without any opportunity—purely cultivating at home. With elixir support, Xiao Yan estimated he could reach Battle Spirit in half a year!

Yet despite the Earth-Class method's rapid Battle Qi advancement, his Soul Method cultivation was no slower.

"It's time."

Xiao Yan stilled his mind, pulled out Black Demon and the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Dew, without hesitation tossed the dew into Black Demon, then threw in his Fused Strange Fire—the terrifying infernal heat of the fused flame rapidly melted the Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Dew.

The Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Dew was classified as a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure, not mere medicinal material, because its inherent efficacy rivaled that of an elixir!

Elixirs are made by catalyzing, fusing, and refining lower-grade medicinal materials to grant them the effects of Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures.

The Seven Illusions Azure Spirit Dew itself is a Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure.

Even such a rare Heavenly Material couldn't withstand the burning of the Fused Strange Fire—soon, a cluster of azure spirit liquid was refined.

Slightly opening his mouth, the azure spirit liquid, wrapped in Fused Strange Fire, was drawn into his mouth.

An extreme sensation surged deep into his mind—Xiao Yan immediately activated the Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering Method; under his Soul Force perception, a large mass of azure soul-light coalesced in his dantian.

As the Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering Method circulated, the large mass of azure soul-light merged into his Spiritual Soul along with the method's flow.

After nine cycles of the Soul Method, the azure soul-light was finally fully absorbed—Xiao Yan's Soul Force had quietly risen to the level of a Sixth-Rank Alchemist.

Slowly opening his eyes, his terrifying Soul Force Perception spread to its utmost extent—after leveling up, Xiao Yan's Soul Force Perception had expanded tenfold!

The entire Nalan Mansion lay bare before his eyes; even the streets were visible with perfect clarity.

"Hm? Ling Lao, didn't he go back?"

(End of Chapter)