Chapter 291: Return to Jia Ma

Slowly raising his head, Mei Du Sha's powerful perception naturally sensed that Xiao Yan had already left Jia Nan Academy.

She took out the brocade box Xiao Yan had given her; inside, the Earth Flame Lotus seeds had not been consumed even one, and beneath the seeds lay a Soul Jade pendant.

"Hmph, does the Wang need your rescue?" Mei Du Sha sneered, yet she did not toss the pendant directly into the fire.

Every time she thought of Xiao Yan, an odd emotion tangled around her heart.

"Damn it, all because of that strange soul connection," Mei Du Sha gritted her teeth; the soul connection made it impossible for her to settle down and cultivate.

She picked up one Earth Flame Lotus seed, paused in thought, then finally swallowed it—immediately, two streams of strange flame energy, red and green, surged from her body.

Mei Du Sha gestured with her hand, and the juvenile Falling Heart Flame slowly drifted to her side.

The Heavenly Burning Qi Pagoda has now been rebuilt, but since the Falling Heart Flame is still weak, it must remain in the Strange Flame Space to absorb the residual energy left by the previous Falling Heart Flame to grow.

Mei Du Sha did not bother with formalities toward Jia Nan Academy; though weakened, with the power of the primordial heart flame, her speed in refining the Three-Flame Serpent Body would greatly increase.

Xiao Yan likely never anticipated that, due to his unintentional interference, Mei Du Sha's emergence would come even earlier than he expected.

At this moment, Xiao Yan sat atop the Little Lion King, while Xiao Yixian and Zi Yan rode on the back of the Great Lion King, flying out of the Inner Court.

"This lion is pretty comfortable to ride," Zi Yan showed her cute little fangs, bouncing up and down on the back of the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, thoroughly satisfied with her mount.

The Purple Crystal Winged Lion King dared not voice any complaint, forced to swallow his bitterness in silence.

Mao Wu also greatly enjoyed the soft, slightly warm fur of the Little Lion King, curling up like a little cat, hugging his tail for a nap.

Xiao Yan stroked the Little Lion King's fur; the Little Lion King's cultivation had improved well—though far from Xiao Yixian's terrifying level, he was now at Fourth Rank Peak, nearing Fifth Rank.

"Not bad, Little Lion King. Three years ago you were Third Rank; now you're almost Fifth Rank."

Roar roar roar! (Thanks to the good man's elixirs!)

"Hahaha, don't worry—once we arrive, I'll help you break through to Fifth Rank," Xiao Yan swept his sleeve with grandeur.

Roar!! The Little Lion King, upon hearing this, instantly excitedly spun twice in midair, flapping his wings fiercely.

Xiao Yan smiled, touching the row of storage rings on his hand.

Xiao Yan now looked like a wealthy magnate, wearing four storage rings on his hand!

One was inherited from his mother—the Bone Flame Ring; one was the golden storage ring Ya Fei had once given him, filled with medicinal materials and vast amounts of Gold Coins; one was the pale white storage ring of the Heavenly Flame Elder; the other was Han Feng's Deep Sea Storage Ring.

Han Feng was dead, so it naturally became Xiao Yan's; the soul seals within the storage ring were useless against the power of Void Swallowing Flame.

Han Feng's Deep Sea Storage Ring was of no lesser quality than the Bone Flame Ring or the pale white storage ring—it was an ultra-high-grade storage ring, its interior space enormous, revealing just how extravagantly Han Feng had plundered the Black Horn Region over the years.

But now, Xiao Yan had given all the miscellaneous cultivation methods and Dou Techniques from the Deep Sea Storage Ring to Jia Nan Academy, mostly because they were too low-grade—he found them utterly unworthy; he retained only two Earth-Rank Low-Level Dou Techniques.

He had no intention of cultivating them himself; he planned to take them back to the Xiao Clan to replenish their stock.

Aside from that, the Deep Sea Storage Ring contained only Han Feng's collected precious medicinal materials and one alchemy furnace.

This alchemy furnace was of excellent quality; though still slightly inferior to the Black Demon, if Xiao Yan's judgment was correct, this furnace was none other than the Wan Shou Ding—the lowest-ranked furnace on the Heavenly Cauldron List.

The Wan Shou Ding was carved with roaring beast patterns, its entire body crimson red; when leaned close, faint, strange roars could be heard emanating from within—the exact description matching Han Feng's alchemy furnace.

The Black Demon was a Ji Pin Lian Dan Lu of Ji Pin Mid-Level; the Wan Shou Ding was a Ji Pin Low-Level alchemy furnace.

The rank of an alchemy furnace cannot be too low—if too low, it would shatter under the infernal heat of refining high-grade pills, causing the pill alchemy to fail.

To refine Ji Pin Dan Yao, one needs a Ji Pin Lian Dan Lu from the Heavenly Cauldron List.

Of course, now all of this had become Xiao Yan's fortune.

Xiao Yixian remained as serene as ever, brushing aside her wind-tousled hair, turning to Xiao Yan and asking: "Are we heading straight back to Jia Ma Empire?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, gazing toward Peace Town, and shook his head: "No—we'll stop by Peace Town first. I have some things to sell."

Xiao Yan had not forgotten: Han Feng's spiritual soul was still undergoing the Soul Order trial; though the Sea Heart Flame ranked only fifteenth, it was still a lucrative prize.

Landing in Peace Town, Xiao Yan told Xiao Yixian and the others to wait on the street, then slipped into the alley of the Soul Sacrifice Old Shop wearing his Soul Robe.

He entered the Soul Sacrifice Old Shop as if he knew it well; as always, Hun Lao Gui looked half-dead, like an old man on his deathbed.

Of course, if Xiao Yan thought Hun Lao Gui was merely an ordinary elder and tried to rob the place, he would be instantly slain.

Even with his Soul Force reaching Common Realm Perfection, Xiao Yan still could not fathom Hun Lao Gui's cultivation realm.

"Jie jie, it's you again. This time—are you buying or selling?" Hun Lao Gui grinned, revealing a mouth of rotten teeth, half-squinting at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan pulled out the Soul Order and tossed it carelessly onto the table: "Inside are two half-step Dou Zong Soul Bodies, four Dou Huang, and eighteen Dou Wang."

"And one Six-Grade Peak Alchemist's Soul Body—he possesses a Strange Flame. I want you to extract the Strange Flame for me."

Hearing of so many Soul Bodies and a Strange Flame, Hun Lao Gui's eyes showed no reaction whatsoever—as if they were as dull as stagnant water, utterly unremarkable in his eyes.

His withered finger lightly touched the Soul Order—shhh—immediately, the Soul Bodies of Jin and Yin Elders and others burst free.

"Xiao Yan! Even as a ghost, I won't let you go!" The Silver Elder, killed by Xiao Yan, appeared, staring at him like a vengeful specter, brimming with hatred.

"Hmph." Hun Lao Gui let out a cold snort; instantly, a powerful, irresistible suction erupted from the curtain leading to the Soul Path.

"Aaaah!!"

"No no!!"

Amid the screams of Jin and Yin Elders and others, they were all sucked into the Soul Path. Huh—the curtain slowly settled back into stillness, as if nothing had happened.

Xiao Yan silently calculated: YaoAo had been a Seven-Grade High-Level Alchemist and a Soul Body of the Yao Clan, worth a staggering 180,000 Soul Points.

A Seven-Grade Low-Level Alchemist's Soul Body should be worth around 100,000 Soul Points; Jin and Yin Elders weren't Alchemists, but they were half-step Dou Zong—each worth roughly 30,000 to 40,000 Soul Points.

The Black Horn Region's Dou Huang weren't weak; each should fetch about 10,000 Soul Points; as for the Dou Wang, Xiao Yan didn't even bother calculating—1,000 Soul Points each would be generous.

"Not bad—130,000 Soul Points total."

Hearing Hun Lao Gui's words, Xiao Yan could only shrug; this time, he'd only been able to do this because Jia Nan Academy wanted revenge on Han Feng—if he'd paid himself, those three Imperial Ultimate Pills would have bankrupted him.

Still, it was a small fortune gained.

Ding—the Hun Lao Gui lightly tapped the Soul Order; suddenly, a terrifying blue flame erupted from it, surging toward Hun Lao Gui's face—shhh—a faint, ethereal soul shot toward the door—it was Han Feng.

Xiao Yan smirked coldly, arms crossed, watching silently, making no move to interfere. If Han Feng could escape Hun Lao Gui, Xiao Yan would immediately loot the entire shop.

Hun Lao Gui slowly extended his withered hand, gently clenching it—the terrifying Sea Heart Flame instantly extinguished; Han Feng's Soul Body froze in place, no matter how he tried to unleash the Sea Heart Flame, it was useless.

"This is the Soul Sacrifice Old Shop! I am Han Feng—Mu Gu Zunzhe once brought me here!" Han Feng immediately began claiming kinship.

Hearing Han Feng's screams, Hun Lao Gui made no move—only that withered, devil-like hand stabbed violently into Han Feng's Soul Body.

A strange Soul Force, making Xiao Yan frown, slowly stirred.

"Is this a Soul Cultivation Technique? Or a Soul Technique?" Xiao Yan watched every motion of Hun Lao Gui—though Han Feng's screams were automatically muted.

After about ten minutes, Han Feng's Soul Body visibly grew ethereal, even withered.

It wasn't that Xiao Yan wasn't greedy for Han Feng's Soul Body and gave it to Guardian Xuan—he knew forcibly extracting Sea Heart Flame from Han Feng's soul would kill or severely damage it, rendering it worthless; better to make a generous gesture.

"Save me! I know I was wrong!" Han Feng's Soul Body struggled to raise a hand, pleading to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan merely smiled faintly and said, "Think about what you'll say to Master Yao when you meet him below."

"No!!"

Puff—the moment Hun Lao Gui yanked his hand back, a sea-blue flame floated above it. From Sea Heart Flame came not the sound of fire burning, but rolling waves; as the flame rose, it echoed like waves crashing against rocks—strangely wondrous.

At this moment, Han Feng's Soul Body had completely withered, appearing even more pitiful than the former Heavenly Flame Master.

"Deal with the soul imprint within Sea Heart Flame yourself."

Hun Lao Gui tossed it lightly—the Sea Heart Flame flew toward Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan hastily pulled out the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron from Han Feng's storage ring and sealed the flame inside.

Any soul imprint, any sealing—under the power of Void Swallowing Flame, none mattered.

When Xiao Yan had safely stored Sea Heart Flame within the Ten Thousand Beasts Cauldron, Han Feng's Soul Body, beneath Xiao Yan's cold gaze, was finally devoured by Soul Dao—thus fell the once-great Herbal Emperor of the Black Horn Region.

"Give Han Feng's Soul Body's Soul Points to Guardian Xuan of the Black Horn Region's Soul Temple," Xiao Yan said coolly. Han Feng's Soul Body likely held at most ten thousand Soul Points—forcibly extracting an Heavenly Flame caused immense soul damage.

Hun Lao Gui said coolly, "The cost of extracting an Heavenly Flame: one hundred thousand Soul Points."

!!!!

"One hundred thousand? Why don't you just rob me?" Xiao Yan glared at Hun Lao Gui—the bastard was a merchant fox!

"Hehehe, this is better than robbery."

Hun Lao Gui's single sentence silenced Xiao Yan—he had no reply. Indeed, this was better than risking his life to steal.

"Fine, you're ruthless." Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, forced to let Hun Lao Gui take away the hundred thousand Soul Points he'd just gained, leaving him with only a pitiful thirty thousand.

"What technique did you use? I'll go get one to cultivate." Xiao Yan asked.

Hearing this, Hun Lao Gui gave a sly, peculiar grin, his eerie eyes fixed on Xiao Yan: "Hehehe, don't you already have the Emperor Soul Decree?"

!?

Xiao Yan's gaze sharpened—he hadn't realized Hun Lao Gui had just used the Emperor Soul Decree! The Emperor Soul Decree could even do this?!

No wonder it was created by the Soul Emperor!

Hun Lao Gui flipped his hand—a small vial appeared before him. The instant the vial appeared, Xiao Yan's faint Dou Emperor Bloodline stirred slightly.

Xiao Yan also pulled from his storage ring the single drop of Dou Emperor Bloodline refined by Void Swallowing Flame's offspring fire.

Xiao Yan had only one drop—but Hun Lao Gui pulled out a whole bottle!

"So it's true—the Soul Sovereign can extract Dou Emperor Bloodline from other Dou Emperor Family disciples to enhance their own bloodline's purity. Is this Void Swallowing Flame's power?"

The Soul Sovereign weren't just hunting Soul Bodies—they were likely secretly hunting other Dou Emperor Families too!

"Can this bottle of blood grant me eligibility to cultivate the Emperor Soul Decree?" Xiao Yan calmed himself, asking casually.

"Hehehe, correct. My Soul Sovereign never shortchange those who deliver results—rewards and punishments are clear. And it's not expensive: one million Soul Points." Hun Lao Gui grinned wickedly.

"One million?! Heh, that would require the Soul Body of a Nine-Star Peak Dou Zun—how could I possibly have that?" Xiao Yan rolled his eyes—this price was absurd.

"Nine-Star Peak Dou Zun? No—even a Nine-Star Nine-Transformation Dou Zun won't do. You need the Soul Body of a Half-Sage." Hun Lao Gui shattered Xiao Yan's illusions outright.

Xiao Yan snorted, shrugged helplessly: "Then forget it. I don't have one—even if I did, I don't know if your stuff's poisoned. What if you brainwash me?"

Xiao Yan waved his hand, took the Soul Token. Just as he turned to leave the Soul Sacrifice Old Shop, he suddenly remembered something and asked: "By the way, do you have any news on Qing Hun You Lan?"

Xiao Yan didn't ask directly about Heavenly Flames—he already knew where they were. Instead, he inquired about Qing Hun You Lan to extract other information.

"Ten thousand Soul Points."

Xiao Yan sighed, handed over the Soul Token. Hun Lao Gui deducted ten thousand Soul Points and gave Xiao Yan a Jade Token.

"Qing Hun You Lan has appeared in the Shen You Valley of Chu Yun Empire. This contains information on Qing Hun You Lan and the Shen You Valley—including rumors and which Factions are heading there."

Xiao Yan took the Jade Token; the instant his Soul Force seeped into it, a wave of Soul Information flooded his mind.

After reading all the information, Xiao Yan's expression turned strange. He muttered: "Yao Clan? Again, you?"

(End of Chapter)