Chapter 368: Find All Materials

Xiao Yan's battle qi flew back to the peak of the mountain—he was now ready to begin spirit refining!

The pill formula and medicinal materials for the Zong Shi Pill will arrive in a few days; Xiao Yan still owes Zi Yan this girl a pill, and also Cai Lin's Heavenly Soul Blood Bone Pill.

Xiao Yan had finally figured it out—overthinking was useless; the most important thing now was to raise his cultivation realm—if he could become a Sage Emperor or even a Soul Sovereign, all his troubles would vanish.

Moreover, Xun Er had thoughtfully delivered the final three seals of the Emperor Seal Technique; the fifth seal, the Ancient Emperor Seal, was as powerful as a Heavenly Rank Dou Technique—exactly what Xiao Yan needed.

When Zi Yan saw Xiao Yan return, she fixed her gaze on him tightly this time, leaving him no chance to escape; she even used the Ancient Dragon's bloodline power to seal off a patch of Space, preventing anyone from coming to find him.

Refine! Refine it for me! If you don't produce it, you're not leaving!

Xiao Yixian, who was planting herbs nearby, could only laugh and sigh in exasperation.

Refining Zi Yan's pill went smoothly enough—it was only Qi Zhi Gao Ji level after all. When Xiao Yan finally produced the pill, she snatched it away in an instant and vanished into Space to refine it.

"This girl, not even a thank you—hmph, next time I won't refine for her," Xiao Yan muttered, mimicking Zi Yan's cold snort.

Xiao Yixian covered her mouth and giggled quietly—this scene somehow looked like that of a married couple.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to cultivate the Emperor Seal Technique, two figures flew toward him.

"Your humble servant bows to the master," one old man bowed deeply to Xiao Yan at a ninety-degree angle; the young boy beside him, seeing his elder bow, hurriedly imitated him.

Xiao Yan was momentarily stunned, then recognized their purple hair—he realized these two were the transformed Lion King and Little Lion King; the Little Lion King had successfully broken through to Sixth Rank, reaching Dou Huang level, while the Crystal-Winged Lion King had surpassed Hai Bodong and reached Dou Zong first!

"Lion King, what are you doing?" Xiao Yan sighed helplessly and quickly helped the Crystal-Winged Lion King up.

"Master, my second request is to be allowed to follow you always," the transformed Lion King said—his mind had grown sharper, and he decided to increase his investment!

"Well… if you're willing, join the Yan Alliance—then you'll serve under Xiao Yixian," Xiao Yan said. A transformed Dou Zong and Dou Huang? He had no reason to refuse.

Besides, Xiao Yixian's Eternal Calamity Poison was nearing eruption—she couldn't afford to fight recklessly; having the Crystal-Winged Lion King accompany her was a good thing.

"Yes, Master."

Xiao Yixian softly shook her head and refused: "Xiao Yan, I don't need anyone following me. Let the Lion King do something else."

"You can't fight freely now—you need someone to watch over you if anything happens," Xiao Yan said slowly.

Seeing Xiao Yixian still wanted to refuse, Xiao Yan cut in: "Enough. It's settled."

Xiao Yixian could only give Xiao Yan an exasperated glare—he was treating her like a patient.

Then the Crystal-Winged Lion King pulled out a pile of Scrolls and Brocade Boxes: "These are Advanced Medicinal Materials and cultivation method and Dou Technique Scrolls taken from the Imperial Families of the Three Empires, the Luoyan Sect, Mu Lan Valley, the Poison Sect, and the Ten Thousand Scorpion Gate. Queen Yao Ye ordered me to deliver them for you to choose from."

Queen Yao Ye was no ordinary ruler—she was decisive and ruthless; in ten days, she led the Yan Alliance's iron cavalry, alongside Hai Bodong, Jia Xingtian, Yun Yun, and Nalan Yanran, and swept clean the Three Empires, dismantled the Luoyan Sect and several other major sects, and forced all remaining sects to surrender.

She even brought back every treasure from those sects and immediately had Xiao Yan choose first—after all, Xiao Yan was the absolute core of the Yan Alliance; as long as he stood, the Yan Alliance would endure forever!

Xiao Yan certainly wanted the medicinal materials—the Three Empires had existed for generations and possessed some precious collections, even some Eight Grade medicinal materials.

But the Dou Techniques made him frown—things like the Three Beasts Wildness Scripture, Poison Palm, Ten Thousand Scorpion Poison Tail—trash he wanted to throw away. The highest-ranked Dou Technique was only Earth-Class Mid-Level; Xiao Yan couldn't help but shake his head.

What was Xiao Yan's status now? He cultivated Ancient Clan forbidden techniques or Soul Sovereign taboo methods—why would he even glance at the Three Beasts Wildness Scripture?

As for his own Xiao Clan's Break the Sky—hmm, he didn't understand it. He'd ask his Ancestor when he reached the Heavenly Tomb.

"What trash is this? No thanks—see who in the Yan Alliance wants to cultivate it. If no one wants it, put it in the public treasury—wait? The Sky Goose Nine-Step Wings: Secret Method for Crafting a Flying Dou Technique?!" Suddenly, a golden Scroll caught Xiao Yan's eye.

Surprised, he took the golden Scroll and slowly unrolled it—immediately, several golden characters blazed into view.

The Sky Goose Nine-Step Wings was neither a Dou Technique nor a cultivation method—it was a crafting secret. It had no rank; according to its records, the rank of the resulting Flying Dou Technique depended entirely on the materials used.

That meant the crafted wings could be as low as Xuan-Class Low or as high as Xuan-Class Advanced, depending on the rank and bloodline purity of the Cloud Phoenix used—if the source was Doubao Peak with pure bloodline, the result would be Xuan-Class Advanced.

"This thing has some use—if the materials are strong enough, combined with the Three Thousand Thundering Steps and Wind Fury Dragon Flame, my speed could rise another rank," Xiao Yan thought. He had no suitable materials now, but if he ever found powerful ones, the wings he crafted might not fall below Earth Rank Advanced—possibly even reach Heavenly Rank!

In the following days, Xiao Yan began his daily cultivation—besides refining pills, he trained the Emperor Seal Technique, for he not only needed pills to repay debts to the Alchemist Guild, but also needed to raise his Alchemy to Seventh Rank Peak to craft the Zong Shi Pill.

Once he found his tenth Strange Flame, he would once again use the Zong Shi Pill to break through to Dou Zong!

Unknowingly, Xiao Yan had gathered nine Strange Flames—he couldn't help but wonder if the Burning Scripture had some innate ability to attract them; others spent lifetimes searching for one, yet he had refined nine!

Time flew by.

"Five Wheel Fire Method!"

The near-Nine-Star Dou Zong-level Pill Lightning crashed down; Xiao Yan immediately activated the Heavenly Flame Three Mystical Changes, forming a formation with five Spirit Flames that merged into a pillar of fire to directly strike the silver Pill Lightning.

Zong Shi Pill! After three months of grueling practice, Xiao Yan finally produced a Seventh Rank Peak Elixir.

Hai Bodong, watching nearby, had eyes gleaming with desire—among the Yan Alliance's elders, he was the only one who hadn't reached Dou Zong. But he didn't ask Xiao Yan for it; the materials for the Zong Shi Pill were too precious—Xiao Yan had used up every last bit to produce just one pill.

He could wait until his Breakthrough Pill failed, then gather materials himself and ask this kid to refine it later—he wasn't going anywhere anyway.

"Huh? Why hasn't the storm cloud dispersed!" Hai Bodong frowned—the Five Wheel Fire Method had already blocked the Pill Lightning, yet the storm cloud still lingered!

And to everyone's surprise, the lightning flickering within the cloud began to slowly change color.

"Red?! No—wait! Two-colored Pill Lightning? Eight Grade Pill?!" Fa Ma had come to observe Xiao Yan's refining and learn—he nearly had a heart attack.

Why was the storm cloud changing color?!

Seeing the cloud shift from silver to red, as if preparing to unleash a second Pill Lightning, Xiao Yan's expression turned grim.

If a second Pill Lightning truly descended, Xiao Yan wasn't sure he could block it.

The two-colored Pill Lightning of an Eight Grade Pill carried the power of a Dou Zun! Xiao Yan had no confidence he could withstand even one blow from a Dou Zun.

The gap between Dou Zong Peak and Dou Zun was ten thousand miles!

But fortunately, the pill he refined was still a Seventh Grade pill—even Seventh Rank Peak, bordering on Eighth Grade, was still Seventh Grade; neither Strange Flames nor Spirit Realm Souls could summon a second Pill Lightning.

Seeing he had nearly triggered a second Pill Lightning, Xiao Yan felt a quiet thrill inside—it was good news.

"Perhaps in another year or two, I'll enter the legendary Eighth Grade realm!"

Entering Eighth Grade meant the power to defy heaven and alter fate.

For example, among Eight Grade Pills, there was one called the Yi Shi Pill—when ingested by a child, it remained in the body and grew with the child, gradually enhancing their physique and solidifying their cultivation foundation.

To enhance innate potential after birth—truly defying heaven and altering fate!

After storing the pill, Xiao Yan noticed Nalan Yanran, who had been staring in stunned silence, and raised an eyebrow with a smile: "Don't be discouraged—it's normal you can't keep up with my cultivation."

"You!" Nalan Yanran was furious, biting her lower lip hard. But Xiao Yan spoke the truth—she had trained desperately, yet her cultivation realm still lagged far behind his.

Nalan Yanran was fortunate to be the Young Sect Master of the Yun Lan Sect, making her a shareholder of the Yan Alliance; during the unification of the Three Empires, she received plenty of cultivation resources—but even with an Imperial Ultimate Pill, she had only reached Four-Star Dou Huang.

This speed was already very fast; Nalan Yanran's cultivation pace in the Yan Alliance wasn't slow, but compared to freaks like Qing Lin and Xiao Yan, she seemed almost ordinary.

Just as Xiao Yan was about to begin cultivating the Burn Scripture, Xiao Li rushed in hurriedly.

"Third brother! There's news about Puti Huati Yan!!"

!!

Xiao Yan's eyes instantly sharpened, a smile tugging at his lips—could miracles truly exist in this world?!

"Second brother! Where is it?" Xiao Yan was also anxious, for Xiao Yixian had less than half a year left.

Even Qing Hun You Lan had lost all effect; now Xiao Yixian resembled someone with an incurable illness. Others grew frantic for her, yet she spent her days planting medicinal materials and tending to flowers.

Xiao Li grinned happily: "You really owe Ya Fei a debt this time. The Miter Guild plans to expand into a city called Black Emperor City in the Black Horn Region, and she happened to hear that the Black Emperor Sect is holding an auction where Puti Huati Yan will be bid on!"

The Soul Palace's intelligence network was indeed formidable, but not omniscient—auctions in cities like these were precisely the kind of information that could slip through.

Fortune favored Xiao Yan—or rather, Xiao Yixian—and somehow Ya Fei learned of the Puti Huati Yan auction and immediately sent someone back to inform Xiao Yan.

"Heaven does not forsake the diligent! Good! Second brother, please inform Xiao Yixian and the Lion King—I'll head for Black Emperor City at once!" Xiao Yan knew time was critical; if anything went wrong and the auction was canceled, he'd don his Soul Robe and seize it by force—even if he turned Black Emperor City upside down, he wouldn't hesitate!

"Xiao Yan, should we help?" Hai Bodong said gravely; his demeanor suggested he planned to lead an army to obliterate the sect.

"Don't worry, Hai Lao—with Xiao Yixian here, do you really think we need to worry?" Xiao Yan smiled and shook his head. Now that only Puti Huati Yan remained, Xiao Yixian no longer needed to endure—stealing it outright wouldn't be an issue.

A half-step Dou Zun's power would make the entire Black Horn Region tremble.

Xiao Yan touched his storage ring, frowned, and said: "Second brother, tell Xiao Yixian and the others to wait for me—I need to settle some matters."

With that, Xiao Yan flew toward Yun Lan Mountain and the SnakeTribe.

In the SnakeTribe palace, Cai Lin sat like a noble, cold empress at the head of the hall, listening as tribal chieftains below reported issues.

"Your Majesty, aside from the original Tian She Mansion and Tian She Empire's Snake Race followers of Prince Qing Lin, all other Snake Race factions once hostile or independent have now joined us."

"The Seven Rank beast overlord in the Mo Shou Shan Mai still refuses to yield—should we take harsher measures?"

Suddenly, Cai Lin's gaze sharpened, and she looked down at the gathered SnakeTribe chieftains, her voice icy: "That's all for today. Dismissed."

?!

The SnakeTribe chieftains below were stunned—hadn't they just begun reporting? How was it already over??

"Your Majesty—"

"All of you, out!" Cai Lin's gaze turned cold, her triangular snake eyes locking onto them. Every SnakeTribe chieftain, regardless of power, froze, then hastily retreated, daring not utter another word.

"Hua She Er, you too—leave."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Once everyone had departed, Black Flame emerged from Space; Mao Wu flicked a claw, opening a Void Passage, through which Xiao Yan stepped out.

For months, Xiao Yan had wanted to see Cai Lin, but each time she'd found some excuse to avoid him.

When they finally met, both fell silent.

Xiao Yan slowly walked up to the dais. Seeing him approach, Cai Lin showed a hint of nervousness. Xiao Yan took two brocade boxes from his storage ring and placed them on the table, speaking softly: "I've already forged the Tian Hun Xue Gu Pill. The other box contains Ling Qing Hun Dan."

"I've studied your tribe's Secret Technique. Though it's the highest level, it's still incomplete—it enhances physical talent but ignores the Spiritual Soul. Once the Soul Embryo forms, I'll have you take the Ling Qing Hun Dan, then activate the Secret Technique to enhance the embryo's Spiritual Soul talent."

Neither the Ling Qing Hun Dan nor the Secret Technique originated from Xiao Yan—or even from the Pill Sovereign. They belonged to Hun Xu Zi.

This was the first time Xiao Yan had ever asked Hun Xu Zi about Pill Alchemy, about Soul Embryos, seeking his help. In Xiao Yan's mind, Hun Xu Zi was the undisputed master of all things related to the Spiritual Soul.

Hearing that Xiao Yan's Spiritual Soul had, after colliding to its limit, produced such a peculiar Soul Embryo, Hun Xu Zi—who had lived countless ages—was stunned, then burst into laughter, calling Xiao Yan a genius.

Out of curiosity, he analyzed the SnakeTribe's Secret Technique, then immediately created a new Secret Technique and Pill Formula for Spiritual Force Enhancement. His terrifying creative power left Xiao Yan utterly astonished.

Cai Lin did not open the brocade boxes. Instead, she stared directly at Xiao Yan, then, with her Red Lips parting slightly, asked: "Are you leaving?"

"Yes." Xiao Yan nodded, hesitated, then said: "We found the final ingredient for Xiao Yixian's Eternal Calamity Poison body, so—"

Before he could finish, a Jade Hand seized his collar, yanking him with immense force onto the table, then a dominant kiss pressed down upon him.

(End of Chapter)