Chapter 428: Zi Yan

After Qing Lin left, Xiao Yixian's cheeks flushed slightly—were they now alone together, a man and a woman in the same room?!

"Your turn, Xiao Yixian."

Startled, Xiao Yixian quickly covered her clothes—was he about to use his Strange Flame again?!

Seeing her expression, Xiao Yan coughed twice and rubbed his nose—he wished he could, but he had no excuse now.

"What are you thinking? The Poison Pill is already finished. But I do need to refine one more Poison Pill—just not for you." Black Flame appeared, and with a thud, a corpse fell from the Void Space.

It was the Ice Venerable's corpse!

Seeing the Ice Venerable's corpse appear, Xiao Yixian finally exhaled in relief—but she shot Xiao Yan a glare. It was all his fault; she now had psychological trauma!

Meeting her reproachful gaze, Xiao Yan turned his eyes away—this wasn't his fault, not the Strange Flame's.

"You plan to extract the Eternal Calamity Poison from the Ice Venerable's Acquired Misfortune Poison Body into a Poison Pill?" Xiao Yixian, seeing Xiao Yan had preserved the corpse, quickly understood his intent.

The Ice Venerable possessed an Acquired Misfortune Poison Body. Normally, an Innate Calamity Poison Body would trigger a Poison Explosion upon reaching Dou Zun—but the Ice Venerable, to avoid this, only condensed his Poison Body after attaining Dou Zun.

Using his Dou Zun body to condense the Poison Body—and one refined through his own secret poison techniques—he could control the poison dosage, unlike Xiao Yixian's Innate Calamity Poison Body, which could convert even air's Heavenly Energy into poison with every breath, drawing it into her body.

"Yes. This guy's Acquired Misfortune Poison Body absorbed countless rare poison substances and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. I plan to refine them into a Poison Pill using the Poison Pill method." Xiao Yan nodded—Yan Zun hated waste.

Xiao Yixian's expression turned disgusted; her delicate brows furrowed. To use a human as raw material for a Pill—and to give it to her? As a beautiful little fairy, she found it hard to accept.

"Think of him as a Magic Beast, and the Poison Pill as its Magic Core. And it's not for you to eat—it's for Qian Mu Ye Jing."

Qian Mu Ye Jing was the name Xiao Yan had given the Dan Beast. He had scoured countless Magic Beast texts but found no record of its origin; since it resembled a Zhen bird with a thousand eyes, he named it Qian Mu Ye Jing.

As for the Dan Beast's powerful abilities, Xiao Yixian was still exploring them—so Xiao Yan planned to feed it some potent poison and see if anything changed.

Hearing this, Xiao Yixian could only nod. Because of Xiao Yan, her own Calamity Poison Body had already taken a new path—one unlike any before.

Xiao Yixian's red lips parted slightly, and a deep green Poison Pill emerged from them. With a whoosh, a bird resembling an ordinary crow flapped its wings and soared through the air.

Finally, it landed on the Ice Venerable's corpse, its eyes gleaming with greed.

"Looks like this guy really likes the Ice Venerable's Calamity Poison." Xiao Yan stroked his chin. Unlike Xiao Yixian, this creature perfectly inherited the Calamity Poison Body's nature—born with an insatiable craving for poison.

Although Xiao Yan currently lacked Puti Huati Yan, he realized—as the Ice Venerable had suspected—that the Poison Pill method was merely an ordinary way to strengthen the body and extract toxins. He once thought it was profound, but after reaching Eight Grade, he found it quite ordinary.

With Eight-Rank Alchemist techniques, he could devise over ten alternatives to replace Puti Huati Yan and the Magic Core of the Tian Du Xie Long Beast.

As for Medicinal Materials, Xiao Yan had no shortage of Elixirs. Though the Ye Family had declined, they now treated Xiao Yan as their savior. He refused free gifts, yet they practically gave him their Medicinal Material stockpile.

For these past few days, Xiao Yixian hadn't left—she stayed by Xiao Yan's side, observing how the "Yan Zun" dissected corpses and extracted "corpse oil."

Most Alchemists lacked methods to process cultivator corpses—but the Soul Hall had many. Embracing the idea that learning has no limits, Xiao Yan had learned some too.

After days of processing, the Ice Venerable's corpse was unrecognizable—no longer human, but like dough.

Jiu!! Qian Mu Ye Jing spat a jet of ink-green Poison Flame that enveloped the corpse, visibly melting and shrinking it.

It had the vibe of roasting bread.

"Such fierce Poison Flame! Even stronger than my original Dark Necrosis Poison Fire!" Xiao Yan's pupils contracted—Qian Mu Ye Jing's Dark Necrosis Poison Fire was more potent and fiercer than his own!

Even the corpse of a Four Star Peak Dou Zun was easily refined.

Xiao Yan manipulated the flame, following the Poison Pill method to condense the Calamity Poison from the Ice Venerable's body.

"Pill formed!"

With a whoosh, a pale, icy Pill appeared midair. Xiao Yan couldn't help but sigh—the Ice Venerable, a veteran Dou Zun, had indeed used incredibly precious poisons and Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. This Poison Pill contained not only terrifying toxins but also astonishing energy.

One could imagine the immense effort the Ice Venerable had invested to forge his Acquired Misfortune Poison Body.

Meanwhile, the Ice Venerable's corpse was utterly reduced to ash by Qian Mu Ye Jing—poor Ice Venerable left behind nothing but a pile of bone dust.

"Huh? What's this?" Xiao Yan frowned, staring at the bone dust. He blew gently—and a palm-sized map appeared before him.

He picked it up, scanned the routes and characters—and his eyes lit up!

"Kuang! The Ice River Valley Treasure Vault!"

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian exchanged glances, both thrilled—they'd assumed the Treasure Vault was lost, but the Ice Venerable had been so twisted as to hide the map inside his body!

Xiao Yan looked at the haughty Qian Mu Ye Jing and gave a thumbs-up—this thing was good. It knew not to burn the map, deliberately preserved it.

Qian Mu Ye Jing ignored Xiao Yan, preening its wing feathers with its beak, radiating supreme arrogance.

"Hand this map to Tian Huo Zun—he'll handle it. With his strength and experience, he can manage." As a Soul Hall Venerable, Xiao Yan naturally knew how to "outsource"—he couldn't do everything himself; he still had to go to Sheng Dan Cheng.

Xiao Yan placed the Pill in a Brocade Box and handed it to Xiao Yixian. "This Poison Pill is yours. It contains the toxins the Ice Venerable accumulated over the years. Though some were removed during refinement, it still holds terrifying poison."

"Even a normal Four Star Dou Zun would struggle to resist it."

The Poison Pill contained not only the Ice Venerable's Calamity Poison but also precious Medicinal Materials used to replace the Tian Du Xie Long Beast's Magic Core and Puti Huati Yan.

The fact that no Pill Lightning appeared proved it wasn't an Elixir—it merely collected and compressed toxins. But if it were an Elixir, judging by the Medicinal Material grade, it would be no less than an Eight Grade Pill with Three-Colored Pill Lightning.

Xiao Yan felt uneasy—was this Poison Pill too potent? Could Xiao Yixian's Strange Flame Poison Pill withstand it?!

Xiao Yixian nodded firmly, carefully stowing the Brocade Box. "I understand. I'll refine it only when I'm confident."

But she didn't say that "confidence" would come only when Xiao Yan's enemies grew stronger—when she needed greater power.

Though the Pill Gathering still had about half a year left, Xiao Yan wouldn't wait until then to reach Sheng Dan Cheng.

He needed to arrive four months early to help the Ye Family with their trials—meaning he had only two months left to cultivate.

For these two months, Xiao Yan spent his time in the Yang Huo Gu Tan, cultivating and strengthening his power. Qing Lin and Xiao Yixian did the same—both began cultivating.

But it was tough on Zi Yan—luckily, the Ye Family, once one of the Five Great Families, still had Elder Ye Zhong, a Seventh-Rank Alchemist, who could refine Seven Rank Medicinal Ingredients for Zi Yan to eat like candy.

Over a month later, Tian Huo Zun returned. His outsourcing was excellent—he successfully retrieved the Ice River Valley Treasure Vault hidden by the Ice Venerable.

"Nine-Treasure Pill, Taiyi Treasure Pill—a healing Elixir. Usable by anyone below Three-Star Dou Saint. Can fully heal all injuries, including spiritual wounds. Extremely mild in nature—even ordinary people can take it without damaging their already injured bodies. Even Soul Bodies can reincarnate into SpiritFlesh. Truly the Taiyi Pill."

Xiao Yan stared at the Nine-Treasure Pill's Pill Formula—his eyes gleamed. This Ice River Valley truly deserved its reputation among the Three Valleys—after centuries of dominance in Zhong Zhou, the Ice Venerable had gathered such a precious Formula.

For an Alchemist, this Taiyi Treasure Pill Formula was equivalent to a Heaven Tier Low Grade Dou Technique—priceless.

As for the other treasures—aside from a few Eight Grade Pill Formulas, some Magic Cores, and Medicinal Materials—Xiao Yan had no interest. The Earth Rank Advanced Grade Ice Venerable Technique, and the two Quasi Heavenly Rank ice-based Dou Techniques the Ice Venerable cultivated—he dismissed them all.

It wasn't that Xiao Yan couldn't cultivate ice-based Dou Techniques—he possessed Bone Spirit Cold Fire, so he could cultivate ice techniques, even ice-based Cultivation Methods, gaining dual attributes.

But those two Dou Techniques were useless—less powerful than his Five Wheel Fire Method and the Emperor Seal Technique's Five Seals Unification. Besides, his Cultivation Method was fire-based; ice-based Dou Techniques couldn't reach their peak potency.

"Forget it, let Hai Bodong get off easy."

Hai Bodong probably never imagined he'd one day inherit the Ice River Valley's legacy!

Two months passed in the blink of an eye; despite Gu Tan's help, Xiao Yan had only reached Dou Zong Peak, still short of Six-Star Dou Zong—he'd likely need to reach Sheng Dan Cheng to break through.

What made him even more speechless was that Qing Lin had already surpassed him to Six-Star.

"Is this Absorption Technique really that insane?" Xiao Yan scrutinized Qing Lin; her Qi San Hua Tong could absorb the Cultivation Realm of Snake Slaves and convert it into her own, a power Xiao Yan called the Absorption Technique.

Feeling Xiao Yan's gaze sweeping over her, Qing Lin blushed deeply and lowered her head, nervously fiddling with her fingers, like a maid awaiting her Young Master's favor.

Seeing Qing Lin's expression, Xiao Yan finally realized he'd been staring too long.

But he had to admit, Qing Lin had truly "grown up."

Even in her plain green dress, the silk-belted Snake Waist still drew the eye; now, with this shy demeanor, she added a touch of charming allure.

Qing Lin's beauty, combined with her shyness, was devastating.

If he wrapped his arms around that boneless waist, how would it feel? Compared to Cai Lin, who was softer?

"Cough." Xiao Yixian shot Xiao Yan a glare from beside him; Xiao Yan snapped back to reality, awkwardly rubbing his nose. "Elder Ye Zhong, let's go. It's time to head to Sheng Dan Cheng for that test."

Xiao Yixian had accompanied Xiao Yan for so long she knew perfectly: whenever he rubbed his nose, he was guilty as sin.

It wasn't really Xiao Yan's fault—mainly, that night, Xun Er had stirred up something.

As for Cao Dan from the Cao Family coming to cause trouble after the Ye Family broke off the engagement, such a trivial matter wasn't worth mentioning.

Xiao Yan and the others traveled smoothly all the way to Zhong Zhou's most famed place: Sheng Dan Cheng.

"This is ridiculous," Xiao Yan said, torn between laughter and frustration—he'd never encountered a Space Channel exit that required a queue to enter or exit!

Space Flying Ships lined the entire Space Channel; the number arriving from all directions of Space was absurdly excessive. And the Pill Gathering was still four months away.

"Young Master Xiao Yan, when the Pill Gathering truly begins, the crowd will be even more insane—it'll feel like the entire Zhong Zhou has flooded into Sheng Dan Cheng," Xin Lan explained to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan rubbed his forehead; that would truly be overwhelming.

After about fifteen minutes, Xiao Yan and the others landed on the Guang Chang of Sheng Dan Cheng; the entire square was packed with noise, and this vast, boundless square was merely the landing point of one Space Channel!

"There are eight such Space Points in all of Sheng Dan Cheng," Ye Zhong explained. "And this is the outer city; Dan Tower lies within the inner city."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan's lips twitched; this single Guang Chang alone was probably half the size of Jia Ma Sheng Cheng—and yet Sheng Dan Cheng had eight of them?

And this was merely the docking point for the outer city!

Just how big was Sheng Dan Cheng?

"Sheng Dan Cheng must be comparable in size to the entire Jia Ma Empire," Qing Lin murmured, stunned by the sight.

"Where should we go first?" Xiao Yan asked, shaking his head.

All eyes turned to Ye Zhong; Sheng Dan Cheng was new to Xiao Yan and the others—they knew nothing of it, and everything depended on this old hand.

"In a few days, the five families' assessments will begin. We've traveled all day; let's find a place to rest tonight. Tomorrow, I'll take you to one of Dan Tower's testing sites—you need to obtain a certified Alchemist Rank Class Badge."

"Alchemist Rank Class Badge?" Xiao Yan blinked. "Do we really need this?"

Xiao Yan had only ever obtained one Alchemist Rank Class Badge—when he won the Alchemist Convention in Jia Ma Empire, earning a Fifth-Rank Alchemist badge and Long Robe; he still wore that Fifth-Rank Alchemist Long Robe today.

"Heh, Dan Tower's certification is nothing like elsewhere—it's notoriously strict, which is precisely why its Class Badges are recognized across the entire continent. But I have no doubt that Master Xiao Yan will stun everyone," Ye Zhong chuckled, subtly hinting this was a perfect chance to show off.

Xiao Yan nodded slightly; he had no strong resistance—he wanted to see just how strict Sheng Dan Cheng's test really was.

Seeing Xiao Yan had no objections, Ye Zhong smiled, oriented himself, and was about to lead them to find lodging when a violent spatial disturbance erupted far behind them in the Sky; soon, a snow-white carriage drawn by several luminous silver flying horses appeared in the heavens.

"Those are Space Sky Horses! Who has such a grand entourage?"

"Space Sky Horses?"

Zi Yan frowned at the flying horses; these beasts shared the same ability as her Ancient Dragon Clan—Space Transmigration, capable of crossing Space even without reaching Eight Rank.

But they couldn't compare to the Ancient Dragon Clan.

Ye Zhong frowned deeply. "That emblem belongs to the Dan Family."

"The Dan Family?" Xiao Yan glanced at the emblem, then shook his head—he didn't care who was inside. Whether the Dan Family was the strongest of the five or not, this time, whether for the assessment or the Pill Gathering, Xiao Yan would claim the Champion title!

Champion? Who else but him?

This minor incident didn't affect Xiao Yan and the others; soon, they arrived at a large estate belonging to the Ye Family in Sheng Dan Cheng to rest.

Deep into the night, Xiao Yan stood in the courtyard, arms behind his back, gazing up at the stars.

"Strange... we've reached Sheng Dan Cheng, so why haven't I felt anything yet?" Xiao Yan opened his palms; two Yin-Yang fish swam merrily within them.

What puzzled Xiao Yan was that the Yin-Yang Twin Flames left by his Ancestor showed no reaction whatsoever.

According to the Spiritual Soul image left by Xiao Xuan, Xiao Yan deduced that Xiao Xuan's Spiritual Flames were black-and-white, red, and purple. The black-and-white pair were naturally the Yin-Yang Twin Flames; the red Spiritual Flame, Xiao Yan believed, could only be the Eighth-ranked Lotus of Karmic Fire or the Seventeenth-ranked Volcano Stone Flame.

Of course, some Spiritual Flames had unstable colors—like Xiao Yan's Ten Thousand Beast Spiritual Flame, whose hue was never fixed.

The purple one confused him, though—no known Spiritual Flame was purple, meaning his Ancestor's third flame must be one with variable color.

Originally, hearing from Ye Zhong that the Three Thousand Yan Flame sealed by Dan Tower was purple, Xiao Yan had arrived full of confidence, hoping to use his ancestor's legacy to directly refine it.

But now that he was in Sheng Dan Cheng, the Yin-Yang Twin Flames still showed no response.

"Is it not the one? Or is the Flame Sealing blocking their perception?" Xiao Yan sighed inwardly. Of course—Spiritual Flame matters were never easy.

At that moment, Zi Yan walked over, face grave: "Hey, Xiao Yan, I think I sensed something."

"What, missing home?" Xiao Yan patted Zi Yan's small head, asking gently.

"No, home is that way," Zi Yan pointed left and right—left toward Shou Yu, the Ancient Dragon Clan's homeland; right toward the inner city of Sheng Dan Cheng!

"You mean—?"

"I'm not sure. My perception is fuzzy, like something's blocking it."

Zi Yan looked at Xiao Yan with a mischievous grin. "Why don't we go take a look?"

(End of Chapter)