Chapter 492

Xiao Yan looked at the now-docile Feng Qing'er'er and nodded. "So that's it—this Sage of Creation must have been a Spirit Grower in life."

Spirit Growers cultivate herbs, so naturally, they interacted most often with Alchemists!

Back then, there was no Dan Tower to exchange Medicinal Materials; the Dan Tower was only built to combat the Soul Hall. In ancient times, Alchemists had only two ways to obtain herbs: one was to buy them from pharmacies, but that only yielded common Medicinal Materials.

The second was to seek out powerful Spirit Growers and have them grow herbs specifically for you, or trade Elixirs for rare Medicinal Materials.

So it's no surprise that the Sage of Creation had a large stockpile of Elixirs.

After the Little Lion King led the group through several corridors, Xiao Yan suddenly caught a familiar scent—he instantly perked up and murmured, "Yes, there really are a lot of Elixirs here. The Pill Fragrance is thick. There must be a considerable number. If I'm not mistaken, this is an Elixir storage chamber."

"Heh, ancient Elixirs? Old man is quite curious too," Hai Bodong nodded, eager to taste what ancient Elixirs tasted like—perhaps he could even break through to Dou Zun here in the Sage of Creation's Ruins.

Ice Sea Sovereign—within reach!

Hearing the word "Elixirs," even Feng Qing'er'er swallowed hard.

The corridors inside the grand hall were like a maze, but fortunately, Xiao Yan was deeply familiar with Elixirs and possessed unmatched Soul Force Perception. After spending over ten minutes, they finally reached their destination: an ancient hall stood before them, its entrance bearing two grand, swirling characters.

"Dan Hall!"

Xiao Yan softly murmured the name, his gaze dropping—the hall's main door had already been smashed open, and numerous figures could be seen frantically searching inside.

"Sigh, can't monopolize it anymore. Have to fight for it." Seeing the door broken, Xiao Yan gave up on the idea of claiming it alone.

Xiao Yan called out, then dashed into the spacious hall. The first floor of the Dan Hall was in chaos—figures stormed into the Spirit Refining chambers like bandits, looting everything in sight, occasionally erupting into brutal Battles over Elixirs.

Xiao Yan casually scanned the first floor, lost interest, waved his hand, and moved deeper into the Dan Hall. After finding the staircase to the upper levels, he ascended directly to the second floor.

Before entering the second floor, Xiao Yixian's expression changed slightly. She whispered, "Xiao Yan, wait—there's poison in the air."

Hearing this, Xiao Yan and the others froze, took a few breaths, and immediately sensed something wrong.

"No wonder there are so few people on the second floor—someone must have been caught," Xiao Yan's gaze swept over several corpses on the ground—clearly, unlucky souls who had died from poisoning.

Xiao Yixian swiftly waved her hand, and threads of Poison Dou Qi emerged from her sleeves, forming thin membranes that enveloped everyone—using poison to counter poison.

Feng Qing'er'er, seeing the poison drifting toward them, flinched and instinctively stepped back.

"Don't retreat—these Poison Dou Qi are here to shield you from the poison in this place," Xiao Yixian said helplessly.

Feng Qing'er'er stopped, nodded—she knew that, but she was still scared.

Unfortunately, the Elixirs on the second floor were only Five-Grade and Six-Grade—far beneath Xiao Yan's standards—and most had already been taken.

With a helpless shake of his head, Xiao Yan led the group toward the third floor.

"The poison here is extremely dense—the second floor's poison must be seeping down from the third. Be extra careful."

Although Xiao Yixian could absorb all the poison here using her Eternal Calamity Poison body, doing so would also aid others.

The number of people on the third floor was far fewer, but every single one was a Dou Zong—anyone below Dou Zong, without special means, would be killed by the poison.

"I wonder if there are any legendary Ji Pin Dan Yao on this floor? If there are, this would be truly insane," Tian Huo Zunzhe scanned the surrounding Spirit Refining chambers and chuckled.

"That's unlikely—even a Dou Sheng would have consumed a Ji Pin Dan Yao immediately. Why leave it behind?" Xiao Yan smiled. For a low-level Dou Sheng's Ruins, a Ji Pin Dan Yao was impossible.

Xiao Yan casually chose an unsearched room. After searching, they found an ancient Spirit Stone Formula—but unfortunately, it was only Seven-Grade. He glanced at it briefly, then stored it in his space ring.

Besides the Spirit Stone Formula, there was one unopened Pill Bottle containing a Seven-Grade Pill—likely the Elixir brewed from that formula.

A Seven-Grade Pill was a treasure to some Dou Zong, but to Xiao Yan, it was utterly ordinary.

"Here, take this," Xiao Yan casually tossed the Pill Bottle to Nalan Yanran, who was looking around distractedly.

Nalan Yanran startled, quickly catching the bottle, her beautiful eyes wide with surprise. "For me?"

"This Elixir helps Dou Zong Cultivation. I don't need it. It suits you perfectly. Don't want it? Give it back," Xiao Yan teased, reaching out to take it back.

Nalan Yanran clutched the bottle protectively, shook her head, and snorted, "Of course I want it! Hmph!"

"Let's go—there's probably nothing else left."

Just as Xiao Yan waved his hand and turned to leave, a white shadow suddenly darted from the chaotic Spirit Refining chamber, lunging for Nalan Yanran's Pill Bottle.

The white shadow moved fast, but Nalan Yanran's innate sensitivity to Soul Force, combined with her Wind Attribute Dou Qi, allowed her to dodge the ambush with a swift sidestep.

The sudden appearance of the white shadow startled Xiao Yan and the others—neither Xiao Yan nor Xiao Yixian had sensed it!

Xiao Yan's heart jolted—he had Heavenly Realm Soul Force! How could such a tiny white shadow have gotten this close without him noticing? Impossible!

His Dou Qi surged instantly. His gaze snapped to where the white shadow had flashed—and there, he saw a small beast covered entirely in white fur. It resembled a rabbit or a cat, but its body was unusually plump, round, and oddly endearing.

Most bizarrely, it emitted not a single trace of Dou Qi—it seemed like an ordinary pet.

Precisely because it had no Dou Qi, it had slipped past Xiao Yan's perception.

"Huhuh!" The little beast shook itself, its eyes fixed hungrily on Nalan Yanran's Pill Bottle.

Seeing the adorable little beast staring at her Pill Bottle, Nalan Yanran immediately guarded it tightly. Even if you're this cute, I won't give you this Elixir!

Xiao Yan frowned, studying the small beast—no Dou Qi, yet incredibly fast. After a moment, he suddenly realized something, his eyes widening like a frog's.

Seeing Xiao Yan's expression, Xiao Yixian and the others froze—they'd never seen him react like this before.

Before Xiao Yixian or the others could ask, Xiao Yan's eyes reddened slightly, and an expletive slipped out involuntarily.

"Fuck, this thing is a Pill?"

At Xiao Yan's shout, everyone froze, staring at the adorable little beast.

"A Dan Beast?!" Hai Bodong's eyes widened—he'd never seen one before!

Not just Hai Bodong—even Xiao Yan had never seen a Dan Beast. He himself had never successfully refined a Pill capable of becoming a Dan Beast!

A Dan Beast is a flawless creation. Ordinary Eight Grade Pills form as normal Pills. Exceptionally high-quality Eight Grade Pills develop Spiritual Energy into a form, wrapped in a layer of Spiritual Energy—these Pills are not only of superior quality but can be preserved for extremely long periods and even gain a degree of sentience.

But! If an Eight Grade Pill is refined under Seven Colored Pill Thunder or higher, with perfect quality, flawless Medicinal Materials, and a touch of luck, there's a chance its sentience reaches its peak—not only gaining a soul, but spontaneously taking form, like a beast transforming into a human!

Such a Pill is indistinguishable from an ordinary beast—except it has no Dou Qi.

Only an Alchemist who refines a Dan Beast has a chance to ascend to Ji Pin. Because if a Ji Pin Dan Yao is further nurtured and hatched, it can Cultivate autonomously, gaining the power of a Semi-Saint or even a Dou Sheng—no dream.

Ji Pin Dan Yao is called "stealing the power of heaven and earth" precisely because of this.

Ji Pin Dan Yao creates life!

"This is an Eight Grade Pill that endured more than eight colors of Pill Thunder—now it's probably reached nine colors. Damn, this Dan Hall—no, every Elixir chamber in this entire corridor—must be the Sage of Creation's pantry for it!"

Xiao Yan's heart trembled violently—no wonder this elixir had low-grade and high-grade versions; it turns out you eat them layer by layer!!

The Creation Saint truly didn't get his title wrong at all!

Not only did he use the corpses of two super demonic beasts, spending a thousand years to cultivate the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit, but he also cultivated this very Dan Beast!

Even in death, he left behind such a legacy!

Now, in Xiao Yan's mind, the legendary Heavenly Rank Dou Technique rumored to be hidden in this ruin was utterly worthless—compared to the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit and the Dan Beast, even a Heaven Tier Low Grade Dou Technique looked pitifully meager.

A typical Heaven Tier Low Grade Dou Technique was worth only a few Four-Colored Pill Lightning Eight Grade Pills, or perhaps one Five-Colored, at most six; this Dan Beast was not something a Heaven Tier Low Grade Dou Technique could match.

That's why Feng Qing'er'er had originally thought Xiao Yan could never appear here.

"Shao Lao, Hai Lao, guard the entrance for me." Xiao Yan took a deep breath and said in a low voice.

This Dan Beast is itself an elixir—no force can be used; even a slight injury would be a loss.

Both understood, and immediately stood at the entrance, their powerful auras intimidating all who passed by. Of course, it was primarily the Five-Star Peak Dou Zun aura of the Heavenly Flame Sovereign.

"Here, it wants this, right?" Nalan Yanran reluctantly handed Xiao Yan the Pill Bottle.

"No need—I'll keep this elixir yourself," Xiao Yan smiled, then pulled out several Brocade Boxes from his space ring.

The moment the Brocade Boxes opened, the adorable little beast's eyes went wide!

All Seven-Grade Pills! And one even reached Perfect Quality—Zong Shi Pill!!!

After all these years of development on the Dou Qi Continent, Ancient elixirs aren't necessarily better than modern ones; at the very least, the pills Xiao Yan personally refined with his Strange Fire were absolutely top-tier!

"Follow me, and you'll eat well and drink fine," Xiao Yan directly opened all five Brocade Boxes and placed them on the ground.

Watching the pills laid out like dog food on the ground, Feng Qing'er'er felt heartbroken—she had risked her body and life for just one pill, and now they were being fed to a Dan Beast.

Of course, the Wild Beast Heavenly Spirit Pill was much higher in grade.

Xiao Yan smiled and slowly stepped back two paces. The ruin was now open; he was certain this little thing wasn't stupid—it knew who to follow best.

He was an Alchemist!

Seeing the Dan Beast hesitate, Xiao Yan went all out—he pulled out a cold jade box tightly wrapped in Soul Force, and as he slowly opened it, the Dan Beast's eyes bulged out!

Dan Beast: Eight Grade Pill!!!

But Xiao Yan didn't know that his extravagant display had triggered the Creation Saint's trap.

The instant the Eight Grade Pill appeared, a surge of Spiritual Soul energy erupted from within the Dan Beast—it suddenly vomited out a Scroll, like a cat retching.

This sudden change startled everyone; Xiao Yan reacted instantly, his finger hooking the Scroll in midair.

"Creation Saint Scripture?!"

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yixian exchanged glances—could this be it?!

Xiao Yan quickly unrolled the Scroll, reading the Creation Saint's Spiritual Soul message, and immediately understood the full story.

As they had guessed, the Scroll was neither a Cultivation Method nor a Dou Technique—it was the Creation Saint's Legacy of Herb Cultivation, densely recording countless methods of cultivating Ancient Medicinal Materials, and teaching how to harness Earth Vein power, alter Earth Veins, and steal the power of Heaven and Earth.

"So this guy was the caretaker of that medicinal forest," Xiao Yixian said, her beautiful eyes filled with surprise as she looked at the little creature—this Dan Beast wasn't ordinary; it was responsible for managing the medicinal forest, handling pests and uncontrolled medicinal energy.

After all, a Dan Beast is itself an elixir, and eats elixirs—it has far greater sensitivity to medicinal materials than any human.

The Creation Saint left behind the Legacy of Herb Cultivation; when the ruin opened and someone fed the Dan Beast an Eight Grade Pill, it would regurgitate the Creation Saint Scripture—because only an Alchemist capable of refining Eight Grade Pills or higher could possibly lure the Dan Beast, and thus inherit his legacy.

This was something Xiao Yan hadn't anticipated—the Creation Saint Scripture wasn't just hidden inside the Dan Beast; it was sealed by a Dou Saint, so even Xiao Yan's Heavenly Realm Soul Force couldn't sense it.

This was pure luck!

For a moment, everyone stared at Xiao Yan in shock—could you even do that?!

"Cough, cough," Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and said, "Just lucky."

Xiao Yan now held even greater respect for Xuan Huang Flame—it truly had some use! He hadn't even planned to give the Dan Beast an Eight Grade Pill; he'd only intended to lure it, just to show it off.

Unexpectedly, through this twist of fate, he'd obtained the Creation Saint's most precious legacy.

After vomiting out the Scroll, the Dan Beast seemed hungry—it gobbled up the five Seven-Grade Pills in a few quick bites, then stared longingly at Xiao Yan's cold jade brocade box.

After some thought, Xiao Yan handed the Scroll and the box to Xiao Yixian.

"To me?" Xiao Yixian caught the Scroll, her expression dimming slightly. "But I don't have Wood Attribute Dou Qi."

Xiao Yan's body contained Wood Attribute Dou Qi—in fact, all Alchemists have it, though it's extremely faint, it does exist.

Ordinary Wood Attribute Dou Qi can control plants in battle, like Mu Zhan, who once fought Xiao Yan and wrapped himself in vine armor; but an Herb Cultivator's Wood Attribute Dou Qi is different—it's an extremely rare special Dou Qi requiring immense Life Force to promote medicinal growth.

Xiao Yan shrugged. "Then who else here has Wood Attribute Dou Qi? You're the best choice."

As soon as Xiao Yixian took the cold jade brocade box, the Dan Beast leapt into her arms without hesitation, then gazed up at her with big, watery eyes, looking pitifully hungry.

Instantly, Xiao Yixian's expression softened; her Jade Hand gently stroked its silky fur, and the Dan Beast let out a contented rumbling sound, its body relaxing in comfort.

This melted Xiao Yixian's heart—no surprise, even Nalan Yanran beside her softened her expression; her Jing Ling Bai Hu was still being cared for in the Flower Sect.

Clearly, girls have no resistance to such adorable creatures. Of course, Feng Qing'er'er was the exception—she'd swallow it whole without hesitation.

"Xiao Yan," Xiao Yixian and the Dan Beast both stared at him with identical big eyes, leaving Xiao Yan torn between laughter and tears.

"That pill was meant for you to feed it."

This made Feng Qing'er'er even more sour—though it was only Two-Colored Pill Lightning! But still!! She was so miserable!

If Feng Qing'er'er knew that even the Wild Beast Heavenly Spirit Pill, Xiao Yan had given away for free to Cai Lin, she'd be utterly devastated.

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Xiao Yixian smiled, picked up the pill, and placed it in her palm. The Dan Beast perked up instantly and swallowed it eagerly.

The instant it swallowed the pill, its fur emitted a faint Pill Fragrance; it nuzzled sleepily against Xiao Yixian's arms—it loved sleeping on hard surfaces.

Xiao Yan waved his hand, his Soul Force enveloping the Dan Beast to prevent detection.

"Let's go—the best treasures are already ours. Head straight to the deepest part; if we can get the Great Heaven Creation Palm, take it; if not, forget it." Xiao Yan now had almost no interest in the Great Heaven Creation Palm.

He had already obtained both great treasures hidden in the Ancient Ruins; he was merely going deeper out of curiosity.

Without lingering, the Lion King moved with astonishing speed, soon reaching the very heart of the hall.

The place was vast beyond measure—those standing within felt like ants. At the center floated ten enormous light orbs, suspended midair; within their blinding radiance, faintly visible were scroll-like objects.

Xiao Yan glanced casually at the light orbs, then turned his gaze downward, where on a Shi Zuo sat a corpse entirely of jade-white bone, hands forming a seal, seated in meditation posture.

"The bones of a Sage Emperor?"