Chapter 56

A soul message entered Xiao Yan's mind; upon learning it, he wore a look of helpless amusement. This wasn't some Soul Sacrifice Old Shop or Soul Hall—it was a black market den!

Because the information about Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame in the soul message was less like intelligence and more like speculation!

Because Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame is born from places teeming with life of ten thousand beasts, forged by the combined power of ten thousand beasts, harmonized by the spirits of ten thousand beasts, and colored as the colors of ten thousand beasts. It is the flame that protects the vitality and prosperity of ten thousand beasts.

And Mo Shou Shan Mai perfectly fits this condition, so it was deduced that Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame exists within Mo Shou Shan Mai.

Xiao Yan was, of course, familiar with Mo Shou Shan Mai—Wutan City had risen to the status of one of Jia Ma Empire's major cities precisely because it leaned against Mo Shou Shan Mai; otherwise, how could a giant merchant guild like Mitel Auction House have opened a branch in Wutan City?

Xiao Yan sometimes joined Medicine Gathering Teams as a combat guardian to enter Mo Shou Shan Mai.

The birthplace of Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame lies in the union of beasts and spirit—only in areas densely packed with magical beasts, after centuries of change, do the souls of magical beasts who died with a guardian's heart gradually coalesce and converge, and only then, through the collective wishes of countless beasts, does Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame arise.

Hence it is called the flame that protects the vitality and prosperity of ten thousand beasts; lands possessing this strange flame invariably flourish, and the magical beasts there grow exceptionally strong.

As a mountain range stretching across Jia Ma Empire, Mo Shou Shan Mai separates the magical beast territories of several empires, and the number of magical beasts within Mo Shou Shan Mai is terrifying.

If one asks where Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame might possibly be born, then Mo Shou Shan Mai is unquestionably the only place.

The logic holds, but the soul information provided by the Soul Hall made Xiao Yan want to curse—after all, the possibility of birth and actual birth are two entirely different things.

Besides a detailed map of Mo Shou Shan Mai, the soul message contained rumors from mercenary groups—unverified claims that they had sensed powerful fire attribute energy fluctuations deep within Mo Shou Shan Mai.

Thus, it was deduced that Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame had already been born deep within Mo Shou Shan Mai.

The soul message's map marked several locations where intense fire attribute energy had been sensed.

As Hun Lao Gui said, all these places were deep within Mo Shou Shan Mai—Third Grade Magical Beasts were as common as dogs, Fourth Rank Magical Beasts roamed everywhere, Fifth Rank Magical Beasts still existed, and places where Sixth Rank Magical Beasts could be found.

With Xiao Yan's current One Star Dou Shi cultivation, dealing with Second-Tier Magical Beasts might not be a problem, but if Third Grade Magical Beasts came in packs, he could only run.

"Aren't you being a bit too greedy? For this much information, you're charging five thousand Soul Points? Is this melon even ripe?!"

Five thousand Soul Points! That could pay for a single strike from an Intermediate Dou Huang!

"Hehehe, information about strange flames is worth this price. Even the weakest strange flame can drive any Alchemist above Sixth-Rank mad. A Seven-Grade Pill can buy the intervention of a Dou Zong, but it still might not buy you a strange flame."

Xiao Yan was left speechless. What could he do? The final interpretation rested entirely with the other side.

Xiao Yan shot Hun Lao Gui a glare and said, "Forget it. I still need to exchange for an Arcane-Rank High-Level soul cultivation technique—the soul information for Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering, plus these medicinal materials."

Xiao Yan pulled out a sheet of paper and wrote down the medicinal materials required for the Blood Lotus Pill and the Ice Spirit Cold Spring. After all, this time he wasn't refining a sub-flame—the complete strange flame was something only a Sixth-Rank Alchemist dared to seek.

Hun Lao Gui glanced at the materials and said slowly, "Do you think I run a junkyard? How could I possibly have these scraps?"

"No materials for Five-Grade Pills? You can search the Black Horn Region. Ice Spirit Cold Spring isn't sold by bottle—it's one thousand Soul Points per crate."

Xiao Yan's temple veins bulged. The Soul Hall thinks it's so great, does it? Looking down on people, huh?!

"Exchange!" Xiao Yan gritted his teeth—humiliation! He was being insulted with money!

Xiao Yan stared at the full cubic meter of Ice Spirit Cold Spring before him and sighed in resignation, then directly stored it in his storage ring and turned to leave this contemptuous black market den!

As Xiao Yan left the old shop, Hun Lao Gui's soul sound reached his ears: "If you seek a strange flame, be cautious of the Medicinal Clan and the Yan Clan—both are Dou Emperor Families."

Xiao Yan furrowed his brow and turned back toward the Soul Sacrifice Old Shop—Hun Lao Gui had already closed his eyes, as if asleep.

"Again, a Dou Emperor Family?"

Ten days later, Xiao Yan had been away from Jia Nan Academy for nearly two weeks; according to the soul information, he needed to travel to a place called Qingshan Town, intending to enter Mo Shou Shan Mai from there.

The sun blazed fiercely, its scorching heat cracking the earthen ground; stepping on the hardened soil sent a wave of heat surging up from his soles, leaving travelers drenched in sweat and cursing the hellish weather.

Along the wide, dusty road walked a man clad in a black robe, hood pulled low.

Up close, one saw the boy's back bore an enormous, thick iron great ruler—its tip lacked a point, as if cleanly severed mid-length, revealing a smooth, mirror-like cross-section.

Perched on the man's shoulder was a tiny, jet-black cat, its tongue lolling out—under this blazing sun, even it had no power. It still couldn't swallow the sun.

"Mao Wu, can't you absorb sunlight to cool down?" Xiao Yan, entirely hidden within his black robe, turned to complain to the Void Swallowing Flame on his shoulder.

Meow~~ Mao Wu shook its head, indicating it was powerless too. Strange flames aren't omnipotent.

The Void Swallowing Flame, shaped like a cat, was thus named Mao Wu.

Reaching the shade of a tree, Xiao Yan removed his hood to cool off, plopped down beneath it, and pulled a bottle of ice water from his storage ring, drinking it in large gulps.

Every day now, besides cultivating the Burning Decree to strengthen his Dou Qi cultivation, Xiao Yan had begun practicing the Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering technique.

"The Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering is proving difficult to master." Xiao Yan sat cross-legged, practicing the technique for a while—the Arcane-Rank High-Level Dou Technique wasn't overly complex for him, but this was his first encounter with a soul cultivation method.

Xiao Yan slowly activated the method of Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering, sensing the faint soul particles floating in the air, using his Soul Force to capture these particles and strengthen his own Spiritual Soul.

This process is called Soul Gathering.

"If not for this Soul Robe, I'd never even reach the threshold."

The black robe Xiao Yan wore wasn't an ordinary sun-blocking cloak—it was a Soul Robe provided by the Soul Hall. Xiao Yan rated it Earth-Rank Low-Level; it offered not only some defensive capability but also blocked Soul Perception from the Common Realm, shielding against detection.

Most importantly, this Soul Robe possessed a mild Soul Gathering effect—some soul particles naturally clung to it, accelerating the cultivation of soul techniques.

Just before dusk, Xiao Yan finally arrived at Qingshan Town, known as the Magical Beast Town due to its proximity to Mo Shou Shan Mai.

As the saying goes: live off the mountains, live off the waters. The most numerous people in this town nestled against Mo Shou Shan Mai were, naturally, the mercenaries who lived on the edge of death—gathered in groups, arms linked, strolling the streets, loudly debating which woman in town had the most flavor, which liquor was the strongest, and which magical beast was the fiercest.

Unfortunately, there was no information Xiao Yan sought about strange flames.