Chapter 7

"Three stems of purple leaf orchid, two blossoms of bone-washing flower, and one Level-One wood-element Magic Core." Xiao Yan took out all the materials listed on the Foundation Building Spirit Liquid Pill Formula from his space ring.

The Magic Core still bore speckles of blood, clearly taken from a beast not long ago—in fact, it was hunted by Xiao Yan himself this morning.

As the essential energy source for Spirit Refining, every alchemy requires a Magic Core, and Magic Cores come from beasts.

Every morning, besides supervising the clan disciples' morning cultivation, Xiao Yan patrolled the market district with Xun Er; after lunch, he almost always ventured into the forests to gather medicinal materials and hunt beasts, and at night he trained Dou Techniques and cultivated Dou Qi in the back mountain.

Day after day, for ten years.

This was not only because Xiao Yan possessed the talent of an Alchemist, but also because his space ring contained a vast collection of Pill Formulas—from One Grade Pills up to Eight Grade Pills—providing him with every condition needed for Spirit Refining.

Pill formulas, Alchemy Techniques, the Herbal Medicine Collection, alchemy insights—these items filled more than half his space ring, and Xiao Yan spent a full ten years just reading through them all.

But reading them was one thing; understanding them was another matter entirely.

In fact, that morning when Xiao Yan picked up the fallen Pill and sniffed it, he immediately recognized it as Qi Gathering Powder—proving he already possessed considerable knowledge of Pills.

Yet Xiao Yan's prestige within the Xiao Clan was simply too great, and since even the Grand Elder knew what Qi Gathering Powder was, no one questioned how a fourteen-year-old boy could know about it.

Even Xun Er and Xiao Zhan never considered it odd—they simply assumed Xiao Yan had learned about Qi Gathering Powder somewhere.

An hour later, BOOM—the Magic Core's energy inside the Alchemy Furnace suddenly surged, terrifying heat engulfing the furnace and instantly reducing the still-purifying medicinal materials to ash.

Spirit Refining failed.

"Sigh, this Two-Rank Pill is too hard." Xiao Yan wiped the ash from his face, equally helpless—his head and face covered in soot, without a teacher, even Xiao Yan was just an Alchemy novice.

"It took me three years just to master making One Grade Pills—my speed is far too slow."

If any other Alchemist heard this, they'd probably strangle Xiao Yan. Self-taught and reaching the level of a One Grade Alchemist in only three years—his talent surpassed even his cultivation talent.

Xiao Yan took out a second set of materials and continued refining; in truth, Spirit Refining was just like fighting monsters and leveling up—a process of accumulating experience.

After reaching Dou Practitioner, whenever Xiao Yan gathered medicinal materials in the wild or bought cheap ones from the market, as long as he had enough, he would refine.

In the end, even after exhausting all his Dou Qi, he still failed to produce Foundation Building Spirit Liquid.

"My Dou Qi is still too weak—the efficiency of forming flame from Dou Qi for Spirit Refining is too low."

Just as Xiao Yan was about to retract the Alchemy Furnace into his space ring and begin cultivating Dou Qi, a powerful Soul Force suddenly descended, sealing the entire room and locking Xiao Yan's body completely in place—he could not move.

"Hehe, I heard a talented young boy surnamed Xiao had emerged in this remote Jia Ma Empire—turns out he really is a big fish. The Xiao Clan's inheritance is hidden here, in this backwater?"

A black-robed figure, shrouded entirely in darkness, appeared before Xiao Yan like a ghost. With a flick of his finger, the space ring on Xiao Yan's hand flew to the black-robed man.

"Give. It. Back!" Xiao Yan glared, clenched his fists, and surged his Dou Qi to break free—but before the black-robed man, Xiao Yan's strength was but a gnat challenging a tree.

The black-robed man ignored Xiao Yan's rage; had he not been cautious, Xiao Yan would already be a corpse.

The black-robed man lightly touched the space ring, and everything inside spilled out in an instant. His powerful Soul Force enveloped all the items—among the countless cultivation methods, Dou Techniques, and Pill Formulas, one "living thing" existed.

A white, icy, mysterious flame.

That flame was sealed within the space ring—it was the very thing Xiao Yan valued most.

Bone Spirit Cold Fire, eleventh on the Strange Fire Ranking.

The mere book descriptions of its terror had already made Xiao Yan understand its value and danger.

It was the goal of countless Alchemists across the continent!

Xiao Yan's Dou Qi and Soul Force surged desperately against the Flame Sealing—even as blood trickled from his lips and his body neared collapse, he refused to yield.

"Hmm? This isn't the Xiao Clan's inheritance?"

The black-robed man's Soul Force rapidly scanned every item, especially those jade-like objects, checking them repeatedly. But to his confusion, after thorough inspection, none of the items were from the Xiao Clan—none of the cultivation methods or Dou Techniques matched those known to the Xiao Clan he knew.

He had come specifically because his subordinates told him there was a Xiao Clan in Wutan City, and a talented boy had emerged—his fame even reaching the capital of the Jia Ma Empire.

This was all thanks to Nalan Jie, Nalan Yanran's grandfather, who was so pleased with Xiao Yan's cultivation talent that he boasted endlessly in the capital about having a talented Xiao son-in-law.

He never imagined that combining "Xiao" and "talented" would draw such disaster.

The black-robed man frowned at Xiao Yan, who was desperately struggling—his eyes now leaking blood from soul exhaustion.

The black-robed man casually glanced toward Xun Er's room, his Soul Force subtly sweeping across every person in the Xiao Clan grounds—except Xun Er—but found nothing he sought.

The black-robed man clicked his tongue, released the Soul Binding, seized Xiao Yan's throat, and hissed: "Boy, tell me where the Ancient Jade is—or I'll wipe out your entire Xiao Clan."

"I don't know what you're talking about! Give me back Bone Spirit Cold Fire!" Xiao Yan unleashed Eight Extreme Shatter repeatedly—but that very technique that had defeated Nalan Yanran couldn't even scratch the black-robed man's robe.

This terrifying power gap made Xiao Yan realize: this black-robed man's strength likely exceeded Dou Spirit—or even Dou King!

"Bone Spirit Cold Fire? This trash Strange Fire?" The black-robed man flicked his finger, and the eleventh-ranked Strange Fire—the envy of countless Alchemists—was toyed with like a child's plaything.

The black-robed man smiled faintly, tempting: "Boy, tell me where the Ancient Jade is, and I'll teach you Spirit Refining."

When Xiao Yan saw Bone Spirit Cold Fire being toyed with, he gave up struggling—he wasn't stupid. He understood this black-robed man's power far exceeded his comprehension; the reason he hadn't killed him must be some restraint.

Seeing Xiao Yan stop resisting, the black-robed man released him—he too feared Xiao Yan might be dead. If that person had left some hidden method within Xiao Yan, he himself could be in danger.

Xiao Yan noticed this too—the black-robed man used only Soul Force, never once using Dou Qi, as if terrified his Dou Qi might leak.

Xiao Yan regained his usual calm, his voice icy: "You've seen everything I possess. I don't know what you mean by Ancient Jade. And you have no right to teach me Spirit Refining."

The black-robed man laughed as if hearing the greatest joke: "Hehe! No right? No right? I, Hun Xu Zi, have no right to teach anyone Spirit Refining?!"