Chapter 8: The Butterfly

"This soul ring is merely a relic left behind by an Eight Grade Alchemist after death, and moreover, the soul seal on this storage ring has already perished—the spiritual soul within has long since perished along with its body. I, Hun Xu Zi, am the number one Alchemist on the Dou Qi Continent—do you really think I lack the qualification?"

Xiao Yan remembered the treasure identification atlas inside the ring, which included information about soul rings.

A soul ring is simply an upgraded version of a storage ring; besides storing inanimate objects like a regular storage ring, its greatest function is preserving the spiritual soul.

The spiritual soul of a powerful Alchemist is inherently extremely strong; when facing mortal danger, it can detach from the physical body and hide within the soul ring to preserve the soul.

This soul ring can even preserve Bone Spirit Cold Fire—without doubt, it is unquestionably a strange treasure.

At first, Xiao Yan thought this ring was a legacy left by his mother; now, after what Hun Xu Zi said, it must be that his mother somehow obtained this soul ring from somewhere.

The original owner of the soul ring, facing mortal peril, detached his body and took refuge inside the ring, but ultimately failed to survive—the soul dispersed, and both the storage ring and Bone Spirit Cold Fire became ownerless.

Hun Xu Zi looked at Xiao Yan and smiled coldly: "Barrier, since you say I lack qualification, let me show you what true spirit refining truly is!"

Whoosh—the moment Hun Xu Zi extended his soul force into the void and pinched the floating Bone Spirit Cold Fire, a thin filament of flame, as fine as a thread, was drawn out.

His fingers moved like a conductor's, and the pale-white Bone Spirit Cold Fire filament threaded through several medicinal herbs as if sewing with needle and thread.

In an instant, as the flame thread passed through the herbs, it stripped away impurities—its overwhelming soul power extracted every drop of essence, leaving behind only ash that instantly crumbled to the ground.

Finally, the flame thread curled the essence into a single purple-white pill.

The pill was formed instantly! Although the herbs used were not particularly high-grade, completing pill refinement in the blink of an eye was like a fairy tale—no one would believe it!

"Boy, your provocation is far too childish."

Shhh—the moment Hun Xu Zi flicked his finger, the pill shot forth as a streak of light and forcibly entered Xiao Yan's throat.

"Gah!" Xiao Yan immediately tried to vomit it out, but it was too late—a medicinal force surged through his entire body, giving him no chance to react.

"What did you make me swallow?!"

"Jiejiejie, it's merely an ordinary poison pill. If you can cure this poison, you qualify to become my disciple—take my Soul Token to the Soul Temple in Wang Du. If you can't, hehehe… remember next life: don't use provocation so carelessly."

A black token engraved with the character "Soul" appeared on the table; Hun Xu Zi tore open Space and vanished.

After Hun Xu Zi vanished, Xiao Yan's furious expression instantly returned to its usual calmness; his bloodshot eyes gradually regained their normal state—everything just now seemed deliberately orchestrated by Xiao Yan!

When he suspected Hun Xu Zi wouldn't kill him, Xiao Yan had already formed an idea inside.

He needed guidance from a powerful Alchemist—even just watching one pill being refined would suffice—so he deliberately used provocation.

Xiao Yan's gaze fixed on Bone Spirit Cold Fire was meant to draw Hun Xu Zi's attention entirely to the flame—he needed to protect a cultivation method from being discovered.

The Burn Scripture, a Yellow-Class Low-Grade Technique, can infinitely evolve by consuming Strange Fires—this is the cultivation method Xiao Yan himself practices.

Xiao Yan had many cultivation methods to choose from, yet he ultimately chose this strange and mysterious one.

Two reasons: first, his soul ring already contained Bone Spirit Cold Fire—he had the material ready, needing no search, so naturally he chose this method.

Second, this method is truly powerful; since reaching Dou Zhe, Xiao Yan began practicing the Burn Scripture—from initially being able to only sense Bone Spirit Cold Fire from afar, to now being able to approach within three meters and absorb its drifting flames.

The Burn Scripture has now evolved to Yellow-Class Mid-Grade, proving it can indeed consume Strange Fires and achieve infinite evolution.

As for the poison pill, Xiao Yan paid it no mind—not only does Strange Fire itself possess detoxifying and incinerating properties, but as long as Xiao Yan could consume Bone Spirit Cold Fire via the Burn Scripture, he could cure the poison.

Moreover, Xiao Yan already knew how to cure it.

Xiao Yan crouched down and collected all the medicinal powder left over from Hun Xu Zi's refining—mixing these powders together formed the antidote.

The herbs Hun Xu Zi used for refining were all picked by Xiao Yan himself—he knew exactly which herbs they were. Those few were medicinal herbs, not poison herbs—they were beneficial.

The most fundamental step in spirit refining is purification: removing excess impurities and toxins from the herbs, retaining only the purest medicinal properties.

As the saying goes: "Medicine carries three parts poison." Herbs are beneficial not because they are inherently non-toxic, but because their medicinal properties outweigh their toxicity. Poison herbs are the opposite—their toxicity outweighs their medicinal properties.

Therefore, the antidote to that poison pill was simply the leftover medicinal powder.

After Xiao Yan mixed all the powder with water and drank it, the icy pain inside him vanished instantly; the surplus medicinal force even slightly enhanced his Dou Qi.

"Ancient Jade… what exactly is its origin, that even someone like Hun Xu Zi would fight over it?"

"How could the Xiao Clan possess such a thing?"

Xiao Yan picked up the black token on the table—today's events far exceeded his knowledge.

Soon after, a knock came at the door: "Brother Xiao Yan, are you free tomorrow? Could you accompany Xun Er to the marketplace?"

Xiao Yan put everything away into his soul ring, gently wiped the blood-tears from his cheeks, and opened the door.

"If Xun Er needs her brother as her bodyguard, the brother naturally won't refuse."

Seeing Xun Er, Xiao Yan couldn't help but wonder: could it be that Hun Xu Zi dared not kill him because of Xun Er?

In a strange space called the Soul Realm, on the Dou Qi Continent, the arrogant Hun Xu Zi knelt on one knee behind a man.

The man wore a white robe, appearing refined and gentle, holding fish feed as he fed the fish in a pond—he enjoyed watching them scramble desperately for food.

After finishing feeding all the fish, the man slowly turned around and said calmly: "Rise."

"Yes, Clan Leader."

The man asked slowly: "How did it go?"

Hun Xu Zi bowed respectfully: "My Lord, the Ancient Jade of the Xiao Clan has likely fallen into the hands of the Gu Clan."

"Hmm?" Hearing Hun Xu Zi's report, the Soul Clan Clan Leader, Hun Tian Di, frowned—this was bad news.

Hun Xu Zi continued: "In the Jia Ma Empire's Xiao Clan, there is a young girl who possesses a sub-flame of the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame. Though I did not probe the girl herself, I used my soul force to scan the entire Xiao Clan—and found no trace of the Ancient Jade."

Hun Tian Di's eyes turned icy—he knew the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame, ranked fourth on the Strange Fire Ranking, was the Gu Clan's ancestral flame; only important members of the Gu Clan could possess its sub-flame.

The presence of a Gu Clan member within the Xiao Clan made the whereabouts of the Ancient Jade obvious.

"You were right not to probe her with soul force—she is almost certainly Gu Yuan's daughter. If you accidentally triggered the safeguards on her person, you would be utterly annihilated." Hun Tian Di knew how terrifying Gu Yuan's power was—Gu Yuan would never casually send his daughter so far away. Even across ten thousand miles, Gu Yuan could effortlessly destroy the entire Jia Ma Empire.

"A fine ploy—two beasts fighting, the fisherman profits. In the end, the Xiao Clan's Ancient Jade still ended up in your hands, Gu Yuan."

Hun Xu Zi asked: "My Lord, should we capture the girl to exchange for the Ancient Jade?"

Hun Tian Di paused, then shook his head: "My wounds from my battle with Xiao Xuan have not yet healed—now is not the time to wage war against the Gu Clan. Order the Soul Temple to accelerate the collection of powerful Soul Bodies—we must complete this before the Gu Clan acquires any more Ancient Jades. Do not let them gather more."

"Yes, Clan Leader!"

A butterfly gently flapped its wings—the timeline of fate shifted dramatically.