Chapter 827: Xiao Yan the Great Conman

This trick, Xiao Yan knew all too well—how many people had he conned along the way?

First intimidate, then entice with benefits!

The Flame Sovereign was all too familiar with it.

Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, the Tian Zhi Zun with no title couldn't help but narrow his eyes, a flash of absolute divine light piercing through, trying to see through Xiao Yan's true nature. Though he was now less than one percent of his former self, having fallen from the Xianpin Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Tian Zhi Zun realm, he still retained the power of a Tian Zhi Zun—his eyes could pierce yin and yang, unravel mysteries.

Yet, protected by an Absolute Saint Treasure-level Strange Flame and the Shura Soul-Cutting Art fused with a Saint Pupil, Xiao Yan's true condition was far from easily exposed. Wu Ling could only perceive that Xiao Yan's cultivation realm was Upper Earth Supreme, his spiritual energy scorching hot—more terrifying than even a typical Fire-elemental Earth Supreme at peak completion.

Everything else remained opaque; Xiao Yan was like an endless Sea of Fire, visible only as boundless flames.

Sensing the other's probing, Xiao Yan merely smiled and said: "I can tell—you suffered a mortal wound in the Domain Beyond. A peculiar force inside you is destroying your Divine Soul. I clearly sense that force raging wildly, blocking your spiritual energy flow, making your Divine Soul feel as if it's suffocating."

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Wu Ling's face turned pale, his eyes trembling. Xiao Yan had spoken precisely—every detail, every fatal flaw laid bare at once.

But Wu Ling was an ancient monster who had lived ten thousand years—a Tian Zhi Zun not easily fooled like Hai Bodong or the Lion King—and he did not immediately believe Xiao Yan.

"Hmph, nonsense. Elder Dan Ming brewed a batch of pills that have suppressed my injuries for ten years without incident." Wu Ling sneered, his expression dark, utterly dismissing Xiao Yan's claims.

One month? Impossible.

But Xiao Yan remained calm, instantly seeing through the man's depth. In strength, Xiao Yan might not match the Tian Zhi Zun before him, but from the moment Wu Ling chose him over Mo He Tian, Xiao Yan knew—he had already won. The other was desperate.

As Xiao Clan Clan Leader, Xiao Yan understood well: in any transaction, the one who loses patience first loses. Clearly, Xiao Yan held the advantage of timing, terrain, and harmony—and he could outwait his opponent.

"Is that so? Then this transaction is void. Let's go." Xiao Yan's expression was calm; he turned and led everyone away, twisting Space with a single step, vanishing from the Pai Mai Chang.

Naturally, Xiao Yan had no intention of leaving Shang Zhi Da Lu outright. The group arrived at a villa previously arranged by Cai Lin and Xun Er in Shang Cheng.

Cai Lin wasn't worried about the Divine Stone. Xiao Yan hadn't left Shang Zhi Da Lu immediately—that meant he hadn't abandoned the transaction. Both sides were still in negotiation.

Upon arriving at the villa, Xiao Yan smiled slightly and said: "We'll stay on Shang Zhi Da Lu for a while. Xun Er, set up a Shielding Spirit Array. I plan to refine pills to help you and Cai Lin break through."

Xun Er smiled lightly and nodded, asking with a gentle smile: "Brother Xiao Yan, aren't you afraid he'll truly leave and go to Mo He Tian?"

Xiao Yan gave a knowing smile: "He's a Tian Zhi Zun. He's been driven so far that he came to Shang Zhi Da Lu's Pai Mai Chang to register an item for exchange, seeking spiritual substances to heal his wound. This proves he's cornered. He's even visited Dan Shen Clan—his options are nearly gone."

Beside him, Nu Shan the Medicine Saint still looked puzzled: "Xiao Yan, I admit you have formidable Pill Alchemy talent—but honestly, Elder Dan Ming is a true Grandmaster Alchemist. Even if he's only a Spirit-grade Grandmaster Alchemist, he couldn't cure it. Can you really heal him—and restore him to his peak?"

"No way."

Xiao Yan's words left Nu Shan dumbfounded, speechless.

Are you kidding me!?

"You!! Wu Ling was once a Xianpin Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Zhenzun Tian Zhi Zun! Even now diminished, he's still a Spirit-grade Tian Zhi Zun—if he flies into a rage, the consequences are unimaginable!" Nu Shan's scalp prickled. The repercussions of deceiving a Tian Zhi Zun were beyond comprehension.

A single drop of a Tian Zhi Zun's blood can obliterate a Lower Plane—no exaggeration.

Yet Xiao Yan remained relaxed, speaking calmly: "I truly diagnosed his illness and have some ideas—but curing him requires reaching Grandmaster Alchemist level."

"I currently lack the ability to heal him."

Xiao Yan had spoken plainly enough—Nu Shan understood: not now, but later. He had to wait.

"You…" Nu Shan opened his mouth, then closed it. He wanted to argue, but didn't know what to argue against.

Xiao Yan indeed possessed extraordinary Pill Alchemy talent and an immensely powerful Strange Flame—he had timing, terrain, and harmony all aligned. Nu Shan believed Xiao Yan's breakthrough to Grandmaster Alchemist was merely a matter of time—he held him in the highest regard.

But hearing Xiao Yan sell his future self like this, Nu Shan couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

Are you really that certain you'll break through to Grandmaster Alchemist?!

Beside him, Cai Lin and Xiao Yixian were unfazed—they'd both been conned this way before. One was promised future help refining the Three-Flame Serpent Body; the other, cure of the Eternal Calamity Poison.

And Xiao Yan had fulfilled both promises.

"Your confidence is good," Nu Shan said, "but I must warn you: even across the Great Thousand World, Grandmaster Alchemists are rarer than hen's teeth—far fewer than Tian Zhi Zuns. There are only two Holy Lands of Alchemy. In the Ancient Myriad Grasslands, only three Grandmaster Alchemists exist. Dan Shen Clan has more, but no more than ten."

The World Seed is powerful enough, yet it's used to help Earth Supreme at peak completion break into Tian Zhi Zun. The pills crafted by a Grandmaster Alchemist? Used by Tian Zhi Zuns themselves. You can imagine the level of such pills.

The Tian Zun Holy Pill is equivalent to the condensed energy of an entire planet!

Thus, Grandmaster Alchemists are extraordinarily rare—rarer than Spirit Array Grandmasters or Ten-Thousand-Year War Array Masters.

"And you said he only has a month left. You can't become a Grandmaster Alchemist in a month." Nu Shan said.

"Oh, that one-month lifespan? I lied to him. Without Elder Dan Ming's pills suppressing it, he'd truly have only a month." Xiao Yan grinned. "Elder Dan Ming has some skill—so long as he doesn't move, he can last ten or even twenty years. Wu Ling must've sensed I was conning him."

"Then he'll never trade with you!" Nu Shan was utterly stunned. Are you openly lying to him?!

"So we need to show him some sincerity." Xiao Yan smiled warmly at Nu Shan.

"Sincerity? You plan to refine a high-grade Divine Pill!! You want to refine the Ancient Earth Mother Divine Pill from the Ancient Myriad Grasslands!" Nu Shan wasn't foolish—Xiao Yan hadn't just obtained the Ancient Myriad Grasslands' Pill Refining Method from Cao Zi—he'd also acquired many ancient texts on pill refining.

The Ancient Earth Mother Divine Pill was a legendary Divine Pill of the Ancient Myriad Grasslands. Its greatest power: enabling a Nine-Pin Sovereign to break through to Earth Supreme, transforming the Sovereign Body into a Heavenly-Earth Form, crystallizing spiritual energy.

It also leaves a trace of Earth Mother divine force within the Divine Soul. Even if the body is destroyed, the Sovereign Form shattered, and the Divine Soul pulverized, that trace remains—merging with the earth, absorbing spiritual veins to regenerate the Divine Soul.

In short, it grants an extra life—a survival mechanism.

Even the top Elders of the Ancient Myriad Grasslands needed vast preparation time to refine the Ancient Earth Mother Divine Pill—and most often, multiple people had to collaborate to succeed.

Only a handful in the Ancient Myriad Grasslands could refine it successfully—and Nu Shan was one of them.

"No wonder you spent a fortune buying a vial of ten-thousand-year Earth Mother Spirit Liquid at the Pai Mai Chang—you've been planning to refine the Ancient Earth Mother Divine Pill all along." Nu Shan sighed helplessly. Xiao Yan clearly didn't have the pill formula—but he definitely had it.

Xiao Yan had already made up his mind!

Xiao Yan smiled slightly: "I'm not stealing your formula. The best way to teach Pill Refining Method is by combining it with actual pill refining. My method differs greatly from the Ancient Myriad Grasslands'—when you assist me, you'll gain deeper insight."

Xiao Yan had assessed his current Pill Alchemy level. With his Fire Control Power and Soul Force, he had long surpassed High-Grade Pill Master—his Fire Control Power had even reached Grandmaster Alchemist level.

What he lacked was practical experience and a pill formula.

As long as he could stabilize refining high-grade Divine Pills, becoming a Grandmaster Alchemist was merely a matter of time.

Nu Shan fell silent. The Ancient Earth Mother Divine Pill formula was a secret of the Ancient Myriad Grasslands—Xiao Yan, not being one of their Alchemists, clearly shouldn't receive it.

"Xiao Yan," Nu Shan said, his tone serious, "I can give you the Ancient Myriad Grasslands' formula. But I ask one favor: if you truly become a Grandmaster Alchemist, I want you to help me with something."

"What is it?"

"If you break through to Grandmaster Alchemist, I want you to attend the Ancient Pill Ceremony of the Ancient Myriad Grasslands." Nu Shan whispered.

"The Ancient Pill Ceremony? What's that?" Xiao Yan asked.

Nu Shan explained: "The Ancient Pill Ceremony is a grand gathering passed down since ancient times by the Ancient Myriad Grasslands—all their Alchemists attend to exchange refining experiences."

"It's not that simple." Xiao Yan smiled faintly, a glint of deep meaning in his eyes as he spoke.

Medicine Saint Nushan gave a wry smile and nodded, saying: "At the end of the Ancient Pill Sacrifice there will be a grand Pill Alchemy competition. The final Champion will not only be able to enter the Medicine Plains of the Ancient Ten Thousand Grass Plains, but will also preside over the Ancient Ten Thousand Grass Plains until the next Ancient Pill Sacrifice."

Xiao Yan suddenly understood and said: "Oh, you want me to help you win this Ancient Pill Sacrifice."

Medicine Saint Nushan smiled and said: "If you can win it, then I won't have leaked the Pill Formula, and you won't be bound by certain rules and restrictions. A win-win."

"Pill Alchemy competition. Since the Pill Canon, I haven't taken part in this kind of contest. This Ancient Pill Sacrifice, I'm also interested in joining." Xiao Yan couldn't help but recall the Pill Gathering and the Pill Canon, then narrowed his eyes, nodded, and agreed: "Joining isn't a problem. How long until the next Ancient Pill Sacrifice?"

"Three years."

"Three years should be enough. Fine, I agree."

Xiao Yan did not begin Refining immediately, after all Medicine Saint Nushan also needed time to produce the Pill Formula of the Ancient Ten Thousand Grass Plains. Xiao Yan first planned to help Cai Lin break through to Earth Supreme strength.

Xiao Yan was not going to perform Pill Alchemy, only to purge the elements in the essence blood that were unsuitable for Cai Lin, leaving behind the essence.

When Xiao Yan poured the essence blood from the Blood Bottle into the Alchemy Furnace, the amber-like luster releasing Golden Light tugged at everyone's heartstrings.

Roar!! As the Quasi-Superior Beast essence blood entered the furnace, a sudden wild roar rang out, like a raging storm, extremely overbearing, extremely ferocious, as if a Fierce Beast wanted to flip this sky. Xiao Yan did not dare be careless, controlling the Fused Strange Fire with all his might to suppress it.

Just a single drop, yet possessing such might. A true Supreme Divine Beast would probably be enough to overturn an entire realm.

In that instant, the Burning Art circulated at top speed, and the Fused Strange Fire erupted with the might of a Heavenly Supreme, suppressing the beast's howl within the essence blood.

Xiao Yan stepped upon the earth, and a Spirit Array emerged. Xun Er held a writing brush in her hand; with a wave, a massive Spirit Gathering Array appeared. The Spirit Gathering Array connected to Heaven and Earth, borrowing the momentum of Heaven and Earth, gathering the Spiritual Energy of the cosmos.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh, a stream of Spiritual Energy surged down from the heavens like a tornado. The Spirit Gathering Array Xun Er laid out was not of Earth Supreme grade, but it was also not something an ordinary Nine-Pin Sovereign Spirit Gathering Array could compare to — it not only absorbed Spiritual Energy from the land, but also gathered the Spiritual Energy drifting through the cosmos and the Heaven and Earth Power.

At this moment, with Xun Er's Spirit Gathering Array helping, it was as if this entire stretch of Heaven and Earth was at Xiao Yan's disposal. With the aid of such a Spirit Gathering Array, combined with the Strange Fire, in a short span of time Xiao Yan finally suppressed the essence blood and Refining it within the furnace.

"Remarkable. Not only possessing such exquisite Fire Control Power, but also knowing how to borrow the momentum of a Spirit Array — the two are perfectly in sync." Seeing Xiao Yan's methods, Medicine Saint Nushan, who was in the distance crafting the inheritance Pill Formula, couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Xiao Yan, however, did not fuss over details. Although he could Refining it himself, doing so would require far more time.

A large amount of Heavenly Energy was channeled by Xiao Yan into the essence blood.

Purging the excess energy from the Quasi-Superior Beast essence blood was, for Xiao Yan, nothing more than a warm-up.

Seven days later, the entire courtyard was shrouded in a haze of blood Qi, and an incomparably dense Heavenly Energy emanated from within the Alchemy Furnace.

Within this vast blood Qi, a special energy fluctuation radiated. Ordinary Cultivation practitioners who smelled it showed no great change, but Spiritual Beasts, upon encountering this essence blood, felt a surge of vigor.

Even Zhu Kun beside them couldn't help but lick his lips. For any beast-kind, this was a great tonic — it could elevate Cultivation Realm and strengthen the body.

Moreover, as the blood Qi grew ever denser, the sound of birdsong faintly rang out from within it, as if a Golden Peng were spreading its wings, letting one sense the might of a Supreme Divine Beast within.

"Seal!" Xiao Yan shouted in a deep voice, forming a hand seal. The Strange Fire, like a vortex, in an instant descended and intertwined, sheltering a ball of amber-like liquid within the furnace.

The Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame transformed into a fiery Brocade Box, sealing the fist-sized essence blood. Within the Strange Fire, rings upon rings of light immediately floated — just these rings of light alone were enough to make one's mouth water.

(End of this chapter)