Chapter 84

Xiao Yan took out Black Demon again, but this time he wasn't planning to refine an elixir—he merely intended to remelt the Purple Flame Pill.

After remelting five more Purple Flame Pills, the accompanying Purple Source Crystal was left with less than half its original size.

Xiao Yan sat quietly in the cave, slowly adjusting his mindset and Soul Force; soon, Xiao Yixian returned with a large quantity of medicinal materials.

Looking at the medicinal materials laid out before him, Xiao Yan smiled faintly at Xiao Yixian: "See? Heaven never seals off all paths—maybe we'll even gather two Spirit Flames."

Seeing Xiao Yan's playful grin, Xiao Yixian grew even more anxious and said worriedly: "If there's real danger, we'll find another way."

"Relax—I'm not the type to show off."

"You look exactly like someone who would show off!"

Hearing Xiao Yixian's scolding, Xiao Yan burst into laughter.

Half a day later, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King descended again, flying in with a red-and-blue alchemy furnace filled with various auxiliary herbs and several wooden boxes containing precious main ingredients.

Xiao Yan slowly opened the wooden boxes; a faint, lingering fragrance filled the air, instantly invigorating his spirit as if his Soul had been nourished.

The elixir Xiao Yan intended to refine was called the Soul-Protecting Pill—a Fourth-Rank Pill. Its refinement difficulty was relatively low, but the three main medicinal materials required were extremely rare, all belonging to the Soul-class category.

Even the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, who controlled a vast stretch of the Mo Shou Shan Mai, had spent a long time gathering them.

The effect of the Soul-Protecting Pill was simple and clear: it formed a protective barrier around the Soul, guarding the mind against demonic intrusions and spiritual possession.

Bowing slightly, Xiao Yan said nothing more and carried the alchemy furnace and all the materials into the cave.

Xiao Yan had already refined two Fourth-Rank Pills before—the Yang Flame Pill was a low-grade Fourth-Rank Pill, and he was confident he could succeed again.

But the Soul-Protecting Pill presented greater difficulty; though also a low-grade Fourth-Rank Pill, this was his first time refining a Soul-class elixir.

For refining the Yang Flame Pill, Xiao Yan did not intend to rely on Black Demon—he would use this five-mouth alchemy furnace instead. Using Black Demon required Mao Wu to forcibly awaken him each time; too many interruptions to his focus state might prevent him from re-entering it.

Thanks to half a month of practice and his two prior successes, the refinement of the Yang Flame Pill went flawlessly—even yielding four Pills in a single batch, perfectly extracting every last bit of medicinal property without waste.

After handing the Pills to the Lion King, Xiao Yan pretended to forget and left the alchemy furnace inside the cave—clearly planning to keep it.

"Phew, let's start cultivating the Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering Method."

Xiao Yan had grown accustomed to practicing the Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering Method each time he depleted his Soul Force—it accelerated his cultivation slightly.

He trained for an entire day and night. When Xiao Yan opened his eyes again, he felt a profound clarity—everything around him seemed subtly different.

He never expected that, by sheer coincidence, he had entered a wondrous state!

"The Spiritual Heart Soul Gathering Method has reached Minor Perfection—just one step away from Full Perfection."

Xiao Yan's eyes sharpened; a wisp of Black Flame instantly ignited from Black Demon! His hand moved like thunder, snatching up the pre-prepared Soul-Protecting Pill ingredients, and as the clarity still lingered, he began refining.

For the first time, Xiao Yan entered Absolute Focus entirely through his own power—free from Black Demon's control! This time, he had surpassed Black Demon—he now fully controlled it.

His movements were fluid; ten fingers extended delicate white Soul Threads. At this moment, he became a Puppeteer, skillfully manipulating the Black Flame—now, the flame itself was his puppet.

His fingers danced, and finally, beneath a fiery circular dance, two Soul-Protecting Pills clinked into the Pill Bottle—a haunting, soul-stirring Pill Fragrance drifted out of the cave.

With the successful refinement of these two Soul-Protecting Pills, Xiao Yan had fully acquired the ability to refine Fourth-Rank Pills—he was no longer inferior to a Fourth-Rank Alchemist.

Even with the aid of the Void Swallowing Flame's offspring, a five-star Dou Shi under eighteen years old being a Fourth-Rank Alchemist? No one would believe it if it spread.

Not even Xiao Yixian or the young Lion King could hide their shock—the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, upon smelling the Pill Fragrance, shuddered, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Xiao Yan in the cave, his regard for Xiao Yan deepening further.

"I've lived for centuries—I've never heard of a Fourth-Rank Alchemist so young! This boy is a genius; his master must be extraordinary."

Xiao Yan stored everything in his Storage Ring, then with a whoosh, pulled on the Soul Robe. Not only did he not feel weakened by Soul Force depletion—he felt more energized than ever after refining the Pills.

"Lion King, no time to waste." The Purple Cloud Wings emerged behind Xiao Yan; with his strengthened Soul Force, they had become far more tangible—now they looked indistinguishable from the true wings of a Purple Cloud Condor.

"I'm coming too," Xiao Yixian said firmly.

"Xiao Yixian, wait here. If anything happens, leave the valley immediately," Xiao Yan whispered close to her ear.

"But—"

"If something truly goes wrong, at least someone can save me. If neither I nor the Lion King returns on time, go to Jia Nan Academy and find a girl named Xiao Xun'er—she'll have a way to rescue me," Xiao Yan said seriously.

Xiao Yan knew Xiao Xun'er's background was extraordinary; if even the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King couldn't escape, then perhaps only Xiao Xun'er could save him.

Hearing this, Xiao Yixian sighed helplessly and nodded in agreement.

Naturally, the young Lion King would not enter the Shou Zhong—that place was too perilous; only Xiao Yan and the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King would go.

Yun Yun would never have imagined that a month ago, she and Xiao Yan had stormed the Lion King's den, injured the young Lion King, and stolen the accompanying Purple Source Crystal and Purple Spirit Crystal—now the Lion King was teaming up with Xiao Yan to retrieve the Ten Thousand Beasts' Spirit Flame!

Such is the unpredictability of fate.

Soaring into the sky, Xiao Yan followed behind the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, flying deep into the Mo Shou Shan Mai, entering its easternmost depths. With the Lion King's protection, Xiao Yan flew without restraint across the Sky.

They passed through a veil of mist and arrived at a cliff at the deepest part of the Mo Shou Shan Mai. When Xiao Yan looked down through the mist, he was utterly stunned.

Beneath the mist-shrouded valley basin lay a ground carpeted with white bones—everywhere Xiao Yan looked, countless bones stretched endlessly, piled into mountains. Among these bone mountains were all kinds of skeletons: human, various demonic beasts, some no larger than a human head, others towering over ten meters high.

Scattered across the ground were weapons, armor, gems, alchemy furnaces, even cultivation method Scrolls—but all had crumbled into rusted, broken junk.

"These are all from that battle long ago?" Xiao Yan's pupils contracted as he stared at the sea of bones—it was terrifying.

A Seven-Grade Alchemist had created this scene!

This cliff and valley basin might even have been formed by the battle three hundred years ago!

"Three hundred years ago, during that war, nearly every demonic beast along the entire Mo Shou Shan Mai joined the fight—but even then, victory was not complete," said the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, who had participated himself, though he had not yet reached Sixth Rank and was not among the main forces.

Every demonic beast along the entire Mo Shou Shan Mai—and they barely scraped a pyrrhic victory! The Snake Empire tribe, the greatest threat to the Jia Ma Empire, probably couldn't match the strength of the Mo Shou Shan Mai back then.

"Let's go in," Xiao Yan breathed deeply, slowly activating his Dou Qi, his gaze sharpening into a blade.

"I'll only take you to the Shou Zhong," the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King flatly refused. He was only responsible for providing information about the Ten Thousand Beasts' Spirit Flame—not helping Xiao Yan obtain it.

Xiao Yan smiled and said: "Lion King, that's unreasonable. You said you'd tell me where the Ten Thousand Beasts' Spirit Flame is—but there's not even a flicker of flame here. How do I know you're not lying? At the very least, you must take me somewhere I can see it."

"I won't intervene if anything happens along the way."

"Don't worry—I'm not that weak."

No sooner had Xiao Yan finished speaking than a soft sound echoed—mist coalesced behind him, instantly forming a spectral figure. This mist-born apparition, like a ghost, lunged at Xiao Yan as if attempting to invade and replace his spirit.

With a hum, Space twisted violently; a wisp of Black Flame, like a black hole, warped and devoured the shadow within moments.

Seeing Xiao Yan extinguish the ghost so effortlessly, even the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King showed surprise. Though this was still the outer edge of the Shou Zhong—populated only by ghosts born from the resentments of Dou Shi and Great Dou Shi—their destruction was never easy.

"What's wrong, Lion King? We can go now." Xiao Yan smiled lightly; this time, he would definitely obtain the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame!

(End of Chapter)