Chapter 97: I

After sensing Ling Ying's departure, Xiao Yan shook his head, clearing all distractions, turned around, confirmed the direction, and spread his EagleWings to fly in the opposite direction.

Due to Xiao Yan's arrival and the matter of the Ten Thousand Beasts Spiritual Flame, Xiao Yixian's journey to Chu Yun Empire had completely altered its original purpose.

Unforeseen events were slowly drawing near Xiao Yixian; the storm triggered by the butterfly effect was gradually expanding.

Xiao Yan's next destination was Shimo City, where his two older brothers had established their own Mercenary Group.

Recalling the joyful moments of his childhood, a warm smile slowly appeared on Xiao Yan's face.

"I wonder why Big Brother and Second Brother sent word for me to come to Shimo City—hope it's not some idiot causing trouble," Xiao Yan's eyes flickered with a dangerous glint.

A blood-red streak flashed across the sky, leaving a long trail of fire behind it.

Originally, Xiao Yan had planned to take a Flying Beast from Black Flame City—the nearest major city to Qingshan Town—to reach Shimo City, and also take the Alchemist certification exam.

But after thinking it over, he decided to fly to Shimo City using his own strength instead, and gave up on the Alchemist certification—he feared no one in Black Flame City could test him.

With the wisdom of two lifetimes, Xiao Yan had not only memorized the vast number of Alchemy Techniques, Pill Formulas, and Ancient Texts stored in his Storage Ring, but had also secretly learned a bit of Hun Xu Zi's Alchemy Technique, combined with the power of the Strange Flame and his Fifth-Rank Alchemist's Soul Force.

This Fourth-Rank Alchemist of his was anything but normal.

The strongest Alchemist in Jia Ma Empire, Dantian Alchemist Gu He, was only Sixth-Rank; the strongest Alchemist in Black Flame City might not even be stronger than Xiao Yan.

Going to take the exam was less like taking a test and more like crashing the place.

Only Dou Ling could briefly glide, but Xiao Yan, with his EagleWings, could not only fly, but after his Cultivation Method evolved to Arcane-Rank High-Level, the quality and quantity of his Battle Qi had surged dramatically.

Arcane-Rank high-level cultivation methods weren't even guaranteed for high-level Dou Ling; moreover, Xiao Yan's Burning Decree wasn't an ordinary Arcane-Rank method—it possessed the power of a Strange Flame, making the purity of his Fire Attribute Battle Qi downright terrifying.

During his flight, whenever Xiao Yan exhausted his Battle Qi, he activated the Burning Decree to cultivate.

Even though the Cang Ling Pills had stabilized his Battle Qi, Xiao Yan still wasn't confident—he continuously pushed his Battle Qi to its limit and then cultivated to purge the impure, unstable Qi.

"This is Shimo City—quite prosperous," Xiao Yan said as he spotted a massive city built atop a sea of yellow sand, still several kilometers away.

It was the only major city on the Tago Desert; all Mercenary Groups heading to the Tago Desert for treasures would trade supplies here, and those seeking Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures from the desert would come to buy them.

But the most famous thing in Shimo City wasn't Medicinal Material—it was Snake-Woman slaves. On the Dou Qi Continent, a world ruled by the strong, the weak had no rights whatsoever.

Although Jia Ma Empire didn't support human trafficking, if you had enough money, you could always buy one.

Perhaps due to the desert, the weather here was extremely dry and hot; the blazing sun poured down from the sky, baking

the ground beneath, causing it to constantly emit stifling heat, which slowly rose and distorted and blurred vision.

With a whoosh of wind, Xiao Yan made no further pause, spread his wings, and prepared to fly over Shimo City, cross the desert, and head to Shimo City where Xiao Ding and Xiao Li were.

Shimo City was called a city, but in reality it was much smaller than Shimo City, more like a village built atop a desert oasis—a temporary gathering point for Mercenary Groups.

Just as Xiao Yan flew across Shimo City like a streak of fire, the space before him suddenly twisted, and Mao Wu emerged from the Storage Ring.

"Huh? What's wrong?" Mao Wu sometimes slipped out to play, but Xiao Yan noticed this time his expression was off.

His cat eyes locked tightly onto a building below, filled with wariness and hostility.

Xiao Yan had seen this expression only once before—that time in the stone cave when he discovered the Pure Lotus Demon Flame Remnant Map, because it carried the aura of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame.

Void Swallowing Flame and Pure Lotus Demon Flame were like natural enemies, inherently filled with intense hostility.

Xiao Yan frowned, thought for a moment, landed in an empty spot, and swiftly changed into his Soul Robe.

Once the Hood was pulled up, no one mattered.

He walked slowly toward a shop: "Ancient Maps? A shop specializing in map-making?"

Xiao Yan immediately recalled that the Pure Lotus Demon Flame Residual Map he had obtained was also a map—only that map had been split into several pieces, and the one he possessed was just one fragment.

He entered the map shop calmly, his gaze sweeping the interior; he was slightly surprised—this shop wasn't opulent or flashy like others; instead, it subtly exuded an ancient, rustic aura.

His eyes drifted, finally settling on an elderly man behind the counter, head bowed, carefully drawing a map—the old man was clearly very aged, his hair completely white, yet his withered hand gripping the black drawing pen remained steady and powerful.

Without disturbing the old man, Xiao Yan glanced at Mao Wu on his shoulder, then followed Mao Wu's gaze to a rustic wooden shelf in the corner of the shop.

The shelf was clearly ancient, covered in worm-eaten holes, upon which lay a pile of yellowed maps.

Judging by the damaged edges of these maps, they seemed to be failed attempts at map-making.

As Xiao Yan approached the rustic shelf, Mao Wu stood up, bared his teeth, and his fur bristled all over, as if sensing a threat.

Pure Lotus Demon Flame could purify everything—so clearly, it posed a natural threat to Void Swallowing Flame.

After a long silence, when he saw the yellowed map, Xiao Yan slowly narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and whispered tremulously: "It really is it—the Pure Lotus Demon Flame map!"

Xiao Yan's pupils brimmed with uncontainable joy—he never expected that under such an extremely coincidental circumstance, he would encounter another fragment of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame Residual Map!

"Old sir, do you happen to have any more maps like this?" Xiao Yan walked up to the old man holding the Pure Lotus Demon Flame Residual Map and asked.

Hearing Xiao Yan's question, the old man, who had been engrossed in drawing, gave an almost imperceptible tremor in his hand; finally, he slowly raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the fragmented map in Xiao Yan's hand, and a strange expression flickered in his cloudy eyes.

"Have you ever seen fragments of this kind of map before?" The old man frowned, for he realized his perception could not penetrate the black robe to sense Xiao Yan's true strength.

Xiao Yan, hidden beneath the black robe, spoke calmly: "No, but my organization has orders: if we encounter any map with this symbol, we must bring it back."

"Oh? Which organization do you belong to?"

"No need to trouble yourself with that, old sir."

After a moment of silence, the old man said coolly: "This residual map isn't for sale. Don't even think about my maps, and don't even consider forcing it—doing so will benefit you not at all."

No sooner had he spoken than the old man lowered his head again, refocusing his mind on the unfinished map; his tone was calm, yet carried an air of absolute finality.

The Pure Lotus Demon Flame Residual Map lay quietly in Xiao Yan's palm. After a long silence, Xiao Yan gave a faint smile, slowly closed his five fingers, and gripped the residual map tightly.

He was determined to have this map—even Jesus himself couldn't stop him!

The instant Xiao Yan clenched his fingers, bang—the door slammed shut. The old man erupted with an immense ice force, his Ice Attribute Battle Qi bursting from his body.

An icy coldness, extreme beyond measure, instantly engulfed Xiao Yan; within a single second, he turned into an ice statue.

Xiao Yan's name itself implies he has a grudge against ice—he keeps turning into ice statues.

The old man's eyes remained calm, showing no emotional change at having killed someone: "I told you—it won't benefit you."

Zizzzzz!!! Suddenly—a sound emerged from the ice statue. A terrifying Fire Attribute Energy seemed to awaken; the ice, which should have been unmeltable by ordinary flames, was rapidly melting, billowing clouds of white vapor rising!

With a boom, shards of ice sprayed everywhere, the white vapor dissipated, and Crimson Ten Thousand Beasts Flame covered Xiao Yan's entire body, his black eyes transformed into a pair of blood-red bestial pupils.

Bestial Form!

"I'm sorry, old sir, but if you're only at the Spirit Battle realm, I'll have to take this Residual Map."

The people of the Soul Temple love to steal!

(End of Chapter)