Yao Chen stroked his beard slightly, calming his turbulent emotions, before speaking.
"Lord Ling Ying, your young lady is also studying at Canaan Academy. Do you know a student named Lin Feng?"
"Lin Feng?"
Ling Ying murmured softly, recalling the information he had gathered about this person, and couldn't help but be slightly lost in thought.
"Senior Yao Venerable, Lin Feng is extremely famous at Canaan Academy. Even though I belong to that clan, I have never underestimated this prodigy,"
Ling Ying said softly before adding with a touch of emotion.
"However, Venerable Medicine, you may not know this, but Lin Feng isn't a student at Canaan Academy. He's an elder in the Alchemy Department, and in fact, his alchemy skills have secretly reached the peak of the sixth rank. The fact that Queen Medusa and the Grand Elder of the Snake-People Clan were able to advance to the Dou Zong realm is related to the Breakthrough Pill he refined."
No secrets stay hidden forever. With more people knowing, Lin Feng's information naturally leaked out. Of course, this is also because Lin Feng now has no scruples in the Northwest Continent and doesn't deliberately hide anything.
With Cai Lin's advancement to the intermediate Dou Zong realm, coupled with the powerful combat strength of his Seven-Colored Devouring Python, it can be said that unless a Dou Zun intervenes, their group is virtually invincible in the Northwest Continent. Even if the two elders, both at the peak of Dou Zong, were to attack, they would be able to escape easily.
"What's even more astonishing is that, at less than twenty years old, he has not only progressed extremely quickly in alchemy cultivation, but has also reached the Dou Huang realm in Dou Qi cultivation. Unfortunately, his soul power is extremely strong, and I cannot sense him up close enough to determine his exact star level."
Recalling an incident where he was ordered by his young mistress to investigate, he noticed that as soon as he approached, the young man's gaze intentionally or unintentionally glanced in his direction. Thinking back, Ling Ying still felt a lingering fear, knowing that standing beside him was Queen Medusa, a Dou Zong realm expert.
This was why Ling Ying said his perception was so strong; even Queen Medusa, a Dou Zong realm expert, hadn't noticed his approach, yet Lin Feng, a Dou Huang realm expert, had.
"A sixth-grade peak alchemist, Dou Huang realm?"
Yao Chen murmured softly, somewhat impressed. Lin Feng's ability to reach such a level in the barren Northwest Continent was truly remarkable!
"Old Monster Qinghua, you truly have good fortune! However," glancing back at his disciple who was meditating in the cave, "my disciple is only temporarily lagging behind; he's no worse than anyone else!"
"Lord Lingying, since that's the case, please help me send a message to Lin Feng. Tell him that I hope he can protect Xiao Yan at the Yunlan Sect in six months, and that he'll bring along Queen Medusa, a Dou Zong realm cultivator!"
He paused slightly, seemingly considering what reward to offer Lin Feng, since half the offer wouldn't be enough to sway him now.
"Tell him I'm willing to impart information on becoming an eighth-grade alchemist, plus five eighth-grade pill formulas! Of course, I also need him to refine some spiritual medicine to restore my soul power."
After giving all the instructions, Lingying vanished in a flash. However, he didn't leave to return to the Black Corner Region; instead, he hid in the shadows to protect Xiao Yan as he absorbed the strange fire.
Absorbing a different kind of fire is no laughing matter. At the crucial moment, even the slightest lapse in concentration will result in being burned to ashes by the raging fire, with one's soul scattered and not even a physical soul remaining. Although Xiao Yan's current soul power is not strong enough to leave behind a physical soul, the old fox Yao Chen will not let Ling Ying, a peak Dou Huang who is essentially free labor, go.
Recalling the day he absorbed the strange fire, Xiao Yan still felt a lingering fear. Perhaps because he hadn't experienced the beast fire processing of the sixth-tier magical beast, the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, Xiao Yan ultimately encountered some problems when absorbing the strange fire.
In the original novel, although the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame possessed greater power than the Wind Fury Dragon Flame, it had first been through a great battle with Queen Medusa and then sealed away, without any energy replenishment. Furthermore, Queen Medusa had used it to evolve her bloodline, leaving behind energy that was perhaps only at the Dou Wang level, which was one of the reasons Xiao Yan was able to refine it at the time.
This time, however, with the combined efforts of Yao Chen and Ling Ying, the Wind Fury Dragon Flame was sealed away without much loss, leading to an unexpected incident during Xiao Yan's absorption. The Blood Lotus Pills and other pills he had prepared were insufficient to protect Xiao Yan's meridians from being burned by the strange fire. Under these circumstances, Yao Chen used his soul power to protect them.
As for the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, it was naturally unusable; the encounter of two strange fires would only provoke a violent clash between them. The final result was that although Xiao Yan successfully absorbed the strange fire with Yao Chen's help, Yao Chen's soul also fell into a deep sleep.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, Senior Yao Zun foresaw this situation before you refined the strange fire, and he had already arranged your next cultivation path."
Xiao Yan recalled that after absorbing the strange fire and successfully evolving the Burning Technique, he was about to share his joy with his shameless master. However, after calling out for a long time, there was no response. He panicked instantly; his master, whom he had always relied on, had disappeared.
Fortunately, Ling Ying's words entered his ears at this moment, calming him down slightly.
"Next, you only need to head to the capital of Jia Ma, honing your Dou Qi and combat experience along the way. It would be best to go to the Alchemist Guild in the capital to see if they have any pills to repair soul power. Of course, all of this is on the premise that your alchemy skills are strong enough. Otherwise, those arrogant alchemists will not give you any precious soul-repairing spiritual items."
Under the night sky, Xiao Yan gazed at the crescent moon hanging in the sky, a resolute look flashing in his eyes, and murmured to himself.
"Master, I will definitely find you a soul-repairing spiritual item!"
When Xiao Yan couldn't see, a faint light flashed rapidly in the storage ring on his finger where Yao Chen resided, and then disappeared.
"Little Yanzi, you've relied too much on your master along the way. Now that the Burning Flame Technique has successfully evolved and reached the low-level Xuan rank, its power is even comparable to the mid-level Xuan rank, making up for your shortcomings in cultivation techniques. Furthermore, thanks to the advantage of refining the strange fire, you've reached the level of a five-star Great Dou Master in terms of Dou Qi."
Yao Chen recalled the scene and couldn't help but smile slightly. The successful evolution of the Burning Flame Technique by absorbing the strange fire had resolved his worries. This was not only the method for his perfect resurrection but also the only way for his disciple to truly rival the imperial clan's offspring. Otherwise, no matter how hard he tried to cultivate him, Xiao Yan's achievements would at best be nothing more than the next Yao Chen.
However, with the Burning Flame Technique, as long as he absorbs a few more strange fires, there is a great hope that he will one day reach the Dou Sheng realm that he has always dreamed of.
"Next, Little Yanzi, you must try to truly become independent, to truly grow when I'm not around. Only in this way can you become a true powerhouse!"
(End of Chapter)