"With this puppet protecting him, Xiao Yanzi's journey back to the Central Continent Starfall Pavilion should be smooth sailing!"
Yao Chen stroked his beard, quite satisfied with the deal. However, if he knew Lin Feng had two more Dou Zong puppets, he'd probably turn green with envy.
"Wait, this kid just said the puppets can use seventh-grade pill lightning to evolve. Could it be that this kid has already...?"
Thinking this, Yao Chen suddenly snapped back to reality, staring at Lin Feng in disbelief. Seemingly sensing Yao Chen's gaze and speculation, Lin Feng revealed a strange smile.
"Hiss hiss hiss,"
Yao Chen secretly gasped, "Lin Feng's talent seems to surpass even mine back then!"
"Elder Yao, Junior Brother Xiao Yan, Elder Su Qian, now that we've reached an agreement, please inform me of the specific plan and timing!"
Lin Feng was unaware that Yao Chen had already vaguely guessed he had reached the seventh-grade alchemist realm. Of course, he had no intention of hiding it. With the Dragon Emperor's essence blood in hand, while Lin Feng wasn't recklessly confronting the Soul Palace, he was no longer as afraid of being exposed as before.
"Senior Brother Lin Feng, our plan is to use the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower to seal the Black Corner Region's spies and take them down in one fell swoop."
The task of explaining the plan naturally fell to the junior, Xiao Yan. After a short while, Lin Feng finally understood the entire plan.
"Elder Yao, Grand Elder, Junior Brother Xiao Yan, there's no time like the present. Let's arrange it for three days later!"
"Agreed!"
Yao Chen and the others exchanged glances and nodded. If the seal was loosened in three days, even if Han Feng sensed it, he wouldn't rush to seize it immediately. Canaan Academy's deterrent power was still very strong.
Even the top alchemist in the Black Corner Region needed time to gather many allies and offer them substantial benefits.
"Whoosh!"
Having confirmed the time, Grand Elder Su Qian didn't linger any longer. Although it was just a few words, he had the most to do among them. He not only needed to gather many powerful figures from both the inner and outer academies to set up defenses, but also to liaise with the students and convene an elders' meeting to discuss how to ensure that the seal could be sealed immediately after it was loosened.
Especially the last item, resealing the Fallen Heart Flame, was no simple matter. A long time had passed since the old dean sealed it here. After so many years of imprisonment, the resentment this strange fire harbors towards the inner courtyard is unimaginable. Its combat power is such that even Su Qian alone would likely be no match for it.
After Su Qian and the others left, Lin Feng stood still, gazing at the massive waterfall cascading down, slowly pondering.
"In the current Black Corner Region, the strongest person Han Feng can mobilize is only the hidden Seven-Star Dou Zong, the Earth Demon Ancestor. This isn't difficult for me to handle now. The problem is..." Lin Feng put his hands behind his back, his expression hesitant.
"Should we leak Yao Chen's information to lure the Soul Palace here?"
"If we lure the Soul Palace's protector here, at most, unless the Elder intervenes, Cai Lin, Xian'er, and I can take him down together without using the Dragon Emperor's essence blood. Even if the Elder intervenes, he can use the power of the Dragon Emperor's essence blood; there's nothing to fear."
"Then, by leaving a few traces, we can expose Yao Chen and Xiao Yan in the open, while I can develop further in the shadows."
"But, is that really the way to go?"
Lin Feng stood with his hands behind his back beneath the waterfall, gazing at the rushing water, caught in a dilemma.
"Very well!"
After a long while, Lin Feng sighed, his resolve hardened.
"Although exposing Yao Chen and Xiao Yan is more in my best interest, one cannot always use means to achieve ends!"
Yao Chen had helped him greatly; without this "old fox's" help, even if Lin Feng remained a genius, he would likely be inferior to Xiao Yan in the original story!
Don't misunderstand, this refers to Xiao Yan's peers during his youth, the time when he was suppressed for three years and then restarted.
"Yao Chen, Yao Chen, I've given up on scheming against you. Next time we trade, you'd better bring something good!"
Lin Feng sighed, then smiled and turned to enter the cave, resuming his cultivation of the Dragon Emperor's essence blood.
Now that he had given up scheming against Yao Chen and Xiao Yan, with Lin Feng's talent, even without deliberately making enemies of the Soul Hall, his powerful soul force would attract the attention of this group of snobbish people. Now, he had to seize every second to strengthen himself.
Time flew by like a waterfall outside the cave, and three days passed in the blink of an eye. On this day, Lin Feng, who had been immersed in the spatial mysteries contained in the Dragon Emperor's essence blood, suddenly opened his eyes. The Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame within his body suddenly began to tremble violently.
It seemed that he had encountered the most powerful enemy in his life. However, from the information it vaguely transmitted, Lin Feng also sensed a trace of desire, even greed.
Sensing the movement of the Azure Lotus Core Flame, Lin Feng ended his seclusion. After all, no one knew when Han Feng would arrive at the inner courtyard, nor what kind of assistance he would bring. If they arrived too late, there might be casualties in the academy.
Lin Feng always remembered the academy's help; otherwise, Elder Huo and Vice Dean Hu Qian wouldn't have been able to break through their long-standing bottlenecks.
Inside the inner courtyard, Elder Su Qian and others, as planned, summoned many elders to reseal the Heavenly Flame Refining Tower. Because of prior arrangements, the students and elders were able to orderly retreat from their cultivation rooms the moment the Fallen Heart Flame erupted, resulting in no casualties.
Xiao Yan stood at a distance, watching Su Qian and the others slowly suppress the raging flame around the giant black tower, still feeling a pang of regret.
"Don't look at Xiao Yan anymore. This Fallen Heart Flame is the most important treasure in the inner courtyard. With this cultivation accelerator, Canaan Academy has become one of the top academies on the continent."
Yao Chen, who was also observing the seal of the strange fire, was much more decisive. He slowly floated to Xiao Yan's side and stroked his beard.
"Teacher, it's not my fault. You know that although the Burning Technique has great potential, without a strange fire, it's all in vain."
Xiao Yan felt a little bitter. Although he had absorbed a Wind Fury Dragon Flame, bringing his Burning Technique to the low-level Xuan rank, during his time in the inner courtyard of Canaan Academy, he had also gone to Beast Lord City many times, using many fourth-grade pills to exchange for several top-level beast fires, which allowed his Burning Technique to evolve to the mid-level Xuan rank.
However, the students who could come to the inner courtyard of Canaan Academy were all geniuses by outside standards. And Canaan Academy was an academy with extremely rich resources, where many students exchanged for Xuan rank cultivation techniques.
Even those prodigies from the Central Plains forces, such as Han Yue, the leader of the Moon Spirits, whom Xiao Yan had never fought, he guessed that their cultivation techniques were very likely at the Earth Rank.
If Xiao Yan knew that although the old dean of Canaan Academy was a hands-off manager who didn't really care about anything, he had, with the clan's consent, placed many Earth-rank cultivation techniques in the academy's library so that the academy could continue to exist.
Anyone who achieved the Dou Wang rank and was willing to stay and serve as an elder would have the opportunity to choose an Earth-rank cultivation technique every five years. It can only be said that the Lei Clan was extremely generous in this regard, perhaps because this was related to the ferocity of their cultivation of lightning-attribute Dou Qi. They were confident in their own strength and didn't care too much about Dou Techniques below the Heaven rank.
Even the lightning-attribute cultivation technique, "Thunderous Might Technique," which Lin Feng had painfully abandoned in the Scripture Pavilion! In his current eyes, this technique definitely has the potential to reach the Heavenly Rank.
Of course, all of this is irrelevant to Xiao Yan. Although he no longer suffers the hatred of his clan's annihilation, and his father and clan members haven't been captured, after several years with Yao Chen, Xiao Yan has long considered him his closest confidant and naturally hopes to revive him through his own efforts.
Moreover, with the existence of the Burning Flame Technique, he also wants to try and see if he can catch up with Lin Feng, his idol.
"Little Yanzi, the most important thing in cultivation is to avoid being overly ambitious. Your most important task right now is to obtain Han Feng's rebellious disciple's Sea Heart Flame and evolve the Burning Flame Technique."
Despite Xiao Yan's innocent appearance, Yao Chen's criticism was unusually stern. Perhaps because of Han Feng's failure as a precedent, while he taught Xiao Yan like a friend, he would point out Xiao Yan's mistakes without mercy.
However, when Xiao Yan was willful, he would silently help him and then wait for him to discover his errors himself.
"Alright," seeing Xiao Yan's aggrieved expression, Yao Chen seemed to realize he had gone too far and offered another promise, "As long as you focus on your cultivation and solidify your foundation, I have news of another strange fire!"
"Teacher, are you serious!?"
"Bang!"
"Would I lie to you? Go and practice controlling that puppet; the great battle is about to begin."
"Understood!"
Xiao Yan, whose head had been struck hard, had no time to pay attention. His mind was filled with the news that his teacher had another strange fire, and he hurried off to the back mountain of the inner courtyard to practice controlling the puppet.
Meanwhile, just as the higher-ups of Canaan Academy were secretly preparing to trap him, a noble-looking figure in the Black Corner Region suddenly stopped what he was doing, first in disbelief, then overjoyed.
In the bamboo forest, the two elders, Jin and Yin, who were leisurely drinking tea with Han Feng, exchanged a glance upon seeing Han Feng's actions, both somewhat puzzled.
"Mr. Han Feng usually pays great attention to these trivial matters. What happened today?"
After a long while, Han Feng finally came to his senses, but his usual composure was gone, and he looked towards Canaan Academy with a fiery expression.
"Han Beng!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
As soon as Han Feng finished speaking, a middle-aged man with a simple and honest face appeared from the shadows, kneeling on one knee and awaiting instructions.
"Take out those tokens and invite those beings here. Tell them that after this, our relationship is even. If they don't come," Han Feng's fiery expression immediately turned gloomy, "then ask them to consider whether they can withstand the pursuit of a seventh-grade alchemist!"
"Yes!"
The simple-looking man named Han Beng clasped his hands in agreement and then disappeared in a flash.
"Mr. Han Feng, what is this?"
After Han Beng left, the impatient Elder Yin could no longer suppress his doubts and asked.
"Elder Jin, Elder Yin, a spiritual treasure I absolutely must obtain has appeared within Canaan Academy. I request your assistance in this operation, and I promise a generous reward afterward!"
Han Feng took a few deep breaths. After all, he was the renowned Medicine King of the Black Corner Region, and after years of cultivating his inner strength, he possessed a profound composure. If the spiritual treasure that appeared at Canaan Academy hadn't been so important to him, he wouldn't have lost his composure in front of outsiders.
"Mr. Han Feng, you flatter me. Several years ago, my brother and I were severely injured by Canaan Academy. If it weren't for your help, we might have been left to rot in the wilderness. After that, you treated us with utmost sincerity, and my brother and I even received your Breakthrough Pill, which allowed us to advance to the Dou Zong realm."
At this point, Elder Jin and Elder Yin exchanged a glance, both brothers knowing his thoughts. They immediately rose, knelt on one knee, and clasped their fists, saying,
"Mr. Han Feng, if you have any requests, please feel free to give them!"
"Hahaha, please rise, gentlemen!"
Han Feng was overjoyed to see Elder Jin and Elder Yin's actions and quickly reached out to help them up, promising them a favor.
"Please rest assured, both of you. If Han Feng obtains this spiritual item, he will spare no expense to elevate you both to the advanced Dou Zong realm!"
"Thank you, Mr. Han Feng!"
After a long while, the two elders, Jin and Yin, went off to prepare, leaving Han Feng alone in the bustling bamboo forest. He walked slowly through the elegant bamboo grove, his demeanor noble, befitting the full support Yao Chen had given him.
"Relying solely on the two elders, the three of us Dou Zongs, and a few others, is still somewhat unsafe!"
Han Feng pondered for a long time, still feeling uneasy.
Although he had never intended to be hostile to Canaan Academy, Han Feng had not neglected intelligence gathering. He knew that a genius alchemist had emerged within Canaan Academy, capable of refining Breakthrough Pills as well.
"Perhaps, many ancient beings within Canaan Academy who were stagnant at the peak of the Dou Huang realm have already broken through because of this! If we go with only this kind of force, we might not even be a match for it, let alone having to leave behind at least one Dou Zong-level combatant to subdue the strange fire!"
"After all, judging from the feeling emanating from the Sea Heart Flame, the strange fire that appeared in Canaan Academy is definitely not of low level. In fact, the Sea Heart Flame even faintly emanates a sense of fear."
After thinking for a long time, Han Feng finally took out a dark gray jade slip from the depths of his storage ring, slowly crushed it, and a strange fluctuation immediately emanated from the center.
After an unknown amount of time, a cloud of black mist appeared from nowhere, shattering the original elegant atmosphere of the bamboo forest, replacing it with an evil aura.
"Hehehe..."
(End of this chapter)