A faint trace of bitterness and sorrow lingered on Xiao Yan's face. After a long silence, he let out a soft sigh.
While staring blankly at the ceiling, a surge of information suddenly flooded into his mind. He didn't panic. Lying motionless on the bed, he allowed the information to pour in. Only after some time did he begin reading through what was clearly Yao Lao's final assistance before entering his slumber.
Slowly absorbing the contents of the cultivation guidance, Xiao Yan found, at the end of the message, a prescription for a Tier Five Pill: the Restoring Spirit Violet Pill.
Obviously, Yao Lao had been concerned that once he fell into slumber, Xiao Yan wouldn't have the strength to restrain Hai Bodong. Thus, he had passed along this pill recipe, giving Xiao Yan a task for the year ahead—to seek out the necessary ingredients and reassure Hai Bodong in the meantime.
'Don't worry, Teacher… I'll find a way to help you recover your soul power as soon as possible.'
Reading this heartfelt transmission left by Yao Lao, a sting of emotion welled up in Xiao Yan's nose. His fist clenched as he murmured softly.
Taking in a deep breath filled with the scent of sandalwood, his turbulent emotions began to settle as his thoughts churned.
Now that Yao Lao had fallen asleep, everything depended on him. Without Yao Lao as a trump card, he had lost his leverage over Hai Bodong. While Hai Bodong did have the latent flame toxin planted by Yao Lao, Xiao Yan wasn't sure how effective it would actually be.
After all, Hai Bodong was a true Dou Huang. Compared to such a powerhouse, a mere Dou Shi like Xiao Yan was pitifully weak.
The chaotic aftermath of Yao Lao's absence gave Xiao Yan a headache. But after reviewing everything, he committed two essential goals firmly to heart.
First: He had to stabilize Hai Bodong. Even if he couldn't make him an ally, he couldn't afford to turn him into an enemy. At the same time, he had to refine the sub-flame of the Bone-Chilling Flame as soon as possible to seize control over the fire toxin within Hai Bodong's body, preventing any sudden changes.
Second: He needed to search for any kind of heavenly treasure capable of restoring soul power. Only by waking Yao Lao could he regain the confidence to face the trials ahead!
Carving those two objectives into his mind, Xiao Yan inhaled deeply and sat cross-legged on the bed. With a focused thought, a pale-white flame quietly rose from his palm.
"Time to refine the sub-flame."
Gazing at the Bone-Chilling Flame's sub-flame in his hand, he gradually activated his soul power, gently attempting to control it. The domineering flame—expected to resist—actually did the opposite. It was completely compliant, submitting itself to his command without hesitation.
Clearly, this was Yao Lao's soul imprint guiding the sub-flame to cooperate.
Within a few breaths, Xiao Yan had gained full control of it.
The moment his soul energy fully entered the sub-flame, a wave of tremors coursed through his entire body. The sensation spread outward from the depths of his soul and rippled across every inch of his flesh.
In that instant, Xiao Yan felt an almost divine sense of elevation, as if his very soul had ascended. His pores opened fully, his senses overwhelmed with a mysterious and euphoric feeling.
The intense rush made him tremble again. Unknowingly, his eyes had closed. When they opened once more, a faint gleam of pale-white light flickered in his pupils.
The glow vanished as quickly as it came. Xiao Yan lifted his palm again, and a thread-thin strand of bone-white flame gently danced at his fingertip.
True flame. A tangible flame!
With only a Tier One Alchemist's strength, Xiao Yan had actually summoned a solidified flame that typically required at least a Tier Four Alchemist to manifest from their palm.
Below Tier Four, alchemists usually needed the transformation function of a cauldron's fire mouth to turn their internal flame-based Dou Qi into real flame. But once they reached Tier Four and above, they could bypass the cauldron entirely and call forth real fire directly.
And since most alchemists had fire-and-wood dual attributes, their summoned flames were inherently stronger and hotter than those used by ordinary cultivators of the same rank.
Thus, being able to summon a true flame without any tools was a key indicator of whether one had reached Tier Four in alchemy.
"Next up… is to refine the core of the sub-flame."
Xiao Yan whispered to himself.
According to Yao Lao's message, only by devouring the origin flame within the sub-flame could his Flame Mantra evolve further.
However, under normal circumstances, evolving the Flame Mantra through flame devouring required supplementary materials—Vein-Guarding Pills, Iceheart Pills, and others. Right now, Xiao Yan had nothing on hand and would have to prepare and refine them himself.
Thankfully, those ingredients weren't particularly high-grade. Even though Yao Lao was asleep, Xiao Yan could still make them himself.
Watching the white flame flicker at his fingertips, Xiao Yan's eyes grew firm as he took another deep breath.
"Teacher… I won't let you down."
'Kid, you're finally awake!'
The door creaked open. Hai Bodong walked in, saw Xiao Yan sitting cross-legged with the Bone-Chilling Flame dancing on his fingertip, and froze for a moment. Then he beamed.
'You've even improved a little. You really are lucky as hell. And to think you even broke through to Two-Star Dou Shi in that state.'
'Just got lucky.'
Xiao Yan smiled bitterly and shook his head. 'If it weren't for your help, Hai Lao, I'd be a pile of bones inside that Storm Wolf King's stomach.'
'You're exaggerating. With your teacher watching over you, even a Rank Six Magic Beast is nothing,' Hai Bodong laughed, though his eyes flashed with curiosity. 'Speaking of which… your teacher—?'
'Teacher is a little depleted. He passed me a sliver of the Bone-Chilling Flame's sub-flame and has since gone into rest.'
Xiao Yan didn't hide it. Yao Lao's slumber was a fact, and any attempt to lie would only be exposed in time.
The important thing now was maintaining a good relationship with this Dou Huang. Besides, now that he had refined the sub-flame, he could already sense the fire poison in Hai Bodong's body and had some leverage in hand.
'By the way, Hai Lao, I've brought quite a bit of trouble on you this trip. I'll skip the formalities. These are the key ingredients for refining the Restoring Spirit Violet Pill.'
'Take this list. If you happen to run into any of these herbs, try to get your hands on them. Once we've gathered everything, my teacher will refine the pill for you.'
Xiao Yan pulled out a sheet of paper from his storage ring, wrote down several herbs, and handed it to Hai Bodong with a light smile.
Hai Bodong was momentarily stunned, then overwhelmed with joy. His weathered hands trembled slightly as he accepted the list, memorized it carefully, and stored it away with the utmost care. He cupped his hands solemnly.
'Brother Xiao Yan, your sincerity humbles me. Since I've promised to protect you for a year, I'll see that promise through to the end!'
'Oh, and one more thing, Brother Xiao Yan—while you were recovering, I stumbled upon something interesting in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.'
'You've refined a sub-flame, and I remember you asking about Heavenly Flame traces earlier. This may interest you.'
'Oh?'
Xiao Yan's expression lit up with interest. He straightened slightly. 'You mean—?'
'That's right!'
Hai Bodong chuckled.
'A Heavenly Flame!'
(End of Chapter)