Word Count: 3,226 Words
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"Go?" Xiao Yan paused momentarily before his eyes narrowed slightly. This was actually quite a good idea.
The two exchanged glances, one large and one small, instantly reaching a consensus.
Little Fairy Doctor, watching this pair, shook her head helplessly and asked, "Do you need me to come along?"
"Zi Yan and I are just going to take a look. We'll be back soon," Xiao Yan replied.
It was indeed better not to bring too many people. Little Fairy Doctor nodded and reminded them, "Be careful. If anything happens, crush the soul jade piece."
Zi Yan giggled. "Don't worry, Sister Fairy Doctor. We're just going to look around."
Little Fairy Doctor would be a fool to feel reassured. Both of them were notorious troublemakers!
The next second, the Ancient Void Dragon bloodline strength inside Zi Yan's body surged. A faint purple light radiated from her body, and with a boom, her small purple-wrapped fist shattered space itself.
Through some special perception, she locked onto certain spatial coordinates and opened a passage through space.
Xiao Yan's eyes sharpened. Through Zi Yan's spatial passage, he could already sense a scorching, powerful force at its end.
That was the aura of a Heavenly Flame!
Three Thousand Burning Flame!
Xiao Yan looked down at the excited Zi Yan, feeling somewhat puzzled. Why could this girl sense the Three Thousand Burning Flame?
"Could it be some natural treasure-hunting ability that makes her sensitive to energy?" Xiao Yan couldn't figure out why.
Without dwelling on it further, he and Zi Yan stepped across Holy Pill City in a single stride, traveling through the spatial passage to a very unusual space.
The pair surveyed their surroundings. This space appeared quite desolate, permeated by faint scorching mist. Occasionally, weak rays of light penetrated into this space, giving the lighting a slightly cold quality.
Xiao Yan casually grabbed at the weak light with his hand. It felt ice-cold to the touch, prompting him to narrow his eyes. "This is... starlight?"
He had heard from Ye Zhong that the Three Thousand Burning Flame had been sealed by the three giant heads of the Pill Tower in a space called the Star Region. The top ten contestants of the Pill Gathering could enter the Star Region to attempt to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
This Three Thousand Burning Flame was known as the Flame of Starry Sky and the Undying Flame. It possessed the special power to absorb stellar force to recover from injuries. Legend had it that an ancient Dou Venerate who had refined the Three Thousand Burning Flame was besieged by dozens of Dou Venerate experts yet remained undefeated. It was truly astonishing.
"This is indeed the Star Region." Xiao Yan looked at the somewhat excited Zi Yan and couldn't help but marvel. Wasn't the Ancient Void Dragon's power a bit too overpowered? It could even penetrate the seal laid down by the Pill Tower's giant heads!
Zi Yan pointed ahead and said, "It's over there."
"Let's go. If I'm not mistaken, what you're sensing is the Three Thousand Burning Flame." Xiao Yan couldn't help feeling excited as well. If he could refine this Three Thousand Burning Flame before the Pill Gathering began, it would be pure profit!
The two instantly stepped through the void, their speed incredibly fast as they flew straight toward the depths of the Star Region.
However, despite their rapid flying speed, they still hadn't seen their target after quite a while. Nonetheless, the duo could clearly feel the surrounding temperature rising steadily.
This temperature posed no real problem for either of them.
Suddenly, a piercing light emanated from the distance, like the blazing sun of this realm, making one's eyes involuntarily sting with pain.
"We're here!"
When Xiao Yan and Zi Yan approached the depths of that light, they finally saw clearly what that sun-like dazzling object was.
Upon seeing it, Xiao Yan and Zi Yan exchanged shocked glances, their faces instantly frozen. They saw complete and utter shock reflected in each other's eyes!
Ancient Void Dragon?!!
Within the light was an enormous dragon whose end couldn't be seen. The giant dragon's eyes were tightly closed, its body coiled and winding endlessly out of sight. A strange purple-black flame wreathed its body, and as the flames rose, the surrounding space showed signs of distortion.
In the vast empty space, a giant dragon coiled. This spectacular scene gave one an undisguisable sense of awe.
Although this giant dragon before them was sleeping with its eyes tightly closed, the rich dragon might made one's legs tremble with the urge to kneel. Its size was too shocking to behold.
What surprised Xiao Yan most was that its appearance was very similar to Zi Yan's true form!
Though there were differences upon careful inspection, he was certain this was an Ancient Void Dragon!
However, he quickly discovered that this wasn't a real Ancient Void Dragon, but a Heavenly Flame Spirit! This Heavenly Flame Spirit was more real and powerful than even the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, practically indistinguishable from a genuine Ancient Void Dragon!
"Why does this Three Thousand Burning Flame look so much like your race?" Xiao Yan looked at the equally shocked Zi Yan. This definitely wasn't a coincidence, because Zi Yan had also sensed something.
This meant the Three Thousand Burning Flame must have some relationship with the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe.
"I... I don't know either, but after entering, I can feel there's an imprint from my tribe inside its body," Zi Yan replied. After passing through the Star Region's shielding, she finally understood what her vague perception had been.
It was an imprint of the Ancient Void Dragon Tribe. Because of this special imprint, the Three Thousand Burning Flame had taken on the Ancient Void Dragon's aura, ultimately growing into this form.
Just then, the Three Thousand Burning Flame's enormous dragon eyes opened. It slowly stood up, and upon seeing Zi Yan, the Three Thousand Burning Flame paused, looking at her with a hint of surprise in its eyes.
Time seemed to stop at this moment. The two dragons seemed to have locked eyes—you look at me, I look at you—giving off a feeling of fellow sufferers meeting in a strange land.
It was like fellow countrymen meeting in a foreign land, tears welling in their eyes.
Xiao Yan stood aside like a third wheel, lonely, helpless, and ignored as he watched the scene unfold.
Clearly, this wasn't a Heavenly Flame left by his ancestor Xiao Xuan.
Suddenly, his Spiritual Strength jolted. An extremely powerful aura was flying through the void toward them at incredible speed.
Xiao Yan had no time to think further. He instantly grabbed Zi Yan, donned his Soul Robe, and with a wave of his hand, the Nihility Devouring Flame's Earth Seed Flame instantly burned through space, intending to escape.
"Who dares trespass in my Pill Tower's Star Region!!"
An aged voice rang out, and then an elderly man arrived by distorting space. His eyes fixed on the black-robed figure below. When the elder saw that Xiao Yan had ignored the Star Region's seal and opened a spatial passage, he instantly attacked. A terrifying spatial force blasted toward them.
Just as Xiao Yan was about to use the Skyfire Three Mysterious Change and Asura Soul Reaping Technique to boost his strength and defend, a dragon's roar echoed through the air.
ROAR ROAR ROAR!!! BOOM!
The Three Thousand Burning Flame's dragon tail whipped out, colliding with the old man's attack. Instantly, the purple-black Three Thousand Burning Flame exploded, and the terrifying waves of fire pushed Xiao Yan and Zi Yan into the spatial passage, where they vanished from sight.
The old man saw the Xiao Yan duo escape and muttered regretfully, "That black robe is from the Hall of Souls... Indeed, the Hall of Souls has already set their sights on the Three Thousand Burning Flame."
The old man then looked at the coldly laughing Three Thousand Burning Flame, flicked his sleeve, and left. He wasn't surprised that the Three Thousand Burning Flame had intervened, because as far as he was concerned, as long as it could disgust the Pill Tower, it wouldn't mind helping.
BOOM!
Suddenly, a black flame passage appeared in the Ye Clan mansion. Xiao Yan and Zi Yan tumbled out in disarray, followed by terrifying waves of Three Thousand Burning Flame surging from the passage. If this landed in the Ye Clan mansion, the entire residence would likely be destroyed instantly.
Fortunately, Little Fairy Doctor was there.
She waved her sleeve, and the Woeful Poison enveloped the Three Thousand Burning Flame, extinguishing it.
"Xiao Yan, are you alright?" She asked with concern as she walked over to him.
"I'm fine, just got a bit singed by the fire," Xiao Yan waved his hand dismissively.
Xiao Yan took off his hood and lay on the ground. Zi Yan, still shaken, lay beside him.
Xiao Yan cursed, "Damn it, I was just going to take a look, and that old bastard immediately attacked."
Zi Yan was also badly frightened. That was a peak Dou Venerate! If the Three Thousand Burning Flame hadn't blocked the attack, she and Xiao Yan would definitely have been severely injured.
"When I get stronger, I'll definitely pluck out every single one of that old man's beard hairs!" she said angrily. She hadn't even had time to ask the Three Thousand Burning Flame what was going on before being blasted away.
When had she, Zi Yan, ever suffered such indignity!
"Huh?" Xiao Yan stood up, his eyes suddenly widening in surprise as he said, "I've broken through..."
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had already cultivated to peak 5-star, just a bit short of 6-star. He had originally planned to push hard with cultivation before the Pill Gathering began, thinking he could break through to 6-star with the help of the Heavenly Flame Spirit Pill and Fallen Heart Flame's acceleration inside his body.
He hadn't expected that after this incident, absorbing a bit of the Three Thousand Burning Flame would turn misfortune into fortune, allowing him to break through to 6-star.
Xiao Yan couldn't help but lick his lips, growing even more covetous of that Three Thousand Burning Flame.
That Star Region had existed for countless years, constantly gathering stellar power. The energy contained within that Heavenly Flame space was absolutely terrifying.
This was the Pill Tower after all. This Star Region was definitely many levels higher than the Blazing Sky Qi Refining Tower. Most importantly, unlike Burning Flame Valley's Flame Valley, no one had ever absorbed the Heavenly Flame energy here before!
Pure and natural!
Although refining a Heavenly Flame couldn't increase cultivation level, absorbing the Heavenly Flame energy within the Heavenly Flame space certainly could!
"Zi Yan, do you have a way to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame?" Xiao Yan couldn't help but ask.
Zi Yan frowned and said with some uncertainty, "I don't know. I was about to ask it, but then that old man showed up."
"How about... we go in again?" Zi Yan asked. It was rare for her to meet a fellow countryman. Although this wasn't an Ancient Void Dragon, it could be considered half of one.
Shaking his head, Xiao Yan said, "No good. That Star Region is probably being monitored around the clock now. Let's wait for the Pill Gathering. As long as we're in the top ten, we can enter. I'll figure out a way to get you in then."
…
At the same time, within the Pill Tower in Holy Pill City's inner city, spiritual information was being exchanged.
"Someone from the Hall of Souls just broke into the Star Region." In the void, an aged voice slowly rang out.
"Hall of Souls! Hmph, those guys have finally made their move on the Three Thousand Burning Flame!"
"Sigh, according to some intelligence, the Hall of Souls will also send people to this Pill Gathering. If they manage to secure a top ten spot, they will definitely make a move on the Three Thousand Burning Flame."
"Strengthen the security measures. The Three Thousand Burning Flame absorbs starlight and will only grow stronger. We can't keep it sealed forever, but it harbors great resentment toward us. Once the seal is broken, I'm afraid the entire Holy Pill City will be destroyed by it. So if someone can subdue it, that would be best. Of course, this person who subdues it absolutely cannot be someone like those from the Hall of Souls. The souls of many alchemists across the continent have fallen into their hands."
"This Pill Gathering is destined to be turbulent."
Of course, Xiao Yan was unaware of these spiritual information exchanges.
Thus, this night passed with more shock than danger.
The next morning, Xiao Yan and his group ate breakfast cheerfully as if nothing had happened.
Ever since refining the Heavenly Flame Poison Pill and completely controlling the Woeful Poison Body, Little Fairy Doctor had not only started learning alchemy from Xiao Yan but had also begun learning cooking from Qing Lin.
Xiao Yan's eyes softened as he watched Little Fairy Doctor gradually becoming more cheerful. She was finally slowly returning to being that Little Fairy Doctor from Qingshan Town.
"What are you looking at?" Little Fairy Doctor glanced at him.
"Looking at a beauty. What else could I be looking at?" Xiao Yan laughed heartily, teasing her.
"Is Grandmaster Xiao Yan awake?"
An aged voice came from outside the courtyard, and then Ye Zhong's figure appeared at the gate. He couldn't help but smile seeing the two chatting and laughing.
How wonderful to be young.
Xiao Yan smiled and asked, "Is it time?"
"Yes, Grandmaster Xiao Yan. I'll take you to one of the Pill Tower's testing points to first obtain a certified grade badge," Ye Zhong nodded. Whether participating in the assessment or the Pill Gathering, one needed a 5th-tier badge issued by the Pill Tower.
Although Xiao Yan also had a 5th-tier badge, 5th-tier alchemists from ordinary Alchemist Associations usually needed to be retested.
"Little Fairy Doctor, you stay here with Qing Lin and the others or go explore Holy Pill City. It's not suitable to bring too many people to the Pill Tower."
Little Fairy Doctor hesitated briefly before agreeing. Besides, with her strength, if anything happened to Xiao Yan, she could instantly appear by his side.
After leaving the mansion, Xiao Yan and Ye Zhong walked for about twenty minutes before arriving outside an ancient stone tower. Countless alchemists were entering and exiting through the tower entrance.
Those special-constitution-requiring alchemists seemed worthless here, and their grades weren't low either. Those below tier 3 were rarely seen.
"This is a branch tower established by the Pill Tower, similar to the branches of Alchemist Associations in various empires," Ye Zhong explained as he led Xiao Yan along with the flow of people into this rather ancient stone tower.
"In two days, there will be a special marketplace in Holy Pill City. This marketplace is for transactions between alchemists. Only alchemists certified by the Pill Tower are eligible to participate. Perhaps we could go there; rare items often appear."
Xiao Yan's eyes lit up with interest. "Oh? That sounds interesting. I'm also curious what good things can be found in Holy Pill City."
Ye Zhong breathed a sigh of relief when he saw he was interested. As long as this great deity was happy.
"Hehe, please follow me first. The southern area is where grade certification takes place." Ye Zhong smiled and turned toward the southern area inside the tower. Xiao Yan quickly followed.
When they arrived at the assessment area, there was already a long queue. Ye Zhong frowned at this sight and said to Xiao Yan, "Grandmaster Xiao Yan, please wait a moment. I'll go pull some strings. If we wait like this, we probably won't finish the assessment even by the end of today."
Xiao Yan nodded, watching Ye Zhong's departing figure.
"Ah."
Suddenly, a soft exclamation came from behind Xiao Yan. With his Spiritual Strength perception, he naturally knew what had happened behind him.
Xiao Yan turned around and reached out to steady the young lady who had accidentally been bumped and was falling backward.
The young lady exclaimed the moment she saw his hand about to touch hers, "Don't!"
Before Xiao Yan could even withdraw his hand, at the moment of contact, he felt his Spiritual Strength being drawn as if by something, about to surge into the young lady's body.
Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed. He used the Asura Soul Reaping Technique to seal his Spiritual Strength, preventing it from being sucked away.
With a slight smile, he very gentlemanly helped the young woman up by her slender hand. "Are you alright?"
The young woman's round, large eyes blinked adorably, her small mouth opening wide as she looked at Xiao Yan with surprise and confusion. "You... you're okay?"
Xiao Yan looked at this young woman with a somewhat pale complexion who appeared to be only eighteen or nineteen years old. He noticed the Dan Clan badge embroidered on her clothes and thought to himself, 'So she's from the Dan Clan, and that ability to absorb Spiritual Strength just now... Holy Pill City truly has many strange people and occurrences.'
"Should something be wrong with me?" he asked back with a smile.
The Dan Clan young lady became timid at Xiao Yan's question and stammered, "That... that..."
"Hahaha, don't worry, I'm fine." Xiao Yan slowly withdrew his large hand and couldn't help but look this peculiar young woman up and down.
Her appearance wasn't particularly stunning, but her pale complexion gave her a somewhat sickly delicacy that inspired sympathy.
Not long after, Ye Zhong returned, having made the necessary arrangements, and led Xiao Yan away to the testing location.
"Sister Dan Chen, how could you run around like that?" A handsome young man, also wearing Dan Clan attire, hurried over at this moment.
The young woman called Dan Chen twisted her fingers and lowered her head guiltily. "I'm sorry, cousin... I just got lost."
The man put on special gloves and took Dan Chen's hand. "Sigh, I'm not blaming you. I'm just afraid you might accidentally touch someone."
A glimmer appeared in Dan Chen's eyes when she heard this, and she said with some excitement, "Cousin, someone touched me just now, but he was completely fine."
!!?
"Hmm? Someone touched you and nothing happened? Where is this person?" The man's eyes contracted in surprise as he asked.
"Over there... eh? Where did he go?" Looking around, she naturally couldn't see Xiao Yan's figure anymore.
Xiao Yan had already left. The branch tower was packed with people—there was no way to spot him among the crowds.
Meanwhile, at the testing location, Xiao Yan looked down at his palm and couldn't help but think, 'Was that some kind of special constitution? It could actually absorb people's Spiritual Strength.'
'Should I recruit her into the Hall of Souls? This constitution would go well with some of the Hall of Souls' techniques and Soul Skills.'
However, he quickly dismissed this thought. After all, she was from the Dan Clan. Wouldn't that be stirring up trouble right under their noses! Besides, he didn't have time for such matters. He was a very busy person.