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**
"Alright, tell me. What exactly happened during this time?"
Once all the miscellaneous matters were handled, Yao Chen immediately pulled Xiao Yan and Feng Xian into a separate room, unable to wait any longer as he questioned them.
"This…"
Hearing his question, Xiao Yan and Feng Xian were both momentarily at a loss for how to begin.
"Hm?"
Seeing their reactions, Yao Chen's eyes narrowed slightly as his heart sank.
Just from the expressions on their faces, it was clear that a lot must have happened during the period he had been imprisoned by Hall of Souls.
After a long silence, Xiao Yan finally sighed helplessly and spoke, "Master, ever since you were taken away by Protector Xuan, I…"
Xiao Yan then explained everything. From how he planned to steal the Fallen Heart Flame from the Inner Academy, to fleeing into Central Plains, meeting the Three Leaders, his failed ambush on Lin Feng that resulted in Bone Chilling Flame and the Bone Flame Ring being stolen, and even the Pill Gathering and the matter concerning the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
"So you're telling me that my Bone Chilling Flame and Bone Flame Ring are now both in Lin Feng's hands?"
Hearing this, Yao Chen's heart instantly tightened, his expression turning grim.
After all, the treasures inside the Bone Chilling Flame and Bone Flame Ring—one was obtained after he risked his life and survived eight whole years in that hellish region, and the other was a collection he accumulated painstakingly over nearly a hundred years.
Now, both were gone without a trace, snatched away by an outsider. How could he possibly feel good?
"Master… your disciple was incompetent. I failed to protect your possessions."
Hearing his master's tone, Xiao Yan immediately stepped forward and bowed deeply. The loss of the Bone Chilling Flame and Bone Flame Ring was indeed entirely because of him.
"Forget it. Don't blame yourself too much. After all, who could have imagined that a small Dou Zhi Qi boy from back then would grow this strong in just over ten years?"
After a long silence, Yao Chen could only shake his head with a bitter smile. No matter what he said now, that kid named Lin Feng was never going to return the items.
But when he thought about the Bone Flame Ring containing two ninth-tier Treasure Pill formulas, each comparable in value to a Heaven Class technique, as well as the Black Demon Cauldron which ranked eighth on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking…
Yao Chen couldn't help but sigh again, "What a pity. I went through so much to obtain the Black Demon Cauldron and those two Treasure Pill formula, only for them to end up in someone else's hands…"
Hearing the disappointment in his master's tone, Xiao Yan felt another wave of shame.
But remembering that his master was the true owner of the Bone Chilling Flame, Xiao Yan suddenly thought of something and hurriedly asked, slightly nervous, "Master, since you're the original master of the Bone Chilling Flame, can't you summon it back from Lin Feng?"
He had no way of dealing with the Bone Flame Ring. But if his master could summon the Bone Chilling Flame back…
That would at least reduce some of their losses.
"If I were in my peak condition, yes. But right now I have no physical body, and my strength is greatly diminished. I cannot summon the Bone Chilling Flame back."
Yao Chen shook his head bitterly.
When he first learned the Bone Chilling Flame had been taken, he had indeed considered relying on the link between himself and the flame to call it back. But Hall of Souls had extracted a huge portion of his Essence Soul Qi, leaving his soul severely weakened.
He might not even be able to defeat an early-stage Dou Zong now.
As for Lin Feng, Xiao Yan had already said that his soul power had reached the late-stage Spirit Realm, and even his Dou Qi strength had reached One-Star Dou Zun. With his current condition, if he tried to retrieve the Bone Chilling Flame through their connection…
The only result would be Lin Feng forcefully severing the link. Worse, it would alert him, and that brat would definitely hide the Bone Chilling Flame somewhere even safer.
"Master, I've already swallowed several kinds of Heavenly Flames, and my alchemy has reached the level of an eighth-grade alchemist. I have enough ability to refine a physical body for you."
Hearing Xiao Yan bring up the matter of rebuilding a physical body, he quickly collected his emotions, glanced at Yao Lao's faint and somewhat illusory figure, and couldn't help speaking with a hint of eagerness.
After all, every bit of his current ability had been taught by his master. If not for Yao Lao, even if his cultivation talent back then had never vanished, at most he would have become a strong figure in the Jia Ma Empire.
Because on the Dou Qi Continent, geniuses from humble origins like him were never in short supply. But achieving what he had today—aside from Lin Feng, there was likely no one else who could compare.
Moreover, if his master had not spent three full years grinding down his temper, then with his former arrogance and disdain for everything…
The moment he later learned Xun'er's true identity, he would likely have been crushed by the immense gap between them, losing his will entirely and giving up on himself. Seeing the impatience on Xiao Yan's face, Yao Chen felt a wave of warmth and comfort rise in his heart.
Decades ago he had misjudged a person once, but thankfully he didn't misjudge a second time.
But the next moment, he could only smile bitterly and shake his head, "There's no rush in refining a physical body. During the years I was in Hall of Souls's hands, they didn't kill me, but those bastards continuously extracted my Essence Soul Qi for years. I lost far too much."
"Before creating a new body, I must replenish the Essence Soul Qi I've lost. Otherwise, even if I gain a physical form, my strength will be stuck at the Dou Zong level forever. I'd never be able to break through."
As he spoke, Yao Chen looked helplessly at his faint, watery-looking form.
"Essence Soul Qi?"
Hearing those words, Xiao Yan was stunned for a moment before immediately reacting.
Essence Soul Qi was also known as Essence Soul Qi or Soul Origin Qi. This type of soul energy was the root of the soul. Losing it would cause immense harm, while absorbing it would greatly benefit one's soul.
Previously, when he captured Hall of Souls Protectors and obtained their stored souls, he used the Fallen Heart Flame to refine their souls into this essence and absorb it to strengthen his own soul.
However, although he could use the Fallen Heart Flame to directly refine souls into Essence Soul Qi, Hall of Souls did not have this ability. What they used was a strange secret technique that could attach this extraction power onto iron chains or other items.
After that, they only needed to hang the captured souls on it, and the chain would extract the Essence Soul Qi on its own. This extraction force could remain inside the chains or similar items for several hundred years.
Although Hall of Souls's method was much slower than directly refining souls with Fallen Heart Flame, its advantage was convenience. Only a few people needed to create those chains, and they could fulfill the needs of every Hall of Souls branch across the continent.
Realizing this, Xiao Yan's expression instantly darkened. He had captured quite a few Hall of Souls Protectors before and refined their soul essence, so he was more than familiar with these things. That was why he knew—if his master couldn't replenish the lost Essence Soul Qi…
Then even if he managed to resurrect Yao Lao, his master would spend the rest of his life as nothing more than an alchemist.
Xiao Yan raised his head and looked at Yao Chen, then said thoughtfully, "Master, how can we replenish Essence Soul Qi? If I gather Soul Origin for you to absorb, would that restore what you lost?"
Everything was ready. They were only one step away from resurrecting his master. No matter what, he had to see it through.
**
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