After hearing Xiao Yan's words, the fear that had just faded from Liao Du's face instantly resurfaced, turning into outright terror.
"Y-you… how do you know this is Nether Poison Flame?"
"Because—" Xiao Yan paused slightly.
"—it's recorded on the Heavenly Flames Ranking."
A seven-colored flame ignited at Xiao Yan's fingertips, releasing a terrifyingly high temperature that made one's heart tremble.
"Are Heavenly Flames really that rare?"
The disdain in his voice reached Liao Du's ears, causing his expression to change yet again. At this point, however, he no longer had any spare fear left to show.
"I'll give you one chance now. Tell me everything you know about the Nether Poison Flame, and I'll spare your life."
Xiao Yan's calm voice drifted into Liao Du's ears.
"I-I really don't know!" Liao Du put on an innocent expression.
"This crystal… I just picked it up casually!"
Seeing this, even Xiao Yan couldn't help but admire the man's mentality. At a moment like this, he still dared to gamble with his own life.
Without another word, Xiao Yan casually pulled over the storage ring on Liao Du's finger. A vast surge of soul power violently shattered the soul imprint within the ring.
The moment the soul imprint was erased, Liao Du's face turned deathly pale.
Xiao Yan lightly shook the storage ring, and more than a hundred Poison Flame Crystals poured out, piling up on the ground like a small mountain.
"This is what you meant by 'casually picked up'—just one crystal?"
As Liao Du's expression grew even more despairing, impatience finally appeared on Xiao Yan's face.
"If you still refuse to tell the truth, don't blame me for using harsher methods."
"I wonder if you know what it feels like for one's soul to be refined by a Heavenly Flame… or what it feels like to have your soul forcibly searched."
Xiao Yan's words made Liao Du feel as though he had been dragged straight into hell.
Either method was among the cruelest tortures in existence, their pain exceeding even death by dismemberment by dozens or hundreds of times.
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" Liao Du finally broke.
"These… these Poison Flame Crystals were all obtained from the Poison Saint's ruins."
"The Poison Saint's ruins?" Xiao Yan's gaze immediately sharpened upon hearing this.
He hadn't expected that information about the Nether Poison Flame would involve a Dou Sheng-level expert.
He just didn't know whether this Dou Sheng, like the Yin-Yang Evil Saint, had cultivated his Heavenly Flame to an even higher level.
At the Dou Sheng realm, one already possessed the power to influence Heavenly Flames—these treasures of heaven and earth.
Of course, this influence only applied to lower-ranked Heavenly Flames. The top five Heavenly Flames were supreme flames born of heaven and earth itself. The only artificially cultivated one among them was the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame of the Gu Clan.
But that flame had been cultivated by a Dou Di expert. In the current Dou Qi Continent, perhaps only Xiao Xuan possessed the ability to artificially cultivate a Heavenly Flame ranked among the top five.
"Go on. Tell me everything you know," Xiao Yan said calmly.
"Yes."
At this point, Liao Du had completely resigned himself to his fate and obediently revealed all the information he knew.
"All these Poison Flame Crystals I obtained came from the ancient remains of the Nether Poison Saint. This Dou Sheng was extremely famous in the southwestern continent back in his day.
"I only managed to open part of the ruins by chance. Inside the Nether Poison Saint's ruins, there are far more crystals like these.
"I originally wanted to venture deeper, hoping to obtain a legacy or an even greater opportunity from the ruins. However, the deeper one goes, the more terrifying the poison becomes, and I simply didn't have the strength to proceed further.
"So I could only mine some Poison Flame Crystals first, planning to return once my strength improved. Unfortunately, when I left the ruins, a Dou Huang expert noticed something amiss.
"At the time, I had a large number of Poison Flame Crystals on me, so I used them to kill that Dou Huang. But because of that, I was hunted down by the force backing him.
"That force keeps a low profile in the southwestern continent, but their strength is terrifying. The cultivation techniques and Dou Skills they practice even restrain alchemists' soul power.
"After offending them, I could no longer survive in the southwestern continent. With no other choice, I wandered around and eventually fled to the northwestern continent to seek refuge."
After hearing this, Xiao Yan first showed an expression of realization, but it was quickly followed by surprise.
"The force you're talking about… is it called the Soul Hall?"
"How do you know?" Liao Du looked shocked.
"Heh heh heh, this is truly double happiness."
A smile spread across Xiao Yan's face.
Meanwhile, the Black Seal City Lord's breathing had grown noticeably rapid.
To a Dou Huang, the words "Dou Sheng" carried an overwhelming weight.
Ignoring the Black Seal City Lord's excitement, Xiao Yan flicked his finger. A burst of force instantly severed the ropes binding Liao Du.
"This is a seventh-grade alchemist's心得 (insights and experiences). It should be helpful for your advancement to sixth grade. Consider it your reward. For the next few years, you're not allowed to go anywhere—stay obediently in Black Seal City."
Xiao Yan tossed a jade slip to Liao Du.
The moment Liao Du saw the jade slip, his breathing quickened. He naturally understood how valuable such an item was to an alchemist.
"My lord truly governs with virtue!"
Liao Du stood up, straightened his clothes, and gave Xiao Yan a deep bow.
"Seems you're quite sensible," Xiao Yan said with a faint smile, then continued, "When I head to the southwestern continent in the future, I'll come for you.
"Lead me to the Nether Poison Saint's ruins, and you'll be generously rewarded. I might even help you become a seventh-grade alchemist."
"Thank you, my lord!" Liao Du was now utterly convinced by Xiao Yan's charisma.
"Lord Yan Xiao." After arranging things with Liao Du, the Black Seal City Lord looked at Xiao Yan hesitantly.
"Speak," Xiao Yan glanced at him.
"When you head to the Poison Saint's ruins in the future… could you bring me along as well?" The Black Seal City Lord asked nervously.
Under normal circumstances, such a request would often irritate a powerful expert. But the allure of a Dou Sheng's ruins was simply too great.
"Very well." Xiao Yan nodded calmly.
A Dou Sheng's ruins might be immensely tempting to others, but to him, it wasn't particularly special. There weren't many things left that truly interested him.
"Thank you, my lord!" The Black Seal City Lord's face lit up with excitement.
"However," Xiao Yan added indifferently, "if unexpected trouble arises inside the Poison Saint's ruins, I may not be able to look after you. When that happens… your life and death will be your own responsibility."
"For my lord to grant me this opportunity is already a tremendous grace. How could I dare ask for more?" the Black Seal City Lord replied respectfully.
"Good. Handle the matters I entrusted to you properly, and I'll take you along when the time comes."
With that, Xiao Yan vanished from the spot.
Experts who grew up in the Black Corner Region all possessed an innate spirit of risk-taking. Faced with such an opportunity, none of them would retreat just because of a little danger.
Early the next morning, amid the Black Seal City Lord's tearful farewell, Xiao Yan led his group toward that ancient academy.
~~~
Fully Completed English PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Hy My Lovely Brothers I've uploaded some New New High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! recently Feel free to check it out—if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics on patreon:
" Douluo: So What If I Reincarnated as Ning Rongrong "
" Douluo's Strongest Evolution: I Am Ning Rongrong's Big Brother "
" Douluo II: Reborn as Di Tian, Many Children, Many Blessings (18+) "
" Douluo: Reborn as the Mandala Snake, Many Children, Many Blessings (18+) "
" Douluo: Awakening the Darkgolden Terrorclaw Bear Martial Soul at the Start "
" Douluo: Huo Yuhao Possesses Erlang Shen's Heavenly Eye "
" Douluo: My Martial Soul Comes with Soul Rings "
" Douluo Dragon King: Natural God King "
" Tree Realm Descent upon the Douluo Continent "
" Douluo: A Delightful Journey (18+) "
" Douluo II: Lying Low in Shrek and Quietly Leveling Up "
" Douluo II: You Evil Soul Master, What's with the Charity King "
" Douluo: Angels and Knights "
" Douluo: Evolving into a God Starting from a Chameleon "
" Douluo: Transmigrated into a Group of Lewd Women (18+) "
" Douluo: When Tang Wulin Meets Little Huo Niang "
" Douluo: Sisters Corruption (18+) "
" Douluo: Infinite Lustful God Corruption System (18+) "
" Douluo Continent 3: Legend of the Dragon King (18+) "
" Douluo: Infinite Time Travel Harem (18+) "
" Green Light Douluo (18+) Completed Edition "
" Douluo: Smut (18+) "
" Douluo: The Legend of Tang San (18+) "
" Douluo: Erotic Chronicles (18+) "
" Douluo: Peerless Bull (18+) "
" Douluo: Glazed Sacrifice to Revive the Sect (18+) "
" Douluo: Lust Evoulution (18+)"
" Douluo: Twin Lustful Souls (18+) "
" Douluo: Hypnotic Martial Soul (18+) "
" Douluo: Fat Otaku Fu*king All Over Continent (18+) "
many more up to 220+ are available.
Your support means a lot—thanks in advance, legends!
Patreon.com/UIGOD
(End of Chapter)