Chapter 247: Overture
With the full eruption of the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven, a strand of Yao Yan's Hun force was instantly annihilated.
In the outside world, Yao Yan slowly opened his eyes, a trace of sky-blue flames rising from within his pupils. Feeling the sting in his soul, he smiled and said, "Such a bad temper. We spoke for just a moment and it broke off... Looks like it holds quite a grudge against the Pill Tower."
As he spoke, he withdrew his palm from the dragon scales and looked at Xuan Yi by his side.
"Being sealed for so many years, it's natural for it to harbor resentment, especially since it has intelligence no less than a human's," Xuan Yi said, unsurprised. She gazed at the massive dragon's body with a touch of helplessness and spoke softly.
Over the years, the Pill Tower had held a faint hope, hoping that a pharmacist would emerge capable of earning the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven's approval and subduing it perfectly.
Unfortunately, this had always been an unrealistic expectation. With the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven's intelligence, how could it be willing to be refined? Now, the only way to refine it was to forcibly extract its physical body and give it a try.
Xuan Yi looked at Yao Yan and spoke gravely, "You must have realized how difficult it will be to refine it. Even with help and the suppression of the array, we can only assist in extracting its physical body, but the final refinement depends on you!"
Had it not been for the fact that Yao Yan already possessed four types of heavenly flames and had rich experience in refining such flames, Xuan Yi wouldn't have agreed to give him this opportunity.
There was simply too much risk involved! It wasn't worth it.
With Yao Yan's talent, his future achievements would place him among the top three in the Pill Tower. If the opportunity was right, entering the Dou Saint realm was also highly likely. If such talent were ruined by absorbing the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven, it would truly be a waste!
After all, other than the top-ranked flames, heavenly flames like the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven were simply enhancements to an alchemist of the eighth-tier or higher. They weren't essential.
To gamble with his life like this was unwise.
"Xuan Yi, I understand. I'll prepare patiently until I'm fully confident!" Yao Yan accepted Xuan Yi's kindness, nodding in agreement.
Xuan Yi smiled and nodded in response. She then raised her hand and formed a silver spatial portal, taking Yao Yan through it.
Before leaving, Yao Yan took one last glance at the massive Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven. The flame of longing in his eyes flickered momentarily. He believed it wouldn't be long before he would face the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven again. At that time, he would tell the flame who the real strong one was.
"Whoosh~"
The silver spatial portal flickered, and both Xuan Yi and Yao Yan vanished from the Starry Domain.
The area once again became quiet, with only the endless purple-black flames filling every corner of space.
...
After bidding farewell to Xuan Yi, Yao Yan returned to his courtyard. Since joining the Pill Tower, he had been assigned a small courtyard, which had a beautiful environment and abundant natural energy. As for servants, if he needed them, the Pill Tower could arrange them.
Yao Yan sat cross-legged inside his room, playing with the jade medallion of Xuan Xu Zi in his hand. After seeing the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven's true form today, he understood that, on his own, he would never be able to deal with the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven. Even with the help of Wind Venerable and the others, it wouldn't work. Unless the Pill Tower cooperated, using an array to suppress it, there was no way to extract its physical body.
In the original story, the physical body of the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven was extracted because it wanted to escape the seal and voluntarily gave up its massive body in the Starry Domain.
Otherwise, even the Dou Zuns of Mu Gu's group would have been no match for it.
"I really underestimated the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven..." Yao Yan thought inwardly, his face slightly serious. In this situation, if he didn't want to quietly wait for three years to fulfill his agreement with the Pill Tower, he would have to rely on Xuan Xu Zi's power.
After pondering for a moment, Yao Yan suddenly tightened his grip on the jade medallion. The massive Hun force from his brow spread out, sealing the surrounding space, and then activated the jade medallion.
"Whoosh~"
As soon as Yao Yan's Hun force entered the jade medallion, it trembled. A pitch-black flame emerged, devouring all fluctuations and energies, as if he was now in another void. With the surge of black flames, a figure with crimson-red eyes appeared before Yao Yan.
There was no aura or oppressive presence, but just standing there gave off a sense of suppression.
"Master!" Yao Yan rose to greet him and respectfully bowed.
"Peak Nine-Star Dou Zun? Your cultivation speed is pretty fast." Xuan Xu Zi glanced at Yao Yan, instantly gauging his strength, then chuckled. Without his support, Yao Yan had managed to improve so quickly, which made him quite pleased.
Compared to the several so-called geniuses within the Hun Clan, Yao Yan seemed to be a cut above. When they met Yao Yan, it would certainly be an interesting encounter.
Yao Yan obediently lowered his head, letting Xuan Xu Zi inspect him.
Xuan Xu Zi nodded slightly, speaking indifferently, "Did you contact me suddenly because you've encountered some trouble?"
"Today, I went with the three Pill Tower heads to see the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven. Its physical form is immense, and its strength is far beyond what I can deal with right now. According to the Pill Tower, they're willing to help me extract the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven's physical body, but I have to exchange ten pills of the seventh color or higher from the eighth tier... I calculated that, even with good luck, I'll need three years!" Yao Yan spoke in a deep voice.
"Ten seventh-color or higher eighth-tier pills? Heh, those old foxes in the Pill Tower really don't like making a loss." Xuan Xu Zi sneered, then continued, "I've also taken a look at the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven. It has long been raised into a ferocious beast by the Pill Tower. If its seal is fully undone, its peak combat strength would even give a semi-Saint a headache."
Heavenly flames are different from humans; their power depends on their accumulation. The Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven has accumulated power for a thousand years in the starry sky with almost no consumption, showing how far it has grown. Only the Pill Tower, with its vast wealth and many powerful figures, could keep it sealed in the Starry Domain. If it were any other faction, it would have exploded long ago.
He paused for a moment, then looked at Yao Yan. His eyes flashed with a red gleam, and he spoke in a cold tone, "If you don't want to wait for these three years, there is another way. I can have the Hun Clan work with you and completely undo the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven's seal. At that point, the Pill Tower will naturally send strong figures to deal with it. With the ferocity of the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven, it will definitely cause a ruckus in Saint Dan City… Don't worry about the Pill Tower's Dou Saints. I will have our Dou Saints keep an eye on them. You only need to wait. Once the Three Thousand Flame's physical body is forced out, you can join forces with the Hun Clan and take it away… Unfortunately, the Small Pill Tower has many seals. Otherwise, I would have loved to raid their treasure vault too!"
"Master, won't it cause too much of a stir?" Yao Yan asked with some concern.
"Don't worry, my disciple. You may not know what the Hun Clan means... Remember, you are my disciple, Xuan Xu Zi. On the Dou Qi continent, you don't need to worry about anything. The so-called Hun Palace is just a dog raised by our clan in the outside world, kekeke~"
Xuan Xu Zi laughed in a strange manner, his voice arrogant and indifferent, revealing a clear disdain for everything.
"A good disciple must have the aura of a strong one. If you're always with ants, you'll become an ant too."
He continued, "Once this matter settles, I'll personally take you back to the Hun Clan. With your strength, you no longer need to continue your training in the outside world."
"Alright!" Yao Yan nodded in response.
Xuan Xu Zi nodded, his figure turning into a wisp of flame and vanishing into the jade medallion.
Yao Yan tightened his grip on the jade medallion, his eyes turning slightly cold. He forcefully suppressed his emotions—morality, bottom lines, family... These things only matter if you're alive to discuss them. When you're a weakling, how could you expect to enjoy these things? Do you expect sympathy from those powerful figures who can crush you with one slap?
The strong and the weak will never empathize.
As for waiting for three years… he feared he wouldn't be able to wait.
"Ultimately, we'll part ways." Yao Yan suddenly felt a sense of relief. If Medicine Elder and the others had emerged from their seclusion, he would have truly been in trouble. Because if he were to really fight them, he wasn't sure if he could win.
Yao Yan retracted his Hun force that covered the surrounding area, preparing to raise the reward price in Saint Dan City. He needed to quickly refine the pills.
...
...
In the northern region of Central Continent.
Hun Palace, Heaven Hall.
A magnificent hall, located in the deep mountains, suddenly emanated several terrifying auras. Just the slight release of energy caused the surrounding energy of the world to pause, as though it couldn't bear the pressure.
As a figure appeared on the high platform, dozens of figures around stood up and bowed in unison, "Palace Master!"
"Within the clan, a certain elder's disciple wishes to acquire the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven from the Pill Tower. We need Hun Palace's cooperation. The Vice Palace Master and several Heavenly Lords will go assist in unlocking the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven's seal and bring it back to our clan." A middle-aged man on the high platform slowly opened his eyes, his calm gaze devoid of emotion, as he spoke in a flat tone.
"Palace Master, should we make a bigger scene? There are plenty of alchemists in the Pill Tower." The Vice Palace Master, a cold-faced man, asked in a deep voice.
"Don't go overboard. Right now, everything should remain low-key. It's not yet time to go to war with the Pill Tower. If that elder hadn't spoken personally, I wouldn't have agreed to this." Hun Mie Sheng shook his head slightly and spoke calmly.
Priorities must be clear. Hun Palace had yet to complete its grand plan, and for now, everything had to go according to the original plan. Such dirty work, if it weren't for Xuan Xu Zi's direct involvement, Hun Mie Sheng wouldn't have cared.
After all, Xuan Xu Zi was the chief alchemist of the Hun Clan. For him to improve his strength, he had to rely on Xuan Xu Zi's attitude.
Once one reached the Dou Saint level, every small breakthrough required massive amounts of energy. Self-cultivation would take too long, and even a century would barely suffice. To skip this process, one could only rely on ninth-tier pills, and the number of ninth-tier alchemists was incredibly small. Most of them had fallen out of favor with the Hun Clan.
This made Xuan Xu Zi's position in the Hun Clan unique and irreplaceable.
"That's a shame." The Grand Heavenly Lord said with a faint sigh.
"There are plenty of opportunities. There's no need to focus solely on the Pill Tower. There are many other alchemists outside... It's a pity we can't deal with the Medicine Clan. Their alchemists are the real problem." A Heavenly Lord sighed. Having reached their level of power, there were no secrets left in the world, and even the Imperial Clans were not unfamiliar to them.
"We will deal with them sooner or later!" Another Heavenly Lord said coldly, clearly disliking the Medicine Clan.
Hun Mie Sheng didn't stop the conversation. The Hun Palace had always been the Hun Clan's underlings, doing the dirty work, the most infamous force on the entire Dou Qi continent. Even the major Imperial Clans strongly disliked them, secretly supporting the Pill Tower.
The major Imperial Clans had always acted this way, never stepping into the battlefield themselves, living beyond the world.
"Prepare accordingly. Keep the commotion as controlled as possible. If we can avoid involving Dou Saints, it's best not to." Hun Mie Sheng interrupted the idle chatter, his voice serious.
Once a Dou Saint made a move, the scene would be too big. Even the Imperial Clans would take notice, and that would be troublesome.
"Understood. I'll keep an eye on the old geezers at the Pill Tower!"
"Count me in, I haven't had a good chat with them in ages, kekeke~"
At this, the entire hall turned into a den of demons, with eerie laughter echoing all around.
...
While Hun Palace made preparations, Yao Yan had gathered the required medicinal materials. In Saint Dan City, as long as one could afford a few, there was almost no material that couldn't be bought, even some near-extinct ones.
"Eighth-tier Xuan Ice Toad King's magic core, Broken Life Grass, Yin-Yang Extinguishing Life Fruit... The materials for refining the Seven Absolute Pill are finally complete!" Yao Yan looked at the materials in front of him, sighing softly.
The Seven Absolute Pill, an eighth-tier advanced pill, was made from seven extremely Yin materials and could sever all life force, including energy and heavenly flames. It was a pill used to aid in cultivating or refining heavenly flames and could restrain the indestructible nature of the Three Thousand Flame of Burning Heaven.
"Let's begin~" Yao Yan casually tossed the materials into the Myriad Beasts Cauldron. As the sky-blue flames rose, each precious material turned into crystalline droplets, releasing waves of energy that clashed against the cauldron.
Yao Yan's expression remained unchanged as he focused on extracting them.
Time seemed to speed up in that moment...
(END CHAPTER)
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