Xiao Tian regarded the woman before him with a teasing expression and asked.
"Ah! You came out very early?"
The woman turned her head and looked at Xiao Tian in a daze.
"About five or six minutes ago. I watched a face-changing performance. It was quite entertaining."
Xiao Tian spread his hands, a trace of amusement coloring his face.
"Nothing much. Just some ordinary, trivial matters."
She swiftly turned her head away, looking off to the side. A faint blush stained her pretty face.
Xiao Tian was not certain what she had encountered within the illusion, but judging by her expression, it must have been something rather unpleasant.
"This illusion reflects your innermost self. It depicts what lies within you."
Xiao Tian ventured a guess, based on his own experience of seeing Xun'er.
"I am leaving first. The air here is somewhat stifling."
After hearing Xiao Tian's words, she strode forward without a backward glance.
"Are you not taking the reward here?"
"You may have it. I no longer want it."
Her words came out in fragmented bursts, her steps forward never faltering.
Xiao Tian picked up a stone-like object from the ground and examined it with care.
"Heavenly Star Stone."
It could calm the mind and sharpen focus. Placed beside one during cultivation, it prevented cultivation deviation and accelerated the cultivation speed.
"Judging by her reaction, she must have witnessed something rather peculiar within that illusion."
Xiao Tian shook his head with a smile and slowly followed the direction she had taken. His movements appeared unhurried, but in truth, each stride covered five meters. Here, Xiao Tian dared not use the Void Piercer Art recklessly, lest he accidentally plunge straight into another illusion.
---
Over the following two days, the two traversed the forest and gathered medicinal ingredients. They had already amassed a great many, including some rare components for refining Grade 7 and even Grade 8 pills.
Regrettably, nearly everything present here consisted of medicinal ingredients. There were no other special opportunities.
"Tian Xiao, do you feel as though something is amiss?"
Xuan Qingying slowed her pace, quietly drawing nearer to Xiao Tian, and spoke in a hushed voice.
"Mm. Something has been tailing us from behind. It remains perpetually just beyond the range of my perception."
Xiao Tian had detected it long ago. It, too, was aware that Xiao Tian had discovered its presence, so it continued to lurk in the periphery, seeking an opening.
"Do you think it might be the 'Shadow' from the Phantom Forest?"
Previously, they had only encountered illusions and the guardian magical beasts lurking within them. None had been related to shadows.
"It is possible. In any case, remain vigilant. It likely specializes in ambushes."
Xiao Tian issued his instructions with gravity. She nodded emphatically, having now fully recovered her former confidence and high spirits.
"You be careful as well."
Xiao Tian nodded, his stride unbroken, and continued forward.
Suddenly, a frigid wind swept past. Both their bodies stiffened. They stood motionless, their eyes glazing over.
The dark shadow in the distance observed this turn of events and streaked swiftly toward the pair. Black, razor-sharp claws materialized in its hands, aimed directly at the back of Xuan Qingying's heart.
The shadow made not a single sound, yet its movements were as fast as lightning. It closed the distance in a heartbeat.
Just as it came within four meters of the two, Xuan Qingying spun around and launched an attack directly at the shadow.
A blue-white palm imprint shot from her hand, hurtling toward the dark figure.
The two had been deliberately putting on an act, deceiving it into believing they were trapped in an illusion. In doing so, they had lured it into the open.
Contrary to their expectations, the attack did not send the shadow hurtling backward. It passed clean through its body.
The shadow's hand, like a withered branch, continued its assault toward her with a violent gust of wind.
Xiao Tian seized her and pulled her aside, evading the strike.
"Leave this to me."
Xiao Tian drew her behind him, his voice brimming with an unquestionable firmness and confidence. Her Dou Emperor cultivation, achieved through pill consumption, was likely no match for this dark shadow.
He studied the shadow floating a short distance away. Its body was transparent, like a specter, completely shrouded by a cloak formed of black substance. Only its outline remained faintly discernible, like a blurry silhouette.
"Since you are so dark, allow me to give you a taste of flame."
Xiao Tian condensed silver flames unceasingly within his palm. The dark shadow, seeing the lightning crackling around him, retreated slightly, clearly quite wary.
Xiao Tian suddenly swept his hand forward. The dark purple flame arced toward the shadow like a rainbow.
The dark shadow burrowed into the ground, but the dark purple flame, as though possessing a homing instinct, struck the earth.
"Boom!"
Dirt and stone erupted outward, carving a deep crater into the ground. The dark shadow was gone.
"Is it dead?"
Xuan Qingying approached Xiao Tian, peering at the crater as she asked.
Xiao Tian's sharp eyes swept the surroundings. He knew the shadow had not been eliminated. It had merely vanished.
"No. This creature is exceedingly strange. I only wounded it. It burrowed underground and disappeared."
The dark shadow rematerialized ten meters away from Xiao Tian.
Unwilling to waste further time with it, Xiao Tian summoned the Three Thousand Burning Flame.
He shaped it into a net of flame.
He steadily constricted the flaming net. Finally, the shadow was ensnared within it. It thrashed and struggled, attempting to break free, but upon contact with the net, it emitted anguished screams. Black smoke billowed from every point of contact.
Xiao Tian controlled the net, gradually grinding the shadow down until, at last, it transformed into a charred-black mist and dispersed into nothingness.
"As I suspected. It is a soul-like entity formed from dark matter. You can attack it with flames. You are an alchemist, so you certainly have no shortage of those."
Xiao Tian carefully analyzed its composition and spoke, ensuring she would know how to deal with such a threat in the future.
Earlier, she had transmitted a message to Xiao Tian, expressing her desire to strike and attempt to correct her image as a weakling in his eyes.
However, it now seemed her objective had failed, leaving her feeling somewhat awkward.
"Mm. I most certainly possess flames. The next time we encounter such creatures, I will ensure they receive quite the spectacle."
She clenched her small fists and spoke indignantly.
"What manner of flame was that you just employed? It felt somewhat akin to a Heavenly Flame."
"It is a Heavenly Flame."
Xiao Tian summoned the Three Thousand Burning Flame once more. The dark purple flame danced and flickered in his palm.
"What Heavenly Flame is this? It must be the Three Thousand Burning Flame from the Heavenly Flame Ranking. This flame is ranked ninth on the Heavenly Flame List."
"I did not expect you to possess such good fortune, to have actually obtained the Three Thousand Burning Flame."
She gazed at the flame in Xiao Tian's hand with unconcealed envy. A Heavenly Flame—something she had never possessed. She, too, greatly yearned for one of her own.
As for entertaining any greedy designs toward the Heavenly Flame in Xiao Tian's hand... forgive her, but no. She remained highly rational. Setting aside the fact that Xiao Tian had saved her life, his strength alone meant he could handle her as effortlessly as picking up a chick.
"Merely a stroke of luck. Obtained by chance. Nothing worth mentioning."
Xiao Tian withdrew the flame and spoke with an indifferent expression. *It was a reward from the system. I have no idea what it will grant me. Saying it was by chance is not wrong, is it?*
"I do not possess luck such as yours. It is truly enviable."
She watched reluctantly as the flame was retracted by Xiao Tian, her eyes brimming with longing.
"The flame within you is not inferior to ordinary Heavenly Flames. There is no need for excessive envy."
Xiao Tian sensed that she, too, harbored a powerful flame within her—one that might even surpass some of the lower-ranked Heavenly Flames.
Ultimately, however, Heavenly Flames still conferred greater advantages for alchemy. Much like a high-grade medicinal cauldron.
"Mm. It appears there are quite a few people ahead, but they are all entering that building."