No Emotions

Hai Bodong's expression stiffened, and his gaze began to wander. Only after a long while did he speak. "Uh... I've already gathered most of the Medicinal Herbs needed for the Pill Recipe. But I'm still missing one."

"This herb is called Sand Mandala. It can only be found in the Tagor Desert, and the hotter the place, the easier it is to find."

"But as you know, I cultivate an Ice Attribute Cultivation Method, and Queen Medusa's seal is still within my body. The moment I enter the depths of the Tagor Desert, she'll sense me, so..."

Hai Bodong swore that he had never been this embarrassed in his entire life!

He was practically about to scrape out another map shop with his toes!

"So a mere human like me has to gather herbs right under Queen Medusa's nose, when she's a Peak Dou Emperor? And within the Snake People Clan's territory? Wouldn't that still require a Dou Zong?" Xiao Yan looked at Hai Bodong as though he were an idiot.

Hai Bodong's face turned red, but he still stubbornly said, "Then I'll owe you another favor."

"Is your favor enough to protect me while I gather herbs under Queen Medusa's nose?"

"..." Hai Bodong had nothing to say. If he had possessed that kind of strength back then, how could Queen Medusa have sealed him?

"Fine. I have a decent impression of the Mite'er Family. Back when I was weak, they gave me a Beast Flame to befriend me. I'll help you this time." Xiao Yan spoke indifferently.

Hai Bodong was naturally overjoyed. He personally saw Xiao Yan out of the shop, then watched his departing figure fly away with a Flying Dou Technique, feeling deeply moved.

"A perfectly good Dou Emperor, and you've talked him into limping along with you. That Mite'er Family of his will probably change their surname to Xiao sooner or later," Old Yao remarked.

"How promising is it to follow me? I'm showing them the way forward! Once I break through to Dou Emperor in the future, they'll at least have the merit of following a dragon."

"Hehe."

Xiao Yan flew back onto Xiao Lan's back. His jubilant appearance made Xiao Yi Xian cast him a sidelong glance.

Xiao Yan took out a piece of parchment, found Stone Desert City's location on it, and had Xiao Lan fly directly there.

"Is there anything special about that place?" Xiao Yi Xian asked.

"My eldest and second brothers are there. I'm going to refine a Heavenly Flame, and the commotion will probably be considerable. I need to send them back to the Xiao Family beforehand, far away from here."

"I'll leave them in your care. With Xiao Lan around, even if we're attacked, you can take my eldest and second brothers and flee."

Xiao Yan wore a solemn expression. At this point in time, Queen Medusa should not have obtained the Green Lotus Core Flame yet. Xiao Yan could directly claim it and refine it, but refining a Heavenly Flame would cause no small disturbance and could easily alert Queen Medusa. If it triggered an uprising among the Snake People Clan, then with his eldest and second brothers' meager strength, they would not even be able to escape.

"Mm, I'll protect Eldest Brother and Second Brother well." Xiao Yi Xian adjusted his sitting posture and propped his face up with one hand, hiding the crimson flush covering it.

Xiao Yan's eldest and second brothers had established the Desert Iron Mercenary Group in Stone Desert City, and they were doing fairly well.

The two had originally wanted to build a force where Xiao Yan, who had lost all his Dou Qi, could lie flat and live off others for the rest of his life. Who could have expected the family to suddenly rise to prominence? The Great Elder had personally led a team to deliver Xuan Tier Advanced cultivation methods and Dou Techniques, all casually tossed aside by Xiao Yan's teacher.

Although the two were baffled, they knew that Xiao Yan likely no longer needed their care.

Originally, Stone Desert City should have had some random mercenary groups and conflicts, but with Xuan Tier Advanced cultivation methods, Xiao Ding and Xiao Li had both broken through to Da Dou Shi. As a result, those random mercenary groups were simply no match for them.

Now, the Desert Iron Mercenary Group essentially had the final say in Stone Desert City.

The Green Lotus Core Flame happened to be located underground not far from Stone Desert City. With the Desert Iron Mercenary Group helping out, digging down underground was no difficult matter.

This was practically a trip home, so there was naturally no need to be so conspicuous. Xiao Yan had Xiao Lan land a thousand meters outside Stone Desert City and find a place to rest, then he and Xiao Yi Xian strolled toward the city together.

Stone Desert City was a massive city located on the eastern outskirts of the Tagore Desert. Since it bordered the Snake People Clan and resources were relatively scarce, its people were rather fierce and hardy.

Fully armed soldiers could be seen everywhere throughout the city. Even at night, they never stopped patrolling and remained alert at all times.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian wandered leisurely through the city, casually buying some local specialties from the desert region.

However, this time, he did not strike it lucky and buy some treasure that others could not recognize for a small price, which left Xiao Yan feeling somewhat melancholy.

After taking a brief stroll around the city, Xiao Yan found the Desert Iron Mercenary Group in the southern part of town.

The Desert Iron Mercenary Group occupied a large courtyard. Above it, a banner fluttered in the wind, displaying its status as Stone Desert City's number one mercenary group.

Several burly men holding weapons stood outside the courtyard. All of them were peak Dou Zhe. If they joined forces against an enemy, even a Dou Shi would likely find them troublesome.

Xiao Yan smiled, walked up to one of the burly men, and said, "Please inform them that Xiao Yan, the younger brother of the two commanders, has arrived."

The man's expression changed. He exchanged looks with the others before turning and rushing into the courtyard.

The remaining burly men watched Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian with suspicious eyes. Their strength was plain for all to see—

They were clearly just two ordinary people! How could the younger brother of the two commanders be an ordinary person? At the very least, he should have been a Dou Shi, right?

If the two commanders had not frequently mentioned the name Xiao Yan, and if this young man had not resembled the two commanders somewhat, they would never have paid attention to these two ordinary people.

Before long, a somewhat hurried set of footsteps sounded from within the courtyard. Then came a young face that bore some resemblance to Xiao Yan's.

"It really is you! Little Yan!" Unable to contain his joy, Xiao Li stepped forward and gave him a bear hug.

"Good lad, you're solid as a rock! What cultivation level are you at now?" A trace of surprise flashed through Xiao Li's eyes. He discovered that Xiao Yan was like a mountain, utterly immovable.

"Ahem, we'll talk about that after we go inside." Xiao Yan smiled and wriggled free from Xiao Li's embrace before introducing them.

"This is my junior brother, Xiao Yi Xian."

"This is my second brother, Xiao Li."

"Hello, Second Brother!" Xiao Yi Xian said with a radiant smile.

"Hello, sister-in-law! What a coincidence that your surname is Xiao too. Where are you—"

Xiao Yan clapped a hand over Xiao Li's mouth, cutting off the rest of his words. He pressed down on his head and dragged him into the courtyard.

Xiao Yi Xian also lowered his head and followed them inside.

Outside the gate, the few burly men stared wide-eyed at one another, looking at their noses and then their hearts, pretending they had seen nothing.

They were now considering a very real possibility: could it be that these two "ordinary people" were simply too strong, while they themselves were too weak to sense it?

Judging by the way Xiao Yan had dragged the second commander away, the second commander had been completely unable to resist!