The Scent of a Conspiracy

The weather is sunny.

I successfully refined a drop of Foundation Building Spirit Liquid today, breaking through to the Second Grade Alchemist, but unfortunately it seems to be of little use.

The weather is sunny.

I successfully refined a Third Grade Qi Replenishing Pill today, breaking through to the Third Grade Alchemist, but unfortunately it seems to be of little use.

Weather: Cloudy turning sunny.

Today I successfully refined a Fourth Grade Qi Gathering Powder, breaking through to the Fourth Grade Alchemist, but unfortunately it seems to be of little use.

The weather is overcast.

Another Three-patterned Azure Spirit Pill, and still no Fifth Grade Pill.

Xiao Yan stood up, stepped on the ground to wipe away the "diary" on the ground, and sighed.

This is a mountain peak several thousand meters high. Medicinal Herbs are found everywhere from the summit to the foot of the mountain, and the cliffs and streams on the side further enrich the variety of Medicinal Herbs.

It has been half a year since I accepted Gu Yuan's promise.

Gu Yuan also kept his promise of "unlimited supply" of Beast Flame and Medicinal Herbs, and left Xiao Yan on the mountain peak of this medicinal garden.

Of course, this was also the result of Xiao Yan's own choice—if Xiao Yan wanted, he could have moved into the Black Annihilation Army's "dormitory".

The Gu Clan' martial spirit is not just empty talk, but a custom. Most outstanding young people choose to join the Black Annihilation Army and climb the ranks step by step.

However, the Black Annihilation Army is a mixed bag of people, and they must obey discipline. Even if they were to become a logistics Alchemist, they would still have to follow the rules, which is obviously not suitable for Xiao Yan.

Therefore, Xiao Yan chose to become a wild man.

When Xiao Yan arrived at this Medicine Mountain, he only wandered around for a short while before finding Medicinal Herbs he didn't recognize. He then asked Old Yao and learned that these herbs could be used as the main Medicinal Herbs for high-grade Pills.

This mountain is just one of many in the vast landscape. As far as the eye can see, there are countless mountains and dense forests, where countless Medicinal Herbs grow.

Of course, this area is not only home to Medicinal Herbs, but also to countless Magical Beasts.

If Xiao Yan needs Magical Core when refining medicine, he can find the Seventh Grade White Unicorn on this mountain—it was the original guardian of this Medicine Mountain, and now it is ordered to follow Xiao Yan.

With abundant resources and a favorable environment, Xiao Yan has grown up healthily. In just half a year, he broke through to the level of Two-star Dou Spirit and his alchemy skills reached the peak of the fourth rank.

This is also because the Flame Mantra is only at the Xuan Tier Advanced. If the Flame Mantra were to evolve into the Di Tier Low, Xiao Yan felt that he could gain five or six more stars and could even start preparing to break through to the Dou Wang.

However, further evolution of the Flame Mantra is extremely difficult—even if Sixth Grade Beast Flame is swallowed, it will only become nourishment for the Green Lotus Core Flame. And if the Green Lotus Core Flame is to evolve to the point where the Flame Mantra can break through to the Di Tier, it is unknown how many Beast Flame it will need to devour.

With the path of using Beast Flame blocked, Xiao Yan could only ponder how to get his hands on the pie Gu Yuan was promising.

But that would require defeating the young people of the Gu Clan. In the short term, their cultivation techniques are better and they have more resources. Moreover, they are the top experts among their peers in the entire Gu Clan, and their cultivation level is definitely higher than Xiao Yan's.

Xiao Yan's only asset is the Green Lotus Core Flame, a mere nineteenth-ranked Heavenly Flames that even Dou Zong could easily suppress if left uncontrolled.

Just as Xiao Yan was lost in thought, a black dot suddenly appeared in the distant sky.

The black dot flew at an extremely high speed, distorting space wherever it went, and then bouncing off it, further increasing its speed.

Xiao Yan, who was lost in thought, noticed something was amiss. He looked up and immediately spotted an identical white Unicorn.

The only difference was that a familiar figure stood on the back of that Unicorn.

Xiao Yan immediately perked up, leaped into his small wooden house, quickly changed his clothes, washed his face, and then walked out of the room with his head held high.

At that moment, the person she hadn't seen for six months Yanran to be standing outside the wooden door, smiling sweetly.

The girl's long hair reached her waist and fell casually behind her. She tilted her head slightly, put her hands behind her back, and wore a light blue dress. She seemed to be bored and kicked her little foot, revealing her fair calf. Then she put it back in place, stepped on the ground, and slammed it together with her other leg, making a crisp sound.

A gust of wind blew by, and her smooth, long hair fluttered in the wind, the loose strands obscuring her joyful face, adding to the girl's almost unreal beauty.

"Brother Xiao Yan, it's been a long time!"

Xiao Xun Er looked at Xiao Yan with gentle Beautiful Eyes, bent her knees slightly, jumped forward, and wrapped her arms around him from behind her back. She was like a gentle breeze blowing over Xiao Yan.

All the longing was released in this embrace. The next moment, the girl was like a playful elf, trying to sneak away, but Xiao Yan grabbed her and held her in his arms.

Having spent half a year in the deep mountains and forests, Xiao Yan finally felt the connection between hearts once again, and the feeling of loneliness dissipated considerably without him realizing it.

Xiao Yan quietly held Xun'er in his arms, without making any unnecessary movements. He simply felt each other's heartbeats and listened to the breathing of his beloved, which brought him great satisfaction.

After a long while, Xiao Yan, who had regained some clarity, realized that Xun'er's father might be watching them, and it would be impolite to continue holding her, so he gently let go.

"Xun'er has already reached the Dou Wang..." Xiao Yan sighed again. In just half a year, Xun'er had overtaken him by a large realm.

"He has only inherited a large amount of Dou Qi that does not belong to him. He still needs to refine it further to control it, and then repeatedly temper it to solidify the floating Dou Qi. With this time, I believe Brother Xiao Yan will be able to break through to Dou Wang!" Xiao Xun Er comforted him.

Xiao Yan nodded, agreeing with this statement.

After all, if a true Dou Wang expert conceals their aura, Xiao Yan cannot detect their actual strength; he can only vaguely sense a dangerous and immense Dou Qi.

But Xiao Xun Er was completely different; her fighting Dou Qi seemed uncontrollable, constantly overflowing in wisps.

Only...

Xiao Yan thought about it a lot. The Gu Clan were not short of resources. After Xun'er Dou Qi solidified, she would most likely inherit a large amount of Dou Qi again. By the time Xiao Yan finally cultivated to the Dou Wang, he would turn around and find that Xun'er had already jumped to the Dou Emperor.

And achieving this doesn't seem too difficult—the Seventh Tier Unicorn on Medicine Mountain can release more energy in a single breath than all of Xiao Yan's Dou Crystal combined.

It's just that the attributes don't match, so it can't be absorbed.

But the Gu Clan are different. They have Gu Clan who cultivate the same techniques and develop similar Dou Qi. With a simple pinch, they can condense World Energy Dou Qi that would take younger generations years to absorb.

This "second-generation" cultivation method is obviously faster than Xiao Yan's combination of working himself to the bone and taking drugs.

Seemingly sensing Xiao Yan's anxiety, Xiao Xun Er Xiao Yan his hand and pulled Xiao Yan along, running up the mountain. "Brother Xiao Yan, it's been so long since you've held my hand while we exercise!"

The girl's clear, bell-like voice dispelled the gloom in the boy's heart. Even the dark clouds in the sky seemed to be driven away at this moment. Strands of golden sunlight streamed down through the gaps in the clouds, falling on the boy's face and bringing a genuine, relaxed smile to his face.

"I was being too dramatic..."

The weather changed from cloudy to sunny.

Xun'er came to see me today, she came in a hurry and left in a hurry.

I think she must have gone through a lot of effort to break through to the Dou Wang and meet some condition to be allowed to meet me. But having rushed through to the Dou Wang, Xun'er also needs to go into seclusion to consolidate her cultivation and can't stay with me for long.

Xun'er must have been under a lot of pressure in the clan, but she didn't say a word to me. She just kept encouraging me and showing me her most sunny and positive side.

In comparison, it would be crazy for me to be sentimental after achieving financial freedom so easily.

However, no matter how you look at it, it has a sinister feel to it. I just wonder if any of Xun'er's "suitors" will come knocking on the door to cause trouble tomorrow...

Under a bright moon and sparse stars, Xiao Yan wrote a long diary entry, then flattened all the words without leaving a trace.

He casually concocted a Body Nourishing Paste, applied it all over his body, and then fell Xiao Yan.

The Body Nourishing Paste is also a Fourth Grade Pill. It doesn't look good, like mud that has been trampled on in the fields after rain, but it has a faint fragrance. When applied to the skin, it can moisturize the body, relieve fatigue, and improve physical fitness.

The downside is that when using it, the skin will feel a "cool burning sensation" similar to mint, which may cause some discomfort.

However, Xiao Yan was exhausted from refining a large number of Pills every day, so this discomfort did not affect his sleep at all.

The next day.

As usual, Xiao Yan got up to refine medicine, exhausting all his Dou Qi. After eating a few bites of breakfast, he carried the Heavy Black Ruler to the mountain to gather herbs.

If nothing unexpected happens, something unexpected is about to occur.

A group of the Black Annihilation Reserve Army seemed to have been assigned a task to gather herbs and happened to arrive at the mountain where Xiao Yan was.

Xiao Yan ignored them. This situation was not uncommon; he had encountered it several times in the past six months, except that they hadn't come to this Medicine Mountain the previous times.

But considering a certain possibility, Xiao Yan still exposed himself to them.

"Halt! Who are you!"

As expected, the reserve force immediately went on alert after discovering Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan glanced at them and saw that there were twelve people in total: ten Da Dou Shi and two Dou Ling. Such a team was no match for any official member of the Black Annihilation Army, who was a Dou Wang.

"I am a Fourth Grade Alchemist. I have befriended a noble person and am able to live here and collect herbs at will," Xiao Yan explained.

Although these Medicinal Herbs were not particularly valuable to the Gu Clan strict class system meant that anyone who picked Medicinal Herbs without permission was committing a serious crime.

If every member of the tribe could pick the fruit at will, even if the Gu Clan was wealthy, it would not be able to support so many people.

Seeing the team's skeptical look, Xiao Yan added, "You should know that there is a Seventh Tier Unicorn on this mountain. If I hadn't gained their approval, I would have died long ago."

Upon hearing this, the wariness in the eyes of the two leading Dou Ling lessened considerably. One of them stepped forward, nodded to Xiao Yan, and said, "My name is Ling Quan, and I am the vice-captain of this team."

"Xiao Yan." Xiao Yan said his name with a faint smile, and then, unsurprisingly, he found that Ling Quan's originally kind smile vanished instantly, replaced by a strong sense of contempt, pride, and disgust.

"So you're Xiao Yan?" Ling Quan looked Xiao Yan up and down, her tone full of malice. "The benefactor you've latched onto, could it be Miss Xun'er?"

"No, that's not it." Xiao Yan shook his head with a blank face, denying it.

Seeing Xiao Yan deny it so quickly, Ling Quan sneered mockingly. Just as he was about to teach this not-so-handsome pretty boy a lesson, he heard Xiao Yan's next words.

"The benefactor I've befriended is named Gu Yuan."

"..."

Ling Quan was instantly silenced, his mind went blank, and he almost didn't realize who Gu Yuan was.

"I heard he's also a Patriarch, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to arrange such a good Medicine Mountain for me."

"..."

Ling Quan fell silent, gripping his weapon tightly. A fierce glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke angrily, "How dare you speak disrespectfully to the Patriarch!"

The next moment, Ling Quan stomped his foot on the ground, his figure spreading like a roc, instantly covering a distance of dozens of feet, and suddenly appeared in Xiao Yan's face.

"Die!" Ling Quan burned with rage as he mercilessly thrust his Long Spear toward Xiao Yan's chest.

If Xiao Yan couldn't dodge, this spear would pierce Xiao Yan chest, crush his heart, and kill him.

Even if he managed to dodge, Ling Quan was confident that Xiao Yan's speed was not enough to completely avoid the attack, and that this move would at least break one of his opponent's arms.

However, Xiao Yan neither dodged nor avoided, but slowly turned around and grasped the Heavy Black Ruler on his back.

Compared to the sudden attack of Ling Quan, Xiao Yan's movements were completely unlike those of a Dou Ling. His hand had barely grasped the Heavy Black Ruler when the dark Long Spear pierced Xiao Yan's chest.

"Boom!"

The next moment, a deafening explosion rang out, and a terrifying ball of azure flame suddenly exploded at the tip of the spear. The Long Spear, which should have been incredibly sturdy due to the presence of Ling Quan Dou Qi, shattered instantly. Even the remaining spearhead melted under the unbearable heat of the azure flame.

"Not good!"

Ling Quan's pupils shrank sharply. He hadn't expected that this Alchemist would possess such terrifying flames, and he immediately tried to leave.

But it was too late.

The massive ruler, as thick as a door panel, traced a semicircle in mid-air before falling directly towards Ling Quan's head.

The swirling wind pressure even blew Ling Quan's hair out of shape, causing his face to contort.

Unable to dodge, Ling Quan could only exert all his strength to circulate his Dou Qi, covering his head to form a Dou Qi Armor in the hope of blocking the attack.

"Bang!"

Another muffled thud rang out, and Ling Quan, who had been soaring into the air, was directly slammed into the ground by Xiao Yan. The originally solid Dou Qi Armor instantly showed up with dense cracks.

Xiao Yan did not continue his attack. The thick Heavy Black Ruler hovered above Ling Quan's head, with blazing blue flames attached to it. Even with the Dou Qi Armor protecting him, the terrifying temperature still made Ling Quan somewhat apprehensive.

That's it?