A Rich Harvest

The Dan Family's mansion is not located in Sacred Pill City, but rather in a large city that is quite far away and occupies its own territory.

Of course, the Dan Family also had a place to rest in Sacred Pill City. Although it couldn't compare to the area set aside by the Pill Tower to entertain Xiao Yan, it was still quite luxurious.

Dan Chen represented the Dan Family in such an important competition as the Pill Gathering. Naturally, Dan Yu, the Dan Family Head and the father of Dan Chen and Dan Xuan, was present to watch the whole event.

Upon learning of Xiao Yan's existence, Dan Yu first asked Dan Xuan for the Soul Cultivation Method. After confirming that it was safe, he was overjoyed and hit it off with Xiao Yan at first sight, almost becoming sworn brothers on the spot.

Dan Yu wholeheartedly supported Dan Chen's decision to become Xiao Yan's disciple. He even took out a piece of jade marrow that could nourish the soul from his personal Storage Ring and gave it to Xiao Yan as a gift for the discipleship ceremony.

Of course, Xiao Yan was not short of such gadgets. He casually tempered them with the Fallen Heart Flame and then gave them to Dan Chen.

Dan Chen is currently cultivating an Earth Grade Advanced Cultivation Method. As for Heavenly Grade Cultivation Method, the Dan Family also has two treasured volumes.

However, Dan Chen had only recently broken through to the Dou Zong, and he hadn't even mastered the Earth Grade Advanced Cultivation Method he possessed. He was also busy refining medicine all day long, so he didn't have the time or energy to switch to cultivating Heavenly Grade Cultivation Method.

Furthermore, the two Heavenly Grade Cultivation Method of the Dan Family were obtained by chance from the Trading Fair. One of them can be cultivated by people of all attributes and is used by the Dan Family to train henchmen; the other, although it is of the fire attribute, focuses more on explosive destructive power, and the Dou Qi cultivated from it is not suitable for alchemy.

Now that Dan Chen has become Xiao Yan's disciple, she no longer needs to cultivate those two nonsensical Heavenly Grade Cultivation Method from the Dan Family; instead, that's left to Xiao Yan to deal with.

After much deliberation, Xiao Yan finally found a Heavenly Grade Cultivation Method that allowed him to infuse Soul Power into flames, and passed it on to Dan Chen.

The cultivation was naturally very difficult, but Xiao Yan was not impatient. After returning to the Gu Clan, he immediately revived Old Yao and then sent Dan Chen to refine the Fallen Heart Flame. The two of them went into seclusion and waited for Old Yao come out of seclusion before guiding Dan Chen.

As for Xiao Yan, he naturally acted as a hands-off manager, only occasionally checking on Dan Chen's cultivation progress when he had nothing else to do...

Five days passed in the blink of an eye, and the contestants were all in good shape and ready to try to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

The top ten in this Pill Gathering are, in order: Xiao Yan, Yan Clan Alchemist, the unfamiliar old man, Cao Ying, Dan Chen, and five Seventh Grade Alchemists.

Among those five Seventh Grade Alchemists, Song Qing seemed to find it hard to accept this result, but that was the reality; Cao Ying and Dan Chen were both a level above him.

After Xuan Kongzi gave a final explanation of the precautions, a Pill Tower Elder led the top ten participants of the Pill Gathering into the Star Domain.

As for Xuan Kongzi, he and two other giants were maintaining the stability of the Star Domain space.

The so-called Star Domain is actually just a fragment of space forcibly torn apart from the Dou Qi Continent by the Pill Tower Three Greats.

This kind of space is naturally not comparable to places like the Pill Realm or the Ancient Realm, which can be considered Small World. Instead, it is more like a secret realm or Ancient Ruins, looking rather monotonous and desolate.

A faint, scorching mist filled the space, composed of pure fire-attribute World Energy. Xiao Yan could even feel the throbbing of the Heavenly Flames originating from his chest.

However, this Star Domain space is quite rubbish. Strands of starlight constantly seep in from the outside, allowing the Three Thousand Burning Flame sealed here to continuously devour the power of the stars and grow stronger.

Pill Tower Elder led ten people towards the center of the Star Domain. As they went deeper, the surrounding scorching fog became thicker and thicker, and the temperature continued to rise.

Although it was a space that was almost nothingness, the heat emitted by the Three Thousand Burning Flame still created a scorching place. In the end, even a Dou Zong expert could not withstand it with his physical body and had to activate his Dou Qi to protect himself.

Until they reached a certain critical point, the surrounding temperature rose another level—the group entered the range of the Three Thousand Burning Flames, and the Three Thousand Burning Flame came into view.

It was a colossal dragon that stretched as far as the eye could see, its body wreathed in purplish-black flames. Even though it remained motionless like a statue, the immensely powerful energy fluctuations still sent shivers down one's spine.

"This Three Thousand Burning Flame truly resembles the Ancient Void Dragon. It is highly likely that the Ancient Void Dragon Clan has imprinted its Blood Soul Mark. No wonder the Pill Tower Three Greats were unable to refine it," sighed the Yan Clan Alchemist.

The Pill Tower Elder who was leading the way looked surprised and uncertain. The Ancient Void Dragon had not been seen for thousands of years, and he did not even know that the Three Thousand Burning Flame were in the form of the Ancient Void Dragon.

"But since it's been here for so long and the Ancient Void Dragon hasn't bothered with it, it's fine to just assume that the Three Thousand Burning Flame are ownerless," Xiao Yan said, glancing at the Yan Clan Alchemist.

"The Magical Beast race generally dislikes the aura of Heavenly Flames, and my Yan Clan has a lot to say about this." The Yan Clan Alchemist nodded, agreeing with Xiao Yan's statement.

So the Nine Nether Nether Python Clan didn't like the Nine Nether Golden Ancestor Fire and gave it to your Yan Clan, right? Xiao Yan curled his lips and continued to approach the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

The Yan Clan Alchemist immediately followed suit.

The Pill Tower Elder's influence here is almost zero; what follows is basically a battle between Xiao Yan and the Yan Clan Alchemist.

As they approached the Three Thousand Burning Flame, the two slowed down. The Pill Tower Elder followed closely behind and said, "The Three Thousand Burning Flame has now been sealed. Next, try to subdue it gently—under no circumstances should you awaken it from its slumber!"

The two men dismissed Pill Tower Elder's nonsense.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the Three Thousand Burning Flame had already developed its own consciousness. As a naturally born and nurtured Heavenly Flames, its unruly nature was a given, so how could it willingly be refined and have its consciousness erased?

Now, even if the Ancient Void Dragon wanted to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame, it would have to defeat it, let alone anyone else.

If you want to win by gentle means, you might as well go home and sleep; you can have anything in your dreams.

"Xiao Yan, there's a dragon scale on the forehead of the Three Thousand Burning Flame that isn't covered by the purplish-black flames. Press your palm on it, then infiltrate it with your Soul Power. If you're lucky, you might succeed," Pill Tower Elder continued, spouting nonsense.

Xiao Yan ignored the Pill Tower Elder and calmly took out ten puppets from his Storage Ring.

These ten puppets were somewhat damaged in the battle with White Heavenly Venerate, but they recovered by absorbing the Pill Lightning after the third round of pill refining at the Pill Gathering. At this moment, they are shining with golden light, which even the starlight emanating from the Three Thousand Burning Flame cannot cover up.

"Xiao Yan, what do you want to do?!" Pill Tower Elder was shocked and tried to stop Xiao Yan, but his strength was not enough to suppress ten puppets. He could only watch helplessly as Xiao Yan reached out and placed his palm on the forehead of the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

Apart from that, there were no other actions.

"He's probably wary of me," the Yan Clan Alchemist said, glancing at the overreacting Pill Tower Elder.

Immediately, the Yan Clan Alchemist gave up on the Pill Tower Elder and tried to interrupt Xiao Yan.

However, Xiao Yan likely possesses a hidden trump card from Gu Yuan, which he uses to subdue the Three Thousand Burning Flame. To stop this, the only solution would probably be to separate Xiao Yan from the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

The Yan Clan Alchemist was only a Four-star Dou Zun, and his Soul Power was useless against the puppet, making it impossible for him to break through the puppet's blockade.

Although they could summon others, Xiao Yan could also summon others. They fought back and forth, and in the end, even the Yan Clan was no match for the Gu Clan.

The Yan Clan Alchemist could only sigh, watching helplessly as the Three Thousand Burning Flame lost their freedom, unable to offer any assistance.

The Pill Tower Elder was ashen-faced. Xiao Yan and the Yan Clan Alchemist didn't take the Pill Tower seriously at all, and they didn't believe that the Pill Tower could maintain order. This made him very unhappy, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

Because that's the truth.

Xiao Yan reached out and touched the dragon scales. It felt similar to the Green Lotus. Although it was the most terrifying fire-attribute energy aggregate in the world, it felt cool to the touch.

"Bang..."

With a shattering sound, Xiao Yan felt his Soul Power arrive at some void, where space almost lost its meaning.

The void was filled with Purple-Black Flame, and a miniature Fire Dragon coiled in the center of the flames, which was the Origin Fire Seed of the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

However, this Origin Fire Seed also had its eyes closed, seemingly asleep.

"Uncle Gu Yuan, I've arrived."

With a soft murmur, Xiao Yan transmitted a slightly illusory Jade Slip into this space through his Soul Power.

The Origin Fire Seed, which had been keeping its eyes closed, suddenly felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over its head. The entire dragon shuddered, and then its eyes snapped open. The dragon's eyes, which should have been full of majesty, were now filled with terror.

The Fire Dragon stared intently at the Jade Slip with its vertical pupils. The entire Purple-Black Sea of Fire in the void seemed to boil, desperately trying to repel the Jade Slip from entering.

However, this resistance was nothing to Gu Yuan. No matter how hard the little Fire Dragon tried, Gu Yuan's figure in hemp clothing still appeared in front of Xiao Yan.

Gu Yuan twisted his neck and swept his gaze across the void. The invisible Space Power spread out like ripples on the water, and the void immediately changed its master.

Even though this place is the lair of the Three Thousand Burning Flame, and is constructed entirely from the power of the Three Thousand Burning Flame, it still has no ability to resist Gu Yuan.

"It seems you've succeeded," Gu Yuan nodded to Xiao Yan, his tone very amiable.

"It's not difficult at all. My conditions are much better than others." Xiao Yan said modestly, then mentioned Dan Chen and said, "During the Pill Gathering, I discovered a promising talent and took her as my disciple. I plan to take her to Little Medicine Mountain and have Old Yao teach her."

"How is his talent?" Gu Yuan was not as pedantic as the other elders, after all, he could even accept that his daughter had been taken by Xiao Yan.

"His physique is somewhat abnormal, allowing him to directly devour the Soul Power of others. However, it is difficult to control. He broke through to the Eighth Grade Alchemist in his early twenties. With preferential training, he is expected to break through to the ninth grade," Xiao Yan explained.

"Devouring the Soul Power of others..." Gu Yuan frowned, and the first thing that came to mind was the Soul Clan.

"I plan to have her refine that newly formed Fallen Heart Flame. Once she breaks through to the Dou Zun, I'll send her into the Black Annihilation Army to fight against the Soul Hall, destroy its Soul Hall Branch, and harvest the Soul Origin accumulated by the Soul Hall over the years to cultivate the Fallen Heart Flame," Xiao Yan continued.

"Is that so..." Gu Yuan pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay."

"There's one more thing," Xiao Yan said, listing things off as if they were his own treasures. "I've entrusted Xuan Kongzi to purchase Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire from Burning Flame Valley using Green-Gold Lotus Seed."

Gu Yuan raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by Xiao Yan's decisiveness, but still asked, "Are you sure you can get your hands on it?"

"Xuan Kongzi gave me his assurance," Xiao Yan said.

"That's good too." Gu Yuan nodded and said, "I originally exchanged for their Inheritance Thunder Pool from the Lei Clan. I was thinking of giving it to you and Xun'er for body tempering. If you had the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire, the effect would be even better."

With the matter settled, the next step was to prepare the Three Thousand Burning Flame.

"These Three Thousand Burning Flame must have been imprinted with Dragon Seal by the Ancient Void Dragon Clan. Removing it will be quite troublesome. I will seal it first, and then I will clean it up after you bring it back to the Gu Clan."

Gu Yuan gave a word of instruction, then reached out and grabbed the little Fire Dragon, which looked pitiful as it was pinched and pressed onto Xiao Yan 'Gu Yuan arm, forming a purplish-black dragon-shaped tattoo.

"Is that all?" Xiao Yan shook his hand, feeling no different from when he obtained the Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame.

"It's over. Once you receive the Nine Dragon Thunder Gang Fire, take Dan Chen back to the Gu Clan!" Gu Yuan's avatar completed its mission, its form gradually fading until it disappeared completely.

Xiao Yan withdrew his Soul Power and returned it to his body. He opened his eyes, rolled up his sleeve, and looked at his right arm. A lifelike purplish-black dragon tattoo appeared, clearly resembling the Origin Fire Seed the Three Thousand Burning Flames.

Seemingly due to the loss of its Origin Fire Seed, the enormous purplish-black dragon could no longer maintain its original form. Under the constraints of the seal, it gradually collapsed into irregular purplish-black flames.

"Xiao Yan, did you succeed?" Pill Tower Elder looked at the seal anxiously, his expression not very good.

"The Origin Fire Seed has been subdued, and the immense energy accumulated by these Three Thousand Burning Flame over countless years..."

"Why don't you leave it to me to handle?" The Yan Clan Alchemist interrupted Xiao Yan, saying, "I can't just come all this way for nothing, can I? It would be difficult to explain back to the clan."

Surrounded by ten puppets, Xiao Yan watched the Yan Clan Alchemist remain silent, his brows slowly furrowing.

Seeing that the dragon's form was becoming increasingly unstable, as if it might dissipate at any moment and turn into scattered fire-attribute energy imbued with the aura of the Three Thousand Burning Flame, the Yan Clan Alchemist couldn't help but feel anxious.

Gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, the Yan Clan Alchemist revealed a pained expression. "I'll exchange it for a Nine-Tier Beast Flame."

"Nine-Tier Beast Flame? Your Yan Clan even raises Ninth-Rank Magical Beast?" Xiao Yan asked in surprise.

"It is the Nine Nether Underworld Fire."

"Okay, then it's a deal."