Parent-Child... Parent-Child Thousand Mile Communication Talisman!

One month later.

Beneath the waterfall, formations linked and condensed together as a surging mass of Purple Fire blazed fiercely. Lu Bu sat quietly at the center of the rising flames.

Compared to his first body-tempering with Purple Crystal Source, Lu Bu was incomparably calm this time. Even after an entire bottle of Purple Crystal Source had been fully consumed, there was no major change in his body.

"The effect has been reduced by half compared to last time..." Lu Bu frowned slightly. This round of body-tempering had been somewhat disappointing. It seemed that using Purple Crystal Source to temper his body could not continue; going on would merely waste precious treasures.

Lu Bu clenched his fist and suddenly threw a punch.

Bang!

A sonic boom erupted, and a huge spray of water exploded from the lake. He had not used any Dou Qi or soul power in that punch; it was purely a physical attack.

Xiao Yan, watching from nearby, twitched at the corner of his mouth. "Teacher, even a Da Dou Shi couldn't withstand that punch, right?"

"Even a low-level Dou Ling might not manage it," Yao Lao said faintly. This method of body-tempering truly was quite good. He had once considered finding one for Xiao Yan as well, but Purple Crystal Source was simply too precious. That kid would definitely demand an outrageous price.

That kid was a complete miser, unwilling to part with even a single hair. It would be difficult to get anything out of him.

Secondly... Yao Lao could not see the side effects involved. Just because Lu Bu could use it did not mean Xiao Yan could as well. He had long since laid out Xiao Yan's cultivation plan, step by step, with clear logic and definite goals.

He could not abruptly steer Xiao Yan in another direction, especially toward something he did not understand.

Lu Bu pinched the skin on his arm, greatly satisfied by its toughness.

"Though there's still a bit of a gap, I'm not far from reaching the foundation needed for the Minor Nirvana Golden Body..." Lu Bu stroked his chin as he pondered in secret. There was no Nirvana Qi on the Dou Qi Continent, so it was impossible to condense the Nirvana Golden Body.

But that was not much of a problem. What he wanted to cultivate was the Minor Nirvana Golden Body, not the genuine Nirvana Golden Body.

The Minor Nirvana Golden Body used Nirvana Qi to scour the body and, together with a special method, allowed a cultivator to forge a martial art resembling the golden body of nirvana.

The Minor Nirvana Golden Body was a martial art, while the true Nirvana Golden Body was a law of heaven and earth. It was like how Dou Wang experts on the Dou Qi Continent could transform their Dou Qi into wings: the former could be cultivated, while the latter could not.

However, the Nirvana Qi within it was merely a special kind of energy, not something irreplaceable. Lu Bu could substitute it with other energies, such as precious treasures like Purple Crystal Source.

But Lu Bu had already used two bottles of Purple Crystal Source and only had five left. This stuff might not be able to provide the enormous amount of energy needed to condense a golden body...

Stroking his chin, Lu Bu temporarily gave up on the idea of condensing the golden body. He would wait until he found something better in the future. For instance, the lotus seeds of the Green Lotus Core Flame would be quite good.

With a flick of his hand, a cluster of Purple Fire rose from his palm. It was time to refine this thing, but before that... he should make a deal first.

"Xiao Yan, what do you think of my Purple Fire?" Lu Bu asked with a smile, holding the Purple Fire in his palm.

Xiao Yan, standing nearby, twitched at the corner of his mouth. This guy was trying to fleece him again.

"I know you're an alchemist too. Think about it—if you used this Purple Fire for pill refining and combat, hehe... how effective would it be?" Lu Bu rubbed his hands together and asked with a grin.

Xiao Yan: "..."

I want to leave, but what he's offering is simply impossible to refuse.

Xiao Yan had already suffered enough from the pains brought on by his Yellow-tier Low-level cultivation method. Although this Purple Fire was not a Heavenly Flame, the Flame Mantra could even devour Heavenly Flames. This little Beast Fire would be no issue at all.

"Teacher, what do you think?" Xiao Yan asked his teacher. Lu Bu's trading partner was not him, but Yao Lao. Only Yao Lao could produce what Lu Bu wanted.

The Ring trembled, and Yao Lao slowly floated out. He glanced at the Purple Fire in Lu Bu's hand. "You raised that Purple Fire using Purple Crystal Source, didn't you?"

"As expected of Senior Venerable Yao." Lu Bu chuckled and raised a thumb in praise. "Sharp eyes!"

"You've been raising it for a month, haven't you? You're willing to give it to us?" Yao Lao looked at Lu Bu impassively. "Or do you want to trade Purple Crystal Source with us?"

"I'm reluctant to part with either of those," Lu Bu said with a smile. Before Yao Lao and Xiao Yan could speak, Lu Bu took out the Azure Nether Fire again. "But this can be traded."

"Azure Nether Fire." Yao Lao said in surprise, "The Beast Fire of a fifth-tier Azure Flame Eagle?"

As expected of Venerable Yao, who had played with fire his entire life. He recognized the origin of the flame in Lu Bu's hand at a glance.

Azure Flame Eagles were Flying Magical Beasts—raptors that were fast, powerful, and extremely difficult to capture. Obtaining their Beast Fire was no simple task either.

"Well?" Lu Bu smiled.

"It will do." Yao Lao nodded. Though it could not compare to the Purple Fire of the Purple Crystal Winged Lion King, it was not much inferior.

"What do you want?"

"I have a friend..." Lu Bu stroked his chin. "She has the Calamity Poison Body. Does this old gentleman have a solution?"

Yao Lao raised an eyebrow. Old gentleman?

He used to call me an old undead, but now that he needs something from me, he calls me old gentleman?

"Yes!" Yao Lao said gravely. "I once had a friend who also possessed the Calamity Poison Body. After many years of research, he found a solution, but... before he could use it, his poison erupted and he died."

"This solution was something he and I researched together. It is precious—extremely precious!"

"Then this old gentleman means...?" A sense of foreboding rose in Lu Bu's heart.

"Pay more!" Yao Lao said with a beaming smile.

Lu Bu's mouth twitched. He suddenly wanted to curse.

"Add a bottle of Companion Purple Crystal Source!" Yao Lao said, raising the price on the spot.

"One piece of information!" Lu Bu snorted. Don't even think about touching my Purple Crystal Source. "Information on why the Soul Hall captures so many souls."

"No—wait?" Yao Lao, who was about to refuse, froze.

This information was very important and very valuable. For thousands of years, the Soul Hall had been collecting souls throughout the continent. No one could see any benefit in what they did, yet they remained tirelessly devoted to it. Nobody could figure out what they wanted.

"Damn it..." Yao Lao's eyes twitched. With Purple Crystal Source, Xiao Yan's cultivation speed would improve greatly.

But... it was difficult to choose!

"Choose the information!" Xiao Yan said in a low voice. "I want to know what they're doing. Why are they pursuing Teacher?"

Yao Lao was his only support at present. Nothing could happen to him. Xiao Yan would rather lose the Three Year Agreement than see Yao Lao face danger.

Lu Bu looked at Yao Lao. Xiao Yan was still unable to make the decision.

"The information!" Yao Lao said solemnly. The Soul Hall had joined hands with Han Feng to kill him. If he did not understand the truth behind it, he would never find peace of mind.

"Hehehe... The Soul Hall captures souls in order to extract the Soul Origin from them," Lu Bu said with a smile. "Old gentleman, you should know what Soul Origin does, as well as what happens when it is extracted, right?"

Yao Lao's expression shifted. As an alchemist, he knew all too well what happened when one's Soul Origin was extracted. At best, it would damage the soul and cause irreparable injuries. At worst, the soul would disperse completely and vanish into nothingness.

Once caught by the Soul Hall, even if one survived, they would be left half-dead!

"No wonder... no wonder they are so obsessed with alchemists..." Yao Lao came to a realization. Alchemists possessed powerful soul strength and solid Soul Origins. Unlike other experts, they lacked overwhelming combat power, so the Soul Hall naturally set its sights on the juicy prey that was alchemists.

Lu Bu smiled. The Soul Hall did not capture souls solely for Soul Origin. Although that thing could forcibly push a person to Emperor Realm Soul, the Hun Clan also needed it to set up an array. Hun Tiandi's refinement of an Emperor Grade Pill relied on the Soul Devouring Array that the Soul Hall had established over many years.

Once he reached the Central Continent, he had to destroy every Soul Hall base one by one. On one hand, he could seize Soul Origin and strengthen himself; on the other, he could give Hun Tiandi some trouble... Lu Bu mused inwardly.

Only after a long while did Yao Lao recover from the news. Lu Bu did not urge him, merely rubbing his hands together and waiting with a smile.

Seeing this, Yao Lao snorted coldly. With a flick of his finger, he shot out a dark gray scroll. Lu Bu reached out, caught it, and opened it. The description on it was indeed the Pill Refining Method for Poison.

If possible, Lu Bu would have preferred to arrange for Xiao Yi Xian to obtain the twentieth-ranked Netherworld Poison Fire. Unfortunately, he had no idea where that thing was, so he could only search for it slowly in the future.

"Oh, right." After putting the scroll into his Ring, Lu Bu said, "In a few days, I'll be leaving the Magical Beast Mountain Range..."

"What!?" Xiao Yan was shocked. Was this guy planning to take the payment and not do the job?

"Why are you so shocked?" Lu Bu said irritably. Am I the kind of person who breaks his word?

"I'm going to find some helpers," Lu Bu explained. "Like Dou Emperors or Dou Wangs. With just the three of us, I don't feel confident about going up to the Misty Cloud Sect."

"Oh... so that's it." Xiao Yan wiped away a cold sweat. Good. The worst-case scenario had not happened.

Lu Bu rolled his eyes. How could he possibly run? He was still counting on Yao Lao to help him fight Emperor Wu!

Then, with a flick of his hand, he tossed over a palm-sized jade token.

"What is this?" Xiao Yan caught it instinctively and examined it from every angle. He could only tell that it contained a formation; he knew nothing else.

"A parent-child... Parent-Child Thousand Mile Communication Talisman!" Lu Bu's expression turned serious as he said solemnly, "The one in your hand is the child. If you want to contact me, just inject soul power into it, and we can speak in real time."

Making this thing was somewhat troublesome. The formation inscriptions were complicated, and its communication range was not very far. It was something Lu Bu had tinkered together himself.

Xiao Yan's eyes twitched. Ignoring the other man's attempt to take advantage of him, this thing was practically a telephone... Xiao Yan was also a transmigrator; his transmigration was simply less obvious.

"That puppet is yours. Consider it a gift. See you again in a year!"

With that, Lu Bu vanished into the sky and returned to the small valley.

Xiao Yan shrugged. After spending the past few months together, he had found that Lu Bu was quite easy to get along with. He kept his word, did what he said, possessed formidable strength and terrifying combat power, and had a free-spirited personality. He was worth befriending.

His only flaw was that he was too handsome and always stole Xiao Yan's spotlight.

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