Protect the Dharma for You

"Mm, Wan Guniang?"

"I really didn't expect you to still be hung up on something like this."

Yao Wan stood up and walked over to Xiao Yan. Her plain long dress swayed slightly in the night as she paced past Xiao Yan again and again.

"But actually, I'm still rather surprised. You actually told me something this important."

Yao Wan spoke without thinking.

"That's because hiding it from you really isn't realistic, girl."

Yao Lao spoke at just the right moment, and a faint, illusory elderly figure condensed inside the room.

"Since you already know of my existence, it's impossible for Xiao Yan to hide anything from you... Besides, this foolish boy just so happens to trust you this much... Sigh."

Yao Lao looked at the young girl who, even in the night, still wore a bamboo hat to cover her face. His gaze was somewhat complicated as he sighed helplessly.

"I only hope this brat hasn't placed his trust in the wrong person."

"Of course it's because I trust Wan Guniang!"

Xiao Yan naturally couldn't stand his teacher calling him a brat and a foolish boy in front of others every day. He could be considered a genius, all right?

"Trust, huh..."

Yao Wan fell silent for a moment, then leaned against the bedside without thinking and sighed.

"Don't try to morally blackmail me. And don't think too well of people, either... There are plenty of treacherous hearts in this world. If you're this naive, you'll suffer a huge loss one day."

"That may be true, but I think Wan Guniang is absolutely worthy of my trust."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Xiao Yan's mouth, as if he had already decided that this was unquestionably the case.

"Then gamble less on things like this in the future. Placing your trust in someone else is far too foolish."

Yao Wan's warning only made the smile on Xiao Yan's face deepen a little. That was something Wan Guniang herself probably wouldn't understand.

After all, he was not the kind of person who would casually tell others a secret that concerned his very life.

Rather, Wan Guniang was one of the very rare exceptions in his eyes.

"Forget it... Let's not talk about this."

Yao Wan found the topic dull and waved her hand.

"Where were we just now? The Flame Mantra, right?"

"Mm, the Flame Mantra. A cultivation method that can continuously evolve by devouring all kinds of Heavenly Flames."

"Then practice it. With a cultivation method like that, why wouldn't you?"

Yao Wan answered as if it were only natural. A cultivation method capable of raising its rank was enough to prove how strange it was, let alone one that used Heavenly Flames as its cultivation source.

"But this cultivation method is very dangerous. Teacher also said the chance of success might only be twenty percent."

"Then keep practicing it. Don't tell me that when you face a stronger enemy, your chances of surviving will be higher than twenty percent?"

There was a trace of pride in Yao Wan's tone.

"This..."

Xiao Yan was stunned. He had not expected Wan Guniang to actually say that.

"If you cultivate the Flame Mantra, I can help you look for other Heavenly Flames."

"But at the end of the day, this is your own choice. I have nothing to agonize over. How you choose still depends on you."

"But if Teacher wants to revive, he needs the Flame Mantra. And if I want to live up to what Wan Guniang has done for me and catch up to you, I also need the Flame Mantra."

Yao Wan glanced at him without thinking. She had originally wanted to say that there was no need to act according to her wishes, but Xiao Yan had already made his own decision.

Looking at her, who wore a bamboo hat before him, Xiao Yan's tone was resolute. "...All right. I'll practice it."

"Teacher."

"...Brat."

Yao Lao was silent for a moment before he finally emerged from Xiao Yan's Storage Ring.

"I've decided. I'm going to cultivate the Flame Mantra."

Xiao Yan said.

The matter he had always been secretly urging forward had finally come to pass. While this made Yao Lao let out a breath of relief, he could not help sighing as well.

Taking risks for the sake of others... How foolish.

"...I'll protect the Dharma for you."

After the cultivation method of the Flame Mantra appeared in Xiao Yan's mind, he immediately sat cross-legged and prepared to cultivate.

Yao Wan slowly stood up, and her Slender Jade Fingers gently landed on Xiao Yan's shoulder.

As a glimpse of Ice Muscle Jade Bone was exposed to the air, a cyan light flame ignited over Yao Wan's body.

"Mm?"

Yao Lao was somewhat surprised. Originally, regarding Xiao Yan exposing the Flame Mantra, he had judged that there was no way to hide it and had been forced to use this poor plan.

He had not expected this girl to actually be willing to use even her Life Spirit Flame, which had not fully matured yet...

Seeing Yao Wan act like this, the hesitation that had lingered in Yao Lao's heart eased somewhat as well.

The Life Spirit Flame possessed extremely vigorous vitality. If it nourished Xiao Yan, then when Xiao Yan went to devour Heavenly Flames in the future, with her at his side protecting the Dharma, his chances of success would likely be much higher.

Put that way, letting this girl know of the Flame Mantra's existence was not exactly a bad thing.

Xiao Yan's eyes were tightly shut, his brows slightly furrowed. This was his first time cultivating a cultivation method, and it was this bizarre cultivation method at that. Though Xiao Yan was a genius gifted by the heavens, converting his original attribute-less Dou Qi into the fire-attributed Dou Qi of the Flame Mantra was not an easy task.

But when Xiao Yan felt Wan Guniang's palm press against the center of his back, a cool sensation spread from there through his entire body.

This was...

Xiao Yan opened his eyes with some effort and murmured without thinking, "Wan Guniang..."

"Shh. Don't speak. Concentrate, circulate it through your meridians, and transform your Dou Qi."

Originally, she had only subconsciously circulated her Dou Qi, using the vitality of the Life Spirit Flame to help him complete a circuit through his body. Who would have thought that the first time Xiao Yan circulated the Flame Mantra, her Life Spirit Flame would seem naturally attracted to it and involuntarily surge into Xiao Yan's meridians?

If the Life Spirit Flame had been an ordinary Heavenly Flame with extremely destructive power, Xiao Yan would truly be in danger right now.

Still, the Flame Mantra surprised Yao Wan quite a bit. Although she knew full well it was wondrous, the fact that it could actively draw in her Heavenly Flame was extraordinary indeed.

"...Forget it. If I'm helping, I may as well help to the end."

Yao Wan gave up on withdrawing now and instead continued pouring her own Dou Qi into Xiao Yan's body, guiding him through the meridians of his circulation and transforming his Dou Qi.

Yao Lao frowned slightly at the side, but he did not speak to stop her.

After one incense stick's time, Xiao Yan finally opened his eyes.

"It worked, Teacher! It worked!"

The instant he opened his eyes, he subconsciously spread his palm and circulated his Dou Qi. He could see that the attribute-less Dou Qi originally gushing from his palm had turned into the Dou Qi of the Flame Mantra.

Xiao Yan immediately looked at Yao Lao with an excited expression.

"Mm, but the person you should be thanking right now shouldn't be me."

Relief flickered in Yao Lao's eyes, but he still spoke.

"...Wan Guniang?"

Xiao Yan turned without thinking and looked back at Wan Guniang, who had never been so close to him before.