Ice Emperor Hai Bodong

After entering the shop.

The interior was not particularly spacious. Several Moonlight Stones emitted a faint glow, illuminating it quite brightly.

Wei Yang swept his gaze across the shop. There were not many people here to buy maps, making the place seem somewhat deserted.

Then Wei Yang looked toward the counter, his gaze finally settling on an old man behind it who had his head lowered, carefully drawing a map.

Though the old man's hair was entirely white and he looked quite aged, the withered hand holding the black drawing pen remained steady and strong.

If he was right, this old man was likely Ice Emperor Hai Bodong.

It was also Wei Yang's first time truly seeing a Dou Emperor powerhouse.

He thought about it briefly, then shook his head. He had no intention of approaching Hai Bodong just yet.

Even a sealed Dou Emperor was not someone to be trifled with.

So Wei Yang led Ye Xian'er to a bookshelf nearby and casually picked up a map to examine.

The routes on the map were clearly and accurately marked, with very little discrepancy. The craftsmanship was indeed excellent, and Wei Yang nodded to himself.

He put down the map in his hand and picked up another.

As he continued browsing, Wei Yang was surprised to discover that the shop had a remarkably complete variety of maps.

There were maps of the Jia Ma Empire and the Tagor Desert, and the maps of those two places were the most detailed.

There were even maps of several nearby nations, such as the Chu Yun Empire and the Mulan Empire. Their maps were relatively less detailed, but still decent.

There were even maps of the Black Corner Region.

Wei Yang nodded in satisfaction. With these maps, he would at least no longer need to worry about getting lost in the Jia Ma Empire and the surrounding regions. He took two copies of each map, one for himself and the other for Xian'er.

Wei Yang brought the maps to the counter and asked, "How much are these maps?"

In response to Wei Yang's question, the old man continued drawing the map in his hands with full concentration, not even raising his head. Only his aged, indifferent voice emerged from his mouth. "One map costs 100 Gold Coins."

Wei Yang half-closed his eyes as his Soul Power quietly spread out, cautiously extending forward.

When he woke up this morning, Wei Yang had discovered a small surprise. After that mysterious Black Iron Scroll had devoured his Soul Power yesterday—

His Soul Power, after recovering, seemed to have increased slightly and become a little more condensed.

Now that he was facing this veteran Dou Emperor, Wei Yang could not help but feel curious and wanted to give it a try.

As his Soul Power slowly extended, it quietly enveloped the old man.

At once, Wei Yang sensed that within the old man's seemingly aged and withered body lay a powerful aura like an iceberg.

Yet this iceberg seemed to be restrained and sealed by another mysterious, even more powerful force.

Wei Yang could vaguely sense that the energy the old man could currently draw upon was merely the tip of that iceberg, probably no more than that of a high-level Dou Ling.

After confirming this, Wei Yang smiled and withdrew his Soul Power.

A high-level Dou Ling was troublesome, but Wei Yang was not afraid of him.

If he could not win, he could at least run.

Wei Yang took out one thousand Gold Coins from his Storage Ring and placed them on the counter. Shaking the stack of maps in his hand, he said, "I took ten maps."

The old man nodded, his attention still fixed on the map he was drawing.

Wei Yang smiled and did not mind. He put away the maps, took Ye Xian'er's hand, and left the shop.

Only after the figures of the two had completely disappeared did the old man's hand, which had been intently drawing the map all this while, pause slightly and stop. At the same time, he slowly raised his head.

It was an aged face. From his left cheek to the corner of his eye ran a horrifying scar.

Though he looked withered and old, with cloudy eyes, that scar still added several traces of fierceness to his appearance.

The old man gazed outside the shop in the direction Wei Yang and Ye Xian'er had gone. His cloudy old eyes narrowed slightly, and a sharp glint seemed to flash within them.

"Two terrifying young people. So young, yet their talent is terrifying indeed!" the old man murmured softly to himself.

As a veteran Dou Emperor, although he was not an alchemist, his Soul Perception was naturally far from weak.

Wei Yang could vaguely sense the aura hidden within the old man, and the old man could naturally roughly sense Wei Yang's condition as well.

"Especially that young man. To possess such powerful Soul Power at such a young age... could he be an alchemist?" the old man thought, his expression seeming somewhat stirred.

Then he shook his head and laughed at himself.

He was nearly obsessed!

Even if that young man was an alchemist, so what?

Could he possibly be a Sixth Grade Alchemist?

Besides, those two young people were clearly not simple. He did not dare rashly approach them.

He had hidden in this small city at the edge of the desert for twenty or thirty years, living cautiously, not daring to let anyone know. Not even the Mite'er Family knew his whereabouts. This showed just how careful he was.

"These two young people... could they have come from another empire or region, to this Tagor Desert..."

A trace of indecipherable meaning flashed through the old man's cloudy eyes as he muttered to himself for a few moments.

Then he stopped thinking about it and lowered his head to continue drawing maps.

"Heavenly Flames..."

After buying a detailed map of the Tagor Desert, Wei Yang was in a good mood as he strolled back toward the inn with Ye Xian'er.

He planned to study the map carefully after returning, then set out tomorrow to search for the Heavenly Flames.

Thinking of the descriptions from the original novel, Wei Yang could not help thinking of another girl: Qing Lin.

A pitiful little girl with Snake People bloodline.

She was also the owner of the Jade-Green Snake Three-Flower Pupils, another existence that could be called a bug.

"According to the original novel, there is a fourth-tier Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake within the Underground Lava Lake. And Medusa has not injured it yet, so its strength is likely at the peak of the fourth tier!"

The peak of the fourth tier was equivalent to the peak of the Dou Ling realm among human powerhouses.

"Moreover, it grew up in the special environment of the Underground Lava Lake, where it has the home-field advantage and moves like a fish in water. The combat power it can unleash is comparable to a Dou Wang, and its energy can be replenished rapidly, practically endlessly," Wei Yang thought.

This was a little troublesome.

In a special place like the Underground Lava Lake, even Wei Yang found the Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake somewhat difficult to deal with.

If he did not take care of that beast, he definitely would not dare venture into the lava to search for the Heavenly Flames with peace of mind.

But it was not as though he had no way to deal with it. After all, it was merely a magical beast.

He only needed to make a plan, lure it out, and kill it directly with thunderous methods.

As for Qing Lin.

Wei Yang glanced at the little girl whose hand he was holding beside him, then smiled and gently shook his head.

The same old saying—let fate decide.

No deliberate effort.

His heart was vast, vast enough to pursue and climb to the pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent, even holding a trace of fantasy toward the Great Thousand World above it.

Yet his heart was also small, so small that it had limited space and could not hold too many people.

Originally, Qing Lin had been his choice.

But now, he had Ye Xian'er, and the little girl had already successfully claimed the vast majority of Wei Yang's heart.

Thus, his attitude toward Qing Lin had instead become indifferent. He viewed her with a mentality of having her or not having her—it did not matter.

There was no denying that everyone liked beautiful women.

Wei Yang was naturally no exception.

What was more, this beauty was no mere ornament. She possessed an absurdly overpowered constitution that could carry her all the way to the Dou Saint realm.

And this beauty was currently at her weakest and most helpless point, making her the easiest to win over.

But liking someone did not mean he had to have her.

There were countless beautiful women. Was he supposed to love them all?

Wei Yang was not a playboy.