Several hours passed. The Ice Spirit Cold Spring that had once filled the entire cave was nearly drained dry. Waves of rising white mist slipped into the boy's nose and mouth along with the flickering Black Flame.
The boy suddenly opened his eyes. A faint strand of Black-gold Firelight flashed through his pupils. He first surveyed his surroundings, then rose to his feet and stretched his body to the fullest.
A series of crackling explosions echoed through the cave. Xiao Yan chuckled. "Teacher, I did it!"
"Good, good!"
After saying "good" twice in a row, Old Man Yao could hardly conceal his satisfaction with Xiao Yan. He first examined the boy's current condition, then nodded and commented, "Not bad. A real treasure."
"Treasure? I'm not some piece of merchandise."
Xiao Yan gazed at the Black Flame in his hand with lingering fascination and replied casually, clearly not yet over the excitement of refining a Heavenly Flame.
"Hehe, of course you're not merchandise." Old Man Yao gave a strange laugh, his eyes carrying an indescribable suggestiveness.
Seeing Old Man Yao's odd expression, Xiao Yan sensed that something was wrong and hurriedly looked down.
Mm. Cold and breezy. Completely bare.
"You shameless old man, what are you thinking about all day?!"
Xiao Yan's handsome face flushed bright red. After angrily cursing the unscrupulous old man, he hastily took out some clothes from his Storage Ring and threw them on in a rush.
After enduring the torment of the Heavenly Flame and cold spring for so long, he had become extremely numb to changes in temperature, to the point where he could barely feel them at all.
After tidying himself up, Xiao Yan paused and voiced the doubt in his heart. "Teacher, why did Ruoruo suddenly leave when I was swallowing the Heavenly