Battle Through the Heavens: Obtaining the Extraction System at the Start

Just as Xiao Yan was about to speak and ask again, Yao Yue spoke first. "Are you Xiao Yan, the Third Young Master of the Xiao Family? The fiancé of Nalan Yanran, the Misty Cloud Sect Young Sect Master."

Hearing Yao Yue's question, Xiao Yan nodded. "That's right, I'm Xiao Yan. As for being the fiancé of the Misty Cloud Sect Young Sect Master, I don't know much about that myself. I only heard my father mention that before I was born, my grandfather Xiao Lin and Old Master Nalan Jie of the Nalan Family made a verbal agreement. After Nalan Yanran and I were born, we were betrothed. I only met Nalan Yanran once when we were children, and now I don't even know what she looks like. If the Misty Cloud Sect Young Sect Master Nalan Yanran and the Nalan Family's Nalan Yanran are the same person, then she should be my fiancée. It's just that I can no longer cultivate now, so I don't know whether she'll still think I'm good enough for her."

Thinking of how his cultivation had fallen to the third stage of Dou Qi when he was twelve, Xiao Yan felt a wave of bitterness. But then he recalled what his father had told him: once Xiao Ling returned, he would help solve the problem with his body. Xiao Yan's dejected mood soon recovered.

After hearing Xiao Yan's account, Yao Yue nodded slightly and teased him, "Then let me tell you: that Misty Cloud Sect Young Sect Master, Nalan Yanran, is the eldest daughter of the Nalan Family in the Imperial Capital—your fiancée. At the Misty Cloud Sect's disciple recruitment assembly years ago, she was accepted as a personal disciple by Yun Yun, the current sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect. Later, she gained the recognition of the Gate of Death, the Misty Cloud Sect's trial ground, and became the Misty Cloud Sect Young Sect Master. With her stunning appearance and outstanding cultivation talent, she has countless admirers in the Imperial Capital. Even Liu Ling, the personal disciple of Gu He—the Misty Cloud Sect's Guest Elder and a Sixth-grade Alchemist—has long been enamored with your fiancée, Nalan Yanran."

Xiao Yan was somewhat surprised by Yao Yue's words. He had never expected that the little girl he had met once as a child had now become the Misty Cloud Sect Young Sect Master.

As for how sought-after she was, although Xiao Yan felt somewhat displeased, he did not take it too seriously. To Xiao Yan, who had lived in twenty-first-century Blue Star, such a betrothal meant nothing. What he believed in was freedom to love.

Now that his cultivation could not improve, if Nalan Yanran did not think highly of him and did not wish to honor the engagement, she only needed to pretend that the matter had never happened.

After all, the engagement had merely been something their elders casually mentioned back then. His grandfather had died from severe injuries sustained in battle with an enemy when Xiao Yan was three, leaving one fewer witness to the engagement. As long as the Nalan Family refused to acknowledge it, outsiders would have nothing to say.

Besides, as long as his cultivation talent could be restored, Xiao Yan believed that with his own efforts, catching up to—and even surpassing—Nalan Yanran would only be a matter of time. By then, perhaps he would be the one who did not think highly of Nalan Yanran.

Shaking his head, Xiao Yan spoke with a self-mocking smile. "Your Highness, please stop teasing me. How could someone like the Misty Cloud Sect Young Sect Master possibly think highly of a useless waste like me, someone who cannot cultivate?"

Covering her mouth as she chuckled, Yao Yue said playfully, "At least you know yourself. Still, your optimistic personality is rather interesting."

After a brief pause, Yao Yue continued, "But I've become rather curious about your strange constitution. Your family previously invited my teacher to examine you, yet he found nothing unusual. Before I left this time, President Fama also told me that if you went to the Imperial Capital, he could examine you himself."

Xiao Yan waved his hand. "Please thank President Fama for his invitation, but there's no need to trouble him. Once I arrive in the Imperial Capital and my cousin Xiao Ling returns to the Xiao Family, he will personally examine me. If even my cousin cannot find the problem, then asking President Fama would be redundant."

Xiao Yan was no fool. He had attended university in his previous life, after all; he was not like some reckless brute surnamed Lin who mistook five characters for three. President Fama simply wanted the Xiao Family to owe him a favor. Back when they had asked him to treat Xiao Yan, he had looked down on the payment offered by the Xiao Family. Now that the Xiao Family had produced someone like Xiao Ling, he wanted to get close to them.

"I see. With your cousin Xiao Ling examining you, there's indeed no need for President Fama to intervene. I heard from my great-grandfather that Master Xiao Ling's Alchemy Art is even more profound than Gu He's. Perhaps he may be able to cure you," Yao Yue replied, stroking her chin.

"But since you've appeared before this princess, I'd like to see exactly what is going on with your strange constitution. After all, I am the Jia Ma Empire's most gifted alchemist aside from Master Xiao Ling. I refined a Third-grade Pill when I was twelve years old. Perhaps I can discover some clue within your body." As soon as she finished speaking, Yao Yue suddenly appeared before Xiao Yan and scrutinized him from head to toe with curious eyes.

Xiao Yan's cultivation was only at the third stage of Dou Qi, so he naturally could not react in time. Startled by Yao Yue's sudden appearance, he took a step back.

Hearing that Yao Yue wanted to examine his body, Xiao Yan did not really believe she had that ability. Even her teacher had been unable to detect anything unusual about his constitution, so how could Yao Yue, his student, notice it? Still, considering that she was the little princess of the imperial family, Xiao Yan decided to cooperate with her request. "Then, Your Highness, how should I cooperate?"

Hearing Xiao Yan agree to her proposal, Yao Yue nodded in satisfaction. Pointing toward the grass nearby, she said eagerly, "Sit on the lawn and adjust yourself to your best condition. I'll examine your body."

Xiao Yan did not object to Yao Yue's arrangement and sat down on the grass.

Yao Yue released her Soul Power and began carefully inspecting Xiao Yan's body.

As an unusual sensation spread throughout his body, Xiao Yan felt as though he had been stripped naked and seen through completely. His face could not help turning red.

However, seeing Yao Yue's serious expression, Xiao Yan stopped letting his thoughts wander and quickly calmed down.

After a while, Yao Yue shook her head and said helplessly, "I carefully examined your condition and found that you're not ill at all. Your meridians are also as strong as those of an ordinary Dou Zhe. I assume that's because you broke through to the Dou Zhe realm before. If your cultivation talent can be restored, the time you need to cultivate back to Dou Zhe will definitely be much shorter than before. Unfortunately, I've never heard of any pills that can assist cultivation at the Dou Qi stage. Otherwise, you could use pills to quickly recover your former realm."

Xiao Yan scratched his head, never expecting to receive such good news. Although Master Mitchell had also said there was nothing wrong with his body, he had not mentioned anything about his meridians. Xiao Yan did not know whether Mitchell had failed to notice or simply could not be bothered to mention it.

Perhaps Cousin Xiao Ling possessed pills that could be used during the Dou Qi stage. If he could restore his cultivation through pills, it would be far easier than cultivating normally.

After a slight pause, Yao Yue spoke again. "Try cultivating now. I'll examine how your Dou Qi disappears."

Xiao Yan nodded and formed the cultivation hand seal. The Dou Qi within his body began to circulate.

Threads of faint white airflow drilled in from the air into Xiao Yan's body, entering his meridians and beginning to circulate according to the method of cultivating Dou Qi.

Just as those faint white streams were about to complete one cycle within Xiao Yan's body, the ancient black ring on his finger suddenly flashed with white light, unnoticed by either Xiao Yan or Yao Yue. The Dou Qi that was about to be absorbed then vanished without a trace.

Feeling the familiar occurrence happen to him again, Xiao Yan sighed helplessly. Looking toward Yao Yue, who was stroking her chin in thought, he asked curiously, "Your Highness, did you notice any problem?"

Yao Yue did not answer directly. Instead, she said, "Continue cultivating. I wasn't concentrating just now."

Seeing this, Xiao Yan could only comply. In any case, he had no friends in the Xiao Family and could not cultivate now. Spending some time chatting with this little princess was not so bad.

Forming the cultivation hand seal again, Xiao Yan once more began absorbing the faint white energy in the air, intending to refine it within his body.

Yet whenever those faint white streams were about to be refined by Xiao Yan, they seemed to disappear into thin air without leaving any trace.

"No, no, I got distracted just now. Start over."

"This time I was just a little short. I'll discover the problem soon. Try again."

"I'm a little tired this time. I'll definitely find it next time. One more time..."

Inside the neat room, a crimson Medicine Cauldron slowly spun in midair. Golden flames surged violently within it, and as the crimson cauldron rotated, ripples of faint energy continuously spread through the surrounding space. Centered on the Medicine Cauldron, these energy ripples expanded outward in circles in every direction, silently dissipating just before they touched the walls...

Within the flame-filled Medicine Cauldron, a thumb-sized Light Purple Pill Prototype slowly took shape amid the blazing fire. At a certain moment, a rich dark-purple pill fragrance suddenly wafted out from the cauldron, filling the room and lingering for a long time.

When pill fragrance overflowed, it was generally a sign that a high-grade pill was about to take shape. Before long, this Sixth-grade Po E Dan would be successfully refined.

Xiao Ling had not left any hidden trick inside the pill as Xiao Yan had in the original story. First, this was a transaction, and as an alchemist, Xiao Ling had no intention of violating professional ethics. Second, even if Hai Bodong regained the combat strength of a Dou Emperor and tried to seize the remaining half of the Fragment Map, Xiao Ling was confident that he could subdue him. At the time, however, Xiao Yan had only been a Dou Shi, and if Yao Chen acted, it would consume a great deal of Soul Power.

With a wave of his hand, crimson-gold flames within the Medicine Cauldron suddenly surged. In the blink of an eye, they completely enveloped the purple Pill Prototype and began the final round of intense burning.

The crimson-gold flames rose for only an instant before swiftly fading away. As the flames vanished, a thumb-sized, perfectly round pill of pale purple, giving off a faint glow, spun once and appeared within the Medicine Cauldron.

At the instant the purple pill appeared, a fierce energy ripple violently erupted from within it. Though the Medicine Cauldron intercepted part of the ripple, the rest still seeped out and rushed fiercely in every direction. If allowed to spread freely, this room would surely collapse at once.

Xiao Ling glanced indifferently at the rapidly spreading energy ripples and casually waved his fair hand. In an instant, an invisible force of Soul Power formed a transparent energy barrier within the room.

When the energy ripples struck the barrier formed from Soul Power, the two collided. At once, waves of energy ripples appeared across the invisible barrier, like a stone thrown into a lake.

The ripples gradually weakened from violent to faint, and after a moment, they finally dissipated completely.

Only after the final energy ripple had vanished did Xiao Ling withdraw the soul barrier. Beckoning toward the Medicine Cauldron, he drew the pale purple pill out as it was expelled from the cauldron, whereupon it obediently landed in his palm.

Holding the Light Purple pill, Xiao Ling turned it over and over in his hand, examining it carefully.

The pill's surface was light purple, perfectly round and lustrous. Moreover, faintly etched across its surface were strange patterns that did not seem man-made. The winding lines resembled a special painting filled with hidden meaning. Observing the Po E Dan from up close, Xiao Ling could vaguely sense the strange power contained within it. Perhaps this was the key component capable of breaking a Seal...

Xiao Ling nodded slightly and muttered to himself, "The Po E Dan is finally complete. There's absolutely nothing to fault with its quality. It took me nearly two and a half days to finish—much longer than the Sixth-grade Pills I refined for the elders at the Inner Academy."

Taking his gaze off the Po E Dan, Xiao Ling retrieved an exquisitely crafted Jade Bottle from his Ring and carefully placed the pill inside. He then looked toward the large pile of remaining medicinal ingredients on the table, grinned, and unceremoniously swept all those rare herbs into his Ring.

"Being an Alchemist really is an easy way to make money. Never mind other alchemists—someone like me, with such a high success rate in pill refinement, gets to stuff heaps and heaps of medicinal ingredients into my own Ring." After putting away the ingredients, Xiao Ling could not help muttering to himself.

After storing the Medicine Cauldron before him in his Ring as well, Xiao Ling stood up and stretched. He straightened his slightly rumpled robes, picked up the Jade Bottle containing the Po E Dan, and looked around the room. Once he confirmed that he had left nothing behind, he headed toward the door with light steps.

In the somewhat dim corridor, Hai Bodong leaned against the wall. Although his aged face appeared rather calm, his fingers kept tapping against the wall, revealing just how nervous and agitated he truly was.

As he felt time slowly pass, Hai Bodong turned to glance at the tightly shut room at the end of the corridor, his brows knitting involuntarily. A moment later, he sighed. The ingredients for refining the Po E Dan were not easy to find. It had taken him nearly several years to gather them all. If Xiao Ling failed, then his hope of recovering his strength would likely have to be postponed yet again...

Rubbing his palms together, Hai Bodong's calm face finally began to reveal a trace of worry. He muttered softly, "Could he have failed? Sigh, perhaps I was too rash. That fellow may have reached the Dou Wang realm, and his talent may be monstrous, but he is still far too young... Even if he had started practicing Alchemy Art from the moment he was in his mother's womb, it would only have been a little over a decade... How much mastery of Alchemy Art could he possibly have gained in ten-odd years?"

His fist slammed heavily into his palm as Hai Bodong's expression shifted repeatedly. After a moment, he shook his head dejectedly and gave a bitter smile. "At this point, I can only hope that fellow brings about some miracle. After all, he possesses that terrifying golden Heavenly Flame..."

Time trickled by, and as it passed, the atmosphere in the corridor gradually became tinged with impatience.

His fingers tapped the wall restlessly. At one point, Dou Qi suddenly coiled around his fingertips, and when they struck down hard, they actually punched a hole through the wall.

"I'll go take a look!" Hai Bodong's dry face twitched. Unable to endure the torment of waiting any longer, he drew a hard breath, abruptly turned around, and was about to head down the corridor.

The instant Hai Bodong turned, his body suddenly stiffened. Astonishment spread across his face as he stared blankly at the blue-robed youth leaning against the corridor wall and smiling at him. After quite a while, he swallowed and hurried forward several steps, asking anxiously, "Master Xiao Ling, did the Po E Dan refinement succeed?"

Xiao Ling spread his hands and slowly walked toward the eager-faced Hai Bodong. With a casual flick of his hand, a Jade Bottle flew toward him. "I got fairly lucky and barely succeeded. Fortunately, you prepared enough ingredients, which gave me some room for error. This is also my first time refining such an obscure prescription."

Watching the Jade Bottle fly over, Hai Bodong practically scrambled to catch it, looking utterly disheveled. As though receiving his own son, he carefully cradled it in both hands. Gazing at the purple pill inside the bottle, wild joy and shock surged onto his aged face.

His joy naturally came from obtaining the Po E Dan he had long wished for. His shock... came from the fact that he still found it difficult to believe that the seemingly sixteen-year-old youngster before him had perfectly refined a Sixth-grade Pill that even Pill King Gu He found difficult to produce, and in barely a day at that...

As expected of the Jia Ma Empire's Number One Genius. He truly cannot be judged by the standards used for ordinary people. At that moment, Hai Bodong had already developed a blind confidence in Xiao Ling.

Storing the Jade Bottle containing the Po E Dan in his Ring, Hai Bodong cupped his hands toward Xiao Ling and said solemnly, "Thank you, Master Xiao Ling, for refining this pill for me. This old man has been trapped at the Dou Ling realm for decades. Now, I can finally recover my Dou Emperor cultivation and no longer need to live out a wretched existence in seclusion at the edge of the Tagor Desert. Once my cultivation is restored, should Master Xiao Ling require any assistance, Hai Bodong and the Mite'er Family will spare no effort."

Hearing Hai Bodong's solemn words, Xiao Ling nodded slightly and answered with a smile, "With Elder Hai's word, I can rest assured. But since Elder Hai has received the Po E Dan, shouldn't you hand over the Fragment Map that was part of our deal?"

At Xiao Ling's mention of the Fragment Map, Hai Bodong could not help falling into thought.

Although Hai Bodong did not know what use these Fragment Maps had, he still understood that the secret they concealed could not be insignificant. After all, back then, even an expert of Queen Medusa's caliber had crossed thousands of miles to pursue him because of these Fragment Maps.

However, since he had failed to obtain any useful information from this Fragment Map after so many years, it seemed that he simply had no fate with the secret recorded upon it.

This Xiao Ling was only fifteen, yet his cultivation had already broken through to the Dou Wang realm, while his Alchemy Art had reached the sixth grade. His future prospects were surely limitless. Handing over this unknown Fragment Map would also allow him to build a good relationship with him. Perhaps in the future, he might even rely on Xiao Ling's help to advance his cultivation further.

With a bitter sigh, Hai Bodong rubbed his finger over his Ring. A small piece of extremely ancient-looking yellowed parchment appeared in his palm. Gently stroking the small, ancient Fragment Map with great reluctance, Hai Bodong sighed. "I have made maps for decades, yet I have never seen one so complex. Not long after obtaining it, I once tried to copy this Fragment Map. Yet the map I drew turned out strangely and completely different from the original. I tried several times, but could only abandon the idea. I suppose it may have something to do with the fact that the map is incomplete."

Reluctantly stroking the Fragment Map for a long while, Hai Bodong finally shook his head in frustration and handed it to Xiao Ling with a bitter smile. "Sigh, take it. In my experience, these Fragment Maps should have been divided into quite a few pieces. Holding only this one piece is of little use, and finding the other fragments across this vast continent would be even harder than finding a needle in the sea."

Smiling, Xiao Ling reached out and took the Fragment Map, which felt rather smooth to the touch, and examined it from top to bottom. A faint sense of age and antiquity washed over him. It seemed that this Fragment Map had existed for no short time.

Holding this small fragment, Xiao Ling retrieved the other small piece he had taken from Hai Bodong previously from his Ring. He put them together slightly, and only after discovering that their joined edges had not the slightest gap did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

"Hehe, Master Xiao Ling, it seems you're quite interested in these Fragment Maps?" Watching Xiao Ling, Hai Bodong's eyes shifted as he asked with a chuckle.

"I have quite a bit of interest in strange and unusual things like these." Xiao Ling smiled faintly, giving a rather vague answer.

"Master Xiao Ling, all the Fragment Maps I had are now in your pocket. Hehe... Could you tell me what exactly this thing is for? What can be obtained after gathering all the fragments?" Rubbing his hands together, Hai Bodong still could not suppress his curiosity as he asked with an embarrassed smile.

Hearing Hai Bodong's question, Xiao Ling rubbed his chin and began to think. Hai Bodong had paid a tremendous price to obtain this Fragment Map, only to spend decades without discovering the secret recorded upon it. Now that he had given it to someone else, he was surely curious about what it truly was. If he did not understand it, he might even spend his days and nights wondering what exactly was recorded on it.

Thinking of this, Xiao Ling decided to reveal a little to Hai Bodong and put an end to his inexplicable thoughts.