Mysterious Black Stone

Jia Ma Empire, Jia Ma Holy City

As the Imperial Capital of the Jia Ma Empire, Jia Ma Holy City was unmatched in both grandeur and size. Day or night, countless streams of people flowed through this magnificent city.

With the once-every-eight-years Alchemist Competition underway, Alchemists from the Jia Ma Empire and several neighboring empires had gathered here. Its appeal had made the Imperial Capital's crowds even more bustling.

Countless merchants had set up stalls throughout the streets and alleys. Those lucky enough to wander around for a while might stumble upon quite an opportunity.

"Old sir, how much is this?" A black-haired young man stood before a stall and asked the old man dozing on a bench.

"Ah?" The old man seemed to wake up groggily. He looked at the black-haired young man, then at the item in his hand, a flicker of surprise passing through his eyes.

"100,000 Gold Coins, plus a third-tier Magical Core." The old man spoke casually, but his price was anything but light. That amount was enough to buy a Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Skill, while the black-haired young man held nothing more than a black stone.

"Deal." Without hesitation, the black-haired young man readily took a 100,000 Gold Coin card and a third-tier wood-element Magical Core from his Storage Ring and placed them on the stall.

The old man nodded, signaling that the deal was complete. The black-haired young man said nothing further and turned to leave.

"Wait." The old man suddenly called out to him.

"What is it? You were the one who set the price, old sir." The black-haired young man stopped and turned back.

"Take this too." The old man tossed him a Scroll.

The black-haired young man caught it, froze for a moment, then bowed in thanks.

Only after the black-haired young man had gone far away did the old man's bleary eyes slowly open.

Watching his departing back, he smiled faintly and muttered, "Heavenly Flames... This Alchemist Competition is going to be quite a show."

The black-haired young man slowly shut the door, sat down on a stool in the guest room, and let out a long breath.

He placed a hand at the edge of his face. Strands of Dou Qi circulated, then he pinched the layer of skin and gently pulled. The skin covering the young man's face slowly peeled away and fell onto the table. Beneath that thin, silken layer of skin, a familiar face was revealed.

"My original face still feels more comfortable." Xiao Yan sighed softly and rubbed his facial muscles.

Earlier, he had been using the Ice Silkworm Mask Ya Fei had given him. First, he had recently treated Nalan Jie's Brand Poison. Second, he was currently entering the Alchemist Competition under Yan Xiao, an identity created by altering his appearance.

These actions were all for the sake of obtaining two items: Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva and the prescription for the Spirit Fusion Pill. They would solve Old Yao's slumber and the agreement he had reached with Medusa.

"I really picked up some good treasure today." Xiao Yan took out the two items he had obtained from the old man earlier and placed them on the table.

He first picked up the Scroll. Without another word, he untied its binding and opened it.

Five gilded words came into view—Nine Heavens Firefall Palm.

"Good heavens! A Profound Tier High Grade Dou Skill." Xiao Yan sucked in a breath, and a surge of relief rose within him. He had picked up a Profound Tier High Grade Dou Skill for free, and it was even a fire-element Dou Skill suited to him. If word got out, how many people would be green with envy?

Even Xiao Yan, despite encountering so many fortunate opportunities, only possessed one higher-tier Dou Skill—the Earth-tier Low Grade Flame Splitting Wave Crushing Ruler—which he treasured as one of his trump cards.

As for the old man's identity, Xiao Yan did not dare investigate further. Anyone capable of seeing through his Dou Qi attribute and casually tossing him a Profound Tier High Grade Dou Skill was certainly no ordinary person. Digging deeper would only bring him more trouble than benefit.

"I really hit the jackpot this time." Xiao Yan smiled and began carefully reading its contents.

The Nine Heavens Firefall Palm was an inherited Dou Skill of the Nine Heavens Sect, a fire-element sect in the southwestern desert. It used a special method to gather one's flames together with Dou Qi in the palm, then instantly trigger them into an explosive eruption, producing fierce flame blasts against the target. There were nine blasts in total, each layered atop the last, greatly increasing its power. The higher the quality of the wielder's flames, the stronger the flame blasts, their might approaching Earth Rank.

"Isn't this a Dou Skill designed specifically for me?" Xiao Yan was a little excited. With such a powerful Dou Skill, his chances of victory in his duel with Nalan Yanran a month from now would undoubtedly increase.

After putting away the Nine Heavens Firefall Palm, Xiao Yan shifted his gaze to the round stone lying on the table. When he had passed the Mysterious Old Man's stall and caught sight of this stone, the Heavenly Flames within his body had shown faint signs of agitation.

"Even soul probing can't tell me what's inside." Xiao Yan stroked the black round stone. Its surface did not feel like stone at all; it felt more like rubber.

He placed a slab of black iron on the floor, set the black stone atop it, then grabbed the Mysterious Heavy Ruler and smashed it down fiercely.

Clang!

A tremendous boom echoed through the guest room, making Xiao Yan's ears ring. Clearly, he had used too much force.

When he lifted the Mysterious Heavy Ruler, an astonishing sight appeared: the black stone was completely unscathed! Yet the black iron slab had been smashed into a dent by the stone from the impact.

"So hard!" Xiao Yan was utterly shocked. He hurriedly inspected the Mysterious Heavy Ruler, but fortunately, the material used to forge it was no ordinary thing. It had only suffered a tiny dent.

After returning the Mysterious Heavy Ruler to his Storage Ring, he picked up the black stone again and examined it from every angle. Then another idea came to him: since it could stir the Heavenly Flames within him, why not burn it with Heavenly Flames?

No sooner thought than done. Xiao Yan controlled his Dou Qi and floated the stone in midair. Then a cluster of green flames emerged in his palm and slowly covered the stone. The instant it touched the stone, the Green Lotus Core Flame erupted, swiftly enveloping it and blazing fiercely.

At first, the Heavenly Flame had no effect on the stone. But as time passed, strange patterns began to emerge across its surface!

"It really works!" Xiao Yan rejoiced and continued increasing the output of Heavenly Flame. The scorching flames grew stronger still, madly burning the black stone.

The number of patterns on the black stone steadily increased, gradually connecting together and forming peculiar symbols across its surface.

Finally, after about an hour, the strange symbols suddenly emitted dazzling light, illuminating the entire room. Xiao Yan was startled and immediately withdrew the Heavenly Flame, condensing a small Dou Qi barrier in front of himself. However, the explosion he expected never came. After a long while, he came to his senses, looked up at the ceiling, and froze.

The runes on the black stone had drawn a map across the ceiling, and its outline was that of the entire Western Region of the Dou Qi Continent!

Several red dots marked the map, and the names beside them made Xiao Yan unable to look away:

Sixteenth on the Exotic Flame Ranking, Fire Cloud Water Flame.

Eighteenth on the Exotic Flame Ranking, Storm Dragon Flame.

Twenty-third on the Exotic Flame Ranking, Profound Yellow Flame.

"Could these be the marked locations of three Heavenly Flames?" Xiao Yan swallowed. If it was true, then he had truly struck it rich this time...

If this map were thrown out into the world, it would incite a scramble among powers across the entire continent. After all, possessing three Heavenly Flames could raise a sect's strength by several levels.

"Was that old sir powerful enough not to care about Heavenly Flames, or had he failed to discover the secret within this stone?"

If the old man knew its secret, then what was his motive for giving Xiao Yan such an enormous benefit? The more Xiao Yan thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

Should I return the stone now?

At this moment, the Mysterious Old Man was lying atop a tall tower southwest of Jia Ma Holy City, holding a crude wine jug and taking occasional sips.

"So it really needed Heavenly Flames to open it..." The old man sighed, his tone carrying a trace of regret. "A map to three Heavenly Flames, no less."

But then he shrugged indifferently and sighed. "Forget it. This is an opportunity for the young. An old man like me, with one foot in the grave, won't meddle. These low-ranked Heavenly Flames are of little use to me anyway."

Just then, a black figure flashed behind him, knelt lightly, and called out, "Elder Mo."

"Mhm. Are the preparations complete?" The old man nodded and asked.

"Everything has been arranged," the black figure replied.

"Then leave. You are no match for Jia Xingtian of the Jia Ma Imperial Family. It would be troublesome if he discovered you. Leave the Imperial Capital as soon as possible." The old man waved a hand, signaling him to depart.

"Yes!" The black figure nodded, transformed into a cloud of Dark Mist, and vanished.

"The matters in the Western Region have been arranged. Once I complete this final little task, it will be time for me to return." The old man took a deep swig of cloudy wine, narrowed his eyes, and watched the sun set in the west.