Seizing the Fragmented Map

Little Doctor Fairy leaned softly against the headboard, watching Ye Xiu stand up and walk toward the door.

When he reached the doorway, Ye Xiu turned back to glance at her.

"If you can't handle the cultivation next time, just say so. Don't force yourself."

Little Doctor Fairy's face flushed red again, and she lowered her head to let out a soft "Mm."

The door closed.

She sat alone in the darkness, covering her burning face, remaining motionless for a long time.

After a good while, she muttered in a low voice: "Master is just too strong..."

Then, she buried herself under the quilt, curling into a ball.

Ye Xiu went downstairs, had the innkeeper prepare some food, and carried the tray back upstairs.

Pushing the door open, Little Doctor Fairy had already recovered and was sitting on the edge of the bed adjusting her clothes. Seeing Ye Xiu enter, she stood up and took the tray to place it on the table.

"Master, let me."

Ye Xiu sat by the table, watching her set out the meal and hand him the chopsticks.

The two ate without a word.

After finishing, Little Doctor Fairy cleared the bowls and chopsticks, carrying the tray to take it back downstairs.

When she reached the door, she paused and looked back at Ye Xiu.

"Master, shall we cultivate together again tomorrow?"

Ye Xiu looked at her: "Do you want to?"

Little Doctor Fairy nodded and whispered: "I do."

"Then we shall."

Little Doctor Fairy gave a sweet smile and pushed the door open to leave.

Ye Xiu leaned back in his chair, looking toward the doorway.

This little girl was certainly becoming more and more open.

He stood up, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

Outside was the night view of Mo City, the earthy-yellow houses shimmering with a faint silver glow under the moonlight. Looking further west, there was only a pitch-black expanse where nothing could be seen.

That was the Tagor Desert.

The Snake-Person Race tribes, the Green Lotus Core Flame, Queen Medusa.

Ye Xiu narrowed his eyes.

It was almost time.

Once the sign-in was successful and he broke through to Dou Huang, even that woman would have to make way for him.

He closed the window, returned to the bed, sat cross-legged, and began to regulate his breathing.

The Dou Qi within his body was much more active than before, thanks to the recent cultivation. He closed his eyes and continued to circulate his technique, grinding away at that bottleneck bit by bit.

The moon outside the window rose slowly, then slowly descended.

As dawn approached, Ye Xiu opened his eyes.

He looked down at his hands and clenched his fists.

He was one step closer to a four-star Dou Wang.

At this rate, after another four or five days of cultivation, he should be able to break through.

By then, he would go to the Snake-Person Race tribes to sign in and instantly become a four-star Dou Huang.

Ye Xiu's lips curled up.

However, before that, he still needed to see someone and retrieve something.

Ye Xiu told Little Doctor Fairy he was heading out and left the inn.

He walked along the street, turned through a few alleys, and before long, spotted a shop with a wooden sign hanging at the entrance, inscribed with two characters: Gu Tu.

This was the place.

Ye Xiu pushed the door and entered. The shop was quite dim, with maps hanging all over the walls—large and small, new and old, everything imaginable. An old man with graying hair and deep wrinkles sat behind the counter, his head lowered as he drew a map.

Ye Xiu swept a glance at him.

The old man looked ordinary, but with a sweep of his soul power, Ye Xiu sensed that the Dou Qi within this person's body had been sealed by something. However, the foundation was still there; it had to be Hai Bodong, no doubt about it.

Ye Xiu didn't say a word and began to wander around the shop.

As he walked, he scanned the maps with his soul power. There were too many maps in the shop to flip through one by one, but using his soul power made it much faster.

Before long, Ye Xiu sensed it.

On the third shelf against the wall, tucked among a pile of scrolls, was a tattered piece of parchment. A strange aura faintly emanated from that parchment, distinct from everything else around it.

Ye Xiu walked over and reached out to pull out the remnant map.

The map was small, about the size of two palms pressed together, with tattered edges and messy lines drawn all over it; it looked no different from an ordinary map. But Ye Xiu knew that this was one of the fragments of the Purifying Lotus Demonic Flame.

He took the fragment to the counter and placed it on the table.

"I want this map. Name your price."

The old man looked up, glanced at Ye Xiu, then at the fragment. His eyes flickered, but his face remained expressionless.

"Little brother, this map is not for sale."

Ye Xiu looked at him and smiled. "Not for sale? Then why do you have it on display in your shop?"

The old man replied, "Can't I just display it for people to look at?"

Ye Xiu didn't respond; he just stared at him.

The old man felt uncomfortable under his gaze and was about to lower his head to continue drawing when Ye Xiu suddenly spoke.

"Hai Bodong."

The old man's hand trembled, and the brush in his hand nearly fell onto the table. He looked up, staring at Ye Xiu, his expression changing instantly.

"What did you call me?"

Ye Xiu said, "Hai Bodong, one of the top ten powerhouses of the Jia Ma Empire, the Ice Emperor. You had your cultivation sealed by Medusa and have been hiding in Mo City running a map shop for decades. Am I wrong?"

Hai Bodong's face darkened, and the aura on his body surged. Even though his cultivation was sealed, that fierce edge remained.

"Kid, who are you?"

Ye Xiu said, "You don't need to worry about who I am. I want this map. Name your price."

Hai Bodong sneered. "Do you even know what this map is? You dare to ask for it?"

"Whether I know or not is none of your business," Ye Xiu said.

Hai Bodong's expression grew even uglier.

He stared at Ye Xiu, then slowly stood up, his Dou Qi beginning to circulate.

"Kid, even if my cultivation is sealed, I, Hai Bodong, am not someone just anyone can bully. If you don't explain yourself clearly today, don't think about walking out of this door."

As he spoke, a frigid aura radiated from his body, and the temperature in the shop dropped by several degrees.

Ye Xiu looked at him, not moving.

"Dou Ling?" Ye Xiu said. "Is that it?"

Hai Bodong's face changed, and before he could react, a terrifying aura erupted from Ye Xiu.

That aura pressed down like a massive mountain, instantly shattering the Dou Qi he had just gathered. Hai Bodong felt his legs go weak, and he nearly collapsed to the floor.

He looked up at Ye Xiu, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

"Dou... Dou Wang?!"

Ye Xiu didn't speak; he just looked at him.

Hai Bodong's face turned from green to white. He had spent decades in the Jia Ma Empire; what kind of people hadn't he seen? But a Dou Wang of this age? He hadn't even heard of such a thing, let alone seen it.

"Who... who exactly are you?"

Ye Xiu withdrew his aura and leaned against the counter. "Like I said, you don't need to worry about who I am. Are you selling the map or not?"

Hai Bodong remained silent for a long while.

He looked at Ye Xiu, then at the fragment on the table, and steeled his heart.

"I'm not selling!"

Ten minutes later.

Hai Bodong sat behind the counter, his face bruised and swollen, a trace of blood hanging from the corner of his mouth. He had tried to fight back earlier, only to be pinned to the ground and beaten by Ye Xiu. Now, he was behaving.

Ye Xiu stood before the counter, holding the fragment and looking at him.

"Speak up, how much?"

Hai Bodong rubbed his face, wincing in pain.

"Fi... fifty thousand."