A Parting Gift

"Brother Gu Fengchen, you're awful." After hearing Gu Fengchen's teasing, Gu Xun'er symbolically punched his chest, though she could not hide the disappointment on her face. Today was the day she would leave for the Xiao Clan.

Gu Xun'er hesitated for a moment before suddenly saying, "Actually, actually... Brother Gu Fengchen, I've always admired you. I don't like boys my age because they're too childish and full of themselves. They always think being born into the Gu Clan means everything will go smoothly. But Brother Gu Fengchen is different. You're so handsome, so smart. Whenever I'm with you, I'm always happy and feel so safe."

Now it was Gu Fengchen's turn to feel awkward.

You'd better think those words through. You're coming at me so directly that I don't even know how to respond.

Perhaps it was because they were about to part that Gu Xun'er had finally bared her heart. She was afraid that if she did not say it now, she would never get another chance.

"Brother Gu Fengchen, I'm leaving. Don't you have a gift for Xun'er?" Gu Xun'er looked at Gu Fengchen with a gentle gaze.

A gift?

Gu Fengchen's heart skipped a beat, but he did not want to deceive Gu Xun'er either. He honestly said, "I... I forgot to prepare one."

"You can think of something on the spot. How can you have everything prepared when roaming the world?" Gu Xun'er spread her hands and spoke with the air of an old-timer.

Think of something on the spot?

Gu Fengchen thought for a moment, then suddenly said, "Have you ever seen stars during the day?"

Gu Xun'er raised her little face to look at the sky and muttered, "Stars in the daytime? No."

"Then look into my eyes and count how many stars are in them." As Gu Fengchen spoke, their eyes met.

The stars in Gu Fengchen's eyes were not some abstract figure of speech. There really were stars in them!

Gu Fengchen's gaze suddenly became deep and ethereal, carrying a mysterious and lofty aura as a brilliant river of stars flowed within his eyes.

Although the Three Thousand Burning Flame Body was only at its first level, some of its outward "special effects" were already impressive enough.

Looking into Gu Fengchen's eyes, Gu Xun'er seemed to truly see a sky full of stars.

Gu Xun'er stared earnestly into Gu Fengchen's eyes, as though she were genuinely counting the stars within them.

Gu Xun'er would never forget this moment for the rest of her life.

Gu Fengchen and Gu Xun'er left the Gu Clan at almost the same time.

Before leaving the Gu Clan, Gu Fengchen specifically asked Dou Emperor Ling Ying to look after Gu Xun'er.

Ling Ying had always thought highly of Gu Fengchen, and he also knew how his young lady felt about him. Naturally, he would not allow some wild bastard from outside to defile his young lady, so he readily agreed.

Besides bidding Gu Xun'er farewell, Gu Yuan also asked Gu Fengchen if there was anything he wanted before they parted.

Gu Fengchen decided to fleece the Gu Clan one last time, so he asked for a Sixth-Grade Pill.

The Breaking Barrier Pill.

A Sixth-Grade Pill that was incomparably precious in the outside world was practically obtained with a single word in the Gu Clan. Gu Yuan simply found an Alchemist to refine it.

Although Gu Yuan did not know what the boy wanted the pill for, he could not be bothered to ask over a mere Sixth-Grade Pill.

Gu Xun'er had Ling Ying to protect her, while Gu Fengchen was alone, so it was not strange for Gu Yuan to give him a pill as well.

As for why Gu Fengchen had traded Gu Yuan's chance to hand out benefits for a Breaking Barrier Pill—

It was because the Breaking Barrier Pill was connected to the Ice Emperor, Hai Bodong, one of the Top Ten Experts of the Jia Ma Empire.

This Dou Emperor Expert had once achieved the astonishing Battle Record of freezing an entire city.

As for why Gu Fengchen wanted to help him, the reason was simple.

At the end of the day, Hai Bodong was merely an old man with a strange temperament, but his nature was not bad. In fact, judging by how Hai Bodong would later go through fire and water for Xiao Yan, he was quite a loyal man.

He had once been a genuine Dou Emperor Expert.

However, decades ago, Queen Medusa had sealed his Dou Qi in the Tagor Desert with her Serpent Seal Curse, suppressing his strength to the Dou Ling level.

This Snake Seal Curse was extremely terrifying. Not only did it rapidly age the body, it also caused one's strength to continuously decline.

By the timeline, Hai Bodong should not yet have fallen to the Dou Ling level, but he was close.

The Breaking Barrier Pill, meanwhile, could help him break the seal and return to the strength of a Dou Emperor.

Although the Breaking Barrier Pill was a Sixth-Grade Pill, it was more precious than many Seventh-Grade Pills.

Because even a seventh-grade Alchemist could not refine this pill without a Heavenly Flame.

The prerequisite for refining a Breaking Barrier Pill was possessing a Heavenly Flame.

Even Gu He and the other master Alchemists of the Jia Ma Empire could not refine it.

Only after obtaining the Breaking Barrier Pill would Gu Fengchen have a way to find Hai Bodong, obtain a map of the Tagor Desert from him, and search for the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Beyond that, Gu Fengchen also wanted to use Hai Bodong to establish connections with the Mite'er Family. If they had any precious Medicinal Herbs or pills in the future, he would be the first to learn of them.

Of course, he also hoped to make Hai Bodong owe him a favor. A favor from a Dou Emperor Expert would be quite useful in the early stages.

Besides the Breaking Barrier Pill, Gu Yuan also gave Gu Fengchen twenty portions of the Tier 2 Medicinal Pill Qi Augmenting Powder and thirty portions of the third-grade Qi Recovery Pill.

Gu Yuan had taken the initiative to stuff them into Gu Fengchen's hands.

The former was especially useful for assisting the cultivation of a Dou Zhe.

Although Gu Fengchen, who possessed the Taotie Seal, had no use for Qi Augmenting Powder at all, the latter, the Qi Recovery Pill, was still very useful for restoring spiritual Qi even at the Dou Shi level.

This was the old man's goodwill, so Gu Fengchen naturally accepted nature's bounty.

And even if he did not use them himself, he could always sell them at the Mitel Auction House for money.

After all, these had been refined by the Gu Clan's high-grade Alchemists, so their quality was undoubtedly perfect.

Furthermore, before leaving, Gu Fengchen had also completely gained control over the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame.

It was a Heavenly Flame, after all, and still retained some wildness.

At first, he might burst into flames even while speaking. Now, he could control the fire as he pleased, summoning and extinguishing it with a thought, freely using the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame to help refine his Dou Qi.

After returning to his residence, Gu Fengchen stretched lazily. Sitting cross-legged in one position all night had left him somewhat tired, but he wanted to test something.

After making sure the door was tightly shut, Gu Fengchen extended his right hand, and a wisp of crimson-gold flame appeared in his palm.

Gu Fengchen sat cross-legged as an incomparably sacred golden flame rose from his slightly spread palm. The sight carried a faintly stunning visual impact!

The Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame!

No, it was not the complete Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame. This flame possessed only a tiny fraction of the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame's power.

Gu Fengchen discovered that after the Taotie Seal devoured a Heavenly Flame, it did not merely increase his own Dou Qi cultivation. It also granted him partial access to use the Heavenly Flame.

Of course, compared to the complete Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame, this wisp of his was likely not even one-thousandth as powerful.

It was a pity he had discovered it too late. If he had realized earlier, spending every day being affectionate with little sister Xun'er should have allowed him to absorb some of the Heavenly Flame's energy.

Moreover, this absorption would have no effect whatsoever on Gu Xun'er.

The Heavenly Flame had always existed within Xun'er's body, endlessly replenishing itself, just like the Falling Heart Flame.

Although Xiao Yan had taken away the Falling Heart Flame, causing the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda to lose its cultivation-accelerating effect, Xiao Yan later separated a portion of the Falling Heart Flame's fire seed and placed it in the Heavenly Flame Refining Pagoda, restoring its function.

Therefore, the Taotie Seal's devouring was similar to Gu Xun'er separating a portion of the fire seed and planting it within Gu Fengchen's body.

Naturally, Gu Xun'er knew nothing about this.

Back to the Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame.

Even though Gu Fengchen only possessed a small portion of it within his body, a Heavenly Flame was still a Heavenly Flame.

Using it in battle would certainly achieve unexpected results.

The Golden Emperor Sky Burning Flame ranked fourth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. Its rank was high enough, and it was the Heavenly Flame inherited by the Gu Clan—outsiders could not obtain it!