The Captured Nalan Yanran

"Want to see what my face looks like? No." Xiao Yan immediately shook his head.

There was no way he could take off the mask.

If he did, he would definitely be recognized.

Being recognized now would do him no good, and might even bring him trouble.

"Do you have anything else? If not, leave. Don't disturb me." Xiao Yan's tone carried a hint of impatience.

A flash of regret crossed Nalan Yanran's eyes. She did not dare force Xiao Yan to answer and could only say, "Yes, Master Yan. During the Alchemist Conference, I will certainly await your arrival at the Nalan Clan."

After saying that, Nalan Yanran left alone.

For some reason, Xiao Yan had an inexplicable premonition.

Something would happen after Nalan Yanran left this time!

But a premonition was only a premonition, and Xiao Yan did not take it seriously.

Once Nalan Yanran disappeared from his sight, he set off to look for the map shop called Ancient Map from the original story.

"Excuse me, where is the best map shop in this city?" Xiao Yan stopped a passing young woman and asked softly.

His voice was magnetic. The moment he spoke, it was like an electric current passing through the young woman's body.

The young woman instantly squeezed her legs together, finding the faint medicinal fragrance emanating from Xiao Yan especially pleasant.

"O-over there..." The young woman weakly pointed in a direction.

"Thank you." Xiao Yan nodded his thanks, then quickly withdrew and left.

He felt as if he had undergone some inexplicable change.

Now, he seemed especially likely to win men's favor and women's affection.

Thinking it over, it seemed to have begun with that transformation when his physical strength advanced to Fifth Rank.

At the time, he had only thought it was a simple improvement in his appearance and had not paid it much attention.

But now that he looked at it...

It seemed it was not that simple.

"Perhaps it's because I only came into contact with Xiao Yi Xian and Yun Yun back then. Otherwise, I wouldn't have noticed this change in myself only now," Xiao Yan thought to himself.

After walking for a while.

Xiao Yan stopped in front of the map shop named Ancient Map.

He then took out a black robe from his Storage Ring, one that represented the identity of a Sixth-Rank Alchemist.

The robes of high-ranking Alchemists were made from excellent materials. They were impervious to water and fire and possessed considerable defensive power.

The robe was black as its base, embellished with golden patterns. It was noble, elegant, and perfectly fitting.

After Xiao Yan put it on, his figure filled out the robe, making him seem even more composed and mysterious.

After glancing once more at the shop's name, he stepped inside.

Tagor Desert.

The Snake-People Tribe's main territory, with humans occupying only part of the region.

Under normal circumstances, nothing would happen while traveling through areas controlled by humans.

But nothing was absolute. There were always unlucky people who ran into unlucky things.

Nalan Yanran hugged her knees, feeling that her luck was truly terrible.

After leaving Desert City, she had wanted to stroll around the outskirts of the Tagor Desert and encounter some magical beasts of the desert to broaden her horizons.

After all, it was only the outskirts. With her Dou Master cultivation, nothing should have happened.

But once bad luck struck, there was no stopping it.

She had actually run into a Third Rank snake-person leading a group of Second Rank snake-people in pursuit of a mercenary group.

She had merely happened to pass by, yet that group of mercenaries had directly used her as a shield.

She remembered several mercenaries passing by her and shouting, "Why are you here? Run! You're an important member of the mercenary group! You absolutely can't be captured!"

As a result, that Third Rank snake-person fixed its gaze on her. After a battle, she was defeated and thrown into a cage.

"I already told you, I'm not some mercenary from the Sand Mercenary Group! I'm a disciple of the Misty Cloud Sect! Let me go!" Nalan Yanran gripped the bars and shouted at the several snake-people guarding her.

The snake-people scratched their heads and discussed among themselves. "Misty Cloud Sect? That sounds familiar. It seems to be a very powerful sect in their human empire."

"A very powerful sect? In that case, the person we captured is much more valuable than those mercenaries."

"Who would have thought that, after chasing from the central region to the outskirts just to rescue one of our people, we would gain such an unexpected harvest?"

"Guard her carefully. Do not let her escape," the leading Third Rank snake-person ordered sternly.

"Yes!"

Several Second Rank snake-people responded.

Hearing this, Nalan Yanran felt her vision go dark.

It was over. Completely over.

Desert City.

Inside the map shop.

Xiao Yan was warmly invited by Hai Bodong to take a seat.

"So, Senior is the Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, whose name once shook the Jia Ma Empire? Because you were struck by Queen Medusa's seal, your cultivation fell to the Dou Ling level?" Xiao Yan repeated what Hai Bodong had said not long ago.

Hai Bodong sighed softly. "That's right. If not for this seal, why would I hide away in this little Desert City?"

"It is precisely because it is better for this old bag of bones to remain missing, so that people still fear me somewhat. If they learned that I had fallen back to the Dou Ling level, then my family would face real trouble."

Xiao Yan nodded, setting aside the doubts in his heart. He understood why Hai Bodong would rather live alone in seclusion in Desert City than return to the Mite'er Family.

After sighing, Hai Bodong looked at the map fragment tightly held in Xiao Yan's hand and said, "I obtained this fragment by chance. What it records should be quite valuable, but it is only a fragment, and I have not managed to collect the complete map after all these years."

"You noticed this map fragment as soon as you entered, so you must know something about it."

"I will not hide it from you. The fragment in your hand is only half of the map fragments I possess."

"You may take this half without concern, but if you want the other half, you must refine a Tier 6 Medicinal Pill for me."

"Of course, I will provide the ingredients and the pill formula myself. There is only one medicinal ingredient you will need to trouble yourself with: the Sand Mandala that grows deep within the desert. I... sigh... in any case, you just need to bring me one."

Listening to Hai Bodong's long string of words, Xiao Yan could not help comparing himself to the Xiao Yan from the original story.

The original Xiao Yan had fought Hai Bodong over this map fragment and spent a great deal of effort persuading him before obtaining it.

But for him...

Wearing a Sixth-Rank Alchemist's robe and merely holding the map fragment with an interested expression, Hai Bodong had eagerly invited him to sit down and revealed everything without reservation.

"Senior, since we have come this far, this junior accepts the deal," Xiao Yan said with a smile.

Hai Bodong immediately revealed a delighted expression. "Ah, this is truly wonderful! With the help of a Sixth-Rank Alchemist like you, there is finally hope for this old man's seal to be broken."

Xiao Yan's gaze swept over the spread-out maps as he brought up his second reason for coming here.

"Senior, you have lived in seclusion in Desert City for many years. Surely you have gathered some information regarding Heavenly Flames?"

"Heavenly Flames? This old man has indeed collected some information..."

Not long afterward, Xiao Yan left the map shop with Hai Bodong's map recording locations where Heavenly Flames might appear, as well as the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Map Fragment.

On this trip, he had not spent a single coin. With only a few promises, he had obtained nearly everything he wanted. It was practically getting something for nothing.

Fortunately, he had no intention of breaking his promise. Otherwise, Hai Bodong would have suffered a terrible loss.

Looking up at the sky and seeing that it was still early, Xiao Yan decided not to stay overnight in Desert City.

He greatly missed his two older brothers far away in Stone Desert City.

With his current speed, if he set out from Desert City, he could likely reach his destination before nightfall.

Thinking this, he acted accordingly.

After changing out of the Alchemist's robe and leaving Desert City, he swiftly spread the Purple Cloud Wings on his back and flew at full speed toward Stone Desert City.

The heat waves brushed against his cheeks, and Xiao Yan found them comfortable.

For others, the desert, a place where fire-attributed energy was highly concentrated, was unbearably hot. But for him, it was like a fish in water, like a tiger with wings. What bliss.

After flying for an unknown length of time, Xiao Yan passed over the ground from high above and vaguely spotted a group of snake-people below, along with several humans locked in cages.

He quickly came to a stop, flew back some distance, and slowly descended.