Saving Nalan Yanran, Another Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, and the Ancient Thunder Dragon

"Yun'er, tell me the details," Xiao Yan asked.

Yun Yun herself, moved away from Xiao Yan's chest, and noticed Qing Lin and Yao Ling's gazes, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"In the past few years, Yanran has been training in the Northern Region. Just a few days ago, she suddenly sent me a message saying that she was trapped in a Dou Saint Ruins and could not get out, and that a powerful Ninth-Rank Magical Beast was chasing her."

"She barely survived thanks to the array within the ruins," Yun Yun recounted.

"A few days ago?" Xiao Yan pondered for a moment, feeling that it was related to his voluntary activation of the [Mysterious Yellow] Heaven-Swallowing Talent.

But he didn't feel any dislike for Nalan Yanran, so why did Nalan Yanran suddenly find herself in danger?

Xiao Yan didn't take it all as a coincidence; he simply kept it in mind.

"In that case, let's set off as soon as possible," Xiao Yan said.

Yun Yun's face showed worry. "Shouldn't you call him Yao Lao?"

Xiao Yan chuckled lightly, "It's alright, I have my own methods."

Yun Yun chose to believe Xiao Yan and nodded, "Okay!"

Without saying another word, Xiao Yan left Qing Lin and Yao Ling behind, then activated the Spatial Barrier and left with Yun Yun.

Northern Region of the Central Plains.

As the earliest region where the Tian Shu Alliance settled, its territory is dotted with a large number of the Tian Shu Alliance branches, making it an area completely controlled by the Tian Shu Alliance.

As for the original hegemon, Wind Lightning Pavilion, it has long since become a subordinate force.

However, by attaching itself to the rapidly growing Tian Shu Alliance, Wind Lightning Pavilion's situation is actually better than before, and it can even help the Tian Shu Alliance manage some areas on its behalf.

Xiao Yan brought Yun Yun from the Southwestern Region to the Northern Region, which was the area under the jurisdiction of the Wind Lightning Pavilion.

Standing in the air, Xiao Yan released his aura.

The aura spread rapidly, and before long, a figure with a strong aura arrived in front of Xiao Yan. The aura had reached the level of Three-Star Dou Venerate, and it was none other than Venerable Lei, the Pavilion Master of the Wind Lightning Pavilion.

"Who dares to act so presumptuously here? Don't they know that our Wind Lightning Pavilion is aligned with the Tian Shu Alliance!" Venerable Lei's displeased voice rang out.

Upon seeing the face of the person in front of him, Da immediately changed his expression. "Xiao... Alliance Leader Xiao!"

What brings you here, sir!

It's my fault for not recognizing you immediately! Please punish me!

Faced with the adaptable and resourceful Venerable Lei, Xiao Yan had no intention of pursuing the matter further and went straight to the point. "Have any new ruins opened in the Northern Region recently? Tell me truthfully."

Venerable Lei immediately began to recall, and then said to Xiao Yan, "Reporting to Alliance Leader Xiao, a ruin did indeed open recently, but the entrance space of that ruin is very unstable, so our Wind Lightning Pavilion has not explored it much."

"Take me there," Xiao Yan said succinctly.

"Yes!" Venerable Lei immediately responded, not daring to be negligent in the slightest.

Led by Venerable Lei, Xiao Yan, along with Yun Yun, soon arrived at the core area of a mountain range.

At the heart of this mountain range, a portal to space flickers intermittently, appearing and disappearing with extreme instability.

"Alliance Leader Xiao, is there anything else you require?" Venerable Lei asked humbly.

"I don't need you anymore." Xiao Yan waved for Venerable Lei to leave.

Venerable Lei breathed a sigh of relief and flashed away from the place.

Xiao Yan and Yun Yun descended from the sky.

Xiao Yan turned to Yun Yun and asked, "Can you sense her presence?"

Yun Yun closed her eyes and sensed for a few seconds, then nodded solemnly and said, "That's right, I can sense Yanran's aura here, this should be it."

Having confirmed this, Xiao Yan reached out his hand and activated his [Balance] Heaven-Swallowing Talent.

Instantly, an invisible force acted on the Space Channel in front of them, causing it to stabilize rapidly.

"Let's go," Xiao Yan said.

A hint of admiration flashed in Yun Yun's eyes, and she nodded.

The two stepped inside side by side.

Then, the scene changed, and I appeared in a new mountain range. Above me were blue skies and white clouds, and below me was earth and soil. The mountains were arranged in a regular pattern, and the scenery was quite beautiful.

"This world of ruins is quite stable. The creator here must have been quite powerful, at least at the mid-stage of the Dou Sheng realm."

"I never expected that a powerful expert of this caliber would leave his relics in such a remote place as the Northern Region." Xiao Yan sighed slightly.

After saying that, he asked Yun Yun, "Yun'er, can you sense Nalan Yanran's aura?"

Yun Yun, who was carefully sensing with her eyes closed, replied to Xiao Yan, "I sensed it, but it's very faint. There's only a vague direction, and it seems that most of the energy is being blocked by an array."

"That's enough. Yun'er, lead the way," Xiao Yan said.

Yun Yun nodded, no longer as nervous and worried as before.

Since she could still sense it faintly, it meant that Nalan Yanran was at least still alive.

If you're still alive, then it's not too late for anything.

The center of the mountain range.

Inside a cave.

Nalan Yanran leaned against the stone wall of the cave, her face deathly pale.

A bloody gash was oozing blood from her abdomen, and the medicine she took was of no use.

A silver-white flame was burning continuously at the wound. She kept replenishing it with her Dou Qi, but could only prevent the flame from spreading and could not extinguish it completely.

Blood was constantly being lost, and Dou Qi was also being continuously depleted.

Nalan Yanran truly felt the passing of life.

It sounds ridiculous, even a bit despicable.

Standing at the end of her life, the first person she thought of was neither her grandfather Nalan Jie nor her master Yun Yun.

Instead, it was her former fiancé, Xiao Yan, with whom she had personally broken off their engagement.

She and Xiao Yan hadn't seen each other for several years; more accurately, Xiao Yan hadn't seen her for a very long time.

She visited Xiao Yan several times, but always hid in the crowd, afraid to reveal her identity, like a shadowy rat.

Watching Xiao Yan get better and better, and drift further and further away from her, Nalan Yanran had fantasized more than once about whether she could be standing by Xiao Yan's side now if she hadn't broken off the engagement.

But reality cannot be changed. Whenever Nalan Yanran thinks that she and Xiao Yan have no chance to be together again, she feels so regretful that she vomits blood.

Therefore, she risked her life to venture into various Secret Realm and ruins to obtain resources and enhance her strength.

Currently, her cultivation has improved at an astonishing speed. Although she is far inferior to Xiao Yan, she is still able to stand out among all her peers. This is something she earned with her own life.

And now, she has finally stumbled.

Within this small world of the Dou Saint Ruins, besides resources, there is also a magical beast that she cannot resist.

The demonic beast severely injured her with a single blow. She discovered an array in the cave and activated it to conceal her presence, which allowed her to barely survive.

Now, her injuries have made it impossible for her to continue.

"Master... Grandpa... Xiao Yan..." Nalan Yanran murmured, closing her eyes.

"Yanran! Are you in here?!"

A faint sound drifted into the cave from outside, and Nalan Yanran immediately opened her eyes.

"Master!" Nalan Yanran recognized Yun Yun's voice and immediately forced herself to stand up.

She placed her hand on a pattern on the cave wall, infused it with her Dou Qi, and deactivated the formation at the cave entrance.

Outside the cave, Xiao Yan and Yun Yun immediately went inside after the formation was activated, and then saw the heavily injured Nalan Yanran.

"Master, Xiao... Alliance Leader Xiao." Nalan Yanran's eyes seemed fixed on Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan ignored him and stepped forward, his gaze falling on the wound on Nalan Yanran's abdomen.

Looking at the silvery-white flame, he raised his hand, and an identical flame shot out from his palm—the very same Nine Dragon Lightning Flame he had traded from the Burning Flame Valley.

"Where did this flame come from?" Xiao Yan asked.

Nalan Yanran opened her mouth, but her face turned pale and she couldn't say a word.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan put away the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame and instead summoned the emerald green Life Spirit Flame.

Within the flames, emerald green life force gradually flowed into Nalan Yanran's body, and the silvery-white flames of the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame were immediately suppressed upon encountering the Life Spirit Flame.

Without the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame hindering the healing of her wounds, the life force of the Life Spirit Flame infused Nalan Yanran's wounds, causing fleshy buds to grow and intertwine, eventually forming new chunks of flesh, and skin to also grow.

Nalan Yanran's complexion regained its rosy hue, and her breathing returned to normal from its precarious state.

It didn't even take ten breaths in total.

"Xiao Yan..." Yun Yun murmured in surprise.

Xiao Yan chuckled lightly, "The Life Spirit Flame I obtained by chance has considerable healing properties."

Yun Yun nodded, quickly accepting the fact, but a hint of joy welled up in her heart for Xiao Yan.

"Can you tell me now where that flame came from?" Xiao Yan asked again.

Nalan Yanran covered her exposed, snow-white belly and a hint of dark pubic hair, and said with her head down, "That flame was used by that magical beast; its claws were covered in this flame."

"The fire of a magical beast? That's quite interesting." Xiao Yan was surprised to find such an unexpected delight. He thought to himself, "It seems that Nalan Yanran's entry into this ruin is inextricably linked to [Mysterious Yellow]."

Through her contact with Yun Yun, she connected with me, allowing me to enter this ruin and discover another Nine Dragon Lightning Flame.

This luck is truly defying the heavens.

Xiao Yan had a greater appreciation for the [Mysterious Yellow] Heaven-Swallowing Talent. Besides making his cultivation smoother, it also improved his luck, which was quite significant. So much so that Xiao Yan regretted only awakening this Heaven-Swallowing Talent now.

"Master, Xiao... Alliance Leader, that demonic beast is incredibly powerful. Let's leave here first," Nalan Yanran said seriously to Yun Yun and Xiao Yan.

Yun Yun chimed in, "Yes, let's leave here quickly."

Xiao Yan shook his head, showing no intention of leaving.

Although he already possessed one Nine Dragon Lightning Flame Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, it didn't stop him from being interested in another one.

That was a powerful Heavenly Flames ranked twelfth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, which was quite attractive to the Emperor Clan like the Yao Clan and the Yan Clan, so he naturally couldn't miss it.

As for that Ninth Rank magical beast, how could he possibly be afraid?

"Yun'er, you should leave first. That demonic beast should have a Heavenly Flames, and I want to get my hands on it." Xiao Yan didn't hide anything and directly told Yun Yun Yun thoughts to avoid her overthinking.

Yun Yun, a bit slow on the uptake, immediately asked, "Is it because of the flames that the demonic beast left on Yanran's wound?"

Xiao Yan nodded. "That's right, that flame should be the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, ranked twelfth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."

Upon hearing this, Yun Yun knew she couldn't stop him. She was well aware of the allure of the Heavenly Flames to Xiao Yan, especially the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, ranked 12th. Even if Xiao Yan already possessed it, he would never let it go.

"Xiao Yan, can you deal with that demonic beast?" Yun Yun asked worriedly.

Xiao Yan nodded firmly once again. "Don't worry, I have my own methods."

Yun Yun stopped trying to persuade him, simply stepped forward and hugged Xiao Yan before leaving with Nalan Yanran.

Nalan Yanran turned around and looked at Xiao Yan Xiao Yan. When their eyes met, she immediately lowered her head, feeling a pang of sadness in her heart.

In Xiao Yan's eyes, she saw neither liking nor resentment, only the most ordinary indifference.

This means that Xiao Yan truly doesn't care about her at all anymore...

After Yun Yun and Nalan Yanran left the small world.

As Xiao Yan stepped out of the cave, a question arose in his mind, "Why haven't they come out yet? Do they think they can't defeat me, or haven't they sensed my presence?"

Without a source of information, Xiao Yan couldn't determine which situation it was.

Regardless of the situation, he absolutely must get his hands on the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame!

Thinking of this, Xiao Yan suppressed his aura to the extreme, and then directly cut his skin.

The next instant, a drop of thick, golden blood was squeezed out and floated in the air.

The third effect of the [Myriad Beast] Heaven-Swallowing Talent.

His blood, like the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame, is highly beneficial to magical beasts; long-term consumption can even evolve their bloodlines.

Therefore, his blood is the most alluring elixir in the world to magical beasts.

Furthermore, his bloodline has evolved several times, and he has already acquired some of the characteristics of Dou God Bloodline.

When the two are combined, the attraction of his blood to magical beasts becomes incredibly strong.

Xiao Yan didn't believe that the demonic beast could hold back!

Time passed by, second by second.

Xiao Yan stood in the cave, patiently waiting.

One minute...

Ten minutes...

A quarter of an hour...

Half an hour...

Three hours...

The wait was unusually long.

However, Xiao Yan's composure was remarkable. He didn't feel the slightest bit of impatience. Instead, he suppressed his aura, making it increasingly calm, almost imperceptible.

Finally, a powerful aura, seemingly unable to contain itself any longer, flew rapidly from between the distant mountains.

When that aura arrived outside the cave, Xiao Yan instantly opened his eyes and directly manipulated spatial power to Space Lock.

The aura outside the cave sensed the change and immediately turned back, only to be blocked by the Spatial Barrier. It then launched an attack, unleashing a powerful burst of silvery-white lightning.

Boom--!

The silvery-white lightning struck the Spatial Barrier, causing only minor damage and failing to shatter it.

As Xiao Yan emerged from the cave, he saw a colossal dragon beast, hundreds of meters long, its body crackling with silver-white lightning, its eyes blazing with the silver flames of the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame.

"The aura of Two-Star Dou Saint... and an Ancient Thunder Dragon, truly rare." Xiao Yan observed curiously.

But most of the attention was focused on the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame.