I had hit a bottleneck.
When Su Chen said this, Ya Fei was holding a cup of warm tea, about to hand it to him.
Her jade-like hand paused in midair for a moment.
The light in the secret chamber was soft. The set of expensive rosewood tables and chairs had long since been replaced by a huge map depicting the entire territory of the Jia Ma Empire.
Over the past month, Su Chen had been consolidating his cultivation, while Ya Fei had been weaving a commercial network that covered the entire empire.
The Rock Fire Seed business had spread from Wutan City to several nearby cities.
The emergence of the Green Phosphorus Fire Seed had even opened the doors of the alchemy chambers belonging to those second- and third-tier alchemists, bringing the Mittel Family unimaginable profits and connections.
Everything had been moving in the best possible direction.
And yet now, the man who had single-handedly created all these miracles was saying he had hit a bottleneck.
Ya Fei set down the teacup and walked over to the map.
For the first time, her captivating peach-blossom eyes held not a trace of flirtatious charm, only pure gravity.
"What bottleneck?"
Su Chen drew his gaze away from the green region on the map that represented the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
"My flame control technique comes from analysis and imitation."
Beneath the shadow of his bamboo hat came a steady voice, devoid of emotion.
"Beast Flames are still just Beast Flames. Their structures are too simple, and their energy levels are too low. It's like trying to build a true palace out of sand and wood. You'll never succeed."
"I've analyzed hundreds of Beast Flames. Now, I can clearly sense that ceiling."
"I need a higher-level 'reference.'"
Ya Fei's heart gave a sudden leap.
A reference of a higher level than Beast Flames?
What could it be? The answer was almost obvious.
"You mean..."
Her voice held a faint, barely perceptible rasp.
Su Chen raised his head. His eyes, hidden beneath the shadows, seemed to pierce through the distance and settle on Ya Fei.
"Heavenly Flames."
The two words were spoken lightly, yet they seemed to carry the weight of a thousand tons, crashing down upon Ya Fei's heart.
She knew this day would come sooner or later.
From the moment this man had refused the 1.35 million gold coins and asked instead for an intelligence network and commercial channels, she had known his ambitions went far beyond selling little Beast Flames.
But she hadn't expected this day to come so soon.
"I need the Mittel Family's most confidential intelligence."
There was no request in Su Chen's voice, only a statement.
"Everything within the Jia Ma Empire related to the words 'Heavenly Flames'—every legend, every secret, even reports that were disproved long ago. I want it all."
Ya Fei fell silent.
This touched upon the deepest secrets of a vast commercial empire.
Intelligence about Heavenly Flames was enough to drive even the family's Dou Huang elders mad. It was the true foundation of the family, built up with countless lives and untold wealth.
She looked at the man before her.
His figure remained lean, his aura steady as ever.
Yet beneath that composure, she sensed a sharpness unlike anything she had felt before, as if he were about to break free of his restraints and soar into the heavens.
After a long while,
Ya Fei slowly nodded.
"All right."
Her answer was just one word.
From the moment she had decided to stake everything she had on this gamble, she had already left herself no way back.
* * *
Three days later.
The secret chamber at the very heart of the Miteer Auction House had been completely emptied.
The shelves that once held rare treasures had now been replaced by jade slips of every color, packed together in layer upon layer until they nearly filled the entire room.
These jade slips were made of all sorts of materials.
Some were smooth and warm as jade, official records from the empire.
Some were cold as iron, sealed military archives.
Most, however, were made from rough magical beast hide. Some still carried a faint smell of blood—the first-hand reports the Mittel Family's explorers had brought back at the cost of their lives.
This was the essence of nearly a century's worth of intelligence gathered by the Mittel Family in the empire's northeastern province.
Ya Fei wore a tight-fitting purple outfit that traced her astonishing curves to perfection. Her long hair was tied high, giving her a capable, spirited air.
She stood before the mountain of jade slips, her expression more serious than ever.
"Here are 1,374 pieces of related intelligence."
"More than ninety percent are rumors with no basis, or claims that were disproved long ago."
"Of the rest, less than ten percent might... have some chance of being true."
Su Chen walked up to the pile of jade slips and casually picked one up.
His spiritual power entered it.
"Black Corner Region, Jia Nan Academy, Heavenly Burning Qi Tower... suspected to contain the Fallen Heart Flame."
He put down the jade slip and picked up another.
"Chu Yun Empire, Poison Sect... the sect master's cultivation technique is suspected to be connected to a certain Heavenly Flame."
Another one.
"Luo Yan Empire, Golden Goose Sect. It is said that their founder once saw traces of a Heavenly Flame at the foot of a volcano, but it was long ago confirmed to be a sixth-tier fire-type magical beast..."
One report after another passed through his hands.
At astonishing speed.
Ya Fei stood to one side, watching, her heart full of shock.
Every jade slip contained an enormous amount of information. An ordinary person would need half a day just to digest one.
But Su Chen could judge its worth in an instant with barely a glance.
Just how powerful was his soul perception?
Time flew by as they sifted through the monotonous reports.
On the first day, more than a thousand jade slips were reduced by nine-tenths.
On the second day, more than a hundred remained, and over half of those were discarded.
By dusk on the third day,
only three jade slips remained on the broad rosewood table.
An oppressive silence settled over the entire chamber.
The candlelight wavered, casting the two of their shadows across the walls, where they grew alternately bright and dim.
Ya Fei's breathing slowed without her even realizing it.
She knew the final answer lay within those three jade slips.
Su Chen reached out and picked up the first one on the left.
It was made of black iron and felt cold in his hand.
"Burning Flame Valley, inherited flame... the information is incomplete. It is suspected to be related to the Nine Dragon Lightning Flame, ranked twelfth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking. But Burning Flame Valley is powerful, and its valley master, Tang Zhen, is a Dou Zong expert. The family once sent a Dou Wang elder to investigate, but he never returned."
Dou Zong.
At those two words, Ya Fei's eyelids twitched.
That was an existence at the very peak of the Jia Ma Empire's power, a terrifying expert on par with Yun Shan, the Misty Cloud Sect Master.
Trying to seize a Heavenly Flame from a force like that was no different from wishful thinking.
Su Chen's expression didn't change in the slightest.
He set down the black iron jade slip and picked up the one in the middle.
This jade slip had been polished from beast bone, and still carried the pressure of some powerful magical beast.
"Central Plains, Pill Tower. It is rumored that the Pill Tower holds the Nine Nether Wind Flame, ranked seventh on the Heavenly Flame Ranking, as well as the Eight Desolation Destruction Flame, ranked sixth. But both belong to the Pill Tower, which is heavily guarded. No one has ever managed to get a glimpse of them."
The Pill Tower!
It was the sacred ground of alchemists across the Dou Qi Continent!
Its foundations were so deep, its power so terrifying, that it even surpassed Burning Flame Valley.
A wry smile touched Ya Fei's lips.
Either choice meant despair.
Her gaze fell on the final jade slip.
It had been polished from yellow sandstone and looked utterly unremarkable.
Su Chen reached out and picked it up.
The instant his spiritual power entered it,
his body paused ever so slightly for the first time.
Ya Fei keenly caught the detail, and her heart leaped into her throat.
This report was different from all the others.
It wasn't hearsay, nor was it from an ancient text.
It was a firsthand account.
The one who recorded it was a grand elder of the Mittel Family, a Dou Huang expert who had ventured alone into the Tagor Desert decades ago in search of a rare medicinal ingredient.
"...Deep in the Great Desert lies the Snake-Person Tribe. Its people have worshipped the gods for generations, and they revere their queen above all. The queen resides in a temple, beneath which lies a Sacred Fire Altar that burns all year round. Its flames are blue-green, blossoming like a lotus..."
"...I once gazed upon the temple from a hundred miles away, yet the heat already struck me in waves. An ordinary Dou Wang would likely struggle to approach within ten miles. The power of that flame far surpassed any Beast Flame I had ever seen. I suspect it to be a wonder of heaven and earth..."
"...Queen Medusa's strength is unfathomable. I suspect she has already reached the Peak Dou Emperor realm. The eight leaders of her tribe are all Dou Wang experts. This place is a forbidden zone of the empire, where nine out of ten who enter will die. Let all who come after me remember: do not trespass!"
The jade slip's contents ended there.
Between the lines ran a wariness and fear that came from the depths of the soul.
A firsthand warning from a Dou Huang expert!
Ya Fei's beautiful face had gone deathly pale.
She knew what the jade slip described.
The nineteenth-ranked Heavenly Flame.
The Green Lotus Core Flame!
A deathly silence filled the secret chamber.
Su Chen slowly lowered the jade slip in his hand.
He walked to the enormous map of the empire and let his gaze rest for a long time on the vast yellow region.
The Tagor Desert.
"No!"
For the first time, Ya Fei's voice rose to a sharp, uncontrolled pitch.
"Su Chen! You can't go there!"
She hurried to his side and pressed her jade-like hand against the map, firmly covering that region.
"That was a warning from a Dou Huang expert! Queen Medusa is a Peak Dou Emperor, and the eight tribal leaders are all Dou Wang experts! You've only just become a Dou Zhe. If you go there, you won't even qualify to be cannon fodder!"
Her chest heaved violently with emotion.
She couldn't stand by and watch the partner she had staked everything on walk down a path with no chance of survival.
Su Chen didn't look at her.
His gaze remained fixed on the map, as if it had already pierced through the parchment and reached the ancient temple deep in the Great Desert, where the Green Lotus Fire burned.
Slowly, he raised his hand.
His slender fingers passed over Ya Fei's jade-like hand on the map.
Then, before Ya Fei's sharply contracting pupils, he pressed down hard.
His fingertip landed at the very heart of the Tagor Desert.
At the spot marked in cinnabar—the forbidden zone of extreme danger.
"If you want to stand atop the mountain, you must dare to touch the most beautiful flower growing on the cliff's edge."
From beneath the shadow of his bamboo hat came a calm voice, yet one filled with an unshakable resolve.
"My next target."
"The Green Lotus Core Flame."
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