Hai Bodong's Instructions

"It's fine. When I said earlier that I would refine pills for you, I meant to heal you. A mere Fifth-grade Pill is something I can produce without even lifting a finger!"

Hearing that Hai Bodong refused to accept it, Yao Chen glanced at the Fifth-grade Pill and spoke to him with disdain.

Hearing Yao Chen's scorn for the Fifth-grade Pill, Hai Bodong figured he had to be at least a seventh-grade alchemist to dismiss it so casually, and accepted the Purple Spirit Rejuvenation Pill.

"Thank you, senior, for giving me this pill. I shall take my leave now. Just call for me if you need anything."

"Mm," Yao Chen replied indifferently.

Hai Bodong promptly left the secret chamber and returned to his room, where he eagerly opened the jade box.

His body was covered in deep wounds left by Medusa's attacks, and his breathing was weak and ragged.

With trembling hands, he took the precious Purple Spirit Rejuvenation Pill from the jade box.

The pill gave off a faint purple glow and a captivating medicinal fragrance, as if it held endless vitality and hope.

Hai Bodong struggled to put the pill into his mouth. It dissolved instantly, turning into a warm, powerful force that spread through his body in a flash.

That force flowed through his damaged meridians like a clear spring, swiftly soothing the pain wherever it passed.

His severed meridians began to reconnect and mend under the pill's miraculous power.

At his wounds, muscles grew and healed at a visible speed. The bleeding stopped, and new skin gradually covered the hideous injuries.

He could feel his feeble aura growing stronger, while his chaotic Dou Qi began to circulate steadily through his body once more.

After a while, Hai Bodong slowly opened his eyes, their light restored. He tried moving his body, and found that the excruciating pain from before had vanished completely.

He rose to his feet and stretched his limbs, feeling powerful energy surge through his body once more. His heart filled with awe at the Purple Spirit Rejuvenation Pill's miraculous effects and boundless gratitude toward Yao Chen.

Meanwhile, in the secret chamber, Yao Chen looked at the remaining medicinal ingredients and prepared to refine a batch of pills to keep on hand.

"It's time to head out." Yao Chen stretched and said.

Three days passed just like that. During those three days, Yao Chen successfully refined a batch of pills from the remaining ingredients.

Most of them were Fourth-grade Pills, with a few Fifth-grade Pills among them.

"When I get the chance, I'll take these pills to an auction and trade them for some medicinal ingredients. Then I can teach Xiao Yan how to refine pills."

Yao Chen slowly came out of the secret chamber and saw Hai Bodong cultivating. After taking that Fifth-grade Pill earlier, his strength had improved somewhat, and he would probably break through to Six-Star Dou Emperor soon.

"Little Hai, I'm planning to head into the Tagor Desert alone again."

While Yao Chen had been refining pills, Hai Bodong had often helped him gather medicinal ingredients. They had also chatted about everyday things, and the two had grown quite familiar.

"Old Yao, what are you going to the Tagor Desert for? Do you need my help?" Hai Bodong asked with a smile.

"Nothing major. I happened to hear that there's a Heavenly Flame in the Tagor Desert, and I happen to need one."

Yao Chen said it casually, as if Heavenly Flames were nothing special.

"A Heavenly Flame? Old Yao, don't you already have one? Why do you need another?" Hai Bodong asked, puzzled.

"As far as I know, ordinary people can only absorb one Heavenly Flame. Even absorbing just one is extremely risky; the slightest misstep, and the flame will turn on you. If you absorb a second, the two flames will repel each other inside your body, and you might explode and die!"

Seeing Hai Bodong's confusion, Yao Chen knew it was only to be expected. He calmly explained.

"Ordinary people indeed can't possess two Heavenly Flames. But I happened to obtain a cultivation technique that can suppress the conflict between them and fuse them together."

Yao Chen told Hai Bodong this because, after spending several days together, he found him fairly trustworthy. And with the system at his side, he wasn't worried that Hai Bodong would grow greedy.

"No wonder Old Yao is so powerful! It turns out you've cultivated such an incredible technique! I'm truly impressed that you managed to obtain it!"

After hearing Yao Chen's explanation, Hai Bodong's admiration for him deepened.

Hai Bodong remembered several places in the desert that seemed to harbor Heavenly Flames. He had marked them down, so he got up and rummaged through the things on the table.

"Found it!" Hai Bodong cried happily.

Yao Chen was surprised to hear him shout and asked, "Little Hai, what did you find? Why are you so excited?"

"I heard you were looking for a Heavenly Flame, Old Yao. While I was in the desert, I also found a few places where the fire element was especially dense. They seemed to have a Heavenly Flame underground. I hope this can help you."

Excited that he could be of help to Yao Chen, Hai Bodong explained.

"Really? Little Hai, you've been a tremendous help! I searched the desert for several days and came up empty-handed. With your map, I'm sure I'll find the Heavenly Flame much faster."

Hearing that Hai Bodong had a map, Yao Chen's face lit up with joy.

"Old Yao, are you sure you don't want me to go with you to look for the Heavenly Flame?"

Hai Bodong thought that if he went with Yao Chen, he might be able to help along the way—and perhaps win even more of Yao Chen's favor.

"No need. If you come with me, the Snake-People Tribe might sense you, and that could cause unnecessary trouble."

Yao Chen politely declined Hai Bodong's offer. First, going together might draw the Snake-People Tribe's attention. Second, there were treasures hidden beneath the Green Lotus Core Flame. Third, once he found it, he planned to absorb it on the spot. One could never be too wary of others; if Hai Bodong turned on him, it would be troublesome. Not bringing him along was a safeguard.

He didn't say the latter two reasons aloud.

"All right, senior. Just be careful of the Snake-People Tribe in the desert. They have several Peak Dou Emperors. Especially after you injured Medusa last time and provoked them into hunting you down. If several Peak Dou Emperors join forces, even you'll find them troublesome."

Hai Bodong was deeply disappointed when he heard that Yao Chen wouldn't let him come along, but he still urged him to be careful.

"It's fine, Little Hai. Even if I run into them, I'm not afraid."

Yao Chen remained calm. Besides, I have Flying Thunder God. If I can't beat them, I'll just run. They won't be able to catch me.

Hearing this, Hai Bodong knew Yao Chen wouldn't bring him along, but he still urged him to be careful.

"Well then, Little Hai, I'm off to the desert. I'll come back to see you when I get the chance."

With that, Yao Chen used Gale Shadow Step, leaving behind only an afterimage.

Watching the afterimage and remembering that Yao Chen had said he would come back to see him, Hai Bodong felt rather happy. There was certainly no harm in befriending someone as powerful as him.