A Little Fun, That's All

"Well, I don't know how much the Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian have told you about your situation, but that doesn't matter. I'll explain it to you later. Now, let me greet everyone first. After Huo Er comes out of seclusion, I plan to head to the Southern Region. Besides accompanying Zi Yan to find her clansmen, I also need to visit Uncle Feng at the Starfall Pavilion. There are some things to take care of. This trip will take anywhere from a few months to a year."

Because of the long journey and the high probability of battle, I will only bring the Medusa, Xiao Yi Xian, and Zi Yan with me this time. The rest of you will stay in the Danta to cultivate peacefully and wait for my return."

After Xiao Yan finished speaking, the hall fell silent for a brief moment.

Cao Ying pursed her red lips and drew out the sound:

"Master~ You've only just emerged from seclusion, and you're already leaving us again?"

As she spoke, she looked at Xiao Yan with her alluring eyes, forcing herself to appear as if she was about to cry, and even managed to squeeze out a few tears.

Xiao Yan remained unmoved, flicking his finger to use his Spatial Strength to ignore distance and gently tap her smooth forehead:

"You should be content. Now that you're in the Danta, your Xuan Ma, teacher, and two senior uncles can all guide you. When I was learning alchemy, I didn't have such good conditions. I had to travel around and Alchemy or Dou Qi."

Sometimes I have to find time to ask kind people for medicinal herbs. Fortunately, they are all good people and have given me their all, letting me take whatever I want.

"Otherwise, I wouldn't have become Eighth-Grade Alchemist at this age."

Cao Ying pouted and covered her forehead. Although it didn't hurt much, she felt like she had been stunned by her master's flick.

She always felt that the latter half of her master's words sounded off, but she couldn't figure out what it was.

Ye Xinlan and Dan Chen also grew up in their families and later came to the Danta to cultivate. They were like innocent little rabbits who knew nothing.

Therefore, they even genuinely believed that Xiao Yan had been appreciated and supported by some insightful and courageous individuals.

Han Xue also looked at her older sister with some curiosity.

Why hadn't her sister mentioned such a thing?

Han Yue's eye twitched slightly.

That's just something you can fool a child; she would never believe it, not even if you paid her.

Although she and Xiao Yan hadn't ventured out together many times, the one trip she and Xiao Yi Xian went with Xiao Yan to the Chu Yun Empire was enough for her to get a glimpse of what her beloved senior was like—a person who loved telling corny jokes.

The so-called kind-hearted people were, to put it bluntly, just unlucky souls who provoked Xiao Yan. In the end, they died, Storage Ring fell into Xiao Yan's hands. Wasn't that just giving away their entire fortune, leaving Xiao Yan to take whatever he wanted?

Zi Yan looked disgusted after hearing this. A kind person, indeed? A kind person to whom Xiao Yan poured his heart out?

As for Queen Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian, who were once ruthless killers and veritable female demons, they didn't react to Xiao Yan's words.

Despite Xiao Yan's impressive and powerful image, with powerful figures and geniuses bowing down to him all these years, in reality, he hasn't killed as many people as the two of them.

After all, he was in front of his disciple; he couldn't very well say, "Master, I killed many people to obtain a lot of medicinal herbs, could he?"

It sounds like a little devil.

"Forget it, those 'kind-hearted people' who went bankrupt to support you are probably on their graves by now... well, it's hard to say if they'll even have any graves to be found."

The voice of Venerable Skyfire echoed in the room, and then his figure appeared on an empty chair in the room.

"Senior Tian Huo..."

Xiao Yan was somewhat helpless; why was this old man causing trouble again?

Of course, although Xiao Yan was used to thinking of Venerable Skyfire as an old man, Venerable Skyfire after his resurrection could not really be considered an old man. His handsome and youthful appearance made him look at most in his thirties, and he had a mature charm. Combined with the white fire mark between his eyebrows, he really had the air of a hermit master.

"What? Did I interrupt your private conversation with your women?"

Venerable Skyfire said with a hint of sarcasm.

To be honest, although he already knew that Xiao Yan had activated it, he still found it hard to believe that it had reached this level.

In just one year, he soared from Five-Star Dou Zong to the Two-Star Peak Dou Zun. Even with such a rapid increase, his Dou Qi remained solid and stable, with a calm aura and vigorous blood and energy. He was practically a reincarnated super strongman, a humanoid demon beast.

"No, not at all." Xiao Yan spread his hands helplessly, then looked at Venerable Skyfire before saying, "Senior, do you have time to accompany me on a trip recently? I plan to take Zi Yan to find her clansmen and see if we can explore the Dou Saint Ruins."

Upon hearing this, all the women who were unaware of the Dou Saint Ruins were stunned, except for Xiao Yi Xian Queen Medusa, who knew the inside story and remained relatively calm.

"The Dou Saint Ruins, huh? That's quite interesting. When shall we set off?"

Upon hearing this, Venerable Skyfire nodded thoughtfully and asked with a smile.

After his resurrection, Xiao Yan talked to him, saying that he wanted to find a complete Dou Sheng body to refine Old Yao's body, and Venerable Skyfire naturally offered his full support.

Despite Xiao Yan's ambition, Venerable Skyfire also knew that the Earth Core Fire Bead was quite useful to Old Yao, and Xiao Yan's selfless use of it on him was a great favor to him.

The main reason for this trip to the Dou Saint Ruins is to revive Old Yao, so Venerable Skyfire is naturally very concerned.

Moreover, putting aside the matter of gratitude, after the resurrection of the Old Yao, there is a high chance that he can ascend to sainthood in one step and become a Ninth-Grade Alchemist!

Even with the Earth Core Fire Bead, Venerable Skyfire was confident that he could advance to the Dou Sheng with some time, but his status as Ninth-Grade Alchemist was enough to make Venerable Skyfire eager to Old Yao Man Yao a favor.

Besides, he had never met anyone like Xiao Yan before. This guy, with his visibly explosive potential, was someone he had to befriend!

"Let's wait for Huo Er to come out of seclusion. I need to talk to her about some things. After that, we'll set off. This trip will only consist of five people: you, me, Zi Yan, the Medusa, and Xiao Yi Xian."

"Understood. Come back to me later. I have some new insights into the Five Wheel Separation Fire Method, and I'd like to test them with you. Perhaps we can refine and upgrade it to the level of Heaven Tier Battle Skill."

Upon hearing this, Venerable Skyfire nodded, gave a brief instruction, and then disappeared from the house, leaving Xiao Yan and his women undisturbed.

"Heaven Tier Battle Skill?"

Xiao Yan was pleasantly surprised. The Five Wheel Separation Fire Method was one of his favorite Dou Technique, and it would be a good thing if he could perfect it.

Moreover, Xiao Yan also had some ideas about the Five Wheel Separation Fire Method. Now that he possessed six Heavenly Flames, if he could make the Five Wheel Separation Fire Method not limited to five kinds of Fire Spirit and forge its own path, it might be even better.

Seeing Venerable Skyfire leave, Cao Ying's eyes darted around, and she moved closer, taking Xiao Yan's arm and gently shaking it.

"Master, before you leave, you must give us some pointers on Alchemy! You'll be gone for who knows how long. If we encounter any problems, we can certainly ask our grandmaster and the others, but we'd still like to hear your explanation personally."

What she said made sense, and Ye Xinlan and Dan Chen nodded repeatedly, gazing expectantly at Xiao Yan.

Han Xue even ran directly to Xiao Yan's other side and hugged his other arm:

"That's right, that's right! Brother-in-law, you've been in seclusion for so long this time, you haven't had time to check on our cultivation progress!"

Xiao Yan was flanked by two maids, feeling the soft touch of the girls' delicate bodies on his arms, feeling both helpless and amused.

He looked at Queen Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian; one had a slight smile on her lips, and the other had a smile in her eyes, clearly neither of them intended to help him out of the predicament.

"Alright, alright," Xiao Yan raised his hands in surrender, "I'll rest for a few days before Huo Er and spend some time with you all, okay?"

"That's more like it!"

Cao Ying and Han Xue then released their hands with satisfaction. One of them gave her senior and junior sisters a smug look, while the other gave her older sister a proud look.

In short, everyone's trying to take credit!

Among the Danta Trio, Cao Ying is more daring in this regard. She has always been cheerful and admires Queen Medusa, her charming master. Their styles are somewhat similar, but because she is younger and learns alchemy from Xiao Yan, she is more clingy Queen Medusa.

As for Han Yue...

She couldn't very well say that she was lusting after Xiao Yan's Xiao Yan and that's why she wanted him to rest for a few days and give her a chance, could she?

Of course, we can only send our cute little sister on stage.

No man can resist a pretty girl who can be cute!

At least someone as dashing and charming as Senior Xiao Yan wouldn't refuse.

I can only say that the "senior's filter" is still too strong.

Being lustful has become fashionable.

It's worth noting that even Xiao Yi Xian, who is practically the epitome of a first love, would bluntly say things like Xiao Yan is a big pervert.

Even Xun'er, Xiao Yan's childhood sweetheart Xun'er who has loved him for all eternity, is probably the same.

But Han Yue said, "Senior is truly dashing, handsome, and debonair..."

In short, it's all praise!

But that's not actually the case.

Of course, Han Yue wasn't actually a cold-on-the-outside-but-cold-on-the-inside person; at least she wasn't at first.

She originally just wanted to enjoy the gossip and ship the couple. If she could get both the benefits and the reward—having her senior help her solve her family's crisis and marrying such an outstanding man as Xiao Yan —that would be perfect.

But among the people she spent every day with at the academy, there was Yao Ling, who was incredibly sexually repressed, and Hun Li Li, a transmigrated woman with extremely rich theoretical knowledge who dared to say anything suggestive.

Among the other sisters, most were from the Eight Clans, and there were some things they couldn't say.

However, Han Yue is the only junior student among them with a relatively low status and who usually has an icy beauty demeanor.

If we don't bully her, who else should we bully?

It's quite amusing to make an ice queen blush!

The Yao Ling, who also possesses a bit of an icy beauty attribute, is different.

This person is truly cold on the outside but sweet on the inside.

She also tried to maintain her image in front of Xiao Yan.

After watching Cao Ying and Han Xue return to their seats, Xiao Yan picked up his teacup, took a small sip, and glanced at the women.

Zi Yan was resting her chin on her hand, gazing at him with a deep, unfathomable look, lost in thought.

Queen Medusa leaned back lazily in her chair, her long, narrow eyes half-closed, exuding a unique charm.

Xiao Yi Xian sat quietly, a faint smile on her lips, her gaze towards Xiao Yan incredibly gentle.

The two sisters, Han Yue Han Xue, also looked at him, one with eyes full of love and the other with eyes full of admiration.

As for his three young apprentices, Ye Xinlan's admiring gaze concealed a girlish sentiment that even he could not easily detect. Cao Ying made no attempt to hide her somewhat rebellious thoughts towards her master, while Dan Chen avoided his gaze, her cheeks slightly flushed.

This heartwarming scene filled Xiao Yan with a sense of fulfillment.

Isn't this what life is all about?

He put down his teacup and said:

"While I'm away, you must continue to cultivate diligently. In the next few years, you probably won't have many opportunities to venture out, because the entire continent will soon become unsafe. I don't want anything to happen to you. Once things settle down, you can go wherever you want, and I'll take care of you."

The weaker girls responded in unison.

Although they each had their own pride, they also knew very well that Xiao Yan's words were not meant to imply that they would cause trouble, but simply to prevent them from getting hurt.

Moreover, having followed Xiao Yan for so long, they naturally knew that there was a reason behind Xiao Yan crazy and diligent cultivation. What they needed to do was to obey and cultivate diligently as well.

In the following days, Xiao Yan kept his promise, sometimes instructing his three disciples in alchemy during the day, and sometimes testing Han Yue and Han Xue's cultivation of Dou Qi and mastery of Dou Technique.

Now that he is Two-Star Dou Zun, and his soul power has surged, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him High Eighth-Grade Alchemist. His insight is even better than before, and he can often point out the key points in just a few words, which greatly benefits the women.

During this time, he also went to seek out Venerable Skyfire.

The two discussed fire and the Dharma in the quiet room where the latter was temporarily staying. Venerable Skyfire recounted in detail his many new insights into the "Five Wheel Separation Fire Method" over the past year.

Xiao Yan also shared his idea of increasing the number of Fire Spirit. After exchanging ideas and verifying each other's findings, they came up with two ideas to upgrade the Five Wheel Separation Fire Method to Heaven Tier Battle Skill and further refined them.

This is not something that can be accomplished in a day, and the two of them were not in a hurry. They could continue to study this matter while they were on their way.

That evening, Xiao Yan took Xiao Yi Xian back to his room in a very domineering manner.

Because Queen Medusa always lived in Xiao Yan's room, except when she was cultivating.

After all, the two were formally engaged, even double engaged, one between Xiao Yan Medusa, and the other between Queen Medusa and Prince Consort Xiao Yan.

Although Xiao Yi Xian was not engaged, she had just consummated her marriage with Xiao Yan, so it wouldn't be right to leave her alone in an empty room. Xiao Yan also couldn't abandon Queen Medusa to go to Xiao Yi Xian's room, so he simply let Xiao Yi Xian stay in his courtyard as well. The three of them got along very well.