Mysterious Soul Imprint

"Have you been waiting long?" Tang Chen's voice rang out, interrupting Xiao Yan's frustration.

"No, sir. I only just arrived too."

Hearing Tang Chen's voice, Xiao Yan hurriedly rose from the rock, scratched his head, and smiled.

"Here, the relic your mother left you. I'm returning it to you." Tang Chen walked up to Xiao Yan and handed Yao Lao's ring back to him.

"No... I don't want it. I'm afraid this thing will drain my Dou Qi again." Seeing the ring, Xiao Yan repeatedly waved his hands in refusal.

"Don't worry. It won't drain your Dou Qi anymore." Tang Chen was amused by Xiao Yan's appearance. He had not expected Xiao Yan to be so funny as a child.

"This... Thank you, sir!" Since Tang Chen had said so, Xiao Yan accepted the ring and put it back on his hand.

He sensed it for a moment and indeed no longer felt his Dou Qi disappearing. His eyes immediately lit up, and he showered Tang Chen with thanks.

"I called you here because there are some other things I need to tell you." Tang Chen had long noticed Ling Ying eavesdropping in the woods. A smile curled across his lips as he spoke to Xiao Yan.

"What is it?" Xiao Yan was also curious. What could be so important that it had to be discussed on the back mountain?

"It's..." Tang Chen cast a soundproof barrier, cutting off all sound from the conversation between himself and Xiao Yan.

"What exactly are they talking about? Why so secretive?" Ling Ying, who could no longer eavesdrop, became intensely curious about what Tang Chen and Xiao Yan were discussing.

He tried his best to move closer and listen in, but he could not hear a thing. He could only see Tang Chen whispering something into Xiao Yan's ear, while Xiao Yan's expression seemed extremely tense.

"That's about it." Tang Chen did not linger after finishing. His figure flashed, and he left the back mountain directly, leaving Xiao Yan alone in the wind.

After Tang Chen left came the part where Yao Lao revealed himself and Xiao Yan became his disciple.

That had nothing to do with Tang Chen anymore. In any case, he had already obtained the Bone Chilling Flame. Once Yao Lao finished copying down the inheritance in a few days, Tang Chen could leave Wutan City.

As for what Tang Chen had told Xiao Yan—

Naturally, he had revealed in advance that the Soul Hall had set its sights on the Xiao Clan. Whether Xiao Yan believed it, and whether he could avert the Xiao Clan's future disaster, depended entirely on Xiao Yan himself.

To Tang Chen, it had merely been a casual warning. Actually stepping in to help was unlikely; his relationship with the Xiao Clan was not that good.

Tang Chen returned to the residence Xiao Zhan had arranged for him. As soon as he arrived at the entrance, he saw a young girl with a somewhat seductive appearance standing before his door.

"You are?" Tang Chen asked, though he had already roughly guessed.

"Greetings, sir. My name is Xiao Mei. The clan leader assigned me to attend to your daily needs. If you require anything, simply instruct me."

Xiao Mei explained shyly as she looked at Tang Chen's handsome face.

"I don't need anyone to attend to me." Just as Tang Chen had expected, it was indeed what he had thought. He refused her directly.

"But..." Xiao Mei looked somewhat disappointed. The task of attending to Tang Chen was highly coveted, and she had fought hard to obtain this opportunity.

Though they were still young, they had long understood that if someone like Tang Chen—handsome, powerful, and well-connected—took a liking to them, they would rise to the heavens in a single step.

Thus, when Xiao Zhan proposed sending someone to attend to Tang Chen's daily life, many girls of the Xiao Clan eagerly volunteered.

"There's no but. Go back and rest. Oh, and tell your clan leader that I'll be going into seclusion for a few days. Don't disturb me during that time."

Tang Chen spoke to Xiao Mei.

"Yes, sir." Seeing Tang Chen's firm attitude, the young girl could only leave dejectedly after failing to achieve her goal.

Tang Chen could not help but sigh. This world truly revered strength above all else. These people sought to curry favor with him solely because he possessed overwhelming power.

He entered the room and set up several layers of protective barriers. Then, he took out the sealed Bone Chilling Flame from within his body.

With a wave of his hand, he removed the seal. The instant it was lifted, the walls of the surrounding room were instantly covered in a thick layer of frost.

"As expected of the Bone Chilling Flame. It truly is extraordinary."

Witnessing this spectacle, Tang Chen could not help but marvel at the wondrous nature of Heavenly Flames, these strange treasures born of heaven and earth.

He reached out and grabbed the entire Bone Chilling Flame in his hand. The formerly violent Heavenly Flame became as docile as a kitten once Tang Chen seized it, offering not the slightest resistance.

"This is..." The moment Tang Chen came into contact with the Bone Chilling Flame, his body's innate affinity with flames suddenly allowed him to detect something else within it.

If not for his physique, he would never have discovered it.

"Could this be... Han Shanshan's soul imprint!"

The imprint was incredibly faint and well-hidden. Even Tang Chen had to spend some effort before confirming it completely. He guessed that this imprint had likely been left behind by Han Shanshan.

Tang Chen did not erase that soul imprint. Instead, he extracted it and preserved it.

Once that was done, Tang Chen began devouring the Bone Chilling Flame. He swallowed the origin essence of the Heavenly Flame and began circulating his cultivation technique to absorb it.

It was still the same process: guiding the Heavenly Flame's energy through his limbs and bones, tempering his body, Dou Qi, and soul.

Tang Chen's strength also began to steadily rise.

This devouring process lasted ten days.

Ten days later, after Tang Chen's continuous devouring and absorption, the final trace of energy from the Bone Chilling Flame fused into his body.

Tang Chen's strength had reached the peak of an eight-star Dou Zong, only one step away from breaking through to the ninth star.

His soul power had also broken through to the middle stage of the Spirit Realm, while his body was comparable to that of an eighth-tier magical beast.

"After fusing with the Bone Chilling Flame, my fire has gained some new tricks."

Tang Chen summoned his fused Heavenly Flame.

Nine flames shaped like tiny dragons coiled around his hand.

The nine little dragons had originally all been silver-white. After previously fusing with the Sea Heart Flame, one had turned into an ocean-blue water dragon.

Afterward, with the fusion of the Bone Chilling Flame, another had turned into a white ice dragon.

"Good heavens, it really has the feel of Mystic Ice Dragon Soar." The ice dragon coiling around Tang Chen's hand at that moment was similar to Hai Bodong's Mystic Ice Dragon Soar.

However, compared to Hai Bodong's Mystic Ice Dragon Soar, Tang Chen's ice dragon was far more destructive.

"I won't cultivate tonight. I'll take a break." He had either been fighting or traveling these past days, and after absorbing the Bone Chilling Flame for more than ten days, Tang Chen was somewhat tired. Thus, he chose to rest for a day and get some sleep.

Although after breaking through to the Dou Zong realm, cultivation could basically replace sleep, he still slept from time to time. It was not only physical relaxation, but mental relaxation as well.

He knew well that cultivation was not merely about cultivating Dou Qi; one also had to cultivate the heart. Burying oneself blindly in cultivation was not advisable.

Therefore, after setting up several warning measures, he lay down on the bed and fell soundly asleep.

The next day.

Sunlight streamed through the window into Tang Chen's room. Feeling its warmth, he slowly woke up.

"I had another strange dream..." Ever since childhood, Tang Chen would occasionally have strange dreams. These dreams felt very real, yet they contained many peculiar elements.

It was not the first time Tang Chen had experienced such strange dreams, and he did not think much of them. He pushed open the door and walked out of his room.

"Sir, you've come out of seclusion!" Xiao Mei had already been waiting outside the door for a long time.

"Mhm..." Tang Chen stretched lazily and nodded at her.

"Have you been guarding this place the entire time these past few days?" Although Tang Chen had been in seclusion, he was still aware of the outside situation.

For these ten days, Xiao Mei had basically remained outside his small courtyard, afraid that Tang Chen would not be able to find her the instant he emerged from seclusion.

"Y-yes, sir." Xiao Mei admitted shyly.

"Take this. I'll be leaving the Xiao Clan soon, so you won't need to come here anymore." Tang Chen sensed her cultivation level, tossed her a Qi Gathering Powder, and vanished from the small courtyard.

"Q-Qi Gathering Powder!" Xiao Mei caught the pill and examined it in her palm. It was actually a Qi Gathering Powder, precisely what she needed most right now.

"Thank you, sir!" She held the pill in her hands, but when she looked up, Tang Chen was nowhere to be seen.

The moment Tang Chen emerged from seclusion, the spies stationed near the Xiao Clan sent out the news.

Mittel Auction House.

In the VIP room sat a woman whose every gesture radiated seduction. She was looking at a letter that had just arrived in her hand. "He has finally emerged from seclusion. Set out for the Xiao Clan..."