Sacrifice? What Sacrifice? Azure Ice Flame

Late at night.

"Yan'er, the time has come for your 'sacrifice'!"

"Huh? Old Master, what are you talking about?"

Voices echoed through Ye Yan's room.

Ye Yan stared at Ye Zhong in astonishment, utterly confused.

He had just been about to try manifesting the Azure Ice Flame when Ye Zhong came looking for him.

He had thought Ye Zhong had come to give him a cultivation technique. After all, he had already broken through to the Dou Zhe realm, and he was quite curious what an earth-tier technique was like.

But now...

Ye Yan frowned. "Sacrifice? Sacrifice what?"

Could it be some ulterior motive Ye Zhong had been plotting for a year?

"Ahem!"

Ye Zhong coughed dryly a few times, paused for several breaths, then spoke somewhat awkwardly.

"Well, Yan'er... isn't one of the Three Great Heads of the Pill Tower a woman? Your talent is unmatched, your looks are peerless, and women like you very much..."

Upon hearing that,

Ye Yan raised an eyebrow. If he still could not figure out what this old man was after, then he truly would be an idiot.

He had thought Ye Zhong's talk of sacrifice was an exaggeration. Turns out, he had been understated.

This old geezer had waited a whole year just to bring this up!

"Yan'er, what do you think?!"

Ye Zhong craned his head around, then narrowed his eyes at Ye Yan and spoke in a low voice.

"Over the past year, I've noticed that you really do have excellent luck with women. And you're even more attractive than before."

"Even women who don't know you, who are usually cold and sharp-tongued, don't seem to bear you any ill will..."

Ye Zhong kept talking at length, recounting his observations from the past year.

Ye Yan stared at him and somehow detected a hint of lechery in his expression.

"Stop!"

Ye Yan raised a hand to cut off what Ye Zhong was about to say.

"Don't call me that first."

Ye Yan said helplessly, "And where did you get the confidence to set your sights on that Mysterious Robe Giant? Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"We're only hoping that it would be best if you could become her disciple. If not, it doesn't matter."

Ye Zhong said calmly, "Even if you can just build a good relationship with her and make those forces wary of us, that would be enough."

"Besides, I'm sure you've noticed over the past year that women have been liking you more and more..."

"Especially young wives, mature women, and little girls."

The more Ye Zhong spoke, the stranger it sounded. His gaze at Ye Yan was filled with something odd.

If this boy was not watched carefully, his future romantic entanglements might very well turn the entire Ye Family upside down.

And he had heard that the Mysterious Robe Giant, Xuan Yi, possessed unparalleled beauty even within the Pill Tower. Her temperament was especially cold and alluring.

Most importantly, she was older too—she also counted among the mature women.

Ye Yan held his forehead and shook his head.

What the hell kind of stupid idea was this?

As far as he knew, Xuan Yi had some history with Yao Chen. He had never heard that she had taken any disciples all these years.

How did this old man think he could make Xuan Yi break precedent for him?

Even knowing he had the [Husband Aura] entry, he did not have that kind of confidence.

Could mere favorability really make someone who had cultivated to the Battle Sovereign level act against their own principles?

He did not believe it!

Ye Zhong continued in all seriousness.

"As long as you don't do anything that particularly ruins their impression of you, they'll have a favorable impression of you and won't become hostile!"

The more Ye Yan listened, the tighter his brow furrowed. Then he looked at the panel in his mind.

[Husband Aura: Charm effects greatly increased. Your very presence gives little girls, young wives, and mature women a powerful sense of security and familiarity.]

Calling it utter nonsense did not seem quite right...

It seemed like... he could give it a try...?

After all, he would merely be making use of his charm to seek a master, not doing anything bad.

Whether he succeeded or failed was another matter entirely!

If he failed, he could simply begin his travels!

"However, Old Master, that depends on me being able to meet the Mysterious Robe Giant... Do you have a way?"

Thoughtfulness appeared in Ye Yan's eyes. His fingers tapped against a book, producing dull thuds.

"Do you really think your grandfather has managed to support the Ye Family for so many years without having some connections?"

Ye Zhong gave Ye Yan a mysterious smile.

"Alright. Since you agree as well, make preparations over the next few days. I'll send you to Sacred Pill City for a look."

Ye Yan nodded.

His current one-star Dou Zhe cultivation was comparable to an ordinary eight-star Dou Zhe. Once he learned another cultivation technique, he could also try refining pills.

Whether or not he could become a disciple, it would still be good to show his face around the Pill Tower.

When the time came, the better his relationship with the Three Great Heads, the safer the Ye Family would be.

After all, he had grown up in the Ye Family. He still possessed the sense of responsibility he ought to have.

Ye Yan suddenly thought of another matter and looked at Ye Zhong.

"Old Master, I've broken through to the Dou Zhe realm. Shouldn't you let me see the cultivation techniques our family has?"

Ye Zhong first shook his head, then said, "The highest-ranked cultivation technique in the family is the earth-tier mid-level Yang Flame Spirit Art."

His family had spent considerable resources to obtain that technique.

Ye Yan nodded.

"Though this technique is enough for your cultivation, if there is a better choice, you can have better prospects in the future."

Ye Yan's eyes lit up. "You mean?"

The family still had such reserves?

Ye Zhong shook his head.

"What are you thinking? The family truly doesn't have one, but the Pill Tower does!"

"A cultivation technique higher than earth-tier mid-level—could you obtain one so easily from the Pill Tower? Other than becoming a disciple, or attaining a sufficiently high status and exchanging for one from the Pill Tower, I'm afraid there are hardly any other options. Are we supposed to wait several years?"

"Of course not. So it would be best if you can become a disciple. If you can't, Elder Sheng Yao, my friend in the Pill Tower, owes me a favor. He has an earth-tier high-level fire-element cultivation technique."

At those words, Ye Yan frowned.

The reason the Ye Family could maintain peace on the surface was because they still had connections among the Pill Tower's elders.

If they used up that connection, the Ye Family would likely face some troubles afterward.

Thinking of this,

Ye Yan focused his mind on the system panel and looked at the entry that could already manifest the Azure Ice Flame.

[Your Exotic Fire is Fake: Obtain the Azure Ice Flame. With this flame, you can disguise it as the Bone Spirit Cold Flame.]

He could sense a unique space within this entry, which he called the Entry Space.

Within it floated a deep, ghostly blue flame that radiated coldness.

Driven by curiosity, Ye Yan released his soul perception to examine the conditions within that space.

The instant his soul perception entered that space,

A bone-piercing cold that seemed capable of freezing even the soul rushed toward him. Ye Yan's soul instantly lost every trace of movement, and his face turned deathly pale.

"What happened?"

Seeing Ye Yan's abnormal state, Ye Zhong was horrified. He released his aura and carefully sensed the surrounding area.

Only after confirming that no one was nearby did he reach out to check Ye Yan's condition.

At that critical moment, the Azure Ice Flame also withdrew the faint trace of chill it had released from Ye Yan's body.

More than ten breaths later,

Ye Yan finally let out a breath of relief. His soul, which had nearly been frozen, gradually returned to normal.

Seeing Ye Zhong's expression, Ye Yan's lips trembled as he tried to say something, yet no words came out for a long while. In the end, he could only shakily raise a hand to indicate that he was fine.

Only after Ye Yan sat cross-legged and expelled the last faint remnants of cold did color return to his face.

Ye Zhong looked worried.

But Ye Yan's face revealed delight mixed with lingering fear.

After being tempered by that burst of cold just now, he felt that even his soul had become somewhat stronger.

It could be considered a blessing in disguise.

If this Azure Ice Flame had not come from the system, and if it had not withdrawn that trace of chill it released earlier,

then the Azure Ice Flame would likely have frozen both his body and soul by now, making him the unluckiest transmigrator of all.