A voice rang out from within the Myriad Dao Soul-Nurturing Jade. It was Medicine Elder's, filled with utter shock. It had even grown shrill, utterly lacking his usual composure.
"Y-you... how did you do that?"
Medicine Elder was so stunned that his figure instantly drifted out of the Spirit Nourishing Jade. He stared fixedly at the dazzling red Fire Lotus in Xiao Yan's palm, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.
The Fire Lotus was crimson from top to bottom, with layers of overlapping petals, twelve in all. Each one was translucent, as though carved from the purest ruby.
At the flower's center, golden flames flickered faintly like the heart of a lotus, radiating a heat that carried a hint of eerie, bewitching beauty.
As the flames danced, a faint, illusory lotus appeared around them. Its beauty was breathtaking, yet it inspired awe.
This was the Red Lotus Karma Fire!
Ranked eighth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!
Born in the land of the Nine Serenities, it could burn away every sin in the world!
Medicine Elder felt his very soul trembling.
As an Eighth-Tier alchemist, he was an expert at wielding fire. He had possessed the Bone Spirit Cold Flame for many years, and his sensitivity to Heavenly Flames far surpassed that of ordinary people.
The aura radiating from this Red Lotus Karma Fire was far more powerful than the Bone Spirit Cold Flame he controlled!
Eighth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking—it truly lived up to its reputation!
"Kid, where did you get that?"
Medicine Elder stared at Xiao Yan in disbelief, his heart surging like a storm-tossed sea.
The Red Lotus Karma Fire wasn't some common commodity!
A Heavenly Flame of this caliber was an unattainable treasure, even across the entire Dou Qi Continent!
Countless alchemists spent their whole lives searching for one and never found it!
And this kid, who had never even left Wutan City, had just casually produced one?
What in the world was going on?
"Just a lucky coincidence. I came across it by chance."
Xiao Yan brushed him off, his eyes settling on the Red Lotus Karma Fire in his palm. A trace of fervor flashed in his gaze.
With the Red Lotus Karma Fire and the Flame Mantra, his strength was bound to soar!
"Came across it by chance?"
Medicine Elder's mouth twitched.
A Heavenly Flame of this caliber, and you're telling me you found it by chance?
I, Yao Chen, have lived most of my life. How come I've never found one by chance?
But he had no time to press him further, because he saw something even more alarming—
Xiao Yan had actually sat down cross-legged, formed a hand seal, and begun circulating the Dou Qi in his body along the Flame Mantra's path!
"Kid, don't tell me you're going to refine the Red Lotus Karma Fire right now?"
Seeing this, Medicine Elder's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly tried to stop him.
"This thing isn't that simple!"
"The Red Lotus Karma Fire is extremely special. It places exceptionally high demands on the temperament of the person refining it!"
"Only those who are upright and have incurred little karmic debt from killing can earn its approval and refine it successfully!"
"If someone of crooked morals, with too many lives on their hands, tries to refine it rashly, the Red Lotus Karma Fire won't submit. It'll turn on its master instead and burn them until their soul is scattered!"
Medicine Elder spoke at lightning speed, sharing everything he knew.
Although he was wary of Xiao Yan's methods, and although he had handed over the Flame Mantra under duress, he had chosen to cooperate with him. He didn't want Xiao Yan to get hurt.
After all—
This kid had promised to help him rebuild his body and take revenge!
As Medicine Elder saw it, perhaps only this mysterious young man before him could fulfill his wish for vengeance.
However—
Before Medicine Elder could finish speaking,
Xiao Yan had already made his move.
He held the Red Lotus Karma Fire in his left hand and gave a light wave with his right—
Whirr!
The Ten Thousand Soul Banner appeared from thin air. Wisps of black mist poured out, instantly shrouding the entire room.
The space was sealed!
All auras were concealed!
This was another ability of the Ten Thousand Soul Banner. It could use the power of the resentful souls within to block all auras from leaking out, preventing anyone outside from sensing them.
Xiao Yan had confidence in his strength, but if his breakthrough caused too much of a stir, it would invite unnecessary trouble.
Especially since—
There was a Dou Emperor bodyguard lurking near Xiao Xun'er.
After taking care of everything,
Xiao Yan didn't hesitate for a moment. He immediately circulated the Flame Mantra!
"This kid..."
Medicine Elder was speechless.
He hadn't even finished talking, and the kid had already started?
Was he really in that much of a hurry?
But it had come to this. He couldn't stop him, so he could only watch.
"Alas..."
Medicine Elder sighed inwardly.
The Red Lotus Karma Fire might be relatively gentle, but that was only true for the virtuous.
If someone with crooked morals and too many deaths on their hands came into contact with it, they'd be playing with fire!
That "Black Banner" treasure in the kid's hand looked like some wicked, bloodthirsty object. Who knew how many souls and resentful spirits it had absorbed?
Wasn't refining the Red Lotus Karma Fire so rashly like a lamb walking straight into a tiger's den?
"Forget it, forget it..."
"You really aren't afraid, are you?"
Medicine Elder shook his head, but he still released a wisp of soul energy to envelop the entire room.
It was to prevent the Red Lotus Karma Fire from running wild and causing too much of a commotion for the Xiao Family.
At the same time, he prepared himself—
If things went wrong and he had the chance, he would do his best to save Xiao Yan.
After all, although the kid was mysterious, he had treated him decently and even given him such a treasure as the Spirit Nourishing Jade.
However—
What happened next left Medicine Elder completely stunned.
He saw—
The instant the Red Lotus Karma Fire in Xiao Yan's palm touched the Dou Qi from the Flame Mantra, it suddenly burst into dazzling scarlet light!
The brilliance was so intense that the whole room seemed to be bathed in a sea of blood!
Medicine Elder's heart tightened. He thought the Heavenly Flame was about to run wild.
But what happened next made his eyes widen in disbelief!
The Red Lotus Karma Fire was as docile as a kitten or puppy. It obediently let Xiao Yan's Dou Qi wrap around it, guide it, and refine it!
The entire process flowed as smoothly as water, without the slightest obstruction!
It didn't run wild!
It didn't resist!
It didn't even show the slightest hint of rejection!
The Red Lotus Karma Fire seemed to have found its master after a long separation. It joyfully merged into Xiao Yan's body, following the Flame Mantra's meridians as it was gradually refined, subdued, and fused with him!
"Th-this is impossible!"
Medicine Elder's eyes widened as he stared at the scene in disbelief.
He had lived for over a hundred years and seen countless alchemists refine Heavenly Flames, but never had he seen anything so easy or gone so smoothly!
What's more—
This was the Red Lotus Karma Fire!
The Red Lotus Karma Fire, ranked eighth on the Heavenly Flame Ranking!
It wasn't some ordinary flame anyone could get their hands on!
How could it be refined so easily?
Even more shocking to Medicine Elder was that the process of Xiao Yan refining the Red Lotus Karma Fire hadn't unleashed the slightest destructive force!
Everyone knew that refining a Heavenly Flame was an extraordinarily dangerous business.
Heavenly Flames were violent. The slightest misstep could make one turn on their master. At best, the meridians would be shattered; at worst, the person would die on the spot!
But Xiao Yan?
The whole process was as peaceful as cultivating an ordinary technique. He hadn't even stirred up the earth-shaking commotion that normally came with refining a Heavenly Flame!
"Wait!"
"Could this kid really be so pure and upright? Not a single life on his hands?"
Medicine Elder's heart surged like a storm-tossed sea.
He stared at Xiao Yan in disbelief, trying to see if he could discern anything from him.
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