Yao Chen looked a little puzzled, too. He had no idea what rank the Black Treasure Chest was.
However, according to the system's introduction and explanation, the Black Treasure Chest was a chest that gave random rewards.
In other words, anything from low-tier rewards to god-tier rewards could be drawn from the Black Treasure Chest.
Xiao Yan was thrilled. Looking at how much his strength had improved, he said to Yao Chen, "Teacher, I've reached the strength of a One-Star Dou Zhe."
"Thanks to your help during this time. Otherwise, I'd probably still be stuck at just a few segments of Dou Qi."
"My cultivation would never have improved this quickly."
Xiao Yan spoke with heartfelt gratitude.
Yao Chen patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder and said with a smile,
"Haha, it's nothing. I told you long ago: you're my disciple, Xiao Yan. Helping you improve your strength is part of my duty as your teacher."
"Teacher." Xiao Yan was deeply moved, his eyes growing moist.
Three years.
For three whole years, he had been mocked as a good-for-nothing. Apart from his father, Xiao Xun'er, and his two elder brothers,
no one else had ever treated him so well.
How could Xiao Yan not be moved? How could he not be excited?
At that moment, in the Tagor Desert of the Jia Ma Empire, Nalan Jie, Pill King Gu He, Yun Yun, and several Dou Wang experts from the Misty Cloud Sect had all arrived.
They had come to search for a Heavenly Flame!
Only by finding a Heavenly Flame and presenting it to Mr. Yao could they hope to earn his favor!
That would be an enormous boon to either the Misty Cloud Sect or the Nalan Family.
However, Heavenly Flames were not easy to find, especially in the Tagor Desert, which was the territory of Queen Medusa and the Snake People Tribe.
Several hours later, after a thorough search, they finally found a green lotus.
Pill King Gu He was astonished. Seeing the lotus before him, he grew incredibly excited. Surely this had to be the Green Lotus Core Flame.
For any Alchemist, a Heavenly Flame was an exceptionally rare treasure.
"Although it took us quite a while to find this Heavenly Flame, now that we've found it, that's all that matters," Yun Yun said.
Yun Yun stepped forward, and Gu He hurriedly warned her.
"Be extremely careful. Heavenly Flames are the most powerful flames in the world. Even a Dou Huang expert could be reduced to ashes in an instant if they make the slightest mistake."
Pill King Gu He couldn't help but marvel at just how extraordinary those Alchemists who could refine Heavenly Flames and make them their own must be...
Swallowing a Heavenly Flame was simply insane!
But if they could successfully refine one, the benefits would naturally be immense.
Even when struck by a fatal attack, they would be protected by the Heavenly Flame, lowering the risk of injury or death.
It would be of tremendous help, whether in battle or in refining pills.
"Be extremely careful!" Everyone proceeded with the utmost caution. They were just about to move in and take the Green Lotus Core Flame when, to their shock, they discovered that there was no sign of a Heavenly Flame on the lotus.
What was going on? Had someone already gotten to it first?
"Why isn't there a Heavenly Flame inside this lotus?"
"Could Queen Medusa of the Tagor Desert have already subdued it?" Pill King Gu He asked gravely.
"If that's the case, our hopes may be dashed. We were planning to seize the Heavenly Flame and present it to Mr. Yao to earn his favor!"
"Now it looks like there's no hope at all!"
"What's the big deal? We can go to the Snake-People Tribe and take the Heavenly Flame back from Queen Medusa!" Nalan Yanran said, as if it were obvious.
"Absolutely not. Queen Medusa is already a Peak Nine-Star Dou Emperor. Now that she has a Heavenly Flame, if she manages to subdue it, she might even advance to Dou Zong. She's far beyond anything we can handle!"
As they were discussing the matter,
several Snake-People swiftly appeared around them and surrounded them.
Then Queen Medusa appeared. She, too, had come to search for the Heavenly Flame.
Seeing no trace of it on the lotus, Queen Medusa's gaze turned icy. "Hand over the Heavenly Flame, and I might spare your lives."
"Otherwise, you die."
Queen Medusa struck in an instant, revealing the strength of a Peak Nine-Star Dou Emperor. She immediately routed everyone before her.
They fled in disarray, using Qi Wings to escape the Tagor Desert at top speed.
On the way, Nalan Jie clutched his chest. "I never imagined Queen Medusa of the Tagor Desert would be so terrifyingly powerful!"
Yun Yun had been badly injured as well. "That's right. At Peak Nine-Star Dou Emperor, she's only a hair's breadth from breaking through to Dou Zong."
"I may be a Dou Emperor too, but compared with Medusa's Nine-Star strength, I'm nowhere close!"
Pill King Gu He's expression was grave. "But from what Queen Medusa said just now, it seems she wasn't the one who took the Green Lotus Core Flame."
"If it wasn't Queen Medusa, then who got to the Green Lotus Core Flame first?"
In the Tagor Desert, the members of the Snake-People Tribe watched the group flying away on the horizon.
"Your Majesty, should we go after them and kill them?" they asked Queen Medusa.
Queen Medusa said nothing. Her expression was icy and aloof. She had come in search of the Heavenly Flame so she could advance to Dou Zong.
Queen Medusa knew who those people were: Yun Yun of the Misty Cloud Sect and Pill King Gu He.
From what they had just said, Medusa could tell that they hadn't obtained the Heavenly Flame.
Someone else had gotten to it first, before they arrived. All that remained was a lotus seed.
Queen Medusa's expression was grave. Her hopes of obtaining the Heavenly Flame had been dashed, and she was deeply disappointed.
After she returned to the Snake People Tribe,
several elders spoke up. "Your Majesty, although the Heavenly Flame could temper your body and help you advance to Dou Zong,"
"someone else has gotten to it first."
"But a Heavenly Flame isn't the only way to advance to Dou Zong."
"We've heard that recently, a Rank 6 Alchemist appeared in Wutan City in the Jia Ma Empire. It seems he's also a Dou Zong expert."
"He can even refine the Sect-Breaking Pill, which allows Peak Nine-Star Dou Emperors to advance to Dou Zong."
"The Sect-Breaking Pill auctioned in Wutan City some time ago seems to have been bought by a faction from another part of the continent."
Hearing what the elders of the Snake People Tribe had just said, Queen Medusa's expression grew grave.
"Oh? A little place like Wutan City actually has an Alchemist like that?"
"And he's a Dou Zong expert, too?"
The elders of the Snake People Tribe said, "If we can persuade this esteemed Alchemist to refine a Sect-Breaking Pill for our tribe, then Your Majesty will have a chance to break through to Dou Zong. Besides, you won't have to risk being consumed by a Heavenly Flame and dying."
"Then I'll go to Wutan City myself," Queen Medusa said.