Dou Di and Beginner-Level Pills...

In the Xiao Clan, within the courtyard of Gu Xia's residence, the Dou Di was attempting to refine a third-tier medicinal pill—the Spring Return Pill...

"One Clearbright Flower, one Jadecloud Smoke, one Crystal Fruit..." Recalling the Spring Return Pill's formula, Gu Xia tossed the various herbs into a golden medicinal cauldron. As he used his Dou Qi flames to refine the herbs, he simultaneously used his powerful soul force to fuse the refined herbal essences together...

Because Gu Xia's soul force was incredibly powerful, fusing a mere third-tier medicinal pill posed no problem at all. The only issue was that his refining speed was too slow. Although he was a Dou Di, his Dou Qi was ultimately still within the normal range.

Without the aid of a special flame, the refining step became much more troublesome. First came the matter of time. Without a special flame's enhancement, extracting and tempering the essence of medicinal herbs required far more time and soul force. The older the medicinal herb, the harder it was to refine. It could be said that if Gu Xia wanted to refine an Emperor Pill, he needed at least one Heavenly Flame!

Without a Heavenly Flame, he had no way to refine medicinal herbs, much less condense them into pills. Moreover, the intense heat of a Heavenly Flame could more perfectly remove impurities from medicinal herbs, raising the pill's quality to another level...

Another two hours passed before Gu Xia finally refined nearly a jade bottle's worth of Spring Return Pills.

"What a hassle. I really need to put finding a Heavenly Flame on the agenda. Otherwise, when will I ever manage to refine an Emperor Pill..."

Looking at the quality of the pills in the bottle, Gu Xia shook his head in dissatisfaction. He casually tossed the jade bottle containing the Spring Return Pills into his storage ring. Just as he was about to refine another batch, a blue bird landed on his shoulder and chirped incessantly beside his ear...

"Have you found it already?"

"Chirp chirp... (Yes, Master. We have discovered that lion's lair.)"

"Mm, well done. Go wait there first. I still have a few things to arrange..."

"Chirp chirp chirp! (Yes, Master!)"

The blue bird then flew into the sky. No one knew that a blue bird had once visited this city...

"Is Elder Ling here?"

After the blue bird flew away, Gu Xia spoke toward a patch of shadow as though talking to himself. As his voice fell, the previously empty shadows suddenly became illusory. A figure slowly emerged...

"This old servant is here! Please give your orders, Young Master..."

Although the shadowy figure did not reveal himself fully, his attitude toward Gu Xia was exceedingly respectful. His voice was somewhat aged, but that did not hinder his obedience to Gu Xia's commands...

"Elder Ling, I'll be going out for a while. You needn't follow me. Just help me protect Xun'er, understand?"

"This old servant accepts the order!"

"Mm, that's all. You may leave now."

"This old servant takes his leave..."

With that, the shadowy figure merged into the shadows once more. Gu Xia's courtyard returned to its usual silence...

"Little Flower, it's time for us to set off..."

"Roar!!!"

Upon hearing his master's command, Little Flower immediately sprang up. Once Gu Xia had settled securely on its back, the large green cat shot off like the wind...

Half an hour later, within the Magical Beast Mountain Range...

A spatial rift appeared out of nowhere above the silent mountain range. The rift grew larger and larger, and then a young man riding a large green tiger emerged from within.

The young man's features were as refined as jade, gentle and elegant. His eyes were deep and bright like stars, while his white robes trimmed in gold further highlighted his noble and extraordinary bearing...

"Chirp chirp!" As soon as the young master appeared, he summoned a blue bird. The blue bird chirped as it landed on the finger he held out.

"Mm, I understand. It'll be enough once she gives birth. Have you found the cave I asked you to locate?"

"Chirp chirp. (Reporting to Master, Little Green found a cave beneath a cliff, but it hasn't gone inside yet. It doesn't know whether it's the one Master is looking for...)"

"Oh? Found beneath a cliff? Then it's probably the one. Let that lion give birth to her cub first. We'll go take a look at that cave..."

"Chirp! (Yes, Master!)"

After the man and bird finished talking, the blue bird flew up and led the way some distance ahead of the young man...

"Little Flower!"

"Roar!"

Having received its master's command, the large green tiger swiftly followed the blue bird. Led by the blue bird, Gu Xia soon arrived at the cave it had mentioned...

"Chirp chirp. (Master, the entrance is below!)"

The little blue bird chirped at Gu Xia, then plunged headfirst into the bottomless cliff...

"Little Flower!"

Gu Xia patted the tiger's large head, signaling it to follow.

The large tiger did not hesitate. With a single leap, it jumped down into the cloud-wreathed abyss...

"Oh? Is this the place?"

After the large tiger carried Gu Xia down, it landed on a tiny patch of flat ground. On the cliff face behind it was a cave concealed by vines...

"Hiss hiss..."

Suddenly, a small green snake slithered out from the dense vines. It was not afraid of Gu Xia. Instead, as though it recognized him, it crawled happily up before him, flicking its tongue with delight while its long tail swayed back and forth. It looked extremely pleased...

"Little Green, long time no see..."

Gu Xia knew this little green snake. He crouched down and extended a slender finger toward it.

Understanding his intent, the little snake crawled up along Gu Xia's finger and onto his body. It then made its way to Gu Xia's neck, hanging there like a green necklace...

"Then let's go in."

Gu Xia took the lead and stepped forward. They entered the cave. In the pitch-black environment, none of them besides the blue bird were affected.

The blue bird also knew that it lacked night vision, so it obediently landed on Little Flower's large head and let Little Flower carry it onward...

"There's even a door?"

Before long, Gu Xia and the others reached the end of the cave. It was a relatively spacious area, but a heavy stone door stood before them, blocking their path...

"There are mechanisms too!"

Gu Xia briefly examined the stone door and discovered that it was guarded by several ancient mechanisms.

Unfortunately, Gu Xia was not an archaeologist. He had no interest in the stone door's history. After having Little Flower and the others retreat a little, Gu Xia casually waved a palm toward the stone door from afar, as leisurely as someone shooing an unruly child away...

Yet with that casual gesture, the stone door—which required at least the strength of a Dou Shi to open—was blasted into powder!

Worried that he might damage the items inside, Gu Xia only destroyed the stone door. He did not let the force spread any farther.

"Alright, let's go in."

Gu Xia called out and took the lead into the stone chamber beyond the door. All the dust and powdered debris seemed to possess intelligence, automatically avoiding them. Gu Xia and his group entered the ancient, mysterious stone chamber without a speck of dust on them.

Gu Xia swept his gaze around and found only some relatively rare medicinal herbs. However, a dried skeleton caught his attention...