Heavenly Flames Ranking

Inside the auction house, the atmosphere remained at a fever pitch amid Ya Fei's coy, hand-covered laughter.

The Ice Begonia, which Xiao Yan had originally estimated at around three thousand gold coins, had actually sold for four thousand under the boost of her charm.

Silently thanking that poor sucker, Xiao Yan left Auction Hall No. 1 and returned to the appraisal room.

After a while, hurried footsteps sounded from outside, and two figures pushed open the door and entered.

"Hehe, are you the owner of the Ice Begonia?" A fragrant breeze drifted over as a soft, sultry laugh suddenly sounded beside Xiao Yan's ear, making his heart tremble slightly.

Cursing her as a vixen inwardly, Xiao Yan buried his face deep within his hood and shifted his gaze toward the woman in the red dress beside him.

At such close range, Xiao Yan once again experienced this woman's mature allure.

On her charming, smiling face, a pair of long, watery eyes seemed to be constantly casting their spell over men.

His gaze drifted inconspicuously past her slender, elegant neck, only to nearly be swallowed by the deep, snowy cleft below...

Xiao Yan had practically watched them grow step by step. He truly had no idea what she had eaten for them to develop so dramatically.

He nodded slightly, and Yao Lao's dry voice emerged. "You're here to pay, right? There's no need for so much trouble. Exchange the gold coins for fifteen twenty-year-old Purpleleaf Orchids, five first-tier wood-attributed magic cores, and prepare a quiet room for me."

Seemingly surprised by the age and demands of the person beneath the black robe, Ya Fei covered her red lips with her delicate hand and laughed softly. The full pair beneath her chest traced a breathtaking curve.

"Sir requires medicinal ingredients and magic cores. Could you be an alchemist? Ya Fei rarely sees an alchemist who does not wear a badge. May I ask your name?"

"What? Little girl, must one declare their identity to come to a place like this?" Yao Lao said blandly from beneath the black robe.

"Hehe, Ya Fei was merely curious. If you do not wish to say, old sir, Ya Fei naturally would not dare press the matter." Ya Fei giggled.

Looking through the edge of his hood at the pair of snow-white little feet hidden beneath the tight red dress, Xiao Yan felt rather helpless. Ya Fei truly was a great vixen. If she put on a pair of black stockings too, then...

With Yao Lao, that old monster, keeping her occupied, Ya Fei, that great fox, had been unable to pry out even the slightest useful information.

In the end, Ya Fei could only abandon that notion and smilingly had a maid bring over the medicinal ingredients and magic cores.

"Prepare another storage ring, a medicinal cauldron, five hundred Blood-Coagulating Herbs, six hundred Bone-Growing Flowers, five hundred Millet Poppy Flowers, and five hundred Qi-Replenishing Fruits. I imagine that would be far more useful to the auction house than all that nonsense just now."

After rising and putting away the ingredients, Yao Lao spoke to Ya Fei.

Hearing all these demands, Gu Ni's eyelid twitched slightly.

Even the lowest-grade storage ring cost seventy or eighty thousand gold coins. Though the medicinal ingredients afterward were not particularly rare, such quantities would still require a full hundred thousand gold coins.

Furthermore, even an ordinary medicinal cauldron would cost at least over a hundred thousand gold coins.

Altogether, these items would cost at least around three hundred thousand gold coins.

Ya Fei was similarly stunned. Such a huge transaction was difficult to encounter even once a year in Wutan City.

"Uncle Gu Ni, didn't you say he might be from a mercenary group? Judging from his final requests, he seems to be quite a capable alchemist," Ya Fei asked softly after a brief silence.

Thinking of how he had failed to detect even a trace of the other party's strength, Gu Ni sighed. "It seems his strength far surpasses mine..."

"More powerful than Uncle Gu Ni? Wouldn't that make him an alchemist above the second tier?" Ya Fei's little mouth fell open in astonishment.

At least a third-tier alchemist!

Such figures were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns in the Jia Ma Empire.

"Alchemists all have somewhat strange temperaments. Do not think of investigating his identity. If he develops a bad impression of the auction house, casually offending a mysterious alchemist of unknown rank would not be a wise move."

"What we should do now is figure out how to make him favor us. Ya Fei knows that." Pouting, Ya Fei rested her fragrant cheek on her delicate hand and sighed softly. Why did she not have that talent?

Following the maid's lead once more, Xiao Yan soon entered a room that resembled a guest room in an inn.

With a flick of his finger, Yao Lao immediately took out the medicinal ingredients and magic cores. Compared to what he had requested earlier, there were ten additional Bone-Washing Flowers.

"On the Dou Qi Continent, there are countless medicinal ingredients. To formulate pills with different effects, one must select from these countless materials those that can neutralize the violent energy within the magic crystal you intend to refine."

"This Foundation Establishment Spiritual Liquid is a formula I developed only after many years of experimentation. If others were to spot the key to it and accidentally refine it themselves, that would be a tremendous loss."

Xiao Yan shook his head with a bitter smile. He really was cautious.

Yao Lao stretched out his palm. After a brief silence, a pale white flame slowly rose from it.

This was the Bone Chilling Flame! Xiao Yan stared solemnly at the flame, and his heart gave a violent leap.

Having fought Xun'er earlier today, Xiao Yan had gained considerable insight from both the true Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame she had unleashed and its subsidiary flame.

In the past, he had only known information about Heavenly Flames. Having now seen one with his own eyes, his understanding of Heavenly Flames had deepened considerably.

The notion of creating a Heavenly Flame himself became increasingly clear.

As his soul perception continuously controlled the flame's temperature, Yao Lao took advantage of the pause to glance at Xiao Yan, who was staring curiously at the flame in his palm. After hesitating briefly, he said softly:

"Alchemists can generally judge the rank of a flame by its color. Ordinary alchemists' flames are pale yellow. The higher the rank, the deeper the color and the stronger the power."

"Of course, these are the flames commonly used by alchemists. However, within alchemist circles, aside from relying on the abundance of Dou Qi to catalyze flames, one may also borrow flames."

"More powerful alchemists can make use of beast flames formed within magical beasts. Those who are stronger still, and have the necessary strength, can make use of Heavenly Flames."

At this point, Yao Lao became exceptionally serious. "Within this vast world, there exist certain Heavenly Flames. Perhaps they are a spark carried within the heart of a meteorite fallen from the sky, or perhaps they are molten earth flames forged for thousands upon thousands of years in the depths of a volcano...

"These Heavenly Flames are several times more powerful than flames catalyzed by Dou Qi. When used to refine medicine, they can also enhance a pill's efficacy. However, these Heavenly Flames are all exceedingly violent. They are rarely encountered in ordinary times, and even if one does find them, it is extremely difficult to make them one's own."

A faint glow appeared in Yao Lao's old eyes as he looked at his flame, and he said with blazing eyes, "The alchemy world of the Dou Qi Continent has compiled the Heavenly Flames known to mankind into a 'Heavenly Flames Ranking,' which contains a total of twenty-three flames.

"My flame is ranked eleventh: the Bone Chilling Flame. This Heavenly Flame can only be encountered once every hundred years, at the moment when day and night alternate, in lands of extreme cold and extreme yin."