Xiao Yan's Confusion

"Xun'er, I want to be alone for a while."

Xiao Yan gently shook his head, stopped dwelling on it, and let out a deep breath.

"Brother Xiao Yan?"

Xiao Xun'er froze, but when she saw the bewilderment and sorrow on Xiao Yan's face,

she knew he must have something he did not want others to know. She softly said, "I understand, Brother Xiao Yan."

"Then Xun'er will leave first. If you need anything, Brother Xiao Yan, you can call for me!"

Xiao Xun'er gave a playful smile, waved her jade-like hand at Xiao Yan, then turned and left.

"That silly girl..."

Watching her retreating figure, tenderness welled up in Xiao Yan's heart. Then he gave a bitter smile and turned to head in the other direction.

Night fell.

Night

Xiao Clan's back mountain

At the peak of a cliff, Xiao Yan lay sprawled across the grass, a blade of grass between his lips. He chewed it lightly, allowing its faint bitterness to spread through his mouth.

He raised his somewhat fair hand before his eyes and gazed through the gaps between his fingers at the enormous silver moon hanging in the sky.

"Ugh, what exactly is going on? Why has my Dou Qi disappeared?"

Thinking of the afternoon's test, Xiao Yan spat out the grass and sighed. He scratched his head in frustration, his eyes filled with deep confusion.

"From a Dou Practitioner to the fourth stage of Dou Qi... Heh, heaven really knew how to toy with people."

"Perhaps coming to this world was a mistake from the start."

Xiao Yan muttered to himself, his gaze full of bewilderment, as though he could not accept what he had become.

Xiao Yan had a secret known only to himself.

He was not from this world.

Strictly speaking, his soul came from a blue-and-white planet called Earth.

As for why he had come here, even he could not explain such a bizarre experience.

However, over the more than ten years he had spent in this world, he had gained a certain understanding of this continent.

This continent did not have the flashy magic found in Western fantasy worlds. Only a cultivation method called Dou Qi was the mainstream here.

Thus, Dou Qi cultivation was divided into eleven stages, from Dou Qi to Dou Emperor.

From what he had learned over the years in the Xiao Clan, he only knew that the patriarchs of several major families in Wutan City possessed the strength of Grand Dou Masters. Beyond that, he had never encountered anyone stronger.

"I thought that after coming to this world, I would get to experience the joy of becoming strong."

"Who would have thought that my Dou Qi would not advance, but instead regress? Now I can't even reach the level of a Dou Practitioner."

A self-mocking curve rose at the corner of Xiao Yan's mouth, and intense desolation and helplessness filled his heart.

How extraordinarily talented he had been two years ago, yet now he had been dealt such a blow that his heart had gone utterly cold.

"Fourth stage of Dou Qi! Not even the third stage. Looks like this venerable one's luck isn't bad..."

Just as Xiao Yan was feeling dejected, a voice carrying faint surprise suddenly rang out by his ear. He could not help but frown, lift his head, and look toward the sound.

A handsome young man dressed in long black robes stood before him, his hands clasped behind his back and his posture proud.

The newcomer was Xie Tianxiao. He had thought that even if the plot was still in its early stages, Xiao Yan should have already had his engagement annulled.

He had not expected the timeline to be a year earlier, before Medicine Elder had awakened and before Xiao Yan had even fallen to the third stage of Dou Qi.

This left him feeling as though he had been struck by an unexpected windfall.

"Who are you? Why have you appeared on the Xiao Clan's back mountain?"

Seeing Xie Tianxiao dressed in black, Xiao Yan was startled, but he quickly calmed down and asked with a frown. He guessed that this man could not possibly be from the Xiao Clan.

This was the Xiao Clan's back mountain. Aside from direct-bloodline clan members, outsiders could not come here.

"You're Xiao Yan, aren't you?"

"Who this Saint is isn't important. What's important is that I know why your Dou Qi has disappeared."

Xie Tianxiao stared at Xiao Yan with an amused smile on his face and spoke slowly.

"You know me?"

"You also know why my Dou Qi disappeared?"

Xiao Yan's eyes suddenly lit up. Although he did not know who this black-robed man was,

since the other party knew the cause of his problem, he must have a way to solve it.

He could not help it. The disappearance of his Dou Qi was the pain in his heart. He could not imagine what he would become if it continued disappearing. He would probably become a complete cripple.

"That's right. I can solve this problem as well."

Xie Tianxiao nodded faintly.

"Then hurry up and help me solve it! Whatever conditions you have, I'll agree to them!"

So there really was a way!

Excitement flashed through Xiao Yan's eyes as he urged him anxiously. Right now, he truly needed someone to solve the problem of his disappearing Dou Qi.

"No rush. First, press this herb against the ancient black ring on your hand."

Looking at the anxious Xiao Yan, Xie Tianxiao smiled faintly and waved his hand. A plant resembling green jade appeared and floated before him.

The herb was entirely green, as though it had been carved from a piece of fine green jade.

At the top of the plant, a flower with seven colors was slowly blooming.

As the flower unfurled, those seven colors gradually shifted between one another, creating an exceptionally dazzling sight.

"My ring?"

Xiao Yan was stunned. Then, looking at the breathtakingly beautiful plant before him, he asked in confusion, "Are you an alchemist?"

"No, but I need an alchemist." Xie Tianxiao gently shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Xiao Yan asked, puzzled.

"Just do as I say."

Xie Tianxiao did not directly answer Xiao Yan's question.

"Fine, then."

Xiao Yan helplessly extended his right hand. After pressing the ancient ring on his hand against the jade-like herb, he asked, "And then?"

"Whoosh!"

With a flick of Xie Tianxiao's finger, a black-and-white flame shot from his fingertips and instantly enveloped the jade-like herb.

"What kind of method is this?!"

Then, to Xiao Yan's shock, the seven-colored flowering plant being scorched by the black-and-white flame rapidly melted away.

It turned into tiny droplets of seven-colored dew that slowly merged together, forming a pearl that radiated seven-colored light. It was dazzling and alluring beyond compare.

"What beautiful dew drops!"

"What are they?"

Xiao Yan stared dumbfounded at the scene before him. This bizarre method seemed like some divine skill, making him unable to stop himself from asking in a low voice.

"The herb you saw earlier is called Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva. It helps restore the soul."

"As for these seven-colored dew drops, they are the purified essence I extracted by burning it with a Heavenly Flame."

Xie Tianxiao slowly explained as he watched the utterly stunned Xiao Yan.

Xie Tianxiao was not an alchemist, but with the strength of a half-Saint, a Spirit Realm soul, and the fully controlled Yin-Yang Twin Flame, extracting a Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva was no difficult task.

Listening to Xie Tianxiao's introduction, Xiao Yan could not help but gape!

Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva?

Heavenly Flame?

Purified essence?

What were all these things?

He had never even heard of them. No one in the Xiao Clan had ever mentioned them either. What the hell were they?