Fire Cloud Evil Dragon's Magic Core

Sensing that Lan Suyin's remnant soul had fallen asleep, Xiao Ni calmed his complicated emotions before slowly opening his eyes.

"How was it? Did you get anything out of her?" Seeing Xiao Ni finish communicating so quickly, Chekenao hurriedly asked.

Xiao Ni had already met the first two conditions. Now, all that was missing was a Heavenly Soul-Recovery Pill. Even if all three conditions were fulfilled, the chances of reviving Miss Lan were still below fifty percent, but that was better than having no hope at all, wasn't it?

"No. Aunt Lan fell asleep too quickly." Xiao Ni shook his head helplessly. It seemed he would have to find another way to deal with the pill.

Lan Suyin's remnant soul was extremely weak, and no one knew how long she would sleep—perhaps a few days, perhaps several months. He didn't dare gamble with Lan Suyin's chance of survival. After all, Aunt Lan could hold on for no more than half a year.

"How about... how about I swallow my pride and beg Gu He again!" Chekenao gritted his teeth. Though the Chek Lineage and Gu He bore a blood feud, he would not hesitate to risk his life to find Gu He if it meant reviving Miss Lan.

"Is there anything that can replace the Heavenly Soul-Recovery Pill?" Xiao Ni asked in a low voice.

With his status as a seventh-grade alchemist, he could certainly refine a Heavenly Soul-Recovery Pill himself. But since he had no idea what the formula was, he could only seek another path.

"If we can obtain enough wood-element and fire-element magic cores, then use Heavenly Flames to channel the energy within those cores into Miss Lan's soul, she can also be revived. The success rate of this method would even be higher. However, both types of magic cores must be second-tier or above, and Heavenly Flames are exceptionally difficult to find..."

"Whoosh~"

Before Chekenao could finish, Xiao Ni released a trace of Bone Chilling Flame.

"Hiss..."

The instant the Bone Chilling Flame appeared, the temperature around them plummeted. Qingtian and Chekenao both felt an icy chill in their throats and couldn't help shuddering.

Xiao Xun'er's delicate brows furrowed, and unconcealed shock appeared on her little face as well.

Not only had Brother Xiao Ni's soul strength reached the Spirit Realm, but he also possessed Heavenly Flames. It seemed his teacher was far more formidable than she had imagined. Was that senior truly only a fourth-grade alchemist?

"Y-you... is that Heavenly Flames?!" Chekenao swallowed and cautiously asked.

"That's right." Xiao Ni nodded with a smile, then asked, "Senior Nao, if they're second-tier magic cores, roughly how many would we need?"

With his current strength as a Four-Star Dou Master, killing second-tier magic beasts wouldn't be much of a problem. But if he encountered a third-tier magic beast, he would have little choice but to run.

"If they're second-tier, we'd need at least ten fire-element magic cores and five wood-element magic cores." After giving a somewhat conservative answer, Chekenao added sincerely, "But don't worry. Qingtian and I will accompany you to the Magic Beast Mountain Range. We'll try to find some high-tier magic cores, which should lessen your burden."

"Then I'll be relying on you, Senior." Xiao Ni gave a slight bow. Then, with a flip of his palm, a fiery-red magic core appeared in his hand. "I nearly forgot—I have a third-tier fire-element magic core here. Senior, take a look. How many second-tier magic cores can it replace?"

The system had rewarded this third-tier magic core to Xiao Ni. He didn't know what magic beast it had come from, but he could sense that the energy contained within was much stronger than that of an ordinary third-tier magic core. It should prove very useful.

"The energy within this magic core is incredibly abundant. It can probably replace more than ten second-tier fire-element magic cores. Now, we only need to search for wood-element magic cores." Chekenao excitedly put away the magic core, his eyes growing much hotter.

Xiao Ni had brought him too many surprises. He felt that Miss Lan's chance of revival had risen by another ten percent.

"Since that's the case, Xun'er and I will head to the Magic Beast Mountain Range to search for magic cores. Qingtian, you'll stay behind and guard the Xiao Household." Xiao Ni spoke casually.

He had originally wanted to take Xun'er to explore the Magic Beast Mountain Range, and she had made the same request. Naturally, he wanted to take a risk with Xun'er alone. However, their primary purpose this time was to find magic cores to revive Aunt Lan, so they had to return within two months.

"Whatever Big Brother tells me to do, I'll do." Qingtian patted his chest and spoke boldly.

Though he was somewhat worried about Xiao Ni, he trusted Xiao Ni's strength. Even if Xiao Ni couldn't win, he could certainly produce astonishing means of self-preservation.

Besides, he had recognized that third-tier fire-element magic core. It wasn't an ordinary third-tier magic core—it was the magic core of a Fire Cloud Evil Dragon. Even some fourth-tier magic cores were worth far less than it.

Judging by Xiao Ni's expression, he seemed unaware of the magic core's origins. He had probably bought an unidentified magic core from a black market or somewhere similar.

That was for the best. It was better for Xiao Ni to be cheated out of some money than to kill a Fire Cloud Evil Dragon. The Evil Dragon Clan was notoriously vengeful; even few Dou Kings dared provoke them.

"Since you've put it that way, I'll wait here for your good news." Chekenao said awkwardly.

He had originally wanted to press the matter, but even Qingtian, a Four-Star Dou King, had withdrawn. It would be embarrassing for him to bring it up again.

"We need three days to prepare, then we'll try to bring back enough magic cores within two months. Aunt Lan's remnant soul shouldn't have any problems during those two months, right?" After stating his plan, Xiao Ni still couldn't completely put his mind at ease.

He needed to refine some pills, and three days was already the soonest they could depart.

"Don't worry. I can't say how long she can last beyond that, but I can guarantee that Miss Lan's remnant soul won't continue weakening for the next three months." Chekenao said confidently.

"That's good. By the way, Senior Nao, I have a few questions for you." Xiao Ni nodded in relief and handed over the black-gold card in his hand.

"You and I are quite fated, and our goals are the same. There's no need to pay me. Just ask whatever you wish." Chekenao gave an embarrassed smile and pushed away Xiao Ni's offer.

"All right." Xiao Ni put away the black-gold card, then asked with an extremely grave expression, "Senior, you said Gu He refused to help refine the Heavenly Soul-Recovery Pill back then. Did he personally tell you that?"

"Back then, it was Gu He's teacher, Shen Mi, who personally came forward to refuse us. He said our status was too lowly and we weren't worth saving. That Shen Mi even beat me savagely at the time." Chekenao gritted his teeth. Whenever he mentioned the matter, the rage in his heart involuntarily surged.

"Shen Mi?" Xiao Ni narrowed his eyes slightly. He felt that things truly weren't as simple as they appeared.

After pondering for a moment, Xiao Ni continued, "Then are you certain that Gu He sent people to destroy the Chek Lineage back then, and then drove Aunt Lan to her death?"

"Why would you ask that?" Chekenao frowned, his tone becoming distinctly unfriendly.

What did Xiao Ni mean by that? If Gu He hadn't caused Miss Lan's death, could it have been him instead?

"I just communicated with Aunt Lan's remnant soul. She only said four words: It wasn't Gu He." Xiao Ni said solemnly.

"It wasn't Gu He? Could Aunt Lan have been trying to tell us that Gu He wasn't the true culprit?" Xiao Xun'er asked in astonishment.

"I'm not sure either. That's why I wanted to confirm it with Senior Nao." Xiao Ni said.

"Now that you put it that way, there really does seem to have been something strange about what happened back then." Chekenao frowned and thought for a moment. The moment he spoke, Xiao Ni, Xiao Xun'er, and Qingtian all pricked up their ears.

The truth seemed to have drawn another step closer.