Unwilling to Trade? I Can Kill You Too

As Hai Bodong's words fell, the temperature throughout the ancient map shop plummeted!

A piercing, bone-chilling cold instantly surged from his aged body...

The frigid chill born of extreme ice Dou Qi completely enveloped the entire space...

A faint, misty white frost fog visibly spread through the air...

At this moment, Hai Bodong's Dou Spirit aura, dormant for many years, erupted without reservation!

After being sealed and suppressed by the Medusa Snake Curse, the former Ice Emperor, who had once dominated Jia Ma and intimidated an entire region, had long fallen from a Five-Star Battle Emperor to the Dou Spirit level. Yet a starved camel was still bigger than a horse...

Though Hai Bodong's aura appeared to be only at the Dou Spirit Realm, it still carried the weighty pressure of an old powerhouse...

Yet in the face of the biting pressure rushing toward him, Yao Xuan remained steady.

The next instant, vast and powerful Dou Qi burst from Yao Xuan's body...

Yao Xuan's cultivation aura at the peak of Seven-Star Dou Spirit was fully unleashed without restraint!

"Sir, will you hand over the other map yourself, or shall I take it?"

Hai Bodong's pupils contracted slightly, and genuine surprise appeared on his aged face for the first time.

After all, Hai Bodong had lived in seclusion in Desert City for many years and had seen countless cultivators passing through the desert to train...

But it was his first time seeing such a young Dou Spirit powerhouse.

At seventeen or eighteen years old, he was already at the peak of Seven-Star Dou Spirit!

In Hai Bodong's eyes, such terrifying talent was not something an ordinary aristocratic family could possess.

Even if all the younger generations of Jia Ma Empire's top families were counted, not one could compare.

His thoughts raced as Hai Bodong instantly settled on the most likely origin.

Only the Jia Ma Empire's foremost sect, the Misty Cloud Sect, with its vast resources and unfathomable foundation...

Could possibly nurture a Dou Spirit of such an age!

Hai Bodong stood with his hands behind his back and spoke in a deep voice:

"At such a young age, you have already reached Seven-Star Dou Spirit. Are you from the Misty Cloud Sect?"

Hearing this, Yao Xuan curled his lips into a calm smile and lightly shook his head.

"Sir, there is no need to make wild guesses. I am not from the Jia Ma Empire."

That simple sentence shook Hai Bodong to his core.

Not from the Jia Ma Empire?

At that moment, Hai Bodong completely put away his contempt.

Hai Bodong slowly straightened up, his hunched back easing slightly. The ice Dou Qi around him surged ever more fiercely as fine shards of ice rapidly spun and gathered around his body.

"I do not care where you come from. Since you have entertained thoughts of robbery today, you must pay the proper price!"

Yao Xuan merely smiled lightly. "It seems you are quite confident, sir..."

Before Yao Xuan had even finished speaking, Hai Bodong abruptly raised his palm!

His icy cold Dou Qi erupted to the extreme in an instant, and the stagnant air around them exploded...

Dozens of sharp ice cones, gleaming white from end to end and edged like blades, instantly formed in midair.

The densely packed ice cones sealed off every possible angle of escape around Yao Xuan!

With a push of Hai Bodong's palm, the ice cones shot toward Yao Xuan like a storm blotting out the sky!

Yet Yao Xuan simply stood where he was and lightly raised his hand.

Red-violet flames instantly appeared before him. The ice cones Hai Bodong had released melted away the moment they touched the flames, vanishing without a trace!

A flicker of astonishment flashed through Hai Bodong's eyes when he saw the flames Yao Xuan had unleashed!

As one of the Jia Ma Empire's foremost experts in ice Dou Qi, Hai Bodong knew that among those of the same level, very few flames could melt his ice Dou Qi!

Unless it was... a Heavenly Flame!

Yao Xuan looked up at Hai Bodong and said with a soft smile, "Such pure ice Dou Qi..."

"Though you are only at the Dou Spirit Realm now, judging by your Dou Qi, you were likely once a Battle Emperor powerhouse..."

"There are not many Battle Emperors in the Jia Ma Empire who specialize in ice Dou Qi..."

"Who would have thought that the great Ice Emperor, who once dominated the Jia Ma Empire, would be working as an old map seller in Desert City..."

Hearing Yao Xuan's words, a trace of surprise appeared in Hai Bodong's eyes. His identity had actually been recognized first by this young man before him. "Who exactly are you!?"

Yao Xuan smiled faintly. "Who I am is not important..."

"Sir, you only need to know that I am destined to take the map in your hands today..."

"However, I am interested in making a deal with you now. Give me the complete map, and I can help you recover your former peak strength..."

"But if you are not interested in this deal, I would not mind killing you and taking the map afterward!"

Upon hearing Yao Xuan's words, Hai Bodong hesitated for a moment, and the ice Dou Qi around him gradually withdrew.

In Hai Bodong's view, if the youth before him were merely an ordinary Seven-Star Dou Spirit, he could still put up a fight...

But the fused flames Yao Xuan had displayed just now made Hai Bodong understand that he stood no chance at all against this person.

Thus, Hai Bodong reined in his aura, looked at Yao Xuan, and slowly said, "I am somewhat interested in the deal you mentioned..."

"But I truly want to know how, with your Dou Spirit strength, you intend to help me return to the Battle Emperor Realm?"

The corners of Yao Xuan's lips rose slightly as he spoke softly:

"During our brief exchange just now, I sensed that the reason you fell from the Battle Emperor Realm to the Dou Spirit Realm should be some kind of seal..."

"The outside world says that you died at Medusa's hands. Looking at it now, she merely placed a seal on you, causing your strength to fall. Too ashamed to return to the Jia Ma Empire, you chose to live in seclusion here instead..."

Hai Bodong nodded. "You are clever. But since you have guessed all this, I am still curious how you can help me."

Yao Xuan smiled faintly as Yellow Mysterious Flame appeared in his palm.

"Because I am an alchemist, and an alchemist who possesses a Heavenly Flame!"

"Is that enough?"

When Hai Bodong saw the flames in Yao Xuan's palm, his earlier guess was finally confirmed. The flames that had melted his solid ice were indeed a Heavenly Flame!

Hai Bodong had hidden away here because he wanted to find an alchemist who possessed a Heavenly Flame, someone who could help him refine a Purple Recovery Pill and completely break Medusa's seal!

Now, such an alchemist with a Heavenly Flame had truly appeared before him. Naturally, Hai Bodong was extremely excited.

Yet he still put on a composed front and said softly, "Are you so certain that I will make this deal with you?"

Yao Xuan smiled and continued, "Not absolutely certain, perhaps, but I am ninety-nine percent sure..."

"Because I happen to possess a pill formula called the Pō'è Pill. It should be able to help you!"

Upon hearing the name Pō'è Pill, Hai Bodong froze where he stood.

Because over the past ten years, the pill capable of lifting the seal that Hai Bodong had learned of was also called the Pō'è Pill!

Thus, Hai Bodong was now completely interested in the deal Yao Xuan had proposed.

Seeing Hai Bodong's expression, Yao Lao's voice sounded in Yao Xuan's mind once more:

"You little brat, you are pretty good..."

"A few words, and you have this old man completely fooled..."

"But how did you know about the Ice Emperor..."

Yao Xuan smiled slightly. "Uncle Chen, to be honest..."

"When I came to the Jia Ma Empire, I made sure to thoroughly understand the Jia Ma Empire..."

"Besides, you reminded me just now that this old man was a Battle Emperor powerhouse. In the Jia Ma Empire, among Battle Emperors who cultivate ice Dou Qi, aside from the Ice Emperor Hai Bodong, there is no second person, is there?"

Hai Bodong pondered for a moment before finally nodding. "Young friend!"

"I accept the deal you proposed..."