Xiao Yan's Plan

The square fell quiet again.

Xiao Zhan stood where he was, watching Galie Bi's retreating figure. The weight in his heart finally lifted. He turned to Ya Fei on the steps, cupped his hands slightly, and gave her a grateful smile.

"Miss Ya Fei, thank you."

Ya Fei gently shook her head, her expression returning to its usual alluring composure.

"Clan Head Xiao, there is no need for thanks. Mister Xiao Yan is a valued guest of the Miter Auction House. Naturally, we could not let him suffer humiliation at our doorstep."

Her gaze passed over Xiao Zhan and settled on Xiao Yan, carrying a meaningful smile.

Xiao Yan stood on the steps without saying a word from beginning to end. His expression was calm as still water as he gazed faintly in the direction Galie Bi had vanished.

Galie Bi's figure gradually shrank into the dusk, eventually becoming a hazy gray speck that merged into the heavy darkness at the end of the street.

Xiao Yan stood on the steps, looking calmly in that direction. His face showed no expression, but inwardly he repeated a deadline—half a year. At most, half a year.

The Galie Clan had to disappear from Wutan City. That was the deadline he had set for himself.

Though he could accomplish it right now. Once Yao Lao possessed him, his strength was enough to rival a Dou Emperor. Combined with Yao Lao's decades of combat experience and the terrifying might of the Bone-Chilling Flame, destroying the Galie Clan would be as easy as lifting a hand.

But if he needed his teacher to act even for something as trivial as wiping out the Galie Clan, then what was the point of cultivating Dou Qi?

He might as well lie flat, give up trying, hand everything over to Yao Lao, and become a hands-off boss.

The path of cultivation had to be walked step by step on one's own feet, not by having someone else carry one through the skies.

Only after Galie Bi's figure had completely disappeared into the night did Xiao Yan withdraw his gaze.

He turned around and looked at his father and Xiao Xun'er, who stood not far behind him. The indifference on his face faded, replaced by a gentle smile.

"Father, Xun'er, let's go home."

Xiao Zhan looked at his son. His lips moved, but in the end, he asked nothing.

He had wanted to ask how Xiao Yan had forged a partnership with the Miter Auction House, but ultimately, he chose to remain silent.

His child had grown up. Xiao Yan had his own judgment and his own path to walk. What parents needed to learn was not to press for answers, but to offer quiet support.

Xiao Zhan raised his hand and gave Xiao Yan's shoulder two firm pats. The warmth and strength in his palm were the simplest affirmation a father could offer.

"Good."

Xiao Xun'er nodded without speaking, simply moving naturally to Xiao Yan's side.

The three of them—an old man, a young man, and a young woman—walked shoulder to shoulder along the road back to the Xiao Clan.

Dusk had completely settled. Night draped over the entire city like an enormous sheet of black silk. Lanterns along the street lit up one after another, their orange-red glow joining into a warm ribbon of light that guided them home.

Behind them, Ya Fei still stood on the steps of the Miter Auction House, watching Xiao Yan's retreating figure. The corners of her lips lifted slightly, revealing an intriguing smile.

"Uncle Gu Ni."

"Hmm?"

Gu Ni stepped out from behind her and stood at her side, following her gaze toward the direction Xiao Yan had disappeared.

"Tell me, Uncle Gu Ni, what does Xiao Yan want with so much Beast Flame?" Ya Fei asked.

Gu Ni fell silent for a moment before slowly shaking his head. The wrinkles on his face appeared especially deep beneath the lantern light.

"I'm not sure either. Perhaps the person behind Xiao Yan happens to need Beast Flame."

There was some hesitation in his tone. Clearly, he did not quite believe that explanation himself.

With the rank of the Alchemist behind Xiao Yan, obtaining fifth-tier Beast Flame or higher would be effortless. Why would such a person need inferior goods like first- or second-tier Beast Flame?

Would an unparalleled master wielding a dragon-slaying blade covet an axe meant for chopping firewood?

But aside from that explanation, he truly could not think of another.

Ya Fei did not press further. Instead, she changed the subject and posed another question. "Uncle Gu Ni, do you have any way to reproduce that Foundation-Building Elixir?"

Gu Ni's brows knitted even tighter. He remained silent for so long that Ya Fei thought he would not answer.

The old man's lips moved, and he let out a low sigh.

"No."

His tone was resolute and direct, without the slightest hesitation. "That spiritual elixir is of exceptionally high quality, not even inferior to some low-grade third-rank medicinal pills. If it could be condensed into a pill, it would certainly bear pill patterns. Even if I had the complete formula for such a medicine, I would be unable to refine it."

There was a helpless, resigned candor in his voice as he spoke.

For a Second-Rank Alchemist to attempt to replicate a spiritual elixir nearing third-rank quality was nothing but a fool's dream.

Ya Fei said nothing more after hearing that.

She glanced once more toward where Xiao Yan had vanished. Nothing remained there except night so dense it seemed impossible to dissolve. She withdrew her gaze, turned, and entered the auction house. Her red skirt swayed gently in the night breeze like a flower blooming in the darkness.

Elsewhere, within Xiao Yan's small courtyard in the Xiao Clan.

Xiao Yan pushed open the door and entered, closing it behind him.

He walked to the bed and sat cross-legged. After taking a deep breath, he was about to enter a cultivation state when an aged voice sounded in his mind, interrupting him.

"Little Yan, what did you buy all that Beast Flame for?"

A milky-white glow spilled out from the Bone Flame Ring, gathering in the air into the illusory figure of an elderly man.

Yao Lao floated in midair within the room, arms folded over his chest as he looked down at Xiao Yan. His deep old eyes were filled with confusion.

Xiao Yan already possessed a flame no weaker than one of the top ten Heavenly Flames. Before the Bone-Chilling Flame, those low-tier Beast Flames were not even worthy of carrying its shoes.

What was he buying them for? To boil water and cook?

The evolution of the Flame Mantra depended on Heavenly Flames. No matter how many Beast Flames of the fourth tier or below he devoured, they could not raise the technique's rank.

Xiao Yan raised his head to meet Yao Lao's gaze, the corner of his mouth curling slightly. He had long expected Yao Lao to ask this question and had already prepared an answer.

"Teacher, the Flame Mantra can devour flames without limit. Since that is the case, why not obtain some Beast Flame to devour?"

Yao Lao's brow twitched slightly, but the confusion on his face only deepened.

"Even if they cannot raise the Flame Mantra's rank, they can still be used to improve my Dou Qi cultivation."

"With the Undying Divine Flame stationed within my body, every strand of Dou Qi produced by the Beast Flame I devour will be tempered and purified by the Undying Divine Flame. There will be no side effects at all.

"Besides, low-level Beast Flames can devour each other—if quality is lacking, quantity can make up for it.

"If one Beast Flame is of poor quality, what about a hundred combined together? What about a thousand?

"Drops of water make an ocean; grains of sand form a tower. With several Beast Flames constantly devouring one another, it may not be impossible to cultivate a supreme Beast Flame comparable to a Heavenly Flame."

He did not mention his other, more important purpose—Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus.

In the original story, Xiao Yan's Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus was a devastating technique produced by fusing several types of flame. The lotus's power changed according to the number and quality of the flames fused into it, and its potential was limitless.

If he used Beast Flame to practice flame fusion in advance and cultivated Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus to mastery ahead of time, then the risks of fusing Heavenly Flames in the future would be far lower, and his chances of success far greater.

A thoughtful look appeared on Yao Lao's face. His brows were slightly furrowed, his fingers lightly stroking his chin as his eyes flickered with contemplation.

He admitted that Xiao Yan's idea made sense.

The reason he had previously considered Xiao Yan's purchase of Beast Flame wasteful was because he had been viewing the matter from the perspective of an ordinary person.

An ordinary person could absorb only one type of flame in their lifetime, either Beast Flame or Heavenly Flame.

Low-level Beast Flame would soon be rendered obsolete, because as one's Dou Qi level rose, inferior Beast Flame could no longer support the needs of alchemy.

But Xiao Yan was different. He could absorb multiple kinds of flame into his body.

If one Beast Flame was of poor quality, what about a hundred? What about a thousand?

Once the quantity reached a certain point, quality would no longer be an issue.

"Little Yan, what you said makes a great deal of sense."

Yao Lao slowly nodded. The doubt in his eyes faded, replaced by relief and approval.

He paused, shifting his gaze from Xiao Yan to the pitch-black night sky beyond the window.

The moon was mostly hidden behind clouds, revealing only a silver-white crescent at its edge, like a gleaming sickle hanging on the horizon.

"Today, I had intended to teach you alchemy, but it is too late. I will teach you tomorrow."

Xiao Yan nodded and said nothing more.

He adjusted his crossed legs and formed a strange hand seal before his chest. His thumb and middle finger clasped together while his remaining fingers spread open like a blooming lotus. His chest rose and fell gently, and each breath was long and steady, forming a seamless, closed cycle.

Watching Xiao Yan enter his cultivation state, Yao Lao felt a complicated emotion rise within him.

The disciple he had taken in never needed to be urged to cultivate.

He cultivated when it was time to cultivate, learned when it was time to learn, and rested when it was time to rest. Everything was arranged in perfect order, like a precise clock whose every gear turned exactly where it should.

Yao Lao did not disturb him. His soul body flickered slightly, transforming into a streak of light that entered the Bone Flame Ring.

A faint milky-white glow flashed across the ring's surface before it fell silent once more.