Xiao Yan Has Hai Bodong in the Palm of His Hand

The icy mist that had filled the air had already dispersed, leaving the shop in a complete mess.

Xiao Yan held a porcelain kettle in his left hand, while his right palm rested beneath it as purple flames rose up.

Before long, the water in the kettle boiled, and white steam burst from the spout with a "whoosh, whoosh."

Xiao Yan took out two teacups, added some tea leaves, and poured in the hot water. At once, the fragrance of tea spread through the room.

"Old sir, your business is truly something. You do not even have tea in your shop. No wonder it is so deserted."

Xiao Yan pushed a cup of tea toward Hai Bodong across from him and smiled.

The tea was pale yellow, with steam curling above it.

Hearing Xiao Yan's words, Hai Bodong's mouth twitched.

This was the desert. Who would drink hot tea here?

Besides, he cultivated ice-attributed Dou Qi and naturally preferred cold temperatures. Even when drinking tea, he drank it cold.

After taking a small sip of the hot tea, Hai Bodong frowned slightly.

At that moment, he was slowly circulating the Dou Qi within his body to heal his injuries and gradually expel the fire energy Xiao Yan had left inside him.

Once the hot tea entered his body, a few tiny gaps appeared in the encirclement of Dou Qi suppressing the fire energy, nearly allowing it to escape again.

This brat had definitely done it on purpose.

This tea contained fire-attributed energy.

Xiao Yan drained the hot tea in his cup in one gulp, feeling refreshed all over.

He had happened upon these tea leaves in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. They contained fire-attributed energy and were most suitable for those who cultivated fire-attributed Dou Qi.

By now, he had already transplanted the tea tree into his Portable Space.

"Old sir, take out the remaining fragment of the map."

Xiao Yan refilled his empty teacup with hot water, his two right fingers tapping irregularly against the wooden table.

The thumping sound entered Hai Bodong's ears, making his heartbeat speed up slightly.

He was certain that if he uttered even half a word of refusal, the brat across from him would smash this table over his head.

"Do you know who I am?"

Hai Bodong's voice carried a faint desolation.

"The Ice Emperor, Hai Bodong. Once one of the Jia Ma Empire's ten greatest Dou Emperors."

Xiao Yan chuckled softly.

"How did you know?"

Hai Bodong was startled, feeling as though someone had seen straight through him.

"You still seem a little unconvinced. Are you trying to use your identity to pressure me? Then I will make sure you are completely convinced."

Xiao Yan spoke indifferently.

Then, Hai Bodong was horrified to discover that Xiao Yan's aura was rapidly rising.

Grand Dou Master, Dou Spirit, Dou King.

At the same time, a bone-white flame surged to life in Xiao Yan's right palm.

"Spiritual power? A Spirit Realm soul?"

"A Heavenly Flame?!"

Hai Bodong stared at Xiao Yan in terror, unable to believe it.

What kind of monster was this brat?

A high-level Dou Master.

A body comparable to a fourth-rank magical beast.

A Spirit Realm soul.

And an incredibly terrifying Heavenly Flame.

Even at his peak, he might not have been able to gain much of an advantage against this brat.

This brat was still so young. Just how terrifying would his future achievements become?

Dou Emperor? Dou Ancestor?

Or perhaps an even higher realm.

At that moment, Hai Bodong was completely convinced.

He gave a bitter laugh, his expression somewhat lonely.

"Little friend, what is your name?"

"Xiao Yan."

Hai Bodong pressed his left hand against his right hand. A flash of light appeared, and a fragment of a map materialized in his left hand.

He handed the fragment to Xiao Yan.

"Back when I came to the Tagor Desert, I happened to obtain this map fragment. Yet because of it, I drew the pursuit of the snake race's monarch—Queen Medusa."

"Queen Medusa was among the strongest of the Dou Emperors. I lost to her without any surprise. Though I managed to escape, I was struck by her Serpent Sealing Curse. My body rapidly aged, and my strength was sealed at the Dou Spirit level."

Xiao Yan glanced at the map fragment and, after confirming it was genuine, placed it into his Storage Ring.

"Oh? Over all these years, have you found a way to undo the seal within your body?"

Xiao Yan took a small sip of tea and spoke calmly.

"Over the past several decades, I obtained a prescription capable of breaking the seal. As long as the pill written on it can be refined, I will recover my strength," Hai Bodong said in a low voice.

"Then why did you not seek out the Pill King, Gu He, and have him refine it?"

"He cannot. This pill can only be successfully refined with a Heavenly Flame."

Hai Bodong gave a bitter smile, his eyes filled with hope as he looked at Xiao Yan.

"You want me to refine the pill for you? That is not impossible, but I have conditions."

"Little friend Xiao, please speak."

"Follow my orders and work for me for three years."

Xiao Yan spoke indifferently.

"No problem."

Hai Bodong agreed without the slightest hesitation.

He had been sealed for decades and had long since had enough.

Now that he saw hope of recovering his strength, he naturally wanted to seize it.

Besides, Xiao Yan's future achievements would far surpass his own. Following Xiao Yan's orders was not particularly humiliating.

He would treat it as an investment. Clinging to a future powerhouse might even be a rare opportunity for him.

"Give me the prescription. Oh, and you should know the rules for an Alchemy Master refining pills for others. You will need to provide the medicinal ingredients yourself."

Xiao Yan smiled faintly. Having a Dou Emperor as a bodyguard was not bad for now.

Hai Bodong stroked the few gray-white strands of beard beneath his chin and said somewhat awkwardly:

"I have already gathered most of the ingredients required by the prescription. The only thing missing is Sand Mandrake."

"This herb can only be found in the Tagor Desert. The hotter the place, the easier it is to find."

"But I cultivate an ice-attributed technique, and the Serpent Sealing Curse is still within me. The moment I enter the depths of the desert, Queen Medusa will sense me, so..."

Xiao Yan rolled his eyes and curled his lip. "I have not even started ordering you around, and you are already ordering me around? Take out anything else of value you have, or I am not doing it."

"Heavenly Flame. If I offer information about a Heavenly Flame, will that do?"

Hai Bodong gritted his teeth as he spoke.

Though he was not an Alchemy Master, he was still extremely interested in Heavenly Flames. If he could subdue one, his combat strength would increase tremendously.

To persuade Xiao Yan, he could only reveal this information about the Heavenly Flame.

Hearing Hai Bodong's words, Xiao Yan's heart stirred.

One reason he had come to the Tagor Desert was to search for the Green Lotus Core Flame.

As stated in the first chapter, Xiao Yan did not remember the original plot very clearly. He only knew the rough outline.

Therefore, he had no idea where exactly the Green Lotus Core Flame was.

The Heavenly Flame Hai Bodong spoke of was likely the Green Lotus Core Flame.

"Tell me everything you know about this Heavenly Flame. I will see whether it is worth it."

Xiao Yan said expressionlessly.

Seeing that Xiao Yan remained unmoved, Hai Bodong felt rather helpless.

Although he knew Xiao Yan was putting on an act, he needed something from him and could only allow Xiao Yan to control him completely.

He could only place his hopes on Xiao Yan's character, hoping that after obtaining the Heavenly Flame information, Xiao Yan would agree to his request.

Hai Bodong brushed his left hand over the Storage Ring on his right hand. A flash of light appeared, and an ancient-looking parchment scroll materialized in his hand. He handed it to Xiao Yan with a smile.

"The Heavenly Flame is most likely to appear in three places within the Tagor Desert."

Xiao Yan accepted the parchment scroll and slowly unfurled it, discovering that it was an extremely detailed map of the Tagor Desert.

At the east, west, and north, there was a very conspicuous flame symbol.

Hai Bodong pointed to the flame symbols on the map and said:

"These three marked locations are where the Heavenly Flame is most likely to be."

"You can first search the eastern and northern locations. If you find nothing, go west last. But I advise you not to go there."

"Why?" Xiao Yan asked curiously.

"Because that is deep within the Tagor Desert. Queen Medusa is there. She can sense the aura of any human who enters her territory. Though you are strong, if you encounter her, I do not think you will have any chance of escaping alive."

Even after several decades, merely thinking of Queen Medusa's strength still left Hai Bodong with lingering fear.

"Then I have even more reason to go."

Xiao Yan said with a smile.

"Why?" Hai Bodong asked in confusion.

Before you go throw your life away, could you at least refine my pill first?

Queen Medusa was one of the wives Xiao Yan had already picked out for himself. Of course he had to go.

However, he certainly would not tell Hai Bodong that. He merely smiled without answering.

"Fine. Your Heavenly Flame information is worth agreeing to your request. I will be leaving first."

Xiao Yan stood up and swept his right hand across the table. The teapot and teacups vanished, after which he headed for the door.

Joy appeared on Hai Bodong's face as he called after Xiao Yan's departing back, "Then I shall wait here for Little Friend Xiao to return successfully."