Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus, Journey to the Imperial Capital

Time flew by in the blink of an eye.

After incorporating the Sand Mercenary Group, Xiao Yan remained in Shimo City for another month.

During that month, he and Medicine Elder worked together on alchemy, refining a large quantity of pills.

Of course, most of those numerous pills were first- and second-tier: healing pills, Qi-Recovery Pills, Strength Pills, Windwalking Pills, and so on.

Though Xiao Yan considered them low-tier pills, to mercenaries who lived with their blades at their throats, they could save their lives at critical moments.

After Xiao Ding rewarded some outstanding subordinates with pills, the entire mercenary group became filled with an atmosphere of vigorous striving and thriving vitality.

Relying on his status as a third-tier Alchemy Master, Xiao Yan also recruited a first-tier Alchemy Master who had traveled to Shimo City.

In exchange for the promise of a second-tier pill formula, that first-tier Alchemy Master, named Di'er Menghuan, agreed to refine pills for the Desert Iron Mercenary Group for three years.

With an Alchemy Master like Di'er Menghuan, the Desert Iron Mercenary Group would have a steady supply of pills. In three years, it would surely develop into a force no one dared underestimate.

On the night before his departure, Xiao Yan drank and chatted with his two elder brothers in the courtyard.

Xiao Yan took two ancient-looking scrolls from his Storage Ring and placed them on the stone table, smiling as he said,

"These are two high-tier Profound-class cultivation techniques, one wood and one lightning. They also come with matching high-tier Profound-class battle techniques. Replace the techniques you currently practice with these, and your strength will improve tremendously."

At those words, the slight drunkenness in Xiao Ding and Xiao Li's eyes instantly vanished.

Each of them grabbed the cultivation technique that matched his attribute and clutched it tightly to his chest.

They accepted their younger brother's gifts without the slightest burden, privately marveling at how wonderful it was to have a powerful younger brother.

"Big Brother, Second Brother, I'll be leaving tomorrow."

"For the Desert Iron Mercenary Group's development, stability must come first. If you encounter something you cannot resolve, make sure to protect your lives. As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood."

Xiao Yan took a sip of the strong liquor in his cup and spoke solemnly.

Xiao Ding patted Xiao Yan on the shoulder and said with a smile,

"Little Yan, don't worry. Your second brother and I have traveled the world for so long that we already understand there are always greater mountains beyond mountains and greater people beyond people. We won't act recklessly. Go do what you need to do without concern."

Early the next morning, Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong left the Desert Iron Mercenary Group without alerting anyone.

The two flew to Tango City and boarded a flying magical beast bound for the imperial capital.

"Xiao Yan, we could have flown directly to the imperial capital. Isn't riding this flying beast far too slow?"

High in the sky, inside a room on the flying magical beast's back, Hai Bodong stood by the window and watched the white clouds continuously retreating behind them, his brow furrowed as he asked.

Xiao Yan sat at the wooden table, lightly sipping Fire Cloud Tea as he said calmly,

"It's several thousand miles from here to the imperial capital. Even if we flew without stopping, it would still take more than two days."

"I'm not in a hurry. Why should I tire myself out like that?"

Xiao Yan shook his head. This trip to the imperial capital was merely because of Nalan Yanran's request; he was simply planning to visit the Nalan Clan.

After cultivating for so long, couldn't he relax and enjoy himself properly?

"Mr. Hai, go back to your room."

After driving Hai Bodong out, Xiao Yan returned to the bed, crossed his legs, formed the hand seal for cultivation, and closed his eyes as he entered a meditative state.

His consciousness sank into the Fire God Space beside his qi vortex.

At that moment, the stone platforms atop three massive pillars within the Fire God Space were lit.

One of them was naturally the Green Lotus Core Flame.

The other two flames were the Purple Flame contained within the Companion Purple Crystal Source and a pale yellow flame.

Xiao Yan had originally possessed Purple Flame, but it had later been devoured by the Green Lotus Core Flame.

During that month at the Desert Iron Mercenary Group, aside from refining pills and cultivating, Xiao Yan drank a bottle of Companion Purple Crystal Source and nurtured a new Purple Flame origin within his qi vortex before storing it in the Fire God Space.

The other pale yellow flame was an ordinary flame.

It was the flame of firewood and black charcoal, the flame Xiao Yan had absorbed while sitting amid fire during his usual cultivation.

Though it was an ordinary flame, it was also the purest form of fire. Xiao Yan similarly nurtured an origin flame seed from it and stored it in the Fire God Space.

As his understanding of flames deepened, Xiao Yan's flame-control techniques naturally rose without end.

His consciousness pulled a wisp of Green Lotus Core Flame from the Fire God Space, where it floated above the qi vortex and burned quietly.

Then, using the same method, he pulled out a wisp each of Purple Flame and ordinary flame. The three flames of different colors floated above the qi vortex.

Xiao Yan activated his qi vortex and separated three streams of Flame Mantra battle qi from it, continuously pouring them into the three wisps of flame overhead.

As the Flame Mantra battle qi flowed in, the three wisps of flame steadily grew, becoming fist-sized clusters.

At that moment, Xiao Yan's powerful soul force transformed into a net that enveloped the three clusters of flame, then pulled them together and fused them.

After the three flames gave off faint resistance, they merged into one under Xiao Yan's suppression.

Using the Green Lotus Core Flame as its foundation, with Purple Flame and ordinary flame as support, they formed a three-colored Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus.

Flame Mantra battle qi possessed the trait of fusing flames. Combined with Xiao Yan's powerful soul force restraints and the suppression of the Fire God Domain formed by the Myriad Flame Emperor Physique within his body,

Xiao Yan could easily fuse and condense this three-colored Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus within his dantian.

The power of Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus depended on the quality and quantity of the flames fused into it, as well as how much Flame Mantra battle qi was injected.

Within his dantian, the Three-Colored Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus slowly spun, containing terrifying energy. Yet it was currently suppressed, and the immensely powerful fire lotus behaved as obediently as a subdued little girl.

However, once released outside his body, its terrifying energy would rapidly erupt.

After more than a month of practice, Xiao Yan could already skillfully create Buddha's Fury Fire Lotuses of varying power.

He stored the newly fused Buddha's Fury Fire Lotus in the Fire God Space.

In one corner of the Fire God Space, dozens of Buddha's Fury Fire Lotuses of varying power quietly spun. Xiao Yan could summon them whenever he wished, making them extremely convenient.

By the time Xiao Yan had condensed three fairly powerful Buddha's Fury Fire Lotuses, seven days had already passed, and the flying magical beast landed in the Jia Ma Empire's imperial capital, Jia Ma Sacred City.

From high in the air, Xiao Yan looked north of the imperial capital, where an immense mountain range sprawled like a giant dragon lying prone. Mist curled around it, giving it the appearance of a blessed paradise.

That was the Cloud Mist Sect.

If Xiao Yan had not imprisoned Nalan Yanran in the Portable Space on the night before she came to break off the engagement,

then to wash away the humiliation brought by that broken engagement, Xiao Yan would likely still have made the three-year agreement with her.

By his calculations, he would have gone to the Cloud Mist Sect in a few months.

But now, he no longer needed to go to the Cloud Mist Sect.

Of course, he would definitely visit the Cloud Mist Sect in the future, though not for Nalan Yanran, but for Yun Yun.

"Damn it. I'm never riding this piece of junk again. That snail-like speed is unbearable."

After walking out of the crowded flying transport station, Hai Bodong, who was walking alongside Xiao Yan, complained.

Up in the sky, aside from idly waiting around, they could not cultivate. Otherwise, fluctuations in the natural energy would affect the flying magical beast's flight.

Not everyone could be like Xiao Yan, condensing fire lotuses inside his body without allowing even a trace of energy to leak out.

To Xiao Yan, those seven days had passed in the blink of an eye.

"The flying transport station arranged a maid for you, but you refused her. Otherwise, you could have traveled a thousand miles a day. Wouldn't that have been much faster?"

Xiao Yan teased as he looked over the magnificent imperial capital.

"You can even fancy that sort of goods?"

Hai Bodong's mouth twitched as he answered, somewhat speechless.

"Let's go, Mr. Hai. Now that we've reached your territory, shouldn't you, as the host, show us some hospitality?"

At that moment, Xiao Yan spotted the familiar building—the Mittel Auction House—and strode inside.

"Good grief, you even know I'm from the Mittel Clan. What else do you know?"

Behind him, Hai Bodong stared at Xiao Yan's back, his expression jolting as a powerless feeling rose within him, as though even his underwear had been seen through.