Beast Flame, Lionheart Sacred Flame

Guided by a maid, Ya Fei found Xiao Yan's residence. Before she even entered the courtyard, she caught the rich fragrance of medicinal herbs.

She had heard that Xiao Yan had begun growing herbs from a young age after his mother passed away early from illness, but she had not expected him to tend them so well. No wonder he always carried the scent of medicine.

Entering the courtyard, Ya Fei's beautiful peach-blossom eyes quickly found Xiao Yan among the dazzling, vibrant herbs. He was lying on the grass, thoroughly enjoying himself. She hurried over.

The warm sunlight was blocked by someone, and Xiao Yan drowsily opened his eyes. "Ya Fei..."

Ya Fei complained somewhat resentfully, "I've been running around tirelessly to get what you wanted, yet you're sleeping here."

It was ready so quickly? Xiao Yan immediately woke up, smiling as he said, "Are you tired? I'll give you a massage to ease your fatigue."

He hooked out a leg, sat up slightly, and pulled the nearly falling Ya Fei into his arms.

Ya Fei was deeply embarrassed and whispered, "Don't get handsy. It wouldn't be good if someone saw."

"So you can be completely uninhibited as long as no one sees?" Xiao Yan sounded a little surprised as his arms tightened.

Ya Fei gave a soft hum. Her body went weak and numb, and an uncontrollable blush spread across her cheeks.

Xiao Yan smiled. "I've been busy cultivating. Hardly anyone comes here."

Subconsciously relieved, Ya Fei lazily removed the Storage Ring from her hand. "Almost everything you wanted is inside. Forging the Fifth-Rank Magic Core weapon will take some time, so you'll have to wait a while longer."

"A Fifth-Rank Magic Core?" Xiao Yan was somewhat surprised. Such a thing was quite rare in the Jia Ma Empire.

Ya Fei said somewhat proudly, "The Mite'er Family hunted a fifth-rank magical beast, the Blazing Male Lion. Its beast flame, the Lionheart Sacred Flame, has already been placed in the Storage Ring. Forging the Magic Core weapon still requires other materials."

"The Mite'er Family truly deserves its reputation as one of the empire's three great families." Xiao Yan took the Storage Ring, checked its contents, and praised her after confirming that everything was correct.

This efficiency, and the items they had produced, had all exceeded his expectations somewhat.

Ya Fei chuckled. "Including the weapon forged from the Blazing Male Lion's fifth-rank Magic Core, the things Young Master Xiao Yan requested are worth at least two million gold coins. The Mite'er Family gave you a discount, so you only need to pay 1.8 million gold coins."

Xiao Yan nodded. "As expected of the empire's wealthiest family. You saved me two hundred thousand gold coins in one go."

"Then please pay the bill, Young Master Xiao Yan." Ya Fei held out her hand.

Before yesterday, when Xiao Yan could not refine Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, paying this bill with only Rejuvenation Powder and Blood-Clotting Powder would probably have required him to refine medicine for a long time. But now that he could refine Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, it was much easier.

Xiao Yan put on a troubled expression. "With such fine weather, isn't talking about this a little too much of a mood killer?"

Ya Fei had long known about the Xiao Family's finances. Their annual profits were around one hundred thousand gold coins, and purchasing cultivation techniques, medicine cauldrons, pill formulas, and such had already stretched the Xiao Family to its limits.

They could not even readily produce thirty or fifty thousand gold coins now, let alone 1.8 million.

She was in no hurry to press him. Her heartbeat sped up slightly as she leaned against Xiao Yan's shoulder, using on him the patience Xiao Yan had gradually developed.

Xiao Yan closed his eyes, though he had no desire to sleep for the moment.

Now that he had the beast flame, the sooner he fused with it, the better. Not only would it help with alchemy, but it could also raise the power of First Sun Scorching Sky to the Advanced Profound Peak level.

Unlike Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, Xiao Yan did not know the exact materials for the pill formulas of the Iceheart Pill and Vein-Guarding Pill, which would assist in fusing beast flame. Refining them perfectly was impossible.

Fortunately, he knew the required Magic Cores and had already asked Ya Fei to prepare them. He also knew that the Vein-Guarding Pill required Evergreen Flower and Tanling Fruit. Since he had planted some, it was not like searching for a needle in a haystack among countless medicinal herbs.

Moreover, the range of possible herbs had already been narrowed down.

They could all be found in that small valley within the Magic Beast Mountain Range, which showed that they were not especially rare. Taking into account the need to match the Magic Core's attribute, the range became even smaller.

Xiao Yan had already considered this. After reviewing it in his mind, he felt at ease and rested as usual.

After noon, Ya Fei, who had somehow fallen asleep, slowly opened her eyes. Looking at the handsome face so close before her, close enough that she could hear his breathing, warmth rose in her heart. She removed the hand resting on her body and sat up.

Xiao Yan stretched lazily, looking full of energy.

Ya Fei tidied her disheveled hair and dress. Steadying herself, she said gently, "Little Brother Xiao Yan, you won't be able to use so many things all at once. Why not leave some of them with me first?"

"You're afraid I can't pay and will be forcibly pulled into the Mite'er Family?" Xiao Yan rubbed the Storage Ring and took out two bottles of medicinal liquid. "It's only 1.8 million gold coins. That's not enough to make me sell myself."

"What are these?" Ya Fei asked in confusion. Could two bottles of medicinal liquid be worth 1.8 million gold coins?

Xiao Yan smiled. "This is a medicinal liquid that can accelerate Dou Qi cultivation without any side effects. It's considered second-grade."

"Something that improves Dou Qi cultivation without side effects?" Ya Fei was extremely shocked. Born into the Mite'er Family, she could certainly be considered knowledgeable and well-traveled, yet this was the first time she had heard of such a wondrous item. If it could be refined in batches, then paying 1.8 million gold coins would indeed be easy.

Xiao Yan placed them into Ya Fei's hands one by one. "You helped me gather these things, and I said I would help you. This bottle of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid, made with better materials, is for you. The other bottle is inferior and can only be called Spirit Gathering Liquid. Auction it for me."

After examining the jade bottles in her hands for a while, Ya Fei asked in surprise, "Do you have an alchemist teacher?"

"If you think I do, then I do." Xiao Yan gave an ambiguous answer.

Ya Fei frowned and reminded him, "Do you remember what I said before about the Jialie Family searching for an alchemist? You'd better have an alchemist teacher."

"What, did they find one?" Xiao Yan's heart tightened as he asked.

Ya Fei nodded. "As far as I know, that alchemist, like Master Gu Ni from our auction house, has reached the second-grade level. He is also a One-Star Great Dou Master. If you have an alchemist teacher, this matter will not be much trouble."

Could it really be Liu Xi's teacher? Xiao Yan pondered for a moment, then reminded her, "Soaking the body in Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid can last for two months at most."

Ya Fei felt warmth in her heart, though she was also somewhat helpless. "Come find me at the Mittel Auction House whenever you need anything. The Mite'er Family would be quite willing to have an unmatched genius owe us a favor."

Xiao Yan smiled faintly and said nothing more. A second-grade alchemist at the Da Dou Shi level was indeed somewhat troublesome for the current Xiao Family, but he still had the Seven-Colored Poison Classic. If he were pushed too far, he would simply refine poison and poison that person to death.

After transferring the items into his own Storage Ring, Xiao Yan escorted Ya Fei out and headed straight for the cave in the back mountain, where he took out the bottle containing the beast flame, Lionheart Sacred Flame.

It was a jade bottle of excellent quality, containing a cluster of brilliant golden flame that surged up and down.

Xiao Yan nodded in satisfaction. If they had given him some pink peach-blossom flame instead, that would have been quite amusing.

After watching it for a while, Xiao Yan set it aside and took out the Purple Leaf Orchid Grass, Bone-Washing Flower, and First-Rank Wood-Attribute Magic Core from the Storage Ring, continuing to refine Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid.

He refined ten batches in one go and successfully produced seven bottles of Foundation Establishment Spirit Liquid. After this warm-up, he began preparing to fuse with the beast flame.