Treasure Retrieval Operation

A treasure retrieval operation was settled in just a few words between father and son. Xiao Zhan then went to arrange the specifics, while Xiao Yan opened the technique scroll called Flame-Refining Incineration.

After reading it carefully, he began cultivating according to its instructions, converting the milky-white, unaligned Dou Qi within his body into the attribute-based Dou Qi of the technique.

Dou Qi conversion did not take long. In just two hours, Xiao Yan completed the process. His originally milky-white Dou Qi had turned dark yellow, and the Dou Qi Vortex that carried it changed color as well.

Dark yellow was the color possessed by an Advanced Yellow Rank fire-attribute technique. The higher the grade of a Dou Qi technique, the deeper and richer its color.

The amount of Dou Qi cultivated from Dou Qi up to the Dou Zhe realm was far less than the Dou Qi reserves an Advanced Yellow Rank technique could achieve.

The previous process of Dou Qi conversion had been like a breaking-in period between the technique and its practitioner. Only once the conversion was complete could the practitioner perfectly unleash the technique's true speed, absorbing and refining energy to make up for the lacking reserves.

Flame-Refining Incineration was the highest-grade technique of the Xiao Family. Though it was only Advanced Yellow Rank, it had its own unique strengths.

According to what was written on the scroll, every time one's strength rose by a star while cultivating this technique, one's Dou Qi would undergo a refinement. When a realm breakthrough occurred, the technique's cultivation effects would undergo a transformation.

If one began cultivating this technique as a Dou Zhe and broke through to become a Dou Practitioner, the originally Advanced Yellow Rank Flame-Refining Incineration would become comparable to a Profound Tier technique. When one cultivated this technique and broke through to Da Dou Shi, after multiple refinements of Dou Qi, Flame-Refining Incineration would become a true Profound Tier technique.

Xiao Yan had no intention of verifying whether its contents were true. He merely treated it as a transitional technique, focusing on controlling his Dou Qi through his meridians and earnestly refining the absorbed energy of heaven and earth. Once it was refined into Dou Qi, it filled his Dou Qi Vortex.

This cultivation session lasted a long time. When Xiao Yan felt his Dou Qi Vortex fill up, he opened his eyes again and found that night had already fallen.

Xiao Yan got out of bed and stretched. His bones suddenly crackled, and his entire body felt indescribably comfortable and vigorous. Clearly, these were the benefits of cultivating a technique.

He savored the changes in his body for a moment when Xiao Zhan's voice came from outside the door. "Yan'er, let's set off."

What decisive action! Xiao Yan's spirits lifted. He quickly packed some herb-gathering tools, tended to the medicinal herbs growing in the courtyard, then followed Xiao Zhan toward the rear gate.

As the night deepened, only a few pedestrians hurried home along the broad streets. At that moment, a carriage sped forth and left Wutan City just as its gates were about to close.

After traveling some distance out of the city, the carriage slowly stopped. Five Dou Practitioners from the Xiao Family, arranged by Xiao Zhan in advance, were already waiting there on horseback.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Zhan got out of the carriage, mounted the prepared horses, and rode with the five toward Qingshan Town.

Qingshan Town was known as the Magic Beast Town. Like Wutan City, it occupied an advantageous position near the Magic Beast Mountain Range, and the two places were quite close to each other.

After riding through the night, Xiao Yan saw the outline of the town at daybreak.

At the entrance to the town, several men reeking of alcohol and clearly suffering from a hangover immediately perked up upon hearing hoofbeats.

Seeing Xiao Zhan and the others approach on horseback, they hurried over. The middle-aged man in the lead took several sheets of parchment from his robes and respectfully handed them over.

"Patriarch, these are maps of the Magic Beast Mountain Range near Qingshan Town. We each drew one based on information coaxed from different veteran mercenaries. There are some minor differences between them, but the overall terrain is consistent, so they should be reliable."

Xiao Zhan dismounted and accepted them. "You've worked hard. Find an inn in Qingshan Town to rest for now, and look after these horses. Once we return from the Magic Beast Mountain Range, you will be rewarded."

After leaving Xiao Yan's residence, he had begun making arrangements. First, he sent people ahead to Qingshan Town to learn about the surrounding Magic Beast Mountain Range from veteran mercenaries and produce maps. Second, he selected elite members of the family to enter the Magic Beast Mountain Range with him and Xiao Yan.

After exchanging a few polite words and thanking Xiao Zhan, the men looked excited. Free wine and money to collect—this assignment was truly easy.

Taking the maps Xiao Zhan handed him, Xiao Yan quickly examined them. Just as the middle-aged man had said, the maps were nearly identical. He selected the most detailed one and studied it carefully.

After all, this was from five or six years ago. Thousand Medicine Hall's herb-gathering site might have changed afterward. If he could only search according to the cliff's terrain, it would greatly increase the difficulty of finding the treasure cave.

When he saw that Thousand Medicine Hall's herb-gathering site lay within a basin with cliffs nearby, Xiao Yan finally relaxed completely. Only then was the route for this trip decided.

Xiao Zhan sent four of the accompanying Dou Practitioners ahead to clear the way, leaving one behind with him to protect Xiao Yan as they entered the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

Those four Dou Practitioners were experienced. Working together, they could handle even third-tier magic beasts. Sweeping through the outer region, which contained only low-level magic beasts, they advanced with unstoppable momentum.

Upon reaching the cliff, they set up three ropes and waited above it.

At noon, when they saw Xiao Yan's group arrive, all four were greatly surprised. The distance from Qingshan Town's entrance to this place was truly not short, and they had expected them to arrive no earlier than dusk.

In truth, Xiao Zhan and the accompanying Xiao Tie were equally surprised. Xiao Yan had never cultivated any movement-type Dou Technique, yet with the strength of a one-star Dou Zhe, he had run all the way here without stopping. That was truly remarkable.

This was thanks to Xiao Yan's frequent runs in the back mountain to train his body. It was precisely because of that that he had accidentally discovered the hidden cave.

Now that he had broken through to Dou Zhe and cultivated a technique, his physical abilities had greatly improved in every aspect. With his accumulated experience from before, running the distance of a marathon was completely within his limits.

After the brief surprise, one of the four Dou Practitioners who had remained behind, a steady and mature man, stepped forward. "Patriarch, there does indeed seem to be something below the cliff, but it is covered by debris such as strange wood and bones. We feared triggering some mechanism, so we did not act rashly."

Xiao Zhan nodded in satisfaction. The reason he had chosen this man to lead the advance party, aside from his strength as a Dou Practitioner, was mainly because he valued his cautious nature.

Xiao Yan said, "It is not easy to set mechanisms into a sheer cliff face, and they would hardly be very powerful. What we should fear is some unusual guardian magic beast."

"Magic beasts?" The four exchanged looks. They had been stationed at this cliff for some time, yet they had found no trace of any magic beast.

"Stay on guard here. We'll go down and take a look." Xiao Zhan laughed heartily. According to the map, this place was near Thousand Medicine Hall's herb-gathering site. If there truly were powerful magic beasts here, no one would have been able to gather herbs safely.

Therefore, even if there were magic beasts, they would be ordinary ones. With his strength, he only needed to be careful.

With Xiao Tie, who had accompanied them all the way, and Xiao Zhan protecting him from either side, the three of them grasped the secured ropes and descended beneath the cliff.