The Fire-Fanning Boy Xiao Yan! One Sweep Raised a Flaming Mountain

"Heh..."

Old Lord saw the shock the boy could not hide and stroked his beard with a smile. With a casual flick of his whisk, he sent the tornadoes surging into the Eight Trigrams Furnace. Three sections of the furnace flashed briefly.

"Fan it again!"

Xiao Yan was panting after a single sweep and had begun to slack off, but Old Lord showed him no mercy.

"Huff..." Xiao Yan's face flushed red. He pulled out several Qi-Replenishing Pills and swallowed them, then put every muscle into another sweep. The pale golden wings on his back shone brighter than ever.

A gale roared forth, scattering the dark clouds that had just gathered across the sky and exposing the blazing sun.

The gale surged into the Eight Trigrams Furnace as well.

"That's enough." Seeing Xiao Yan exhausted after only two sweeps, Old Lord smiled. A stream of crimson Qi Fire flowed into the furnace, bathing the world in red.

Then Divine Fire and Essence Fire flowed into the furnace after it.

Before countless stunned eyes, the three flames gradually merged. The resulting blaze raged as though it could burn the heavens and boil the seas.

"That flame... Heavenly Flames? No, that's not right... Only a Heavenly Flame ranked in the top three could have such power. What great alchemist has come here?" (With a Dou Emperor's limited experience, she could think only of the top three Heavenly Flames.)

The Second Elder's eyes were wide with shock, and she swallowed hard.

To them, Xiao Yan must have asked his master to refine the Pill himself. Perhaps the display was also meant to intimidate the Snake-People Tribe, but the world-shattering power he had revealed so casually was enough to show how terrifying this mysterious Powerhouse was.

A Dou Zong? Far beyond that.

A Dou Zun? They had never encountered one, so they could not say...

But if he claimed to be a Dou Sheng, they probably would not doubt him.

"The Pill Tower? Some major power in the Central Plains?" the Third Elder whispered.

"Possibly." The Grand Elder nodded slightly, her eyes burning as she gazed at the vast, mysterious Furnace. It blazed as though refining the heavens and earth. They had truly struck gold.

They had met a direct disciple of the Pill Tower traveling the world...

"Hum..."

As heaven and earth hummed, a milky-white Pill Pellet rapidly took shape amid the flames. It even developed a trace of intelligence and tried to flee, but Old Lord flicked his whisk, trapped it inside a Jade Bottle, and tossed it to Xiao Yan.

Old Lord glanced toward the horizon, and his figure began to fade.

The Eight Trigrams Furnace that had filled the sky slowly vanished too, leaving the Snake-People staring in speechless astonishment.

"Huff..."

When Xiao Yan saw that Old Lord had not taken back the Banana Leaf Fan, he grinned with delight. It clearly was not the genuine article, but in this world, it was terrifying enough. He was confident that even a Dou Zong could not withstand a sweep. One blast would send them flying a hundred thousand miles away.

The Banana Leaf Fan had two sides, following the Daoist principle of complementary yin and yang.

Its yang side was for battle: it fed flames, making them burn hotter with every sweep. Its yin side, by contrast, extinguished them.

Naturally, he preferred the yang side.

But...

"Oh? What a strange fire. And what a marvelous alchemy method..." A small child's voice suddenly sounded nearby. Xiao Yan's pupils contracted, and for an instant, the entire world seemed to freeze.

He turned to find a child of about three or four, still wearing a bellyband with hair tied in little horns. The child blinked and studied Xiao Yan with open curiosity.

"I've traveled the continent for years and never encountered a method so marvelous. Was it you who refined that Pill? No..." Before Xiao Yan could respond, the seemingly young child—who harbored a soul far older than his body—shook his head, his eyes lighting with fervor.

He was a Ninth-Grade Profound Pill formed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. Alchemy methods and the force of flames were practically playthings to him. Yet the sheer scale of that display...

It had drawn him here from another region entirely.

"My master refined it." Xiao Yan cupped his fists respectfully. He had a faint idea who this visitor was, but did not say so.

"Good heavens... I doubt your master is even from this world," the boy marveled. "He sent only a wisp of an avatar, yet he could harness the power of heaven and earth. Only a Powerhouse from another world could do that."

Xiao Yan stayed silent.

Old Lord clearly could not be bothered with the visitor. He had simply hidden himself and left Xiao Yan to deal with him. To Old Lord, the boy was nothing more than an "ordinary" Pill that had taken human form.

"Tsk. It seems I've been presumptuous." The more the Pill Tower Ancestor sensed the traces left by the alchemy, the more shaken he became. His earlier ease faded, replaced by a measure of reverence.

He cupped his fists as well. "In that case, I'll take my leave..."

Before departing, he hesitated, then handed Xiao Yan a Profound-Colored Token. The words "Little Pill Tower" were engraved on it in bold, flowing strokes.

"If you're interested, you're welcome to visit my Little Pill Tower. You are Xiao Chen's descendant, after all, and I had some dealings with him years ago. I never imagined the Xiao Clan would fall so far..." The Pill Tower Ancestor glanced at Xiao Yan, his expression complicated.

"Also, I left a trace of my Soul Perception in that token. If you need to find me, simply crush it."

He felt a little envious too.

The clan might have fallen, but the boy's talent and the master who could cross space to appear and protect him at any time made one thing clear: he was all but certain to become a top Powerhouse.

A Nine-Star Dou Sheng? Probably more than that.

Judging by what that otherworldly Powerhouse had casually displayed, he might even have a way to reach Dou Di.

It was worth building a connection early, especially since the Soul Clan had not been behaving itself in recent years.

"Then thank you, senior..." Xiao Yan smiled. The vengeance owed for his clan's destruction would be taken—just not now.

Watching the Pill Tower Ancestor disappear, Xiao Yan's expression grew complicated.

One of his ancestors was still alive. Blood Axe Xiao Chen, however, remained trapped in the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's space, forced to serve as a Fire Slave.

Should he wait for the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame's space to open?

No. Once he had gathered every Fragmented Map, he would try to tear open space and enter ahead of time.

A Five-Star Dou Sheng would be an enormous help in rebuilding the Xiao Clan.

Before long, several figures finally arrived.

The Grand Elder looked around the room. Seeing no one else, she assumed the top Powerhouse had left because he had no interest in meeting them. She showed no displeasure; if anything, she was even more cautious.

"Master Xiao Yan, may I ask about what just happened..."

"That was my master," Xiao Yan said with a smile.

"I see." The elders smiled and earnestly instructed Hua She'er to grant Xiao Yan anything he requested. Then, somewhat embarrassed, one of them said, "However... Master Xiao Yan, your master... uh, while he was refining the Pill, a stray flame landed in the northern Tagor Desert, near human territory. The fire keeps spreading. Even we Dou Emperors can't put it out."

"Could you..."

Xiao Yan: ???