"Teacher, about the heavenly flames... which should we seek first, the Fallen Heart Flame or the Sea Heart Flame you mentioned?"
Yao Chen stroked his beard thoughtfully, his spectral soul form looking as solid as a real body beneath the moonlight.
"The Fallen Heart Flame is in the Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy, guarded by a bunch of old fellows. We won't get our hands on it anytime soon. As for the Sea Heart Flame..."
A glint flashed through his eyes.
"There's no hurry. Your teacher has already reserved it for you."
Xiao Yan froze. He was about to press for details when Yao Chen waved a hand, clearly unwilling to say more.
"We'll discuss that later. From what I learned in my youth, there should be another heavenly flame in the Tagor Desert in the continent's northwest."
"Your immediate priority is to gather the materials needed to devour a heavenly flame."
"You've collected most of the ingredients for the Blood Lotus Pill. But you still need to find two main ingredients-ice spirit flame grass and ice spirit cold spring-as well as several supplementary herbs."
Xiao Yan nodded, committing this to memory.
"Visit a nearby human town. You might find information on those ingredients. While you're there, you can also go to the Alchemist Guild and earn your Second-Rank Alchemist qualification."
"With your current alchemy skills, the second-rank examination will be little more than a formality. But that status will make things much easier when you travel the continent."
"Take the guild's examination?"
Xiao Yan stared blankly, then asked in astonishment, "Wouldn't that completely expose my identity as an alchemist?"
"..."
At this, Yao Lao was momentarily speechless. Only after a long pause did he reply, caught between laughter and tears.
"I don't recall ever telling you to hide your identity as an alchemist. You're the one who likes keeping everything hidden."
"Certification from the Alchemist Guild not only gives you access to numerous privileges across the continent, but also makes it easier to obtain information on medicinal ingredients and build connections."
"What makes alchemists so frightening isn't merely their ability to refine pills. It's the immense network of connections they can command."
Yao Chen's soul form spread his hands, looking rather comical.
"So revealing your identity as an alchemist occasionally does no harm. As for secretly giving Nalan Yanran a 'surprise,' just conceal your identity when necessary."
"That does make some sense..." After hearing Yao Chen's explanation, Xiao Yan rubbed his chin and nodded lightly.
"Then I'll try the Alchemist Guild tomorrow and see if I can advance to Second-Rank Alchemist."
"The nearest major city should be Black Rock City."
Hearing this, Yao Chen also nodded slightly.
Now that his Soul Force was no longer weak, he often left for a while to gather information whenever Xiao Yan's life was not in danger. He therefore knew the Jia Ma Empire's current situation like the back of his hand.
"Black Rock City sits on a major transport route. With so many merchant caravans passing through, information spreads quickly. Perhaps we can learn something about what we need."
"For example... the whereabouts of ice spirit cold spring."
Xiao Yan's eyes lit up. He sprang to his feet, put the Heavy Xuan Ruler into his Storage Ring, and circulated his Dou Qi as he shot out of the forest like lightning.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Meanwhile, in a secluded valley somewhere in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Xiao Lin stood in midair with his hands behind his back, his green robe snapping in the mountain wind.
The Double Pupils in his eyes rotated slightly, taking in every movement of Xiao Yan and Yao Chen.
"So they've finally begun discovering the properties of the fatal flame."
A meaningful smile curved his lips.
After parting with Yun Yun for the time being, Xiao Lin had returned to where Xiao Yi Xian and Qing Lin were staying, then brought both girls to a place in the Magical Beast Mountain Range brimming with energy.
There was even a small, secluded valley here, hidden from the outside world-Xiao Yi Xian's secret base.
She planned to make thorough preparations here to awaken her woeful poison body.
Birdsong and fragrant flowers filled the little valley, isolated from the world.
A waterfall poured down the cliff, gathering into a jade-green pool at the valley's bottom.
"This is my secret base, where I usually gather herbs and rest."
Xiao Yi Xian stood beside the pool, her pale white dress swaying in the breeze, a hint of pride on her lovely face.
"Quite a few rare medicinal herbs grow in this valley. It's well hidden and rarely visited, making it ideal for secluded cultivation."
Xiao Lin stood with his hands behind his back. His Double Pupils rotated slightly as he examined every inch of the valley.
"Abundant spiritual energy and secluded terrain. Not bad at all."
He nodded slightly, his gaze settling on a flat slab of gray stone nearby.
"Qing Lin, come here."
The girl, who had been playing with the Purple Lightning Viper, looked up at his call. Three flower patterns rotated faintly in her emerald eyes.
She patted the snake's head, signaling for it to roam on its own, then jogged over to Xiao Lin.
"Young Master Xiao Lin, I'm here."
"Starting today, you'll practice using Dou Techniques here."
Xiao Lin raised his hand. A strand of gentle energy flowed around his fingertip as he lightly touched her forehead.
"Although you've used the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils to control several high-order magical beasts and fill your body with Dou Qi, possessing strength without knowing how to use it means you won't bring out even half your power against an enemy."
Qing Lin blinked, then nodded earnestly.
"I understand... but what Dou Technique should I practice?"
Xiao Lin's lips lifted slightly as he took a green scroll from his Storage Ring.
The scroll was jade-green throughout, with snake patterns drawn across its surface. Faint sounds of wind and thunder emanated from it.
"A high-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique-Snake-Shadow Illusory Movement."
"This technique makes your body move like a snake's shadow, elusive and unpredictable. It complements your innate talent perfectly."
Qing Lin accepted the scroll, delight flashing through her eyes before giving way to apprehension.
"Middle Mystic Tier... can I really learn it?"
"Your Dou Qi cultivation has long since reached the required level. It can easily support your practice of this Dou Technique."
Xiao Lin spoke calmly, but his gaze settled deep within her eyes.
There, three green flower marks slowly rotated, and a deep, hidden space could faintly be seen flickering within them.
The inner space of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils.
At that moment, four figures-the Rock Snake, Jade Phosphorous Serpent, Purple Lightning Viper, and Rot-Bone Mud Snake-lay coiled within that space, each radiating Dou Qi fluctuations of a different attribute.
The newly captured fifth-order Branding Iron Poison Seal Python occupied the center. Its massive body continuously breathed pitch-black poisonous mist, sending a steady stream of its pure Dou Qi outward.
"The space within your pupils is your greatest asset."
Xiao Lin's voice was low, carrying a deeper meaning.
"The snake-type magical beasts under your control will constantly feed their Dou Qi back to you. Even if you don't actively cultivate, your cultivation will grow every moment."
Qing Lin nodded lightly. Xiao Lin had mentioned this to her before, and she instinctively turned her awareness inward.
Sure enough, although she had not circulated her cultivation method, Dou Qi continued gathering within her like trickling streams. It flowed through her meridians on its own before finally entering the vortex in her dantian.
That vortex was several times larger than an ordinary Dou Zhe's. With multiple kinds of Dou Qi intertwined, it had taken on a peculiar blue-green hue.
"The Dou Qi supplied by fourth-order magical beasts is enough to support your cultivation all the way to peak Dou Master."
Xiao Lin continued, his Double Pupils rotating slightly as though he could see through her future.
"As for that fifth-order Branding Iron Poison Seal Python, its Dou Qi is so pure that helping you break through to Dou Wang would be more than within its capacity."
"Dou Wang?!"
Qing Lin's little mouth fell open, her eyes filled with disbelief.
She was only a Five-Star Dou Zhe girl. To her, the Dou Wang realm had once been an impossibly distant dream...
"There's no need to be surprised. The potential of the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils goes far beyond this."
Xiao Lin ruffled her hair, his tone calm yet filled with unquestionable certainty.
"Once you've mastered the Dou Qi of these magical beasts, I'll take you to find more high-order snake-type magical beasts."
"As for this Branding Iron Poison Seal Python... its Dou Qi can support your cultivation, but you can't absorb its poison..."
Xiao Lin blinked, then smiled faintly at Qing Lin's slightly bewildered gaze.
"You can simply let it out for Xiao Yi Xian to use."
Before you continue