The Misty Cloud Sect, Pill Hall.
Gu He sat cross-legged before a Crimson Medicine Cauldron. A pale golden Clan Mark slowly rotated between his brows, radiating mysterious fluctuations.
It was the "Bloodline Inheritance" he had awakened several months earlier, seemingly originating from the faint bloodline of some ancient race.
Though incomplete, it had greatly accelerated his cultivation and sent his Soul Force soaring, bringing him to the threshold of a seventh-grade alchemist.
At that moment, he was wholly focused on refining an Emperor's Extreme Pill, a peak sixth-grade pill. Fine beads of sweat seeped from his temples.
"Almost..."
He murmured to himself, sensing the fluctuations of the pill gradually taking shape inside the cauldron. A smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
Yet, just as the pill was about to form-
Crack!
A Communication Jade Slip inside his robes abruptly shattered, dissolving into specks of spiritual light.
Gu He's pupils contracted sharply. His mind reeled, and the flames inside the cauldron instantly spun out of control!
Boom!
An explosion rang out. The pill turned to ash, and the cauldron shook violently, nearly bursting apart.
But Gu He paid none of that any heed. He sprang to his feet, his thin fingers trembling as he seized the jade slip's fragments and poured his Soul Force into them frantically.
"Gute... is dead?!"
The information remaining in the jade slip was fragmented, yet it was enough to make his expression change drastically.
"Black Rock City..."
He abruptly raised his head, a fierce light shooting from his eyes. His Dou Emperor aura surged out uncontrollably, making the entire Pill Hall hum and tremble.
"Who did this?!"
Three days later, Black Rock City.
Gu He's figure streaked across the sky like a meteor. He unleashed his Dou Emperor pressure without restraint, making the entire city tremble faintly beneath it.
He landed atop the ruins of Gute's residence. As he stared at the charred walls and broken rubble, an impenetrable gloom settled over his formerly refined, gentle face.
"Burned by flames..."
He crouched down and touched a piece of charred wood that still retained some warmth, sending his Soul Force surging into it like a tide.
In an instant, a bone-piercing chill spread upward from his fingertips, as though even his soul would be frozen!
Gu He's pupils contracted sharply. He staggered several steps back, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"This flame... extreme cold intertwined with extreme heat..."
He murmured, his voice trembling. "Could it be... Bone Spirit Cold Flame, ranked eleventh on the Heavenly Flame Ranking?!"
As a Sixth-grade Alchemist, Gu He's research into heavenly flames far surpassed that of ordinary people.
Bone Spirit Cold Flame was a strange flame that existed only in legend, blending extreme cold and extreme heat. Wherever it passed, even souls could be burned!
"Someone who possesses Bone Spirit Cold Flame... why would they come to this little Black Rock City?"
Gu He's brows knitted tightly, and his thoughts churned like an overturned sea.
Heavenly flames were wonders of heaven and earth that even Dou Zong experts dreamed of obtaining. He had searched bitterly for decades, traveling throughout the Jia Ma Empire and even several neighboring nations, yet had never been fortunate enough to see a single one.
And now, Bone Spirit Cold Flame had appeared in Black Rock City and burned his elder brother Gute's residence to ash!
"Just who is this person... could Gute's unruly nature have angered this mysterious expert?"
A trace of apprehension involuntarily flickered through his eyes.
Anyone who possessed Bone Spirit Cold Flame was no ordinary person. They were either an old monster with heaven-defying strength or a core disciple of a superpower with formidable backing.
Neither was someone he could afford to provoke lightly as he was now.
"But Gute..."
He clenched his teeth, pain flashing through his eyes.
Though Gute was eccentric and greedy by nature, he was still his elder brother, born of the same mother. Their parents had died when they were young, leaving the brothers dependent on each other for survival. Though Gute had never amounted to much, Gu He had always protected him.
"No matter who you are..."
Gu He abruptly stood. His Dou Emperor aura shot into the heavens, dispersing every cloud for miles around.
"I, Gu He, will find you and demand an explanation!"
The Black Rock City Alchemist Guild.
Gu He's figure appeared like a phantom. He unleashed his Dou Emperor pressure without concealment, plunging the entire guild hall into deathly silence.
"Otto... Frank..."
His voice was icy, his gaze sweeping over the two vice presidents like a blade.
"Get out here!"
Frank and Otto hurried out from the rear hall. At the sight of Gu He's dark, brooding face, both felt their hearts tighten.
"Your Excellency, Pill King..." Frank steeled himself and stepped forward. "You..."
"I'm asking you!"
Gu He cut him off abruptly. With a sweep of his sleeve, a ribbon of Dou Qi shattered all the tables and chairs beside him.
"Who exactly was the person who went looking for Gute that day?!"
Frank and Otto exchanged a glance, each seeing helplessness and bitterness in the other's eyes.
"Grandmaster Gu He..." Otto pondered for a moment before finally speaking.
"The young man who came to the guild that day to take the Second-Rank Alchemist examination was named Yao Yan."
"Yao Yan?" Gu He frowned deeply.
How could a mere Second-Rank Alchemist command a wonder of heaven and earth such as Bone Spirit Cold Flame?
"That's right." Frank picked up the explanation.
"That young man was only seventeen or eighteen, yet he had already reached Dou Shi cultivation and could refine second-grade pills. He had a wisp of crimson beast flame in his palm. It was quite extraordinary."
"As for the Bone Spirit Cold Flame you mentioned... none of us saw it."
"But in the mentor field of his letter of introduction, he listed someone named Yao Lao. Even we had never heard of this person."
At this point, Frank hesitated briefly, seemingly unsure whether he should say what came next. After thinking it over, however, he still felt he had to get it off his chest.
"But a teacher capable of nurturing such a gifted young prodigy must be extraordinary. Even you, Your Excellency, Pill King, presumably had not reached the second rank at that age. This Yao Lao... might well have come from the powerful Central Plains!"
"Besides, Gute..." Beside him, Otto hesitated for a moment before finally speaking as well.
"Grandmaster Gu He, forgive my frankness. Everyone in Black Rock City knows how Gute has conducted himself over the years. Yao Yan originally came to trade in good faith, but Gute used his power to bully him and even sent a Dou Ling to intercept and kill him..."
"In this matter, I'm afraid Gute himself... was in the wrong first."
Gu He fell silent.
Of course he knew what his brother was like. Greedy and domineering, he had used Gu He's name to plunder treasures everywhere. There was no telling how many people he had offended over the years.
But... he had been Gu He's only remaining blood relative!
No matter what, as his younger brother, Gu He ought to demand an explanation for his death! Even if the other party's backing was far beyond anything he could afford to provoke...
"In the wrong?"
Gu He sneered, a trace of pain flashing through his eyes. "Even if Gute was at fault, it wasn't an outsider's place to take his life!"
He abruptly turned, his Dou Emperor aura pouring out like a tide and making the guild hall hum and tremble.
"That Yao Yan... where is he now?"
"He left Black Rock City long ago. His whereabouts are unknown." Otto gently shook his head.
Gu He stiffened, conflicting emotions shifting across his square face.
Gone? Whereabouts unknown?
Given the strength of the person who controlled Bone Spirit Cold Flame, if they truly wished to conceal their movements, even he would likely struggle to track them.
"Grandmaster Gu He..." Frank said hesitantly. "Someone of that caliber, I'm afraid..."
"I know."
Gu He abruptly raised a hand, cutting him off.
A trace of conflict and apprehension flashed through his eyes. A Dou Zong soul body, Bone Spirit Cold Flame... even the Misty Cloud Sect would not willingly offend someone with such backing.
Moreover, though he had now broken through to Dou Emperor and his Soul Force had increased greatly, he still had not entered the ranks of seventh-grade alchemists. Confronting such an existence head-on would be no different from smashing an egg against a rock.
"This matter..."
He drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the fury in his heart. His voice was as deep as an abyss.
"I'll remember it, for now."
Then he turned, spreading Dou Qi Wings behind his back, and shot toward the Misty Cloud Sect like lightning.
"Help me inform Sect Master Yun! Please do everything you can to track down a young man named Yao Yan. Sorry for the trouble!"
"At the same time..."
A trace of fervor and longing flashed through Gu He's eyes.
"Search far and wide for news of heavenly flames!"
"No matter what kind of heavenly flame it is, no matter where it is, report it to me at once!"