Say Something Sweet

Fan Tian's heart suddenly tightened.

The two-colored Fire Lotus gave him no time to catch his breath. As though teleporting through torn space, it flashed several times and hurtled straight toward him. Fan Tian could have dodged and escaped unscathed, but Cao Ying and Dan Chen were behind him. Once that terrifying Fire Lotus exploded, both women would be caught in the blast.

Fan Tian snorted coldly, abruptly changing his hand seals. A flicker of eager excitement actually crossed his eyes.

"Six-Union Heaven Swallowing."

In an instant, heaven and earth lost their color, as though an invisible maw had swallowed every ray of light. Fan Tian's aura changed sharply. Countless purple-gold runes surged wildly from beneath his skin, and immense Dou Qi condensed before him into a colossal Taotie beast.

The beast was hideous, unlike any known magical beast on the Dou Qi Continent. It threw back its head and unleashed a thunderous roar, its scarlet eyes fixed on the Fire Lotus, then opened its enormous maw and charged fearlessly forward.

Han Feng's face was deathly pale. Condensing that two-colored Fire Lotus had all but drained his remaining Dou Qi and soul power. Seeing the beast and the Fire Lotus about to collide, his nerves stretched to their limit.

"Roar!"

The Taotie beast opened its jaws wide and swallowed the entire Fire Lotus, despite its aura of destruction. The strange runes covering its body instantly lit up.

Heaven and earth fell into deathly silence.

The people of the Black-Corner Region had scattered before the collision, terrified of being torn apart by the energy storm. But when they looked back-

The Fire Lotus was gone.

They looked again-

The beast suddenly transformed into chains of runes, all of which sank into Fan Tian's body.

Forget an explosion; there had not been so much as a whisper.

"You... what... what Dou Technique is that?" The instant his connection was completely severed, Han Feng spat out a great mouthful of blood. The pure Dou Qi and soul power he had attached to the Fire Lotus had been devoured in an instant, leaving nothing behind.

Fan Tian licked his lips, his gaze contemptuous. "An impressive show, but your strength was a little lacking."

As the black runes returned to his body, Fan Tian trembled slightly. Already halfway to Peak Eight-Star Dou Zong, he took another small but solid step forward.

Cold sweat covered Han Feng's forehead. Without another moment's hesitation, he turned and fled at full speed. Everything about Fan Tian was bizarre. Even his trump-card killing move had been effortlessly neutralized. He could not remain here a moment longer.

Watching Han Feng's fleeing back, Fan Tian smiled coldly, in no hurry to pursue him. He turned and abruptly appeared behind the Gold and Silver Elders. The two men barely had time to look back before their necks were caught in his iron-clamp hands.

"Mansion Lord Fan, spare us! We brothers are willing to join the Heavenly Mansion and serve you like loyal hounds and horses!"

Fan Tian sneered and abruptly tightened his grip.

Crack-

He did not merely break their necks; he twisted and wrenched both heads clean off. Two headless corpses fell from the sky, and the bloody, savage sight drained the color from the faces of the Black Alliance's experts.

Even Cao Ying and Dan Chen turned their faces away. Dan Chen pretended to cover her eyes, yet secretly peeked through her fingers at the tumbling heads, a trace of delight hidden on her face.

Cao Ying, however, froze slightly, unconsciously running her tongue over her lips. She suddenly remembered how, whenever she gave Fan Tian oral sex, he would always hold her head firmly between his hands and press her hard against him.

Sometimes she would struggle, pulling her head back with all her strength. That suffocating sensation of being controlled... looking at those two severed heads now, she inexplicably smacked her lips, her long legs pressing a little tighter together of their own accord.

"The Black Alliance disbands today. Otherwise, I will kill without mercy."

With that, Fan Tian stepped through the air and pursued Han Feng in the direction of his escape. The members of the Black Alliance immediately panicked, announcing their withdrawal one after another before scattering.

The Heavenly Mansion's experts did not pursue them. They merely ordered their subordinates to take over Maple City and its dozen or so subordinate cities. Dan Chen and Cao Ying remained in Maple City, temporarily serving as the Heavenly Mansion's pillars.

Fan Tian returned around dusk. He opened his mouth, and two clumps of heavenly flames wrapped in Dou Qi flew out.

"What are you staring at? Do you want your betrothal gifts or not?"

"Yes!"

"Yes!"

Seeing the Heavenly Flame Origins of the Fallen Heart Flame and the Sea Heart Flame, the two women's eyes shone brightly. They looked just like a pair of greedy little kittens.

Heavenly flames were supreme treasures to alchemists. Where alchemical skill fell short, heavenly flames could make up the difference. With their assistance, fire control alone would require at least thirty to forty percent less soul power when refining high-grade pills. Extracting medicinal ingredients became even more straightforward and forceful, saving both time and effort.

Although the Pill Tower's Three Giants had always urged alchemists to devote themselves to studying alchemy rather than coveting external aids, they had never denied the wondrous uses of heavenly flames. Moreover, heavenly flames also enhanced the fighting power of fire-attribute cultivators.

"Say something sweet." Fan Tian handed the Sea Heart Flame to Dan Chen.

Dan Chen immediately said in a soft voice, "Hubby, yours is so big. You leave me soaking wet all over every time."

Fan Tian nodded in satisfaction, then handed the Fallen Heart Flame to Cao Ying.

Cao Ying accepted it, her alluring gaze silky. "Hubby, I love it best when you take me from behind. You're so powerful, and so deep..."

The corner of Fan Tian's mouth lifted. He reached out and pinched her breast, then said seriously, "Take the Emperor's Extreme Pill first to reach Peak Dou Emperor. Then refine the heavenly flames to condense your Dou Qi, and finally take the Sect Breaking Pill." He pondered briefly. "The immense energy of the heavenly flames will be enough to support your breakthrough to Dou Zong, and it will help greatly with the bottleneck."

"Thank you, hubby."

"Thank you, my little man."

The two women swayed their slender waists as they went off to enter seclusion separately. Fan Tian sat cross-legged outside to guard them while also beginning his own attempt to break through the Eight-Star Dou Zong bottleneck.

Meanwhile, Zi Yan returned from Jia Nan Academy to Black Seal City and discovered that all the city's experts were absent. After asking around, she learned that Fan Tian and the others had killed Han Feng and seized Maple City. She immediately flew there, stopped outside the place where the three were cultivating in seclusion, and began cultivating as well.

She had already taken two Mid-Grade Seventh-Rank Pills, and her cultivation had long since reached Peak Dou Emperor, leaving her with no need for an Emperor's Extreme Pill. What she did not know, however, was that her body had suffered severe depletion over the years. Neither the concentration of Dou Qi in the Black-Corner Region nor its medicinal herbs and fruits could meet the needs of her true body.

As long as she had enough energy, she could continue advancing.

After all, Zi Yan's actual age exceeded even that of Great Elder Su Qian. Magical beasts lived long lives, and their growth periods were naturally lengthy as well.

Now, she took out a high-grade seventh-rank pill sealed in a jade bottle, licked the corner of her mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp before closing her eyes and entering meditation.

That pill was none other than the Transformation Pill.

It was a high-grade seventh-rank pill, one that even Dan Chen and Cao Ying struggled to refine, and its medicinal ingredients were exceedingly rare. Xuan Kongzi had originally refined this pill for Cao Ying, but Fan Tian had requested it and passed it on to Zi Yan.

Of course, neither Cao Ying nor Dan Chen had ever encountered an Ancient Void Dragon. Even Xuan Kongzi and Xuan Yi had never seen one. Yet through their vast Spirit Realm souls, the two women increasingly sensed that Zi Yan was extraordinary.

That was also why they were willing to give Zi Yan the high-grade pills they had treasured. Fan Tian was naturally the most important factor, but both women also harbored a desire to get to the bottom of the mystery.

After taking the flawless Transformation Pill, Zi Yan would be able to switch freely between her human and magical beast forms. She would no longer be trapped as she was now, restricted to human form and unable to reveal her true body because she had consumed a stalk of Transformation Grass.