"Ice Spirit Flame Grass. Who would have thought the Myriad Medicine Pavilion, a mere small local faction, would have such precious herbs in its stores?" Xiao Yan remarked in surprise as he put away several jade boxes.
Inside the jade boxes was an extremely precious herb called Ice Spirit Flame Grass. Its leaves were divided into white and red sections. Tiny ice-crystal-like specks covered its white stems, while its fiery red crown looked like a blazing flame. Two utterly opposing colors and properties had somehow grown together on a single plant. It truly was a marvel.
Refining heavenly flames was extremely dangerous. Even an ordinary Dou Emperor needed outside assistance. After generations of exploration by alchemists, three items had come to be recognized as essential for refining heavenly flames: the Blood Lotus Pill, Ice Spirit Cold Spring, and Naling.
Ice Spirit Flame Grass was one of the main ingredients for refining a Blood Lotus Pill.
"Young Master Xiao Yan, there aren't any finished pills here!" Qing Lin walked up to Xiao Yan with a Storage Ring in her hand, standing on tiptoe to pass it to him.
"They were probably looted already, right? Still, the owner of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion was only a First-Rank Alchemist. He probably couldn't refine anything particularly good, so there's no need to go out of our way to look." Xiao Yan shrugged and glanced around. He had swept the entire herb storehouse clean.
Excluding the Ice Spirit Flame Grass, the herbs he had acquired were worth roughly two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins-a substantial sum even for a Da Dou Shi.
After patting Qing Lin on the head, Xiao Yan took her little hand and led her through room after room to the entrance of the Myriad Medicine Pavilion.
They waited quite a while longer before Xiao Yi Xian emerged from the Myriad Medicine Pavilion. She held a book in her hands, apparently the very thing she had been searching for.
"What's that?" Xiao Yan was rather curious. Just what could be worth searching for to this wealthy senior sister of his?
"A record of where the natural treasures in this part of the Magical Beast Forest can be found. It's probably the most valuable thing the Myriad Medicine Pavilion accumulated over its decade or so of operating here. There are quite a few good things listed. Look at this, for instance..." Xiao Yi Xian turned to a particular page and handed the book to Xiao Yan. On it was a lifelike illustration of a magical beast: the Amethyst Winged Lion King.
Beside the illustration were descriptions of the magical beast's habits, preferences, and the beast flame it produced.
According to the book, obtaining the Amethyst Flame did not actually require defeating the Amethyst Winged Lion King directly. One only needed to acquire its companion amethyst gold, which was usually kept deep inside its cave.
A mercenary's observations had revealed that the Amethyst Winged Lion King left its cave for two hours every morning to hunt. With proper timing, one could obtain the companion amethyst before the beast noticed.
The mercenary who wrote this guide had indeed later managed to bring out a piece of companion amethyst and sell it to an elder of the Misty Cloud Sect. He then sold the secret to the Myriad Medicine Pavilion for an exorbitant price, finally taking his sizable fortune and leaving his old life behind.
"This is much the same as the information on the beast flame map, just more detailed. If we had to investigate the Amethyst Winged Lion King's habits ourselves, we'd probably waste quite a bit of time," Xiao Yi Xian added, wagging a slender finger and arching her delicate brows.
"Yao Lao should be able to defeat a sixth-rank magical beast, right?" Xiao Yan asked after a moment's thought.
"What? Do you want a sixth-tier magic core?" Yao Chen's voice reached their minds through his soul power.
"I do have a few ideas." Xiao Yan sounded rather excited. This was a sixth-tier magic core, something that existed only in legends. A single one could buy more than half of Wutan City.
"Then you may be disappointed. With my current strength, I can fight an ordinary Dou Emperor, but against a beast like the Amethyst Winged Lion King, which ranks among the best of sixth-rank magical beasts, I can only guarantee that you three brats won't die," Yao Chen said helplessly.
"All right." Xiao Yan was somewhat disappointed.
"Of course, if the Amethyst Winged Lion King suffers serious injuries while hunting, I can still kill it." Seeing how disappointed his disciple was, Yao Chen could not help offering some comfort.
"The Amethyst Winged Lion King is one of the strongest magical beasts in the Magical Beast Forest, isn't it? Unless a Dou Emperor happens to have designs on it, how could it possibly be seriously injured..." Xiao Yan abandoned the idea of obtaining a sixth-tier magic core. It was better not to reach for the clouds before his feet were firmly on the ground.
Afterward, Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian purchased the necessary supplies in Qingshan Town, especially drinking water and insect-repelling medicines. Fortunately, both their Storage Rings were spacious enough, and they had just seized another Storage Ring from Nalan Jie.
Xiao Yan transferred everything in Nalan Jie's Storage Ring into another Storage Ring, then filled all three cubic meters of its space with boiled water to avoid getting diarrhea from drinking dirty water in the forest.
They could not bring the carriage either. After finding an inn to leave it in their care, they gave it no further thought.
The group entered the Magical Beast Forest on foot.
The wind scattered fallen leaves. The Magical Beast Forest was even quieter than an ordinary forest, with only the occasional roar of a magical beast in the distance warning people of its dangers.
"Get ready. I'll carry you to the vicinity of the valley where the Amethyst Winged Lion King lives as quickly as possible." Yao Chen emerged from the Black Ring, enveloped them in his soul power, and headed deep into the Magical Beast Forest.
The scenery before their eyes streamed backward like images in a revolving lantern. The recovery of Yao Lao's soul power had brought Xiao Yan tremendous convenience, all thanks to the pill Hun Tiandi had given him.
Still, Yao Lao clearly did not dare carry everyone through the skies above the forest. That would be tantamount to provoking every magical beast in the Magical Beast Forest, an extremely unwise move.
"Unless you've specifically come to hunt those magical beasts, you must never fly through their territories. Especially in the Magical Beast Forest, where so many beasts gather, flying is undoubtedly an act of having big breasts and no brains." Yao Chen imparted his worldly wisdom to Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian.
Then he began telling the two of them stories: a female Dou Emperor who flew over the Magical Beast Forest, only to be captured and violated by a seventh-rank magical beast; an arrogant female knight who ended up with a wyvern riding her face; and a priestess whose reckless use of Dou Techniques brought a beast tide down upon her.
Yao Lao's stories frightened Qing Lin until her face turned deathly pale, and tears seemed to gather in her watery eyes.
"All right, Yao Lao, don't use those stories to frighten children. How could anyone really be stupid enough to fly around above the Magical Beast Forest..." Before Xiao Yan finished speaking, a sonic boom suddenly rang out overhead.
Yao Chen hurriedly stopped, and everyone looked up at the sky in astonishment.
A streak of green light sped toward them from the distance. Only a closer look revealed that it was a woman with wings spread behind her.
"This aura is... a Dou Emperor!" After sensing it for a moment, Xiao Yi Xian knitted her delicate brows and warned them.
Xiao Yan looked at Yao Lao in bewilderment. The old man blushed, never having expected reality to slap him in the face the moment the words left his mouth.
"That girl will have her moment of regret," Yao Chen insisted stubbornly.
Meanwhile, the Magical Beast Forest boiled over at the arrival of that outrageously arrogant Dou Emperor. The roars of magical beasts rose one after another, and the level of danger instantly increased.
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