Xiao Yan walked up to the skeletal remains and bowed.
Then he picked up the scroll lying on the ground. It was old, its edges already beginning to yellow.
Thanks to its unusual material, however, it had suffered no damage despite the decades that had passed, and the writing remained clearly legible.
"My name is Lu Chang, a fourth-grade alchemist from the Chu Yun Empire. By the time you read this final letter, I will likely have died from the backlash of the heavenly flame. I leave everything I own to whoever finds this place. All I ask is that you take my body to the Lu Family in the Chu Yun Empire, so that this fallen leaf may return to its roots and I may rest in peace."
The handwriting grew progressively weaker toward the end of the scroll. Its contents made it clear that this was an alchemist's final letter, written before his death.
A pitch-black Storage Ring rested on the letter, also left behind by the alchemist.
Xiao Yan suddenly remembered that Oba Pa seemed to have mentioned the origins of the Heavenly Flames Coordinate Map when he handed it over.
An ancestor of the Ao Ba Family had discovered this heavenly flame together with an alchemist friend. Presumably, these skeletal remains belonged to that friend.
"Rest assured, Senior. If I ever travel to the Chu Yun Empire, I, Xiao Yan, will make certain to return your remains to the Lu Family."
After reading the final letter, Xiao Yan bowed to the skeleton again. Then he placed all the remains into a wooden chest and put it inside his Storage Ring.
He had been fortunate enough to find this place and receive the man's belongings. By all rights, he ought to fulfill his final wish.
Next, Xiao Yan opened the Storage Ring the man had left behind. There was no Dou Qi seal on it, though perhaps so much time had passed that the seal had completely failed.
Once he opened it, Xiao Yan's eyes immediately lit up. The Storage Ring was filled with all sorts of medicinal ingredients, although most had lost their potency over the years.
There were also quite a few bottles and jars inside, all of them containing pills!
Xiao Yan opened each medicine bottle. They were filled to the brim with pills, and even after several decades, a faint medicinal fragrance still lingered.
Xiao Yan took out all the little jade bottles and counted their contents one by one.
There were six bottles of the First-Rank Pill, the Qi Recovery Pill, with six pills in each bottle, for a total of thirty-six.
There were four bottles of the second-grade Poison-Expelling Pill, with six pills in each bottle, for a total of twenty-four.
There were four bottles of the second-grade Purple Healing Pill, with five pills in each bottle, for a total of twenty.
There were two bottles of the third-grade Qi-Replenishing Pill, with three pills in each bottle, for a total of six.
Finally, there was an exquisite Jadeite Medicine Bottle. Merely holding it, Xiao Yan could feel a chill.
The Jadeite Medicine Bottle bore the words "Ice Heart Pill," and it was actually labeled as a fourth-grade pill!
When he opened the lid, cold air burst forth. A single small blue pill lay inside.
Xiao Yan promptly replaced the lid, lest too much of the cold escape and weaken its medicinal potency.
Lastly, Xiao Yan found a pill furnace and a Medicine Book inside the Storage Ring.
He opened the Medicine Book. Its pages were densely packed with accounts of the alchemist's experiences throughout his life, along with some insights into pill refinement.
"An alchemy book!"
"It's actually a Medicine Book!" Xiao Yan's heart immediately began pounding. He had always wanted to learn alchemy, but had never had a teacher to guide him through the door.
This Medicine Book seemed to offer Xiao Yan a chance to take that first step.
Having studied medicine with Xiao Yi Xian for a short time, he had some understanding of pharmacology and medicinal properties. He could just about make sense of some of the technical terms in the book.
This alchemist named Lu Chang had not been a genius blessed with extraordinary talent. Given his aptitude, he should, in fact, have reached no higher than the level of a Third-Rank Alchemist.
Yet he had poured his entire life's effort into his craft. Through countless experiments and failure after failure, he had amassed enough experience to force his way to the level of a fourth-grade alchemist!
This Medicine Book was a compilation of all his lifetime's experience in pill refinement. While its contents were not particularly profound, they were extraordinarily detailed. Even someone like Xiao Yan, who had yet to formally begin learning, could understand some of it.
The Medicine Book also contained many pill formulas.
Generally, a soul imprint would be embedded in a pill formula. When later generations studied and read it, the soul imprint would enter their minds and demonstrate the process before their eyes.
Copying and inscribing a soul imprint, however, required a great deal of time. The difficulty far exceeded that of refining the pill itself.
Moreover, each reading would weaken the imprint's power to release the soul imprint, until only the written description remained, making the formula much harder to learn.
Pill refinement was already an endeavor that burned through money. Using a formula without a soul imprint, one might not succeed even once in ten attempts.
This was why a Soul Pill Formula often fetched an astronomical price at auction, yet was difficult to circulate widely.
The Medicine Book Xiao Yan had obtained, however, contained nothing but Copied Pill Formulas.
Such formulas had very little value—not even a tenth of that of a Soul Pill Formula.
Yet beneath every formula included in the book, tiny, densely packed writing detailed the precautions necessary to refine that pill, as well as the timing required for controlling the heat, purification, fusion, and other steps.
Although these were merely Copied Pill Formulas, once one had studied them thoroughly and integrated their lessons, the success rate of refinement would be no lower than with a Soul Pill Formula.
And every one of those tiny notes had been distilled from failure after failure.
In this Medicine Book, Xiao Yan saw the lifelong efforts of an alchemist of ordinary aptitude.
At times, Xiao Yan almost wished the man had managed to subdue the Myriad Beast Spirit Flame. With the power of a heavenly flame, perhaps he could have advanced another step and become a fifth-grade alchemist.
It was also this alchemy book that changed Xiao Yan's view of the profession.
Initially, he had wanted to become an alchemist merely because the profession would let him sail more smoothly through life on the continent.
Now, however, the words in this Medicine Book had moved Xiao Yan, and he understood why alchemists were so proud.
Their pride did not stem merely from talent that placed them above others. More importantly, every alchemist had grown through countless failures. In their eyes, the setbacks and difficulties ordinary Dou Zhe encountered truly were hardly worth mentioning.
"Alchemists truly have a wondrous profession!"
The end of this alchemist's path was the beginning of his own!
Then, in the Medicine Book, Xiao Yan suddenly discovered something even more valuable.
On the final few pages of the Medicine Book, the words "Myriad Beast Spirit Flame" were plainly written.
method of subjugation!
This was something the alchemist had written before his death, before composing his final letter!
"I was fortunate to encounter, within my lifetime, a heavenly flame that every alchemist dreams of obtaining. Yet my destined bond with it was shallow. In the end, I failed to subdue it and could only await death in this cave.
I have recorded everything I know about this heavenly flame here, in the hope that those who come after me may benefit those who follow them.
The Myriad Beast Spirit Flame ranks twenty-second on the heavenly flame ranking. It is born from the gathered spiritual essences and bloodline power within the remains of countless magical beasts.
The Myriad Beast Spirit Flame is blood-red in its true form, and the shadowy shapes of countless magical beasts seem to lurk within its flames. Having only recently been born, it possesses only a rudimentary intelligence, yet it remains exceedingly terrifying.
This flame has already begun to take on a beast's shape. It can move within a small area and summon fierce flame beasts to protect itself. Do not confront it head-on.
However, its true form is relatively weak, and its intelligence is limited. It also enjoys consuming treasures of the fire attribute, so various naturally occurring fire-attribute spiritual materials can be used to lure it out.
Remember: although this flame's true form resembles a harmless young beast, the heat it contains is terrifying. You must take an Ice Heart Pill and protect your body with its cold before you can touch it directly.
An Ice Heart Pill lasts no longer than an hour. If you feel there is no hope of subduing the flame within that time, withdraw immediately, lest you be burned to ashes!
I have already missed my chance. One Ice Heart Pill remains in my Storage Ring, and I leave it to whoever comes after me, to give them a little chance at survival. Do not follow in my footsteps."
After reading the final few pages of the Medicine Book, Xiao Yan was filled with emotion. To think that someone of such noble spirit truly existed in this world.
"Senior, your spirit was truly noble!"
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