"Start cultivating the technique first. I'll go recuperate my soul power," Yao Lao told Xiao Yan, his expression unchanged.
Still immersed in the joy of obtaining a cultivation technique, Xiao Yan nodded without noticing anything amiss.
Yao Lao dispersed his soul form, pretending to return to the Bone Flame Ring. In truth, he left Xiao Yan's residence, reformed his soul outside the courtyard, and floated toward Xiao Ce's little courtyard.
Yao Lao entered the courtyard, but before he could speak, he suddenly sensed an utterly terrifying surge of Dou Qi envelop the entire courtyard. The sheer vastness of this Dou Qi belonged to a realm even he had never touched at his peak!
A Dou Sheng! Yao Lao's eyes widened. Without the slightest hesitation, he turned to leave, but the barrier shrouding the courtyard was far too terrifying. Even when he struck it with all his strength, it did not budge in the slightest.
Yao Lao's heart sank a notch, and he floated toward the only presence visible in the courtyard.
"Who are you?!" Yao Lao stared fixedly at Xiao Ce, already prepared to face certain death.
To his mind, this Xiao Ce might well have been someone a major faction had planted in the Xiao Clan, with some particular scheme for the clan.
"Xiao Ce of the Xiao Clan," Xiao Ce replied calmly, his aura that of an ordinary Three-Star Dou Shi.
"I'm asking about your true identity. Which faction is behind you? I can sense that the energy used to establish this barrier has definitely reached the level of a Dou Sheng," Yao Lao continued.
Xiao Ce smiled faintly. "Yao Chen, Venerable Yao, once the continent's foremost Alchemist in the public eye. I've long admired your name."
Hearing the other party reveal his identity so easily, Yao Lao's heart sank further. "That's right. It's me."
Seated on a stone stool in the courtyard, Xiao Ce said with a smile, "Yao Lao, there's no need for alarm or fear. I have no intention of attacking you, even though you absorbed my fourth brother's Dou Qi for three years and left him mocked as trash."
Yao Lao's gaze trembled. "You knew about me all along?
"No wonder I kept sensing your gaze falling on the ring from time to time over these three years."
Xiao Ce said, "Yao Lao, let's keep this brief. I called you here for just three things."
Xiao Ce raised his first finger. "First, don't let my fourth brother cultivate that technique capable of evolving.
"I know that technique. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the one Tou She Ancient God cultivated back then.
"Though I don't know where you got it, this technique isn't suited for humans to absorb. In essence, it was tailor-made for Heavenly Flames."
Yao Lao's mind buzzed, and even his voice began to stammer. "Tou... Tou She Ancient God?!"
Xiao Ce gave Yao Lao a feigned look of surprise. "Was my guess wrong? Don't a few of the circulation pathways in your technique run like this..."
Xiao Ce briefly described several of the Flame Mantra's circulation pathways. Since he had not fully inherited his clone's memories, he did not actually understand the Flame Mantra in its entirety. However, his Spirit Refining Art incorporated some broken-down circulation pathways, and he merely recited those.
In an instant, the way Yao Lao looked at Xiao Ce changed.
Ever since he had obtained this technique in a secret realm, only a handful of people had known about it. As for those who knew its circulation pathways, Han Feng was the only one besides himself. Yet some of the pathways Xiao Ce mentioned were not even in the portion of the Flame Mantra Han Feng had stolen!
"How... how do you know all this, sir?" Without realizing it, Yao Lao had already adopted a respectful form of address.
Someone who knew something about the legendary Tou She Ancient God was certainly no ordinary existence.
Xiao Ce tilted his head slightly and sighed with an air of feigned profundity. "Back then, I competed with that fellow for the last portion of Origin Qi. I fell one move short, and he became a Dou Di..."
Yao Lao's eyes widened, unable to believe what he had heard.
He had competed with Tou She Ancient God to become a Dou Di?!
And that Origin Qi-though he had never heard of it, it sounded very important. Could this Origin Qi be the reason no Dou Di had appeared in this world for so many years?
"Could you have survived from ten thousand years ago until now, sir?" Yao Lao summoned his courage to ask.
Xiao Ce waved a hand. "No need to address me so respectfully. Just address me according to my body's age.
"Besides, I failed to become a Dou Di back then. I couldn't live for ten thousand years.
"The reason you can still see me now, put in terms you can understand, is... reincarnation."
Yao Lao swallowed, even though he did not produce saliva.
Reincarnation? No wonder he still acknowledges his identity as Xiao Yan's third brother. The identity he reincarnated into in this life really is that brat Xiao Yan's third brother!
Understanding dawned on Yao Lao, and many things suddenly made sense. At the same time, he became profoundly aware that the foundations and hidden cards of Xiao Yan's seemingly young third brother might be astonishingly formidable!
Watching the shifting expressions on Yao Lao's face, Xiao Ce thought to himself, I'll inevitably obtain more and more means from the system in the future. Always brushing it off as a fortuitous encounter isn't a lasting solution.
Reincarnation not only provides a reasonable explanation, but I might even use it as a pretext to take control of the factions my clone left behind.
The Pill Tower... the Ancient Void Dragon Clan... the Huang Clan... they're all among the continent's top factions.
By now, Yao Lao had recovered his composure and asked Xiao Ce, "What are the other two things?"
Xiao Ce raised his second finger. "Second, let's discuss training my fourth brother.
"As the continent's former foremost Alchemist in the public eye, your alchemy skills and knowledge have my recognition, Yao Lao.
"Devote yourself to training my fourth brother, and don't hold anything back when it comes to cultivation techniques or alchemy. In exchange, I can refine a body for you in the future to help you return to life."
Yao Lao's eyes lit up. "Really?"
"I won't deceive you," Xiao Ce said. Although he did not yet know how to refine a body, he would definitely have something like that in the future. Failing all else, Yao Lao had it himself.
Yao Lao nodded delightedly. He did not think Xiao Ce had any reason to deceive him about something like this. Besides, he had intended to teach Xiao Yan properly anyway. Now that he could gain a promise for nothing, he could not have asked for better.
"What's the third thing?" Yao Lao was even growing a little impatient.
Xiao Ce raised his third finger and stared straight at Yao Lao. "Third, I want to trade for your Bone Spirit Cold Flame."
Yao Lao's expression froze.
The Bone Spirit Cold Flame was his bonded Heavenly Flame. He currently had no physical body, and his soul's continued existence depended on the Bone Spirit Cold Flame and the Bone Flame Ring. Without the Bone Spirit Cold Flame, his soul power would inevitably drain faster than before, and he would no longer be able to fight in soul form.
"Don't worry, Yao Lao. Although I want to trade for your Bone Spirit Cold Flame, I don't mean right now.
"I'm willing to give you a cultivation technique capable of repairing your Soul Origin, so you can cultivate it yourself and slowly restore your Soul Origin.
"After my Three-Year Agreement is over, I'll come find you. At that point, regardless of your condition, I'll take the Bone Spirit Cold Flame."
Yao Lao's expression shifted several times.
He had to admit that this technique for repairing his Soul Origin truly tempted him.
His soul power was depleted now, and he had no idea how much more time and how many resources restoring his soul would take.
But if he could obtain a technique that repaired his Soul Origin, everything would be much easier to work out.
With that thought, Yao Lao told Xiao Ce, "All right, I agree to the trade!"
Before you continue