In the verdant Ginseng Spirit Realm, nestled within a grove, stands a quaint and serene wooden house. A thin mist surrounds the house, obscuring it from view. The mist, combined with the surrounding trees, lends the entire forest an air of mystery.
Outside the wooden cabin, the lush green grass makes the place even more vibrant. A stone table paved with natural bluestone, with a few cups of tea floating with a faint aroma, lets people know that there are still people in this seemingly desolate forest.
On either side of the bluestone table, an elderly man dressed in hemp clothing smiled as he picked up a cup of fragrant tea. His thin, withered fingers gently swirled the tea in the cup. His gaze fell upon the young man in white opposite him, and he spoke with a smile:
"Ready to refine that thing?"
As he spoke, the old man gulped down the tea in his cup, staring straight at the young man opposite him.
The latter smiled faintly upon hearing this, slowly extending his fair hand. His delicate skin was so alluring that even some women would envy it. The old man, however, remained unmoved. He was too old to care about such things; he only concerned himself with the future of the young man before him...
With his delicate fingertips caressing the Storage Ring on his finger, the young man, under the old man's astonished gaze, revealed a piece of jade, green like emerald, through a flash of light in his hand.
The moment the jade appeared, the old man's cloudy eyes lit up, and he looked at the young man with satisfaction, nodding and smiling:
"Excellent, very good! This is Heavenly Palace Jade Essence, over three thousand years old. With this, you can break through to the Dou Di within two years!"
As the old man finished speaking, the young man nodded slightly. However, the old man frowned again, his cloudy old eyes fixed on the Heavenly Palace Jade Essence, and he asked with a hint of suspicion:
"But... judging from this, there should still be the Heavenly Que Demon Flower, right?"
"Yes, indeed, but it has already been refined by Yan Xiao."
As the old man finished speaking, the young man smiled and replied, his eyes showing no dissatisfaction. "Only by not being greedy can one gain more. Otherwise, if one's eyes are blinded by petty gains, one will inevitably fall victim to greed in the future."
The old man chuckled softly upon hearing this, toying with his teacup as he murmured:
"Heh heh, this kid really isn't one to suffer a loss..."
With a soft chuckle, the old man exchanged a glance with the young man before him, then slowly turned his gaze to the forest filled with a thin layer of blue mist.
"Hey, we were just talking about this, and here he is! I wonder what kind of expression he'll have when he sees you!"
As the old man finished speaking, a figure dressed in black robes slowly stepped out from the dense forest. Qing Feng had already left when he was almost there, so only Xiao Yan was walking slowly now.
"Haha, Elder Luo, you look even more vigorous than before after two months! Hahahaha..."
As soon as he appeared, Xiao Yan burst into laughter, his words tinged with a hint of teasing. Upon hearing this, Elder Luo gave a light rebuke, pursing his lips slightly, and said:
"Stop flattering me, brat. It's only been two months. What changes could I possibly have in this old man? But you, have you won the Alchemist Grand Meeting yet?"
Hearing this, Xiao Yan smiled, lightly rubbed the tip of his nose, exchanged a glance with the young man beside Elder Luo, and then spoke with a smile:
"Hehe, Elder Luo, is there anything about this Ancient Wilderness City that you don't know?"
"Cut..."
Hearing this, Elder Luo chuckled and cursed again, too lazy to pay any attention. The young man beside him also slowly stood up at this moment, looking at Xiao Yan, who was also looking at him, with a faint smile.
"Hehe, Brother Yan Xiao, how have you been? I didn't expect we just met at the Alchemist Grand Meeting. It's so soon we're meeting again."
"Hehe, indeed, but this also confirms my doubts. Brother Luo Jin and Elder Luo do indeed have a close relationship."
Xiao Yan also wore a faint smile. Clearly, he was not surprised by Luo Jin in front of him. In fact, Xiao Yan had already had some doubts two months ago.
Seeing Xiao Yan's calm expression, Elder Luo smiled, while Luo Jin showed a hint of surprise. It seemed that Xiao Yan was much more formidable than he had imagined.
Seeing the expression on Luo Jin's face, Xiao Yan smiled again and said to Luo Jin with a smile:
" Cloud-Hidden Pavilion, a powerful force known to all in the entire Southern Region, was immediately apparent to me upon my first glimpse of it. Within the Cloud-Hidden Pavilion, there were restrictions set up by experts at the Dou Di level or higher. And when I first met you in the Cloud-Hidden Pavilion Cloud-Hidden Pavilion, its strongest guardian was merely Elder Xuan, an Eight-Star Half-Emperor. If there were no other powerful figures, no one would believe it."
At this point, Luo Jin couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, realizing that Xiao Yan had already noticed this since then.
"And the appearance of Elder Luo just confirmed this for me. Most importantly, he also shares the surname Luo."
Although Xiao Yan's words were simple, they were easy to understand. Luo Jin could only shrug helplessly. He had thought he could surprise Xiao Yan, but he didn't expect that Xiao Yan had already guessed it. His appearance today was just to confirm Xiao Yan's thoughts.
The three chatted casually for a few more minutes, and Luo Jin didn't dwell too much on the matter. However, during their conversation, he couldn't help but subtly probe Xiao Yan. Unlike Elder Luo, who could discern Xiao Yan's origins solely from a Heavy Xuan Ruler, Luo Jin had always believed that Xiao Yan was a disciple of some mysterious force in the Central Region. Otherwise, how could Xiao Yan have acquired such high-level Dou Technique and those wondrous secret techniques unique to the Central Region?
Faced with all this, Xiao Yan dared not be careless in the slightest. Putting aside Luo Jin, the Elder Luo in front of him was no ordinary person. Of course, Xiao Yan did not know that Luo Ao already knew his background. He wondered what kind of expression would appear on Xiao Yan's face if Luo Ao revealed it in the future.
"Hehe, kid, you're quite the big shot in this Ancient Wilderness City now. Look at these people, they're all from powerful families or cities around here, they're all here for you!"
Seeing that Luo Jin was still relentlessly questioning Xiao Yan, Elder Luo couldn't help but shake his head slightly. He then chuckled, interrupting Luo Jin's attempt to continue. At the same time, Elder Luo waved his sleeve, and an invisible bolt of light shot out. After the void in front of the three of them rippled, a light screen several meters wide slowly appeared. At this moment, the scene in the Ancient Wilderness City outside was completely seen by Xiao Yan and the other two.
Upon seeing this, Luo Jin, after a moment of contemplation, also turned his attention to the enormous light screen before him.
Xiao Yan curled his lip in response, feeling rather helpless. He glanced at the sea of black heads on the light screen and said with a wry smile:
"Don't make fun of me, Elder Luo. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be hiding here..."
Upon hearing this, Elder Luo couldn't help but burst into laughter again. It was truly laughable that the champion of this year's Alchemist Grand Meeting would be chased so thoroughly by a group of complete strangers.
In response, Xiao Yan could only roll his eyes at the people on the light screen. Luo Jin, with a faint smile on his lips, casually glanced at the light screen before looking back at Xiao Yan and saying with a smile:
"Brother Yan Xiao, now that the Alchemist Grand Meeting has concluded, what are your plans for the future?"
Getting to the point, Xiao Yan's expression immediately turned serious, while Elder Luo looked at the two of them with a smile, his heart filled with expectations for them.
The two juniors before me are both considered to be the true elites among the younger generation of the entire continent. Luo Jin comes from the Central Region, and his talent is beyond question. If he focuses on cultivation, given enough time, he will surely have a place on the continent in the future!
As for Xiao Yan, although he is not from this continent, with his abilities and terrifying cultivation talent, Xiao Yan's future achievements may not be lower than those of the powerful disciples of the Central Region!
Upon hearing Luo Jin's words, Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow slightly. According to his plan, he should have gone directly to the Western Region after the Alchemist Grand Meeting ended. However, although the Alchemist Grand Meeting was over, there was still something on Xiao Yan's mind.
"Hehe, last time, with Elder Luo's help, I got a Void Lightning Pool Invitation from that Li Clan patriarch. I'm quite curious about that so-called Void Lightning Pool. If I have the chance this time, I'd like to go in and take a look, and while I'm at it, I'll also break through to the Four-Star Half-Emperor level!"
Luo Jin nodded slightly upon hearing this, then looked at Xiao Yan with a solemn expression and said:
"Brother Yan Xiao, don't forget that scoundrel Mo Zhai. With his temperament, he won't let this go easily. You'd better be extremely careful!"
Upon hearing Luo Jin's words, Xiao Yan frowned slightly, a hint of surprise in his eyes. Judging from his words, it seemed he didn't intend to enter the Void Lightning Pool as well.
"Hehe, because my cultivation method is somewhat special, the power within the Void Lightning Pool is not suitable for my cultivation, so this time you will be the only one going to the Void Lightning Pool."
Seemingly sensing Xiao Yan's doubts, Luo Jin didn't hide anything and directly told Xiao Yan the reason. Xiao Yan nodded to show that he understood. Different cultivation techniques do indeed have different methods of cultivation. For example, Xiao Yan's Flame Mantra requires the use of Heavenly Flames for cultivation, which is something that other cultivation techniques cannot do.
As for Mo Zhai and the others, although they are indeed difficult to deal with, they will not be the only ones entering the Void Lightning Pool. Gu Li and Chi Lin will also enter. With the two of them holding them back, plus myself and the Northern King, they shouldn't be able to cause any major trouble.
"Hoo... Now, it's time to refine that part of the Soul Origin..."