next day
The short yet long night quietly passed, and as the last star in the western sky faded away, a white light appeared on the horizon in the east.
The white light, though seemingly dim, forced the darkness to yield. As the white light grew stronger, the darkness dissipated, and finally, a fiery red sun, as if just awakened from its slumber, slowly rose higher with a sense of weariness.
Feeling the warm sensation on his back, Xiao Yan slowly woke up from his cultivation. The night's cultivation had not left Xiao Yan feeling tired at all; on the contrary, it had made Xiao Yan even more energetic.
Standing up, Xiao Yan casually pulled out the Heavy Xuan Ruler stuck in the crevice of the stone. As stone chips flew, Xiao Yan carried the heavy ruler on his back, lightly touched the stone peak with his toes, and leaped forward slightly. His black robe billowed in the wind, and in an instant, Xiao Yan had already appeared in the void a hundred feet away.
During his journey, Xiao Yan did not forget to use his Spiritual Strength to search the mountains and forests below. This time, in addition to trying his luck to find the Flame Crystal again, he was more interested in the medicinal materials used to refine Emperor Grade Pill.
Judging from the medicinal herbs that Xiao Yan currently has in his Storage Ring, there are only a few that can be used to refine Emperor Grade Pill. And with Xiao Yan's current alchemy skills, these medicinal herbs are probably not enough for Xiao Yan to refine even one Emperor Grade Pill.
Therefore, he must collect more medicinal herbs. Only through repeated failures can Xiao Yan gain more experience to increase his success rate in refining Emperor Grade Pill.
Although such searches are not easy, after several major battles, Xiao Yan finally managed to obtain several medicinal herbs that he needed.
On a mountaintop, Xiao Yan gazed at the endless mountain range stretching to the west. After a month of travel, Xiao Yan was now almost deep into the Xilin Mountain Range.
Although he hadn't entered that place yet, Xiao Yan had already clearly sensed several rather powerful auras through his Spiritual Strength probing. This made a solemn expression appear on Xiao Yan's face. If he wasn't mistaken, the owners of those auras were probably all Nine-Star Half-Emperor level magical beasts!
"Tsk tsk... This Xilin Mountain Range is truly a place where dragons and tigers hide. These few magical beasts have existed for who knows how long, and their cultivation has already reached such a level. It's hard to imagine what kind of scene the heart of the Xilin Mountain Range is like."
Xiao Yan stared at the direction from which the several auras were coming, and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
At the same time that Xiao Yan sensed the presence of those individuals, they also clearly noticed Xiao Yan's probing.
"Hmm? Humans? Go back to where you came from. Don't disturb our peaceful cultivation. This is not a place you can set foot in at will."
Deep within the mountains, a faint voice echoed out, eventually reaching Xiao Yan's ears. The power contained in those words made Xiao Yan frown involuntarily.
Seemingly having discerned Xiao Yan's strength, the speaker's attitude was not particularly domineering; his calm words merely advised Xiao Yan to leave voluntarily.
Understanding the implication, Xiao Yan smiled with slight relief, then cupped his hands in a gesture of respect towards those directions and said with a smile:
"I am merely passing through your esteemed place and would like to borrow your passage. If there is any disturbance, please forgive me!"
"Boy, I see you've had a tough time cultivating, and I don't want to kill you. I advise you to turn back now and leave the Xilin Mountain Range. As for the road ahead, you'd better take a detour. Otherwise, don't blame us for bullying the weak later."
This time, his calm voice became somewhat sharp, revealing a domineering tone. However, Xiao Yan remained calm, the smile on his lips gradually fading, and a determined look appeared on his handsome face.
Although the opponents were all Nine-Star Half-Emperor, he absolutely had to take this path. The time was not yet right, and he did not want to encounter the Four Great Sects so easily. Therefore, if he wanted to go to the Western Wilderness Region, he had to make sure that he could take this path through the Xilin Mountain Range.
Withdrawing his gaze, Xiao Yan calmly sat down cross-legged. With a casual wave of his hand, a crimson medicine cauldron appeared before Xiao Yan.
It is indeed the Myriad Beast Cauldron!
To avoid causing himself too much trouble, Xiao Yan had no choice but to use the Myriad Beast Cauldron for the time being. After all, the Luo Heavenly Divine Cauldron, as the second-ranked cauldron on the Heavenly Cauldron Ranking, had an incredibly powerful attraction. If Xiao Yan were to actually display the Luo Tian Luo Heavenly Cauldron and it were discovered, not only would the Xilin Mountain Range become a hotbed of activity, but the entire Western Region would likely be thrown into chaos.
With a flick of his finger, a wisp of dazzling Heavenly Flames shot into the medicine cauldron. With a "poof, "the Heavenly Flames rose, and the temperature inside the medicine cauldron also increased accordingly.
After finishing these tasks, Xiao Yan continued without pausing. With a wave of his hand, light flashed between his fingers, and medicinal herbs, each exuding a rich aroma, soared into the void.
Xiao Yan flicked his fingers repeatedly, and the medicinal herbs seemed to receive a command, quickly being thrown into the medicine cauldron in front of Xiao Yan. As they were refined by the Heavenly Flames, their medicinal power was extracted through cultivation.
In the blink of an eye, Xiao Yan had been sitting cross-legged on the mountain peak for half a month. During this half month, the medicinal herbs in Xiao Yan's medicine cauldron were destroyed no less than five times. Those destroyed medicinal herbs would usually be the kind that are priceless and unavailable in the outside world.
Seeing the medicinal herbs in his cauldron devoured by the Heavenly Flames five times in a row, Xiao Yan felt a pang of heartache. Among those herbs, apart from some that he had obtained from the Alchemist Guild in the Ancient Wilderness City, the vast majority were things he had painstakingly acquired in the Xilin Mountain Range. Now, they were reduced to ashes by the Heavenly Flames with a "poof," which would break anyone's heart.
Of course, despite the heartache, Xiao Yan Xiao Yan a lot of experience from each failure. This experience will greatly reduce the failure rate in his future alchemy process. Although this was at the cost of Xiao Yan a lot of medicinal herbs, the benefits he gained from Xiao Yan will last a lifetime.
After nearly two months of arduous struggle, Xiao Yan finally succeeded in attracting two instances of Pill Lightning a type of lightning strike).
The two appearances of Pill Lightning gave Xiao Yan greater confidence in refining Emperor Grade Pill, while the Northern King's strength was once again enhanced thanks to the two Pill Lightning. Although the enhancement was not significant, Xiao Yan considered it very gratifying.
In the end, Xiao Yan stayed on the outskirts of the Xilin Mountain Range for a full six months. During this time, apart from recovering his depleted Dou Qi, Xiao Yan devoted himself wholeheartedly to alchemy.
As the saying goes, "Heaven helps those who help themselves." After half a year of honing his skills, Xiao Yan was now nearly 70% confident in his ability to refine Emperor Grade Pill. This was something Xiao Yan could be very proud of among alchemists of the same level.
While Xiao Yan's alchemy skills improved rapidly, his strength as Five-Star Half-Emperor was also completely consolidated. He was now only one step away from the Mid Five-Star Half-Emperor. This double harvest in alchemy skills and strength was undoubtedly the happiest thing for Xiao Yan in the past six months.
As for the Northern King, after undergoing eight rounds of Pill Lightning, Northern King strength has reached the peak of the Peak Late Nine-Star Half-Emperor, which is almost the same as the true Dou Di level. It is unknown what the scene would be like if the Northern King were to actually step into the Dou Di realm one day. Would he also attract Lightning Tribulation like a living person?
Of course, before anything happened, Xiao Yan had no idea about this.
After a night's rest, Xiao Yan slowly emerged from his cultivation state in the early morning. Half a year had not left any marks on Xiao Yan's face; if anything, it was an even more attractive mature charm.
With a light exhale, Xiao Yan stood up. As the sound of bones colliding rang out, Xiao Yan slowly raised his head, his gaze once again fixed on the distant mountains. A smile curved his lips, and with a swift movement, he leaped and flew towards the west.