Starting Out by Snatching the Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva and Dou Qi for Myself, I, Xiao Yan, Became a Dou Zhe!

In the imperial capital, at the Nalan Family's residence, in Nalan Jie's room.

"Teacher, I've counted on my fingers, and the Nalan Family is about to give me a stalk of Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva."

Dressed in a black robe, Xiao Yan spoke to Yao Lao in his mind as he walked toward the door.

Sure enough, the moment he finished speaking, Nalan Su's urgent voice came from behind him:

"Sir, please wait. This is the Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva."

Nalan Su hurriedly waved to a servant beside him, signaling for a medicinal box to be brought forward.

Hearing him, Xiao Yan stopped and looked back from a distance.

The medicinal box opened, and colorful light burst forth.

A rich, subtle fragrance spread through the air, revealing a strange plant. It was green all over, with petals of seven colors.

The appearance of the treasure naturally drew exclamations of wonder from everyone around.

That included Nalan Jie on the bed and Nalan Yanran beside him.

The former was the original owner of the Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva.

Of course, it would soon change hands.

The latter was Nalan Yanran, the young sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect, who had previously broken off her engagement to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan turned and walked back, a smile curling his lips, though his black robe hid it well.

Lightly pressing the black ring on his hand, he rejoiced inwardly. Nalan Yanran, I'll gladly accept this opportunity!

Upon smelling the unusual fragrance, Yao Lao's soul trembled violently inside the Storage Ring, and his voice rose several degrees.

"The medicinal fragrance is rich, and the colors are brilliant. It really is Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva... I never expected the information you casually went looking for to be true!"

Xiao Yan said nothing. He merely smiled faintly and thought, I was reborn. How could the information not be true?

At that thought, he could not help recalling the past for a moment.

In his previous life, after defeating Hun Tiandi, he had been ambushed by the remnant soul of a Hun Clan Dou Di, and in the end, they had perished together.

To his surprise, when he opened his eyes, he had traveled back to his youth, to the moment just after his engagement had been broken off.

To deal with Hun Tiandi in the future, he had to make himself stronger ahead of time.

So he had gone to the Mittel Auction House specifically to gather information, thereby bringing the whereabouts of the Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva to light and subtly passing them on to Yao Lao.

The result was plain to see: he had succeeded.

After learning the news, Yao Lao had brought him to the imperial capital overnight, where they had also happened to hear that Nalan Jie had fallen ill after being angered by Nalan Yanran.

Only after helping Nalan Jie remove the Brand Poison had they come into contact with the Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva before them.

Xiao Yan accepted the medicinal box with both hands, and Yao Lao responded in his place:

"Patriarch Nalan, although I did help you remove the Brand Poison, are you truly willing to give away something so precious?"

Nalan Su was taken aback. Just as he was about to speak, the old man on the bed unexpectedly spoke first:

"It's all right. You are a capable man, old sir, and you saved my life. If you need this, by all means take it. I can count it as making a connection."

Turning her head and seeing the hale old man on the bed, Nalan Yanran also breathed a sigh of relief. She then turned around, bowed to Xiao Yan, and said gratefully:

"Thank you for your help, old sir. Yanran will remember it always. If you have need of anything in the future, I will certainly do everything I can to help."

Xiao Yan said nothing, merely waving a hand to indicate that she need not stand on ceremony.

After Nalan Yanran straightened up, Nalan Su spoke, sincerely urging Xiao Yan to stay.

"Sir, since my father is now well, we would like to hold a banquet for you tonight to express our thanks. I wonder what you think..."

In Nalan Su's view, someone who possessed Heavenly Flames was also highly likely to be an alchemist.

Moreover, the man had used soul transmission to speak, further confirming his guess.

For that reason, Nalan Su had already placed the black-robed man before him on his list of people worth befriending closely.

But, unsurprisingly, Yao Lao declined the request.

"No. This Seven Illusory Azure Spirit Saliva is a rare wonder, and I only wish to find a quiet place to study it. I won't disturb Old Master Nalan's recovery."

With that, Yao Lao impatiently told Xiao Yan to put away the medicinal box, and Xiao Yan then walked out of the Nalan Mansion.

Nalan Jie watched the black-robed figure leave, his gaze growing somewhat profound as he murmured to himself:

"This man was able to subdue Heavenly Flames. His Dou Qi cultivation is probably that of a Dou Wang or even a Dou Huang expert. It's a pity we didn't manage to recruit him."

Nalan Su also let out a stale breath and sighed. "Isn't that so? If he's also a highly skilled alchemist, he might even be able to raise the overall strength of our Nalan Family by a whole level."

Nalan Yanran, however, felt little regret. She was more concerned about the man's identity.

After all, she was the young sect master of the Misty Cloud Sect and often interacted with Gu He, a sixth-tier alchemist, so she naturally did not pay much attention to the talents of certain high-tier alchemists.

At least in her eyes, a sixth-tier alchemist was already a ceiling-like existence. Higher realms were things of legend, and she did not believe in them at all.

As he passed down the steps, Xiao Yan caught sight of the three watching them out of the corner of his eye. Keenly perceiving their thoughts, he sent a voice transmission to Yao Lao.

"Teacher, it looks like they really wanted me to stay!"

Yao Lao was in an excellent mood after obtaining the precious herb and replied casually, "What? Do you want to stay and play for a while?"

Xiao Yan shook his head. "Of course not. Our goal is to restore your strength, teacher. We don't have time to play around with them."

Yao Lao said with satisfaction, "In that case, hurry up and find somewhere to enter seclusion."

At this point, Yao Lao paused, then continued, "Besides... I've prepared a gift for you. I believe you'll like it."

Though Xiao Yan knew perfectly well what it was, he still feigned surprise and asked, "What gift?"

Yao Lao smiled mysteriously. "You'll know when the time comes."

After the two talked for a while, Xiao Yan quickened his pace. He soon passed through the streets and reached the outskirts, where he found a secluded cave and entered it.

The area was sparsely populated, and since it was still within the imperial capital's boundaries, there would be no attacks from high-level magical beasts. It was a decent place for quiet cultivation.

Shortly after he entered the cave, Yao Lao's illusory soul drifted out of the ancient-looking ring on Xiao Yan's hand.

Yao Lao turned his palm over, and milky-white flames suddenly rose from it, sealing the entire cave entrance and cutting off every trace of the outside world.

Seeing that Yao Lao had finished preparing their safety measures, Xiao Yan chuckled, took off his black robe, rubbed his hands together, and asked:

"Hehe... Teacher, what good thing have you got? You're only taking it out now. Your disciple is so hurt!"

"Enough of your cheek. You were the one who wasted time. Hold out your hands and catch it!"

Faced with Xiao Yan shamelessly pinning the blame on him, Yao Lao laughed and scolded him before waving his hand.

The ghastly white flames surged, and strands of attribute-less Dou Qi flew out of them, landing precisely in Xiao Yan's hands and forming a ball of energy.

Surprise flashed across Xiao Yan's face, but his eyes still revealed a hint of just as I thought. It was too subtle, however, for Yao Lao to catch.

"This is..."

He looked startled, hoping for an explanation from his teacher.

Yao Lao pondered for a moment, then said proudly, "This is the Dou Qi that was corroded while Nalan Jie suppressed the Brand Poison over the years. I refined it out for you."

"Don't worry. The energy is extremely pure. You can absorb it directly without worrying about any side effects. If anything does happen, I'll step in..."

Xiao Yan's hands trembled and shook, his body seeming ready to lose its balance at any moment.

Staring fixedly at the ball of energy, he showed a trace of excitement and emotion.

In his previous life, for Yao Lao's sake and for this energy, he had expended who knew how much effort before obtaining it from Nalan Jie.

Now that the same thing was happening before his eyes, how could he not be excited? "T-Teacher!"

"Mhm, it's for you. Hurry and absorb it!"

Seeing Xiao Yan like this, Yao Lao felt a pang of sympathy.

After all, Xiao Yan had fallen into his current predicament because Yao Lao himself had absorbed his Dou Qi.

If Xiao Yan had not lost his Dou Qi back then, with his talent, he would at least be a Da Dou Shi by now.

With Yao Lao's assurance, Xiao Yan hesitated no longer. He sat cross-legged on the spot, formed a strange hand seal, silently circulated his cultivation technique, and slowly absorbed the energy.

This power was extremely pure. It needed no refining whatsoever, nor did it need to circulate through his body for a full cycle; it could flow directly into his dantian.

A strand of colorless Dou Qi flowed in, and an expression of enjoyment immediately appeared on Xiao Yan's face.

That tiny bit of power alone was no less than what he gained from more than ten days of cultivation.

Then came the second strand, the third, the fourth...

Feeling his body growing stronger and stronger, Xiao Yan showed a faint smile.

His strength continued to rise: the Third Stage of Dou Qi... the fourth stage... the seventh stage... the Peak of the Ninth Stage of Dou Qi!!!

"No, that's not enough!"

Xiao Yan's eyes snapped open, a sharp gleam flashing in them. He raised his hand, took out a pill, and put it in his mouth.

Qi Gathering Powder could allow a Ninth Stage Dou Qi cultivator to advance perfectly to Dou Zhe. It was also the first pill Yao Lao had refined for him after arriving in the imperial capital.

Time slipped quietly by as Xiao Yan continued to refine the energy within the pill.

At last, his Dou Qi compressed... and underwent a qualitative change!

A small cyclone formed in his dantian. The original energy gathered through it and, once purified, became a milky-white Qi.

This was true Dou Qi, the foundation on which an expert truly stood, and the power belonging to a Dou Zhe.

"Hahaha!"

Xiao Yan looked inward at the cyclone and the meridians in his body, and finally burst out laughing.

"I, Xiao Yan, am a fucking Dou Zhe!!"