blogombal 44. Mysterious Purchase
44. Mysterious Purchase
The man in black robes held a medicinal herb, an orchid, surrounded by shimmering light like stars in the night sky—a truly beautiful sight. It was a Star Spirit Nurturing Orchid! A herb almost extinct; even the Old Master of Medicine had only seen it, never actually possessed it. Its effect was simple—it directly enhanced soul power.
It's important to understand that soul power is the foundation of any alchemist's livelihood, and this Star Spirit Nurturing Orchid holds an even greater significance for Xiao Yan—to restore Yao Lao's strength. Back then, due to the Soul Hall's pursuit, Yao Lao's soul, though able to escape, still suffered considerable damage. Although he was able to reappear by absorbing Xiao Yan's Dou Qi, and recovered some strength by absorbing the Red Lotus Karmic Flame, he was still far from Yao Lao's peak condition.
However, if Xiao Yan were to acquire this treasure, which is comparable to a top-tier sixth-grade elixir, Yao Lao's return to the peak of his soul would no longer be a dream.
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes slightly: "I really need it, name your price!" He abandoned any pretense and wouldn't give this herb a chance to slip away.
"Tell me, what price can you offer?" The man in black robes sounded anxious, and he kept turning around to look, as if he was worried about something.
"Five grade six pills?"
The man in black robes was also taken aback by Xiao Yan's price, then immediately nodded, as if afraid Xiao Yan would change his mind. He continued, "I have one more condition: here's a puppet, you must accept it, and you can't tell anyone else that I gave it to you. How about it?"
Xiao Yan found it strange, not for any other reason than that the price this person was asking was far too low. Although the effects of the Star Spirit Nurturing Orchid were comparable to top-grade sixth-rank pills, it was a superior item that directly enhanced soul power! Pills that could enhance Dou Qi were countless, but even though Xiao Yan was already a fifth-rank alchemist with a grandmaster like Yao Lao by his side, he had never seen one that could enhance soul power. Xiao Yan had even prepared to bid more than a dozen sixth-rank pills.
Looking at the man in black robes, Xiao Yan realized there was only one possibility: the puppet the man in black robes mentioned was something fishy! Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so quick to give him such a precious Star Spirit Nurturing Orchid.
Seeing Xiao Yan's doubts, the man in black robes immediately explained, "This puppet has already reached the Dou Huang level. As long as you charge it in time, it will be equivalent to a Dou Huang expert. I'm giving it to you for free; you definitely won't lose out!"
Despite his many questions, Xiao Yan couldn't let the Star Spirit Nurturing Orchid slip through his fingers, as it was far too precious. He nodded and gave five Rank 6 pills to the man in black robes. The man in black robes eagerly handed the Star Spirit Nurturing Orchid to Xiao Yan, gave him a storage ring, and then immediately disappeared into the crowd with the pills in hand.
Xiao Yan knew that this guy must have seen his transaction just now, which was why he wanted to give the item to him. After all, only an alchemist would give away pills so readily, and the Star Spirit Nurturing Orchid is a rare find that alchemists would almost never let go of.
After examining the area, Xiao Yan knew that the Star Spirit Nurturing Orchid was definitely fine, so the problem could only lie with the puppet the black-robed man had forced upon him. However, the small market was crowded and noisy, and Xiao Yan couldn't just take the puppet out and check it on the spot. He could only control it by enveloping his storage ring with the Crimson Lotus Karmic Flame and decide what to do after leaving the small market.
When Xiao Yan returned and found Yang Lingyan and Chu Qun, the two had already finished exploring and were quite excited, clearly having made some purchases at the market. At Xiao Yan's signal, the three of them flew away without lingering. As for those who wanted to follow, Xiao Yan thought it would be too much trouble and declined their requests. Chu Qun and Chu Lingyan were now completely obedient to Xiao Yan, doing whatever he said without question.
Xiao Yan and his companions flew a distance and found a secluded cave. Xiao Yan simply tapped his storage ring and released a man. Although the man's aura was intact, his eyes were lifeless and he was not breathing; he was merely a puppet. Xiao Yan sensed the puppet's aura and confirmed it was that of a genuine Dou Huang expert. Chu Qun and the other two were also surprised, not expecting Xiao Yan to have found such a treasure.
Xiao Yan channeled his Dou Qi into the puppet, but it didn't react at all. Xiao Yan was taken aback, then increased his Dou Qi output until he had poured nearly 20% of his Dou Qi into it. Only then did the puppet suddenly stand up and stand in front of Xiao Yan. Xiao Yan used his soul power to command the puppet, and the puppet punched the mountain wall, causing it to crack open.
Xiao Yan nodded, acknowledging that he was indeed a good assistant. However, upon further investigation, he discovered something amiss: a barely perceptible aura emanated from deep within the puppet. Moreover, Xiao Yan tried various methods to remove it, but found none. This was likely the reason the black-robed man had been so eager to help him.
Xiao Yan smiled lightly, and a blood-red flame flashed in his hand. However, to Xiao Yan's surprise, the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, which was usually completely under his control, suddenly rushed towards the puppet as if out of control.
The puppet's entire body began to burn, and the terrifying temperature even caused the mountain wall to begin to melt.
Xiao Yan felt that the Red Lotus Karmic Fire's most important ability to burn evil thoughts was maximized. He even heard a faint howl from the burning puppet. The entire puppet began to burn fiercely. Xiao Yan's brows furrowed slightly. What exactly is this thing that makes the Red Lotus Karmic Fire burn like this?
After an incense stick's time, the mark did indeed disappear, and the Douhuang puppet was completely burned by the Red Lotus Karmic Fire. Xiao Yan felt that the backlash from the Red Lotus Karmic Fire was almost gone. In the past, no matter how Xiao Yan burned other people's evil thoughts, there was always some backlash on himself, but now there was almost none.
Yang Lingyan asked, "Xiao Yan, your strange fire is terrifying!"
Chu Qun and Yang Lingyan were both geniuses of the Northwest Region, so they naturally recognized the strange fire on Xiao Yan's body long ago. However, they never expected that Xiao Yan's strange fire would have such terrifying destructive power, directly burning a Douhuang puppet to ashes.
Xiao Yan also shook his head: "This thing is wrong."
Then he told Chu Qun and the other man about the origin of the puppet, and the two of them found it a bit strange after listening.
Chu Qun comforted him, "Don't think about it. This thing definitely has an unusual origin, but now that it's all burned to ashes by the strange fire, we can just pack up and leave. Who will know that this thing is in our hands?"
Xiao Yan could only console himself with this thought, after all, he had genuinely obtained the benefit of the Star Spirit Nurturing Orchid.
The three of them then leaped away, as this was not a place to linger.
About half an hour after Xiao Yan and his two companions left, the six people flew over and searched the cave where they had stayed.
If Yang Lingyan or Chu Qun were here, they would definitely recognize the leader of this group, the number two figure of the Xuanwen Sect on this trip.
Lu Mingzhe, the second most talented genius in the Xuanwen Sect after Lu Zhi!