Gazing at Xiao Yan who was rushing towards Qing Lin, the Pharmacist Elder shook his head helplessly. It seemed that this fellow had indeed been hit hard today. Did he think he could simply cut the Qing Lin? Sighing, the Pharmacist Elder waved his hand, and a suction force solidified Xiao Yan’s figure above the Qing Lin. With a tug, he pulled him back and threw him to his side. “Fool.” Turning his head, the Pharmacist Elder saw Xiao Yan staring at him blankly. Smiling bitterly, he took a steel sword from Nalan and casually tossed it towards the Qing Lin. As the steel sword neared the Qing Lin, a faint green flame suddenly spewed out, and in the blink of an eye, the sword was reduced to a mass of molten iron, churning and boiling.
Seeing this, Xiao Yan broke out in a cold sweat. Swallowing hard, he gave the Pharmacist Elder a sheepish smile.
“This Qing Lin is a wondrous treasure of the world; any common metal will instantly melt upon contact. To cut it, one must use a pure jade item, so as not to tarnish its efficacy.” The Pharmacist Elder said calmly, then took out several high-quality carmine jade bottles from Xiao Yan’s Nalan. A white flame emerged from his palm, melting the small jade bottles into a pool of light green liquid. The liquid churned, and finally, it solidified into a slender jade ruler.
The Pharmacist Elder carefully removed the impurities from the jade ruler, making it look translucent and beautiful, like the leaves of the Qing Lin. “Use this jade ruler to cut the part where the lotus connects to the stem.”
Due to the special effects of the Bone Spirit Cold Fire, the jade ruler cooled down in no time. The Pharmacist Elder shook it gently and handed it to Xiao Yan. Taking the ruler, Xiao Yan felt a pleasant coolness in his hand. He couldn’t help but smack his lips, admiring the strange fire even more. Grasping the ruler tightly, he cautiously swam towards the Qing Lin. Gently slicing the part where the lotus connected to the stem, the perfectly formed lotus fell off.
Seeing the Qing Lin fall, the Pharmacist Elder hastily summoned it with a wave of his hand, letting it float and slowly rotate in front of him. His gaze swept over it, his face filled with amazement.
After taking the Qing Lin, Xiao Yan watched the root hungrily devouring the fire energy from the surrounding magma. Licking his lips, he smiled, “Teacher, this root can absorb energy so crazily. It must be a treasure, right? Should we take it too?”
“No.” Surprisingly, the Pharmacist Elder, who was admiring the Qing Lin, shook his head slightly. “Hmm? Why not?”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan was stunned and asked curiously.
“For these spiritual treasures that take a thousand years to form, it’s best to leave them alone. Consider it a good omen for yourself. Although you took the Qing Lin, given a thousand more years, another one can grow. But if you take the root as well… the Qing Lin here might become extinct forever. It would be very difficult for it to reform…”
The Pharmacist Elder stared at the swaying root, sighing.
In the alchemy world, destroying the roots of spiritual objects or herbs when harvesting them is the most infuriating act. After all, the conditions for their formation are extremely strict.
Listening to the Pharmacist Elder, Xiao Yan nodded slightly after a moment of contemplation. He put the jade ruler back into his Nalan, glanced at the long root once more, and turned to face the Pharmaiser Elder, his eyes gleaming with excitement as he looked at the Qing Lin, his mouth watering.
“Let’s count… there are eleven earth-fire lotus seeds in here. Haha, quite lucky, aren’t we?”
Counting the tiny luminescent spots in the Qing Lin, the Pharmacist Elder couldn’t help but laugh. “I’m actually quite puzzled. When the Queen Medusa came to get the strange fire, why did she leave these treasures behind? Did she not see their value?”
Looking at the Qing Lin, Xiao Yan suddenly expressed his confusion. “I told you, although it seemed easy to cut the Qing Lin with the jade ruler, it would be impossible to cut it with brute force using other objects. This little trick is not something the Queen Medusa, who is not an alchemist, would know. Besides, when she took the strange fire, she was seriously injured by it. Plus, with the heat and pressure of the surrounding magma, she didn’t have extra time to waste…”
The Pharmacist Elder chuckled, taking out ten small jade bottles and the jade ruler from his Nalan. Carefully, he picked out the eleven earth-fire lotus seeds and put them into the bottles. “Pack these things up carefully. Don’t show them to anyone, especially the Qing Lin. Use it sparingly except for cultivation, to avoid unnecessary trouble.”
Putting the jade bottles into the Nalan, the Pharmacist Elder handed it back to Xiao Yan, reminding him.
“Okay.” Putting the Nalan on his finger, Xiao Yan noticed that the green light around the Qing Lin’s root was gradually diminishing. “Let’s go now.”
Seeing the changes, the Pharmacist Elder’s body trembled, turning into a white flame that covered Xiao Yan’s body. “Yes.”
Nodding slightly, Xiao Yan took a deep breath, glanced one last time at the Qing Lin’s root, licked his lips, and swiftly swam away from the green glow.
Emerging from the green glow, Xiao Yan waved at the distant Fire Spirit Snake, then followed it, retracing their steps. “Why isn’t he coming out yet?”
At the entrance of the passage, Xiao Ding looked at the silent lava lake, his calm heart gradually becoming anxious. Frowning, he paced back and forth. “Elder, don’t worry. I received a message; Young Master is on his way back and is safe,” said Cai Lin, her emerald eyes flickering, lifting her small face to look at Xiao Ding.
“Is that so…” Xiao Ding let out a sigh of relief, walked to the passage entrance, and glanced at the bubbling lava below. He sighed, finding it hard to imagine Xiao Yan jumping into it.
“Ah, what a terrifying fellow…”
Just as he spoke, the sound of breaking water echoed again. Xiao Ding quickly looked into the lava, seeing Xiao Yan’s white flame-encased figure slowly emerging. “Phew…”
Breaking through the thick lava, Xiao Yan exhaled deeply, looking up at Xiao Ding and waving at him. Stomping on the lava, he shot up. As he neared the halfway point, his back twitched, and the Purple Cloud Wings flapped out, carrying him gracefully to the passage.
Stepping on solid ground, the white flame on Xiao Yan’s body gradually faded. His back twitched, and the Purple Cloud Wings vanished, turning into a black tattoo once more. “Are you okay?” Seeing Xiao Yan, Xiao Ding hurried over, asking.
“Ha ha, I’m fine.” Shaking his head with a smile, Xiao Yan turned, looking at the vast lava world in the cave, and sighed. “Got the stuff?”
Glancing at Xiao Yan’s expression, Xiao Ding asked with a smile. “No…” His lips twitched, and Xiao Yan said with a bitter smile, “Someone beat me to it.”
“Hmm?” Hearing this, Xiao Ding was taken aback. After a moment, he said softly, “Was it the owner of that mysterious aura from before?”
“Yeah, perhaps it’s better to call her the Queen Medusa.” Xiao Yan fished out the seven-colored snake scale from his Nalan, showing it to Xiao Ding with a bitter smile.
“Ah, the seven-colored snake scale… it was her, then…” Looking at the scale, Xiao Ding’s face twisted into a bitter smile. Xiao Yan nodded, pursing his lips, and said softly, “I’ve figured out the trail of the strange fire. Next, I’ll head straight to the depths of the Tager Desert. If there’s a chance, I plan to retrieve the strange fire from the Queen Medusa.”
“What? You want to take the strange fire from the Queen Medusa?”
Xiao Ding was first stunned, then his face changed drastically, and he exclaimed. In the vicinity of the Tager Desert, the fearsome reputation of the Queen Medusa was no less than her allure. In the cities near the desert, many people were terrified of the Queen Medusa, almost to the point of being afraid of her name. So even though Xiao Ding knew Xiao Yan had hidden skills, he still found the idea of confronting the Queen Medusa rather absurd. After all, unlike Robo in the Stone Oasis City, the Queen Medusa was a super-strong figure renowned throughout the Jia Ma Empire. Back when the empire wanted to suppress the Snake People Tribe, they had mobilized three Dou Wang powerhouses, yet the Queen Medusa still managed to heavily wound them. This shows that the Queen Medusa’s fearsome reputation wasn’t just hype.
“Ha ha, don’t worry, big brother. I just want to try. Even if I fail, I’m confident I can escape,” Xiao Yan assured, smiling at Xiao Ding.
“You… Ah…” Seeing Xiao Yan’s determination, Xiao Ding frowned for a long time before shaking his head helplessly. “Ha ha, let’s go, let’s go. Go rest tonight, and tomorrow I’ll set off for the Tager Desert.”
Waving his hand, Xiao Yan turned and walked into the passage, followed by a sighing Xiao Ding.
As the two turned to leave, Cai Lin hurriedly whistled at the lava lake. Instantly, the green light on the forehead of the dual-headed Fire Spirit Snake surged, and its large body rapidly shrank, turning into a streak of green light and darting into Cai Lin’s sleeve.
Curiously patting the sleeve, Cai Lin’s small face showed a hint of a smile, and she whispered, “Don’t cause trouble, or I’ll throw you away if the Young Master gets angry.”
“Sss…” A slight hiss, laced with a bit of discontent, suggested the Fire Spirit Snake was unhappy with its master’s discrimination. “Hee hee.”
Covering her mouth with a soft laugh, Cai Lin skipped after the two, and the trio gradually disappeared into the darkness of the passage. As their footsteps faded, the vast lava cave once again fell into eternal silence…
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