In the quiet room, Nalan and his daughter were whispering to each other, occasionally glancing at the two people beside the bed. As time passed, watching the sweat rolling down the old man’s face and the twitching blue veins on his arms, Nalan Yanran and the other gradually stopped their conversation, exchanging a glance that revealed a hint of anxiety and unease in their eyes.
Ignoring the uneasy duo in the room, Xiao Yan’s expression remained calm, his finger trembling slightly on Nalan Jie’s back. A faint azure flame, continuously enveloped by soul power, carefully slithered into the latter’s body, using its high temperature to gradually expel the “Seal Poison” that had invaded his bones. The azure flame surrounded the blackened bones, though they seemed to be tightly pressed together, a keen observer would notice a minuscule gap between them. The temperature of the flame was terrifying; if it came into direct contact with Nalan Jie’s bones, even a Dou Wang level expert would be severely injured, or even die, in an instant!
The scorching heat from the flames slowly roasted the blackened bones. As the azure flame continued to roast, wisps of black fog seeped out from the bones, only to be quickly engulfed by a cluster of azure flames, using the frightening heat to slowly burn away the “Seal Poison” vapor, which even a Battle Emperor level expert would treat with great caution, into nothingness… However, while Xiao Yan used the strange fire to burn the black vapor, he did not notice that just as the black vapor was about to dissipate, some unknown black substance slowly mixed with the azure flames before completely disappearing.
As time silently slipped by, the section of black bone wrapped in Xiao Yan’s azure flames began to gradually regain its normal color at a visible speed. Outside, Nalan Jie was drenched in sweat, his aged face contorting, and sounds of labored breathing escaping through his teeth. “Young… Young friend, is it… done?” His fists clenched tightly, blue veins throbbing on his arms like small snakes, Nalan Jie’s voice was hoarse and shaky. Behind him, Xiao Yan’s forehead was also covered in sweat. Such a long period of controlling the strange fire with such high precision was a considerable burden on his soul power. Hearing Nalan Jie’s trembling question, he nodded slightly, softly saying, “Since you can’t hold on any longer, let’s stop here for now. The depth of your poisoning is far beyond my expectations. It’s nearly impossible to expel the ‘Seal Poison’ in one go, so we can only do this gradually…”
“Can the ‘Seal Poison’ really be completely expelled?” Nalan Jie asked, unable to hide his delight. Though the old man had lived for many years, given the choice between life and death, anyone would choose the former. “Based on the current progress, it seems there shouldn’t be any problem,” Xiao Yan said calmly.
“Haha, I didn’t expect young friend to have such abilities at such a young age. I wonder which hidden master could have trained such an outstanding disciple…” Nalan Jie hurriedly nodded, his voice hoarse with laughter. “Then it all depends on you, young friend.”
“Oh, what’s your name, young friend?” “Yan Xiao… No need to talk, I’m about to withdraw the strange fire.” Frowning, Xiao Yan’s fingers curved slightly, the azure flame surrounding the bones began to retreat, finally being drawn back into his body. When the last wisp of azure flame was drawn back into his body, Xiao Yan finally let out a breath of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead. His face suddenly changed slightly, but then quickly returned to normal. Pretending to be unbothered, he glanced at the slightly darkened tip of his finger, pursing his lips and quietly retracting his hand into his sleeve.
“Yan Xiao, how did it go?” Seeing that Xiao Yan seemed to have stopped, Nalan Su hurriedly stepped forward and asked. “Let’s stop the treatment for today. Based on this progress, it will likely take at least seven days to completely expel the poison,” Xiao Yan glanced at Nalan Jie, whose complexion was slightly better than before, and said thoughtfully.
“Thank you, young friend. As long as you can heal the old man, the Nalan family will not disappoint you in terms of compensation!” Seeing Nalan Jie’s somewhat restored face, the heavy stone weighing on Nalan Su’s heart finally fell. Nalan Jie’s importance to the Nalan family was like that of Mo Cheng to the Mo family. Losing this pillar, although the Nalan family wouldn’t collapse, the gap with the other two major families would inevitably widen.
“I’ll come back tomorrow. Farewell for now,” Xiao Yan glanced at the sky outside and turned to Nalan Jie, who was still on the bed. “Young friend, to save some trouble, why don’t you stay at the Nalan residence?” Nalan Jie eagerly offered. “No need, I have my own matters,” Xiao Yan shook his head lightly and no longer paid attention to the three, walking towards the door.
“Uh… If that’s the case, girl, see off young friend,” seeing Xiao Yan’s straightforward departure, Nalan Jie was stunned, then said with some helplessness. Nodding slightly, Nalan Yanran looked at the slim figure in front of her and slowly followed.
Walking slowly on the path paved with gravel, Xiao Yan stared straight ahead, as if the princess of the Nalan family beside him didn’t exist. Walking alongside him, Nalan Yanran occasionally glanced at the young man who was ignoring her. Her face was calm, but she was quite surprised and a little depressed. Although she didn’t care much, being ignored like this was a first for her. She always thought she was quite proud, but the person in front of her seemed even prouder.
However, Nalan Yanran knew that the young man named Yan Xiao, although proud, indeed had the means. At such a young age, he had mastered the terrifying strange fire that even Battle Emperor experts feared, making him stand out among his peers. Therefore, even Nalan Yanran, feeling a little indignant, couldn’t help but feel a bit of admiration.
“Yan Xiao, although I’m not very clear on how alchemists expel poisons, sending such a terrible strange fire into the human body must require very precise control. Your control seems to be much stronger than many third-grade alchemists I’ve seen,” Nalan Yanran finally couldn’t bear the oppressive atmosphere and asked softly.
“Perhaps,” Xiao Yan said without looking at her, his voice quite cold. “Why don’t you take the exam for a third-grade alchemist?” “Wearing one’s true strength on one’s chest… I’m not that stupid,” Xiao Yan muttered sarcastically, glancing at the spot where Nalan Yanran’s moonlight dress tightly hugged her chest, then quickly looking away. “You don’t wear your rank badge either, right?”
“The teacher said that those so-called rank badges are just illusions. Besides, even I don’t know exactly what level my strength is; it fluctuates too much,” Nalan Yanran smiled. “Fluctuates too much? What do you mean?” Hearing this, Xiao Yan’s heart stirred, and he asked in a low voice. “…Sorry, that’s a secret of the Yun Lian Sect and can’t be disclosed,” Nalan Yanran apologized, shaking her head slightly, not revealing the real reason.
Frowning, then relaxing, Xiao Yan nodded silently, walking at a steady pace. Glancing at Nalan Yanran, whose steps were elegant, he hesitated for a moment, then his soul power slowly extended, circling around her, trying to probe her true strength. Although Elder Pharmacist had said that something on Nalan Yanran prevented soul power from probing, Xiao Yan wanted to confirm it himself.
His soul power circled around Nalan Yanran. After a while, Xiao Yan sighed inwardly. In his perception, her body seemed to be covered by an energy membrane, completely blocking the probing soul power. Slowly retracting his soul power, Xiao Yan’s eyebrows twitched, turning his head to look at Nalan Yanran, who was calmly looking at him. His fist under the sleeve tightened slightly, “What’s wrong?”
“Mr. Yan Xiao, you seem very interested in my strength?” Nalan Yanran stared at Xiao Yan, smiling meaningfully. “Although I’m not an alchemist, I’m naturally sensitive to soul power…”
“I’ve heard that the eldest miss of the Nalan family is a strong contender for the next Yun Lian Sect leader, so I was curious and wanted to probe a bit. I didn’t expect to be caught, even being so careful. I’m truly impressed,” Xiao Yan shrugged helplessly and smiled.
“Haha, is that so?” Nalan Yanran smiled, her beautiful eyes fixed on his ordinary face. For some reason, she felt a strange sensation, but couldn’t grasp what it was. Her brows furrowed slightly, showing a bit of confusion.
“We’re here. Miss Nalan, you don’t need to see me off. I’ll go back on my own. Goodbye,” walking out the gate, Xiao Yan bowed to Nalan Yanran, whose brows were still furrowed. Without waiting for her reply, he walked out into the bustling street.
“What a strange, arrogant person…” Staring at the back disappearing into the crowd, Nalan Yanran shook her head slightly, murmuring helplessly, then turned and entered the Nalan mansion.
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