At the dining table, Xiao Yan glanced sideways at Xiao Yu across from him, who was fiercely biting into her food. The sound of her silver teeth grinding against each other could be heard even as she ate. He smirked and, recalling the strange and wonderful feeling earlier, his right hand involuntarily touched his palm. On the other side, Xiao Yu, who had been glaring at Xiao Yan, noticed his action, and her face turned red and then pale again. Staring oddly at Xiao Yu, who was gritting her teeth, and then looking at Xiao Yan, who seemed unperturbed, Xun’er frowned in confusion and shook her head helplessly before slowly chewing and swallowing the food in her mouth.
Looking past Xiao Yu, he focused on Xiao Ning beside her. At that moment, the fellow was grinning widely, with a smile almost covering half of his face. Xiao Yan thought to himself, smirking inwardly, “He must have obtained the Foundation-building Spirit Liquid, but he doesn’t seem to know that it isn’t very effective for Dou Qi above the Eighth Stage…” Smiling slyly and shaking his head, Xiao Yan’s eyes wandered around the room. Seeing the smiles on his father and others’ faces, he felt puzzled, “Isn’t the family dinner only held during festivals? What’s there to celebrate today? Is obtaining the expensive Foundation-building Spirit Liquid worth celebrating?”
Xiao Yan, lost in his thoughts, didn’t realize that this family gathering was due to the mysterious man in black robes, who had casually mentioned the possibility of cooperation. Cooperation with an alchemist of Grade 2 or above would bring immense profits, and it might even elevate the Xiao Family to surpass the other two major families. Therefore, it was no wonder that even his usually calm and collected father was so joyous, and the elders were beaming, their old eyes slightly glazed over by the sudden good fortune.
The family dinner ended in a festive atmosphere, and when Xiao Yan saw his father wave, he immediately jumped off his chair and rushed out of the hall, heading straight for his room without looking back. Not long after Xiao Yan left, Xiao Yu, clenching her teeth, chased after him but found no one. In frustration, she stamped her foot and left in a huff.
…
Returning to his room, having learned a lesson, Xiao Yan did not immediately ask the Elder Alchemist to refine the medicine. After closing the doors and windows, he lazily rolled onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep. When night fell and all was silent, Xiao Yan suddenly opened his eyes, leaped off the bed, and carefully took out the herbs from the cabinet, placing them on the table. Turning to the Elder Alchemist, who hovered like a ghost a foot above the ground, he asked softly, “Teacher, can we start now?”
“Finally, you’ve learned to be more careful. Refining medicine requires a completely quiet environment. If disturbed, the consequences can be severe. I won’t suffer any backlash now, but if you are still careless when you learn to refine medicines in the future, you might lose your life sooner or later,” the Elder Alchemist said, walking to the table and lightly touching the materials with a faintly stern voice.
Xiao Yan, feeling a bit embarrassed, nodded in understanding. Seeing Xiao Yan’s obedient expression, the Elder Alchemist let out a small sigh of relief. He extended his palm, and after a brief silence, a white flame rose steadily.
Using his soul perception to control the temperature of the flame, the Elder Alchemist, taking a break, glanced at Xiao Yan, who was staring curiously at the flame in his hand. After a slight hesitation, he said softly, “Alchemists can generally distinguish their rank by the color of their flames.”
“Ordinary alchemists have pale yellow flames, and the higher the rank, the darker and more powerful the flame,” the Elder Alchemist explained. Xiao Yan blinked and, pointing at the white flame in the Elder Alchemist’s hand, asked in surprise, “Then why is Teacher’s flame white?”
“Hehe, what I said earlier refers to the common flames among alchemists. However, within the alchemist community, besides relying on the thickness of Dou Qi to catalyze the flames, there is another way… borrowing fire!” The Elder Alchemist smiled, a hint of pride in his voice.
“Borrowing fire?” The term was not unfamiliar, but its meaning left Xiao Yan bewildered. Could one borrow the fire for alchemy?
“Correct, borrowing fire,” the Elder Alchemist nodded firmly. “In this vast world, there exist some heavenly and earthly strange fires, maybe the cluster of fire in the center of a meteorite, or the molten lava fire deep in a volcano, which has been burning for thousands of years… These strange fires are more powerful than the flames catalyzed by Dou Qi and can enhance the potency of the medicine. However, these heavenly and earthly strange fires are extremely violent, and it’s rare to encounter them. Even if one does, it’s very difficult to make them one’s own.”
“Many alchemists search their entire lives for a strange fire but never succeed. To control a strange fire, one must introduce the flame into one’s body, and strange fires are inherently destructive. Even Mysterious Gold, known for its durability, cannot withstand the heat of a strange fire, let alone a human’s fragile flesh. It’s like setting oneself on fire. Only a fortunate few, through sheer luck, manage to refine a small cluster of strange fire, nurturing it as their own flame seed. These individuals are without exception the cream of the crop in the alchemy world…”
Xiao Yan listened, entranced, and after a while, licked his lips, his eyes fixed on the white flame in the Elder Alchemist’s hand, which gave him a cold illusion. “Teacher’s flame must be a strange fire, right?” Xiao Yan probed.
“Hehe,” the Elder Alchemist’s face lit up at the mention of his flame. His eyes blazing, he said, “In the alchemy world of the Dou Qi Continent, the known strange fires are compiled into a ‘Strange Fire List,’ with a total of twenty-three types. My flame is the eleventh-ranked ‘Bone Spirit Cold Flame,’ which can only be found in the coldest and darkest places during the transition between day and night, once every hundred years.”
“Bone Spirit Cold Flame?” Xiao Yan murmured softly, his gaze unwavering from the churning pale white flame.
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