Chapter 156: The Preparations Before Swallowing the Purple Flame

Since the day when the Fairy Doctor fell unconscious after consuming poison, the days in the valley once again returned to leisurely and peaceful days. It was likely that the Fairy Doctor was extremely moved because Xiao Yan did not distance himself after knowing about her condition. Now, she had reached the point where there was nothing she would not talk to Xiao Yan about.

From the looks of it, Xiao Yan’s actions which originated from his pity had somehow won the complete trust of the Fairy Doctor. With regards to this, even Xiao Yan felt surprised.

...

Day by day, the peaceful days in the valley slowly passed by. The Purple Flame in Xiao Yan’s body grew increasingly strong as Xiao Yan persevered through the tough training under the hot sun. Of course, this speed was in large part due to the support given by the Amethyst Essence. Were it not for this magical item, Xiao Yan would require many years before the Purple Flame would be able to grow to this extent.

It was another tough training session under the hot sun when Xiao Yan slowly opened his eyes. The strong purple flame persisted in his black eyes for a long while before gradually disappearing.

At the end of this training, Xiao Yan did not stand up and hide from the hot sun like he usually did. Instead, he lifted his head and narrowed his eyes as he stared at the distant huge hot sun. He slowly lifted his hand and softly cried, “Appear!”

As his voice died down, a purple colored flame violently rose on Xiao Yan’s hand. The current Purple Flame not only covered his hand but his forearm as well, extending until his elbow before it gradually stopped. Lowering his head and seeing his arm covered in purple colored flame, joy rushed onto Xiao Yan’s face. He tightened his fist and ferociously struck against the ground. Following an explosion, numerous crack lines originated from where Xiao Yan’s fist came in contact with the ground and continued to spread out until they reached the mountain wall.

“What a strong force.” Eyeing the damage caused by one punch, Xiao Yan could not help but gasp.

“It’s barely passable but the current strength of the Purple Flame has reached the limit of your control. If you continue training like this, a backlash may soon occur.” Yao Lao floated out of the ring, glanced at the arm which was half covered by the Purple Flame and said.

“Indeed, it will soon reach the limit. My control of the Purple Flame in the vortex is obviously not as easy as before. If it is allowed to continue growing, it might try to take over me.” Xiao Yan nodded and said.

“Since it’s like this...” Yao Lao smiled and whispered, “Then... you will swallow it before it has the chance to bite you.”

Lowering his head and looking at the withering flame on his hand, Xiao Yan grinned widely, tilted his head and asked, “When will we do it?”

“Tomorrow afternoon. Today, you will need to prepare some things.” Yao Lao replied with a smile.

“What do we need to prepare?”

“Swallowing the Purple Flame and evolving the Qi Method is not as easy as you think. This Purple Flame may be far inferior to a ‘Heavenly Flame’ but with your current strength as a nine star Dou Zhe, it is a little difficult to successfully swallow it. Thus, you need to prepare two different medicinal pills in order to be ready for the unexpected.” Yao Lao laughed.

“Path Protecting Pill and Icy Heart Pill. These two types of pills are tier two medicinal pills. Under normal circumstances, it would be difficult for you to succeed refining them with your strength as a tier one alchemist. But now that you own the Purple Flame, which is much stronger than an ordinary Dou Qi Flame, you have an increased chance of succeeding.

“Path Protecting Pill, as the name suggests, has the effect of protecting your Qi Paths. When you are swallowing the Purple Flame you will need to move the Purple Flame along the Qi Paths of the ‘Flame Mantra’. However, this kind of essence flame is unlike the gentle Dou Qi. It will cause tremendous amounts of damage wherever it passes and since Qi Paths are the most important things in training which means they cannot receive even the slightest bit of damage. Hence, this Path Protecting Pill is something you must make.” Yao Lao said in a serious tone.

“Moreover, the nature of the Purple Flame is overbearing and wild. When you swallow it, the wild nature contained in the Purple Flame will begin to influence your mind as you swallow it. If your mind is encroached upon, then your intention of swallowing the flame would naturally be destroyed. Additionally, it might leave you with a phobia that is difficult to overcome. Hence, these two pills are a must when you swallow the Purple Flame.”

Seeing Yao Lao’s serious manner, Xiao Yan did not dare slight him and hurriedly nodded.

“These are the two formulas for the medicinal pills. The medicinal ingredients that are needed could be gathered in this small valley. On top of it, you will also need one rank two Wood type Monster Core and one rank two Ice type Monster Core.” Yao Lao’s finger lightly touched Xiao Yan’s forehead and transmitted the necessary information into it while he told him the other information.

“One wood and one Ice type rank two Monster Core?”

Xiao Yan stilled upon hearing this but quickly nodded his head helplessly. His current stock only had one rank two Wood type monster core. He had to put in a lot of effort to kill a rank two Magic Beast the last time he was trying to gauge his strength. As for a rank two Ice type Monster Core, he did not have one. In the remaining time, it looked like he may need to enter the Magic Beast Mountain Range to hunt for a Magic Beast with this kind of monster core.

Xiao Yan closed his eyes and recalled the medicinal ingredients needed for the two types of medicinal pills. After that, he took another look at the sky before leaping down from the cliff. He found the Fairy Doctor in the valley quietly studying the Seven Colored Poison Book and explained the motive for him leaving the valley.

When she heard that Xiao Yan was going out to hunt a rank two Magic Beast, the Fairy Doctor became worried and wanted to go with him. However, she was stopped by Xiao Yan. After all, with his current strength, he could not ensure her safety when facing a rank two Magic Beast.

The Fairy Doctor could only helplessly give up her decision to accompany him when Xiao Yan stopped her. However, she was still worried, prompting her to hand a poison pill that she had meticulously made.

Being very clear of the Fairy Doctor’s ability to manufacture poison, Xiao Yan did not decline and carefully kept the black pill. He voiced his thanks and rushed to the mountain wall. Under the Fairy Doctor’s watch, his feet released an explosive sound as they stomped on the ground. Like a Roc, his body shot up toward the peak of the valley.

Standing on the peak, Xiao Yan waved at the Fairy Doctor who was at the bottom of the valley. After that, his body shook and the Purple Cloud Wings comfortably opened behind him, spreading bits of purple light under the hot sun.

As Xiao Yan stood at the top of the valley, he lifted his eyes and saw a small outline of the Magic Beast Mountain Range. In the regions that were visible, dark green trees occupied most of his sight. Occasionally, a violent wind would blow from the mountain range, causing the trees to form a green colored wave, presenting a majestic sight.

Xiao Yan lifted his head to glance at the blazing sun and wiped his perspiration. The pair of wings on his back flapped and he leaped over the cliff. As the pair of wings flapped, Xiao Yan borrowed the lift and swiftly flew inside the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

The Magic Beast Mountain Range was extremely vast. Trying to search for a rank two Ice type Magic Beast in this huge expanse of space was still a little difficult. After searching for nearly an hour to no avail, Xiao Yan could only helplessly get Yao Lao to help. Because of his abnormally strong Spiritual Perception, the ranks of the Magic Beasts within a radius of a kilometer would have a difficult time escaping from his search.

Although Yao Lao had repeated that Xiao Yan would have to rely on himself for everything once he entered the Magic Beast Mountain Range, Yao Lao did not find an excuse to reject him for this current situation. He closed his eyes for a moment before slowly opening them and pointed south saying, “There’s a rank two Ice type Magic Beast there but there appears to be some problem. Are you going? If you are not, we can change our location and search again but this will mean we will have to spend some time searching again.”

Seeing the direction Yao Lao pointed toward, Xiao Yan flapped his wings and swiftly flew over. At the same time, he threw an ‘Energy Recovery Pill’ into his mouth and vaguely muttered, “Let’s take a look first.”

Xiao Yan quickly flew across the ground. He frowned just as he was about to arrive at his destination. Frightened yells were being emitted from the forest below. From the different volumes, it appeared that there were quite a number of people.

“Teacher, is this the place?” Xiao Yan asked uncertainly.

“Ah. There are mercenaries below hunting Magic Beasts but when they were attracting the Magic Beast, it appeared that they mistakenly attracted an extra rank two Ice type Magic Beast. Which in turned caused them to fall into their current state of disorder.” Yao Lao’s laughter escaped from the ring.

Xiao Yan helplessly shook his head and slowly recalled the pair of wings on his back, turning them into tattoos on his back. He somersaulted in the air and his legs slowly passed through the dense leaves before landing on the branch of one of the large trees. He then swept his gaze below him.

Under Xiao Yan was a somewhat spacious piece of empty land. On it were tens of harried looking mercenaries who were fleeing . Behind these mercenaries were two rank two Magic Beasts which were persistently chasing after them. These mercenaries merely had the strength of a Dou Zhe and naturally could not hold their own against two rank two Magic Beasts. Hence, the situation below was basically them trying to escape from death.

After carefully scanning these mercenaries, Xiao Yan abruptly noticed that these people all belonged to a single Mercenary Company. Moreover, the Company badge appeared somewhat familiar. It seemed to belong to the Mercenary Company Ka Gang and the others that Xiao Yan had met back then which was: the Bloody Battle Mercenary Company.

“Ahhh...” Just as Xiao Yan was scanning the place, a familiar frightened sharp cry suddenly sounded from the battered group of people below. Xiao Yan stilled and shifted his gaze below. There, he found a young girl among the group who appeared to have tripped over a rock and fell. At that moment, a rank two Magic Beast behind her opened its large mouth and revealed it fangs, viciously pouncing towards her.

Xiao Yan pressed his eyebrows together as he stared at the young girl who gave the loud screech. This young girl was the one called Ling Er who was part of Ka Gang’s small group back then.

With Xiao Yan’s current distance, even if he wanted to save her, he would be too late. Thus, he could only bitterly smile as he shook his head.

Just as the Magic Beast was about to kill Ling Er, an angry yell sounded out, “Beast, get lost!”

Following the yell, a sturdy human figure suddenly shot out from the forested area. His hand carried a huge broadsword and together with the rising dense Dou Qi, violently hacked at the claw of the rank two Magic Beast. Instantly, both of them hurriedly took a step back.

“What?” Seeing that the person who suddenly appeared did not lose in a direct confrontation with a rank two Magic Beast, Xiao Yan immediately let out a shocked gasp.

“Uncle Fei Lei!” The young girl hurriedly called. Upon seeing the man at his prime, a happiness from escaping a close encounter with death surfaced on the young girl’s originally terribly pale face.

“Ling Er, step back.”

The man in his prime called Fei Lei did not turn around. He simply gave an order while he swept his gaze toward the two Magic Beasts that were gathering together because of his presence and involuntarily felt a bitterness in his mouth. With his strength as a two star Dou Shi, he could at the very most handle one rank two Magic Beast.

“Company Leader, what do we do?” A middle aged man walked out from the group of mercenaries and asked. He understood Fei Lei’s level of strength.

“Ka Gang, first reform the formation. Do not panic. Otherwise, we will be separated and conquered by them!” Fei Lei’s deep voice said.

“Uncle Fei Lei, you won’t be able to beat two rank two Magic Beasts on your own.” Ling Er said with panic evident in her voice. She was about to step forward when a long hand grabbed her from behind. At the same time, a lady’s cold voice sounded, “Don’t disturb the Company Leader!”

Being caught by the lady, Ling Er pitifully turned her head and looked at the lady with an incredibly good figure and said, “Qing jie-jie, we can go and help Uncle Fei Lei temporarily hold them off.”

The lady who was being addressed as Qing jie-jie had a tall, lovely body. Her skin was not a jade white color but was more inclined toward the sexier bronze color. A black tight and short leather blouse revealed the protrusion of her chest at a seductive angle. Since the skin tight blouse was short, it only reached her belly button, displaying the smooth and narrow waist, presenting a sight that others yearned for.

The lower body of the woman was similarly covered by a short tight black colored leather skirt. Her long tight legs had a long dagger attached to one of them. The image she presented was like a female leopard in the forest that was filled with the wild characteristics of being strong and vicious.

When men first see this kind of woman who was filled with wild characteristics, their first thought was to tame her, letting this woman who was like a female leopard creep tactfully under them. Of course, this was also a thought that Xiao Yan had when he first saw her. However, the thought was immediately thrown aside when it was formed. After all, he did not have a sperm filled brain. This long period of tough training had resulted in his restraint reaching a superior level.

“With the current people we have here, we would be killed off, one by one by a rank two Magic Beast if we do not reform our formation. Now, we should listen to the Comapn Leader’s order and reform our formation. You should stop adding to the trouble. If you had not caused a mess before, why would we end up attracting two Magic Beasts? Our friends had almost lost our lives earlier because of this!” The woman who was addressed as Qing jie-jie frowned and softly chided at Ling Er.

Ling Er felt some grievances from being scolded like this but did not dare to say anything as she obediently stood beside the woman.

“Qing Ye, if anything were to happen later, bring Ling Er along and leave first. We will hold them here.” A young man wearing white clothes went over and said.

A pair of wavy eyes glanced at the young man as the woman who was called Qing Ye said faintly, “I won’t leave first without the Comapny Leader’s order. And if we compare our strengths, you are no where near me.”

Hearing this, the young man in white rubbed his nose in embarrassment as he waved at Ling Er who was purposefully displaying a grimace on her face.

Seeing Mu Lan receiving a cold response, Ling Er secretly laughed. If she saw Mu Lan try to curry favor with Qing Ye in the past, she would definitely be secretly unhappy in her heart. However, for some reason, the Mu Lan da-ge that she worshipped in the past could no longer give her the same feeling as before. Instead, occasionally, when she let her imagination run wild, the black figure of a young man would appear for no reason. A young man who was carrying a large black ruler on his back...

“Rumors says that he actually killed Mu She of the Wolf Head Mercenary Company, a strong Dou Zhe that even Uncle Fei Lei would have a hard time over. What a liar, to actually say that he’s only a two star Dou Zhe...” As her small hand held the hand of Qing Ye, who was by her side, Ling Er recalled the hot news that had spread around Qingshan Town for a whole month. An unknown feeling surfaced within the young girl’s heart.

“Bloody Battle Mercenary Company, in formation! We will help the Company Leader hold off that Ice type rank two Magic Beast!”

When Ling Er was lost in her daydream, Ka Gang had managed to swiftly reorganise the mercenaries. He waved his hand and over ten mercenaries immediately rushed out with great coordination and headed for one of the rank two Magic Beasts that were attacking Fei Lei.

.

Being surrounded and blocked by a group of weaker mercenaries, the fairly large sized Magic Beast immediately let out a furious roar. Its huge sharp claws violently slashed down, ferociously shooting out an icy force. This force knocked against the shields that the mercenaries held in their hands, forming a thin layer of ice on them. The bone pricking cold caused a few mercenaries to quickly abandon the shields that had turned into ice shields.

“Hold it back! Ground type Dou Zhe to the front, Fire type Dou Zhe attack its weak points!” Watching the Company that had fallen into a disadvantaged position on the first exchange, Ka Gang hurriedly ordered.

After Ka Gang gave the order, the ice type Magic Beast impatiently faced the sky and let out a loud roar. Immediately, a snow white layer of ice quickly spread from under its legs and a white gas would flow up the body of any mercenary who came into contact with the ice layer. The icy temperature almost froze the blood in their bodies.

The formation that took a lot of effort to reorganize was easily weakened to a vulnerable state under this attack by the rank two Magic Beast.

After breaking through the formation, the eyes of the ice type Magic Beast turned red as it began its killing spree. A few mercenaries who could not dodge in time were immediately smashed by it and threw up blood as they frantically retreated,

“Company Leader, we cannot hold it off any longer!” Seeing the tyrannical massacre of the rank two Magic Beast, Ka Gang’s face turned utterly white as he shouted to Fei Lei who was having a difficult fight with the other rank two Magic Beast.

The large sword in Fei Lei’s hand ferociously forced the rank two magic beast to pull back before he also took a couple of steps back. Under everyone’s gaze, he suddenly lifted his head, faced a tall tree and cried, “Friend. All of us make a living in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. If it is convenient, I hope that you can extend your help. The Bloody Battle Mercenary Company will be eternally grateful!”

Seeing Fei Lei’s action, the surrounding Bloody Battle mercenaries looked at each other in shock. Then they shifted their gaze to the spot where Fei Lei was looking at,

Not long after Fei Lei’s voice was sent out, a response came from the dense woods, “I can help you kill that rank two Ice type Magic Beast. But if there is a monster core in its body...”

“It belongs to you!” Hearing this, joy struck Fei Lei as he called out without any hesitation.

“Hehe, Company Leader is really forthright. Some time ago, I was helped by some members of your compnay. Today, I shall repay the favor.” Following a light laugh, the leaves in the forest swayed. A black shadow swiftly pounced down like an eagle.

“Ding!”

Qing Ye clenched her silver teeth as she clashed against the Ice type Magic Beast that was coming after them. The enormous strength immediately caused her pretty face to turn white as she hurriedly retreated.

After pushing Qing Ye back, the Magic Beast let out a menacing loud roar and once again violently pounced forward.

Just as Qing Ye was planning to once again stake her life and clash with the beast, a black shadow suddenly shot over from midair and landed heavily on the ground. A violent sound rang out, scattering dust throughout the area.

As the dust slowly settled, a skinny young man carrying a strange looking huge black colored ruler on his back appeared in front of everyone’s eyes.

“Xiao Yan?” Ka Gang let out an involuntary gasp. With the unique huge ruler as a symbol, Xiao Yan was recognizable anywhere.

“Haha, Uncle Ka Gang, I hope that you have been well.” Xiao Yan slowly turned his head. His gaze first swept across Qing Ye behind him and then smiled at Ka Gang by her side.

“Alright, we’ll reminisce later. First, we need to get rid of this beast.”

Xiao Yan waved to Ka Gang whose face was filled with an unrestrained joy. Turning around, he faced the huge rank two Magic Beast in front of him and let out an involuntary smile. He slowly lifted his leg and then stomped it on the ground. Following an explosion, Xiao Yan’s body turned into a black shadow and appeared on the left side of the magic beast like lightning. His hand tightly held the hilt of the ruler and drew it in a sudden motion. The Heavy Xuan Ruler left his back and carried an intense wind pressure as it smashed heavily on top of the head of the Magic Beast. Instantly, the huge force threw the huge body of the Magic Beast up. It smashed through quite a few trees before coming to a slow stop.

“Bravo!” Fei Lei whose eyes had been looking over, saw Xiao Yan’s frightening move and could not help but praise him.

Standing behind Xiao Yan, Qing Ye involuntarily covered her moist red small mouth with her hand when she saw Xiao Yan knock the rank two Magic Beast over ten meters away, much like how one would hit a rubber ball. Her face was filled with shock. It was difficult to imagine that this skinny young man actually possessed such incredible strength. Really... a person cannot be judged by his appearance.

Not far away, Ling Er’s gaze was entirely focused on Xiao Yan ever since his appearance. Seeing his incredible strength, a strange glint immediately flashed in her charming eyes.

“Roar!”

In the distance, the Ice Magic Beast that was sent flying once again got up. The humiliation of being sent flying caused it to roar angrily. All over its body, an icy air began to shroud it. It opened its huge mouth and ten sharp icicles shot toward Xiao Yan.

Seeing the icicles shooting toward him, Xiao Yan stabbed the Heavy Xuan Ruler in front of him. Following numerous clanging sound, it managed to completely block the wave of icicles.

Xiao Yan held the Heavy Xuan Ruler tightly as he glanced at the ruler’s body where a layer of ice was being formed. He smiled faintly and a purple colored flame gradually rose on his palm. He lightly rubbed the ruler surface and melted all the thin ice on it.

“Roar!”

Seeing that the icicle attack was useless, the Magic Beast once again faced the sky and roared angrily. All of its hair straightened while an icy white vapor surrounded its entire body. A moment later, the mist solidified into a layer of snow white ice armor. The ice armor covered the entirety of the Magic Beast, giving it the appearance of an ice carving under sunlight.

After being covered by the ice armor, the Magic Beast widened its four legs and charged at Xiao Yan like a tank.

Xiao Yan slowly steadied his breath as he lifted his eye to watch the Magic Beast charging over with an explosive force. His hands released the heavy ruler and tightened into a fist. A purple colored flame rose from it and encompassed half of his arm.

After lowering his head and glancing at the ascending flame in his hand, Xiao Yan raised his head and observed the Magic Beast approaching. At this moment, a gust of cold wind, caused by the ice armor on the beast’s body, carried forth a large amount of pressure as it charged toward Xiao Yan.

Letting out his breath, Xiao Yan stomped heavily on the ground and his body shot out like an arrow released from a bow. Under everyone’s stunned gaze, he chose to meet the Magic Beast head on.

“This guy... is he crazy?” Seeing Xiao Yan’s action, everyone present mumbled in shock.

“Octane Blast!”

Just as the two sides were about to crash into each other, Xiao Yan lightly called out in his heart. The fist that was covered in the Purple Flame suddenly emitted a sharp explosive sound. A moment later, it carried a frightening force and smashed viciously into the Magic Beast’s Head.

Almost instantly after they made contact, the ice armor on the Magic Beast was melted away by Xiao Yan’s Purple Flame, allowing a large hole that exposed the Magic Beast’s head inside.

“Bang!”

Accompanied by the Purple Flame, the fist smashed heavily onto the Magic Beast head. A brief silence later, Xiao Yan’s fist borrowed the heat from the Purple Flame and together with a muffled sound, created a hole in the Magic Beast’s head.

A depressing noise sounded in the vast forest. Half of Xiao Yan’s arm appeared to have entered the Magic Beast’s head and fresh blood trailed along his arm as it dripped down, finally landing in the somewhat quiet forest to make a strange soft sound,

Indifferently watching the Magic Beast, whose bloody red eyes were still open, Xiao Yan let out a soft sigh. He slowly withdrew his arm, took out a cloth and wiped the blood off his hand.

As Xiao Yan’s hand withdrew, the rank two Magic Beast which had forced tens of the members of the Bloody Battle Mercenary Company to flee in all directions, finally fell to the ground under everyone’s stunned gaze.