Chapter 120: Chapter 120: Probing (2-in-1!)

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    Xiao Yan feigned a look of sudden realization when he saw Hai Bodong staring intently at the Soul Command. He picked up the token with a smile and said, "This? Oh, it''s a protective talisman given to me by my clan elders. I heard it has the effect of bringing good fortune and avoiding misfortune."

    Hai Bodong could naturally sense that it was a Soul Communication Tool, not some protective talisman bullshit.

    Creating such a Soul Communication Tool required extremely powerful Spiritual Strength. Usually only alchemists could make them. The principle was the same as making pill recipes.

    It was precisely because such items existed that alchemists were referred to as hornets'' nests. Once an alchemist was attacked, they could use this kind of soul tool to send out a distress call for help. [A/N: As Yao Lao had done twice in the original work.]

    Looking at Xiao Yan, who was smiling, leaning back in his chair with crossed legs, and interlocking his fingers in front of him, Hai Bodong narrowed his eyes and slowly descended from the air.

    Who was he, Hai Bodong? The former Ice Emperor. He was known for his cold and

    domineering demeanor. No one had ever dared to take anything from his hands forcibly, yet Xiao Yan had broken this taboo and even extorted him.

    It would be a lie to say that Hai Bodong hadn''t entertained the thought of snatching back the map fragment after recovering his strength.

    "It is indeed a good protective talisman." Hai Bodong squeezed out a smile, but never made a

    move.

    It was because he recalled Yun Yun''s words from a few days ago and the fact that Gu He and the others had returned empty-handed.

    A hint of a smile appeared on Xiao Yan''s face as he put the Soul Command Token back into his storage ring. He truly wasn''t worried, because he had already predicted this outcome.

    He had been probing Hai Bodong from the moment he entered the shop.

    It started when he deliberately mentioned infiltrating the Snake-People Tribe''s treasury, then lied about finding a beast technique scroll containing Medusa''s sealing technique and giving it to his elders. This was all a test.

    It wasn''t that he intentionally made up a nonexistent ''powerful elder'' to intimidate Hai Bodong. Rather, he was probing what kind of information Hai Bodong had received after Yun Yun and the others left.

    Yun Yun had let him escape, so she needed to give Gu He a reason. As a wind-attribute Dou Emperor, Yun Yun was the fastest in the Jia Ma Empire. There was no way she couldn''t have caught up with him.

    As such, there was only one excuse for her not being able to obtain the Heavenly Flame: she had been intercepted by a second party.

    Back when they were fighting for the Heavenly Flame in the Mei Snake Tribe, Gu He and the others indeed believed there were two people on Xiao Yan''s side. One was the black-robed man who infiltrated the Holy City to snatch the Heavenly Flame, and the other was the mysterious expert who caused chaos to create a diversion.

    Thus, Yun Yun''s excuse was perfect. No one would doubt it.

    It''s just that no one would have imagined that the mysterious expert causing chaos was actually a Fire Spirit that could traverse through space.

    So Xiao Yan deduced that Yun Yun would use the interference of a mysterious expert as an

    excuse.

    When he mentioned having elders Hai Bodong didn''t doubt for a moment whether these supposed ''elders'' truly existed. He only doubted whether the seal could really be removed.

    At that moment, Xiao Yan confirmed that Yun Yun had indeed claimed a second mysterious expert had blocked her, thus allowing the black-robed man to escape.

    And Hai Bodong was aware of this information.

    For this reason, when Xiao Yan offered to break Hai Bodong''s seal, he didn''t beat around the bush or take any secret precautions. He was so confident and quick in breaking the seal.

    It was as if he wasn''t afraid of Hai Bodong going back on his word at all. After all, he had confirmed through their previous conversations that Hai Bodong wouldn''t dare, especially since he had planted the notion that ''I have powerful elders behind me.''

    With a slight smile, Xiao Yan gently stroked his storage ring with his finger and said, "How careless of me, I almost forgot to congratulate Old Hai."

    He slowly stood up from his seat, cupped his hands in a very standard congratulatory gesture, and said softly, "Junior Xiao Yan congratulates Old Hai on regaining his Dou Emperor strength."

    His gesture could be said to be flawless. It not only gave Hai Bodong a face but also served as a self-introduction, hinting that he had no intention of being an enemy.

    "Sigh." Hai Bodong shook his head with a bitter smile on his face. He took out the remaining half of the map fragment from his storage ring and said, "Forget it, forget it. I''ve been looking at this map fragment for over twenty years and haven''t been able to decipher anything. Perhaps you are the one destined to have it. This map fragment is yours now."

    Xiao Yan reached out to accept this smooth-textured map fragment. As he examined it up and down, a faint sense of antiquity and ancient charm washed over him. It seemed that this map fragment had experienced quite a long history.

    While holding this small piece of map in his hand, he took out the other small piece he had previously obtained from Hai Bodong from his storage ring. Then he carefully fitted the two pieces together and, after finding that there was no gap at the joint, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

    "As for half of the Miteer Auction House, I won''t go back on my word. I''ll take you to the auction house to explain this matter whenever you have time. I just hope that you can lend a hand if the auction house encounters any issues in the future." Hai Bodong waved his hand

    casually.

    Xiao Yan didn''t push his luck and replied, "Old Hai overestimates me. This junior is just an ordinary alchemist and isn''t skilled in business management and operations. I just hope that the auction house can provide me with the necessary medicinal ingredients when I need them for alchemy. As for daily operations and revenue, I won''t take a single coin." "Cut the crap. Ordinary alchemists don''t have Heavenly Flames. And the medicinal ingredients you need for alchemy, I''m afraid we''d have to turn the entire Jia Ma Empire upside down to find them." Hai Bodong rolled his eyes at him. Not even a ghost would believe his nonsense.

    The Mo Clan had only one or two more Dou Spirits compared to his Xiao Clan. Now, with Xiao Ding and Xiao Li consolidating the mercenary business in Rock Desert City, coupled with the Xiao Clan dominating the entire Wu Tan City with Xiao Yan''s help a few years ago, it wouldn''t be long before the Xiao Clan''s strength would match or even surpass that of the Mo Clan.

    In fact, with the inclusion of Xiao Yan, the Mo Clan was already no match for the Xiao Clan.

    Just as Xiao Yan was about to move forward to enter the city gate, the sound of galloping hooves suddenly came from not far behind him.

    Several men and women riding fine horses were galloping over. The dust they kicked up on the way enraged the people lined up on the side. However, when their angry glances landed on the

    leading figure on horseback, they immediately swallowed their grievances and did not dare to make a sound.

    Xiao Yan glanced over. The leader was a young woman wearing a set of tight red clothes that perfectly accentuated her exquisite figure. A small crystal ornament hung from her clean forehead, swaying slightly and adding a hint of liveliness to her face that carried a pampered and willful air.

    It wasn''t until the hoofbeats began to fade that a chorus of curses erupted. "Damn it, she thinks she owns the place just because she''s the Second Young Lady of the Mo

    Clan."

    Xiao Yan frowned slightly. It seemed that the Mo Clan''s education left a lot to be desired.

    "If the upper beam is not straight, the lower beams will be crooked. This Mo Clan is rotten from the inside out."

    "Haha, all big clans are like this. They act like local emperors in their own cities." Hai Bodong

    laughed. Shaking his head slightly, Xiao Yan entered the largest inn in Yan City with Hai Bodong. After expressing their desire to book two rooms, the rather attractive maid looked them over and replied with a sweet smile, "Sirs, may I ask if you have an invitation from the Mo Clan?" "Invitation?" Xiao Yan frowned and shook his head. "No. Is this Yan City or Mo City? Why do we need an invitation from the Mo Clan?"

    "Excuse me, sir. All the inns in Yan City are fully booked by the Mo Clan for the next few days.

    We are only accommodating their guests," the attendant''s smile was quite perfunctory as she

    replied. "Wow, this Mo Clan is even more domineering than the Misty Cloud Sect." Xiao Yan shook his head and let out a mocking laugh.

    "Where did this country bumpkin come from, daring to criticize my Mo Clan for being domineering in Yan City?!" Suddenly, a cold, mocking female voice came from behind Xiao

    Yan.

    With his powerful Spiritual Strength, Xiao Yan didn''t need to turn around to know it was precisely the Second Young Lady of the Mo Clan who had just ridden in.

    "Aren''t you just proving how domineering your Mo Clan is?" Xiao Yan retorted with a sneer,

    not even bothering to turn around.

    "You little brat are courting death!" Hearing his mocking tone, the Second Young Lady of the Mo Clan, who had always been pampered and treated like a treasure, immediately furrowed

    her brows. The long whip in her hand transformed into a black shadow with a whoosh, viciously lashing toward Xiao Yan.

    The onlookers shook their heads in silence, feeling sorry for Xiao Yan. Whoosh! Suddenly, a streak of black flame appeared out of thin air. The Nihility Devouring

    Flame instantly incinerated the weapon forged from the monster core of a rank 2 magical beast into nothingness.

    Before anyone could react to what had happened, a large hand shot out like a venomous snake

    and grabbed the Second Young Lady of the Mo Clan by the throat, lifting her half a meter off the ground.

    "Three years ago, someone was as arrogant as you. As a result, I broke two of their fingers. Do you want to try it too?"

    Original Author Note:

    Regarding Questions About the Green Lotus Core Flame

    The author did not suppress Xiao Yan''s cultivation level!!!

    In the original work, refining the Green Lotus Core Flame only increased Xiao Yan''s

    cultivation level from a 2-star Dou Master to a 4-star Dou Master, a two-star improvement. Now that he is a Dou Grandmaster, he can only increase his stage by one star.

    Everyone might have forgotten the original setting: refining a Heavenly Flame does not

    directly increase cultivation levels!

    [Original setting]

    Each time Xiao Yan''s cultivation level increased, it was due to the environment where the Heavenly Flame was located and the additional benefits from those scenarios, which provided

    other things to boost his cultivation. Refining the Heavenly Flame itself does not increase cultivation levels!