22: Goodbye Xiao Yan in the desert!

“Serve This Sect Master well in the future, and you will naturally not lack benefits.”

Jiang Luo carefully put away the parchment, then looked up at Hai Bodong, his gaze carrying a hint of expectation and approval.

Hai Bodong was immediately flattered, and quickly bowed, responding, “To be able to serve Milord is truly the greatest fortune of this subordinate’s three lives!”

“Mm.” Jiang Luo nodded slightly, and said indifferently, “You may go. Leave the matter of the sand mandala to This Sect Master.”

“Yes!” Hai Bodong cupped his hands and accepted the order. As he turned, he could not hide the excitement in his eyes. With Lord Jiang Luo personally taking action, his recovery to Peak strength was just around the corner!

After Hai Bodong retreated, Jiang Luo stretched his limbs and said to Ya Fei beside him, “After resting for so long, it’s time to get moving. Go, call Xiao Yi Xian over.”

“Alright.” Ya Fei put down her wine glass and left in response.

A moment later, Xiao Yi Xian walked over quickly. Upon seeing Jiang Luo, she bowed obediently, “Teacher.”

Jiang Luo swept his gaze over her, then nodded, saying, “Your cultivation progress is good.”

Dou Master Three Star, although not top-tier, was still acceptable.

Xiao Yi Xian blinked, and asked curiously, “Is Teacher going to guide Xian'er in Cultivation today?”

“I’m not guiding your Cultivation today; I want you to accompany me to the Tagor Desert,” Jiang Luo said, shaking his head.

“Tagor Desert?” Xiao Yi Xian repeated softly, a hint of doubt flashing in her eyes.

“Do you still remember Xiao Yan and his teacher, whom we met in the Magical Beast Mountain Range? They once said that the method to completely cure your Calamity Poison Body is to suppress it with the Poison Pill Technique.”

Jiang Luo slowly explained, “However, that requires collecting three types of Heavenly Flames, along with the Demonic Core of a Seventh-Tier Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast and bodhi transformation saliva, in order to condense the accumulated toxins in your body into a Poison Pill.”

He paused, his gaze falling on Xiao Yi Xian’s face: “And in the Tagor Desert, there happens to be a type of Heavenly Flame hidden.”

“Really?” Xiao Yi Xian suddenly looked up, her eyes instantly lighting up.

She had always kept the Poison Pill method that Teacher Xiao Yan mentioned in her heart, but Heavenly Flames were too rare, and she had the idea but no way to find them.

Now that her Teacher had brought such news, how could she not be excited?

“So, pack up, and we’ll depart immediately.” Jiang Luo looked at his disciple’s joyful appearance, a smile also appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Xiao Yi Xian nodded vigorously, then turned and quickly returned to her room to pack her luggage, her steps light as if she were treading on wind.

Not long after, Jiang Luo’s figure stirred, and he was already silently standing above the Imperial Capital. His feet lightly touched the Void Realm, creating ripples of faint circles, his posture as tall and straight as a pine.

Xiao Yi Xian gently held her Teacher’s arm, her beautiful eyes gazing at his young and handsome profile, her gaze filled with a hint of attachment, and for a moment, she was lost in thought.

“Hold on tight, we should set off.”

Jiang Luo looked around, and after discerning the direction, his figure suddenly transformed into a streak of light, cutting through the sky above the Imperial Capital, leaving only a fleeting afterimage.

This scene startled many passersby. Everyone looked at the rapidly departing streak of light, secretly marveling in their hearts. Is this a Dou Zong? Truly terrifying!

...The Tagor Desert stretches across the eastern border of the Empire, with thousands of miles of endless yellow sand. It is both the ancestral home of the Snake-People Clan and a desolate land that devours life.

And Stone Desert City is the border town closest to the core of this desert's edge.

At this moment in the desert, the scorching sun hung in the sky like a giant fireball, baking the earth until it was scalding hot.

Strong winds carried sand and grit, whistling past, and the air was filled with suffocating heatwaves. The world seemed to have transformed into a giant steamer.

In this harsh environment, a figure with bare arms was laboriously trudging across the yellow sand, one step at a time.

Beads of sweat the size of beans rolled down his forehead, but before they could reach the ground, they were already scorched into nothingness by the rising heatwaves.

The person was none other than Xiao Yan.

After his Cultivation in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he first passed the Second-Rank Alchemist assessment in Blackrock City, and then took a flying Demonic Beast to the Tagor Desert for training.

More importantly, he wanted to follow the scattered clues to find the legendary Heavenly Flame!

And after these days of hard Cultivation, his cultivation had reached Dou Master One Star.

Xiao Yan trudged through the sand dunes, while unfolding the map in his hand, which was worn and tattered by the wind and sand.

The writing on the map was already blurred, but he could barely make out the route, muttering to himself: “Another two hundred li ahead should be Stone Desert City... Big Brother and Second Brother should be there too.”

Mentioning his relatives, a hint of anticipation flashed in his eyes, and his cracked lips slightly curved upwards.

His purpose in coming to the Tagor Desert this time was, firstly, for the Green Lotus Core Flame, and secondly, to see his two elder brothers whom he hadn't seen in a long time. They hadn't reunited for many years since the Xiao Family separated.

Xiao Yan wiped the sweat from his forehead and tried to communicate with Yao Lao in his storage ring, but there was no response for a long time.

“Teacher?”

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Teacher!”

No matter how he called out, the storage ring remained silent, and his connection with his Teacher seemed to have been abruptly cut off.

Xiao Yan also became anxious. Without his Teacher's help, he might not even be able to get out of this desert.

For a moment, Xiao Yan was at a loss.

This was the first time such a situation had occurred in many years, leaving him flustered and completely unaware of what had happened.

It wasn't until an incense stick later that Yao Lao’s Soul illusory figure slowly appeared beside him, his voice extremely low, with a hint of vigilance: “Little Yanzi, someone just flew over our heads, so I had no choice but to cut off the connection.”

“That person... if I’m not mistaken, should be the one we met in the Magical Beast Mountain Range...”

Yao Lao’s tone was exceptionally cautious, as if he was afraid of being overheard by someone.

“Lord Jiang Luo?” Xiao Yan was startled upon hearing this, his face full of disbelief.

He still remembered that when they parted that day, the other party, with Peak Dou Huang cultivation, forced the master and disciple to flee in disarray.

Later, when he took the Alchemist assessment in Blackrock City, he heard that the other party had successfully achieved a Breakthrough to Dou Zong.

And the most recent rumors about Jiang Luo even said that he possessed the identity of a Sixth-Rank Alchemist!

Although he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, from all the information, it was certainly not unfounded.

Being both a Dou Zong and a Sixth-Rank Alchemist, why would such a figure come to this godforsaken Tagor Desert?

“With his strength and status, ordinary treasures probably wouldn’t even catch his eye,” Yao Lao’s voice carried a hint of solemnity.

Xiao Yan’s heart suddenly trembled, and his face instantly turned ugly: “Could it be... he’s also after the Green Lotus Core Flame?”

At this moment, high in the sky, a hundred li away from Xiao Yan, Jiang Luo transformed into a streak of light, traversing the Tagor Desert at an extremely high speed.

In fact, when he flew past Xiao Yan, he had already sensed the commotion below.

Although Yao Lao reacted extremely quickly, cutting off the connection with Xiao Yan in an instant and concealing his Soul within the storage ring, Jiang Luo still caught that familiar Soul aura first.

However, Jiang Luo did not stop when he flew over their heads.

With his current cultivation, even if Xiao Yan tried his best to catch up, it would be absolutely impossible.

He continued to speed, until the outline of Stone Desert City gradually became clear on the distant horizon.

Since Xiao Yan had not yet arrived at Stone Desert City, the Green Lotus in the magma lake where the Green Lotus Core Flame grows should not have been taken yet.

Although the precious Earth Fire Lotus Seed was not of much use to him, it could be left to his beloved disciple to nourish her body.

“Teacher,” Xiao Yi Xian suddenly looked back at the tiny black dot in the desert and asked softly, “That shadow we just flew past, why does it look a little familiar?”