96: Chapter 96 News of the Strange Fire

Therefore, upon hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian readily agreed and, at Xiao Yan's gesture, walked to Medusa's side.

"Medusa, I'll leave this person to you to train. As for you, Xiao Yi Xian, do not fail my expectations," Xiao Yan said to the two of them as Xiao Yi Xian arrived beside Medusa.

"Rest assured, Lord Xiao Yan, I will certainly train her to a point that satisfies you." A slight curve appeared at the corner of Medusa's mouth as her slender fingers slowly stroked Xiao Yi Xian, making her promise to Xiao Yan.

When it came to training people, she was quite skilled at it...

Medusa's fingers lightly stroked Xiao Yi Xian's hair, causing her body to tremble slightly. A sensation as if being watched by a venomous snake instantly surged through her, filling her with deep concern for her future.

Xiao Yan watched the two before him with a smile, quite satisfied. One was ruthless and the other was poisonous, yet neither was truly wicked at heart. Heh, in just a few years, they would undoubtedly become two great pillars of support for his rule over the continent.

This was why Xiao Yan had been constantly recruiting these individuals; he knew the original characters' backgrounds and temperaments well, making them easy to control.

If he were to seek out unknown talents, they would be hard to find and difficult to trust implicitly.

Training people from scratch would take an unknown amount of time. Thinking of this, the figure of a youth named Ji Xian flashed through Xiao Yan's mind.

That youth was a slave Xiao Yan had rescued while traveling from the Black-Corner Region to the Northwest Continent. His talent and perseverance were decent, and he carried an imprint of Xiao Yan's Fallen Heart Flame along with some Soul power.

On that journey, only Ji Xian had been somewhat noteworthy, which showed just how rare geniuses were in the Northwest Continent...

"Alright, the matters here are finished for now. Medusa, take Xiao Yi Xian with you. I will return to the Heavenly Serpent Mansion with the others first," Xiao Yan said to Medusa.

With the business regarding Medusa and Xiao Yi Xian concluded, the next step was to head to the Heavenly Serpent Mansion and check for news on the other powers possessing Dou Zun experts. If any were unwilling to join, he would have to personally pay them a visit to "persuade" them.

"Xiao Yan, I want to follow Medusa." Zi Yan, who had finished digging up medicinal herbs, stood by Medusa and suddenly spoke up.

Over the past few days, little Zi Yan and Medusa had gotten along exceptionally well.

"Lord Xiao Yan, let Zi Yan follow me. Once the Snake-people Tribe has migrated, I will bring them to the Heavenly Serpent Mansion," Medusa also said.

"Very well, I'll leave Zi Yan in your care. Oh, and don't spoil her too much, lest she gets into some kind of trouble."

...

When Xiao Yan and his group arrived at the Heavenly Serpent Mansion, news of the remaining Northwest Continent powers with Dou Zun experts had all arrived. The result was not surprising; faced with an invitation from a Half-Saint expert, no power would choose to refuse.

Sitting in the inner chamber of the main hall, Xiao Yan looked at the envelope in his hand and nodded slightly toward Master Qing.

Master Qing was very efficient. Although he had mentioned not forcing other powers to join, she had naturally added many subjective views in the letter.

"According to Half-Saint Shang Yan's statement, any Northwest Continent power that does not join the Council will not receive its protection. Furthermore, should any non-Council member have a conflict of any kind with a Council member and the situation turns serious, the Half-Saint himself will personally step in to annihilate that power."

Completely unreasonable. The appearance of this sentence meant that not joining the Council was equivalent to opposing Half-Saint Shang Yan. If anyone were stubborn enough to refuse, they would likely be eliminated by Half-Saint Shang Yan under some random pretext.

"Master Qing has handled things very well. Once the Council is established, the position of Secretary-General will be held by the Heavenly Serpent Mansion," Xiao Yan promised Master Qing.

"Then I thank the Half-Saint..." Seeing Xiao Yan's satisfaction, a smile appeared on Master Qing's face as she expressed her gratitude.

"The first meeting is set for the United City near Wutan City in the Jia Ma Empire, six months from now. Remember, every power at the Dou Huang level must contribute at least two Dou Ling experts to join the United Army. If anyone is dissatisfied, tell them they don't need to come; the United Army will pay them a personal visit when the time comes..."

"Additionally, for this meeting, I need the Heavenly Serpent Mansion to dispatch enough manpower to maintain order..."

Master Qing continued to note down Xiao Yan's instructions. These tasks were relatively simple, but the benefits to be gained were clearly enormous.

Therefore, Master Qing was always compliant with Xiao Yan's requests, especially since he hadn't asked for anything unreasonable.

"That's all for now. Go and get started," Xiao Yan said to Master Qing after finishing his final requirement.

Master Qing stood up, her mature figure elegantly outlined by her tight-fitting dress.

"I shall go and handle it now." Master Qing was clearly a decisive person; seeing no further instructions from Xiao Yan, she prepared to leave immediately.

"By the way, keep an eye out for news regarding Heavenly Flames recently. Compile it and give it to me in a few days," Xiao Yan suddenly added.

Master Qing already knew that Xiao Yan was an Alchemist who possessed a Heavenly Flame. Although she was curious as to why he was still searching for news of them, she simply agreed without asking and walked out of the inner hall.

There were likely more Heavenly Flames in the Northwest Continent than just the Green Lotus Core Flame. If news of others could be obtained, it would undoubtedly be a good thing. As long as he Cultivated his Realm to a sufficient level, he could rely on a Heavenly Flame to directly break through to Dou Zun.

More than two months had passed since his last advancement to four-star Dou Zong. Due to various distractions, Xiao Yan had only broken through by one star, reaching five-star Dou Zong.

At this rate, he might reach nine-star Dou Zong in about six months. If he could obtain a Heavenly Flame, he could definitely break through to the Dou Zun Realm within a year.

Actually, Yao Lao had previously mentioned the idea of gifting the Bone Chilling Flame to Xiao Yan, but Xiao Yan had flatly refused.

Xiao Yan did not lack this single Heavenly Flame, yet it held great significance for Yao Lao. Not only did he need it for protection as a Soul body, but there was also the tragic experience of acquiring it; thus, Xiao Yan would not refine this flame.

As for refining a body, Xiao Yan already had the corpse of a Dou Zun, but unfortunately, a few of the required medicinal ingredients were hard to find and still needed time to collect.

However, Xiao Yan intended to give this body to Venerable Skyfire. He would then be another combat asset and could serve as the backing for the United Army when Xiao Yan headed to the Central Plains.

As for Yao Lao, he would naturally use the body of a Dou Sheng. Xiao Yan had already set his sights on the Hall of Souls.

After leaving the Heavenly Serpent Mansion, only Xun'er remained by Xiao Yan's side. Qing Lin had returned to the Heavenly Serpent Mansion for further training.

Consequently, the following days were quite relaxed. On the third day of staying with the Xiao Family, the Heavenly Serpent Mansion delivered the nearby news of Heavenly Flames to Xiao Yan.

Accompanied by Xun'er, the two began their journey to find Heavenly Flames, while also touring the famous scenic spots and major cities in the vicinity.

Xiao Yan also engraved the imprint of the Fallen Heart Flame on Xun'er's hand. Since both possessed fire-attribute Qi, by utilizing the lotus seat of the Green Lotus Core Flame, their cultivation levels rose rapidly despite not training for long.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye.

They had visited dozens of locations rumored to possess Heavenly Flames, but all were in vain. Most were merely rumors and hearsay; only a few actually contained strange flames, but they were only the Beast Fire of ordinary Rank 6 Demonic Beasts. They were far from reaching the level of a Heavenly Flame.