Chapter 51: Box Weapon (Third update, please keep reading)

"Your body..."

Qin Sheng placed a hand on Xiao Yan's shoulder, carefully diagnosing him.

Xiao Yan's face was filled with anticipation, waiting for Qin Sheng's guidance. A Tier 6 Alchemist! He would definitely be able to cure him!

"You have some kidney deficiency."

"You庸 (mediocre)..."

"However, I can treat it."

"...Divine Doctor, can you really treat it?"

In just a few breaths, Xiao Yan performed a masterful display of facial expression changes.

Qin Sheng smiled. "Are you referring to your Dou Qi issue, or something else?"

*Am I really kidney deficient?*

Xiao Yan began to doubt his very existence. A dignified Tier 6 Alchemist certainly wouldn't make a mistake.

*No, I'm only fifteen! How can I be deficient?!*

*I cannot accept this!*

"I want to treat both. Senior, is there a way?" Xiao Yan asked cautiously.

"There is."

Qin Sheng nodded. "As for why your Dou Qi suddenly disappeared, I already know the reason. Follow me; no one else is to follow."

After exiting the reception hall, Qin Sheng glanced toward a shadow outside.

A Dark-attribute Dou Huang was hiding there.

*Is that the strongest Dou Huang of the Gu Clan?*

***

The back mountains of the Xiao Clan.

Xiao Yan asked impatiently, "Senior, why did my Dou Qi disappear?"

Qin Sheng's gaze fell upon the ancient black ring on Xiao Yan's hand and said

"Give it to me."

Xiao Yan froze. This was the relic left behind by his mother, which he had worn all these years.

As he removed the ring and handed it to Qin Sheng, doubt filled his heart.

"My friend," Qin Sheng said to the ring, "hiding in the shadows and sucking the essence of young people every day... that behavior probably isn't very good, is it?"

Xiao Yan was shocked. *This ring is sucking my essence?*

*Have I encountered a female ghost?*

"Hehe."

An aged laugh emanated from the ring. "I didn't expect that a place like the Jia Ma Empire would produce a genius like you. The younger generation is truly formidable."

A transparent phantom of an old man drifted out of the ring, a smile on his face.

This was, of course, Yao Chen.

Xiao Yan: "..."

*The one sucking my essence is an old man ghost?*

*I'd rather it be a female ghost.*

"As expected, a soul. To be preserved so intact, your strength is quite impressive."

Qin Sheng feigned a look of scrutiny as he sized up Yao Lao, saying

"Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

"My surname is Yao. You can call me Yao Lao. Don't worry, given my age, you won't lose out."

"Surname Yao..." Qin Sheng mused.

"Old man Yao, why were you sucking my Dou Qi?" Xiao Yan asked bluntly.

Yao Chen's eyelid twitched. *What a temperamental brat.*

"My soul is unstable; I need your Dou Qi to stabilize my state."

Regarding this reason, Qin Sheng seriously suspected Yao Chen was lying through his teeth.

A soul at the peak of a Nine-Turn Dou Zun and an Tier 8 Alchemist—even at his lowest ebb, could a mere Dou Zhe's meager Dou Qi stabilize his state?

"I can sense a special power existing within your body..." Qin Sheng pondered for a moment before saying: "You possess an Heavenly Flame?"

Yao Chen's smile vanished, and he gave Qin Sheng a deep look.

"Young people these days are truly not simple. If I possessed a Heavenly Flame, what would you do?"

"Attempt to seize it?"

"To be blunt, I truly would like to make a move against you, old gentleman, but there is nothing you can do about it."

As Qin Sheng spoke, a massive surge of soul power erupted—a power sufficient to crush the current Yao Chen.

"However..."

Qin Sheng smiled, and a cyan flame surged from his body, swirling in the air.

"Heavenly Flames... who doesn't have one?"

Yao Chen's eyes widened slightly. "Is that... the Green Lotus Core Flame?"

He truly hadn't expected that in a remote place like the Jia Ma Empire, there would actually exist an Alchemist possessing a Heavenly Flame!

"What is your Heavenly Flame, old gentleman?"

Yao Chen thought for a moment and released a wisp of bone-white flame.

"So it's this." Qin Sheng nodded.

"You know it?" Yao Chen was surprised.

"I know not only what flame it is, but I have also guessed your identity."

Qin Sheng: "I have a slight understanding of the situation in the Central Plains. I know of the Yao Venerate, the continent's number one Alchemist, and the Pavilion Master of the Starfall Pavilion."

Yao Chen: "..."

*My background has been stripped bare just like that?*

"Xiao Yan, leave first. I need to talk with Yao Lao."

"Alright, Senior Qin."

After experiencing everything today, Xiao Yan felt a newfound sense of goodwill toward the Nalan family and the Misty Cloud Sect.

"Young man, what do you want to discuss with me?"

Qin Sheng thought for a moment and said, "Rumors in the Central Plains say that the Yao Venerate made a mistake while refining medicine years ago and died from pill backlash. That is the explanation given by your disciple, Han Feng."

Yao Chen's chest heaved. His treacherous disciple had not only conspired with outsiders to harm him but had also slandered his reputation.

The continent's number one Alchemist dying from pill backlash—what an absolute farce!

"I actually also know of Han Feng. The proud disciple of the Yao Venerate is still only a Dou Huang at his age, despite his reputation," Qin Sheng said. "Looking at your current state, Yao Lao, I suspect your cause of death was not that simple."

"You've met Han Feng? Where is he? What is your relationship with him?" Yao Chen's mind grew chaotic.

"I have no relationship with him." Qin Sheng shook his head.

"You know Han Feng's temperament best; he is not the type of person suited to being a friend."

"I know? How could I know?" Yao Chen laughed self-mockingly.

If he had truly seen through Han Feng, he wouldn't have fallen to this state.

"It seems your death, Yao Lao, is inextricably linked to Han Feng, though I cannot quite understand why he would do such a thing."

"You are truly astute—even frighteningly so. You can see through many things through mere traces," Yao Chen praised.

Such a person was truly as wise as a demon.

Fortunately, from Yao Chen's observation, Qin Sheng and his companions were not evil people.

Then, Yao Chen said solemnly, "But these shouldn't be what you truly want to talk to me about. There is no need for more probing; I'm afraid you'll shake out all my secrets."

"Then I will speak plainly."

Qin Sheng stared at Yao Chen with piercing eyes and asked

"Do you possess an eccentric cultivation technique that can evolve?"

"How do you know of this?" Yao Chen's aura shifted.

Qin Sheng didn't care. "It has been so many years. Some things are no longer secrets; rumors, true or false, will always leak out."

He didn't intend to explain much. Giving a vague answer and letting Yao Chen draw his own conclusions was the safest approach.

Yao Chen gazed at Qin Sheng as if judging the truth of his words. After a moment, he sighed.

"Yes. Regarding the Flame Mantra, I was never the only one who knew about it from beginning to end. When it first appeared, others fought me for it. After that treacherous disciple betrayed me, it is likely no longer a secret."

"So, you want the Flame Mantra?"

"Yes." Qin Sheng admitted candidly.

In the world of *Shrouding the Heavens*, he was merely a minor cultivator who sometimes needed to use tricks. But in the Jia Ma Empire, he didn't need to; he could do anything openly and legitimately.

"I can trade with you. You give me the Flame Mantra, and I will pay another price," Qin Sheng said. "For example, helping you restore your soul, or bringing Han Feng before you."

The Flame Mantra was a technique in the Dou Qi Continent that could not be ignored. By devouring the essence of Heavenly Flames without side effects, it allowed for rapid strength increases; it was the best, if not the only, choice.

One must realize that normally, subduing a Heavenly Flame does not increase one's cultivation level.

But this technique was different. Not only could it evolve by devouring Heavenly Flames, but every time a flame was refined, one's realm would skyrocket.

Without the Flame Mantra, relying on slowly accumulating Dou Qi, how long would it take to increase even a single star once one reached the level of Dou Zun or Dou Sheng?

"Ha."

Yao Chen laughed with endless emotion. "Everything began with the Flame Mantra. Perhaps bringing it out from there was a mistake."

"However, you might be disappointed. The Flame Mantra is not as wonderful as you imagine."

"What do you mean?" Qin Sheng feigned ignorance.

"The Flame Mantra began as a Yellow Class Low-level technique. Afterward, it requires continuous devouring of Heavenly Flames to evolve. You should understand how difficult that is—it is almost impossible to complete."

Qin Sheng nodded. He indeed had deep experience with this; in his previous life, he had nearly lost his life for the Green Lotus Core Flame.

Yao Chen continued: "Furthermore, practicing the Flame Mantra is fine when one has just promoted to Dou Zhe, but for those who have already achieved established cultivation, practicing it requires discarding one's current cultivation to start anew."

"Han Feng is an example. He is only a Dou Huang now, which proves he chose to discard his cultivation to switch to the half-volume of the Flame Mantra he stole from me."

Yao Chen lamented, "Sometimes I feel the creator of this technique was merely playing with us."

After a moment of silence, Qin Sheng spoke again.

"But I still want to trade for this technique."

"Why?" Yao Chen was puzzled.

Qin Sheng's expression was firm, and he spoke with powerful resonance

"A great man, if he cannot feast from five cauldrons in life, should at least be cooked in five cauldrons in death!"

*Before I had cheats, I was cultivating slowly. Now that I have cheats, if I still go slowly, wouldn't I have wasted my advantage?*