Chapter 14

Listening to the voice in his heart, Xiao Yan blinked his eyes slightly and nodded imperceptibly.

He did not immediately pick up the black iron piece. Instead, Xiao Yan tossed the green magic crystal, which was stained with blood, in his hand and smiled at the mercenary man behind the stall, who looked somewhat shifty-eyed, "What kind of magic crystal is this?"

"Hehe, young master has a keen eye. This is a first-stage magic crystal from a Wood Swallowing Fox. Among first-stage magic crystals, this is considered top-notch. To obtain this magic crystal, our Fangya Mercenary Group guarded for three whole days and killed five Wood Swallowing Foxes to get just one..." Seeing Xiao Yan's extraordinary attire, the mercenary man hurriedly introduced it enthusiastically.

"If the young master is interested, it will only cost you 500 gold coins. Hehe, to hunt the Wood Swallowing Fox, a few of our brothers were quite injured..."

Xiao Yan wiped the blood off the magic crystal with his finger and indeed found that the blood had not fully coagulated. He nodded slightly, glanced at the two gold stars on the man's chest, and said casually, "That's too expensive. The price of a first-stage magic crystal is usually between 400 to 450 gold coins. Besides, although the Wood Swallowing Fox is a magic beast, its attack power is not very high. Your team members wouldn't even be at the Fighter level, right?"

The mercenary man's mouth twitched, and he laughed dryly, clearly not expecting the young man in front of him to be so knowledgeable about market prices and magic beasts. He could only smile awkwardly and say, "470 gold coins, no less. After all, we need to live too..."

Sighing in the mercenary man's anxious gaze, Xiao Yan bent down and grabbed a bunch of items from the stall, including the strange iron piece. He waved the items in his hand, "470 gold coins, all together..."

The mercenary man's eyes darted over the items in Xiao Yan's hand and secretly let out a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they were all cheap things...

"Deal!"

Tossing a small bag of gold coins, Xiao Yan took the items and turned to leave without a word...

"Hehe, Xiao Yan, not bad, being so cautious when buying things." As Xiao Yan turned, Old Medicine Man laughed teasingly in his heart.

"These guys are all merchants. As soon as they see you show interest in something, they'll jack up the price. I don't want to be a fool..." Xiao Yan replied calmly in his heart, then no longer paid attention to the strange old man in the ring. He accompanied Xun'er and leisurely strolled out of the market, then slowly returned to the family estate...

After parting ways with Xun'er in the family estate, Xiao Yan hurriedly rushed back to his room and carefully closed the windows and doors...

Turning around, he looked at Old Medicine Man, who had appeared at some point, and took out the medicine and magic crystal he had bought, somewhat anxiously, "I've got everything. What do we do next?"

Old Medicine Man chuckled, glanced casually at the materials on the table, and suddenly said, "Why don't you take a look at that black iron piece?"

"Eh?" Xiao Yan was taken aback, then hurriedly took out the black iron piece and examined it carefully from top to bottom, frowning, "What's this thing for?"

Old Medicine Man took the iron piece and smiled, "It seems to contain a combat technique. However, the person who made the iron piece might also be an alchemist, so only someone with exceptional soul perception can sense it."

"Combat technique?" Xiao Yan's eyes lit up, and he asked eagerly, "What level?"

Combat techniques on the continent of Dou Qi are as important as Dou Qi cultivation methods. A profound combat technique can allow a person to exert far more powerful strength in battle than their own.

Combat techniques, like cultivation methods, are divided into four ranks: Earth, Heaven, Mystic, and Yellow. The combat techniques available to the public are mostly high-level Yellow rank. Higher-level combat techniques can only be obtained in some academies or sects.

Of course, the continent of Dou Qi is vast, and some combat techniques from the past have been lost or forgotten for various reasons, eventually being discovered by some lucky individuals. The black iron piece Xiao Yan had obtained might be one such legacy...

Old Medicine Man flipped the iron piece and smiled after a moment, "Suction Palm: Low Mystic Rank!"

"Low Mystic Rank?" Xiao Yan's face lit up with joy. He hadn't expected this random purchase to contain a Mystic Rank combat technique. In his family, the most profound combat technique was only a Mid Mystic Rank, and only the patriarch and a few elders were qualified to learn it.

"Suction Palm: When perfected, it can suck up a thousand-pound boulder. If you encounter an enemy, the fierce suction can forcibly draw out their blood."

"Draw out blood?" Xiao Yan's face showed surprise as he swallowed hard, somewhat astonished, "This... That's amazing! If the blood is drawn out, who can survive?"

"This thing can only be used against opponents of equal or lower rank. If you face someone stronger, they can use your own force to get close, and the unlucky one will be you..." Old Medicine Man tossed the iron piece casually and said indifferently, clearly not highly evaluating the combat technique.

Old Medicine Man is a great figure, naturally with high standards, but in Xiao Yan's eyes, this is a high-level combat technique. He was delighted to pick up the black iron piece and smiled, "No matter what, this Suction Palm is much better than the ordinary combat techniques in the family. From now on, I'll learn this..."

"Tch, with your three-stage Dou Qi, you'll be lucky to suck up a twig, let alone draw out someone's blood..." Shaking his head, Old Medicine Man sneered.

Rolling his eyes, Xiao Yan ignored the strange old man and hugged the iron piece, grinning.

"Look at you, a Low Mystic Rank combat technique has you so excited. How embarrassing..." Shaking his head helplessly, Old Medicine Man picked up the magic crystal and instructed Xiao Yan, "Go get a large basin of water."

Seeing that Old Medicine Man was about to start, Xiao Yan quickly put away the black iron piece and hurriedly went to prepare...

...

In the quiet room, Old Medicine Man picked up the Purple Leaf Orchid with his left hand, squinted his eyes, and after a moment, gently exhaled. A pale white flame suddenly sprang up on his left palm...

As soon as the flame appeared, the temperature in the room rose significantly.

Staring intently at the white flame without blinking, Xiao Yan was somewhat amazed. Although he was not familiar with the alchemy process, he knew that releasing Dou Qi externally and forming it into a solid form was something even his father couldn't do...

With a calm expression, Old Medicine Man's white flame flickered slightly and engulfed the Purple Leaf Orchid... The flame churned, and the Purple Leaf Orchid was almost instantly burned into a small green liquid...

He grabbed another Purple Leaf Orchid with his right hand and threw it directly into the white flame...

After throwing all three Purple Leaf Orchids into the flame, the green liquid clearly became much larger.

The green liquid writhed in the flame, and the intense heat continuously burned away the impurities...

As the flame burned, the green liquid gradually shrank, and after a moment, it was reduced to about the size of a thumb...

Next, Old Medicine Man threw two Bone Washing Flowers into the flame, burned them, and fused them into the green liquid...

Then came the refinement of the magic crystal...

The entire process took about an hour, but Old Medicine Man's face remained energetic, showing no signs of fatigue.

After an hour, the hard magic crystal had been burned into a pale green liquid, and the violent energy contained within had been washed away by Old Medicine Man's miraculous alchemy...

The white flame in his palm gradually faded and finally disappeared completely.

Looking at the drop of emerald-like liquid suspended in Old Medicine Man's palm, Xiao Yan rubbed his hands. His exceptional soul perception allowed him to clearly sense the abundant energy in the liquid...

"Teacher, should I just take it like this?" Xiao Yan blinked, somewhat impatient.

"If you want to die, just take it. With your meridians, you'll become a true waste in no time." Glaring at Xiao Yan, Old Medicine Man flicked his finger, and the emerald liquid fell into the basin of clear water, instantly turning the water green.

"From now on, you will cultivate in this. With your talent, reaching the seventh stage within a year is not difficult." Old Medicine Man clapped his hands and smiled.

Xiao Yan was overjoyed and nodded eagerly.

"Oh, I almost forgot. This potion can only last for two months, which means you will need to buy these things again every two months." Old Medicine Man smiled.

Xiao Yan's face froze, and he nodded somewhat dejectedly.

"Damn, this thing is really only for the rich..."