"Hey! What are you thinking about, you stinky brat? Your drool's almost dripping out! Don't tell me you're thinking about that little girl?"
Venerable Wang's voice came, interrupting Xiao Li's fantasy.
"Cough, cough, Teacher, what are you saying?" Xiao Li coughed awkwardly. He had indeed been distracted just now, but he really wasn't thinking about a little girl.
'However, since I'm already lying flat, how can I do without a girl? I can't be a bachelor my whole life. I'll have to look around carefully then.'
"Distracted again! It seems Lier has truly grown up. Lier, since you want a little girlfriend, this old man actually knows a suitable lass in the Jia Ma Empire.
A few years ago, that old fellow Yun Shan took in a Disciple. She's only about one or two years younger than you, and her talent is quite good. Do you want this old man to take you to propose?"
Venerable Wang stroked his beard with a knowing smile.
"Cough, cough, let's talk about it later, Teacher. Let's first see what's in your wooden box."
Xiao Li evaded the question. Actually, he really did have an idea. Yun Shan's Disciple wasn't Yun Yun? Yun Yun was one or two years younger than him, and he thought it was acceptable. The only question was whether she would agree.
She couldn't possibly give him a door-to-door annulment and a three-year agreement, could she?
"The item in this wooden box is indeed a treasure, but it's not very useful to us right now."
Venerable Wang stroked the rough wooden box, then opened it.
It was a silver fruit the size of a fist. The fruit looked like a baby, incredibly lifelike, like a real person. A faint fragrance wafted out, making Xiao Li's Soul tremble.
"This is! Soul Infant Fruit! A Silver Grade Soul Infant Fruit!" Xiao Li exclaimed. This truly was a treasure.
"Hehe, it seems your studies are going very well. It is indeed a Soul Infant Fruit. I didn't expect to find a Soul Infant Fruit in a place like this.
If this thing were in the Central Continent, it would probably be exchanged for an Eighth Grade Elixir. It restores a person's Origin Soul Qi and strengthens the Soul. But for us right now, it's not very useful.
Our Souls are perfectly intact. The Soul Infant Fruit should be able to be used in Alchemy, refined into a Elixir that enhances the Soul, but I don't have such a Pill Formula.
So, let's just keep it. With the branches of this Soul Infant Demonic Tree as a storage box, the Spiritual Qi of the Soul Infant Fruit won't dissipate."
Wang Ming closed the wooden box and put the Soul Infant Fruit away.
"Hey, Teacher, all spiritual objects of heaven and earth always have exotic beasts guarding them. This Soul Infant Fruit is an even more wondrous treasure for tempering the Soul, and it also has great efficacy for some Demonic Beasts. It should have a guardian beast, right?"
Xiao Li suddenly asked.
Venerable Wang said irritably, "Of course there's a Demonic Beast, a Seventh Tier Illusionary Fire Lizard Dragon Beast. It almost beat this old man to death. Luckily, there were other Dou Zongs entangled with that Demonic Beast.
They didn't have the same insight as this old man, thinking the Soul Infant Demonic Tree was the treasure. This Soul Infant Fruit was stolen by this old man in the confusion, hahahahahahaha! It wasn't a wasted effort after all!"
Xiao Li gave a thumbs up. As expected of his Teacher, he still had to learn this trick of picking up overlooked treasures.
"By the way, Teacher, my Cultivation is now sufficient to try true life-and-death tempering, right? I don't want to be a hothouse flower and be defeated by someone of a higher rank later."
Xiao Li spoke. He really wanted to temper himself. The opponents in the Xiao Family no longer put any pressure on him. He had no opponents within the Great Dou Master rank, and even the Dou Ling Elders couldn't defeat him.
Actually, the main reason was that Xiao Li was the Xiao Family's treasure. Those Elders absolutely dared not fight seriously, fearing they would damage their precious darling.
Moreover, Xiao Li's entire setup, an Earth Rank low-grade Cultivation Technique and its Supporting facilities Dou Technique, could be said to be very luxurious in the Jia Ma Empire.
Plus, with the Beast Fire Purple Tiger Flame, he was quite intimidating in fights. It was just a pity that Xiao Li himself lacked experience. Although Venerable Wang occasionally took Xiao Li into the Magical Beast Mountain Range to fight Demonic Beasts and get some blood on his hands, Xiao Li still felt he was somewhat lacking.
Although Xiao Li had the grand plan of lying flat, lying flat didn't mean he truly lay down and rotted away. He needed strength to ensure he could lie comfortably. Anyone who wouldn't let him lie flat, he would twist their head off.
Venerable Wang looked at Xiao Li, sizing him up, and nodded: "It's time to let you see the world. Let's depart in a month. I'll devise your training plan.
Remember, during this trial, unless you are truly in mortal danger, I will not intervene. Lier must remember that a qualified Alchemist not only needs excellent Alchemy, but also formidable means!
That old Senior was just like that, possessing extremely powerful Alchemy while also possessing extremely powerful strength!"
Xiao Li asked, "Teacher, who is that old Senior you speak of? To make you praise him so much?"
Wang Ming's eyes flashed with a hint of recollection: that cold white flame, the amiable old man with white hair and a white beard.
"That old gentleman's surname is Yao. In my hometown, the Central Continent, he is known as the Venerable Yao!"
...Half a year later, Magical Beast Mountain Range,
Boom—
"Unlucky! Unlucky! Unlucky!"
Xiao Li, his clothes tattered like a beggar's, frantically fled towards a certain place. Behind him were three Demonic Beasts of varying sizes.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that the three Demonic Beasts looked quite similar, clearly belonging to the same species of Demonic Beast.
These three Demonic Beasts were called Azure-Eyed Lions. They were Second Tier Demonic Beasts from birth and grew into Fourth Tier upon reaching adulthood.
Chasing Xiao Li were two Fourth Tier Azure-Eyed Lions and one Third Tier Azure-Eyed Lion. It was clear that Xiao Li had offended a whole den of lions.
"Didn't I just pick your family's medicinal herbs and play with your little cub for a while? Is it really necessary to chase me like this?"
Roar—
The large Azure-Eyed Lion immediately became enraged. Although he couldn't speak yet, he probably understood what Xiao Li was saying. This Azure-Eyed Lion's strength had already reached the Peak of Fourth Tier, which was equivalent to the Peak of the human Dou Ling level.
The next step was to become a Fifth Tier Demonic Beast of the Dou King level. Some Fifth Tier Demonic Beasts could already speak human words, and even if they couldn't, they possessed intelligence equivalent to humans.
And the reason this Azure-Eyed Lion was so enraged was that if he had returned a moment later, his son would have almost been slaughtered. Not only did someone pick the Ice Spirit Flame Grass they guarded, but they also almost killed their son. How could they tolerate this?
At this time, Xiao Li's Cultivation was at the Peak of a Nine-star Great Dou Master. Before he entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he broke through to a Seven-star Great Dou Master. After consuming a Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill he refined himself, he broke through to an Eight-star.
After two months of digestion, he continued to consume the Purple Heart Barrier Breaking Pill to reach a Nine-star Great Dou Master. Now, Xiao Li could begin to Break through to Dou Ling.
Then Xiao Li wandered in the Magical Beast Mountain Range and saw an Ice Spirit Flame Grass. This was one of the main ingredients for refining the Blood Lotus Pill. In the future, when devouring an exotic flame, this thing would be very important.
Exotic flames, ah, those were the ultimate treasures of an Alchemist. According to Xiao Li's knowledge, in this Northwest Continent, there was one wild Green Lotus Core Flame, one domesticated Fallen Heart Flame, one Bone Chilling Flame with an owner, and the Sea Heart Flame was probably on its way.
What Xiao Li wanted most was the Fallen Heart Flame of Canaan Academy. That thing was known as a Cultivation cheat device, most suitable for a lying-flat person like him.
Therefore, Xiao Li had been preparing for the absorption of an exotic flame. He already had the ice spirit cold spring, which he obtained through the Mittel Auction House. He happened to have the Nascent Spirit at home. Now, all he lacked were the Elixirs for devouring an exotic flame.
Seeing the Ice Spirit Flame Grass, Xiao Li couldn't wait to take it, thus incurring the wrath of the Azure-Eyed Lion family.