97: Zi Yan: Brother Gu Fei, I want one too!

On the second-floor balcony of the inn, Qing Lin and Venerable Skyfire, one old and one young, sat at a table.

The young girl earnestly sought Venerable Skyfire's guidance on some Cultivation problems, while Lion King stood guard at the stairwell like a bodyguard.

"Old Mr. Yao, according to what you said, if you hadn't encountered those Flame Lizardmen back then, would it have been possible for you to have already become a legendary Dou Sheng expert by now?"

Listening to Venerable Skyfire recount his past, Qing Lin couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Probably!"

Hearing Qing Lin's question, Venerable Skyfire hesitated for a moment, then nodded confidently.

He had such good talent and his Cultivation rose so quickly that he thought the world was his to conquer. That's why he ventured deeper into the magma sea and even dared to risk refining two different flames.

"That's truly a pity!"

Qing Lin subconsciously sighed, feeling regretful for Venerable Skyfire's experience.

"What's there to pity? Perhaps this is also a kind of opportunity. Just look at the bright side. At least, this old man is still alive and well..."

Venerable Skyfire smiled and shook his head.

He had existed for quite a long time.

His friends and family from back then were long gone, so being with Gu Fei and his group meant he had no other attachments.

At one point, not far from the two, Lion King, who had been sitting by the stairwell, suddenly stood up.

"Hehe, Lion King, Qing Lin, and Old Man Yao, long time no see!"

A very childish voice rang out.

Hearing the voice, Venerable Skyfire and Qing Lin subconsciously looked over.

In the line of sight of Lion King and the two others, a small girl in purple was sitting on the stair railing, waving at them.

Seeing the astonished expressions on the faces of Lion King and the two others, she chuckled, made a funny face at them, and her charming appearance was very cute.

"Sister Zi Yan, I miss you so much..."

After the initial surprise, Qing Lin's face showed excitement, and she happily ran over.

This form of address would be very surprising to others, as Qing Lin was half a head taller than Zi Yan.

"This little fellow is here. The days ahead will be lively again!" Venerable Skyfire stroked his beard and said with a chuckle.

At the same time, Gu Fei and Xiao Yi Xian also walked out of their room and looked over.

Gu Fei looked at Zi Yan; her exquisite, doll-like appearance was as cute as ever.

"Why aren't you staying properly within the Clan?"

Gu Fei walked over, patted Zi Yan's head, and asked with a smile.

"I escaped, hehe. I heard Big Brother Gu Fei say you would come to Holy Pill City, so I ran here. I thought it would be troublesome to find you, but I didn't expect to find out you were living here just by asking around..."

Zi Yan smiled like a little fox, her eyes narrowing into crescent moons.

"I'm so pathetic! After I go back, there won't be any more delicious Medicinal Pills!"

"And every day I have to be force-fed disgusting things that taste terrible by those hateful guys..."

Next, Zi Yan grabbed Gu Fei's sleeve to complain, and her large, sparkling eyes immediately welled up with tears.

Her life during this period, from her own perspective, was truly too horrible to contemplate.

She felt that compared to her life with Gu Fei before, it was simply Hell.

So, as soon as she had a chance, she quickly found an opportunity to slip out of Ancient Dragon Island.

"Sister Zi Yan, you're so miserable. It seems your Clan members aren't treating you well either..."

Qing Lin spoke up for Zi Yan.

"Yes, they're too mean!"

Zi Yan nodded fiercely.

It seemed she deeply resented how her Clan members treated her.

However, if her Clan members were to know this, they would probably be so angry they'd spit blood.

Gu Fei shook his head helplessly. He understood Zi Yan's personality; everything would be greatly exaggerated in her mouth.

Therefore, her words had little credibility. What the Ancient Dragon Clan force-fed her should be some highly nourishing Spirit Medicine. At least, this girl was quite lively and energetic now.

"Zi Yan, what are your plans next?" Xiao Yi Xian asked.

"Hehe... Of course, I'll be with you, Sister Xiao Yi Xian!"

Hearing this, Zi Yan couldn't help but grin, then spoke very seriously.

"Oh, Sister Xiao Yi Xian, when did you Breakthrough to Dou Wang?"

Suddenly, Zi Yan seemed to discover something incredible, her face full of surprise.

"I just Broke Through!"

"That's too fast... I know! It must be because Big Brother Gu Fei gave Sister Xiao Yi Xian a lot of tonics during this time?"

Zi Yan's gaze shifted to Gu Fei, she stretched out both hands flat, and said expectantly, "Big Brother Gu Fei, I want some too!"

"No!"

Hearing this, Gu Fei shook his head and directly slapped away Zi Yan's outstretched small hands.

"Haven't you had enough Spirit Medicine? You eat it every day, but you don't seem to digest it. Be careful, it might suddenly erupt one day, and then you'll be uncomfortable!"

After being lectured by Gu Fei, Zi Yan looked a little wronged, her small mouth pouting.

"Sister Zi Yan, don't be unhappy. I have some Medicinal Pills here, do you want some?"

Seeing Zi Yan like this, Qing Lin walked over, pulled Zi Yan's small hand, and put a handful of Medicinal Pills into her palm.

"Wuwu... Only Qing Lin, you're good to me!"

The wronged expression on Zi Yan's face instantly vanished. She smiled and praised Qing Lin, then popped a Medicinal Pill into her mouth and started chewing.

Most of these Medicinal Pills were rank four, used to aid Cultivation. The potency of the Medicinal Pills was so strong that Qing Lin could only take one every five days.

But Zi Yan, however, was eating them like candy, one after another.

Seeing this scene, Gu Fei and Xiao Yi Xian exchanged glances and shook their heads helplessly.

"Sister Zi Yan, eat slowly!"

Qing Lin watched from the side, dumbfounded.

Fortunately, Zi Yan's Physique was extraordinary. If an ordinary person consumed them like this, they would probably burst their stomach.

And in the following days, with Zi Yan's arrival, Gu Fei's small group became much livelier than before.

One day, Zi Yan came to Gu Fei's room again to ask Gu Fei for Medicinal Pills.

"Zi Yan, if you want to eat more Medicinal Pills, I'll give you a task!"

Gu Fei made a request.

"What task?"

Hearing this, Zi Yan felt a little guilty.

"Don't be afraid, this isn't very difficult for you!" Gu Fei reached out and placed a hand on Zi Yan's small shoulder, smiling, "The Pill Tower has a dilapidated space that hasn't been maintained for a long time. I need you to take me inside..."

"Just entering a dilapidated space? That's simple, leave it to me!"

Hearing this, Zi Yan immediately patted her chest, appearing very confident.

She had done this kind of thing many times before.

Previously in the Inner Academy, those medicine storages had Space Seals, but she often snuck in to steal and eat without anyone knowing.

Those Space Seals were as good as useless to her.

The Pill World was a space created by a Dou Sheng expert of the Pill Tower a long, long time ago.

But later, due to some reasons, the Pill World gradually fell into disrepair. However, that Pill World was absolutely a treasure land coveted by countless Alchemists. It contained countless Heaven And Earth Treasures and many rare Spirit Medicine that were hard to find in the outside world.

Of course, with the resources Gu Fei possessed, he didn't lack those precious Spirit Medicine.

What he was interested in was the Earth Core Jade Mother within the Pill World, or more precisely, the Earth Core Soul Marrow nurtured within that Earth Core Jade Mother.

—— (Explanation: This book is more slice-of-life. It won't be like typical Battle Through The Heavens fanfics where refining a different flame can take several chapters.)

(Unless absolutely necessary, such plots are generally glossed over in a few strokes, as writing such a process mostly involves copying from the original work...)