23: Chapter 23 Hai Bodong

"Eighty percent of the air here consists of Earth and Fire attribute energy; the Tagor Desert is indeed a good place to Cultivate." Feeling the Dou Qi within his body becoming active, Xiao Yan sighed with emotion.

"That is natural. Due to its terrain, the Tagor Desert is most suitable for those who Cultivate Earth and Fire attribute Cultivation Techniques. This is also the reason why I had you come here to Cultivate." Yao Chen's faint laughter drifted from the ring.

Even on the streets, waves of heat rolled by. As Xiao Yan walked through this earthen-yellow city, he felt a strong sense of exotic charm.

Most of the men here were shirtless, revealing dark and sturdy upper bodies.

The women tended to have a sexy bronze complexion, wearing tight, navel-baring leather outfits, with long, toned legs, wearing only short skirts or shorts.

There wasn't a single person wearing robes like Xiao Yan.

However, this Alchemist robe was incredibly exquisite while also possessing excellent properties; wearing it, he actually didn't feel much of the intense heat.

Xiao Yan walked and stopped along the way, soaking in the city's atmosphere.

He then strolled into a map shop named "Gu Tu." The shop had a simple, archaic style and was deserted, with only an old man at the counter, head lowered, meticulously crafting a map.

The old man wore glasses, carving the map with meticulous care.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan casually began to rummage through the items. Before long, he dug out a stack of failed works and found a fragment of a map only the size of a palm—it was the Purification Lotus Demon Flame map fragment.

"Tsk tsk, your luck... to actually find the second fragment of the Purification Lotus Demon Flame in a place like this." Yao Chen's exclamation resonated in Xiao Yan's heart.

"You are looking to buy a map of the Tagor Desert, right?" An aged voice rang out in the shop.

Xiao Yan turned around and smiled, saying, "Yes, please give me the most accurate map you have."

"The items are on the counter, choose for yourself." The old man said indifferently.

"Old Mister, do you have any more map fragments like this? I can trade for them at a fair price." Xiao Yan said with a smile.

The aged face lifted, looking at the fragment in surprise, a complex expression flowing through his turbid eyes.

"You, have you seen this kind of map fragment before?" Glancing over the 3rd-grade Alchemist badge on Xiao Yan's chest, the old man asked gently.

"Naturally, I have. I found one a few months ago." Having said that, Xiao Yan took out the Purification Lotus Demon Flame fragment he had obtained at the Magical Beast Mountain Range, his eyes becoming even more smiling as he looked at the old man.

Yao Chen naturally knew Xiao Yan's thoughts and spoke up to warn him: "Be careful. This guy is not simple. According to my detection, his true strength should be at the Dou Huang Realm, but for some reason, the intensity within his body is currently only at the Dou Ling level."

"Snap!" The ink brush in the old man's hand suddenly snapped.

"Little fellow, who are you?" He had obtained this fragment at an auction, and had even been hunted by Queen Medusa because of it.

He had been researching it until now without any leads, showing just how extraordinary this fragment was.

"What? After figuring out my background, are you going to start robbing me? How about this: whoever is stronger gets the fragments." Xiao Yan said with a chuckle. He knew Hai Bodong was hiding another fragment, but he couldn't expose it directly right now.

"Hehe, you don't know the immensity of heaven and earth. No matter who you are, if you don't explain yourself clearly today, you aren't leaving here!" The hideous scar on the old man's face twitched, and an icy chill quickly filled the room, with faint white mist swirling around.

Xiao Yan smiled faintly, and a pale Exotic Fire appeared. The icy chill and mist dissipated instantly, the temperature rose sharply, and even some maps began to burn.

"Exotic Fire!" The old man's pupils constricted, and he shouted in surprise.

"Bang!" Xiao Yan stepped on the air, producing a muffled sound; this was the phenomenon of executing Explosive Steps.

The two fought rapidly within the shop. The intense wind pressure sent all the maps in the shop flying and burning, and the room was suddenly in chaos.

"Slap!" In just a few seconds, during a clash of palms in mid-air, Hai Bodong was struck back by a palm, spitting out a mouthful of bright red blood; he had clearly sustained internal injuries.

"Who exactly are you! How do you have such strength?" Seeing that Xiao Yan did not pursue, Hai Bodong asked in disbelief. Under Xiao Yan's rapid assault just now, he hadn't even had time to execute any Dou Technique!

When Xiao Yan had just used the Exotic Fire, revealing his Great Dou Master Peak Realm, Hai Bodong had been shocked. Now that Xiao Yan revealed strength far exceeding his Dou Ling level, his heart was in extreme shock, like raging waves.

"Hehe, now we can have a proper chat." Xiao Yan was not at all surprised that he could easily crush Hai Bodong. The improvement in his strength was not a simple increase in Cultivation speed, but an all-around enhancement of his body, Soul, and Dou Qi.

And this kind of improvement became even more terrifying the further one went into the Late Stage!

"My name is Xiao Yan, just an ordinary 3rd-grade Alchemist, with no special background. However, if I really had to say, it would be that my teacher is very formidable." Xiao Yan introduced himself with a smile.

"Losing to a Prodigy like you, there's nothing more to say. My name is Hai Bodong; in the past, I could also be considered one of the strong experts of the Jia Ma Empire." Hai Bodong's eyes dimmed significantly.

The youth before him had caused him to suffer non-trivial internal injuries in just a few seconds. That immense force, which he had been completely unable to resist, left him no choice but to admit defeat.

"Lost is lost; my skills were inferior. I didn't expect that after living in seclusion for over twenty years, I would have such a wretched day today. Fine, take the map fragment." Hai Bodong waved his hand in a dejected tone.

"Hai Bodong, this name sounds familiar. Could you be the Ice Emperor, one of the ten great experts of the Jia Ma Empire in the past?" Xiao Yan said in surprise.

"Oh? I didn't expect that my reputation hadn't faded with time; you've actually heard of it." Hai Bodong's expression softened slightly.

"Then how did you end up in this state, unable to even unleash the strength of a Dou Wang?" Xiao Yan asked, frowning.

The gap between a Dou Ling and a Dou Wang is immense; even the current Xiao Yan did not have the confidence to defeat a Dou Wang.

Upon hearing this, Hai Bodong revealed a bitter expression and said: "After participating in the experts' tournament between Empires back then, I inadvertently obtained this map fragment in the Tagor Desert. However, I didn't expect to be hunted by the ruler of the Snake-People tribe in this desert, Queen Medusa. Although I luckily escaped, I didn't expect to have been struck by her Snake Seal Curse."

"Because of this, I aged rapidly, and my strength has been stuck at the Dou Ling level... However, I have collected a prescription that can break the Seal; perhaps it can remove my Seal."

"A prescription? Why didn't you go find Pill King Gu He to refine it? With your status, that shouldn't have been a difficult task, right?"

Hai Bodong shook his head with a bitter smile and said: "He can't. The condition for refining this Medicinal Pill is that the Alchemist must possess an Exotic Fire!"

"You mean you want me to take action and refine it for you? Without a sufficient price, you won't be able to hire me, you know." Xiao Yan smiled faintly.

"Hehe, I naturally know that. Do you know that the fragment in your hand is incomplete? I have the other half here." The old man laughed and said.

Xiao Yan took out the fragment he had obtained earlier in the Magical Beast Mountain Range to compare; sure enough, it was half the size.

However, Xiao Yan had long known this, but to obtain the other half of the fragment in Hai Bodong's hands, he had no choice but to agree to his request.

"I didn't expect you to have this trick up your sleeve; I've learned something. But then again, wanting to get something without paying any price and robbing it from someone else's hands is inherently a shameful thing. Fine, I agree to refining the Medicinal Pill. Bring me the prescription and the Materials, will you?" Xiao Yan said casually.

Hai Bodong's expression was somewhat awkward. Although it was this kid before him who had deliberately taken out the fragment, he had indeed wanted to rob him, only to unexpectedly stumble and fall.

"The Materials in the prescription are still missing one ingredient. This ingredient can only be found in the Tagor Desert, but I am struck by Queen Medusa's Seal; once I get close, I will be detected, so I have never been able to find this medicinal ingredient..."

"I can't refine it without the Materials; you'll have to rely on yourself for this part."

"Fine. Perhaps I can give you some information that you will be interested in. If you have heard news about an Exotic Fire in the Tagor Desert, I suppose you will be interested in this. In exchange, you must help me obtain this ingredient: the sand mandala." Hai Bodong said confidently.